Workout of the week - The long "strength based" tempo run

 

Over the past few weeks I've been progressing gradually with my run fitness. I'm not training with a specific race day pace goal in mind but instead, I'm training to become a stronger runner. A lot of variables contribute to running well off the bike and frankily, it really comes down to not getting injured. Running is corrosive and it brings a great risk for injury. I've been thankful that my body has not had a setback since August 2019 and for me - someone who has had a rocky relationship with running - that is a big deal.

When I eased back into running after my short off-season break, I focused primarily on easy running with good form. I incorporated a lot of walk breaks in my runs to help reset form and neuromuscular firing (communication with the brain and muscles) and finished some of my runs with hill strides (10-15 seconds uphill w/ walk down) to activate the posterior chain and for leg turnover. After a few weeks of frequent running, I continued with easy runs but included one intense workout of either hill repeaters (8 x 30 sec strong hill efforts) or short tempo efforts w/ double time recovery (6 x 3 min w/ 3 min recover).  This progression over the past 6 weeks has changed my physiology to allow me to feel stronger during my long runs.

A misunderstood concept of long distance triathlon run training is improving economy and strength. Both are vital to running well off the bike - much more so than prioritizing endurance (easy long runs) and speed (speed/track work). It's easy to have the "runners" mindset that to be ready to run 13.1 or 26.2 miles off the bike you need to do speed work and easy long runs and while both are valuable, triathletes should not neglect strength-based runs.

My weekly running mileage right now is around 24-26 miles per week which comes from 3-4 runs per week. Right now I am not doing brick runs and I always include easy runs into my training plan. I like to vary when I run (morning, mid day, evening) and what days I run, to ensure that I can find good form at any time of the day. But when I ask my body to do intervals, I prefer those workouts to be in the morning. I always spend at least 15 minutes doing ECFIT/mobility before a run. I also like to do an easy run the day before a harder run to help prime my body, neuromuscular system and mind. 

I feel there is great value in incorporating higher intensity efforts on hills into a long run. Not only do you feel extra light and springy on the flats after you run uphill, but it's a much safer way to elicit a higher heart rate and power response vs. sprinting on flat surfaces. It's hard to keep good form when running at high speed (that's why track athletes spend a tremendous amount of time warming up and on drills before they run) so there's less of a risk for injury on hills.

Running is so much more than collecting miles or gaining fitness. When I run easy, I don't view these workouts as "fitness gaining." Sure, I'm gaining fitness but my focus is on form economy under fatigue, posterior chain activation, breathing, movement economy and finding the joy in using my body. And when I do more intense workouts, I'm focusing on raising my anaerobic threshold while improving my run economy and efficiency. Intense workouts are important but I'm not doing pace-based intervals as I'm not tied to running a specific pace on race day. In long distance triathlon, you need to be great at not slowing down. 

While your strava file may not look impressive as uphill running produces slower paces than running on the track or on flat ground but hill sprints offer benefits such as:

• Strengthening running muscles and tissues (ex. core, glutes, feet, etc.)
• Increase stride power
• Reduce risk for injury compared to speed work on flat ground 
• Improved running economy
• Improved muscular endurance 

Speed isn't holding you back from progressing with your run endurance. Focus on economy and strength and you'll get better at going further while minimizing a massive slow down. 

Long "strength based" Tempo Run

WARM UP
~25 min easy jog 

MAIN SET
4 x 30 sec strong hill efforts w/ 1 min EZ walk/jog down
4 x 5 min tempo (not flat but not super hilly) w/ 1 min walk recovery (~6:59 min/mile)
4 x 30 sec strong hill efforts w/ 1 min EZ walk/jog down
2 miles steady (7:45 min/mile average)

COOL DOWN 
~5 min EZ jog cool down 

Total miles: 10.0 miles (funny because I didn't even look at my watch until later that day. I rarely look at my watch when I finish a run because I run either by time or by completing the workout as prescribed)
Total time: 1:22
Here's a graph of my workout to see the execution. Green represents speed. Yellow represents cadence. I don't wear a HR monitor when I train. 

I fueled with my typical 2 waffles (or a bagel) w/ peanut butter, syrup and yogurt around an hour before this run, had 2 Powerbar chews before the run and had 2 flasks, each with 12 ounce water and 1 scoop C30 Never Second Berry. 

If you are interested in doing a run workout similar to my long workout, here's a safe way to get started.....This ~50-minute workout can be done on the treadmill or outside. 

WARM UP
Mobility + power walk into ~15-20 minutes easy run (include reset breaks as needed and before the pre-set)

PRE SET
4 x 15-20 sec hill run (4-6%) w/ 1 min EZ jog/walk down + 15 sec extra rest

MAIN SET
3-4 x 2-3 min good form, steady running w/ 2 min walk/jog between

POST SET 
4 x 15-20 sec hill run (4-6%) w/ 1 min EZ jog/walk down + 15 sec extra rest

COOL DOWN 
5 min EZ jog/walk 

Unconventional triathlon run training

Over the past 14 years as a triathlete, my body has experienced a wide variety of run workouts. Without getting into too much detail, I've learned that some workouts build confidence, some workouts don't carry over to performance improvements, some workouts increase the risk for injury and other workouts are really beneficial to the demands of triathlon.

Becoming a better at running off the bike is much more than training for speed or distance or accumulating weekly running miles. Proper run training means you must think like a triathlete and not like a runner. 

If you think about the sport of triathlon - specifically any distance at and above the Olympic distance - the sport is all about resisting fatigue. Speed is relative to the distance. 

One of the most important physiological components of successful triathlon racing is resiliency. The stronger and more efficient you are, the easier it is to resist fatigue. Training to improve your 5K or half marathon times in a road race will not guarantee that you will become a better runner off the bike. In fact, historically, most of the top triathletes lack a background in competitive running. Some elite triathletes can run faster off the bike relative to their own stand-alone run times! Not surprisingly, triathletes with a great background in cycling tend to fair better running off the bike than their competitors.

In my book Athlete to Triathlete, I discuss four main areas that will help you become a better triathlon runner. While there's no order of priority to the following, it's unlikely that your running will improve if you master one without the others.

1. Learn easy, efficient running. 
2. Improve swimming and cycling. 
3. Triathlon is a strength-endurance sport.
4. Practice proper fueling and hydration. 

Here are a handful of my recent run workouts. As you can see, there is a wide variety of workouts, no workout is set by miles (all by time) and there are no pace guidelines to adhere to. I also have the freedom (and permission) to walk and reset my form anytime (which I do often). Some workouts are repeatable but many are new. With this said, I look forward to my run workouts, I love feeling challenged by some workouts, I really enjoy the runs when I can run as easy as I want and I find myself feeling accomplished after every workout. Even though I listed the more specific run workouts, I also do a lot of brick runs and most of them (unless I run on the treadmill) are on hilly terrain (so the terrain is the interval and I focus on running well up and down the hills). I always start my stand alone runs with ~15-20 min of mobility, light strength and dynamic stretching. And I always bring liquid calorie sport nutrition with me (and consume it) during every single run (with my Naked Running Band).

Treadmill Walk (50 minutes)
WU: 10 min EZ jog

Pre-set:
4 min walk 10% incline
2 min walk 12% incline
1 min walk 15% incline
1 min rest

MS: (with 20 lb weight vest)
4 x (4 min walk at 15% incline w/ 20 sec rest btw)

Post set:
12 min form focused running at 1% incline

CD: walk
--------------------
Neuromuscular firing run (50 min)
WU: 15 in EZ run

MS:
30 minutes as (1 min fast/4 min best easy pace x 6)

CD:
5 min EZ
------------------
Strength run (80 minutes)
WU: 20 min EZ
Pre-set:
15, 30 45 sec build effort to strong uphill w/ EZ jog down btw each

Main set:
4 x (3 min steady strong uphill w/ smooth good form running down)

Post set:
30 min best easy pace
------------------
Variable speed (1:45)
WU: 20 min EZ running

Pre-Set:
30 sec Fast/ 90 sec EZ
60 sec Fast/ 90 sec EZ
90 sec Fast/ 90 sec EZ
60 sec Fast/ 90 sec EZ
30 sec Fast/ 90 sec EZ
10 min Best EZ Pace

MS: 2 rounds
10 min as (1 min at tempo / 1 min Strong x 5)
20 min Best EZ Pace

CD: Walk

Weekend training recap - goodbye snow, hello sun!

Well, Mother Nature did her thing and took us by surprise with a few cold, snowy days earlier this week. But the snow was not worth complaining about as it was beautiful while it lasted and come the weekend, we opened our house windows as it was 60+ degrees! 

Since the snow had melted around our area come Friday evening, we were so excited to venture outside for a few hours of road biking on Saturday morning. Since we ride on very quiet country roads, where we see more farm animals than cars, we had to negotiate a few sections where the snow had not yet melted. Karel has the skills to ride thru anything but I didn't take any risks and I got off my bike and walked through the icy sections. Three hours and 35 minutes later, we covered around 4300 feet of elevation gain and finished the workout with a 25 minute/3.2 mile hilly run (Karel ran 35 minutes - 5 miles). In the evening, I did my typical PM run for added running frequency but this time it was a short treadmill run for only 15 minutes just to shake out the legs. 

After a great night of sleep, I had my pre-workout snack of rye bread (note to self - I need to make more waffles!), PB, jam, banana slices and Greek Yogurt, filled up my hydration belt flasks with 1 scoop of Cranberry in one flask and one scoop Strawberry kiwi in the other flask of  Base Hydro (a product that I am testing out right now). After ten minutes of glute/hip exercises, Karel and I headed out for our run workout. 

We had a specific route planned for this run workout as this was a very specific set that requires a specific "course" for proper execution.

After a few miles of our warm-up to get to the "start" of our main set, we were ready for the "money maker" workout (in other words, a quality training session that builds confidence and fitness).

Main Set: 4x's:
1/4 mile flatish loop around a park
2 minute strong uphill run
1 minute fast uphill run
Immediately turn around to run downhill as "fast" as possible
Stop and rest at the bottom for 2 minutes.

Each interval took me around 8.5 minutes and I covered around 1.1 miles (Karel was covering a little more distance than me uphill but we both finished at the same time and started at the same time). The main set took us around 40 minutes and I covered 4.63 miles, which included our rest breaks. The focus of this workout is all about form, posture and effort and not on pace. 

This main set has a lot of components in it which makes it one quality workout. Form focused running, strong uphill running and strong downhill running are all important components to improving run fitness off the bike - in our opinion, much more so than chasing a pace or settling for easy, long slow running.

After the main set, it was time to finish off our "long run" with a few more miles of running on tired legs. Another reason why this is the money maker run is the strength that is gained from the entire run. Even though our legs were tired and shaky after the main set, we quickly changed the focus and ran with good form for another 4.8 miles (or 38 minutes) to get back home. It would have been easy to run a straight route to and from the park (about 2 miles) but as you can see from the picture above, this is a very specific, hill-focused run workout to build resilience and strength for Ironman run training. And because of where we live, there are no shortage of hills that we include in our warm-up and cool down.

I was really happy to do this workout with Karel because he always keeps me stretching my comfort zone and knows how to get the best out of me, even when I am tired. Because of my love-hate relationship with running, I really appreciated his support during this run because it kept me confident for all four intervals. I felt very strong throughout this run and as my 7th run of the week (4 of those runs were each 10-20 minutes, all off the bike), I am thankful for a healthy and strong body.

To finish off the weekend, we had our 75-minute group swim at Furman which is something I look forward to every week. Even though we arrive exhausted at 5pm on Sunday evening, we somehow have our best swims at this swim practice thanks to the group environment and awesome coaching by Kristen. 

Embracing the workouts that scare me.

Ask me to train at an aerobic effort for several hours and I will gladly say yes please. My body was  trained/built for endurance and I love going the distance.

As for intense workouts, they scare the heck out of me! Sprint - no thank you!

Whenever my heart beats out of my chest, I can hardly catch my breath and my body aches, I feel so incredibly uncomfortable, my first thought is to lower the intensity or just give up. There have been countless times when I was training with Karel and I tell him "I can't do this, I need to give up" (or think those things in a race) and by simply saying this outside, I immediately call myself out on my negative thinking and stay persistent until I finish what I started.

I have learned that if you want to excel in something, you have to step outside of your comfort zone and do the things that you are not good at (or what scares you). Nothing great will come from always doing what you are great at.

As it relates to training/working out, there should be workouts that intimidate you based on the distance, effort, reps or sets.

After 11 years of endurance triathlon racing, preceded by 10 years of competitive swimming, my endurance capacity is quite large and thus, I don't need to keep training my aerobic engine. Instead, I have to train my weak areas. Karel (who coaches me) knows all too well how uncomfortable I get whenever I am asked to do anything intense but it's an area that I need to embrace in order to become a more well-rounded endurance triathlete.

Earlier this week I was given a trainer bike workout that I despise - Russian Sprints. There's nothing fun about this workout. It looks so innocent on paper but this 11-minute main set is cruel and torturous. Karel used to do Russian Sprints quite often when he was "only" a cyclist as it helped him in his crit-racing days and for his road races.

MS:
10 sec ON, 50 sec OFF
20 sec on, 40 sec off
30 sec on, 30 sec off
40 sec on, 20 sec off (this is where it starts to hurt)
50 sec on, 10 sec off (oh the pain)
60 sec on, 10 sec off (I want to quit triathlon)
50 sec on, 20 sec off (it still hurts, make it stop)
40 sec on, 30 sec off (I didn't die - yippee)
30 sec on, 40 sec off (who knew 40 sec rest would feel long)
20 sec on, 50 sec off (you can do this)
10 sec on (thank goodness)

The ON is fast cadence with a lot of power per pedal stroke. All seated and in the aero bars.
The OFF is EZ spin, choice cadence.
I have the Tacx trainer and I use the Rouvy app (set on free workout) and adjust the grade/slope throughout the workout.

Thankfully, this time around I only had to do one round of the MS and I survived. I was fearful of this workout ever since I saw it on my training plan for the week but I embraced being uncomfortable and welcomed the opportunity to improve.

Although sprinting is not a strength of mine, I find it important to not lose sight of your strengths as you work on your weaknesses. For example, I often tell myself that as an endurance athlete, I am great at suffering through pain and I have great mental focus and strength. Anytime you are working on your weak areas, don't lose sight of your strengths as this can help you avoid the tendency to give up when you recognize that you are not good at something new.

Then, on Thursday morning, I embraced hill repeaters. Hill running = yes please! Sprints = um, can I pass on that?

I was so glad that Karel joined me for our hill repeater workout as it is much more fun to suffer in company than alone.

After a 20 minute warm-up on the rolling hills outside of our neighborhood, we made our way to the long steep hill behind our neighborhood for our main set.

MS: 2 rounds of 8 x 30 sec strong hill running w/ 80-90 sec rest between
3-5 min EZ jog/walk between the rounds.

Karel reminded me that a workout is only as hard as you make it and I kept this in mind during my warm-up so that I didn't run with negative thoughts in my head before the main set. To help me get through this set, I only focused on one interval at a time and never let my mind wander ahead as to how many I had left. I tried to keep my mind as present as possible, which meant not thinking about my packed to-do list for the day. I also reminded myself that it will feel so great when the workout is complete. It was rewarding to see Karel suffer and it kept me going. In some weird way, I had a lot of fun during the workout as I felt strong and resilient and of course, very grateful that I could push my body to new limits (even though the last 10 sec of each interval hurt so bad).

Many athletes are afraid of the unknown but more so, afraid to fail.  Growth occurs outside of the comfort zone and it's better to try and fail instead of hope and wonder. When you continually stretch your comfort zone, you learn so much about yourself and your capabilities. While it does you no good to be anxious and stressed when trying something new or uncomfortable, I encourage you to accept the workouts that scare you and give them a go. There's a good chance that you will surprise yourself in doing something that you didn't think you could do. And if you do fail or feel uncomfortable, give yourself a big high five for trying. As long as you don't give up, what was once your biggest fear will soon become your biggest strength.

(I'm not sure I will ever find enjoyment from Russian Sprints!)

Uninfluenced by metrics

Over the past few weeks, I have noticed a significant improvement in my running speed at longer distances. While I haven't done any specific speed work in my training this season, I often find myself finishing a run workout saying "wow, I can't believe I just did that." I am not chasing pace, heart rate or miles but instead, I am defining a successful run workout by execution at this point in my season development.

Seeing there are many ways to guide and improve performance, identifying limiters and addressing weaknesses, I find that chasing metrics brings me great stress as gadgets have a way to rule a workout. Additionally, when a gadget/metric controls a workout, it's easy to chase numbers and to assume that fitness is not "good" when numbers are lower/slower than anticipated.

A workout is simply that. A workout. It doesn't define a season and it doesn't mean that you are destined to have a bad race if you don't hit your expected paces/speeds. I find that many athletes are so heavily focused on numbers that they simply measure workouts by the outcome. A good workout is when you hit your numbers and a bad workout is when you don't hit your numbers.
Similar to the relationship that some athletes have with their bathroom scale, a gadget has the opportunity to run or ruin your day.

There is so much to take care of when you are training, like your nutrition, form and mental strength and that can't be tracked on a monitor on your wrist. I have had complete trust in my training and I knew it was only a matter of time before I would see the hard work of consistent training paying off.

On Thursday morning, a day after I performed a very tough 2.5 hour brick (2 hour bike on the trainer and a 35 minute run on the treadmill with specific intervals for both sports), I had a mid-week long run that kinda scared me. Although my legs were a little tired from the Wed workout, I didn't make assumptions as to how the workout would go but instead, I focused on what I could control - effort, form, nutrition/hydration - and let my body do what it needed to do to execute during my workout.

WU: 20 minute EZ run

MS:
2 x 30 minutes w/ 2.5 min between
30 minutes as: 5 min EZ, 15 min moderate, 10 min strong

~8 min cool down

Like with any workout, I am not trying to chase a pace. I always try to do the best that I can, knowing that some days I am going to be tired, some days I will have low motivation, some days my head will not be in the right place and some days I am going to feel amazingly strong.

For the metric obsessed athlete, remember that your race day performance is the result of consistent training. Use your gadgets wisely and understand that performance improvements happen slowly and you don't "see" improvements on a daily basis. Sometimes you have to go through the bad/slow workouts to experience a breakthrough.

Some workouts won't be strong or fast, some workouts will be skipped or modified but hopefully, you will feel like throughout a season, you are making progress as you prepare for the day that allows you to put forth your absolute best effort.

So long as you don't lose focus and enjoyment in your personal journey, you WILL improve and you one day you WILL meet your performance goals on race day.

A training weekend to remember - be proud of your accomplishments

It's crazy to think that this is my 11th year of endurance triathlon racing and for the last five years, I have been sharing it with Karel as my training partner. We have had highs and we have had lows but that's all to be expected when you are a competitive athlete, always wanting to give your best, stretch your comfort zone and push your limits. 

Over the past few years, I have learned that it requires a lot of work and time to see performance improvements, so I am never quick to assume that my training is or isn't working. I continue to focus on the process and with so much gratitude to my strong and healthy body, no workout is taken for granted. Some workouts are so-so, some I want to quickly forget and others go into my memory bank to be remembered on race day. 

I've also learned that time goals, paces and watts are not worth chasing nor is a specific body image, but instead, I must continuously focus on something more subjective and meaningful to keep me motivated to train and race. 

Since I am not racing an Ironman distance triathlon this season (I've raced 6 Ironmans since 2013 and 2012 was the last time I took a season off from IM racing), but instead focusing on half IM distance racing, I've been creating a list of triathlon goals for myself that will keep me focused on the process of training rather than the outcome of race day. 

With so many years in the sport of endurance triathlon, I can admit to spending many of workouts criticizing my weaknesses and not focusing on my strengths. Sure, we all need to be honest, and somewhat critical about needed areas of improvements but I believe that many athletes doubt their own potential for success during the times of training weakness, bad workouts, a plateau in fitness gains, inconsistency or injury/sickness. But every athlete has room for improvement and the harder you work, the more consistently you train and the more processed driven goals you set for yourself, the bigger the chance that you will improve. 

If you find yourself crushing a workout, noticing your fitness improving or experiencing something new about yourself, like an improvement in your mental game, better execution of pacing or better application of sport nutrition, don't be shy about it. 

Since race day only comes but just a few times a year, give yourself permission to indulge in your own athletic triumphs every now and then. 

Let's get real - you train early in the morning before the world gets up, you squeeze in workouts whenever you have the chance, you organize your diet to support your training and you give your best, even when no one is watching. Don't wait until race day to "hope" it all comes together. You deserve to celebrate your personal victories NOW, in training. 

Athletic improvements will happen but they won't happen with a quick fix, magic potion or one or two epic workouts every now and then. Consistent training and hard work will pay off but improvements take time. 

The next time that you find yourself "wowing" at yourself, be proud of your accomplishment and share it with people who care about you and who have helped you along the way. 

No matter how big or small, take note of these special moments in your training journey as those are the moments that you work so hard for and that you will remember the most on race day. 

-----------------------------------

My weekend to remember actually started on Friday. I have been feeling very frustrated with my swimming lately, struggling to consistently swim under 1:20 per 100 yards. While I can knock it out every now and then, I have felt like the effort I am putting forth to swim those sub 1:20's is just too much. In other words, every time I try to swim fast, I feel like I should be going much faster than what I am seeing on the pace clock. Let's just say, my swimming has been frustrating to me over the past few weeks. 

Sometimes I find myself in these swimming ruts where finding 2-3 extra seconds to knock off my swim times seems near to impossible. And then I see Karel, swimming next to me, improving in what seems to be, every single swim workout! I suppose I know better as I have been swimming for 25 years and Karel has been swimming for all of five so his gains appear to be much bigger than mine. 

Well, finally the day came when it finally happened. 

On Friday morning, I swam by myself at Furman and the main set was as followed: 

MS 5x's: 

3 x 100's strong w/ 10 sec rest

30 sec rest before repeating

My times hoovered around 1:14-1:17  with the last 3 x 100's all at 1:14. 

Then to finish the 3500 yard swim, I had to do 1 x 100 all out (from a wall push off)

1:11. 

I was so excited that I couldn't wait to call Karel after my swim and tell him that I finally had a good swim workout. Although I love being in the water, no matter how slow or fast I swim, I was really excited about that workout. 

Later on Friday, I had a very tough bike workout. Like so tough, my legs felt shredded at the end. 

The main sets were as follows: 

 MS #1: 

5 x (4 min all under 50 rpm, build effort from Z3 to absolutely max

3 min EZ spin between)

MS #2

8 min Z2 endurance 

MS #3: 

3 x (6 min at Z3+ all under 45 rpm) w/ 3 min EZ, fast rpm between)

Holy moly that was tough!

Karel did his bike workout first thing in the morning and swam in the evening. We both finished with a quality day of training but wow, we were exhausted come bedtime. 

On Saturday morning, I joined Karel, Thomas and Al for a ride up to Caesar's head before the guys would carry on for a 5 hour ride. Karel did not want me riding that long two weekends in a row so I was ok with riding back home by myself and doing my own thing. 

Well, sadly, Thomas's bike was having some trouble and even after a few fixes by Karel (always ride with your bike mechanic!), the bike was still having issues. It wasn't too long after Karel adjusted the derailleur as much as he could, that Thomas's bike chain eventually broke from getting stuck between gears (it was one of those mechanical issues that couldn't have been fixed on this day). What a bummer. Thomas handled himself really well as the situation put a damper on his morning training but our friend Brian picked him up and Thomas ended up getting in a quality brick on the trainer (on his road bike), later that day. 

Since Thomas was not longer with us, Karel decided that him and Al would continue to ride with me for the rest of the ride. Of course, Karel lead the way so we just followed. 

It was a beautiful route and like usual, the cars were friendly to us cyclists on the road. I feel so safe on our roads and it is always so much  fun to be on our bikes in and around Greenville. 

The big money maker was going strong for almost 6.5 miles up to the top of Caesar's head. Karel wanted me to pace myself for the first 3 miles and then when the road leveled out before it kicks up again, he wanted me to go strong to the top. 

While Al and Karel kept it conversational pace behind me, I found my rhythm and rode it very steady until Karel took the lead and pulled me to the top. I couldn't believe how "fast" I rode to the top, in my personal best time for that climb. I was also shocked to see that I could stay on Karel's wheel all the way to about 1000 meters to go when Karel kicked it up a notch and I didn't have that punch in my legs. I was huffing and puffing to the top and I was so excited to tell Karel about my time. 

Yep - celebrating 10mph for almost 6.5 miles! 

Al was riding really strong and a few minutes later he arrived to the top to join us. It's always fun training with our athletes. 

After the ride, we went for a 21 minute, 2.7 mile run around the rolling hills of our 'hood and the focus of the run was to build throughout. I wasn't sure how my legs would perform after 3:58 miles, 7078 feet of climbing (after elevation correction on TP) and 66.5 miles but once again, I was shocked that my form was good and I could find my rhythm. I was not able to hang with Al or Karel but I still had a great run off the bike. Karel ran super speedy and he looked good for his entire run. 

It was certainly a brick to remember. 

I was super exhausted from one of my hardest bricks but that's too be expected, especially since my body is doing things that it has never ever done before. These fitness gains, especially on the bike, have been a loooong time coming but even Karel is so excited about how strong I have been getting on the bike. 

Even though I am not a napper, Campy convinced me to lay down for a little bit and I took him up on his napping suggestion. Thank goodness for Campy, who is a professional recovery coach. 

(Karel took this pic while I was resting my eyes and tired body). 

As for Sunday, my "long" run was on the treadmill and it was a nasty workout! 

MS: 

3 x 12 minutes as: 

2 min Z3, 4% incline

2 min Z4, 4% incline

1 min Z4, 5% incline

30 sec Z5, 5% incline

30 sec max at 6% incline

2 min EZ walk/jog

4 min Z2 endurance 

That was tough! 

I ended up with 7 miles and 1:15 total running time for this "long" run and my legs were toasted. I could not have been more proud of my body and I am incredibly thankful for my good health and what I can do with my body after 11 years of endurance training and racing. 

Weekend recap: Training

I'm sending a big thank you to my body for giving me another week of quality training. I never take a day of training for granted. It's been 3 years and 8 months since I've last been injured and 10 years since I've had a cold/sickness. Not a day goes by that I don't thank my body for letting me do so much with it.

The overall training volume hasn't changed a lot over the past few months but I've noticed a bit more intensity throughout the week lately. I've worked hard to build a strong foundation since starting my training back in late October so my body is responding well to the added training stress. 

On Wednesday morning I had a tough hill run workout. Although the intense intervals only totaled 8 minutes, it was a leg burner and cardio stressor. 

For 20 minutes, I ran EZ on some of my favorite roads around where I live, which included no shortage of hills. After listening to a Facebook LIVE 75-minute educational chat with running expert Chris Johnson, PT, I used a lot of his running cues to keep me focused on my running mechanics during warm-up. 

When I arrived close to the street where I was going to perform my main set, I first did a pre-set of 5 x 30 sec build to fast strides w/ a 30 sec walk in between. 

For the run main set: 

8 x 30 sec strong uphill effort w/ 1.5 min recovery (jog/walk/rest) in between

5 min EZ

8 x 30 sec strong uphill effort w/ 1.5 min recovery (jog/walk/rest) in between
Then jog home (about 15 minutes). 

It was a great workout and I felt super strong.

In the evening, I tested out my new Tacx Neo smart trainer with a good workout that Karel wrote for me. My legs were still a little tender from the morning run but it felt good to spin them out and test out the CycleOps Virtual Training app on my ipad. You can see from the picture that my iPad is standing up on a microphone stand that Karel ordered for me. It was a cheap way to hold the iPad, where I control my trainer.

Wednesday night bike workout:

WU: 20 min EZ

Pre set:
2 x 4 min
2 x 3 min
2 x 2 min
Odd Z2, fast rpm
Even Z2/Z3, slow rpm, 55-65
5 min EZ

MS:
1 x 4 min build effort to strong, choice cadence
4 min EZ
3 x 3 min Z3/4 slow cadence (slop/resistance mode)
3 min EZ between  3 x 2 min high power/high cadence 100+ rpm, 3 min EZ between (slop/resistance mode)
3 min EZ between

CD: EZ spin

As for Thursday morning, I had about 1 hour and 45 minutes of fun on the trainer for my first real workout. The trainer is super quite and very smooth. There is no sticky pedaling, especially as I increase the slope or resistance.

WU: 20 min EZ

Pre set: 4 x 4 min (odd Z1/2 build rpm to fast, even Z1/2 build rpm to fast)

MS: 4 x 10 minutes as:
2xs (3 min Z2, rpm 100+, 2 min Z3, 45-50 rpm)
4 min EZ

Post set: 15 min Z2/3 - steady effort, gradually decreasing power and increasing rpm.

Whew, what a great workout, especially after the tough run on Wednesday. I've been super diligent with my nutrition before, during and after workouts to ensure that my body can stay consistent with training and to give me confidence that any fatigue that I feel is normal fatigue and not from underfueling or poor recovery. So far, I'm feeling very energized, strong and healthy and I hope that feeling continues to last as I am expecting a lot from my body in April and May.

I did a very short swim (1900 yard)  swim workout at lunch time to knock out my 2nd workout of the day because I had nutrition consults the rest of the afternoon through early evening.

As for Friday morning, Karel was off to NC to the A2 wind tunnel with our athlete Joe so I had to swim solo. Karel has been swimming almost every swim workout with me so it was kinda lonely swimming by myself, especially for this endurance tracker main set.

500 warm-up

Pre set:

4 x 200's w/ snorkel and fins

MS:
10 x 25s w/ paddles fast w/ 5 sec rest

35 x 100's on 1:30 at 85% effort

Total: 4900

I was feeling tired during warm-up and pre-set so I wasn't sure how the main set would go but after 6-8 x 100's, I started to find my rhythm and the set actually went by really fast!

Then I again, I was really excited to eat my homemade banana bread when I returned home from my swim.

Here are a few pics that Karel took of Joe in the wind tunnel. Joe is a 3-year Trimarni athlete and recently won the HITS Naples Half Ironman. When Joe started working with us, he was far from the athlete he is today. Joe is an engineer so his mindset is often to analyze everything but he has trusted us as his coaches since day one and he is not one for excuses. Joe and his wife Erica just had their first baby 9 months ago so it's been neat to see them both balance it all. This wind tunnel adventure was a fun experience for both Karel and Joe, just to test his position, along with other gear like his clothing, calf sleeves, helmet, wheels, bottle placements, etc. Karel and Joe learned a lot! The wind tunnel testers were impressed with Joe's attention to detail but also very impressed with his position on the bike (fit by Karel).

I wrapped up my day with a light strength session in the late afternoon, followed by a long Campy walk.

We received a nice package from our friends at Mg12 over the weekend, which came at the perfect time as we use this stuff regularly. I just love this line of products for recovery and the quality ingredients.

As for the weekend training, the fog and big chance of rain made it hard for us to get in the workouts that we wanted to get in outside but we dealt with what we were given and still had a quality weekend of training.

Joe, Karel and I headed out on our road bikes around 8:15am on Saturday morning hoping to get in a solid ride but as we headed on the trail out, the fog was rather thick so we decided it wasn't safe to ride (even with lights on our bike). Instead, we just spun on the trail and had more of a social ride for 90 minutes. 

Joe headed back to Jacksonville after our ride and Karel and I followed up our ride with a run. Karel ran outside and I ran on our treadmill for an hour. For me, just a nice form focused run with no hard efforts.

After an afternoon of working on the computer and making a beautiful looking Mexican-themed quinoa and black bean salad for our evening pizza part at Meredith's house (picture and recipe on tomorrow's blog), I finished up my long run with another hour on the treadmill. After not getting in our long ride on Saturday, I had planned to do two runs today instead of one long run to reduce the overall training stress with the previous training.

Sunday morning was a trainer ride with a main set that looked easier on paper than what it turned out to be. Nonetheless, a great trainer session for 2:20 followed be a 30 min EZ run on the treadmill.

Bike workout:
WU: 30 min EZ spin (build from Z1-Z2)

Pre set:
5 x 5 minutes Z2 (1 min at 70 rpm, 1 min at 80 rpm, 1 min at 90 rpm, 1 min at 100+ rpm, 1 min choice cadence)

MS:

6 x (2 minutes Z3/4 at 40-45 rpm w/ 1 min EZ choice rpm between)
2 min EZ
6 x (1.5 minutes Z3/4 at 45-55 rpm w/ 1 min EZ choice rpm between)
2 min EZ
6 x 1 min Z3/Z4 at 55-65 rpm w/ 1 min EZ choice rpm between)
5 min EZ

Post set:
15 minutes Z3 steady effort, choice RPM

Cool Down
-------------------------
Hope you had a nice weekend and you are finding yourself building confidence in your training/exercising and nutrition to move closer to your health, fitness and performance goals.

Never compare yourself to other people. Discover what makes YOU happy and then direct all your energy on yourself so that you can focus on being the best version of YOU. 

Weekend recap: Training

It's hard to believe that we will be racing in about 8 weeks at the conclusion of our Clermont training camp. We have been putting in some good work training indoors over the past few weeks due to the cooler temps and rainy days but with the weekend forecast looking good, we gathered up the crew for a Saturday long ride. Exploring Greenville on two wheels was on the training agenda and we took full advantage of our nicer weather! 

But first, a Friday swim workout for me and Karel to leave the arms heavy all day. 

MS: 30 x 100's at 85% on 1:28 cycle. 

Whew...that was a long swim requiring a lot of focus and energy! 

Karel swam with his buoyancy shorts (which have helped him out a lot with his swimming development) and paddles so he was much faster than me. He did his 100's on a 1:26 cycle! 

As for the rest of Friday, after working all day, I had my teeth cleaned at the dentist (yay for healthy teeth and gums!), stopped at the grocery to stock up the pantry and fridge for a weekend full of cooking and baking (recipes and food pics to come in the next blog!) and then took Campy for a long 1+ hour walk as I was tired of sitting all day. 

The weather was absolutely beautiful (70's and sunny) and it was just a perfect evening to be outside. Around 5pm, Campy and I walked to my mom's house and then we walked around her neighborhood before returning home. Karel had a RETUL fit on Friday afternoon + a private bike skills session to follow so he was rather tired from being on his feet and riding all afternoon so he had an early dinner and then relaxed in the evening while finishing up some work on the computer. Campy and I returned home from our walk and then I ate dinner before getting started with some cooking and baking (yum) for the next hour, before going to bed around 10pm. 

Thankfully, my no-rain dance worked and the rain that was planned for Saturday morning didn't happen so we had dry roads and cloudy skies instead for our 8:30am roll out. After spending the last two weekends inside for long trainer rides, it felt so good to be on the tri bike outside (and in great company with Trimarnis Bryan, Karel, Thomas and Al). 

Our plan was to ride to and up/down Caesar's head mountain, which was a great idea until the fog became too unsafe for us to continue riding to the top. Karel was leading the way and made the call that we needed to stop for safety reasons (even with lights on bikes). We stopped about 2 miles from the top, which was still 20 minutes of climbing and a fun descend to the bottom. 

The fog made for some pretty neat scenery while climbing and all around, it was just a great morning to be on my bike. 

After 3 hours and 45 minutes of riding (a little over 5000 feet of climbing), we made it back to Trimarni HQ's for a quick gear change to get ready for our brick run. Once again, the brick runs have been on the treadmill for the past two weekends so it was nice to pound the pavement with the guys for 25 minutes. 

After the brick, it was time to refuel with a recovery drink and some of my yummy treats that I made on Friday evening. Campy didn't want to miss out on the eating fun so he joined us in the garage, just in case anything tasty "accidentally" dropped on the ground. 

After resting for an hour on the couch, it was time to get some work done on the computer and then get to more cooking. We invited my mom over for dinner so she brought the main dish (stuffed shells with tofu) and I made the side dish which was a Moroccan lentil dish. And for dessert, chocolate cookies! Don't worry, I'll share the recipes and food pics tomorrow but to make your mouth water, you can head over to my Facebook page to check out the pictures. 

Karel and I were pretty tired on Saturday evening so we made it until about 9:30pm and then it was time to get ready for bed. No surprise, Campy was pooped from his exhausting day. 

Sunday was absolutely great for running. Just like Saturday, not too hot, not too cold. It felt so nice to be outside for 1 hour and 48 minutes of running. My run workout started off with a little hip/glute activation in our home-gym and then some outside dynamic stretching and then a 5 minute power walk to get the blood flowing. As for the rest of the run, it was a conversational pace run, where I incorporated 30 sec walk breaks every mile to reduce the overall training stress and included a stronger effort up any hills. Of course, where I live there are no shortage of hills so I had about 1000+ feet of stronger efforts. Surprisingly, my legs felt rather good throughout the entire run and I was able to keep good form. I stayed well hydrated with my Nathan hydration belt and refilled as needed throughout my run at water fountains. It was great to see so many people outside enjoying the nice weather!

Campy happily joined me for a post run walk as Karel was still out running (he warmed up with a 30 minute trainer bike before his 90 minute run). Karel rested for a little bit (and refueled) before an afternoon RETUL fit and I had some work to do on the computer before getting in one last swim workout (2250 yards) in the late afternoon to wrap up another great week of training. 

It was a successful, busy, yummy and active weekend of training and I could not be more thankful to my body for keeping me in good health so that I can live such an active lifestyle. 

IM KONA training - 3 weeks out

After Ironman Austria, Karel wasn't sure if he would ever be able to go that hard in a race again.

With only 8 weeks between IM Austria and IMMT, Karel was able to fully recover from IM Austria (thanks to his mom's cooking and lots of IPA and pastries) and return home with excitement to train again to achieve his season goal of Kona qualifying.

At IMMT, Karel went "there" again for 140.6 miles.



After Kona qualifying at IMMT, Karel was extremely sore and once again, he questioned if he had anything left for a third Ironman, within 15 weeks.

But after quickly physically recovering from IMMT, his body was in a good place to train again.
And most importantly, his mind was in a really good place.

Not only was Karel excited to race on the big island for the 2nd time but he was excited to train for 5-6 more weeks before dropping down the volume before IM Kona.

There are several things that Karel has done right this season which has helped him take his fitness to the next level but as his training partner for many workouts, there is one thing that I often observe in Karel - he never ever goes into workouts with exceptions and he never gets stuck in the metrics of a workout.



After Karel's 5-day trip to Colorado, where he stayed at 9,000 feet with a few friends, he returned home to Greenville very exhausted. He didn't sleep well in CO and his normal sleep cycle was a little off when he returned home. His appetite was a bit zapped after his CO trip and he all-around, felt flat.

We knew that a lot of this was due to the altitude training (which was not intentional for performance benefits but instead, it was just a guys bike trip that was planned last year, without knowing if Karel would Kona qualify) so Karel didn't obsess over any workout and just did the best that he could, while also focusing on all the little details, like diet, sleep and mobility, to help him recover from the CO trip.
Karel was in the middle of his biggest IM Kona training prep which required a lot of mental and physical strength.

I am reminded by a statement from Dr. G who once told me that many times, when athletes feel extremely flat, tired and sore, this means a breakthrough is coming. It's often hard to think that your fitness is coming around when you are feeling empty inside but sure enough, with a very smart training mindset to not have any expectations for any workout, Karel was able to successfully get through his 5-weeks out from Kona training (albeit, with a tired body) and then 4 weeks out (this past week) his fitness came around and he had some of his best workout executions, with a feeling of "I've never been able to train like this before!"
And let's remember, this comes after racing deep for 2 Ironmans since the end of June.

It's  been incredible to see Karel stay so strong this summer, despite some niggles that have required weekly care from a great local massage therapist and the occasional sessions with a hip/spine focused PT, but I believe it all comes down to his mind.

He is willing to put in the work.
He is willing to dig deep and go "there".
He keeps his easy sessions easy.
He never has expectations for workouts, thus, there are no "bad" workouts.
He doesn't obsess about metrics.
He focuses on good lifestyle habits (sleep, mobility, diet, sport nutrition) to help him recover and execute.
He never worries about his weight (ex. race weight).
He has never followed a diet plan.
He sleeps great.
He is mentally strong.
He absolutely loves training.

It's sad to hear about the athletes who just want their Ironman journey to end with still weeks to go before race day. With so much commitment, time and energy, it can't be performance enhancing to look forward to the end of every workout, with little motivation to even train.

And with the Ironman requiring so much mental strength, I believe this is what takes Karel to that next level with every workout - he does the work early season so that come peak IM training, he's not training with the intention to "build fitness/endurance" to be Ironman ready but instead, he becomes Ironman ready by executing every workout to his best ability and mentally putting himself into race day scenarios and letting his mind be his only limiter. There is no obsession with paces, watts or speeds, thus no let down or need to term a workout as "bad".

This weekend was a quality weekend of "long" training for Karel. Lucky me, I was able to join Karel for his long ride on Saturday and for his key swim on Sunday.

Here's a recap of some of his weekend IM Kona training, 3 weeks out from race day (which followed a very high volume/intense week of training).
(Matt Dixon with Purple Patch is Karel's coach)



Saturday: 4 hour ride (77 miles, 4500 feet of elevation gain):
All endurance effort with the last 70 minutes at half IM effort.

30 min run off the bike (Karel ran on our treadmill to help him execute this set):
10 min form focused
10 min at IM effort
10 min at faster than IM effort
CD as needed

Sunday: 
AM: 90 min run (treadmill for the purpose of this set):
10 min EZ warm-up
Pre set: 2 x 3 min build effort
MS:
4 x 11 min at 4% incline at IM pace (one of the few times that Karel was instructed to go by pace, not effort)
4 min EZ jog in between
Post set:
10-15 min IM effort at 1% grade
CD as needed

PM: 4200 yard swim
10 min EZ warm-up
Pre set: 2xs
2 x 25 fast, 50 easy, 50 fast, 2 x 25 EZ
MS: 7xs
100 fast w/ 2 sec rest
Right into 75 on same send off
(ex. if you come in at 1:30 for 100, your interval for the 75 is 1:30)

400 pull

MS #2: 7xs
75 fast w/ 0-2 sec rest
right into 50 with same send off

400 pull

It's hard to believe that in 8 days, we will be flying to the big island!


From 2011...Karel's first time to Kona to watch me race in my 2nd IM World Championship....where the thought came into his head "If I ever become a triathlete, I want to race HERE!"

Muscular endurance treadmill workout

I love running on the treadmill and I love cycling on my indoor bike trainer.
Perhaps my love of indoor "stationary" workouts comes from following a black line for 25 yards in for 23+ years as a competitive swimmer.

I enjoy being able to control my workout when I train indoors and to minimize all outside influences like terrain, traffic, wind and cold/hot weather.
But I also love training outside as this is the best environment for me to mentally and physically prepare for my upcoming races.

It's easy to make excuses when it comes to weather and available time to train (morning and night) so for me, I always seek the best environment for a quality workout. Sometimes it is indoors and sometimes it is outdoors.
At time in the year, most of my workouts are indoors - but as soon as it gets warmer, it's hard for me to stay indoors to train. I love the sun and the heat!  

Karel, on the other hand, will make every attempt to train outside, as much as possible. 

For my run workout this morning, the focus was endurance but there was also a heavy strength component. 

My key runs often include a very specific main set whereas my optional and/or EZ runs are form focused and pace and miles are not a priority.

If you are one to despise the treadmill, I challenge you to my run workout as I hope that you love the structure as much as I did as you feel yourself staying focused on each segment and determined to finish all three rounds.

I strongly advise having a pre-workout carb snack before this workout (I had some oatmeal with raisins, cinnamon and honey), at least 1 bottle water (and a gel or energy chews/blocks in case you need a pick-me up in the last round) and a post workout snack/meal with protein and carbs as soon as you can to start the rebuilding. 

I suggest to pace yourself and to go by RPE. This is an endurance focused run so you shouldn't be taxing the heart too much. Your muscles are designed to get tired but not at the expense of your heart working excessively hard.
Keep the effort steady and strong. 

With every segment of the main set, you will have the opportunity to get the HR up a little by increasing the speed and when you run at an incline, this should make you feel powerful. When you finish an incline run and return to 1% grade, this should feel like a slight recovery.

Imagine yourself running up and down hills with a little hard effort before and after each climb. 

Try to keep the same speed throughout the entire round, but adjust if your form starts to suffer. You are better off adjusting your pace, than calling it a day, if you find you were over-ambitious with your intensity at the start of this workout. 

Happy running!
-----------------------------------------
5 min Dynamic warm-up

15 min jog warm-up (very EZ, light on the feet)
10 min power walk at 15% incline, fast walk (ex. 3.5 mph)

MS 3x's:
3 min at 1% incline (last 30 sec strong)
3 min at 4% incline (last 30 sec strong)
3 min at 1% incline (last 30 sec strong)
3 min at 4% incline (last 30 sec strong)
3 min at 1% incline (last 30 sec strong)
30-60 sec break (straddle treadmill and lower HR as much as possible)
Repeat 2 more rounds

Walk to cool down

(if you are not comfortable performing this all running, you could also use this as a walking workout).

Modification if you are short on time:
5 min Dynamic warm-up
5 min jog warm-up
10 min power walk (this will wake-up your glutes)
2 rounds of the main set instead of three - still keep with the same focus and intensity. 

3 workouts, 3 recovery meals.

As I mentioned in my last blog, recovery nutrition is important in the foundation phase, as it will help to kick-start the recovery process soon after your workout is complete. But you do not have to be super scientific and strict with what, how much and when you eat.

Remember -  recovery is everything and anything that happens between two workouts and right now in your season, you want to create eating habits that make your body feel good all day long, so that you can maintain a consistent training regime (balanced with your busy lifestyle).
By working on your  daily diet right now, you will set yourself up for great eating habits later on in your season when your training volume and intensity increase.
 
Here are three recovery meals that kept me training consistently last week.
(I had a pre-workout carbohydrate snack before all workouts and water during the workouts)

Swim Workout: 
400 swim
400 buoy

Pre set:
8 x 50's kick w/ fins (on back). 10 sec rest
800 band/buoy/paddles - build from 75% to 85% throghout

MS 2x's:
8 x 50's band and paddles, 85-90%, 15 sec rest
6 x 75's (build by 2 from 80-90%), 20 sec rest.
Repeat

50 EZ cool down

Post workout eats: 
Scrambled eggs with bell peppers, mushrooms and chives and a slice of rye bread with melted cheese.




Run workout: (outside on rolling hill course)Dynamic stretching
5 min walk
25 min run warm-up (nice and EZ, form focused)
Stop - let HR lower
MS:
5 x 1 mile - steady effort, conversational pace w/ 30 sec walk in between
~1 mile cool down jog

Post workout eats: 2 slices fresh challah raisin bread w/ honey, cinnamon and peanut butter
Smoothie (shared the following with Karel): 1.5 scoop Whey protein + 2 celery sticks + handful spinach/kale mix + 1/2 large banana + handful frozen berry cherry mix + 1% Organic milk (about 6 ounces) + water/ice as needed




Bike workout: 
10 min warm-up
Pre set: 

5, 4, 3, 2, 1 minute - increase cadence within each interval from cadence 75-100+rpm (no rest in between)
2-3 min EZ spin

MS: 10x's:
1 min Z2, choice cadence rpm
2 min at cadence 45-50 rpm (heavy gear work), Z2-Z3 effort (legs do the work, heart stays comfortable)
1 min Z3 effort, increase cadence from 50-95 rpm throughout
1 min EZ spin, choice cadence

5 min cool down

Post workout eats: 
1/2 cup Oats + 1/2 cup cherry berry mix + 1/2 large banana sliced + Veronica's Health Crunch mix (chopped) + raisins + milk + cinnamon + drizzle of maple syrup

Speedy interval run - feeling strong

This morning we had a great workout at the Caine Halter YMCA. I felt strong, healthy and super fast as I was running with Karel....well more like running with Karel's strong and fast body in my view on the treadmill in front of me.
It's total motivation to watch my hubby train!

Our workout included around 25-30 minutes of dynamic warm-ups, followed by strength training followed by plyometrics and then our interval treadmill run workout. We can easily spend 20-40 minutes before a workout to warm-up and do proper strength training for neuromuscular firing. 

MS:

3 x 5 min desc 1-3 to strong w/ 4 min EZ in between (jog/rest)

3 x 3.5 min desc 1-3 (starting from last strong effort from previous set) w/ 3 min EZ in between (jog/rest)

4 x 2 min best effort (starting from best effort of previous set and holding same effort) w/ 2 min rest in between (straddle treadmill)

Total for me:

10.1 miles, 77 minutes

After our workout, we headed to our favorite French Bakery  to get a loaf of fresh bread (we only buy/eat local fresh bread). I stayed in the car as Karel headed inside and I should have guessed that Karel would buy more than just a loaf of bread.

Sometimes Karel gets a serious case of croissantitis. It is so serious that if he does not get a croissant after his workout, he tells me he will suffer all day. :)

It's not breaking news but Karel loves his carbs!

I'm incredibly grateful to see where my body is at right now in the season. I am approaching two years of being 100% injury free. Karel has not been seriously injured since he started training for triathlons back in 2012. However, Karel did develop a little navicular tendonitis and bone spur on the top of his foot after training a few months in Newton run shoes so he will not wear those ever again. Now he wears Brooks. 

Many times, we don't know why injuries happen and they just come out of the blue. But for most athletes, there is a red flag somewhere in life/training to identify and that weakness can be focused on so that the same mistake does not happen twice. Typical red flags: The athlete may be increasing intensity too quickly, trying to develop too quickly (or skipping necessary steps), putting too much volume on the body than the body can handle (the body is not strong enough to adapt to training stress), not eating enough to support training, not getting good sleep, poor form/biomechanics, the daily diet does not properly nourish the body, the sport nutrition regime does not support the periodized training load/intensity and volume.

With almost 6 consecutive years of experiencing very painful hip/glute/lower back muscular-related issues which kept me from running for 1-3 months at a time (every single year!), I contribute my recent and current good health and strong body (over the past 2 years) to a few very important factors. Although I have been able to accomplish a lot in the past 9 years of endurance racing, there are a few things that I'd like to highlight, which I will discuss in my next blog post.

Ironman run mile-repeaters - pick your workout!

It's always an exciting time to approach the Ironman taper. It is even more exciting when the body and mind are getting more and more itchier to race. The ultimate goal for any athlete approaching taper is to have workouts that are not too damaging that the body can not recover from them but every workout is executed in a way that brings confidence that all will come together perfectly on race day.

Over the past few years, I am continuing to learn the best way (each year) to apply training stress to my body for performance gains with Ironman training/racing. Not too much, just enough is my ultimate goal to keep my body in good health.

 I have found through higher intensity training and less volume, I receive greater training stress on a more consistent basis. My mind and body recover quickly and burnout is not even close to my mind. I'm in a really good place physically and mentally for IMWI and I am SO excited to race my 9th Ironman just 12 weeks after racing IM Austria. Although this is my 4th Ironman in the past 14 months, my body feels fresh and my mind is excited to race. This is exactly where I wanted to be when we planned our race schedule back in November 2013.

The approach to training that we use for us and our athletes is not the only way to train for there are many approaches but we find it very effective for many reasons.

However, you have to trust our philosophy to become a believer that endurance athletes do not have train exhausting long distances to prepare for race day. If you constantly think to yourself that you should be doing more or you can do more, than you will find yourself not reaching your full potential. You have to trust the master plan, be willing to be patient and train hard but recover harder.

Here are a few key concepts that athletes must understand and believe in when it comes to the "less is more" approach (whereas we believe it is simply "enough"):

-Sport nutrition must support every workout. If you are going to stay consistent with training, you have to support the body. Therefore, every workout must have a pre training consumed before, a sport drink (in the appropriate concentration) consumed each hour during and a recovery drink/snack following the workout. The during fueling concept is never forgotten during swim workouts and especially not during runs. It is imperative that our athletes bring nutrition (liquid calories - carbs, electrolytes, water) with them during ALL run workouts OR set up aid stations, do out and backs or short loops so nutrition can be consumed and refilled.

-If you train hard you have to recover harder. There is a careful balance of training and recovering. The closer we get to race day, the more emphasis we place on recovery. It is no fun to train or race injured, sick or burnt out.

-We use the word "intensity" a lot when describing our approach to training but a better word should be sustainable max effort. If an athlete let's us help them plan their entire season (which we try to do for all our new and returning athletes) we can better periodized the training so that our athlete peaks appropriately and minimizes risk for burnout and injury. We first focus on getting stronger through strength training to build a strong foundation. We do not do "base" miles or any specific sport "blocks" of training. We then spend time on getting our athlete faster. We do not throw in endurance here with the intensity but instead, have specific workouts that help an athlete get faster in certain areas without overloading the body. I don't know any athlete who doesn't want to get faster and many times I see athletes spend too much time doing long slow miles and then when the body is tired during peak season, they try to throw in speed work on a tired body without and decrease in volume. Finally, when our athletes have their strong fast body to work with, we then increase the volume. This is a beautiful time when our athletes can enjoy the benefits of speed work as they pay off through improved endurance. During this time, the athlete enjoys their hard work as it pays off in more race-focused bricks and there is little need to do long, slow workouts like long bikes and runs. We spend a lot of focus on nailing the pacing strategy on the bike for a strong run off the bike so we do a lot of bricks.
-It's not just about the miles. We rarely use mile-based workout. Most of our workouts are by time so that our athletes understand how much time they should/need to devote to their individual workout and what the focus is within the workout. Which leads me to the next concept.

-Every workout has a purpose. Our athletes build confidence with consistent workouts, not just from one weekly epic workout. Within each workout, we focus on a variety of methods of determining how the workout went in terms of "success" : RPE, watts, paces, effort. We consider how life may affect each workout and we modify workouts based on life. We do not use HR as a training tool, we just monitor the HR as needed.

-Every athlete is different. We all respond to training stress differently and this isn't just from a physical or fitness standpoint. As life changes, so does our training routine and diet and it is important to consider what allows an athlete to progress the easiest rather than making life fit into a training plan.

-The number of weekly hours of training is determined by how much time an athlete has to train. This comes after considering time spent for work, restful sleep, meal planning, family time, social activities, travel, etc. We never sacrifice sleep or healthy eating to put in more training miles/hours.

-Strength training builds a strong athlete. Flexibility work helps keep an athlete healthy. We never spend too much time on either one but instead, enough time to enhance the cardio routine.

-Skills and form override speed and power. If form suffers, our athletes have to slow down or adjust the workout. If skills are not addressed, an athlete is waiting for an injury to happen. We never forget to incorporate form-focused workouts as well as drill/skills work to keep the athlete focused on the little things.

-We have fun. We understand it's a lot to balance and we all have a moment here or there when we question "why" we are doing this. We make sure that the hard work is going somewhere and the training plan is realistic to our athletes goals. We never want training to feel like it is taking over our life but instead find a way to let it be part of our lifestyle.

-And lastly, we inspire others to dream big, set a goal and work hard. There are many negative sides for training for endurance events and low blood sugar, unintentional weight gain/loss, dehydration, extreme fatigue, mood shifts, injuries are often part of the "norm" when it comes to endurance athletes. It is my goal as a coach and dietitian to minimize these issues as much as possible. This training lifestyle is suppose to make us healthy and happy and many times, I find that many workouts are unfocused, unstructured and too extreme for the body to handle and on top of that, a sleep deprived athlete who isn't using sport nutrition properly (or at all) and doesn't make time for healthy daily eating is simply damaging the body and setting the body up for failure. As endurance athletes, we now that we have to put in time to train for long distance events to properly prepare for the upcoming adventure on race day. However, with our dedication and passion for training, it should come from a place of balance and knowing that we are being smart, not only with our training routine but also with how we challenge the body.

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On Thursday morning, Karel and I each did our own "speed" workout within our last "long" run. We both ended up doing mile repeaters but a slightly different workout all together. So here you go....take your pick as to which workout you would like to do before your Ironman....that is, if you focus on the key concepts I mentioned above so that you arrive to your taper with a healthy body that is not too damaged or burnt out from your previous training. Train smart!

Marni's Treadmill workout: 

Total distance: 10 miles
Total time: 1:20 (including rest breaks)

10 min dynamic stretching (mostly hip opener exercises)
20 min run on .5% incline for entire workout (straddle treadmill to stretch out/recover at 9 min and at 18 minutes) - comfortable pace, ~ 6.8-7mph
5 x 40 sec "fast" efforts (around 8.5 mph) w/ 20 sec straddle treadmill - leg openers

Main set (MS):
6 x 1 miles w/ 1 min rest
(I picked a pace of 8mph, ~7:30 min/mile - around 30-45 sec faster than my "dream" IM run, race pace and during my rest, I straddled the treadmill in between each mile to rest - always be careful when you straddle treadmill. I just keep the treadmill running the same pace. I had my music set on iHeart Radio Evolution 101.7 - techno music.

The pace you select should be realistic and maintainable. It will get a bit more difficult mentally and physically around miles 5-6 but that's ok. However, your legs should not be burning and you should not be hating this workout. Find a pace that allows you to visualize yourself in your race, running your perfect race. You have to keep good form and this should be an effort you can realistically maintain for at least 13 miles in a race. If you prefer a longer run/walk strategy, I recommend to stick with the same concept in terms of pace but do only 1/2 miles at a time w/ 30 sec rest in between and then afeter each 1 mile rest for 1 minute.
Keep in mind that the effort you pick is simply a percentage of your IM pace whereas the faster runners may not be running the same pace difference as those who may run slower in an IM. Therefore pick a pace that you may be able to sustain for 13 miles as a good starting place (ex. if you normally run 6:30min/mile for a half marathon you may not realistically run 7:15 min/mile in an IM marathon but it may be doable to do this workout at 7;15 min/miles to benefit from the workout. Consider the effort to be challenging like thanking me that I only gave you 6 of them, really happy that you aren't doing Karel's workout but choose a pace that makes you feel confident that by #4, you can totally do 2 more with your awesome body. 

Cool down as needed.

Pre workout nutrition: 1 rice cake +PB + 1/2 large banana sliced + maple syrup + cinnamon + raisins (consumed 60 min before workout) + cup of coffee + glass of water
During workout nutrition: 1 x 24 ounce bottle w/ 160 calories INFINIT ISIS (1 scoop + about 1/2 scoop) + 1 x 24 ounce bottle water
Post workout nutrition (about 40 min post workout): Glass of milk w/ 1 scoop Whey protein (+ water as needed) and handful of granola mixed in, then real meal of 1 egg + 1 egg white scrambled and leftover apple chia pancakes.

Karel's Track Workout

Total distance: 13.57 miles
Total time: 1:31:38 (including walk/rest breaks)

Road fixie to track (1/2 mile away - carried backpack with all nutrition)

Warm-up on track: 

2 miles comfortable (6:40, 6:45 min/mile)
Dynamic stretching 10 minutes

The goal is to not fatigue throughout the run and the beginning should feel "easy". We always try to make the end be our "best" efforts - that is when you know you paced yourself well. 
(Karel had no music to listen to during this workout and no one to pace him or suffer with him)

MS:
10 x 1 miles w/ 60 sec rest in between

Splits: min/mile
1) 5:56
2) 6:00

3) 6:11
4) 6:08

5) 6:00
6) 6:08
7) 6:04
8) 6:12
9) 6:10
10) 5:55

1 mile cool down  (7:16)
Rode fixie home (1/2 mile)

Pre workout nutrition: waffle + PB + coffee
During workout nutrition:
1 bottle w/ 2 scoops OSMO hydration
1 bottle w/ 1 scoop Customized INFINIT
1 gel
Post workout nutrition: 1 serving Clif Bar shot protein recovery powder + milk, then real meal (french toast + eggs and veggies - made by Marni) 

Test your run fitness with under/overs

This morning I woke up at 5:30am to thunder which brought in some rain. But after 93 miles (5 hours and 40 minutes) and 6200 feet of climbing yesterday, I was ready to finish the week with my scheduled long run. 

After my typical pre-training snack of rice cake + PB + raisins + honey + banana slices + granola and some water and coffee, I was out the door around 7am to start my dynamic warm-up. 

7:20am my Garmin 910XT was turned on and off I went. 

There have been many new things to get use to in Greenville but one that sticks out (and makes my heart beat a bit faster) the most is: HILLS - and lots of them!

Aside from the Swamp Rabbit Trail, everywhere that I run has an incline and a decline. We live about 1 mile from the west end of downtown, 1/2 mile from the HS track, 2 miles from the YMCA and 1.5 miles to Falls Park. All of my favorite places to run to include hills and my quads are slowly getting use to this change. 

Some of my favorite runs are when I have no plan as to where I will run or I get to explore somewhere new. My plan was 13 miles or 1:45 (whichever came first). 

This morning I did a mile around the area where I live to warm-up and then headed toward the Caine Halter YMCA. 

After a 3.5 mile warm-up with drizzling skies, I stopped to stretch out and prepared myself for the main set which I planned to do on the 1/2 mile rolling paved trail outside of the YMCA.

4x's:

5 min @ ~7 min/miles
5 min @ ~8-8:15 min/miles

1 min stop, refuel/rehydrate

Then repeat - 4 rounds total (40 minutes total with 4 minutes of rest)

After the MS, I headed to one of my favorite places to run on the Swamp Rabbit trail from the YMCA through Cleveland Park to Falls Park and then through the west end of downtown by the baseball field and then home. 

Total: 13 miles, 1:44 total time

I had a bottle (10 ounce flask) of 150 calories (3 ounces) of Napalm which is the sport nutrition that I use on the run in my races in a flask (1 ounce = 50 calories) and for every run off the bike as well as in my long runs. 

I left the bottle on a picnic table and sipped a few sips in between my intervals to simulate aid stations.There are water fountains on my fav run route so very easy to stay hydrated as I stayed fueled w/ sugars/carbs and electrolytes with my flask. 

Under/overs are probably my favorite type of run workout that I enjoy a few weeks before a race. With Ironman Austria in just 3 weeks (our first International race, my 8th Ironman and Karel's 2nd Ironman), this is the perfect time to push a little (much faster than Ironman run pace) with my healthy body and then recover with a steady pace just a tad faster than my goal IM run pace. This is a great way to teach the body to recover while training and although the fast (unders) often feels harder when the set continues, amazingly the overs begin to feel a bit easier to maintain the endurance pace.

If you are interested in incorporating over/unders (or under/overs - however you want to call them) into your routine, here's a workout that I did for Triathlete Magazine. 

Although this workout is great for runners and triathletes, athletes who train for triathlons can add in a 30-60 min spin on the bike before this interval workout to warm-up the legs and to give a tad more stress to the aerobic system.

Since I am a big fan of intervals, here's another great bike workout (for the trainer) to get your legs burning. 

For triathletes who would like to use this workout as part of a brick and feel comfortable running 30 minutes after a high intensity bike, I recommend after the bike workout to run a form focused run for 30 minutes. (don't forget your sport drink on the run - to train the gut and to help postpone fatigue and to help with recovery, sip every 10 minutes. Aim for up to 100 calories)

Start with 5 minutes comfortable and then stop and let the HR drop for two minutes. You will find that this will recharge your brain and body, especially if your legs were feeling heavy after the bike workout.

Then do 3 x 5 minutes steady pace w/ good form w/ 30-60 sec walk in between. Make your last 5 minutes your best. Then cool down as needed. 

Happy Training!

Team Sumbal weekend training recap - Bricking it up!

source

It's hard to believe it but in 24 days we will be traveling to St. Croix for our first "race-cation" of the season. Not only is this our first time visiting this beautiful island but we are really excited to tackle this beastly  challenging half ironman course. 

This has been a very time-demanding year for us with the Trimarni coaching and nutrition business keeping us super busy. Our athletes are absolutely amazing (one-on-one and pre-built for coaching) and they inspire us every day with their commitment, discipline, passion and enjoyment for using the body. My nutrition athletes have worked hard on daily nutrition as well as fine-tuning sport nutrition for better training and recovery and a more effective fueling plan for race day. 

It's really incredible to see so many age group athletes out there who love to dream big, work hard have fun with training. It's not easy to balance a multisport lifestyle with life but when the outcome is a strong performance on race day, the sacrifices pay off. 

On Thursday we (Karel, me and Campy) made a quick, 6.5 hour drive to Greenville to finally secure a home to rent when we make our big out-of-state move in May. We checked out 6 places that we found on Zillow and the very last house was the winner! We are so excited about living 2.5 miles from downtown Greenville and most of all, enjoying an even more active lifestyle with lots of nature to play with on a daily basis. 

Karel and I love dining out at local restaurants when we travel and we found this place called Bravo in downtown (which we heard has over 100 restaurants!). 

I enjoyed a delicious mushroom, corn and bean salad for dinner on Thursday evening and after being inspired by this salad, I couldn't wait to get back home to re-create the meal at home. 

Viola! My own creation - sauteed mushrooms and onions in olive oil on top a bed of mixed greens, avocado, tomatoes, hard boiled egg (1), rice, shredded cheese and crumbled pita chips and a side of salsa. 

To improve overall health, to reduce risk for disease, to control a healthy body composition and to boost performance, prioritize eating meals cooked/prepared in the home so that you can be in control of portions and ingredients. However, when there's the occasional opportunity to enjoy a meal outside of the home, use my dining out tips from my latest Ironman article.
How to eat healthy when dining out

On Friday morning, Karel and I went for an early morning hilly 4.5 mile run (with headlights - Thanks Trisha!) and after a busy day of finalizing paper work, it was time for a 6.5 hour drive home. 

After a hodgepodge of recovery workouts after HITS Ocala half ironman, with Sunday after the race being a full day of no activity aside from walking Campy several times throughout the day and stretching, all lights were shining green for full-speed ahead with my body and mind to resume structured training a weekend after our tune-up half ironman race. 

With no running until Wednesday (4 days after the race) and extra focus on sleep, Karel had two great workouts for us (we biked together both days) to challenge our running legs off the bike for we know that a steady bike paves the way for a strong run. 

Saturday: 

2 hour Bike + 1:15 hr T-Run

Bike is again just endurance pace for first hour. 2nd hour, take it up just a notch - SESP (steady effort still pushing).

40 miles, 2 hours

T-RUN: 

5 miles descending off the bike (with a planned walk/rest of 30 sec after mile 2 and 4 and 60 sec planned rest after mile 5).

The rest of the run was steady with planned walk breaks (10-20 sec) every 2 miles.

10 miles - 1:17 total time (7:40 min/mile pace w/ walks included)

MS:

7:55

7:38

30 sec walk

7:27

7:06

30 sec walk

6:48

1 min rest

7:45

7:34

30 sec walk

7:52

7:41

8:07 ( with campy and Karel)

(Karel did 12 miles (he did his own MS). Total time: 1:24, average pace 6:58 min/mile)

Sunday:
2 hour bike + 7 mile run

First hour steady endurance pace.

MS: 30 minutes - alternating pulls of 5 min upper Z3/low Z4 watts

(Although being able to trade pulls with Karel was years in the making and I know he can go harder than what he does with me sitting behind his wheel, here's what it looks like for me (stats below) when Karel is pulling and I am sitting on his wheel and then for me to take a pull...it's not easy to draft and then take a pull! I'm sure Karel fully recovers when he sits behind me but when I am behind Karel's wheel, I am still giving a steady, slightly uncomfortable yet doable effort. Also, we were not riding on a straight rode for 30 min so our speed adjusts whereas we both focused on the same normalized power)

5 min (Karel in front, me on his wheel drafting) - 150 W, 23.79 mph

5 min (me in front) - 165 W, 22.68 mph

5 min (Karel in front) - 154 W, 22.77 mph

5 min (me in front) - 168 W, 23.46 mph

5 min (Karel in front) - 155 W, 23.98 mph

5 min (me in front - last pull!) - 170 W, 22.98 mph

Then SESP effort until we arrived home

T-run - 6 miles (+ 1 Campy mile)

Goal was steady effort, RPE 8/10 with 30 sec walk in between

55:08 total time, 7:46 min/mile average (including 3 minutes total of walking, 30 sec after each mile)

7:43

7:22

7:27

7:18

7:22

7:10

8:00 (Campy mile)

(Karel did 14.25 miles and a different MS, 1:42 total time, 7:12 min/mile average)

And to finish off the weekend - the perfectly balanced post-workout meal of fresh pineapple, homemade banana walnut bread (thanks Trimarni athlete Elizabeth from DC!) and an open egg omelet (2 whites + 1 whole egg scrambled with milk) with spinach to replenish, refuel and repair my body.

Tri-race road-trip! What’s in my cooler?

Welcome to our life….. we are on the road again! 

But this time it’s triple the fun because I get to train on the hills, I get to watch Karel and 6 of our Trimarni athletes race in the Clermont Olympic Distance Triathlon AND Campy gets to make memories with us!

After a quick stop at the Jacksonville Running Company on Friday late afternoon (when Karel got finished with a RETUL fit and I got finished with my Oakley Women Facebook chat), we hit the road around 5pm, hoping to miss some Friday traffic in route to Clermont, Florida (just outside of Orlando). We arrived around 7:30pm and missed the traffic. YAY!

I packed a cooler and bag full of yummy goodies for us to enjoy so once we arrived to our hotel (Clermont Days Inn and Suites – pet friendly) all we had to do was prep, eat and relax.

When it comes to traveling for races, I prefer to bring as much Trimarni-friendly options as possible for it makes our trip a lot easier to have our food options within our control (when we want to fuel our body). It  isn’t that we don’t ever eat out when we travel for races but there are a few pre-race foods that work well for Karel and me and traveling with food takes the guessing/stressing away as to where and when we will eat. Not to mention, bringing our own food from the grocery store reduces costs on eating out for traveling is not cheap, especially when you throw in the cost of race fees. 

When it comes to traveling to a new place for a vacation or event (non-sport related), Karel and I LOVE supporting the local food business as well as enjoying local eats. You will not find us eating in our room (or eating similar foods that we eat at home) when we go to new places for we love to explore new places and eat like the locals. I also get really inspired by new meals which gives me great excitement for when I get home to the Trimarni kitchen.  Since we don’t have rules with our diet, we both believe if you eat well most of the time you don’t have to worry about the rest of the time.

Here is my list of what I brought with us for our Fri – Sun trip to Clermont, Florida
(Not everything is/will be consumed but always good to have options. Most of the foods are in our daily diet.)

Cooler:
2 flavored Chobani Greek yogurt
2 Fage 0% plain Greek yogurt
Large bag of mixed sliced fruit (grapes, apples, strawberries)
Deli meat (for Karel)
Sliced cheese
4 hardboiled eggs
Hummus
Bag of baby carrots
Large bag of mixed greens
1 small carton skim milk
1 Kefir strawberry drink
1 Bolthouse chocolate protein drink (for Karel)
6 slices Ezekiel cinnamon raisin bread
Irish butter (for Karel)
Local Blackberry Jam (from our trip to Waycross, GA)

Food bag:
4 small bananas
1 fresh baguette

1 bag WASA crackers
3  pitas
Honey
2 sandwich-size baggies of peanuts and golden raisins
Large bag of mixed cereal (Cheerios, granola, Kashi cinnamon cereal)
1 bag triscuits
4 packets oatmeal
Smuckers Natural Peanut butter
Dark chocolate
1 can soup (for Karel)
1 bag 90 second rice (it has chicken stock in it so only Karel ate it)
1 large Tuna packet (in water)
Dog food
Instant coffee

Sport Nutrition bag:
INFINIT customized formula (for me)
INFINIT Speed (for Karel)
Napalm (for me and Karel)
2 gel flasks
4 water bottles (for me)
3 water bottles (for Karel)
4 KIND bars
2 Power bar performance energy blends (for Karel)
Optygen
Hammer Endurance Aminos
Hammer Tissue Rejuvinator

Extra:
Plastic plates
Tupperware bowl
Plastic bowls
Silverware
Napkins
2 jugs water

We woke up around 6am on Saturday and the weather was perfect for a beautiful day of riding. I couldn’t wait to get on my bike in the hills of Clermont, Florida. 

Karel and I drove to the NTC  with our bikes attached and we each went our separate ways. Karel did his race warm-up on the race bike course and a short run off the bike, each with a few pick-ups to get the blood flowing.

As for me, Karel gave me a great workout to test my current level of fitness after a few months of consistent (injury free) "train smarter to train harder" training (YAY - thank you body!) . 

3:15 ride in the hills of Clermont (59 miles)
(I enjoyed seeing a few athletes on the course during the Half Ironman event that was happening in the morning)

8 mile run off the bike:
(I ended up running around our hotel which was around 1/3 mile but provided me with unlimited ice from the ice machine (which made my intervals amazing in the hot Florida sun) but also a change to pace myself on terrain that was not flat but also not super hilly. I could also focus and settle into a pace without worrying about cars if I were to run on the road outside of our hotel. Also I could keep me bottle of sport drink and gel flask of Napalm on Karel’s car for easy sipping between intervals)

2 mile warm-up (7:43, 7:39)
Walk 1 minute
MS 3xs:
5 min @ 6:45 min/mile, 5 min @ 7:30 min/mile
(over/under intervals to help the aerobic threshold while minimizing fatigue in a long run)
1 min walk/rest in between
10 min cool down

After the workout, it was time to enjoy some Campy time outside and then clean-up (while refueling with a glass of milk mixed with whey protein powder and a handful of cereal, also 1 Hammer FIZZ tablet in a bottle of water) before heading to Chiptole with Karel for a meal. 

We both got our meal to go (I got a veggie salad on greens with rice, beans, cheese, corn, veggies and salsa) and Karel ate in the car (with Campy watching carefully for any accidental chicken droppings)  while I drove to the race venue (my tummy wasn’t quite ready for a meal so I snacked on some fruit).

After Karel picked up his packet we made one quick trip to Publix so Karel could get a few last minute foods for his pre-race meal in our hotel room.

This afternoon I talked race-strategy with a few of our 6 Trimarni athletes that are racing tomorrow and Karel did a final tune-up on his bike to get it officially race ready.  Tonight it is early to bed for an exciting day tomorrow of watching trained bodies and minds in action! 

Triathletes are so inspiring! 

Workouts fueled by patience and Trimarni blueberry coconut muffins

I knew it was going to be a tough weekend, mentally and physically. 

But through our "train smart" plan, I knew that the timing was right and that I was ready for this weekend's workouts (after a challenging week of training).

 I had worked really hard for several weeks in order to execute this weekend.

With our "train smart" approach to training, one of the most important characteristics that is required is patience.

With a masters degree in exercise physiology, I feel I have a good understanding of how to develop a practical and effective training plan. However, with so many variables to consider with training - intensity, frequency, duration, recovery - the athlete that wants to succeed must be patient with a well-formulated plan. 

This is also true for any individual who works hard for results. 

Karel and myself, along with our athletes, love to work hard. We are all very disciplined, we manage our time well to keep life balanced as age group triathletes/runners and we also are committed to our task in order to achieve our goals. However, the athlete who is patient through all phases in training will enjoy the journey from start the finish. And because there are always challenges within a journey, you do not only need to be patient but also very mindful of progress (which is not always told by a pace or speed).

As athletes, we all have goals. Typically, a long term goal is the driving force to maintain motivation to train hard for a specific amount of weeks/months. But even for the most hard working athlete, if he/she is hindered by impatience, that daily hard work ethic may not pay off. This may seem impossible because we have always been taught that hard work always pays off but progress requires a step by step process. And because we often thrive off instant gratification, it's very easy to fall short of your potential if you are not patient enough to wait for results to happen when they are suppose to happen. This means not getting frustrated if things are not happening right now, not setting too many goals at once that you feel overwhelmed by focusing on too much too soon and not constantly searching for a better, faster or easier way.

Training, exercising, racing or working toward a personal health, nutrition, fitness or life goal. 

Celebrate the milestones as you maintain patience throughout your journey.
-Is there something you can do now that you couldn't do before?
-Is there something that comes easier to you now than before?
-Is there something that you enjoy doing now that felt like a chore before? 
-Do you feel better than before? 
-Are you enjoying certain parts of your life more than before?

WEEKEND TRAINING

Saturday:

4 mile Run + 2 hr Bike + 1 hr T-RUN (7 miles)

(did the bike on the trainer to control my watts for the Z4/Z3 with our resistance controlled Cyclops fluid trainer)

4 miles (or 30 min) run up front. Just a comfy form focused run

Bike: 15-20 min steady then MS:

4 x 5 min @ FT (functional threshold) w/ 3 min EZ spin in between

10 min steady easy pace

MS2:

8 min @ Z4 + 12 min @ low Z3, 2 min EZ,

10 min @ Z4 + 10 min @ low Z3, 2 min EZ,

12 min @ Z4 + 8 min @ low Z3, 2 min EZ 

10 - 15 min SESP (steady effort still pushing) and then T-RUN.

15 min steady run. Walk a few minutes to stretch out.

Then 30 min of alternating: 5 min Strong/5 min steady

Stop and stretch. 

CD: EZ run to finish the workout.

Sunday

4:00hr Bike (84 miles) + 30 min T-Run (3.75 miles)

(biked with Karel. We rode out to Penny Farms in Florida and did 2 loops in Penny Farms on gently rolling hills for our main set)

Bike: 1st hr just ride 

MS: 8 min @ low Z4, 2 min EZ

12 min @ low Z4, 2 min EZ

16 min @ high Z3, 2 min EZ

24 min @ mid Z3, 2 min EZ

30 min SESP 

2 x 15 min @ high Z3/low Z4 w/ 4 min EZ in between

 Then SESP for the rest

T-RUN: 10 min EZ run, 3 x 5 min (descend 1-3) w/ 60 sec walk in between

5 min EZ CD.
(did the EZ run with Campy - who made me run a bit faster than I wanted! 7:44 min/mile pace for 1.44 miles with Campy. Then descend - 7:50 min/mile, 7:28 min/mile, 6:58 min/mile for the 5 minutes)

Blueberry coconut muffins

1 cup flour (I used Bobs Redmill gluten-free all purpose flour)

1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1 cup blueberries (I used frozen)
1 large egg
1/3 cup milk (I used organic skim milk)
Unsweetened coconut shredded

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray non stick muffin pan with cooking spray (you will use 7 muffins tins)
2. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and nutmeg in a bowl.
3. Lightly beat egg in small bowl then whisk in milk.
4. Stir in egg mixture into flour mixture. Then fold in blueberries.
5. Divide batter among 7 muffin tins (about 1/4 cup). Sprinkle with coconut shreds (about a tsp or two per muffin)
6. Bake for 25-28 minutes or until muffins are light brown on top or toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Nutrition facts: (without added coconut)

Servings: 7 muffins
Serving size: 1 muffin

Calories: 114
Fat: 1g
Carbohydrates: 23g carbohydrates
Sugar: 9g sugar
Fiber: 1.4g
Protein: 3g
Sodium: 136 mg

I feel ya Campy!!

Tomorrow is NO ALARM (no morning workout) Monday to give my body a huge thank you for the last few weeks of consistent "train smart" training!

Trimarni camp recap - Day 3 (intense "long" brick)

Day 3 of the Trimarni camp was designed to be our key workout because of the specificity of the workout as well as how it feel in the training camp training plan.

According to the Trimarni philosophy of getting faster before you go longer and training smarter to train harder, we termed Saturday as our "long" workout of camp.

3 hour bike + 60-80 min run. 

Rather than having our endurance athletes bike 5+ hours or  run 2+ hours (no matter the fitness level), we utilize the beginning phase of our training plans to get our athletes stronger through strength training. The main goal of any training plan is consistency and many times, the idea of "base" building includes lots of long steady (or slow) miles and much time is wasted when the body can be getting stronger. We find many athletes are 14,16 or 20 weeks out from race day and spend their weekends riding 5+ hours or running 2+ hours as "base" prep. Sure, we understand that you must have good endurance to "survive" endurance training for a half or full Ironman and there needs to be long workouts for mental and physical training but the idea is not to just do them but to do them well with a plan and a purpose.

Once a strong foundation is in place, then it's time to get faster. This is where we encourage our athletes to consider their long-term goals as well longevity in the sport of triathlons (or running). Rather than signing up for endurance races because of the challenge now, get yourself faster over the next 4, 6, or even 12 months so that when you commit to your goal of finishing or racing in an endurance event, you not only have a strong template to work with but one that is faster than 6, 12 or 24 months prior.
I realize that it's super easy to register for races and often times, you sign up for a race because it is the right time in your lifetime and I love that.  But to ensure a consistent and healthy journey to your starting line, it's important that you are always patient with your journey and also progress gradually. Too much too soon is not a great equation and because most athletes want a body that can get faster and stronger over time, trying to train at high intensity during "long" workouts is not the most effective or efficient way to metabolize fuel OR to enjoy consistency with training.

Thus, we have created many key workouts for our endurance athletes (and us included) of higher intensity intervals during a long-ish bike (at specific phases in training) and we follow that workout with an interval run.

You can improve endurance with high intensity intervals at moderate distances. However, it's very difficult to get faster by doing steady long miles.

Not only is our quality approach to training  great for placing a healthy amount of training stress on the body for the body to get stronger and faster with improved endurance but the concept of intervals helps with pacing, to better understand (and use) sport nutrition effectively (to be better prepared for race day) and also to put your mind into race day situations.

Sure, you can bike hard and have an epic long workout. 

Sure, you can run long and strong on fresh legs without a bike preceding the workout.

Sure, you can train all day and talk about it on your blog or social media.

But, as a coach, I want to see you execute on race day and put all that training to good use.

Endurance triathlon racing takes a lot of time, commitment, money and effort so it's is not about how fast or strong you were in training during a long bike or run but instead, how you can put those sports together, following a swim and also how you can digest/absorb nutrition to postpone fatigue and meet metabolic and hydration needs.

And most importantly, as an age group athlete, how you can balance the training with life.

For our camp workout on day #3:
7:15am meet at NTC.
7:45am start workout

Bike - 3 hour rolling hill interval bike:
(athletes fueled with Infinit SPEED or GO FAR and I helped each athlete with scoops per bottle. All athletes were required to carry 3 bottles with them and encouraged to drink every 10-15 minutes).

40 min EZ warm-up (it was a bit cold out so we included a few 1 min on/off intervals to wake up the legs)

MS1: (main set #1)

4 x 5 min @ Z4 watts (or Olympic Tri pace) w/ 90 sec  EZ spin in between.
(we always focus on normalized lap power for intervals but because of rolling terrain the normalized power helps for better pacing)

5 - 10 min EZ spin recovery

 MS2 (main set #2)

8 min @ Z4 (Olympic Tri Pace) + 4 min @ low Z3 (1/2 Iron Pace) - keeping a steady cadence, trying to "recovery" while still pushing 

2 min EZ spin

 8 min @ Z4 (Olympic Tri Pace) + 4 min @ low Z3 (1/2 Iron Pace)

Rest of the ride is steady strong pace (ironman effort) except on the trail or the neighborhood with stop signs which is always just EZ spin.

T-RUN: Long Run. 60 - 80 min.
(So proud of my campers - EVERY athlete ran off the bike!)

(we gave the option if athletes were not comfortable running for an hour after a 3 hour ride, they could walk for time on your feet after time on the saddle)

Warmup (WU): 10 min out and back for 20 min just very comfortable run with stops as needed.  (recommend 10-30 sec walks every 8-10 min if  feeling heavy legs or just want to stretch out and lower the HR).

Walk 1-3 minutes - shake out the legs, lower the HR, hydrate, etc.
We regrouped back at the NTC. Athletes had the opportunity to use NAPALM which I love as an easy and effective fuel on the run. 

1 ounce = 50 calories. It is a powder and you can pour it in your flask (instead of using gels) and top with water. It has the consistency of a sport drink but is more concentrated so this is good to use on race day by supplementing with water at aid stations to meet hydration needs. For camp, we performed out and back so athletes could refill water at our cars with our 5-gallon jug)

Main set: 

30 min of alternating 5 min @ strong/faster pace and 5 min @ comfortable pace (you may also walk here if you need to correct your form or gather yourself). (this is a perceived effort pace - whatever your "strong" is on Saturday, that is your effort).

Walk 1-3 minutes - lower the HR, shake out the legs, stretch, etc.

Cool down: 10 EZ/ comfortable run for a quality brick endurance-prep workout.

For our athletes who have a half or full IM in the next 4 months (me and Karel did this part with our athletes), they ran 80 min off the bike.  After the MS is completed, walk 1-3 minutes to stretch things out and lower the HR and then add 15 min of steady strong running to finish the run. This should feel comfortable as if you are settling into your Ironman pace (or long run pace). Then cool down as needed.

For the run, I did not want my campers running 1+ hour with only 6 ounces of water in a flask or nothing at all. What I recommend is if you do not have a fuel belt with at least 10+ ounces of water for a 90 min or less run, do loops so that by 30-40 min you can refill your bottle with water (and sport nutrition). Not only will you ensure better energy and recovery but you will also simulate race day condition with consistent fueling. 

After an AWESOME workout from our campers, we all stretched (some collapsed...in a good way) and we all talked about this great workout performed by 15 amazing bodies.
I had our normal snacks - Kind bars, coconut water, water, whey and vegan protein powder as well as sliced oranges and strawberries as well as a special treat from Trimarni athlete Sara who delivered homemade peanut butter chocolate chip cookies for our campers. Thank you Sara!!!)

We only had about 90 minutes to rest, eat and clean up so I also gave my campers suggestions as to what to eat to help refuel from our 4-4:20 hr workout and also to fuel for our next workout on the schedule, which was a swim.
I knew our campers would be tired for they had several workouts within 2.5 days of training in them so our afternoon swim (long course) was more of active recovery. Also, because our athletes were tired (Karel and me, too!) it was important that I stressed the importance of proper planning of workouts. Sure, you can do workouts just because they are on the schedule but the swim was not a "workout" designed for training purposes. Just a reminder when you are trying to balance training with life, sometimes it's better to rest if you are feeling tired later in the day and get a good meal in your system and good night of sleep and get yourself together for a great workout the next day (instead of just going through the motions for an evening workout after a long day). It's all about balance. 

3-4pm long course swim: 

10 min warm-up
100 focusing on head position
3 x 100's w/ fins - drills (catch-up and finger tip drag)

MS 3x's: no fins
200 smooth swimming
4 x 50's w/ 10 sec rest (#1-2 build to fast. #3-4 1/2 pool fast, 1/2 pool EZ)

100 cool down

After our swim, I provided a few snacks for campers to help with recovery (dates, coconut water, whey protein) before our team dinner at Goombas.

With almost a half IM distance triathlon completed on Saturday after 4.5 hours of training on Friday and around 2.5 hours of training on Thursday, I wanted to be sure my athletes had fueled and happy tummies for Sunday so a family-owned, local Italian restaurant was the perfect place to eat an early dinner (reservations for 5pm) and to enjoy a motivational talk with 5-year Trimarni coaching athlete Gary (65 years old) who is a top age group sprint and olympic distance triathlete in Clearwater.
Thank you Gary for inspiring us all! 

After a team picture, Karel and I chatted about our last workout of camp which was the mock triathlon - putting all the pieces together. 

The daily fuel station...back of my car.

Safe, effective and efficient fuel. Thanks INFINIT!

Sharing my Oakley women shades with the ladies at camp who didn't have Oakley's so that everyone could wear safe, stylish and functional eyewear during training. Email me if you'd like to know my fav shades. 

Real men wear pink - looking good Karel!

Racking our bikes at the NTC. A great facility to hold a triathlon camp!

4.5 hour workout - DONE!

Thank you SARA!!

Quick refueling in my hotel room. 

Beautiful afternoon swim!

Fun with Go pro!

Underwater selfie.

What an inspiring, motivating and awesome group of campers!!

Let's eat!

Gary is so inspiring! What a great athlete to coach!

Karel takes his hydration very seriously.

YUM!

I LOVE PIZZA!!!

One more day to go!!!

Trimarni camp recap - day 1

Wow – I can’t believe that our first endurance triathlon training camp is over! Karel and I could not be happier with how things went and it was all because of the positive energy that was shared throughout the camp from our inspiring campers.

Karel and I both knew that a Trimarni camp was in our near future but as we started to plan this camp in early January, we felt as if we didn't have enough time to get it all done. When it comes to getting things done, Karel and I are both "no excuses" type of people so if you ask us to do something, we will find a way to get it done. However, with that comes doing things right. Although there may be not be a perfect way to get something done, we always give our best effort.

We put a lot of time, money and effort into our camp so that it could be "right". Down to every detail, we knew that we couldn't make mistakes with this being our first camp but instead, everything would be a learning lesson.

After four days of swimming, biking and running in Clermont Florida, we are sad to see everyone go.

With 13 athletes (plus 2 for Sat afternoon swim + mock tri on Sun) from all over – California, Maine, Washington DC, Pennsylvania, Texas, Georgia and Florida –  new friendships were formed and there was non-stop happiness for four days. As to be expected, body's are tired and muscles are sore but each athlete has improved confidence when it comes to training and racing smart.

Several athletes stepped out of their comfort zone but now feel more confident with their skills. Every athlete had his/her comfort zone stretched with quality training, in hilly terrain, throughout the 4-day training camp.

It’s hard to summarize all that was accomplished during our camp but I would love to share some of the highlights from the camp.

Day 1: Thursday Feb 28^th 2014
6:30am – 1 hour swim
10 min warm-up
Pre set: 8 x 25’s – 10 strokes fast, rest of the pool EZ w/ 10 sec rest
Drill set w/ fins: 4 x 125’s – 25 right arm, 25 left arm, 25 6 beat kick w/ 1 stroke, 50 perfect stroke. W/ 20 sec rest
Main set:
4 x 100’s @ 80% w/ 10 sec rest (w/ fins)
4 x 100’s @ 90% w/ 20 sec rest (w/ fins)
4 x 100’s @ 90% w/ 30 sec rest (no fins)
200 cool down

8-8:20am – tour of the National Training Center.
(all Trimarni camp athletes had full access to the NTC facility throughout the entire camp)

8:30am-9:45am – interval run (hilly paved trail)
10 min warm-up
10 min dynamic stretching and discussion of the purpose of the workout/main set as well as key pointers to remember)
Main set 3x’s:
(athletes were to focus on their lap pace, time and perceived effort)
4 min @ half marathon pace
1 min EZ walk
3 min @ slightly faster than half marathon pace
1 min EZ walk
2 min @ 10K pace
1 min walk
1 min all out
1 min walk, then repeat the main set 2 more times.
Then cool down

After the run, we took the athletes inside for a 20 min hip/core/glute circuit. Each athlete was able to perform some of our favorite exercises and we also discussed the importance of hip/glute/core work on a daily basis in order to build a strong foundation.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

After a quick shower, it was time to clean up for an afternoon of presentations.
(Originally, we had planned for our athletes to have a nice and EZ 2 hour leg opener ride after the swim, but because it was slightly raining and rather chilly that morning, we went to plan B on Wed evening before our camp started. Actually plan B was created around 9pm at night when we checked the weather all day and finally decided that riding in the cold rain after a swim on the first day wasn't the best idea for our campers. As a triathlon coach and athlete, I love a routine and schedule but there are many times when you have to be flexible and creative).

1pm – time to eat!
I provided lunch for all 13 athletes while Karel set-up the RETUL fit system for two athletes to receive fits during our camp (an extra service at our camp).
On the lunch menu:
Whole wheat pitas or Gluten-free rice wraps
Organic ground beef (for those who are not vegetarians)
Quinoa
Veggies
Homemade hummus (chickpeas, olive oil, lemon juice and garlic)
Salsa
Beans
Chopped romaine
Corn
Onions
Gluten free tortilla chips
Pita chips
Coffee
Veronica’s health crunch mix
Water

After food was served, athletes received their awesome swag bags, thanks to some amazing sponsors at the camp. Karel and I wanted the athletes to also take home a little something from us, so every athlete receive a customized Trimarni canvas tote filled with delicious snacks to keep their tummy’s happy at the camp.

From 1-5pm I gave a presentation on “Train smarter to train harder” but first we reflected on the morning workout as well as tips to help with training smarter on the run for triathlon training.

1)      Understanding training tools and gadgets.
Why’s sport nutrition so confusing?

2)      Avoiding haphazard training.

3)      Being proactive – acting instead of reacting.

4)      Performance focused not time-obsessed.

5)      Having a healthy relationship with food and your body.

After my presentations, Karel finished the afternoon by talking about all-thing bike related (saddles, chain rings/cassettes, positions on the bike, wheels, helmets, etc.) and also discussed the importance of getting a professional fit whenever you buy a bike OR whenever you buy something new for your bike (ex. saddle, handlebars) that may affect your position.
I was so happy that every athlete could have the opportunity to pick Karel's brain. Karel knows so much about biking with his experience in retail, bike and tri racing and also being a cyclist all his life.

When the campers left the NTC, Karel and I went back to our hotel to make some food for dinner and then we went back out again to drop off our 5-gallon jug of water for the campers on Day 2 of the camp (on the bike route). I had a bit more prep to do for lunch on Friday and by 10:30pm we called it a night.

Every evening I sent out an email of plan for the workout the next day, as well as the map for the ride (which Karel created on mapmyride so athletes could have access from their smart phones via the mapmyride app) and other details such as what to bring, sport nutrition fueling suggestions and what time to meet at the NTC.

Day 1 was a great success and our immediate reaction was “WOW – everyone gets along so well!” Considering that this was our first camp, we weren’t sure what to expect but we did have expectations for our campers. We wanted the athletes to have fun, enjoy being around other like-minded individuals, we wanted to stretch their comfort zones and we most of all, wanted the athletes to leave camp with a better understanding of our philosophy of how to train smarter in order to train harder and reach success faster.

Here are a few pictures from our camp from day 1:

                                     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Real food homework and a speedy/endurance track workout

This endurance body is happily fueled by real food.
AND
Plant strong for almost 21 years.

A Karel creation:
Jasmine rice and a stir fry of tempeh, peanuts, onions, mushrooms, peppers and marinara on top arugula.
This creation was enjoyed last night and made my tummy/muscles super happy for an early morning wake-up call (4:20am) for a 5:30am track workout. 

Love your afternoon snack
Honor your biological hunger in the afternoon. Do not expect your body to allow you to go from lunch to dinner without food (especially if more than 4 hours between meals or if working out in the evening). A mid afternoon snack is a great way to nourish your body and boost energy. 
Here's one of my fav mid day snacks: 1/2 cup Chobani Greek yogurt + fresh fruit chopped + a few spoonfuls of KIND or organic granola. Enjoy!

Refueling from a long brick
Asparagus, mushrooms and tofu tossed with pasta noodles and marinara, topped with Parmesan.
Karel had the same (larger portion) but chicken instead of tofu. So much flavor! Yum!

Track workout w/ Karel and a large motivating group - feeling the need for speed (and endurance)
2 mile run warm-up
10 min dynamic stretching/warm-up on track
MS: 3x's through
800
600
400
200
(with 200 jog in between)
~1 min rest in between the 3 rounds to refuel/hydrate
(I had 1 scoop INFINIT ISIS Hydration in my bottle to sip during the workout)
~8 miles total (including warm-down laps in opposite direction)

Trimarni homework

Write down the ingredient lists of the foods you are consuming today. (If you are eating out, look up the ingredients online.)

This assignment is for product awareness and to help you form a healthier relationship with the food that you choose to put into your body. This is NOT designed to make you scared of food or to hate food.
Also, this homework is focused on the ingredients in food and not on focusing on organic, genetically modified, gluten, dairy.

Because there is an overload of information on how to "eat healthy" with so much conflicting information (and often causing a lot of disordered eating habits or feeling incredibly frustrated with food), the first step in creating a more balanced diet is to make an effort to eat more real food. Once you incorporate more real food into your daily diet, you will then need to gravitate toward making time to prepare food and maintain this real food diet. It does not have to be perfect (there's no such thing) but instead, make an effort to prioritize real food as much as possible with your daily meals/snacks.
(and stop reading forums/blogs when the "expert" is yelling at you about what foods are bad. Seek out information that inspires you and motivates you to make slow yet healthy changes that move you closer to your personal goals and contact a professional (RD) who will give you credible information. You can not make changes in your lifestyle if you are always worrying about what other people are doing and you will find yourself with info overload if you continue to use the internet to search for the "right" answer.)

Because it doesn't seem appropriate to start changing your eating habits by dissecting real food if you have yet to be consistent with eating food that is grown from earth, take a look at your daily diet to see what immediate changes may make a meaningful difference in your life and health.

Consider clinical, fitness, religious, ethical and personal experiences when it comes to individualizing YOUR diet.

Show yourself that you can prioritize real food for 2 weeks - making time to cook and time your meals/nutrition appropriately around your workouts and schedule- and your body will be in a better place to start making more individual choices with your diet.


There is so much information out there and many times, info that may not apply to you and your goals (or lifestyle).

Your occasional foods should be enjoyed and your daily diet should enhance life.

Simple swaps can easily improve your health and can keep you from feeling the itch to jump on the elimination food/mass marketed diet train. Instead of hearing that dairy is bad and is causing bloating, swap out the artificially flavored yogurt and replace with Greek Yogurt and add real fruit. If you have heard that whole grains are bad or gluten is bad, consider adding organic whole grains like quinoa, teff, millet or wild rice to your diet.

Like with anything in life, you can't rush changes when you want long lasting results.
So instead of wondering if you should choose organic oatmeal vs non-organic oatmeal.....

I recommend to first transition to using plain oatmeal and then adding your own fresh fruit, nut and spice add-in's instead of prioritizing a quick option like flavored oatmeal. 

It's an easy switch but it does require a lifestyle change. To prepare food ahead of time (and you need tupperware if you are taking this to work to eat)

But to make these changes, you have to not only buy the items but you have to plan ahead. And in our rushed society it's much easier to eliminate foods and "not" do something than to be more proactive and add something to our schedule (yet that something may improve health).

Simply identify any ingredients that may give you an "ah-ha" moment as to why you may not be feeling so "healthy" such as food dyes, artificial ingredients, additives/chemicals. Also ask yourself how and why you are consuming those foods. Remember - you can't eat a salad very well in a car and you can only stuff so much "salad" with your protein and healthy fat choices between two slices of bread. Is bread bad or is it what you are eating and when?

Your goal is to gradually move toward a more real food, balanced diet. Not only will real food make your body feel better but it's scientifically proven that a real food balanced diet provides your body with the necessary vitamins and minerals that can reduce risk for disease and improve longevity, health, performance and mood. If you love to eat and you like all those great outcomes of eating real food, what's keeping you from making the necessary small steps?

The ultimate goal is to not feel the pressure from "experts" who are brainwashing you to eliminate heart-healthy real-foods that may improve your health.

If you need individual help, seek out an RD to treat your individual body.

Happy real food eating and enjoying your body in motion.