Off-season nutrition tips

The off-season is a critical part of an athlete’s yearly cycle—a time to refuel, recover, reset and reset. For many athletes, the off-season is challenging because it brings anxiety about losing fitness or gaining weight. Your daily diet should never be a source of stress. By prioritizing nourishment over restriction, you can give your mental and physical health a boost before you begin your next phase of training. Here are some tips on how you can navigate off-season eating with confidence.

 

Off-season athletic self-identity

As a person, you have many roles in life and with each role comes an identity.
A mother, a father, a sibling, a teacher, a student, an engineer, a nurse, a doggy parent.......

In the off-season, you lose a very important identity of yourself and that is one of being an athlete.

You feel a great purpose in life when you are an athlete, even as a mom, dad, employee, etc.

When you were training for your key races in 2016, you didn't tell people that you enjoy running, you enjoy biking or enjoy triathlons but instead, you called yourself a runner or a triathlete. You owned it with confidence (and maybe even a secret fist pump too). 

I AM an athlete.

This is the title you have carried with you for the past 10+ months, alongside being a mom, dad, employee, volunteer, caretaker, etc.

Having a strong athletic identity is what makes athletes great. 

With great athletic self-identity often comes high self-esteem, commitment, discipline and motivation. 

Athletic self identity can also be silent, as it's not a requirement to have a strong athletic identity and be expressive on social media. Many athletes are very confident in their athletic abilities but are not vocally expressive about their athletic journey to others.

But now, all of a sudden, your title feels removed because you are no longer training for an event and you are forced to take time away from your sport in the off-season. 

And suddenly, you don't know yourself.
Who am I?

No alarm clock to set, no incentive for healthy eating, no workouts to crush, no reward food, no sweaty pictures to share on social media, no 3+ hour workout to relieve stress.......is it even possible to function in life? 

For so long, all of your routines, actions, beliefs, feelings and emotions were so heavily tied to your journey as an athlete and now you struggle with how you see yourself. Even worse, you may not be comfortable with yourself when you are seen by others. 

Even though you know you need an off-season and you recognize that you (and your family/friends) have made many sacrifices and you have some serious supportive debt to pay to your loved ones, it can be extremely challenging to feel stripped of your previous athletic identity, specifically as it relates to your body image.

As an athlete, the more time you commit to your sport, the more it becomes an extension of who you are. But more so, it becomes an outlet (or coping method) for negative feelings or emotions, as well as a strategy to help manage your weight or to give you flexibility (and maybe some freedom) with your food choices.

As an athlete, you spend many months working on yourself to improve your performance but you may also spend a considerable amount of time working on changing your body. While it's an assumption that every athlete is 100% focused only on performance, it can't be overlooked that many athletes spend a considerable amount of physical and psychological resources, fixating on body composition or athletic appearance.

The off-season presents itself as a vulnerable time for athletes because it removes the outlet of exercise and burning calories and athletes may begin to over-evaluate appearance.

This may result in body shame, unhealthy body comparisons, body image concerns and body dissatisfaction.

Whereas once your exercise and nutrition actions and behaviors were protected by your "athlete in training" status, no longer do you feel safe with this uncomfortable non-athlete routine.

Consequently, you may find yourself searching for or partaking in unhealthy behaviors, such as dieting, to control weight. 

Seeing that your sport can be a method of control, it's no surprise that so many athletes struggle mentally (more than physically) in the off-season as it relates to body composition.

Perhaps this is why so many athletes admittedly don't even take an off-season. 
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During the off-season, I want to remind you that your self-identity is not taken away from you and never is your athletic worthiness defined by a number on a scale or your appearance.

Whether you have a planned off-season, you are injured, you are growing your family, you had a dramatic life change (work/move) or you are putting your sport on hold for an extended period of time, you are still an athlete. Your body is still amazing.

Your athlete status has taught you a lot, like great time management skills, good coping skills for stressful and anxious experiences, camaraderie and compassion. You don't become a better human being based on the body composition you achieved as an athlete.

As you temporarily remove yourself from your athletic self-identity for a planned or indefinite amount of time, you are provided with a valuable opportunity to get to know yourself, without judgement. 

Not feeling or being an athlete can be a good thing, if you let it be. 

The off-season is necessary and vital to your next season success as it's not only a time to let your mind and body relax and rejuvenate but it helps you get to the root of many underlying body, nutrition and exercise related thoughts and issues that may have been overlooked due to your "athlete in training status".

An off-season becomes meaningful when you can reflect on previous actions and behaviors that maybe, were not so performance or health enhancing but you saw them as a necessity due to your athletic self identity. 

Instead of just taking a break from training, work on yourself by breaking some old habits that were masked by your "dedication" to training and learn new strategies for healthy eating and exercising, which are not so extreme.

The off-season is a great time to explore other interests that are completely separate from your athletic lifestyle. Search for other things in your life that give you pleasure, a feeling of accomplishment and value.

It can be a struggle to commit to not training for a few weeks but your sport didn't go away. It's still there and it will always be there for you to return back to.

By successfully navigate your thoughts, actions and emotions throughout your off-season, you may identify that you have many more qualities than you were giving yourself credit for and you can improve your self-awareness as it relates to performance and health enhancing behaviors.

Oddly enough, the off-season (or a break in training) may be the only time when you actually give yourself permission to work on yourself. Don't miss this prime opportunity to start paving the path to athletic success in 2017.

If you feel your self-identity or self-awareness is a constant limiter for you as an athlete, reach out to a clinical sport psychologist for help. A trained professional can help you get to the root of your thoughts, behaviors and actions, hold you accountable to working on yourself and can guide you to make better decisions which can improve your health, fitness and mental well-being as an athlete.

Avoid overtraining and burnout

As a coach, I find that my hardest job is telling athletes to rest. Certainly, my athletes are not seeking an expert to tell them how to take a day off from training but instead, to give well-designed, challenging and well-placed workouts in a periodized, individualized training plan in order to take their fitness to the next level. 

When an athlete begins to adapt to training stress, the consistency in training can be very motivating. 

Athletes know that to improve fitness, there must be a consistent load placed on the body and often with intensity and at an uncomfortable volume. 

So in addition to rest and recovery days, I now have a great respect for rest in the off-season. 

And this doesn't mean a few weeks of swim,bike, run workouts without gadgets or group workouts "just for fun."

For the past 6-weeks I have done minimal exercising. Less than an hour a day and much of it was not related to swim, bike and run. 

Lucky for me, I had a partner in crime for our extreme, but needed, lazy routine
Karel joined me on this 6-week off-season break. 

After IMWI, I thought that 4-weeks was enough to properly recover from the race but also from competing (and racing) in 4 Ironman distance triathlons in the past 14 months. 

But then I started thinking that perhaps  I needed more time, like 6 or 8 weeks. 

Never have I taken more than 4 weeks off from structure before (but even if week 5 was still light it was still structured in some way) so I wasn't sure what I was expecting in this LOOONGG off season break.
(really, it wasn't all that long as we have been super busy with our coaching and nutrition business)

We will not be returning to hard-core training tomorrow but instead, following our very structured foundation plan (which will be available for purchase here in a few weeks). Our big race isn't for another year so certainly there is a lot more skill/strength/drill work to do now (as oppose to bricks and long runs and bike workouts) as we do not need to be building a base without the foundation in place.
And just like 2014, we do not plan on racing any running races in 2015 but instead, dedicating all of our training and focus to our key triathlon races. 

As for what is happening starting tomorrow.....

First will be two weeks of intro which we will transition from our non-athlete lifestyle to athletes again. That means more attention to our diet, sleep habits, stretching and anything else that can contribute to consistency with training. This new lifestyle will take some time for our bodies to get use to, even though our minds are really ready to return to structured training.
We are involving a few new experts to assist in our personal Kona 2015 journey this season so we are both super excited about what's to come. 

But first we must slowly re-introduce training stress as our bodies are a bit out of shape....

 but that was our entire plan. 

I remember when I started training for endurance sports. Everything was so fun and new and it seemed to come so naturally to my body. My body had only years of competitive swimming behind me so the introduction of bike and run training was very welcomed. 

I can honestly say that I have never experienced burnt out since becoming an endurance athlete and over the past 1.5 years I had no injuries that created any setbacks for me.
I love training and racing just the same now as I did when I started training/racing although now my priorities often change as I have a lot more to balance on my life-plate. 

So as a coach and athlete, I like to be proactive. And 6-weeks was the appropriate amount of time to ensure that mentally and physically, I would be setting myself up for a great 2015 season. Even though I felt very recovered about a week after IMWI (and certainly on a high knowing that Karel and I were going to both be racing in the 2015 IM World Championship), little did I know how run-down, mentally and physically exhausted and tired I was in the inside. 

And the only way I discovered that was giving my body more rest than it needed. 

Getting fitter, faster, stronger and more powerful is simply the result of a training stimulus. 

It's very easy to fail to consistently perform to our best ability, when we do not have a body that can adapt well to training stress.
And thus, the training may still be checked off the daily to-do list but sadly our risk for burnout, injury and sickness increases and we reduce the many opportunities to achieve peak fitness. 

Little does a competitive athlete recognize the continued fatigue that lingers around week after week, month after month and even year after year. Although athletes may perhaps feel as if they are fresh and healthy here or there throughout the season (better think twice if one or two days off a month is really "recovery"), it is extremely hard to know if your body/mind is truly recovered if you don't give it more rest than you think it needs. 

Not too much rest that you get sick and unhealthy but enough rest that you lose a little fitness to adapt quickly to training stress and you can train consistently with more intense motivation and excitement. 

As an endurance athlete, I see my body as a bank. I am constantly making withdrawals and investments with every workout. I always strive to make more investments than withdrawals so that I can cash out on race day. But, there is always the appropriate time to make a few withdrawals that are well-timed and needed. 

Ultimately, I don't want to be broke and wishing I would have saved my money come race day and many times, athletes are very unwise when it comes to banking workouts with their body. 

The problem with many endurance athletes is that there are way too many withdrawals that are seen as necessary, normal and needed. But the truth is that the body can only tolerate so much training stress until it can no longer adapt. 

And then comes an even bigger issue of burnout and overtraining. 

BURNOUT

Burnout is not as serious as overtraining but it is certainly not something that a competitive endurance athlete wants to experience. 

When an athlete gets burnout, he/she lacks the motivation to train. He/she sees little satisfaction in continuing training or even racing and the previous excitement and focus for training is gone. 

Athletes who are burnt out may find themselves depressed, anxious or fatigued and a burnout athlete feels as if there is little purpose to training, often saying "I don't care anymore."

The positive to  burnout is many times an athlete just needs a break from training. Many times, volume or intensity is too high and the athlete just needs to rest. Perhaps the athlete needs a change of distance, scenery or schedule...just something to switch up the "routine" that has become stale. 

OVERTRAINING
Here lies the bigger issue which can occur if a burnout athlete continues to push because "no pain is no gain".
Overtraining may be common among the following athletes:

-Athletes who balance a lot on their plate (families, work, life, etc.)
-Athletes who are new to the sport and tend to do a lot of fear-based training (ex. worried that he/she is not ready for the distance so there is a rapid increase in volume in a short amount of time)
-Athletes who are obsessive with eating and exercising, often too rigid with structure and lack of flexibility as life changes

-Endurance athletes - the best reason I can make is that endurance athletes have to train with a higher training load than short distance athletes and on top of this, they are balancing a lot in life, may struggle with body composition issues and may underfuel

-Athletes who never (or rarely) take time off, down time or beaks in the season
-Athletes who race too much
-Athletes who do not follow a well-designed, periodized training plan and do not have a team (sport dietitian, coach, sport psychologist, massage therapist) to provide expert advice

Overtraining is serious and I feel many times it is so overlooked by athletes and coaches because as I mentioned before, dedicated athletes know they need to consistently train and are not afraid to take risks and to push the limits for performance gains. 

So what is overtraining? 

Well, beyond a decreased or impaired performance, there is also extreme fatigue that affects the athlete in life and in training. Unlike burnout when an athlete may just lose motivation and enthusiasm for training for a short period of time, there are many physiological, psychological, nutritional and immunological issues that can occur. 

-A rapid change in HR and blood pressure

-A change in reproductive hormones (estrogen, progesterone or resulting in amenorrhea) or a change in testosterone (for men)

-Headaches/nausea
-Changes in cortisol, thyroid, pituitary hormones
-GI issues
-A decrease in strength/power/speed
-Inability to perform or meet personal standards for the time/effort that is committed to training

-Insomnia

-Decrease/change in appetite
-Unintentional weight loss/gain
-Prolonged recovery, abnormal muscle soreness, joint aches

-Mood changes - depression, anxiety, exacerbated stress

-Decrease in motivation

-Decrease in self esteem and compassion for others

-Suppressed immune system - more frequent sickness or more time to recover from sickness
-Increased injuries

-Loss of enthusiasm for the sport and little desire to continue

For the respect of your one and only body, the worst thing you can do as an athlete is be motivated, passionate and hard working and not reach your goals because your training plan is not well-designed and your mind is not accepting of rest and recovery. 

So much time, energy, sacrifice and effort is needed, day in and day out, for you to peak appropriately at your key races but overtraining is not going to get you to where you want to be.  

The ultimate goal is not to seek ways to train harder or longer but instead, learn how to train smarter. 

Maybe you don't need 6-weeks like we did but I'm pretty sure that your body can benefit from a little time off from structure as you thank your body for what it allowed you to do last season. 

Happy training...and off-season!

Athlete (not-in-training) - Off Season tips

Athletes are tough people. 

They can push when the body says push no more. 

They can accomplish a lot before 9am and know how to squeeze a lot into an already busy day.
They have this amazing ability to seek out information to make improvements, always reflecting and analyzing as if there are no personal limits but instead, consistent constant improvements.
Athletes are smart, hard working, passionate, dedicated individuals but sadly, many athletes do not know how to do the off-season properly. 

For the first time in 8 years, I have intentionally taken 5 weeks off from any type of structured activity with minimal running (2 runs on the track, gadget free), a handful of short bike rides (gadget free) and a few times a week swimming (after waking up without an alarm, no more than 30-45 minutes of swimming). I say intentionally because I was not injured, sick or burnt out after IMWI so the rest was planned by me and not forced by a doctor.
And I still have one more week to go of my off season!
(Karel is also joining me in this off-season as we are both getting unfit (not unhealthy) and rested for 6 weeks.

And guess what..... I feel amazing and yes, I am surviving for those who feel it is just too hard to take time off. 

I am actually so busy right now that I could not have asked for a better time for this break in training to occur. We are working on our Trimarni 2015 Roster with our new coaching services (and application) as well as putting together our 2015 Trimarni camps. 
Honestly, I could not even imagine exercising every day right now so thankfully there is absolutely no guilt if I do absolutely nothing active for the day except for walk Campy (which this has happened at least twice a week for the past 5 weeks). 

Although many athletes are cool with a 1-2 week break from activity there are other athletes who think they are taking a break but the lifestyle pretty much resembles the season but without gadgets or sets. And for some athletes, there just no stopping them all year long.  

It is important to recognize that the off season is not base training. For our athletes (us included), the off season is simply the break in the year to turn into a healthy, balanced non-athlete who is active without much stress on the body and without a structured routine. The problem for many athletes is that the training never stops because there is always a race on the schedule. After the off season, we believe that athlete must focus on building a new/improved foundation to turn on neuromuscular pathways, to improve skills and form and to identify weaknesses in the body. This is our transition phase which will know call our foundation phase.

Participating in an endurance event requires an efficiently trained aerobic system as well as exceptional muscular, mental, respiratory and cardiovascular strength. To perform optimally on race day and reduce risk for injury throughout the season (ex. muscular injuries, chronic inflammation and stress fractures, etc), athletes must not overlook skills/technique, flexibility, foundation strength training, diet and muscular imbalances/weakness that should be addressed after the off season (certainly some things like diet, personal weaknesses can be addressed in the off season). 

The off season is not the time to get in the gym and start lifting weights, train for a "fun" race or take part in an athletic challenge at the gym. Rest up in the off season so that come the necessary foundation phase, you have the motivation and excitement to use your healthy body all (upcoming) season long. You may think you feel fine just a week or two after your big key race and want to jump right back into something sport related (as I did 2 weeks after IMWI) but you will feel much better after a needed 4-8 week break after your last big race, particularly if your season included more than 3 races and stretched over 9 months.

Recognize that great performances come from consistency. And to be consistent you have to create a foundation that is durable and as resistant as possible to training stress. Be sure that throughout the first 3 months of your season (which follows your off season) you allow your body to adapt gradually. Do not expect to be at the fitness you were last season but instead, be patient so that you can take your fitness to the next level, this upcoming season. 

The big mistake that athletes make in the off-season is feeling an itch to race too soon or hear the buzz for a new or popular race and sign-up for race(s) without giving major consideration as to the season goals or even if they are the right races for you and your body.

It is extremely important to think about your season goals and how they fit into the races you are choosing to register for, the priority of those races, when those races occur and why you are picking them.

We believe that in order to peak appropriately, athletes must training appropriately throughout the year to build a strong foundation and ultimately, get stronger in order get faster and then go longer. Most importantly, you, the athlete, should want to do everything possible/right to help you arrive to your race healthy, injury free and confident to execute.

PLAN FOR NEXT SEASON

-Consider the time it takes to prepare for a race. For many athletes, the body can appropriately progress and tolerate around 14-16 weeks (3.5-4 months) of specific race training. 10 weeks may be too short to adapt properly and more than 16 weeks can increase risk for burnout and injury. Believe it or not but if you train smart (and consistently), 3 months is a long time to train for a key race when you are training smart.  You can race more than once throughout the season and perform well at both of those key A races but "peaking" is hard to do twice in one season. You can have two outstanding performances but you should keep in mind the training that is needed (overtime) to build a great performance and that if the season is too long (without a short season break in between training for key races) the body may get too tired and motivation will dwindle.
 Be patient with your fitness and understand that it takes time to build a successful race day performance.
-What did you learn from this past season in terms of training/racing? How did the weather impacted your training (ex. did you pick a key race too soon in the season, without adequate time to acclimate?). Do you need to choose longer distance races for late season and shorter distance races early season to accommodate your lifestyle/work schedule or vice versa? Did you find yourself burnt out at specific times of the year? Did you experience an injury or set back that could have been avoided? Did you peak at your races? Did nutrition affect your performance?  What are the best courses for you to race on? 

-What did you learn from this past season in terms of how you balanced life and training? Did you make the most of your available training time or did you try to squeeze in too much every day? What needs to be modified next year or changed to focus on quality workouts?  Did you feel as if you tried to balance too much on your plate? Did you find your diet, sleep and stretching neglected because you were trying to balance work, family and putting in the miles/hours? Was your racing schedule too ambitious that you could not peak appropriately? Was your family supportive of your racing/training schedule all season long? Be aware that there is no such thing as the perfect number of hours to train for a race. If you want to succeed, it all comes down to personal success. How many hours can you train and what can you do with those hours?

-What did you learn from this past season in terms of your body/healthy? Did you get injured, sick, have fluctuations with your weight/eating habits, get burnt out, etc. Although coaches should help athletes train smart with adequate rest and recovery, it should be understand that it is tough at times to balance it all. We all have “triggers” in life so rather than getting upset when things happen, learn from them so reduce the risk to make the same mistake twice.

-Are you figuring out what courses fit you the best? How about racing venues, logistics and anything else that can negatively and positively affect your race day performance and previous training. Races should make you excited to train for them but also to race appropriately. Sure, we all have anxieties and it’s exciting to try something new/challenging but consider what fits your strengths the best, what races work within your triathlon budget and work schedule and when/where those races occur. Again, don’t just sign up for races because they are new, open or all your friends are doing it, without giving those races some serious thought as to your goals for the race but also how you will prepare for them.

You have a lot to think about so this is why now is a good time to start brainstorming about next year. The most important thing when considering your season is to think about your short AND long term goals. Your racing/training schedule should make you happy and healthier, it should be financially reasonable and it should help you better yourself as an athlete, parent, spouse, employee, boss, friend and/or human being.

Off season: Turning into a non-triathlete

Countdown to race Kona for me and Karel....One year and one week away! 

It's been almost 4 weeks since Karel and I raced IMWI and our lifestyle has changed dramatically.
If you lived a day in the life of Marni and Karel right now, you would be doing a lot of the following:

No structured workouts, no workout schedule, no intense exercise, very little gym time and no alarms for workouts.

Guess what... We are LOVING every day of it!

This is all part of our master plan to prep for Kona 2015....we are turning into non-triathletes for 6 full weeks. Although this may seem like a long time to do absolutely no structured training, it is very needed and perhaps long over due. 

I was extremely fortunate this year to have an injury-free season. Both Karel and I raced to our full potential at each of our planned races and our bodies did not disappoint us. We never experienced the slightest itch of burnout or fatigue and most of all, we loved the journey of becoming the best we could be this season. With Kona being my 10th IM and Karel doing IM Lake Placid and then Kona as IM #4 and #5, we both feel as if we have more fitness to gain in 2015.

After Karel and I reached our BIG dream of this year qualifying for the 2015 Ironman World Championships at IMWI, we found it quite deserving to take some time off from training.

And beyond taking a little time off, we are going to change up a few things next season as to how we train throughout our season, as we focus on performing the best possible, in the best shape possible, in Kona, Hawaii next October. 

And that training starts now. 

We are turning into non-triathletes for 42 days and do as little as possible with our body in order to be mentally and physically recharged, healthy and fresh for the transition (foundation) phase of our season. 

I realize that this is a very difficult time for athletes. The off season often bring sadness as if something is missing in life. Other athletes feel concern over appetite, perhaps weight gain and feeling out of control with eating. Some athletes feel as if fitness will be lost and will be hard to gain again. And then there are athletes who just refuse to take a break and after a few days off after the last race they are already training hard again for a running race or well, just because. 

 Taking a break from training does not mean you have to be sedentary and I would not recommend to be inactive. The off season should not bring worries or concerns about weight because you are not required to be at a racing weight if you are not expecting your body to perform at its best right now. The easiest way to summarize this is that as athletes, we eat to support our training load. Training load increases, we must eat more to support that training load. And more food means more nutrients to keep the body healthy, fueled and nourished. 

Reducing training doesn't mean stop eating or avoid carbs or do the complete opposite and eat anything in sight and do nothing with your body. It means eat similar foods that nourished you while training but in smaller portions and with slight modifications to macronutrient distribution (carbs, protein, fat) to keep you satisfied between meals (with small snacks to hold you over between meals).

The goal of the off season is to build good habits and to discover joy for body movement. 

After racing 4 Ironman races in 14 months, I feel I owe it to my body to take off more time than I think I need to take care of my health. Endurance racing is damaging and it is not healthy. I want to ensure longevity in this sport of triathlons so I want to do whatever I can to protect my body from too much intentional training/racing stress.

 I will also only be racing one Ironman next year to ensure that I peak appropriately for Kona. After Kona, I am taking a break from IM racing for at least a year but probably closer to 1.5-2 years just to give my body a break.  I love Ironman racing and I love my lifestyle as a triathlete but it is not my life. I absolutely do not need to race Ironman triathlons to be healthy, to manage my life and to de-stress. 

I will always feel comfortable calling myself a triathlete, even when I'm not racing in Ironman races. 

Although I do not feel it is necessary for all triathletes to take 6 full weeks off, I highly recommend giving yourself a break that is long enough for you to really enjoy being a non-athlete but not too long that you struggle to feel the itch to get back into training again. Typically 2-4 weeks is an ideal time to remove yourself from structure and to follow some of my off season tips. However, in the big picture of a season (which is typically 8-11 months), this is hardly the break your body actually needs to return to the sport healthy and strong.

Here are a few tips of mine as to what to focus on during your off season. 

1) Recharge - after waking up with an alarm for months and months and months, reset your body. Sleeping is not only great to help you feel alert and fresh but it also necessary to help manage your appetite and to help you feel fresh and recovered. Certainly you need to set an alarm for work and life responsibilities but use this time to discover what your body can feel like with restful, consistent sleep. 

2) Remove the schedule, be health conscious - Athletes are quite structured and often very rigid. While this can be beneficial when it comes to training and eating for performance gains, we do not want to feel as if this is the only way we can live life or need to live life. Allow yourself freedom with your body but never lose your love for staying active and healthy. Move your body as much as possible but with the least amount of stress. When you wake up in the morning (rested), decide on the best way to use your free time with your body. 

3) Change the routine - It doesn't matter how much you love your sport or your active lifestyle, but without a break, the body and mind will get stale. Many times, athletes will discover (or search out for) ways to keep a tired body moving (like energy drinks, skipped workouts and then overload the next workout, just logging miles to get it done, etc.) and this is absolutely not what a healthy and performance focused athlete should be doing throughout the season. By changing up the routine in the off season, we have the opportunity to discover other ways to feel healthy and accomplished, we can catch up on neglected to-do's and we also get hungry to train again. 

4) Reflect and plan ahead - Often times, athletes are extremely fit but very unhealthy. Athletes accomplish workouts but can not execute on race day. Athletes do the same thing over and over and want better results without changing anything. Although these are situations that may not apply directly to you (right now), the best thing you can do is reflect. When I think about my recent successes over the past two years in endurance racing, I can always reflect as to what worked really well in my season and what I can try differently for different results. I am very open to change and never feel as if there is a by the book approach to training. My only goal is understanding what amount of training load works the best with my body. As you reflect on the season and explore new, different or better/smarter approaches, plan ahead. I encourage athletes to not race a lot. Minimize your tune-up races, multiple endurance events and for triathletes, there is no need to turn into a "runner" with running races in the off season. Plan and prioritize your season around your 1-2 KEY races so that you peak appropriately and utilize all phases of your season appropriately. 

5) Create a strong, healthy relationship with food and your body- Athletes are all over the map when it comes to eating habits. Underfueling, undereating, overeating, overfueling, cravings, too much snacking, not snacking enough, afraid of carbs, too carb heavy, etc. I could go on and on about the eating habits of athletes. Although eating habits of athletes may stem from optimal performance gains, there appears to be an underlying focus of ideal body composition which affects eating and fueling habits. Although athletes may have a different standard as to what their ideal body should look like to perform well, it is important that in the off season, you keep in mind that this time in your life/year is temporary. This is an optimal time to understand your diet and appetite without hours and hours of weekly training and stress on your body (which are hopefully always supported with adequate food intake and sport nutrition). Use this time to develop a great relationship with your body and real food and identify your individual missing links that can assist in performance gains, optimal health and a healthy body composition during your season. I realize that I left this category wide open for suggestions and tips but I feel that if you can learn to create a real food diet, love the food you put in your body every day and feel great about your food choices...without hours and hours of training, you will feel SO great about your body during your off season. If you take this time to work on your relationship with food, then come "training" time again, you will feel much more in control of your eating and not feel so confused as to how to fuel your body as an athlete.
Lastly, as mentioned above, a healthy body comes in a variety of sizes and right now, you are not expected to perform with your body. Gaining a few lbs is not the end of the world and for many, can be extremely healthy. Also, 2-6 weeks off now is preceding 8-10 months of structured training. I would suggest to not be so focused on what may happen now but instead, think about what you should do now to help set you up for a great upcoming season. No need to overindulge but no need to be strict. Learn to eat like a non-athlete and feel great about it so that come race season you will have a body that is healthy and primed to perform.
Certainly you should always be eating healthy to nourish your body but during the season you get a bit of slack every now and then with the diet due to expending so many calories. But if you hold a high standard as to what your body should look like right now (as well as all year long), I encourage you to consider the different phases of your season and how the body changes according to the work load which is supported by adequate fuel. There is going to be a time when you want your body to perform and that time will come with moths of previous training, good nutrition and fueling and a lot of attention to detail in your life, eating and training. Now is the time to enjoy a bit of "healthy" food freedom and learn to love the body you have, not as an athlete but as a healthy human being. 

Here's what I have been doing over the last 4 weeks:

-Hiking (not technical) with Campy in Paris Mountain state park
-Riding my road bike (twice, 30 min ride and 90 min ride)
-Swimming (no more than 30 minutes  or 2000 yards, ~6 times)
-Light hip/glute/core work (no more than 20 minutes) - 2 times per week
-Walking - daily with Campy
-There have been about 8-10 days when I have done nothing except short walks with Campy
-When I'm not working (which is not a lot since this is our busy time of the year as we prepare our business for 2015): spending the weekends at Farmers Markets,  watching Netflix at night (staying up later than normal), cooking yummy food, catching up on to-do's around the house, taking care of my Garden, exploring new places in Greenville, entertaining friends who come to visit us in Greenville, hanging out with our neighbors and reading books.

3-week off season break - recap

There's nothing more rewarding than resting the body after the hard work is over. When it comes to training the body for a start and finish line, it's important to understand that physiological adaptations are being made through pushing the body. Training is not exercise.

We must all exercise for health benefits and for weight control. That's proven through good research.

We do not have to run marathons, do an Ironman or even run in a 5K to be healthy.

But there's nothing more rewarding than setting a goal, working hard for a goal and then being able to let your mind be the only limiter on race day. Having a healthy and strong body is a gift and often something that is very much appreciated during exercise. Therefore, although we do not have to pay money to participate in an event in order to be healthy, it is a great feeling to finish what you started when you had an idea to accomplish something with an active body. 

The past three weeks were amazing. I did not miss structured training and I did not feel that anything special was missing from my life. I reflected, I thanked body and I continued to nourish myself with real food. I moved my body daily but I did not do the following for 21 days:
-No alarms
-No training gadgets
-No body bashing or weighing on a scale (we haven't had a working scale in our home for a few years)
-No off-food lists or out of control/extreme eating
-No exercise structure or "have to" do a certain workout
-No "have to" workout times/duration
-No running
-No sport nutrition products (aside from Hammer Fizz after Kona)
-No anti-inflammatory pills or any other medications/supplements (aside from Whey protein in my "meal" smoothies)
-No comparing myself to other athletes

I finalized my 2014 racing season, I slept a lot, I stretched, I moved my body daily, I stayed busy with my business coaching athletes and working on nutrition/fueling, I traveled and.....

I got a new bike!

Thank you Karel for my new Speed Concept!

How did I go so long without electronic Di2 shifting? 

Here's a recap of the last 21 days:

October 12th, 2013 - Ironman World Championship - 10:37
October 13th - Walking, playing in the ocean
October 14th-15th - 30 min swim in ocean with friends
October 16th - travel home
October 17th - 18th - short walks with Campy
October 19th - 2 hour road bike spin (socializing) + 15 min walk
October 20th - walk with Campy
October 21st - 30 min swim + light hip work
October 22nd - 30 min elliptical
October 23rd - walk with Campy
October 24th - 30 min elliptical + light hip/core work
October 25th - 45 min elliptical, travel to Miami
October 26th - outdoor 20 min circuit + 15 min walk with Campy
October 27th - spectate Karel at Miami 70.3
October 28th - 45 min elliptical (with intervals) + hip/core work and light strength
October 29th - 20 min elliptical + 20 min treadmill walk on incline + core work
October 30th - walks with Campy
October 31st - 45 min elliptical + 15 min treadmill walk (both with intervals) + light strength, travel to PCB
Nov 1st - 30 min road bike w/ Karel, exploring PCB for IMFL and visiting with athletes/friends
Nov 2nd - 2.5 mile run to swim start for IMFL, 2.5 mile run back to house + 17 hours of spectating at IMFL (alarm set for 5:30am, went to bed at 1am on November 3rd)
Nov 3rd - Traveled home from PCB

November 4th - feeling fresh, motivated, recovered and inspired.

This week is all about getting back into structure, no set workouts but instead, structure for my body and low volume/intensity.

After this week, Karel and I will be doing 5 weeks of "transitioning" focusing on strength training, skills, power and form.

(We have created a 5 week triathlon transition phase training plan focusing on workouts, skills, strength training and nutrition which will be available soon for those who are interested in reducing risk for injury, changing body composition and improving efficiency before beginning structured training or any type of fitness routine). 

As for next season....it's all about hard work, smart training, racing to travel and dreaming big. 

MAY 4th, 2014 - Me and Karel



June 1st, 2014 - Karel (I will spectate/sherpa)

June 29th, 2014 - Me and Karel

September 7th, 2014 - Me and Karel 

Stay tuned for the next blog on tips for planning your racing season. 

2 weeks post IM KONA (recipes and pics)

Wow - I can't believe it's been two weeks since IM KONA.

After a few days, the aches, burns and chaffing subsided and that was a sign that I was officially in my off-season...and  I'm totally enjoying every day of it! Three full weeks of no weight bearing activity (ex. no running, plyometrics, etc.), no workout structure and no alarms. There's plenty of time to catch up on house chores, be super creative in the kitchen, take longer walks with Campy and just give a little TLC for my awesome body for what it allowed me to do this summer. And to rest up for a very exciting season of destination races: St. Croix 70.3 (May), IM Austria (June), IMWI (July). There's a lot of work to do in the off season after my recovery period and I am really excited to set new goals and to enjoy another exciting year with my healthy body.

Just to recap the past few weeks, there have been no post-race blues, no guilty feelings about no structured activity (typically 30-60 min of working out a day - swim, elliptical, walking, core/hip work. I've only biked once on my road bike) and a lot of transitions with Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition. There will be many exciting announcements to come but in the mean time I have been working on new services, camps/clinics, discussing coaching with potential athletes (love working with athletes who love hard work and dreaming big!) and Karel now offering Retul fitting and his pre-race "valet" bike tune-up service (IMFL is around the corner and there are many bikes in Jax that are now faster thanks to Karel working his magic on them).

And to summarize the past two weeks in pictures, I must say that my life post Triathlon season doesn't look much different than the training for two Ironmans over the past 22 weeks. Triathlons are my lifestyle, not my life. I will never stop eating for health as I know the same foods that help reduce risk for disease also help to fuel my active lifestyle. 

Can't beat this fall weather! I love my Campy walks!

What a stud - IRON DOGGY!

Sauteed kale with olive oil, tossed in a skillet with a stir fry of corn, cooked quinoa, mushrooms and onions - topped with asiago cheese. Side of cottage cheese (Daisy Brand 2%) and pineapples.

Road bike spin followed by a shop at the farmers market. Not a bad problem to have a bag overflowing with seasonal fruits and veggies. 

Putting my farmers market finds to good use - rye bread with scrambled eggs and fresh strawberries and a side of sauteed kale, onions, garlic, red peppers. 

Thin roasted, crunchy potatoes (425 degrees, slice thin and toss in olive oil and season with salt/pepper and bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown) and a stir fry of quinoa, peas, tofu, tomatoes, chickpeas and mushrooms. 

Working at Baptist Medical Center South - I always leave with a better appreciation of my health and feeling so incredibly thankful that my body allows me to do what I choose to do with it. I also learn something new every time I see patient. Luckily, the day I worked last week wasn't filled with Cancer patients. Those days are always hard on my heart. 

Trimarni stew - broccoli, chickpeas, black beans, tofuy, garlic, onions, peppers, quinoa (or brown rice) + marinara sauce (about 1/2 - 1 cup) + water to meet consistency needs. Cook covered on low heat for 1 hour and plan for leftovers (they will taste great the next day).

Karel's Czech inspired egg salad - dill pickles, tomatoes, leeks, green pepper, eggs (hardboiled) and greek yogurt (0% Fage) on a bed of mixed greens. 

I spoke at 1st Place Sports as part of a panel of experts to a group of half marathon and marathon runners. My talk was on pre and during sport nutrition for training and racing. I gave away a lot of my special tips and suggestions and had lots of props. 

What a perfect combo for a snack (or pre dinner munchies) - cucumbers and feta cheese

Oh - SURPRISE! I got a new bike - thank you Karel!! 

.......Which means Trimarni and her one of a kind, custom paint job, is for sale! Email me if you are interested in the price and specs on the bike (Karel has kept this bike maintained since I got her with tune-ups at least every 2 weeks). 

And now - happy times are ahead. This weekend - Campy is taking his first trip to Miarmi for Miami 70.3 to watch Karel race and to cheer on all the amazing athletes (like Trimarni athlete Caitlin from Healthy Tipping Point) who is doing her first ever half Ironman!

After 12 weeks of working together - coach and athlete are reunited at last!

That bike (and the legs behind it) have the need for speed! 

I love making memories with these two!


Happy 5 year anniversary (10/26/08) Karel!! I can't wait to keep making memories with you (and Campy)

What a lucky doggy!

Great times in Miami! Can't wait for race day tomorrow!