An overlooked aspect of triathlon

Fitter, faster, stronger, leaner, more powerful, improved endurance. 

These are among the top words that triathletes will often use to describe what needs to happen in training over the course of a season in order to be more athletically successful. While structured, periodized training can help an athlete develop sport specific fitness, it's especially important to have sport specific skills. If proper skills are not practiced regularly in training, you may struggle to reach your athletic potential on race day - despite putting in the physical work.

Most triathletes are great at working out but when it comes to skill specific work, it's either overlooked, pushed aside or not valued. With an infatuation with metrics, distance and intensity, many triathletes overly obsess with gaining fitness only to find that skills don't match fitness. Without a proper skill set, there's a lot left on the table when it comes to performing at your best on race day. This is why it's important for triathletes to appreciate all the little things that can help you excel on race day. It's not just about arriving fit and not always does the fittest athlete win the race.

Earlier this week our athlete Melanie traveled 8 hours for a 2-day private training camp in Greenville, SC. We are lucky to have a perfect playground for outdoor training and suitable weather almost all year long. We have been coaching Melanie for nearly three years and it's been incredible to see her progress. Three years ago she was afraid to ride outside in her aerobars. The bike was major weakness. Now she is impressing us with her great bike handling skills, terrain management and new cycling strength. During her camp we worked out a lot of important bike skills and put those skills to the test with 2 x 2 hour, hill focused, technical rides.

Similarly in the pool, we saw an athlete who once found it exhausting to swim, to now being able to complete swim workouts with great swimming posture. And now she can better run to her potential.

Because there's still plenty of room for growth, Melanie came to us for the opportunity to continue to work on her triathlon skills. She does the work at home but to improve, it can't just be about the training hours. For when she trains at home (and races), she wants to make sure her skills match her level of fitness.

Sadly, for many athletes this is not the case. When was the last time you practiced race specific skills in a training session? For example, let's walk through the skills that you will use on triathlon race day:

• Having experience in race day gear/equipment
• Day before race day nutrition
• Race morning nutrition 
• Visualization 
• Warming up
• Entering/exiting the water
• Sighting
• Swimming next to other triathletes
• Transitioning from swim to bike
• Mounting/dismounting your bike
• Changing your gears
• Passing other riders
• Taking in sport nutrition throughout the duration of your ride
• Changing a flat tire/dealing with mechanical issues
• Working through the highs and lows of racing
• Riding in the wind
• Climbing/descending skills
• Cornering/u-turns
• Paying attention to your surroundings on an unfamiliar course
• Transitioning from bike to run
• Pace management
• Terrain management
• Taking in sport nutrition throughout the duration of your run
• Working through GI issues/side stitches
• Being able to maintain good form under fatigue
• Running on different surfaces
• Mental skills used throughout the race

These are just a handful of "skills" that you will use on race day. If your primary focus is checking off a workout on your training plan (however/wherever you can complete it), obsessing over metrics, trying to make "race weight" or only focusing on distance completed, there's a good chance that you are not working on your skills. And let's remember that nerves, anxieties, worries, competition and pressure will make it much more difficult to perform at your best - with great skills - even if on paper, your fitness is exactly where it needs to be on race day.

I encourage you to always look for ways that you can work on your race day skills in training (ex. a skills camp). Don't assume that come race day, everything will magically work out. If you have race day worries, fears or anxieties, make the effort to work on your race day skills to gain confidence (and safety) for race day.

When you are in a competitive environment, what should be a simple task such as changing a flat tire, putting on your bike helmet, making a u-turn on the bike, grabbing a sport bottle, sighting in the open water and staying calm around others can be extremely difficult. It's not that these basic skills are difficult to learn but there's a big difference between learning a skill and performing the skill consistently well when you are racing, under fatigue, not thinking at your best, feeling pressure and in a competitive scenario.

Race day readiness is much more than being fit. Checking off workouts or reaching race weight means absolutely nothing if you can't execute sport specific skills in performance situations.

Are you working on your race day skills in training?

Lessons learned - 35 athletic qualities to get to that next level

After 2.5 tough days of training, we just wrapped up our private training camp with Trimarni athlete Lisa Comer.  Lisa timed her private training camp perfectly with her key race (IMMT) as this camp was the perfect opportunity to intentionally overstress her body with training but to also remind her of the important skills that are needed to put together a great Ironman performance. Seeing Lisa in action allowed us, as her coaches, to fine-tune her skills and to break a few bad habits so that the next 6 weeks of training will be as effective as possible. 

Lisa is an extremely resilient athlete. She has great bike handling skills, she is a fast swimmer and a strong runner. Over the past 2.5+ years as a Trimarni athlete, she has worked very hard to get to where she is right now in her athletic journey as she has been able to train consistently for the past few years all while managing a job, while being a wife and mother. She is positive, hard working and brings a smile to every workout. She gives 100% no matter the workout, knows how to stay present but also has a good off switch so that triathlon does not take over her life.

Here's a little recap of the private training camp stats over the past 2.5 days:

Sunday afternoon:
3800 yard swim

Monday morning:
3:45 bike (with ~5500 feet of elevation gain) - endurance ride + skill/terrain management
43 minute brick run (~400 feet of elevate gain) - steady endurance with a strong build at the end
In the afternoon, she had a RETUL re-fit with Karel to dial in her position.

Tuesday morning:
4:35 bike (with ~6400 feet of elevation gain) - endurance ride with a 11-mile Ironman effort climb in the middle
20 min brick run (~230 feet of elevation gain) - form focused
In the afternoon, we did another run for frequency training on tired legs. 41 minutes - conversational pace. After a 1 mile warm-up, we did 5 min run, 30 sec walk throughout the rest of the run to reduce excessive tissue damage.

Wednesday morning:
3700 yard swim
90 minute run with a MS of 4 x 10 minute build to strong efforts w/ 30 sec walk, 1 min EZ jog between)

Although this was a lot of training packed into 2.5 days, it was all doable for Lisa. Just like on race day in an Ironman, we needed to show Lisa that she is capable of squeezing out a bit more from her body, even when she feels tired/exhausted. Lisa went through a lot of highs and lows throughout 2.5 days but maintained a positive, can-do attitude. With this camp, she learned that even when she thinks can can't push any harder, go the extra distance or go up another hill, we proved to her that it's all about mind over body.

Throughout this private camp, I thought a lot about what athletic qualities are needed to get to that next level. Whether it's qualifying for the Ironman World Championship (full or half distance), landing on the podium, achieving a personal best performance or accomplishing something that you have never done before, we have learned that there are a few important qualities that an athlete needs in order to achieve a new peak of fitness. 

1. Be open to change or a new way of thinking.
2. Be a great eater and have a great relationship with food.
3. Appreciate and don't bash/pick on your body. 
4. Focus on being resilient and strong, not fast and lean. 
5. Use lower stress racers as an opportunity to learn about yourself as a racer.
6. Build a team (ex. sport psychologist, PT, massage therapist, sport dietitian, coach) to help you in your journey. 
7. Don't be afraid to ask for help. 
8. Don't skip steps or rush your journey. 
9. Understand that there are no short cuts or quick fixes. 
10. Stay committed to your journey, even in the face of setbacks and obstacles. 
11. Be patient - always. 
12. Put in the work. 
13. Stay consistent. 
14. Fall in love with the journey of self-improvement. 
15. Make room in your life for your sport. 
16. You must have support from friends/family. 
17. Surround yourself with people who give you energy and don't take it away from you. 
18. Understand the demands of your sport and have a smart plan to help you achieve them. 
19. Don't compare your journey to the journey of another athlete or a past version of yourself. 
20. Never stop working on your skills. 
21. Select key races that suit your strengths and will help you excel on race day.
22. Don't rush to improve by adding too much volume/intensity too close to a race or after a period of inactivity/injury. 
23. See your development as one that occurs over many seasons and not just within a single year. 
24. Be willing to stretch your comfort zone so that what was once uncomfortable can become familiar and tolerable. 
25. Never ever compromise sleep. 
26. Focus on the little things (good sleep, stress management, mobility, diet). 
27. Don't neglect strength training. 
28. Make your easy sessions easy. 
29. Make it a non-negotiable that you always fuel/hydrate before, during and after workouts. 
30. Don't get too emotional with your performance (training and on race day). Reflect and then move on. 
31. Stay processed driven, not outcome focused. 
32. Make your training work for you so that you can adapt to training and perform well on race day. 
33. Have fun. 
34. Always maintain a strong mindset and work on your mental skills. 
35. Integrate training into your life so that it has an important role in your life that helps you be a better person in this world. 

Rushing a journey may result in some temporary good results but ultimately, it will almost always result in physical, technical/skill, mental and nutritional/health shortcomings.

To get to that next level, you need to be more focused on the doing than on the outcome. Don't fear failure or overthink the process. 

The ultimate goal for an athlete is to be able to train, recover and compete at a level that ensures optimal development throughout an athletic career. As an age-group athlete, there is not time-line on your athletic journey. Therefore, be mindful that success (or getting to that next level) comes from performing well over long-term than trying to win (or achieve a lot) in the short term. 

Private training camp/weekend recap - stretching the comfort zone

I remember when I was in graduate school, working towards my Master's in Exercise Physiology, and I just loved studying the information that I already knew. In other words, if there was a topic that I understood really well, I would often find myself re-reading it or testing myself over and over again because it made me feel confident that I really understood the information. But then when it came to topics that were difficult and unfamiliar, I would often find myself pushing those aside so that I could go back to reading what I already knew.

Does this sound familiar?

It's very normal for athletes to enjoy doing what is easy and familiar. This is often referred to a comfort zone. If something is unnatural or scary, it is not welcomed and typically, it's not as fun as what is well-known and comfortable.

Whether it's a fear of the unknown, worries of messing up, concerns of making mistakes or fear of trying something new, staying within the comfort zone is an obstacle that keeps many athletes from reaching their full potential. Similar to my enjoyment of studying what I already know, I eventually had to force myself to step outside of my comfort zone to learn new information ....and this is where the growth happens.

If you keep doing the same things over and over, you can expect the same results. 

Although it's never easy or comfortable to stretch a comfort zone, if you don't step outside, you will never discover new things about yourself that you never knew existed.

In an attempt to stretch your comfort zone, you may find yourself stepping too far outside, which then creates unnecessary anxiety. The optimal zone of stretching the comfort zone is to discover a place where you are just slightly uncomfortable but you can still perform well and be productive with learning new skills. 

"In any given moment we have two options: to step forward into growth or to step back into safety." -Abraham Maslow 

The cool thing about a comfort zone is that it is always moving. There's a good chance that you are doing something now with your body that was once uncomfortable, scary or unfamiliar. But now you feel strong and confident with your at-one-time anxiety-provoking skill.

To grow, develop and learn as an athlete, it's important to always put yourself into a place where you are slightly uncomfortable. To reach your goals, it's important to always find new ways to challenge yourself to a new slightly new level of discomfort. Success is not limited to the athlete who is genetically gifted but instead, the athlete who is on a constant pursuit to push outside of the comfort zone. 

From Friday until Sunday late morning, we spent our time with Trimarni athlete Adam Granoff (who also happens to host the Intelligent Racer Podcast - highly recommend listening to this great podcast) for his private training camp here in Greenville, SC.

Adam is currently training for IM 70.3 Syracuse and Ironman Lake Placid after completing Ironman 70.3 St. George. Adam is on a constant pursuit of self-improvement and that is why he wanted to stretch his comfort zone with us for over 10 hours of training in 2.5 days.

Adam worked hard for every workout and he learned a lot. We made sure to address his strengths to build his confidence and to help him work through bad habits as he continued to improve his swim-bike-run skills. It was a productive, educational and challenging 2.5 days of training but we could not be more pleased with what we were able to accomplish in such a short amount of time.

Friday: 
AM
2.5 hour skill focused ride working on managing variable terrain
20- minute hilly brick run

PM:
1 hour skill focused swim w/ race simulation efforts and sighting

Saturday: 
AM
4.5 hour ride, including a climb up (and down) Caesar's Head mountain
15 min brick run on the Swamp Rabbit Trail

PM
RETUL bike fit
Pizza dinner in downtown Greenville

(So great to be joined with Veronica of Veronica's Health Crunch for dinner)

Sunday
AM
1:10 hr easy spin on the swamp rabbit trail
~90 minute long run, finishing with hill sprints

2017 Trimarni camps - now open for registration!

ARE YOU LOOKING FOR A MEMORABLE, VALUABLE, EDUCATIONAL, Challenging AND FUN TRIATHLON TRAINING EXPERIENCE WITH EXPERT GUIDANCE and athlete support?

 YOU HAVE COME TO THE RIGHT PLACE.

At Trimarni, we are extremely passionate about our training camps. We take great pride in selecting beautiful venues, which are conducive to safe and effective training, while carefully planning every detail of our camp itineraries to make the most out of your entire camp experience.



Our mission is to provide our campers with an unforgettable camp experience, empowering you to stretch your athletic limits while providing you with a great amount of education and skill focus to help you become a better triathlete. 



When you participate in a Trimarni camp, we will give you our full attention as we want you to learn new training techniques (and break some old bad habits) to ensure that you can train effectively in your home environment, after your time at camp has concluded.


As you travel to a picturesque training location, surrounded by like-minded triathletes, you will leave your stressful and busy life behind you. 



We want to take care of everything for you so that all you have to do is book your travel and show-up to camp.

Your camp investment will give you the unique opportunity to train in a group format (alongside two experienced coaches and SAG support), while getting great sleep, eating well, fueling smart and receiving a lot of motivation and inspiration from your fellow campers.

Take a look at our camps to decide which camp will best fit your athletic needs.
All camps are open to all triathletes.
You do not have to be a Trimarni coaching athlete to participate in a Trimarni group or private camp.



If you are coached by another coach/coaching company, we would be happy to discuss your needs with your coach, before a group or private Trimarni camp, to ensure the best camp training experience possible to assist in your athletic season development. 

If you aren't sure which camp is right for you, send us an email and let us help.

We look forward to giving you an unforgettable training experience at a 2017 Trimarni group or private training camp.

Be sure to register quickly as several of our camps are over 50% filled at this time.
(Trimarni coaching athletes receive first priority sign-up.)

FIND OUT MORE HERE

Private training camp - recap

If you are an athlete and you love nature, mountains and challenging terrain, you will love our training playground....otherwise known as Greenville, SC. 

If I had to choose three words to describe what we heavily focus on during our training camps I would choose the words; FIT, FUEL, TRAIN.
Of course, FUN is included in there too. 

A private training camp is the perfect option for the athlete who needs specific individual attention in specific areas.

In the case of our last private training camp this past Thurs - Sat, triathlete Gin (who is coached by Professional triathlete Haley Chura) from Athens, GA reached out to us regarding setting up a private training camp to help her with her cycling skills (specifically with climbing more efficiently and using her gears more effectively), to assess her bike fit, to discuss fueling and daily nutrition to ensure she stays healthy with her training and reaches her performance expectations in training and on race day and to help with swimming mechanics.
Gin is a very strong and fast athlete but she reached out to us for help to address the little things that will help her train smarter so she can train harder.
After the OK from her coach Haley to train with us for 3-days, Gin stayed with us in our home, I prepared all the meals (and made grocery trips as needed to keep her mini fridge stocked with foods that she liked), Karel set her up with a new (and much improved) bike fit and we went to work with three jam-packed days of training based on her needs and fitness level. 
Gin left her train-cation near the mountains with a tired body as we placed a lot of great intentional stress on her body with the following training plan (which was OK'd by her coach Haley to ensure that we were all on the same page, with a team approach to ensure Gin's need's were fully met):
Thursday: 
3 hour ride + 3 mile run - AM
3000 yard swim - PM
Friday:
Bike fit - AM
5 hour ride + 20 min run  - AM/PM

Saturday:
90 min run - AM
2 hour bike - Mid Day 
In between the training sessions we talked about what was learned (or needs improvement) during each session so that she could pass along the info to her coach Haley and of course, there was a great emphasis on rest, fueling/refueling and recovery. 

A private training camp is an efficient, valuable and informative solution for the athlete who has specific limiters which are preventing consistency in training or keeping you from getting to the next level with your fitness.
We work with athletes of all levels (and all sports - swim/bike/run) and regardless if you are coached by us or another coach, our job is to help athletes become stronger, faster, more efficient, smarter and more confident when training and racing.
A hands-on experience with an athlete is one of the most valuable experiences to ensure that you are not bringing bad habits to training, ultimately forcing you to train harder than you need to/should be training. And, by seeing you in action, we can quickly address weaknesses/limiters in your skills or movements.

 Because of where we live (and thanks to Karel having decades of cycling, bike racing and bike mechanic experience) our campers often find that the biggest benefit of training with us is the opportunity to work on bike skills (and fitness) on our challenging (hilly) terrain.

We can build your confidence while cycling - descending, climbing, cornering, riding in the wind. 

We can build your skills while swimming - strengthen your skills for open water.

We can build your running resilience - climbing and descending hills, learning how to run more economical off the bike. 

We can help you fuel and eat smarter.
We can make sure you are in the most efficient position possible on the bike to help you ride stronger, reduce risk for injury and if you are a triathlete, to run better off the bike. 

Here are a few pics from Gin's 3-day training camp: 

Karel talking about how to properly execute the main set of the bike workout on rolling terrain. The focus was on variable cadence, working on slowing down the cadence to control the heart rate and how to pace on rolling terrain. 

Working on climbing efficiently in and out of the saddle.

Working on how to sit properly on the bike with proper hip position, while pushing harder efforts and pedaling efficiently. 

Saying hello to Mr. Lama. 

I told you we have fun too! 

Enjoying the view. 

Swim workout - 30 x 50's with short rest and different toys to prevent fatigue while developing proper swim mechanics. 

A windy day means a great opportunity to practice riding efficiently in the wind. 

Heading to the mountains with a total of ~7000 feet of climbing in our 5-hour bike ride. 

Getting comfortable riding on bumpy roads.

A long, steady climb on the Watershed to N.C., on our way to Flat Rock. 

Quick stop to refill bottles. 

I ran solo on Saturday because our camper was too fast for me and I didn't want to hold her back so Karel put her through a great rolling 90-min run workout and I did intervals on the track as part of my 95 minute long run. 

Last ride of the training camp -  Over 12,000 feet of climbing in 3 rides!

FOOD!!!

First night dinner - mix of roasted veggies (peppers, eggplant, mushrooms, onion, corn), baked chicken, jasmine rice, quinoa.

My plate (tempeh for me, chicken for Gin and Karel). 

After our normal recovery smoothie (Clif Recovery protein powder + whey protein + 1% Organic milk + cherries + ice/water) we had a light lunch each day. On Thurs we had sandwiches (deli meat for Gin and Karel, cheese and hummus for me with cottage cheese on the side)

Friday night eats after a long day of cycling (and a short run off the bike) - PIZZA from Sidewall Pizza Company. 

Along with a colorful salad that I made to compliment the pizza. 

Homemade strawberry and date pancakes. I made these before our long run so that they would be ready for after our run workout. The pancakes topped with butter and syrup (and recovery drink) served as refuel from the run and fuel before our 2-hr ride which was around 90 min after we finished the run. 

Send us an email when you are ready for us to plan your private camp (train-cation) in beautiful, bike-friendly Greenville, SC.

We can't wait to work with you to help you become the athlete that you never thought you could be but was always within your capabilities.