Daily diet or fueling manipulation?

Source

Through this approach, your body composition will change because you are able to perform well and maintain a realistic and sustainable style of eating. 

Are you an athlete looking to change body composition and improve your performance as you train for an upcoming event?

Consider this: 

Manipulating your eating before, during and after workouts in an effort to enhance the adaptive response to training will only provide a marginal performance and body composition improvement if your daily diet is not well-balanced, well-timed and consistent.

It's remarkable how the body performs and changes when emphasis is placed on the daily diet as a vehicle of nourishment and when workouts are supported with food as a vehicle of energy.

Far too many athletes choose sport nutrition restriction over daily diet manipulation whereas the later can significantly help to change your body composition without compromising energy when you ask your body to perform and adapt to intentional training stress.

Meeting your daily nutrient and energy needs in the daily diet ensures maximal adaptation to your training because you have met your foundation nutritional needs which will help allow you to perform (and recover from) a variety of workouts - from easy to moderate to intense and from short to longer to very long.

Once you place emphasis on your daily eating (which it will change throughout your season), you'll find that your body systems, hormones and metabolism work better. Your body ultimately works for you as an athlete, not against you. Thus, rather than trying to outperform a poorly planned diet by restricting nutrition around and during workouts (this statement in itself makes absolutely no sense but athletes continue to believe that this is the "best" approach to improving performance and to assist in weight loss) you'll find it much easier to optimize, adjust and personalize your fueling regime before, during and after workouts to meet your performance goals after you have taken the time to establish a healthy foundational diet.

If you know (or think) that your daily diet needs some tweaking, consider the straight-forward approach of creating a well-balanced, well-timed and consistent eating plan rather than simply not eating around and during your workouts with the hope that food elimination or restriction will make you a stronger, healthier and fitter high-intensity or endurance athlete. 

Ultimately, if performance and body composition changes are the ultimate goals of your nutritional changes, you'll find that when you create a foundation diet to support your current training load, your workouts become easier to accomplish, you can go longer or harder with better focus, form and motivation and you can maintain a great sense of enjoyment when you train (which leads toward more training consistency and longevity in your sport).

And ironically, with this approach, there's a better chance of unintentionally changing your body composition without intentionally trying, while maintaining a great healthy relationship with food and the body AND feeling fulfilled and happy in your sport of choice.

Private training camp - recap

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Working on climbing efficiently in and out of the saddle.

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

Saying hello to Mr. Lama. 

I told you we have fun too! 

Enjoying the view. 

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

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

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

Getting comfortable riding on bumpy roads.

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

Quick stop to refill bottles. 

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

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

FOOD!!!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Boston Marathon reflection

It's hard to believe that 10 years ago I was waking up in a Boston hotel room, getting ready to run my 2nd marathon. 

And not just any marathon, THE Boston Marathon. 

As a swimmer, turned runner and then turned triathlete, I didn't fully appreciate the magnitude of being an athlete who had qualified to run in the Boston Marathon.
After I ran the Miami Marathon in 2005 (my first marathon) in a time of 3:38, a friend told me "You Boston qualified!"
No joke, I said "What's Boston?"

It took me a few minutes for it to come to me that I had qualified for the Boston Marathon. It was not a goal of mine as my #1 goal was just to finish my first marathon. The thought of running 26.2 miles was so daunting for my swimmer turned runner body who had never ran more than 6 miles before training for 6 months for my first marathon.

Fast forward to April 2006......
I remember giving my parents a hug and getting on a school bus to be dropped off in Hopkinton with the other thousands and thousands and thousands other runners. It was a long never-ending drive but we finally arrived. I can't remember the weather (I think it was a bit chilly for my Florida body) but I do remember that I was nervous and overwhelmed with all the fast runners around me. 

I had studied the course but the unknown of running on the course was leaving me ancy as I waited and waited and waited for hours until we finally were able to corral at the start line. 

I can remember bits and pieces of the race and my inexperienced body and mind was just taking it all in.
It was everything I thought it would be and more.
I didn't start my blog until the following year so I have no race report to document my Boston Marathon experience. 

I earned my Boston Marathon finisher medal and this race will never be forgotten. Although I am triathlete now, this race will always hold a special place in my heart.
I learned what my body is capable of doing and since then, I have stayed performance-focused, willing to test my limits and work for bigger dreams and goals. 

My dad surprised me with my request of "something salty and sweet" after the marathon. 

To every runner who dreams to run in the Boston Marathon and to those who are running this year (or next), don't forget to thank your body, for all 26.2 miles.
You are so lucky to have a body that allows you to run so fast for so long.
Don't take your running freedom for granted.

2016 USA Cycling National Championships

We could not be more excited to welcome another cycling event to Greenville, SC this weekend!

This weekend at the Bikeville Classic, Professional men and women will be competing for the Stars and Stripes National Championship Jersey in the team time trial and criterium. 

Elite amateur racers are also competing both days, as well as a fun ride on Saturday on the Southern Connector.

If you are in or around the area, we highly recommend that you attend this event! We hope to see you at the Crit on Sunday as we will be cheering on the pro cyclists in downtown Greenville.
(after the event, enjoy a walk in Falls Park or enjoy our awesome downtown and shop and dine at one of our many awesome restaurants).

Professional Team Time Trial National Championship

The Bikeville Classic Weekend kicks off Saturday, April 16 with the Team Time Trial National Championships on the Southern Connector (I-185). The winning team will be the one who records fastest time over the 20-mile course. Teams must have a combination of strength and coordination as each rider take a turn at the front, creating a draft for their teammates who are following just inches behind.

Professional Criterium National Championship

The Criterium National Championships will take place on Sunday, April 17 in downtown Greenville. America’s best men and women cyclists will be vying for the stars & stripes jerseys on a closed loop of less than a mile. The racing is going to be intense!

Southern Connector Ride

Before the pro and elite racers compete in the Team Time Trial National Championships on Saturday, the Southern Connector (I-185) is closed in the morning to traffic and open to the public for a unique riding experience.

Performance-focused nutrition

As an athlete, you have special nutritional requirements compared to your fellow exercise enthusiasts.
You do incredible things with your body on a daily basis and you have high expectations for what your body will do on race day. And unlike research laboratory studies, you are not exercising to see how long you can go but instead, you train to see how fast you can cover a specific distance on a specific date.  

As an athlete, you probably experience many challenges when it comes meeting your extreme training needs through the daily diet because you are not like other people who must only meet basic nutritional needs - you must have great nutritional habits on a day-to-day basis but you also have an extra responsibility to your body to ensure it has the right foods, at the right times to give you extra energy, to delay fatigue, to promote recovery and to keep your body in good hormonal and metabolic health.

First off, if you are reading this right now, I want you to own-up to your "athlete" status.
If you are training for an event, you are an athlete. If you are taking a break from training for an event, but you have completed an event in the past, you are still allowed to call yourself an athlete as nobody took away your past accomplishments - you just may not be able to eat like you use to as you are no longer in need of the energy that helped you train for your events.

 For this very reason of being "an athlete" you are not like other people who can afford to make drastic changes in the diet (like restricting specific food groups for 30 days or excessively cutting back on carbs or calories) or experiment with different diet fads or exercise programs.
At the same time, just because you are an athlete, you can not abuse food because you will burn it off in training.
If you bring poor past dietary habits to your new training regime (or pick up on poor habits as you find that you have less time for meal prep because you need to train longer), you will learn that a dietary change is needed. 

Even though you are training for an event, your extreme active lifestyle should not compromise great health. And for this very reason, performance focused nutrition is your style of eating. 

It is important that you understand that nutrition is very important in your development and in order to achieve personal success in your sport, you need to stay on top of your daily and sport nutrition. 

Far too many experts provide plans for eating which are not practical or feasible at this phase in your nutrition journey. Sure, they may be what you need to kick-start a new style of eating but gaining control over "healthy" eating is more than simply following a plan. You must learn how to eat as an athlete, without feeling deprived, denied or low in energy. 

It boggles my mind that athletes think it's ok to follow the same diet as someone who is not active or has serious clinical health issues. And if a significant amount of weight loss is a necessary goal, training for an event alongside dieting may be a challenge as losing weight through a diet while trying to train the body for an event comes with risks if not done carefully with great supervision by a professional.

As an athlete, you have high energy costs to ensure that you can stay healthy and consistent with training.  If you do not meet these needs, your body begins to fatigue, your motivation for training subsides, your hormones/metabolism change and you may increase risk for injury. 

As an athlete, you must spend more time than non-athletes to strategically plan your meals and your snacks and learn how to time those meals and snacks around workouts.  Busy schedules can interfere with normal eating (and healthy eating) but do not let this be an excuse as to why you are unable to eat well and fuel smart. 

Through a well-chosen, varied diet it's important that you put an extra emphasis on providing your body with the nutrients that will most used (and needed) around workouts. 

As your season progresses, you have many opportunities to fine-tune your nutrition strategies to help you prepare for your upcoming events but you must be consistent for a specific period of time to ensure that what you are doing is working or not working. If you are training harder or longer, don't believe that food restriction and elimination will help you get through your workouts better.

As an athlete, you need the opportunity,  desire AND appetite to consume adequate nutrients and fluids in recommended amounts around workouts and throughout the day. This makes it rather hard for some athletes to easily meet nutritional needs whereas for others, there is lack of passion, awareness or knowledge. 

As you continue to train and advance your fitness, understand that loss of appetite, fatigue, poor access to suitable (or healthy foods) and distractions from proper eating can all negatively affect your ability to train consistently. If your nutrition is keeping you from meeting your training expectations, it's time to reach out to a professional to help. 

Remember that there are no magic bullets or quick fixes when it comes to keeping your body at a healthy body composition, meeting your energy and hydration needs around workouts and staying healthy as an athlete.
The same healthy living strategies that apply to the "normal" population apply to you as well.
Don't assume that you can just out-train poor lifestyle habits and still be a healthy athlete. 

As a performance focused athlete, you must apply the basic healthy living and more specific sport nutrition fueling principles to your active lifestyle on a consistent basis and be sure to learn what works best for you as you slowly create your own performance-focused nutrition plan. 

If you are willing to push your body to new limits and make the investment in every other area of your life to be the best athlete you can be, consider the importance of taking the time learn how to eat and fuel like an athlete.

Healthy eating - getting started

Most athletes will come to me for nutrition help with the goals of:
-Improving performance
-Improving their relationship with food and/or the body
-Changing body composition

All three goals require dietary changes (in some capacity) and depending on the athlete, he/she may want to achieve all three goals listed above, or just one or two.
Oddly enough, sometimes changing body composition can improve performance but so can improving the relationship with food and the body. And sometimes focusing on nutrition limiters and strengths in order to improve performance, with a great relationship with food and the body can change body composition. 

There is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to dietary changes as every individual is on his/her own nutritional journey.

Furthermore, every athletes may have his/her own personal limitations when it comes to the "best" approach to changing the diet - this can be anything from lack of healthy food options, unrealistic eating/body/performance goals, disordered eating or body image dissatisfaction, training routine/fitness level, motivation, family support, self-confidence, etc. 

Similar methods and ideologies may work for the masses but ultimately, every athlete is in his/her own journey.

Healthy eating for one person may be making homemade almond milk, grinding his/her own nut butter, picking produce from an at-home garden and never using sport nutrition because no workout exceeds 70 minutes in length.
Whereas for another person, healthy may be better portion control and controlling the emotional eating.

And for another individual, healthy eating may be not restricting calories from the daily diet and learning how to use sport nutrition properly to help adapt to endurance training while preparing for a half or full Ironman.

Or, healthy eating could be making changes so that cancer doesn't return for a second time.
Or, healthy eating could be overcoming years of disordered eating (ex. orthorexia) or an eating disorder.

As you can see, you may have a goal of improving performance or changing body composition but in order to eat "healthy" it's important to create healthy eating patterns which work for you....right now in your life.

The goal of "healthy eating" is to not try to eat like someone else who may be more along in his/her nutrition journey.

Healthy eating doesn't mean buying food that you have no idea how to prepare (or you hate).
Healthy eating doesn't mean eating “perfect” like what you read and see on the internet nor does it mean eating food that doesn't make you feel good inside your body.

And healthy eating doesn't mean feeling the need to eat differently, at any/all costs, because you hate your body image.

Healthy eating means setting yourself up for good eating patterns - eating patterns that are sustainable, realistic, healthy and performance enhancing.

As you progress in your individual journey, be mindful that your definition of healthy eating will/may change overtime. You may go from being extremely rigid and strict in your diet to allowing more food freedom and food flexibility. Or you may be proud that you are "at least" eating breakfast now and eating a few veggies throughout the day and you may find yourself learning how to plan a more balanced breakfast and even eating a hearty salad as a meal. 
And as you adapt to your training plan, your physiology will likely change, thus allowing you to train harder, longer or stronger. Your body will require additional energy and electrolytes and fluids and you will begin to understand that a well-planned sport nutrition plan is very important to keeping your body healthy. 

Here are a few suggestions to get you started:

-Create an eating plan for what you will eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner each day of the week as well as for snacks. When you have a plan, you will find it easier to be proactive and plan ahead. You can keep this extremely simple by eating similar foods each day to get started. Be mindful of your hunger and fullness cues. 

--Don't bring a diet mentality (or off limit food list) to your eating patterns. Allow for flexibility and avoid having an all-or-nothing approach. You have enough education and knowledge to know what foods are "healthy" (hint - prioritize food made in gardens and grown on farms).

-Spend 30 minutes each day planning for tomorrow's eating. Reflect on today and what worked/didn't work and make small tweaks so you feel more control, satisfied and comfortable with your eating patterns. The more food that you have prepped and available, the easier it is to follow through with your plan. 

-Consider your life to-do's so that eating is not too complicated, time consuming or difficult. Never let eating be an afterthought (or pushed aside as something you don't have time for) as a well nourished body functions well in life.

-Give yourself time at time-out to eat a meal (at least 20 minutes) before continuing on with the rest of your day.
-Don't aim for perfect - allow for flexibility.

-Consider how your workouts impact your appetite and food choices.

-Consider how your pre/during/post workout nutrition can positively or negatively affect your workouts as well as your eating patterns throughout the day. 

-Don't try to use willpower, discipline or being strict to initiate a change. Be proactive with your eating patterns so you set yourself up for good behaviors. If you have trigger foods that are too tempting to eat right now in your journey, remove them from your environment.

-Always maintain a healthy relationship with food. Food is not for managing stress or emotions and it is not reward for a great workout or punishment for a bad workout.

-If a body composition modification is a desired goal to enhance performance or to improve health, the methods should not be strict, limited or extreme. You should allow for gradual weight loss (not a quick fix), without extreme food restrictions, excessive exercising, unsafe behaviors (starving, purging, laxatives) or use of weight loss or performance-enhancing supplements.   

Healthy eating patterns

It seems like every day there is a new diet telling us what not to eat and a scientific article for reference.

A nutrition expert, doctor, celebrity, professional athlete or personal trainer touting a diet plan.
A book, blog or website telling us what foods are destroying our health. 

And a food company excited to grab the market share by introducing a new “healthy” re-engineered processed food alternative which has the opportunity to be highly profitable.  

And with all this information - people are still confused how to eat. 

Whether it’s lack of confidence, common sense, passion or effort for healthy eating, much of our society relies on diet plans as the easiest or quickest way to lose weight, improve performance or to improve health.

In America, eating habits are unstable. 

When it comes to the mention of food, people are confused. You may have even found yourself grocery shopping and saying "I have no idea what to buy or eat!"

In our society, we have such an unhealthy relationship with food.
Without the use of labels, numbers, measuring cups, grams, apps, spreadsheets and journals, many people experience great anxiety, fear and stress regarding what and how much food should be consumed.

Some people would rather not eat than to eat with the fear of "messing up."

We have a very serious problem with a very simple solution.


It's not high carb, low carb, high fat, low fat, high protein or low protein.Prioritize real food - primarily prepped at home and consumed with a great relationship with food.

There are many cultures around the world who have been eating similar meals and foods for generations. There's structure to eating as well as in life.
They don’t count calories or follow eating plans yet they live an extremely healthy, active and happy quality life.
They also walk a lot more and limit sedentary time.
Eating means nourishing, not dieting.

In other countries, eating is a pleasure. 
Food is not complex. 

People eat to please their palate. 

People eat with their senses – tasting and smelling food.
They stop their day and slow down to eat. 

And what do they eat? 

Mostly real food..... not factory made food products.
And most of the time, they eat with other people.
Meals are visually appealing and food is locally sourced.
Do you eat this way?

Our society is infatuated with food yet the“off-limit” food list keeps growing every year (especially around the month of January).

Regardless if you are an elite athlete or a fitness enthusiast, eating well provides your body with energy and key nutrients that you need to support metabolism and to keep your body systems working properly and has the ability to reduce risk for disease and improve quality of life. 

Disordered eating

We live in a culture that emphasizes, rewards, worships and celebrates lean, toned and fit bodies. Individuals with an unhealthy relationship with food and the body may seek extreme events to train for and restrictive methods of eating and fueling in an effort to control weight and to justify excessive exercise patterns.  

Many athletes succeed in sports (especially endurance events) because they are great at doing things in extreme. But extreme thoughts, attitudes and beliefs about food and the body (especially as it relates to performance improvements) can become obsessive and may lead to more serious disordered eating habits.

If your self-imposed rules, regulations and guidelines about what to eat and not to eat around and during workouts are taking precedence of what your body actually needs (and even with alarming symptoms like low blood sugar, dizziness, nausea, fatigue, blurred vision, headache, dehydration manifesting into your workout or day), you are manipulating your diet in a restrictive way as a coping mechanisms for not dealing with feelings about your body, relationships or in life, needing to feel more control, or you want to please others or you hate the way you look, don't wait for a serious health issue or a massive performance decline or blood tests to demonstrate an underlying issue. Get help now.

We live in a society where it's easy to get stuck into one style of eating and then to jump from one style to another when you no longer find success in one diet. 

Sadly, many athletes believe that the thinner and leaner you are, the better you will perform and the happier you will be. And when you don't succeed with your weight goals, the blame is often put on you that you "failed" the diet and that you didn't give it "enough time". You then scratch your head because you simply don't understand how the method that apparently works for everyone else (as claimed by social media, forums and word of mouth) is not working for you, despite every article and scientific research study proving that this is the best way to eat.

Athletes are exceptional at adhering to guidelines and rules and can believe that there's only one right way to eat, thus assuming that everything else (ex. sugar, carbs, sport nutrition, hydration, salt, grains, dairy, etc.) are "bad".

We live in a world where seeing is believing. 

What if the fitness experts, coaches and athletes (of all levels) that you look up to and follow are engaged in disordered eating? These disordered beliefs, attitudes and behaviors around food or exercise make onlookers and followers (YOU) believe that these depriving and restricting methods are "normal" or even required in order to be healthy and to perform at your best.

Athletes can easily hide or rationalize disordered eating behaviors under the claims "I'm training for an event and I need to get leaner" or "I'm improving my performance by becoming a better fat adapted" or "I can't eat that because it will ruin my health" or "I need to exercise more to get into better shape."

While every athlete can welcome a healthier style of eating and should consider working with a sport dietitian to master performance eating and fueling, extreme methods or unrealistic weight or performance goals can can easily foster unhealthy eating habits and disordered body image thoughts. These eating habits cause also cause great stress, anxiety and social isolation.  

To develop new skills and dietary habits that actually improve your health and performance you must be willing to welcome positive messages about food and your body.

The more rules, plans, experts, diets and nutrition information overload that you welcome into your life, the more likely that your your eating patterns (and thoughts about your body) will become more distorted and obsessive which will ultimately sabotage your performance and health goals.

If you are struggling with your relationship with food and the body, get professional help.
Let food enhance your life, not control your life. 

Rice and veggie bowl

                                  

We ate a lot during the two weeks that we were in Florida for our training camp in Clermont + another week in Jacksonville for RETUL fits (Karel) and I spoke to the Delafina Women Cycling club.

Despite eating a lot of food, no meal left us feeling bad, stuffed, bloated or guilty as we always eat with good intentions and have a great relationship with food.
(even when Karel eats his frozen chocolate "recovery bar" - inside joke, ask us about it when you see us in person :)

 During our trip, we had a nice combination of food prepared at home (well, our homes away from home) and a few inspiring meals from restaurants.

After our Clermont training camp, we spent a week in Jacksonville, FL (where we use to live from 2008-2014 and stayed with our friend Shawn B. and his family.



On Thursday evening (3/24), Karel, Shawn and I left the house around 5pm and met up with our friends Lauren and Jen. Karel, Shawn and a few others joined the Thurs night group ride in Nocatee and Lauren, Jen and I headed to A1A for 2 x 30 min intervals w/ 5 min EZ in between (GIRL POWER!).

After my 2:20 ride, I enjoyed 20 minutes of flat road running off the bike around Atlantic Beach before Karel and Shawn arrived home from their ride. 

After Karel and I had our recovery drink (milk and whey protein), we enjoyed dinner with Shawn and his family.
Andy did the prep, Shawn did the final touches and we all did the eating.

And when I say enjoy, I mean I could not stop yumming!!
This dish was so absolutely yummingly delicious!
(yummingly delicious is my new word)

I just loved the flavors of this multi-ingredient dish that I could not wait to share it with you.

Rice and veggie bowl
Rice - jasmine or basmati (you could also do a whole grain of your choice)
Baked cauliflower and sweet potatoes - with turmeric and cumin
Sliced avocado
Chopped dates
Fresh shaved Parmesan cheese
Chopped cashews
Cilantro 

1. Toss cauliflower and sweet potato in olive oil and season with turmeric and cumin. Bake at 425 degrees for 40-45 minutes (or until golden brown)

2. Combine cooked rice and the rest of the ingredients together in a bowl. Be creative with your layering!
3. Yum!

Fueling the vegetarian athlete

Fueling the Vegetarian Athlete – nail the basics

In the current (May) issue of Triathlete Magazine (pg 64), I discuss some of the important considerations in fueling the vegetarian athlete.

This month I am celebrating 24-years of being a vegetarian (lacto-ovo).
In the month of April, when I was 10 years old, I came home from school one day and told my parents that I didn't want to eat animals anymore. I've always loved animals and even at a young age, it was my love for animals that prompted me to be a vegetarian.
I'm pretty sure I didn't call myself a vegetarian in my early years as that word wasn't part of my vocabulary but instead I just told people "I don't eat meat".
My diet has evolved over the past two decades, especially as I learned more about nutrition and sport nutrition.

But in all reality, my diet is no different than yours except for that I don't eat meat or fish.
I'm assuming you eat a lot of plants too, right?


Even though my diet has a name, there's no reason why athletes should shun away from plant-strong eating because the word"plant strong" does not mean "don't eat meat."


Regardless of what you name your diet, all athletes will benefit from a more real food (foods originating from a farm or garden, not made in a factory) diet.

However, for the vegetarian athlete (or the athlete who eats little to no meat or fish), I hope you find my Triathlete article helpful.
A few plant-strong, vegetarian takeaways.
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• Well-planned vegetarian diets can be very healthy and performance-enhancing but going meat-free doesn’t guarantee better health or podium-worthy finishes.
  
• Carnivorous or plant-eating, a poorly planned diet can make you feel lethargic, sick and weak, especially if you are not eating enough to meet your energy and nutrient needs.
  
• Relying too heavily on meat-free processed food, only eating fruits and veggies, consuming an excessive amount of carbs, consuming an inadequate intake of plant strong protein and consuming too little healthy fats, are reasons why athletes who go "meat free" often fail to meet nutritional requirements (or struggle with constant hunger or poor energy).
  
• As for the vegetarian protein debate, if adequate energy and an assortment of plant foods, rich in essential amino acids, are consumed throughout the day, physiologically processes shouldn’t be compromised in a plant-based diet.
  
• Vegetarian athletes should make an extra effort to consume nutrients like calcium, iron, zinc, omega-3, vitamin D, B12 and niacin, particularly if the diet is lacking in food variety. Understanding that many essential nutrients are required in the countless metabolic pathways that support a body in motion, a chronic nutrient deficiency (or absorption issue) may result in health and/or performance complications.
  
• Although a real-food approach should be prioritized over nutrients found in a pill or powder, supplements and engineered fortified foods are an option to protect against (or to fix) a nutrient deficiency.
  
• Considering that plant-strong diets are high in both soluble and insoluble fiber which are beneficial for blood sugar control (among many other health benefits), athletes should be mindful that if the diet is lacking in sufficient fat and protein at meal time, athletes can risk overeating due to constant hunger pains from too much nutrient-dense volume (or too many carbs) but not enough long-lasting energy.
  
• Speaking of fiber, athletes will benefit from limiting high fiber foods close to workouts and race day due to possible GI distress and discomforting digestion issues (ex. stomach cramps, diarrhea, bloating, gas) from too much residue in the gut.
  
• As for long workout days when calorie expenditure is at its highest (and “reward” carb-heavy junk food is often anticipated), it’s important to be mindful of healthy lower-fiber carbohydrates (ex. rice, potatoes, juice, honey, syrup, watery fruits) which can help with quickly replenishing glycogen stores and meeting energy needs, without promoting uncomfortable fullness, while offering beneficial nutrients to your depleted body.
  
• Whereas most American’s have an increasing obsession with meat consumption, there are many countries in this world that thrive off a mostly plant-based diet and live a long, healthy and active life. Therefore, it is inaccurate to view a vegetarian diet as “restrictive” because in America, we don’t really have a traditional American diet as a “healthy” reference.
  
• Because athlete lab results may contrast with “normal” population ranges, consider periodic blood testing throughout your season and correlate lab numbers with how you feel and retest every 4-6 months (starting in early season) for a personalized reference range. For plant-based athletes, the following blood tests are recommended:
  CBC, CMP, ferritin, folic acid, homocysteine, iron (total and TIBC), lipid profile, vitamin B12, Vitamin D, 25-Hydroxy.
  Supplementation may be necessary but not without prior testing to confirm a deficiency. 

Train smarter, ride smarter

It's a completely different mindset to go by time instead of by miles.

Just think about the many different outcomes that could occur if a coach tells all his/her athletes:

Workout: Ride 100 miles.

Do you know how long it would take Karel and I to ride 100 miles in Greenville?

Well, we have ridden a century just a few times (2 for me) since we have moved to Greenville in May 2014 and the miles do not go by quickly here!

Regardless of where you live (mountains, hills, flat, by the beach, etc.), it's important that your workout has specificity, especially if you are training for an endurance event.
Seeing that changing your physiology and adapting to training stress is paramount to being physically prepared for race day, if your training plan asks you to complete x-miles and there's minimal structure or purpose to the workout, you are delaying the opportunity to experience significant gains in fitness. Additionally, your training will become monotonous and you'll find yourself going through the motions, week after week with little to no improvements.

 Furthermore, if you aren't comfortable riding your bike due to a poor bike fit, you do not know how to use sport nutrition properly to stay well fueled and hydrated and/or you lack the proper skills (climbing, descending or changing gears) to ride efficiently on your bike, you will struggle to improve your fitness (and you may risk injury or sickness). 

I often hear other athletes talk about how "fast" they rode for x-miles as if the only goal of the workout was to ride as fast as possible. Or athletes will boast about how many miles they accumulated in one ride.
While there's nothing wrong with either of the above statements, athletes should not make the only goal of a workout to see how fast you can go or how far you can go.

Instead, focus on what's happening within those miles and above all, be sure that you can actually absorb the training stress that you are putting on your body. With this comes a responsibility that you are incorporating great lifestyle habits like good daily nutrition, good fueling before/after workouts, great sleep and stress management and the ability to function well in life.

We are very specific with our workouts and within every workout is a main set - even for the long workouts. And for our Trimarni coaching athletes who are in cold conditions and are still on the trainer, they have a very specific trainer option which does not keep them on the trainer for more than 3 hours - ever!

With a time-based approach, you make training fit into your life and not the other way around (and that's how we like to train and coach our busy athletes who balance training, family, work, etc.). And since every triathlete wants to become a better, stronger and faster cyclist since it is the most covered distance in a triathlon, it's very important to train in a way that can help you develop the necessary skills, fitness, endurance and strength to excel on race day.  

Consider the following tips to help you train smarter to reach your cycling performance goals faster.

The tips are not focused on time-based training but instead, they are very important components that will help you ride more efficient and thus, ride stronger so that you can ultimately run fresher off the bike. 

Cycling tipsRather than chasing miles when you ride, consider these tips to help you become a better (strong, faster, more efficient) cyclist.

1) Create a positive training environment for consistent training (note the position of the TV below which is in our workout room which is low to the ground. This is very important to not stress the neck when riding in aero)

2) Create variable cadence so that you can adjust your cadence as needed on variable terrain (incorporate specific cadence drill sets)

3) Learn how to use your gears properly (and anticipate when to change gears) when riding in the wind and on hilly terrain

4) Develop great muscular strength so that you do not tax your cardio system when climbing

5) Learn multiple styles of climbing so that you are not stuck in only one position

6) Learn how to anticipate climbs/descends

7) Get comfortable riding in a group environment so you are comfortable riding around others on race day.

8) Learn how to descend

9) Learn how to descend (especially on windy roads)

10) Get comfortable eating/drinking on the bike when riding (at all speeds)

11) Get comfortable changing bottles around in your cages

12) Practice changing a flat tire - and keep practicing

13) Ride with your race wheels at least 1/2 a dozen times before your upcoming race to ensure that they are appropriate for you to ride as efficiently as possible

14) Don't ride scared on the road. Be comfortable and confident on your bike.

15) Enjoy riding your bike! Ride your bike anytime just for fun (you don't need to turn on your gadget just to ride your bike.)

Time-based cycling training

After two weeks of training in Florida, it was nice to be back by the mountains.

On Saturday morning, a small group of friends joined Karel and I for a long ride, which included almost 90 minutes of intervals on a rolling hill loop near Caesar's head mountain.

Warm-up: ~45 minutes (ride to the start of the loop), constant rollers and a few short steep climbs

MS: 6 x 10 minutes at Z3 mid to upper (odd: heavy gear, slower than normal cadence. Even: high cadence, higher than normal cadence) w/ 4 min EZ in between.

Compared to the ride I did the previous Saturday in Florida (picture below) which included a short warm-up on flat roads, a 40-min TT effort on flat roads (drafting behind our friend Shawn and two other strong girls), a group ride (with about 30 riders) on flat roads, followed by a solo steady effort on flat roads (while the rain was falling) and then a cool-down in the pouring rain with puddles all over the ground (on flat roads), this is evidence that the miles just go by a lot slower here in Greenville as we live near the mountains and we ride near (and on) the mountains. 

And I'm ok with that.

At Trimarni, we are time-based, quality training coaches.

99% of our workouts for our athletes are based on time and not by miles/distance covered.

We realize that all races/events are based on distance (and not by who can cover the most distance in a certain amount of time) but we are more focused on what's going on within those miles (process driven) than the total distance covered (outcome focused).

It's very common for athletes to obsess about miles covered, often forcing athletes to cover more distance than they can tolerate due to poor form and fatigue which accumulates over time.

As you can see from my two rides (just 1 week apart), it sure does look like I am a slower athlete here in Greenville. 

But slow is all relative.

(And in all honesty, the route that we rode on Saturday was a fairly "fast" ride. Karel did his own intervals and averaged around 19mph! We typically average around 16.5-17mph when we ride outside and average around 1000 feet each hour. I also didn't show or tell you what my speed was during my main set so once again, it's all about what's happening within the workout not just the outcome).

For my first 2-3 years of endurance training, I was very obsessed with metrics. 

I didn't like the idea of stopping a run at 6.8  miles so I ran until it reached 7 miles. Same went for cycling. I would think, "why finish a ride at 37 miles when you can ride 3 more miles to get to 40."
40 miles sounds so much better than 37, right?

For swim workouts, I would often swim 100-400 more yards just to finish a workout at 3500 instead of 3100.

Or, I would often find myself counting my total weekly miles as if I had this magic number that I needed to reach to validate my fitness improvements or readiness to race.
As you can see from my ride on Saturay, I rode 59.58 miles. Not 60 miles.
I'm pretty sure I will still be prepared for Rev3 Knoxville in 7 weeks even though I didn't hit 60 miles.

Now, I can't even tell you how many miles I run as I rarely look at my watch (or the treadmill) for total distance covered.
When I swim or bike (and run), I stop when my workout when the main set is over and I cool down - that's when I am done.

Although my fitness, skills and endurance has improved considerably over the past 6+ years since I learned how to train smarter as an endurance triathlete, the terrain in Greenville has provided me with a completely new training stress which I absolutely love.

With this training stress comes a different mindset when it comes to bike and run training.

I invite you to consider time-based workouts instead of constantly chasing the miles when you run and bike.

Now you may be thinking that time-based training is not the way to go as your workouts need to be specific to your upcoming distance.

Well, this is a very old-school way of thinking (ex. that you must get in a 100 mile ride or 20 mile run in order to train for an Ironman) and we know that periodization and specificity within workouts can prepare an athlete for the upcoming demands of training.
Furthermore, if a proper warm-up, good economy, great skills, smart execution, great fueling/hydrating and excellent recovery habits are not enforced, the workout stress is not well-tolerated (and consistent training may be difficult to achieve).

Let's consider four types of athletes training for a half ironman distance triathlon.

Athlete A has a 60 mile ride on his schedule. He is a newer athlete and chooses to ride with a group for his long ride every Saturday. He accumulates 60 miles in 3 hours and 20 minutes.

Athlete B has a 60 mile ride on his schedule. He is a newer athlete and rides alone on flat terrain and it takes him 3 hours and 50 minutes to accumulate 60 miles. But on this day, it's not windy. When it's windy, it takes him 4 hours to accumulate 60 miles.

Athlete C has a 60 mile ride on his schedule. He is a newer athlete and rides alone on hilly terrain. It takes him 5 hours to accumulate 60 miles.

Athlete D has a 60 mile ride on his schedule. He is an advanced athlete and rides alone on hilly terrain. It takes him 4 hours to accumulate 60 miles.

Athlete E has a 60 mile ride on his schedule. He is an advanced athlete and rides alone on flat terrain. It takes hims 3 hours and 25 minutes to accumulate 60 miles.

Who's the fitter athlete? 

Who's the stronger athlete?

Which athlete will be most prepared for race day? 

Hopefully, you struggled to select the correct answer because so many factors come into play when it comes to preparing the body and mind for an upcoming race, especially as it relates to cycling.

In my next blog I will discuss a few helpful tips for getting the most out of your cycling training as you prepare for your upcoming endurance event. 

If you are interested in training with us in Greenville to improve your cycling skills, explore our amazing bike-friendly roads and to enjoy our beautiful mountain views, contact us on our website to inquire about one-on-one training and your own personal private "training camp" experience in Greenville. We offer a variety of private camps from 1-3 days, covering all three disciplines - swim, bike and run. We can make your personalized camp as specific as you need based on your individual strengths and weaknesses.

Process focused, not outcome driven

Goals give you the motivation you need to put in the work.
If your current eating habits or training regime is inspired by a goal, be sure to not associate happiness with the end result, assuming that the present isn't a fun, enjoyable and happy place to be in.

Happiness isn't found in an outcome.
Happiness is the process.

Engaging in the process (rather than being overly focused on what the end result will feel or look like) will allow you to enjoy life more fully. You will also find it easier to be more flexible as you welcome many opportunities to experiment, learn and develop your skills and knowledge.

We can not control the future but you can control your current process. Rather than putting all your energy into the results, focus on meaningful changes that will give you better life satisfaction, empowerment, confidence and higher self-esteem.

Let's be honest - many times, life does not turn out how we expect it to. This can be good or bad.
This isn't a negative way of thinking but instead, a reality that we should not live life with the mentality that, one day in the future, happiness or success will come or life will be better.

Don't let success (or happiness) be tied with a specific outcome in the future.
Create success now.

Learn to be happy with the effort that you give, every day of your life.
Trust that with every best effort that you give in your process, you will experience a small change that will bring a favorable outcome.

What does a best effort look like today?
Are you making things happen or hoping things will happen?
Are you constantly aware of what you are doing (or not doing) that could bring a better outcome or do you find yourself constantly frustrated that you are always "messing up"?
Are you confident and passionate about your habits/changes or hating the process and waiting for happiness when you reach the end result?
Are you letting other people get in your way or doing what's best for you?

Are you processed focused or outcome driven?

The undervalued warm-up (and pre-set)

Every workout should start with a proper warm-up.

If you think your warm-up is taking away your precious training time or slowing your overall pace/speed of the workout, you are missing the point of a warm-up.

A warm-up is to help you execute better during your main set of your workout.

In as little as 5-15 minutes, you can increase blood flow, send more oxygen to the working muscles, prepare your muscles and nerves for an upcoming effort, improve range of motion, and most importantly, help your mind prepare for the upcoming effort. Although a warm-up will not prevent injuries it can certainly reduce your risk.

Even if your workout is focused on skills, form or recovery, it's important to give your body the time it needs to gradually increase the intensity/effort to ensure that you perform your best.
Now you may be thinking that a warm-up includes a little dynamic stretching or light foam rolling before you start your cardio workout and you are not incorrect in this thinking. A proper warm-up not only includes the mobility work that you do before your cardio and muscular systems begin to turn-on but a warm-up needs to activate key muscles, tendons, ligaments and nerves that will allow for a smooth transition before your more specific "work" during your workout. Therefore, we also continue warming up with a pre-set after our "warm-up".
That's a whole lot of warming up! But trust us. It's all worth it when your body is prepped and ready for your main set. We learned about the concept of a pre-set (after the normal 5-10 min designated warm-up and before the main set) from coach Matt Dixon and coach Gerry Rodrigues (two great coaches/mentors). You'll really notice the benefits of a pre-set as the pre-set can often feel harder (or more uncomfortable) than the main set but this is simply because the body is getting primed to perform for the main set. If you skip a proper warm-up (or pre-set) you are simply asking your body to perform in a compromised state as you are not yet ready to push hard (or to perform with good form). If you are the athlete who feels like it takes 20, 30 or 40 min to feel good rhythm (or form) when you are working out or feel you are time-crunched and need to make every minute count in a workout, you'll get so much more, physically and mentally, from your workout with the right warm-up and pre-set. In other words, why use a main set to continue to warm-up and only have your last 5-10 min of your workout be your "best feeling efforts"? It's time to make every workout count. Stop struggling to get through your workouts because you aren't giving your body time to warm-up. We love the idea of a pre-set after the warm-up as it improves neuromuscular control, prepares the muscular and cardio system for what's to come later/next in the workout and gets the mind prepared for the upcoming effort. It also positively stresses the body in many ways, whether it's a form-focused pre-set for improved range of motion or a short intensity pre-set to boost blood flow. If you ever watch cyclists before a time-trial or crit race, track runners or swimmers at a swim meet, they spend a considerable amount of time warming up before they compete. You know you wouldn't start a race without a proper warm-up so why do it in training? And keep in mind that the warm-up and pre-set are still contributing to your overall workout time, distance and training stress so it's not taking away from your valuable "workout" time. (Certainly if you are obsessed with metrics, you will need to change this thinking that you need to get in x-miles or yards for a good workout. We always instruct our athletes to go by time and not distance as it allows for a more quality workout).

Here are a few warm-ups and pre-sets to include in your swim, bike and run workouts: SWIM: Warm-up: 8-10 min EZ swim 1-2 x 200 buoy 4-6 x 50's kick w/ fins (steady effort) w/ 10 sec rest Pre set: 12-16 x 25's (or 8-10 x 50's for more advanced swimmers) w/ paddles and ankle strap (optional snorkel). Descend in sets of 4 from 75-90%. w/ 5-8 sec rest. BIKE: Warm-up: 5-15 minutes EZ spin 9-12 minutes increasing effort from Z1-low Z3 (or 70-85% effort) every 3 minutes Pre set 2-3x's: 1 min z1, 30 sec Z2, 1 min Z1, 30 sec Z3, 1 min Z1, 30 sec Z4 No break, continue to repeat 2-3 rounds total. OR another Pre-set: 3-5 x's: all Z2 effort (1 min 70-75 rpm, 1 min 80-85 rpm, 30 sec 90 rpm, 30 sec 100+ rpm) No break, continue to repeat 3-5 rounds total. RUN: 3-5 min walking with 2-3x's 10-15 sec skipping 2-3 x 5 min EZ jog w/ 30 sec walk Pre-set: 1 min EZ, good form run 30 sec fast feet/pick-ups 1 min EZ run 40 sec fast feet/pickups 1 min EZ run 50 sec fast feet/pickups 1 min EZ run
60 sec fast feet/pickups 1 min EZ run 50 sec fast feet/pickups 1 min EZ run
40 sec fast feet/pickups 1 min EZ run
30 sec fast feet/pickups 1 min EZ run

The next time you are about to workout and question your energy, ability to execute or feel excited to challenge yourself, just remind yourself that you are only a warm-up (and pre-set) away from a great workout.

Your coach is watching you

It's easy to cut deals with yourself when you train alone. When no one is watching, you can go a little harder/easier when you feel like it and you can modify a workout based on your mood and energy. You can skip the parts of the workout that you don't like and you can add/shorten a workout based on what you feel makes you feel the best on that given day. Although coaches would like to assume that athletes follow training plans as written (with only necessary modifications applied based on time constraints and energy to ensure quality training), I think any athlete would agree that a group training environment (or having a coach with you when you train) forces athletes to give an effort that they wouldn't do on their own, not to mention complete the entire workout as planned. Seeing that training alone gives an athlete a tremendous amount of freedom to mentally check-out, modify or adjust a given workout as the athlete feels fit, you may find that you are limiting your athletic capabilities when training alone. An easy fix to this is to pretend like your/a coach is always supervising your workout.

Here are a few tips to bring to every training session.

-Show up "on time" -Don't cut the warm-up short

-Understand the workout purpose before you start the workout

-Don't make excuses

-Don't be afraid to fail

-Give your best effort, on that day

-Only compare yourself to a past version of you (not another athlete)

-Don't stop the workout until you complete the entire workout (unless you are sick, injured or form suffers)

Far too many athletes fail to reach their full athletic potential simply because they lack the motivation and discipline needed to execute well for every given workout. 

If you follow a training plan, it's important to not let yourself think that you know better than your coach and that it's ok to modify workouts based on what you feel like doing each day. 

It's important to trust your coach and trust your training plan as every workout (and week of training) has a clear purpose in your individual fitness journey. If your gut tells you that your training plan is not ideal for you, discuss with your coach before you begin to coach yourself by modifying your assigned training plan workouts. It's far too common that athletes will feel the need to do more intensity or volume thinking that the harder and longer you go, the fitter and faster you become. 

Sadly, this is not always true as specific workouts are needed at specific times in training. At Trimarni coaching, we focus on getting our athletes strong before we get them fast and then they are ready to go long. Too much volume and intensity will often lead to injuries or overtraining. 

A smart and well-laid training plan ensures development and proper physical adaptations to prepare your body and mind for race day.

Always give your best effort and hold yourself accountable to the work that needs to get done to help you get your fitness and health to where you want it to be by race day.

If you are interested in a Trimarni training plan, visit our website to learn more about our Olympic, half and full Ironman 20-week training plans. Every Trimarni training plan is designed to help you develop your skills and fitness to properly prepare for race day. We can assure you that you will never get bored with our workouts and you will be able to fit your training into your life as you prepare your body for your upcoming event. If you are in need (or love) triathlon education and are looking for a team environment (even if you train alone), consider joining our Performance Team with the purchase of your training plan. For only $50/month, you have access to our private Trimarni team Facebook page, Trimarni sponsor discounts, discount to our training camps and you receive a weekly educational "check-in" email (either as a handout or video) from Karel and myself. Every week we discuss an important topic that will help you become a smarter triathlete. Even if you join the Performance Team now, you still receive all past handouts (since December). Check-in topics already discussed include:

-Sport nutrition -Daily nutrition -Long run nutrition -Race day execution - olympic, half and full Ironman -Motivation -Bike skills - ex. riding in the wind

-Staying accountable to training -Swim skills -Planning a race-cation -Team approach to training -Training stress -Training metrics -Mobility -Sleep And more!

Healthy lifestyle habits

It’s quite the paradox but America is obsessed with eating healthy yet we are one very unhealthy nation.
Although what we eat (or don't eat) affects our health, healthy eating is simply part of a healthy life.

And a healthy life requires healthy lifestyle habits.

 If you are constantly looking for quick fixes after you realize that your unhealthy lifestyle has become a problem, it's time to stop the diet mentality so you can (finally) create good lifestyle habits to improve your health, body composition and performance/fitness.

Believe it or not, but by addressing your lifestyle choices you can actually improve your fitness, achieve/maintain a healthy weight/body composition, minimize GI distress (especially during workouts), improve recovery, have more natural energy throughout the day, reduce risk for injury and sickness and enjoy your athletic lifestyle a lot more without following a diet plan. 

I realize that it's much easier to gain control over your life by following a diet plan as it's easy to feel great anxiety, fear and stress around food.
Of course, a diet plan takes away the guessing and being told what not to eat is much easier than putting in the work to make better choices with your eating, training/exercising and lifestyle but you can't live your entire life obsessing about what to or not to eat.
It's time to make peace with food and live a more healthy lifestyle. 

If you feel like you need a change in your life, I want you to select three of the following lifestyle habits that need improvement in your life.

-----------------------------Restful sleep
Healthy relationships - spouse/significant other, family and friends
Healthy life, work and family balance
                                          Stress management                                     
Strength training and mobility work
Following a smart training plan
Following a smart training plan that fits into your life
Reduce sedentary time
Nutrient timing - timing food with workouts
Using sport nutrition wisely
Better recovery routine
More time warming up before workouts
Learning to say no more often
Prioritize real food variety - reduce junk food
Improve coping skills (stop using alcohol or food for emotions, stress, anxiety, etc.)
Meal planning/prepping
Staying hydrated
Developing a healthy relationship with food and the body
Goal setting
Mental strength/skills
Create structure with your life
Give yourself "me" time--------------------------------------------

I want you to dedicate this entire week to exploring these three lifestyle habits. 
1) Why did you select these habits?
2) What's keeping you from making a change in this area? 
3) What will help you make a change (education, professional help, accountability, motivation)?
4) How will you maintain your changes for long-term success?5) What will you do when a set-back occurs? How will you get back on track?

2016 Clermont camp - race day pics

Our awesome photographer Taylor took some amazing pictures during our 4-day training camp.
We just love seeing our athletes (and their strong and healthy bodies) in action. 

Here are some great action shots from race day. 

2016 Clermont camp - race day

On the first day of camp, at our evening meeting, Karel talked to the campers about the purpose of camp. Our campers knew they were training with an intentional overload of stress and that they would be "racing" an Olympic distance triathlon on the last day of camp. But we emphasized that the race is not why they are at camp. We could not have them worried or overly focused about the race and we certainly did not want them to save their energy for Sunday.
With every camp workout having a specific purpose and placement, we knew with the right mindset, our campers would be impressive on race day - even after 3 days and over 12 hours of training.

At our team meeting on Saturday we all had a good laugh that on Sunday, we would have our shortest workout which was the Olympic distance race. With this, we also told our athletes to make sure they thank their body for being strong enough to tolerate so much training volume and intensity in 4 days.

Of course, we told them they had the excuse of "I just did a training camp" but we knew our campers would not use it. Even though our campers did not taper for the race, we still took the race seriously - we asked every camper to "race it" but with the understanding that they are going into the race tired.

Because it's very easy to put too many expectations and thoughts into the first race of the season, we love our Clermont camp for that reason - our athletes can wake up in the morning and not be stressed about goal times, overall place, watts, speeds or anything else that triathletes like to control on race day. Sure, it's great to have goals for race day but when we tell our athletes to have fun on race day and to practice everything that they learned in camp, this gives them a lot more freedom to not get stuck on the end result but to focus on great execution. 

-------------------------------
Karel and I woke up at 5am to leave at 6am for the race (just a block away). Karel made his coffee from his french press and we also had a coffee pot ready for the other Trimarni athletes staying in our townhome. After a pre-race meal and water, it was time to head to the race.

While riding our bikes to the race, I could  feel a little drizzle - I had checked the forecast and the rain wasn't suppose to start until 9am. 

Well, after we arrived to the race, the drizzle turned into a light rain shower.
I had made the decision to keep my run shoes covered in a bag (learned my lesson from Challenge Knoxville last year) but other than that, my transition area was laid out as normal and I stayed dry with our team under our team tent. 

We love our Xterra Wetsuits!
I absolutely love the fit and feel of my new Vengeance fullsuit. It was extremely comfortable, especially around the arms. 
After a few team pictures, we instructed our athletes to get in a good warm-up due to the previous three days of training so several of them got in the water whereas others stayed on dry land with old running shoes (we asked them to bring two pairs) and performed a serious of dynamic warm-ups and some jogging w/ pick ups.

The race started at 7:30am with the collegiate waves and I was up next (with several other Trimarni teammates) at 7:45am. 

It's always a different feeling being in open water (versus the pool), especially at the first race of the season. I swam aggressively to the first buoy to try to position myself near the front before settling into a good rhythm.
The sky was dark and the water was dark but there were plenty of buoys on the course to keep us going in the right direction.

Another great benefit of this race was dusting off some rust and practicing transitions. I rehearsed what I was going to do in T1 in my head as I was exiting the water (after getting my wetsuit stripped off by the volunteers) and I jogged to my bike, powered on my Garmin and then put on my socks (calf sleeves were on under my wetsuit), cycling shoes, helmet and sunglasses (well, I put on my Oakley's but then realized I didn't need them so I hung them on my tri suit top for a mile and then put them on).

Seeing that we had spent two workouts on the race course, I knew our athletes would feel really confident on the course, even with the rain (which had stopped by the time we got on the bike). We had a lot of discussions with our athletes on smart execution on hilly courses and with a few hills on this Olympic course, we knew our athletes would ride confidently.

With no expectations, I just rode strong. I had no power, speed or time goals but instead, I just focused on riding hard.

My legs felt strong, not fast, but strong and I had a lot of fun on the course. One of my favorite things about this race is seeing all of our campers and teammates out on the course. With 18 Trimarni athletes racing, we couldn't ask for a better environment to push hard and to support one another.





It's rare for me to finish the bike ahead of Karel so I welcomed the opportunity to be the first Sumbal out on the race course. 

I saw Karel twice and gave him a smile. He is always in race mode but he gave me a nod back. As for the other Trimarni athletes, there was a lot of cheering for one another which was awesome. 

Once again, with no expectations, I just ran. I was so excited to wear my new Brooks Pure Flow 5 in a race and wow, they felt amazing. I felt like I was running on my treadmill (which I love) as each step was light and springy.

I knew my legs wouldn't have much in a kick in them for two reasons - 1) no speed work in training yet this season due to building strength over the past 5 months 2) 3 days of leading a training camp takes a toll on the body.

I suppose that the word to describe my run was resilience. I didn't feel fast but I felt strong and steady. I know my body wished this was a half IM as I was just starting to feel like I was getting into a good rhythm by mile 5 but then again, I know my body was struggling to find that extra gear in this short distance race.
Mile 1: 7:10
Mile 2: 7:12
Mile 3: 7:15 (10 sec walk break to reset form)
Mile 4: 7:12
Mile 5: 7:17 (10 sec walk break to reset form)
Mile 6: 7:16
Mile .2: 7:07

I carried a hydration flask with 80 calories (1 scoop) Clif Hydration mixed with 8 ounce water and finished the flask by the end of the race. I had a sip every mile for a nice boost of sugar with sodium. I didn't grab any water at the aid stations.

It was fun to see all the other Trimarni athletes out on the  course and Karel and I could not have been more proud of our campers/athletes. Everyone was in race mode and no one was using their "I just did a training camp" excuse card. 

After I crossed the finish line, I went back out to cheer for Karel who was nearing the finish line. Once again, it was a nice change to be on the sidelines cheering for Karel as he is always finished way before me.

After Karel and I finished, we went out and cheered until every Trimarni athlete crossed the finish line. I will be sharing some race pictures of our campers in my next blog (Thank you Taylor for the great pics!). 

There was so much support among the Trimarni team and we loved having everyone out on the course, cheering for each other. 

You can just call us a pack of highlighters - we love our bold and bright kits. 

I absolutely love my bike - the fit, my new saddle, my super stiff and fast Alto Cycling Wheels. I'm so excited to race the Rev3 half Ironman in Knoxville in 7 weeks! 


A big congrats to Karel for winning the Male Master's division.
(Karel is coming to terms with getting older but he is still getting faster. This is his first race in his new 40-44 age group - he will turn 40 in September). 

I had fun racing with these fast ladies in the 30-34 age group!

We are so proud of our athletes/campers!

3-day training camp - check!
Olympic distance race - check!
Great attitudes - check!
Motivation to last the rest of the season  - check!

GREAT CLERMONT TRIATHLON RACE RESULTS:

Gary – 1st AG (65-69) - sprint distance

Maggie – 2:19 (Aquabike)

Lisa – 2:32:42 (1st AG 40-44)

Justine – 2:31:13

Stephanie – 2:43:21

Erin: 3:00:06

Heather – 3:26:45

JoAnn – 3:34:43 (despite having some back issues when starting the run, she pulled through and finished strong!)

Joe- 2:17.02 (3rd AG 30-34)

Wlad – 2:25:50 

Adam: 2:27.02

Carsten: 2:28.20

Rob: 2:38.44

James W: 2:47.36

Chris A: 2:53.24 (PR)

Jim N: 2:58.04

Ryan – Mechanical on the bike but excellent swim!

Keri – despite a little open water swim anxiety, she still swam strong!

Marni: 2:23.20 (3rd AG 30-34)

Karel: 2:10:32 (1st Male Masters, 7th overall)

2016 Trimarni Clermont Camp - day 3

We always tell our campers that day 3 of our training camps is the hardest - mentally and physically. However, our campers really surprised us in Clermont because they were actually really looking forward to a change of scenery on Saturday morning for the endurance ride as well as a brick run. We started day 1 and 2 of camp with a run workout so I think they were also looking forward to getting on the bike first thing in the morning.

We also let them sleep in on Saturday and we didn't start our ride until 7:30am. Every night, our campers went to bed earlier and earlier so just a good sign that they were recovering well from a day full of training.

Our campers also fueled exceptionally well for every workout and ate well throughout the day so I knew that poor fueling or unhealthy eating wouldn't be an issue for our campers.

The Saturday workout was endurance focused with a 3 hour ride followed by a 20 minute brick run.

We all rode to the Buckhill loop and instructed our athletes to ride in groups (we put them into groups of 4-5 of similar abilities) at an endurance effort - not easy but not hard. After 2 days of training, we knew they would be tired and a little fatigued but this accumulative training stress was planned and we wanted our campers to learn how to adjust efforts (and mindset) when training tired.
Our campers fueled very well before the long brick as well as during (and good hydrating) which was great because I had  no fears/worries about athletes bonking or complaining of being hangry and tired.
Every camper had a body that was energized and healthy!

I want to send a big thank you to Taylor (and Maggie) for providing SAG support on Saturday for our campers who needed any extra nutrition or hydration. Although it wasn't too hot out, it's always nice to have extra fuel just in case.
Plus it was nice to have our photographer Taylor on the course taking pictures of all our athletes.

After the 3 hour ride (our campers did 3-5 loops depending on fitness level) we all rode back to the team duplex house and everyone geared up for a 20-minute brick run.

We asked our campers to lay out their gear just like in a race (transition area) so that it would be a quick transition to the run.
We also asked our campers to wear their hydration belts for the brick run as it's just one of those things that you want to get comfortable wearing just like a race belt, hat or a watch. The more you wear it, the more comfortable it feels. Our campers had Clif Hydration in their belt flasks as I didn't want them to see the brick run as "only" running 20 minutes off the bike but instead, seeing the run as a continuation from the 3 hour bike workout and to understand that they still need fuel and hydration to delay fatigue even if "only" running 20 minutes.

We timed the weather perfectly as we all finished the run in the rain.
There's something so fun about running in the rain but it's even more fun when you have 16 of your fellow teammates running with you.

After the workout, our campers cleaned up and picked up their packets at Waterfront Park (1/2 mile from the team house) and then had the rest of the day OFF from training.

While Karel was performing a RETUL fit at our townhome during the afternoon, our campers rested and then starting preparing dinner around 4:30pm.

What a nice spread of food!!
This is how I like my campers to eat at camp!

While our campers were eating, Karel and I had a brief chat with our campers about race execution for Sunday and then we had a special guest speak to our group at 7pm.

I want to send a BIG thank you to Dr. G (Gloria) with Life With No Limits Coaching for speaking to our athletes for 75 minutes about Mental Toughness and the Champion Mindset.

Gloria gave her presentation via Skype and it was a very interactive and informative presentation. Gloria is a true professional with so much experience as a clinical sport psychologist. And as a former Trimarni athlete (we still coach her hubby Ken) and long time friend, I knew she was the perfect person to provide our team with the best info possible to help them improve their mental skills as athletes and human beings.

Thank you again Gloria for giving us all great tips and advice for developing a champion mindset. Our campers were able to bring so many new tools and tricks to race day after 3 days of training camp.

Stay tuned for day 4 of camp - race day!!!

2016 Trimarni Clermont camp - day 2

It was an early start to training on Friday morning for day 2 of camp.

We arrived to the 10-mile Clay Trail at 7am, before the sun came up. We timed it perfectly as we spent a good 15 minutes on our dynamic warm-ups after the 3-workout day on Thursday and when we started our warm-up, we ran into the sunrise. 

The workout on the Clay Trail was our camp long run. Rather than having our athletes run for 90 minutes, we focused on a warm-up (30 minutes) and then the MS split into intervals with short rest. This is one of our favorite workouts as the time ticks away and you can find yourself keeping good form despite the planned fatigue as the set continues on for multiple rounds. 

We require all our athletes to run with a hydration belt to get comfortable consuming sport drinks/water while running so I was not concerned about any of our athletes having a "bad' workout due to fatigue, dehydration, cramping or GI distress (yes - not one of our athletes has had GI distress despite using sport nutrition for every workout). 

The Clay Trail is amazing. It's a hard packed surface (in most areas) and are are surrounded with nature.
I love running on trails and any surface that is not the road (I love the treadmill) so my body was in heaven during this workout. 

Our campers were amazing. Not one complaint and a lot of teamwork. We just love it when our campers support one another and cheer for one another during the workouts. It's hard to not be inspired at a Trimarni camp. 

Here's the run workout:
30 minute warm-up (15 min out, 15 min back) with walking as needed
MS: 4-5x's:
4 min steady, 30 sec walk

2 min strong, 20 sec walk

1 min very strong, 10 sec walk
Continue to repeat without extra rest between rounds.
Then cool down 10-15 minutes

After the run we gave our campers a 2 hour break to refuel and rest before the swim and by 11:30am, our campers were on the pool deck, ready for another 90-minute swim. 

At a training camp, we want our athletes to do things that they may not normally do and this means pushing them to be uncomfortable - mentally and physically. Most of the time, our campers don't realize their full capabilities. 

Although this workout was designed to be an endurance set (steady swimming), our athletes were exhausted. Perceived effort was much different than on Thursday.
We were so proud of our athletes - for many of them, this was their longest long course workout. 

After the 90-minute swim workout, it was 1:00pm and our  campers were hungry. They had another 2-hour break to refuel and relax before our 3pm recovery ride. 

Although our campers were moving slow, we knew they would benefit from a recovery spin. This was also a great opportunity for Karel and I to work one on one with our campers. 

Karel did a great job talking about descending, cornering, riding in wind, climbing and changing gears. We both rode side by side with our campers, in small groups for extra one on one work. 

This one on one work is so valuable and one of the best parts of training with our athletes. We can write great workouts for our athletes but it isn't until we see an athlete in action that we can see if they are spending more energy than needed and we can correct learned habits that are not economical.



After our 90-minute recovery spin, it was 5pm and we could finally call it a training day.
After a recovery drink and snack, Karel and I were off to pick up pizza from Lil Anthony's for our team pizza party. 

We want to send a big thank you to Trimarni athlete and baker Sara with Sara Ran Away With the Spoon. You won't believe how great these cookies taste until you taste them yourself. She makes the best stuffed cookies!
Thank you for sending us Fudgy Java Jolt and PB Stuffed cookies. 

Time to eat!!

Our amazing Trimarni sherpa, sag, house mom, photographer and organizer Taylor. I don't know what I would do without her. 

YUM!

We are just so proud of our campers - two days of training and 6 workouts complete. And only half way finished with camp!

This picture captures how awesome our campers are - there is no shortage of laughing. 

And thank you to former Professional Triathlete and 5x Ironman Champion Heather Gollnick for speaking to our group about balancing life with triathlons. Our campers learned a lot!