Relearning how to eat normally

As an athlete, you make a lot of daily lifestyle choices which are likely not "normal" compared to your non-athlete counterparts.
Your standards for daily exercise and healthy eating are far from the norm.
For example, when was the last time you said, "I only ran 90 minutes today, but it was just an easy run" or brought a cooler of foods to a work conference because you enjoy being in control of your portions and how your food is prepared?

To reach your athletic goals, you make a lot of daily choices to maximize your performance and many times, to an outsider, your dedication to your athletic lifestyle looks absolutely crazy and unnecessary.

But when you surround yourself with your like-minded athlete buddies, you suddenly feel part of the crowd. Your decisions, actions and choices are praised, admired and sometimes needed to "fit in" among your athletic partners.
You may even go out of your way on social media to follow nutrition experts who "get you."

While it is socially accepted among your athlete friends to train and eat like you do, it is important that your food rules do not interfere with your ability to eat normally. 

Athlete or not, never should you eat with anxiety, fear, guilt or frustration.

Has your relationship with food turned obsessive and disordered?

Are food rules preventing you from having permission to eat sugar, carbs, grains, dairy or other foods or food groups?

Have you lost the ability to have an appetite to eat?

Do you feel no pleasure when you eat?

Is it difficult for you to eat in social settings without feeling judged?

Do you feel uncomfortable when someone else prepares your food?

What was once a desire to lose a few lbs or to eat cleaner, do you find yourself living an overwhelming lifestyle of feeling controlled by food?

Are your current food choices keeping you from staying in good health or performing well as an athlete?

With so many athletes being more and more misinformed about sport nutrition and healthy eating (and it is about to get much worse come the New Year, as usual), to the point of being afraid of eating the wrong foods, it's very sad to see so many athletes suffering from bone-related injuries, blood sugar swings, fatigue, low energy, unhealthy weight loss/gain, cardiovascular issues, hormonal, metabolic, endocrine and other health issues related to "food rules."

In my practice, I am not a specialist in eating disorders. However, I do work with many athletes who struggle with their relationship with food and the body. My focus is on helping athletes break down food barriers to eat normally - in life AND as an athlete - in order to reach athletic goals.

While this type of nutrition consultation journey is much more complicated and in-depth than helping athletes fine-tune sport nutrition (fueling/hydration) for an upcoming event, the end goal is for an athlete to successfully eat and fuel without food rules or negative thoughts about the body.

If you are an athlete who has been living a life controlled by food rules, often feeling a strong need to control your food intake to avoid the guilt and uncomfortable feeling that comes from eating "bad" foods, it's time to relearn how to eat.

Imagine the possibilities when you let food enhance your life, instead of controlling your life.
Life is not about calories, grams, diets, food rules and an off-limit food list.

Consider the opportunities in life when you can eat normally - anywhere, anytime.

If this blog post resonates with you, this doesn't mean that you are a bad person.
There is absolutely no shame or self-guilt to be felt if you struggle with your relationship with food and the body.

If you are ready to relearn how to eat, consult with a professional who specializes in disordered eating/eating disorders for help. 

Big results or marginal gains?

Picture Source

Not every athlete trains to win a race but most athletes train to maximize the potential of performing well on race day.

While your definition of race day success may be to simply complete the race distance and have fun along the way, there are a great number of athletes who pursue the many possible methods of getting the most out of the body through training, in order to meet performance standards on race day.

One of those popular methods is metabolically efficiency, which in simple terms, means burning fat in order to preserve carbohydrate stores.

As desirable as it sounds to an athlete to become more metabolically efficient, manipulating your diet and fueling strategies in an effort to become a better fat burner is not a requirement to be a better athlete. 

The idea of marginal gains lies in the strategy (or method) of trying to gain the 1% competitive advantage. In other words, big successes from a small change. 

With lots of confusion on how to properly become "metabolically efficient" or what it means to be metabolically efficient, it's important to stress that metabolically efficiency is much more than one tiny change in your training.

At Trimarni, we don't believe that fasted workouts are the best way to burn fat or to assist in weight loss. Seeing that many athletes have an extremely unhealthy relationship with food and the body as it is, asking/telling an athlete to voluntarily restrict food before and during workouts feeds the desire to be great at food restriction throughout the day. Many athletes are uneducated on the proper training and diet methods of how to be metabolically efficient, simply because there are too many nutrition experts offering their unique strategy, often while pushing supplements/products.

While this concept of metabolic efficiency is not new and there are many scientific truths and notable results in becoming great at burning fat as an endurance athlete, as a Board Certified Sport Dietitian, I don't view this dietary and training strategy as a necessity for all endurance athletes, as it can actually delay athletic development and heighten an already unhealthy relationship with food and the body.

Without proper guidance on how to become "metabolically efficient", it's very easy to assume that not eating before a workout or fueling during a long workout is good so not eating after a workout and restricting food later in the day, is even better.
Metabolic efficiency is not a diet plan - it's a sport nutrition strategy that may take your performance to the next level, but it is not a requirement. And due to athlete non-compliance, results are often positive and extreme in the beginning but do not last long term.  

I my opinion, for the majority of athletes, I see "metabolic efficiency" as a method that provides marginal gains and has more cons than pros.

Whether you want to become more efficient at conserving glycogen or you look to burning fat as a way to remove unwanted body fat and lean up, it's important to remind you that your success as an athlete starts with nailing the fundamentals.

This post is not to disagree with the concept of metabolic efficiency but instead, to encourage you to nail the basics before following a more extreme dietary and training methodology.

You must make smart choices with your daily diet and training regime in order to stay consistent with training while keeping your body in good health.
Eating a small banana with a smear of nut butter before a 90 minute run and consuming 150 calories of a sport drink and 20 ounce water spread over a 90 minute run may not fit the metabolic efficiency fueling standards but it will help you have a great workout and will likely keep your immune system strong during a time when it's very easy to get sick (sick = no training = loss of fitness).

Not eating before a workout or not fueling during a long workout will not help you gain the competitive edge if your training methods are haphazard, you don't sleep well, you have poor coping skills when it comes to stress, your daily diet is inconsistent, unbalanced and you have an unhealthy relationship with food and the body. 

Although it sounds extremely sexy to say that you are "metabolic efficiency training", the truth is that most athletes (even the elite ones) still have a lot to gain from continuing to nail the basics and progressing on with the developmental process, than simply restricting carbohydrates around workouts or performing workouts in the fasted state (as these are the two ways that I hear of athletes performing "fat burning" workouts).

It isn't until you have maximized your fundamental athletic capabilities that you will need to search for and attempt that one ethically safe way to gain the competitive edge.

Perhaps at that time, metabolic efficiency training can be the choice method for achieving the 1% advantage over your competition.

BUT.....until then, you haven't yet reached the marginal gain status of your athletic career.

Until then, make sure your daily diet strategies do not reduce the effectiveness of your training and above all, do not sabotage your overall health.

If you do feel as if metabolic efficiency is necessary in your training, consult with a sport dietitian who is specializes in the area.

 If you consult with me on the topic, you better believe that I will dive deep into your lifestyle choices, training methods, sport nutrition practices, dietary patterns and relationship with food and the body to discuss the many ways that you are not getting the most out of your body as an athlete.

For the majority of athletes that I work with, the missing link as it relates to body composition struggles and nutrition issues in training and on race is not because athletes are not metabolically efficient but because there is a clear limiter in the daily diet or sport nutrition regime...most common reasons include; an unhealthy relationship with food and the body, not using sport nutrition products properly (timing/quantity), poor nutrient timing or consistently not planning healthy and balanced meals.

From my experience in working with athletes, I encourage you to get to the truths of your daily diet and training regime before assuming that working out in the fasted state is the missing link that when accomplished, will improve your health, improve your body composition or improve your performance.

Now is the perfect time to learn how to make great daily nutrition habits as you follow a well laid training regime to keep you consistently training throughout the holiday season. 

Nail your 2017 nutrition goals

There is a lot of information available to athletes on the topics of nutrition, specifically as it relates to how food can change your body composition, improve your health and boost your performance.

I think it is safe to assume that most athletes view food as a naturally safe way to boost athletic performance and the diet as a method of changing body composition.

But with so much information available to athletes, the topics of eating for health, eating for fuel, eating to change body composition and so forth, can make the simple topic of "diet for athlete" so confusing and overwhelming.

Due to information overload, I wouldn't be surprised if you are one of the many athletes who have explored (or tried) a dietary trend or fad at least once a year (likely around January) in an effort to get your diet under control in order to change body composition.

The interesting thing about a diet trend is the unique marketing of the dietary strategy which accurately identifies everything that you are doing wrong (insert you saying "this diet is exactly what I need!") and finds a sneaky way to convince you that this diet is the only way to fix your issues.

At Trimarni, we do not restrict food in any way.
We do not diet or jump on any hot sport nutrition trends or fads.
We apply research to real world settings but we always put our health before performance.

We eat a balanced diet every day of the year, we use sport nutrition products properly and we eat before and after our workouts.
Food has a positive role in our life and it enhances our performance and keeps us healthy.
There's no extreme method of eating (or not eating) and absolutely no food rules or off-limit food list.

Doesn't this sound peaceful and reassuring that this style of eating really does exist?

Sadly, you may still be searching for a diet plan.

If you want to create a sustainable style of eating, there's no better time than right now, when your training volume is low and you have extra time in your day to spend on your lifestyle habits, to focus on yourself and your own nutritional needs and to create a great relationship with food and the body.

As a qualified nutrition expert (Board Certified Sport Dietitian), it's important to me to remain a great nutrition role model to my coaching athletes but also to the public, as I know many athletes follow Trimarni and obtain services from Trimarni.

If you insist on changing your diet in 2017 without the help of a nutrition expert, I hope you find value in my latest Triathlete Magazine article (pg 56) as I share a few simple smart nutrition tips to kick start your nutritional success in 2017.

Do you really need to strength train?

Are you once again neglecting strength training in your cardio training?

As a triathlete, runner or any other type of cardio-focused athlete, strength training has an important role in your cardio-focused training regime. 

While you likely know that you should strength train, it's common for athletes to think that any time spent away from swim/bike/run (or your sport of choice) in order to strength train will slow fitness gains. But actually it's the opposite. By making strength training part of your cardio focused training routine in the early phase of your season (remember, strength training needs to be periodized, just like your sport), you are setting yourself up for big fitness gains later on, when your training advances in intensity and volume. 

As you integrate functional strength exercises into your early phase of training, you can improve your imbalances and weaknesses, which may otherwise come back to haunt you when you place added intensity and volume stress on your body in the spring and throughout the summer. Sadly, it's very hard to return to a foundation phase of training when you are in peak training.

Lifting weights just to be strong will be of little value compared to performing sport-specific movements that help improve mobility, stability and eventually power and explosive strength.

For many years, Trimarni has believed in the purpose of strength training for the main fact that I spent much of my higher education focusing on strength and conditioning (throughout college and during my Master degree program). Creating strength training plans is a passion of mine as I have been strength training since I was very young (around 12 years old) and have experienced great benefits of regularly strength training.

As you transition from your off-season to more specific power/endurance/speed phase of training, I encourage you to appreciate the role of strength training as a triathlete, swimmer, cyclist or runner.
 
Karel and myself, including our athletes, all perform a "foundation" phase of training immediately after the off season.

For many years, we have called this our "Transition" plan but this word is interchanged with foundation, as you are simply building a strong foundation to work from as the season progresses.

Because we find this phase of training so critical, we have continued to update our 8-week Transition plan every year to ensure that we are keeping up with current trends and methods of training.

If you are confused as to how to properly transition yourself from the off-season to your more specific triathlon training OR if you are susceptible to injuries and health issues and want to ensure consistency in your first 8 weeks of training (and onward), we have a new 2017 8-week Transition plan and we are offering it to you to help you build a strong body for your 2017 season of training and racing. 

You can learn more here, 2017 Trimarni Training Plans.

So, to answer if you really need to strength train....the answer is yes.
Chasing watts and speed is not relevant right now.
It's impossible (and not necessary) to maintain peak race fitness all year long.

While your swim, bike, and/or run cardio sessions are important, give strength training a high priority role in your early phase of athletic development.

A strong body now will better tolerate the added stress that you will place on it as your training volume and intensity increases. 

A body that stays weak, delicate or fragile as you progress into higher intensity/volume training, will slowly deteriorate with health and injury issues as the season progresses.

Check out some of my strength training exercises to improve your stability, posture and balance.

Thanks Men's Fitness​ for the interview.

The best leg workout for runners and cyclists.

The Soup and Sandwich combo

Picture source

I have great memories of my childhood (and teenage years) when my dad would often make me and my brother grilled cheese and tomato soup. It was one of my dad's most favorite go-to meals (perhaps a close second to spaghetti with meatballs).

The soup was from a can, the bread was found on the grocery store shelf (soft and white), he used Kraft singles American cheese (found inside a plastic wrapper) and the secret to making the grilled cheese extra crisp, was buttering the toast before placing the bread on the skillet.

Although this creation was far from being described as "gourmet" and would not meet any guidelines of what people would now call "healthy, clean or wholesome", it was prepared by my dad and he loved making it for me and my brother....thus, it is a meal that I will always remember as a happy meal. 

As I miss my dad every day since his passing in May 2014, I often finding myself craving tomato soup and grilled cheese because it reminds me of him and his contagious smile and positive attitude. 

Now is the time of the year when soup (and chili) is heavily craved as it's hot, delicious and comforting. There's not much to dislike about this meal that warms your body with each spoonful.
And you can never get bored of soup as there are countless recipes with different ingredient and spice/herb combinations. 

For a busy athlete was often finds him/herself too exhausted to cook, I highly suggest to experiment with several soup/chili recipes with the help of a crock pot, to ensure that you always have a warm meal ready for you after a long day of life.

And to make my dad happy, no bowl of soup should be consumed without a delicious side sandwich. 

Here are a few sandwich recipes from Eating Well:
Healthy Sandwich Recipes

Here are a few (actually, 100+) soup recipes from Cooking Light:
Healthy Soup Recipes

Mountains to Main Street - register now with a $50 discount!

Are you looking for a beautiful, challenging, safe, well-organized half ironman distance (72.3 miles) event where you can race your own effort without feeling overcrowded on the bike course and race in a community that welcomes triathletes/cyclists?

Mark your calendars for May 21, 2017 and join us at Mountains To Mainstreet Triathlon & Festival in Greenville, SC.

Just as the name implies, you will start the race near the mountains in beautiful Lake Keowee and you will finish right off Main Street in our amazing, award-winning Downtown Greenville.

Set UpEvents race managers for Beach 2 Battleship Triathlons and South Carolina Triathlon Series invite you to join Mountains To Mainstreet Triathlon & Festival and would like to offer you a gift of $50 off your registration.

Discount code: B2BM2M50

Act fast...offer expires on 11/15!!

If the Half Ironman distance isn't for you, not to worry!!
You can participate in the Mountains to Main Street Festival by participating in the 

 1K, 5K or Half Marathon event on May 20th!

We are so excited for you to be taken away by our mountain and nature views, enjoy our bike friendly community and explore our beautiful downtown Greenville.
Did I mention that our downtown is very dog friendly???



With our state parks, Swamp Rabbit Trail, awesome downtown (picture above is from downtown Falls Park!), kid-friendly museums and delicious restaurants, Mountains to Main Street is the perfect weekend event for the entire family!

See you there!
REGISTER HERE

For more info, here's Karel's M2M race recap. 

2017 Trimarni camps - now open for registration!

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

 YOU HAVE COME TO THE RIGHT PLACE.

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



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



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


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



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

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

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



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

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

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

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

FIND OUT MORE HERE

Making the most of the fall

The fall is an amazing time and we are loving the season change in Greenville.

Sadly, we were not able to enjoy this season prior to moving to Greenville as we spent the past 10 years (14 for Karel) in Florida.

Sure, it was nice in Jacksonville, FL when the temperatures dropped to 70 degrees and it felt "cool" but there's something special about the crisp fall air and colorful trees to remind you that it's a new season.

Seeing that our 2017 triathlon training (foundation building) started a few weeks ago, there's a lot of structured back in our life as it relates to swim, bike, run. We are strength training 3 times per week, we are in the pool 4 times per week, we run 3-4 times per week (no brick runs) and we are biking 2-3 times per week. There's a lot of specificity which means choosing our terrain/environment properly to ensure proper execution.

But then there's a nice sprinkle of "free" workouts where there is no focus. 

These workouts are designed to be low intensity and skill oriented. 

The fall makes it easy to love training outside for those fun, free workouts. Karel's been having fun on his mountain bike, I love being outside on my road bike (it's like play time for me) and we have ventured out to the trails for running. 

We know that the cold temps are coming (which means more indoor training) and the specificity in our training will limit these fun free workouts.

It's not hard to make the most of this phase of training before our training load increases.

Greenville is so beautiful to train in, in the fall! 

All bundled up for a morning ride. 

Bumped in to Trimarni athlete Thomas and his new ride...oh wait, we both have new rides!

Karel was left out of the new ride feeling so he had to take the picture :) 

Loving my new road bike (Trek Silque SSL with Di2). So light, responsive and comfortable! Thanks Karel for building it for me!

The key to riding outside in 40 degrees....layers...lots and lots of layers. 

And riding toward the sunlight will help warm you up!

So happy on two wheels. Yay, that new ride feeling is amazing! 

Love our bike friendly roads and having SO much routes to choose from. Most of the time, we just leave our house and let our bikes decide where they want to take us. 

Farm life is everywhere. 

Sometimes you have to stop and say hello to the furry friends. 

Love our State Parks in Greenville. 

Off for a 60 minute trail run. 

Running to North Lake at Paris Mountain State Park. 

Nature is so beautiful. 

Am I the only one who sees water and wants to go for a swim??

Exploring with Karel. 

What a view!

Dirty trail shoes, 2 consumed flasks and no twisted ankles or boo boos.....successful run!

Technical MTB riding for Karel. I'll stick to the roads. 

Roots and rocks make for a fun MTB ride (according to Karel).

Enjoying his view. 

Letting the bike lead the way. 

3 tips to improve your Coach + Athlete relationship

Your coach plays a significant role in your athletic journey. While some athletes may have one coach for an entire athletic journey, the majority of athletes will likely have several coaching relationships throughout an athletic career. And while this statement may apply best to the high school and collegiate athlete, the concept of a strong coach + athlete relationship is extremely important for the adult athlete who is likely focusing on a lot more in life than just training.

Regardless if your coach sees you in action, monitors you via an online data software program or corresponds via phone or email, a strong coach + athlete relationship will help you become the best athlete that you can be. Hating your coach, not trusting your coach, feeling uncomfortable around your coach or struggling to effectively communicate with your coach are all signs that you do not have a good coach + athlete relationship.

While a coach has his/her responsibilities to treat the athlete like an individual, to properly communicate with an athlete, to be seen as a mentor and guide, to be available to his/her athletes, to provide constructive criticism and to be a supportive and encouraging, there are a few ways for the athlete to contribute to a healthy and strong coach + athlete relationship.

1. Don't deviate from the plan

When you are in a squad environment, there's a good chance that you wouldn't tell your coach, "I'm going to do what I want to do instead of your workout." Not only would this create a negative atmosphere among your teammates but it also shows your coach that you do not value his/her experience/expertise.

Sadly, this happens a lot when you are on your own, without your coach watching over you. Feeling the need to do more or less than what you are prescribed, going harder or easier than the effort you were told to do or skipping and adding sessions as you feel fit, is essentially your way of saying that you know better than your coach. 

While there are times to modify a workout, remember that your plan is designed to help you reach your athletic potential and also reduce your risk for injury and burnout.

Next time you look at your training plan, don't make assumptions as to what you think you should be doing and instead, just do it.

2. Trust and Communication

You likely love to train hard and you are probably very motivated to reach your upcoming season goals. But your ability to maximize your fitness will directly come from your coach, who has his/her plan (or road map) for how you will improve your physiology and develop you as you prepare for your most important races of the season.

Although coaches come from different backgrounds, some with more notable credentials and knowledge than others, it's important that you see your coach as an expert. The more you value your coaches experience, the more trust you will have for your coach. 

Trusting your coach is one of the most important components of having a great coach + athlete relationship. Most athletes will quickly recognize if a coach is the right fit, simply because they feel this sense of connection, immediately. When you trust your coach, you will listen and apply.

While trusting your coach is extremely important, good communication on your end (athlete) is critical. Keeping your mouth shut and simply checking off workouts because "coach said so" is not a healthy coach + athlete relationship. It's important to upload workouts and keep regular comments about your workouts to ensure that your coach knows if your body is properly adapting to the planned training stress. While it's important to listen to your coach (and not focus on the hundreds of other opinions/strategies as to how you think you should train) and trust his/her plan for you, you are encouraged to ask questions to your coach when you simply don't understand how to perform a workout properly.

Trust and communication go both ways - between the athlete and a coach. If you don't trust your coach, feel he/she doesn't want the best for you or you find it extremely hard and difficult to communicate with your coach, you may need to find a new coach.

(Note: When it comes to online coaching, many coaches have different coaching levels. It is important to make sure that every month, you are getting what you are paying for, from your coach. While you may be paying for daily monitoring but not receiving any feedback from your coach, many athletes expect more from a coach than what is listed in your coaching package. If you aren't sure if you are getting what you are paying for, ask your coach.)

3. Be more than just a great athlete, be a great human being.

At Trimarni, we are a family of athletes. Our athletes do not have an elitist mindset but instead, encourage and support one another. There are no favorite athletes on our team and no athlete feels excluded or not wanted. While it's important that we, as coaches, make a constant effort to set boundaries for our athletes so that they understand our expectations for them, it is equally as important that our athletes are exceptional human beings.

It's no fun to be around energy suckers or to be in a negative training environment. Be respectful to the opinions and personalities of your teammates but also be kind to other athletes in the sport.

A great coach will do his/her best to create a positive atmosphere for athletes, both via the internet and in person.

In the event that you feel uncomfortable about a situation, don't complain about it on social media, hold it in or discuss it with another athlete. Talk to your coach. While some situations are minor and become more dramatic than what they should be, it is the responsibility of an athlete to be mature and respectful. For at the end of the day, you aren't just an athlete on a coaching team but you are a human being.

And human beings should not bully, gossip or make others feel less worthy. 

For the picky eater: Spaghetti squash with marinara, basil and cheese

When I was young, I wanted cheese on everything. I also loved starches. Cheesy french bread, lots of cheese on pasta, pizza topped with extra cheese, bagel topped with cheese and Cheeze-its were some of my favorites.

When I became a vegetarian at the age of 10, not much changed in my diet except the removal of meat and fish. While it's not a rule that vegetarians have to eat more veggies than the carnivore, it wasn't until mid college when I learned the nutritional value of veggies and that I should be eating them on a daily basis.

I transitioned myself to a very plant-strong diet around the age of 20 and I noticed a lot of great changes. While my focus wasn't on my body composition, I did notice a body composition change when I made a few dietary swaps and additions into my diet.
As the years went on and I transitioned myself from a competitive college swimmer to distance runner, I had to do some tweaking in my diet, once again, to make sure that I was eating enough to support the new demands that I was placing on to my body. I also incorporated sport nutrition (and better fueling before/after workouts) into my daily diet to support my new training regime (it didn't hurt that I was in graduate school and I was learning/researching all about exercise physiology and sport nutrition).
Then,when I transitioned from distance runner to endurance triathlete, I had to really make sure that I eating enough. It was a new daily diet to make the effort to eat a variety of foods to support my metabolic needs, to eat plenty of nutrient dense foods to keep my immune system healthy and to eat the right foods at the right times to ensure that I had energy for my workouts and that I recovered well from workouts.

For the parents out there, it's important to be a good role model for your children when it comes healthy eating. As a parent, your good behaviors around food support the development of good eating choices for your children.
Children learn as much from what you say as from what you do. While children may listen and repeat what you speak to them, children really pay attention to the way that you eat.

If you don't eat breakfast and simply rush out the door in the morning, your children will not see the importance of eating breakfast. They may even grow up with the tendency to rush out the door in the morning, simply because they assume that is how the day needs to be started.

More than anything, your attitude around food and your body is contagious and your children can easily pick up on your eating habits.

When you talk about good vs bad foods, children understand this concept. Although I don't have kids, I work with teenage/young athletes (ex. 12-18 years) on their diets/fueling and many of the kids that I speak with tell me about what foods are bad. When I ask why they term these foods bad, there's a list of reasons - explained by parents/teachers.

While it's great to teach your children to identify a healthy snack as a piece of fruit and a not-so-healthy snack as a candy bar, it's extremely important that you are careful with how you speak about foods....especially if you call a food (ex. sugar, carbohydrates and processed food) "bad" for you.

 Guiding your children to smart eating choices (foods that offer nutritional value) is important but it's equally important to encourage your children to diversify their food choices and to always have a great relationship with food (it's ok to have a treat or dessert!).

If you always use the word "bad" and have a category for what foods go into this subgroup of foods, your child may associate some type of shame or harm when he/she is presented with these foods and may see these foods as a never-eat food (this doesn't include foods which cause an allergy or need to be avoided for medical reasons).
While eating cake every day is not healthy, eating a small piece of cake at a birthday party is not "bad." If your child hears that cake is bad, he/she may feel extremely uncomfortable at events/parties because he/she shouldn't eat bad food.
----------------------------------

I have the perfect dish to help your picky eater make smart decisions with food.
There are a few reasons why I selected the ingredients in this dish for the picky eater. For parents, this is a great role model dish to talk about food.

-Spaghetti squash is often termed low carb and is used as a replacement for pasta. Children should not be hearing about low carb diets or terming starches as bad. Instead of using the words "low carb" or saying "pasta is bad", let's have you talk about the vitamin C and B vitamins found in squash and why these nutrients are important for overall health (ex. vitamin C protects your immune system to reduce your risk for getting sick).

-Cheese is a fantastic source of calcium. But a little goes a long way. Talk to your kids about how cheese is made. Fun fact for your kids - did you know that aged cheese, like cheddar, Parmesan and swiss can be tolerated by lactose intolerant individuals? When your child explains lactose intolerant, explain that too!

-Tomatoes are rich in lycopene and when tomatoes are cooked, the bioavailability of lycopene increases. Lycopene is the carotenoid pigment that gives fruits and veggies a red color. It's a powerful antioxidant which can help reduce the risk for many diseases. Save the science talk to your kids and tell them that tomatoes have a lot of powerful nutrients to keep the body healthy. Lycopene is a great nutrient to improve eye sight which can help with reading.
Go the extra mile and instead of buying tomato sauce from the can/jar, make your own sauce with the help of your kids, and add in lots of chopped veggies for a vegetable-rich tomato sauce.

-Herbs, like basil, provide great flavor to food. They are also a lot of fun to grow as children can pick their own herbs from an at-home garden (how cool - you can make the food that you eat!). Herbs can give a nutritional boost to any meal. Did you know that basil has anti-inflammatory effects? Next time you have sore muscles, tell your kids that you are eating basil (instead of popping a pill) to help reduce the inflammation to you can feel strong again at your next workout.

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While there's nothing extravagant about this dish, it's a great meal to talk about food. And really, that's what we should be doing when we eat. Talking about the goodness found in food - not terming food good or bad.
I hope it will please your picky eater.
This dish goes great with your choice of protein and a beautiful hearty salad....for those who aren't so picky and need more substance to a meal than just squash, marinara sauce and cheese. 

Spaghetti squash with marinara, basil and cheese

Small spaghetti squash
Marinara sauce

Fresh Basil
Shaved Parmesan 

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly oil a casserole dish with olive oil. 

2. Cut squash in half (lengthwise) from stem to tail and scrape out the seeds. Drizzle with olive oil and a pinch of salt.
3. Place squash (cut side down) on casserole dish. Roast in oven for 30-45 minutes. 

4. Use fork to scrape out the flesh (to make "spaghetti") into the casserole dish. 

5. Spread the spaghetti on the dish along with another drizzle of olive oil. Mix together and then press down lightly.
6. Top the squash with marinara (spoon over) and spread chopped basil on top of marinara.
7. Bake for 10-15 minutes.
8. Top with cheese. 

Enjoy! 

Consistent healthy holiday eating

Picture source

This is the time of the year when it's so easy to make bad decisions with eating choices.
But I'm not talking about devouring a dozen pieces of Halloween candy in one sitting, eating an oversized portion of Pumpkin pie topped with whipped cream or choosing 3 holiday cookies for an afternoon snack.

Nope, I'm talking about dieting.
A diet is a restrictive way of eating, designed to help you gain control over previously unhealthy eating habits.

Although it may sound like exactly what you need around the holidays, a diet is a big change in your eating routine - it's rapid, it's extreme and it provides temporary results. 

Healthy and mindful eating is a learned habit and once achieved, it makes it possible to enjoy the holiday season without guilt, anxiety or fear. 

A few tips come to mind when it comes to eating healthy around the holidays. 

1. Don't be locked down to one style of eating - having freedom with your eating choices will keep you from the overindulging and binging that often occurs from food restriction. 

2. Have a plan - it sounds so simple but if you have a plan as to how you will navigate holiday parties and events, you will be more likely to feel in control over your food choices. It's encouraged to include some treats in your plan as this strategy teaches you how to indulge responsibly. 

3. Don't exclude, include - trying to control/limit calories in order to save room for the off-limit, bad or calorie dense foods will backfire. It always has and it always will. When a holiday meal (or dessert) is in your near future, be sure to include healthy foods in your diet (which also will help support good immune system and metabolic health) to help promote satiety, stabilize blood sugar and steady your energy prior to your indulging eating experience

4.  Think long term, not short - short term thinking is why you feel like a failure when you indulge. This is no way to live your life. Instead, think long term so that you have a clear path as to how you will maintain a healthy body composition and your good health throughout the holiday season. Note, a clear path includes indulging as one or three spread-out occasions of eating a little more than normal will not keep you from reaching your long term health/body comp goals. 

5. Patience with body composition - your ability to stay consistent with food choices throughout the holiday season will enable you to feel great in the New Year. Don't get discouraged if your body doesn't look the same as it did a few months ago and certainly don't convince yourself that the holidays is the time to have the "why bother" attitude because you are already doomed for failure with all the bad food choices. Be patient over the holidays as your motive for healthy eating should be to keep yourself healthy - not for a look. 

Far too many people become irrational around the holidays, assuming that the only way to survive the holidays (or to feel better after a big meal) is to follow a diet strategy (ex. juice, detox, avoid carbs or starve yourself). 

The holidays are a special time of the year to be around family and friends. 

Not a time for deprivation and dieting.

While the holiday food choices are irresistible, the best approach to consistent healthy holiday eating is to remind yourself that one meal will not keep you from maintaining great health or reaching your body composition goals.
Learn to eat in a way that makes you feel better after you eat, than before you started. 

How to plan your 2017 race season

Do you love to race as much as you love to train? 

Training is fun because you are in control, in your own environment. No one is watching or tracking you. You have nothing to prove. 

Racing can be scary as it's filled with unknowns. You are nervous and you feel a lot of pressure to perform. You have expectations that you feel must be fulfilled or else you term the race as unsuccessful. 

While it's great to be passionate about your training, don't forget why you train...so you can be physically and mentally prepared for race day. 
And just because you race, it doesn't mean you have to PR, podium or beat your closest competition.

Carefully selecting your races is a great way to set yourself up for a great upcoming season as it’s the map that helps guides your training. It's also the easiest way for you to envision and visualize yourself developing as an athlete so you know where your training is going.

Planning ahead also shows your coach (and yourself) that you are committed to your long-term journey as an evolving triathlete.

While racing is a great way to test your fitness, be mindful that fitness improvements happen over an extended period of time. For example, I have been racing endurance triathlons for 10 consecutive years and my best race results have occurred in the past 3 years.
Certainly, the bigger your goals, the more patient you need as big goals aren't achieved in just a few seasons.
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TRIMARNI TIPS ON PLANNING YOUR RACE SEASON


1) Select 5-6 possible key races for your season (which you will then narrow down to only two or three). These races will be the most important races in your season. You are willing to make the necessary investments (time, energy and money) for these races.
-Consider any and all family, work and life obligations before selecting your key races.
-While you cannot plan ahead for everything in life, consider that your greatness commitment to training will occur in the 8-10 weeks before each of your key races.

-Consider the distance of your race so that it makes sense in your season development (choosing a key half ironman in March/April or an Ironman in May/June will not make sense in your season development – some exceptions may apply in the case that you were injured or sick late season so you don’t need the typical “off-season” in Nov/Dec).

-Consider the timing of your event based on where you live (if you train indoors until April/May, choosing a key race in May/June may not make sense if you need to acclimate to the heat).

-Consider the logistics (and cost) of getting to your race and allow adequate time to see your race course, settle into your race environment and to not feel rushed with travel to and from your race venue. We suggest to arrive to an Ironman race venue at least 4-5 days before your race – if your race is on Sunday, you should plan to arrive on Wed or Thursday. For a half IM, plan to arrive at least 2 days before the race.

-Think about your key races - Consider races which have a swim/bike/run course that you feel confident racing on (flat, long climbs, rollers, etc.). While  it's not always necessary, your race should have a similar terrain that is similar to your home training environment. If not, plan a few long workouts to train somewhere else in a similar race environment. Also consider typical weather (cold vs hot), water conditions (wetsuit legal or not, lake, ocean or river), competition (if you are wanting to qualify for a World or National championship), elevation (altitude at race venue and total elevation on the bike and run course), or anything else that is important to you when selecting your race.

-While we love the idea of a race-cation or racing with teammates/friends, you should select races which suit your athletic strengths and provide a race venue which makes you excited for training and racing.

Write down your top 5-6 possible key races (name, distance and date/month)--------------------------

2) Establish a few goals for your key races. Are you chasing a time goal, a PR, a podium or overall placement, a qualification to a national or world event or something more personal?
We encourage at least three goals for your key races, with at least one or two being a non-metric or non-placement goal.

Write down your personal goals for your key races---------------------------

3) Based on your responses for #1 and #2, you should now have a good understanding of the two or three clear choices for your key races for your 2017 season. 
You should plan to commit to these races now, which means registering for the race after you get the OK from your coaches.

Write down your top 2-3 key races and goals
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4) Now it's time to select a few lower priority races throughout your season.
These races can be used to practice pacing, to put yourself into a race environment, to break-up the monotony of training (especially if you train indoors or alone a lot), to practice transitions, to get out some racing nerves and anxieties or to test your fitness.

Some athletes see these races as tune-up races before a key because there should be little emphasis on time goals and placements. Never use a low priority race to validate your fitness or readiness for a key race. Low priority races are a great way to learn, which means it's ok to make mistakes.
You should plan to go into these races with no expectations (and not always with a taper) and these races should not require a big cost (money, time and energy) from your life.  Many times, low priority races will be incorporated into your training.

While these are low priority races, you may surprise yourself as to how well you perform at these races, especially when the pressure is off, you are building fitness and you are not overly focused on the end result.

I find great importance on selecting low priority races as they assist in your journey as you prepare for your key races. Many athletes don't like to spend money on low priority races because there is a "why bother" attitude (why spend money on a low priority race?) but there is great value in putting yourself in a race environment as no workout will ever simulate the same motions and emotions you feel on race day. On race day, you are put into situations that you never experience in training and only on race day, do you have to figure out how to get through those oh-no situations.

Although you can register for your low priority races ahead of time (ex. if the race is known to sell out and it's your only feasible race option or to keep you mentally committed to racing and not just training), you should never ever risk your health or race with an injury in a low priority race. The same goes for a key race as very few exceptions apply that it is worth racing sick/injured.

Please keep in mind that lower priority races should still be sport specific and should assist in your development in your primary sport.

Write down your lower priority races (name, distance and date/month)
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5) Now the fun part. Select a few “fun” events that you can incorporate into your training in the off-season or early season (Oct-Feb). 
You do not have to register for these races ahead of time but instead, you fit them into your training when they make sense in your season. Fun events include: a local 5K or 10K, a swim meet, a cycling event (ex. Gran Fondo) or sponsored group ride, a duathlon, an aquabike, a sprint triathlon. You can do fun events with friends or family as not ever race has to be a "hard" effort. These fun events are great for involving loved ones who sacrifice their time so you can train and race.

Write down your fun events (name, distance, date/month)

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6) Now that you have your season planned, you need the OK from your family, spouse, boss, etc. to make sure that your planned season makes sense. Once a race is approved, it’s never too early to start planning your upcoming travel so that you can get you (and your family/friends) to and from your races. Always be sure to discuss/consider the financial costs that are needed to help you achieve your goals/dreams.
Consider planning a few days after your race to enjoy with your friends/family for sight-seeing as you recover from your race. 
Example of a well-designed racing season for an athlete who is training for two half ironman distance key races.
November - Start 2017 training, 10K Turkey Trot (fun race)

December - No race – family time over the holidays

January - keep on training

February - Swim (pool)/run event (fun race)

March- Olympic tri (low priority)

April - Half Ironman tri (low priority)

May- Half Ironman tri (key priority)

June - Open water swim event (low priority)

July - keep on training

August - 4 day triathlon camp

September - Olympic distance (low priority), then Half Ironman tri (Key priority)

October - 50-mile bike event (fun race)

Planning your 2017 race season

Cheers to your 2016 season!
If you haven't started already, it's time to start thinking about your 2017 year of racing.

When it comes to season planning, there are typically two types of athletes who fail with season planning.

Athlete 1 - signs up for races without any thought as to the season as a whole. A race is open, looks "fun", wants redemption from racing it in the past or knows other athletes who are racing the same event are all typical responses as to how athletes plan their races. There's little thought as to the logistics and timing of these races and many times.

Athlete 2 - So overwhelmed, doesn't like to plan or commit and just waits to register when the timing is right (typically, races close and the athlete has to find other options). 

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With so many races to choose from and so much unpredictability in life, you may be overwhelmed with the thought of having to register for races, book hotels/flights and ask time off work, so far in advance.

We understand that your mind and body may be exhausted from your last season of racing and that it may be difficult to think about your 2017 goals right now, let alone planning your racing schedule, but as a performance-driven athlete, careful consideration of your races will allow you to not only peak appropriately for your key races but you will find yourself developing as the season progresses. 

A common mistake is for athletes to only train for one race at a time. Example, Half IM in May  - Starting on January 1st, I am training for Ironman ______ for the next 5 months. Ironman in August - from January 1st until August, I will be training only for my Ironman.

In order to ensure smooth development throughout your season, your focus can not be on one race. Sure, you may want to excel at that race or it may be a high priority race but this thinking does not foster long lasting performance gains. Generally, athletes get too fit too fast and can not maintain that fitness throughout the season. Or the opposite, they try to train too hard for too long and get burnt out or injured and can't peak appropriately.

Many athletes have a tendency to become hyper focused on training and racing and ultimately, every race on the schedule becomes a key priority race (with too much pressure to be very fit for every race). The athlete races too hard, too often and the athlete is unable to properly recover from each race and maintain consistency in training. Consequently, when the athlete needs to really commit to peak training for the real key race of the season, the body is exhausted.

Or the opposite happens – an athlete doesn’t race enough and too much pressure is placed on the one or two races on the schedule (ex. Ironman in September and only 1 or 2 races prior) and sadly, the athlete lacks the necessary mental and physical skills that are needed to perform well on race day because great racing is built on prior racing experience.

A haphazard approach to selecting races (start too early/late, finish too early) combined with an “all-in” training attitude can often leave you needing an extended off-season, and you may struggle to transfer your accumulated fitness from one season to the next.

In my next few blogs, I will help you properly plan your 2017 season of racing/training. 

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Here's a look at my tentative season of racing (and a few other events):

March 19th - Great Clermont Olympic triathlon (concluding our 4-day Trimarni all-level Clermont, FL training camp)

April 9th - IM Haines City 70.3 (Haines City, FL)

May 6th - IM St. George 70.3 (St. George, Utah) - Key Race

May 21st - Mountains to Main Street Half IM (Greenville, SC)

May 26-28th - Trimarni skills camp (Greenville)

June 22-26th - Trimarni endurance training camp (Greenville, SC)

August 6th - Lake Logan Half IM (Canton, NC) - Key Race

August - Purple Patch Fitness East Coast camp (Greenville, SC)

August 30-Sept 3rd - Trimarni advanced training camp (Greenville, SC)

September 9th - IM 70.3 World Championship (pending qualification at IM St George) - Key Race

October - Hincapie Gran Fondo (80-mile cycling event)

Even though my early season half, St. George 70.3, is a key race where I hope to qualify for IM 70.3 WC in September, I am not expecting myself to be in peak racing shape. While I will be strong and fit, I will not detour my entire summer of development simply to ensure that I am in my very best race shape in May. It is important that I go through all my developmental stages of training in November - May to help me maintain great resilience throughout the entire summer of training and racing.
Also, as I have mentioned in past blogs, after 3 consecutive years of IM racing (6 Ironmans), I will be taking an intentional break from IM racing to focus on the half IM distance so that I can race more and fine-tune my skills and advance my fitness. This is all with the intention that in 2018, I will return to IM racing with better skills, resilience, strength and fitness. Speed is all relative but I do hope to get "faster" this season.

Hincapie Gran Fondo race report

The alarm woke me (and Karel) up at 5:30am so that I had time to eat a pre-race/event meal (2 waffles + PB, syrup and banana for me) and to warm-up with a cup of coffee.

My athlete/good friend Meredith arrived to our house (via car) at 7am and we all drove to the parking area for the Hincapie Gran Fondo, about 20 minutes away. I rode with Meredith to chat about the execution for the "fun" 80-mile bike event while Karel followed in his car.

I'm sure you can agree with me when I say that you can't help but get excited when you see other like-minded individuals doing what you love to do. Despite the mid 40-degree temps, there was a big field full of vehicles, all with bike racks and a road lined with cyclists, heading a mile down the road to Hotel Domestique.

It was very nostalgic as it reminded me of all of the bike events that I went to with Karel. 

After riding our bikes on the hwy for 1 mile (we had the shoulder, which was marked off with cones - again, a well organized event!) we arrived to the hotel around 7:50am, with about 20 minutes to spare before we could position ourselves in the corral.

We dropped off our gear bags, stopped at the port-o-potty one last time and then secured our spot near the front of the corral.....only to wait there for the next 50 minutes. 

Despite the shivering, we had a good time in the corral. We were cracking jokes, I organized some photos on my phone, we took some selfies and we enjoyed listening to the announcer (Chad) get the crowd pumped up for the adventures ahead.

After the pro and VIP call-ups, it was time to start our ride at 9am. It was about 2 minutes later that we finally started to roll our wheels up the hill. The ride stayed neutral for just a short time and then we finally started to pick up speed. 

Although I am calling this a race (start line, finish line, bib number w/ chip = race), I had absolutely no expectations for this event. My number one goal was to give my best effort throughout all 80-miles, ride confidently with my improved bike handling skills and be challenged by the other cyclists who could bring out the best in  me. And I also couldn't wait to climb as I love the feeling of going up a hill (or a mountain). 

The first hour went by fast. It's amazing how one stretch of road can go by so quick when the road is lined with cyclists. I found myself with several small groups of riders but every group seemed to be a bit disorganized with no rotating and breaks in the group. Throughout the entire ride, I made sure to take care of myself with hydration/calories and paying attention to the road and riders ahead of me. I've learned a lot from Karel and three tips that I always remember when riding in groups: 

1) Don't ride behind sketchy riders or behind people who you don't like their riding style

2) Don't depend on anyone else - take care of yourself and do what you need to do to not get dropped

3) Move yourself up in the areas where you don't excel (ex. sharp turns, u-turns, downhills) so that you don't get dropped

Karel managed to move up to the front lead pack of riders right away as his bike handling skills allowed him to squeeze through all the riders ahead of us in the staging area. Looking back, I should have made more of an effort to try to follow him instead of patiently waiting until there was room to find my own clear path. Karel "raced" with the lead group to the top of Skyuka mountain, in the company of Andrew Crater (and his girlfriend Debbie, who won the female race) and George Hincapie (and other pros). Later Karel told me that George was not even working hard on Skyuka and he made it look so easy as Karel was really giving a hard effort to the top.

When Karel got to the top of Skyuka, his legs reminded him that he was not yet recovered from Kona/3 IM's this summer so he backed off the effort and just focused on surviving back to the finish. He later told me that he should have just backed off a gear on Skyuka and then he could have rode comfortably with the second big group (which George and other pros). 

Once we turned off Hwy 11, the fun began. I found myself riding well in a group and then when a climb came, I moved myself up to the next group. Because it was so windy out, I made sure to not expend more energy than needed - in other words, even if a group was not super fast, I had to decide if the group was worth leaving just to do my own solo effort in the windy conditions.

Although it was cold out, I was dressed well with compression socks, cycling shorts, a base layer t-shirt, a jersey and arm warmers. I also had gloves (which I took off after the descend down Skyuka) and ear covers. I would roll down my arm warmers during the longer climbs and then roll back up. It was an absolutely wonderful day to ride - although extremely windy. 

The ride around Lake Lanier was fast - it's like a rollercoaster with twisty switchbacks with hardly any climbing. One thing that really helped me out with my ability to ride confidently on this course was knowing every mile of this 80-mile course. This is why we always tell our athletes to know their upcoming race courses because it helps with terrain management and you can execute so much better on a familiar course than one that is unknown.

Once we went through the town of Tryon (which had a nice cheering section for us as we rode by), we were only a few miles or so away from the start of the Skyuka climb. It's been almost a year since I have done this climb so it felt very knew to me and I was excited to experience it again.

Around 26 miles into the ride, I was climbing the first KOM. I didn't hold anything back but at the same time, I wasn't leaving it all out on the course as I still had a long way to go (with 2 more big climbs) until the finish.

The climb is tough as the grade is steep and there is no section that lets you "recover" with an easy spin. You give a solid effort (you have no choice) all the way to the top for 4+ miles. 

I found myself passing a lot of guys and I felt like I was really moving. Part of me wished that I had someone to push me up (ex. sitting on Karel's wheel) as I felt like I was giving a good effort but I wanted to be challenged a little more. Perhaps it was for the best because later I learned that I had the 3rd fastest female time up Skyuka. 

I made sure to enjoy the unbelievable mountain view at the top but I didn't stop to take any pictures as I didn't want to get cold before the technical descend. The aid station stop was less than 1/2 mile from the top so I quickly stopped (and looked for Karel in case he waited for me - nope!) to refill my water bottle (I had gone through 1 bottle of 250 calories in 26 miles).

I noticed a large group of cyclists but didn't pay attention to who was there. My only thought was that I need to get down this technical descend before they do so that I can hopefully hang with them for the next climb - Howard's Gap.

I made my way down the descend but it wasn't without one quick pic. Despite the scary descend, there are water falls and a few of the views between the trees are spectacular. The pavement was sketchy, just like the tight switchback turns but the volunteer support was amazing and with the few cars out on the road, they always gave us the right of way.

I made my way down the descend while having a heart-to-heart conversation with my brakes (please don't burn off!) and was so relieved to be on the bottom.

After a mile or so, I looked back and saw the group coming so I made sure to ease up so that I could try to get on a wheel. 

Luckily, by the time we hit Howard's Gap (how brutal, it's just a few miles after the Skyuka climb!) the wind was blowing right in our face (as if that climb isn't hard enough!) the group was riding at a controlled effort and I was able to "hang on" just fine up the climb. 

While riding with the group, I wasn't paying attention to who was around me. I had a short conversation with another lady (not sure if she was a participant or not as I didn't see her bib number)  who was riding extremely strong. She mentioned she use to race bikes.

Once we got to the top of the Howard Gap climb, I was SO relieved. Although we still had a good 50 miles to go, I felt like the hard part was over and now I could have some fun!

The group made a quick pee stop before descending down into Saluda (and by descending, there is still climbing going on in the mix) so I continued on for a few miles before the group caught me again. I didn't want to face the risk of possibly losing the group when they started after the pee stop (as I am not so great at rapid accelerations or punchy efforts) so I always tried to stay ahead of the group when they stopped.

When we made our way to start the last section of the ride - the Green River Cove loop - it occurred to me that I was not just in any group.

I finally made the effort to look around me and I realized that I was riding with George Hincapie, Christian Vande Velde, Jimmy Johnson, Brent Brookwalter and likely some other pros that Karel would recognize. 

THIS IS THE GROUP I NEED TO STAY WITH!

Although I'm sure I would have had fun with any other group as the course was well marked, there were event course marshals out on bikes to offer support and cops controlling traffic (although very few cars were out)....there were a few extra perks with this group that I was riding with.....

We had wheel support, a video camera on us, a motorcycle escort, tech support, vehicles all around us for safety....yes, this is how you ride in style :)

My biggest fear was losing the group on the Green River Cove "descend" as it has a few technical turns that I am not yet comfortable turning into at top speeds (and with a group). I did my best and managed to stay with the group until one really tight switchback (while descending) where I lost the group. Luckily, I had heard George say they would be stopping at an aid station coming up (I knew the location) so I didn't stress too much as I just needed to get to the aid station before they left the stop. 

When I stopped, I spotted Trimarni athlete Joe so it was nice to see a familiar face. I asked if he saw Karel anywhere but Karel was long gone from the start of the ride. I told Joe he needs to stay with me in this group and just like my excitement, we both were feeling pretty cool on two wheels to be riding in this elite group of cyclists.

I can't say enough about the Green Cove River route but it is beautiful. Although at this point in the event, my legs were feeling a bit fatigued. I was still able to ride well but the pace really picked up and I was struggling to hang on. I had a lot of mental talks with myself "you can't get dropped now!" so I really pushed the effort to try to survive with this group. For the first time since I got into this group around mile 35 or so, they were riding hard (or maybe I was just getting tired).

I was having a hard time drafting and sometimes I was one bike behind but thankfully, a rider behind me would give me a push on my butt to get me back on a wheel (thank you whoever did that for me!).

I was really worried about what would happen when we hit the last KOM climb as I was feeling tired and I didn't know what the group would do ahead of me, but when we started the climb, there I was moving up. I wasn't able to push  like I could on Skyuka, and with 17 switchbacks (and a few extra in between the categorized ones), I was doing the best I could.

There were signs at every switchback letting us know how many more we had...

"16 out of 17 switchbacks left"

"15 out of switchbacks left"

Etc.

After the KOM ended, I knew it was all downhill......that is, until we kept climbing back to Saluda and then climbing some more, until we reached the South Carolina border in the Watershed.

I met up with a friend from Jax, Dirk Bockel (Challenge Roth winner, IM Kona 5th place pro, Olympian) and we chatted a bit and it was just what I needed as it took my mind away from the fatigue in my legs. I really wanted to stay with the group as long as I could because I wanted Karel to see who I was riding with (I knew Karel would be impressed and happy for me) at the finish.

With 10 miles of a slight net decline down the Watershed, I new that if I wasn't with the group at the top of the watershed, I wouldn't be able to finish the group.

This "descend" was unreal. With support vehicles all around us to stop cars, I was in a huge group going 29-31mph for 10 miles - oh the thrill! I didn't look at my speed during the ride but I could feel we were going fast. It was so fun!

When we finished the watershed section, we only had a few miles to home. At this point, I was still with the group and everyone was chatting. I thought the effort would go up but I saw that George's son Enzo was with our group, it was a great way to end the ride - causally riding up to the finish. 

 

Well, little did I know....my race was "lost" in this casual effort to the finish. I missed the podium by 18 seconds!

I could have easily gone on my own and sprinted up to the finish to get those 18 seconds (I wouldn't have been able to get those 18 seconds anywhere else as the group helped me ride faster than I could do alone) but I had no idea that I would even be close to the top, let along top 10, at this cycling only event.

Well, lesson learned with a tough love post race talk from Karel telling me that it's never over until you reach the finish line. 

There was a slight mix-up in our chips (Karel had my chip on his bib number) so we had to tell them at the finish so that the right results were shown for the awards.

After grabbing my jacket from my gear bag (I was windy and cool out), I was so ready for some food and to sit down and rest.

I was pretty exhausted in the evening as the ride, coupled with the cold, took a little out of me but I was really proud to have finished behind two professional female cyclists and 3rd place, a pro triathlete from Canada.

Although I had the 3rd fastest chip time, they went by total time - bummer.

I took a lot away from this race and like any event, I learn so much as an athlete. The more opportunities I have to be in a "race" environment, the more prepared I feel at my next race.

There's always mistakes to be made, lessons to learn and obstacles to overcome but as long as you don't give up, you will create success. 

Hincapie Gran Fondo - quick report

There was a time when I was afraid to be on two wheels in a group ride. My skills were sketchy, I didn't feel one with my bike, I wasn't able to anticipate the dynamics of riding with other people, my cycling fitness didn't allow me to push when the group ride effort increased, my bike handling skills were horrible, my reaction time on my bike was non-existent and above all, I was afraid to ride around more experienced cyclists.
I didn't grow up riding a bike so being on two wheels always felt foreign to me.
Lucky me - I happened to marry a very experienced cyclist.

Like with any fear in life, if you avoid what makes you feel uncomfortable, you'll never get better.

When we moved to Greenville, SC. in May 2014, I traded the beach for the mountains and I was forced to become a better cyclist. Since learning how to ride a tri bike back in 2006 for my first season of endurance triathlons (a half and a full IM), it wasn't until we moved to Greenville, 8 years later, that I really found myself learning how to ride a bike.

It's crazy to think how uncomfortable I was riding a bike for the first 8 years of triathlon racing yet I continued to want to get better as a triathlete. Karel always told me that my skills needed a lot of improvement if I wanted to get faster on the bike.
As a coach, a big part of me is upset that I didn't make more of an effort to work on my cycling skills earlier in my tri career (like really devote myself to improving my skills instead of just every now and then trying something once) because I realize now that not only was I limiting my performance potential by lacking with proper cycling skills but it was also unsafe for me to be out on the triathlon race courses as a very inexperienced cyclist on a tri bike.

Thankfully, I am married to a cat 1 cyclist who just happens to know a thing or two (or everything) about bike riding. When Karel gets on his bike, it's as if he is walking - it comes so natural, like one foot in front of the other.

I have watched Karel race bikes and I have studied his skills. I pay close attention to him when he rides to learn from his expertise. Despite our battles on two wheels (like when Karel wants me to stay on his wheel or try a new skill and I feel anxious about trying something new but I know it's for my own good and I still argue with him anyways), my progression as a "cyclist" was a long time coming.

While I still feel like I have many improvements to make on two wheels, I have finally embraced the fact that if I want to be a strong, fast and skillful cyclist, but also a cyclist who is safe on the road that is shared with cars and other athletes, I can never ever stop working on my cycling skills and I have to continue to put myself into scary situations on the bike to make myself more comfortable.
If you constantly ignore your fears, you can't improve.

After 2.5 years of living in Greenville, I can confidently say that not only has my endurance, resilience, strength and speed improved greatly in our new riding terrain (where we either go up or down - there's little "flat" where we ride) but my skills are better than ever before.
It's interesting because even when we have a Trimarni camp here (group or private), our campers improve their skills dramatically in just the 2-4 days that they are with us. I'm not kidding when I say that Greenville riding forces you to become a better cyclist.
I can corner, take sharp turns, descend, anticipate climbs, change my gears, react and climb better than ever before. There is still work to be done but after participating in the Hincapie Gran Fondo 80-mile event on Saturday, I couldn't be more proud of myself as my "performance" on two wheels was nearly 10 years in the making.

This was our first time participating in the Hincapie Gran Fondo and now that the event has passed, we can both agree that we WILL be back again next year. Of course, it is nice that we only live about 20 minutes away from the event start BUT the event was well worth the registration fee.

We received a jersey, bottle of wine, bib numbers (with chip for timing), great post event food (for athletes and family/friends at Hotel Domestique) and best of all, a fully supported course for 80-miles with great signage, cops everywhere controlling any cars on the road, stocked SAG stops (which I didn't utilize except to refill my bottles), wheel and tech support and over 1500+ participants.
Although the Gran Fondo was an event, there was a start and a finish and timing so technically, it was a "race" for some but an event to conquer for most.



Karel and I have been on every part of this course but never combined all together. Here is the Map My Ride Gran course if you are in the area and would like to do the ride. The great thing about where we live is that we have many accessible riding roads (like endless routes) which are very bike friendly. You can safely do this ride anytime of the year.
We try to incorporate most of this ride into our training camps just because it is filled with challenging climbs but also absolutely beautiful scenery.
The course included 3 significant climbs (Skyuka, Howard's Gap and Green River Cove) but in between every climb is.....more climbing. Almost 8100 feet - which is very typical as most of our rides come out to about 1000 feet of climbing per hour of riding.

I can't say enough great things about this event and it was so nice to give myself a morning to be on two wheels, with other like-minded individuals, just enjoying nature....with a bit of suffering. Nothing makes me feel more alive than when I am on my bike, in the mountains.

Although it was cold to start and there was a lot of suffering as I found myself riding with some exceptional cyclists for over 50 miles (more details soon in my event/race recap), inside, I was so incredibly happy to be on my bike for 80-miles on Saturday morning.

I love every part of this event course (except Howard's Gap - the hardest climb we have here and you don't know how hard it is until you do it) and I almost didn't want the event to end. The 80-miles went by so quickly and I was just so happy for the almost 5-hours that it took me to cover the 80-miles on this course.

Here are the RESULTS.
It's hard to believe it but even without a swim and a run, I feel like my event/race recap is going to be tough to gather the right words to describe this incredible experience on two wheels.

So for now......

Marni GRAN 80-mile STATS (according to my Garmin 810):
Start time: 9am
Elevation gain: 8074
Total Miles: 79.8
Total ride time: 4:40.25
NP power: 180 watts
Average speed: 17.1 mph
Average cadence: 80 rpm
Highest heart rate: 166 bpm
Average heart rate: 138 bpm
Temperature: 50 degrees to start, 46 degrees on top of Syukua mountain, 64 degrees to finish (average temp 53 degrees)
Fastest speed: 41.4 mph
Fastest section: Watershed descend, 10 minutes, 31.3 mph

Skyuka Mountain - 4.22 miles, 1804 elevation gain, 9% average grade, 31:07 minutes to climb, 8.13 mph average, 73 average cadence (slowest speed 3.52 mph, slowest cadence 55)

Howard's Gap - 2.03 miles, 961 elevation gain, 11% average grade, 16:12 minutes to climb, 7.5 mph average, 63 average cadence (slowest speed 3.63mph, slowest cadence 39)

Green River Cove climb (17 switchbacks)-  2.05 miles, 1503 elevation gain, 8% average grade, 16:40 to climb, 7.36 mph average, average cadence 70, (slowest speed 2.8 mph, slowest cadence 40)

Overall female: 4th (missed 3rd by 18 seconds but 3rd place according to chip time)
Overall: 73rd
Skyuka mountain KOM: 3rd female

Karel also participated in the event and he had so much fun as the entire experience took him back to his bike racing days. He raced with the guys at the front of the race (including a few pros, like George Hincapie making it all look so easy) and really pushed up Skyuka. At that point, Karel's legs reminded him that he just raced at the IM World Championship a few weeks prior so he had to back off the effort and just survive to get back to the finish. But nonetheless, he had a great time on his bike as he is always happy on two wheels.

What it takes

Do you have what it takes? 

What exactly am I talking about?

Self-improvement. 

Some of the best feelings in life are when you feel like you improved. And not just any improvement like moving up a level at your job or learning a second language. While both meaningful and valuable, it's the moments in life when you overcome a challenge, typically with a bit of suffering, and you feel like you are really living life to the fullest, while doing something worthwhile with your body.

This is why it's commonly said that sports change people.
Being an athlete is a title that changes you forever.
I believe it's a great thing to be an athlete as it fosters great dedication, commitment, focus and passion to many other areas in life - not related to sports.

You can't deny that the satisfaction of proving something to yourself as an athlete, perhaps something that you didn't think was possible, is an invigorating feeling. Because the proving requires hard work, investments, patience and sacrifice, the journey of achieving something to improve yourself is often even better than the end result.


Believing in yourself is the first step of determining if you have what it takes.
Secondly, you have dream big.

While it can be fine to live a normal life of feeling content with average, dreaming big creates an exciting platform of growth, progress and change, so you can become something more than average.   

As you think about your upcoming season of training and racing, you have to believe that you have what it takes to make your athletic dreams a reality.

Don’t let other people discourage you from your dreams. Prove others wrong.
And don’t let the thought of hard work scare you from achieving something incredible.
Remember, nothing worthwhile will ever come easy. 

Every athlete has a great performance inside him/herself but it takes time and patience to get the best out of yourself. And even if you think you achieved your "best race ever", there's probably another better race in you that you will experience down the road - so long as you don't give up. 

Stay dedicated.
Keep developing yourself as an athlete. 

If you believe you have what it takes, chase your dreams, fall in love with the process and have a lot of fun along the way.

It's emotionally draining to become hyper focused on an end result. 
It's your journey, make the most of it. 
You got what it takes. 

Dodge a race day curveball

As a triathlete, I have to be prepared for any and all race day conditions and scenarios. My sport is not singular but instead, a dynamic mix of three sports - swim, bike, run. 

As a coach, I have to be prepared for any and all race day conditions and scenarios to help my athletes overcome race day curve balls. A cancelled swim, a modified bike course, a cancelled, then rescheduled race, non stop rain, freezing cold and windy, extremely hot, two flat tires, GI issues, cramps.....yep, we have dealt with it all by our Trimarni athletes. 

A few scenarios come to mind: 

2014 IMFL - cancelled swim, cold and windy bike

While at the venue, just a short time before the IM Swim start, the swim was cancelled due to swells in the ocean. Karel and I had to think fast and thankfully, our athletes had their cell phones on them as there was a period of time between the cancelled swim and TT bike start that we could re-establish a new game plan. As coaches, it is our job to keep our athletes motivated and focused. We believe our athletes have these qualities as it is but in unfavorable race day conditions, it can be really easy to second guess yourself and even throw in the towel, saying "it's not worth it."

For us, it didn't even cross our mind that our athletes wouldn't continue on with the race. They put in a lot of time, money and energy to train for this one day event so our focus was on helping our athletes (especially our first time IM athletes) get their emotions under control and to establish a new race day strategy. They were told not to overbike just because the swim was cancelled and to stay warmed up before the TT start. 

We had 9 out of 9 of our Trimarni IMFL athletes start the race and 8 Trimarni athletes finished (one suffered hypothermia on the bike). 

Racing is about overcoming obstacles and putting yourself into uncomfortable situations. Even with the cancelled swim, the 138.2 mile duathlon still required the same skills as racing for 140.6 miles. 

2015 IM Maryland

We always tell our athletes that even with a cancelled portion of the race or a modified course, there are still championship slots to be given, podium places to earn and personal bests to achieve. This couldn't be more true for Trimarni athlete Justine who went through a roller coaster of emotions before her second Ironman. It was actually me who broke the news to her of the cancelled event as she was driving the hour to the race (from her house) to pick-up her packet when I read about the race on the IM website while I was in Kona. I called Justine and told her "Don't worry, everything will be ok." She was of course, really confused but when we talked it all through, I told her I had other race options for her that would be ideal for her racing strengths. Since the IM was cancelled, I had Justine train (with a rested body) that weekend with a moderate amount of volume (similar as if she was 3-4 weeks out from a half IM) and then maintain her fitness until we had another IM option. When IM Maryland was back on, we didn't do much of a taper but instead, just sharpened her body and mind, asked her to mentally stay "in it" and gave her constant encouragement that this was all meant to be. 

With more obstacles on race day, like a shortened swim (without Justine even knowing the final distance of the swim as she was swimming), Justine did what she trained to do - race! 

As she stayed focused on completing her goal of starting and finishing IM Maryland, she also kept a close eye on her competition that showed up on race day. As I tracked Justine, I was giving updates to her husband and when it was time, I told her husband Eric to tell Justine that "now is the time to commit." Justine gave everything she had out on the course and finished 2nd in her AG (25-29) to earn a slot to 2016 IM Kona. She also ran a 3:47 "best time" marathon, with her longest (intentional) run as a 12- mile "long run". And just a few weeks ago, she became a 2016 IM World Championship finisher. 

2016 IMMT

At the athlete briefing two days before the race, there was discussion of what would happen on race day if the weather (storm and fog on the lake) would not permit the athletes from starting the swim. The race director did an excellent job preparing the athletes for the two plan options (delayed swim then shortened to 1.2 miles, cancelled swim and delayed TT bike, starting from the exit of the swim) for race day morning. Rather than our athletes (including our first time IM athlete) freaking out and getting upset and wasting energy on the uncontrollable, I prepared our athletes for how to adjust pacing and nutrition (especially pre-race in the case of a delayed swim start or cancelled swim start) to prepare for the possible race day morning scenario. Karel and I also discussed the tactics of racing an IM in pouring rain, which was a good thing because it poured the entire bike ride for all of our athletes (and on the run). I even had our athletes (and Karel) go through a 10-minute visualization where I had them visualize themselves biking through pouring rain (note, I did not have them visualize the small chance that it would be a nice day - I put them in the worst case scenario). 

All of our athletes started and finished the race and now they have extra bragging rights for finishing a tough course in very tough conditions. 

And those who embraced the conditions, excelled. We had strong minded athletes achieve the unthinkable, personal best times, a Kona qualifier and a first time IM finisher. 

--------------
It sure is a bummer when a race distance is modified, especially when it is your first time racing the distance, you dedicated yourself 100% to training for the full distance (for many many months) or you traveled very far to compete in the event.
When there is a course or distance change, it's easy to think that suddenly, it was all for nothing and perhaps, there is a better option at a future date.
Never assume that a future race will provide you with a better outcome. 

As a coach, I want athletes to finish what they started. Sure, there may be some rare situations where a cancelled race or a transferred entry may be a blessing in disguise but anytime you take a risk to move from the present to focusing on the future, your assumptions may not be any more in your favor than the current situations that you are dealing with.

If your race is altered, the weather doesn't make for an "easy" race or part of the race is cancelled, you can still earn your finisher medal. Your race still counts if there is a start line and finish line. The key is that you have to stay mentally committed. When you signed up for your race, you also signed up for the many obstacles and challenges that could come your race before or on race day.
If you are healthy, fit and tapered and you put in the work, get yourself excited to execute.

Regardless of the modifications made for race day, you have to consider that if you pass on your current race and focus on the next-best-thing option, you could 1) get sick 2) get injured 3) have to go through a major life event 4) not peak again 5) lose motivation to train 6) experience a similar situation at your next race.

Racing is always out of your control so it's in your best interest to stay focused and committed to the now.

By keeping the right mindset, you WILL excel on race day.
Don't be one of the many athletes who have excuses for what could have been or should have been on race day.
Racing is racing - it is unpredictable.
If you are in a curveball situation before race day, remind yourself that you still have to nail your nutrition, stay mentally strong all day, be proactive, dig deep and overcome low moments.
If your mind isn't in the right spot, you may likely underperform on your modified course simply because you were unsuccessful with dealing with the new race day situations (that everyone else has to deal with).

I encourage you to be one of the smart athletes who sees the capabilities on race day.
Plus, when you reach the finish line, you will have an extra reason to celebrate your accomplishment.
You didn't give up on yourself when the odds were against you.

For additional reading, Dr. G (clinical sport psychologist) and I put together an article on how to overcome race day curve ball situations. We hope you find our advice practical and useful so that you don't undesirable scenarios detour you from achieving something great on race day. 

Dodge a race day curveball

At-home gym - a great investment!

In the spring, I read an article from Bethany Rutledge about the perfect pain cave for your budget and it made me so happy. I have always been a gym lover but over the years, I've learned that time management is extremely important as an adult age group triathlete.
We could not be more pleased with our at-home gym and how useful it is for our active lifestyle. 

A lot of time and money goes into a home-gym but in my opinion, it's a huge time-saver and it's cost effective. 

We can workout no matter the weather.
We can workout no matter the time of the day. 

We can workout when we don't want to commute to the gym.
We can workout even when we don't have the energy to workout.
We can workout without distractions. 

We can workout and suffer in privacy. 

I can imagine that there are some pretty nice at-home gyms with some pricey equipment but for us, we needed an at-home gym that was practical for our swim/bike/run lifestyle.

Although training outdoors is great and we can train outside year round in Greenville, SC (minus a few really cold days), we have found great value in having an indoor training environment that is conducive for specific workouts that require focus and consistency..... and for those times when working out just seems like less of a hassle when it is in the privacy of your own home (ex. it's cold outside, you finish an indoor bike trainer workout, you are drenched in sweat and hoping on the treadmill seems much more inviting than drying off, layering up and then running outside). 

In our at-home gym, you can find:

1) My trainer bike - We purchased a hardly used Trek tri bike and Karel fitted me to the bike. It's always set on the trainer - all year long. This way, I don't have to sweat all over my racing bike (my racing bike needs enough routine tune-ups as it is!) and I don't have to carry my bike through our house. In the winter, when I am primarily riding inside (except for the longer weekend rides or when it is too cold), my Stages power meter (crank based) goes from my racing bike to my trainer bike so that I can ride with power (we have a computrainer but I don't use all it's functions). I never use power outside when I train in the winter (or when I am on my road bike). We also have another trainer (with power) that is used for RETUL fits and for Karel (who trains indoors in the garage - where it stays cold in the winter).

2) ProForm Pro 2000 Treadmill - We invested into a quality treadmill but one that didn't give us more functions than we needed. A used, cheap treadmill would not do us much good considering how much we run on the treadmill and the type of workouts that we do on the treadmill. This treadmill is great because it has a decline setting (3%) and an incline up to 15%. It doesn't turn off after an hour, the speakers are great for jamming music and it has a nice shock to reduce the impact. It also has two fans with two speeds. It's also easy to collapse (if needed). We LOVE our treadmill and it has been one of the best investments we have made for our at-home gym. 

3) Weights, bands, stability ball, weight bar - the typical stuff that we use for functional strength training. We don't need machines when it comes to "lifting" but instead, we can do every strength move at home with our own equipment. 

4) Plyo box - Karel built us two plyo boxes (he found a YouTube video how to make them - pretty simple) which are great for plyometrics but also for simple hip exercises. They also work great as tables  :)

5) Smart TV - Occasionally I'll watch something on TV but music (You Tube) is usually on when I have a specific bike trainer workout. Although movies and TV shows are nice when it's an EZ spin and the weather is not ideal outside. We don't have cable in the workout room but we have Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc. As you can see, the TV sits low to the floor as it's not ideal to look "up" at a TV when you are riding aero on a tri bike (or any bike for that matter).

6) White board - The white board comes in handy to write out workouts ahead of time. All of our workouts include a warm-up, pre-set, main set and sometimes a post set so with so much going on in a workout, it's nice to see it in front of you. 

7) Mirror/towel container  - The mirror is used to address proper form and the towel container keeps a bunch of small towels (many of which, we have received from races) which are a necessity for indoor workouts when sweating is unavoidable. 

8) Medals and bib numbers - inspiration and motivation. We have 18 Ironman bib numbers and medals between us both. On the wall above the white board hangs our IM Kona medals (7 between us both) and bike frame numbers. 

9) Cooling off - floor fan, ceiling fan....and a window. 

10) Gym flooring - We installed heavy duty rubber flooring for our gym for easy cleaning up and to make it more functional. We debated about removing the carpet before putting on the floor but we ended up putting the flooring on top of the carpet and it's been just fine for us.

Today I took a mid-day break to perform some functional strength training. Although Furman University (where we swim and sometimes strength train) is just 1.5 miles (or 10 minutes) away, I saved 20 minutes of driving to perform 20 minutes of strength training, in the middle of the day, without any distractions.

Although the best place to workout is the one where you will actually workout, I highly suggest to invest in a few pieces of equipment to make your house a bit more training-friendly so you (and your family) can stay consistent with training/exercising. 

Post Ironman Kona "long" ride

Look...mountains! 

It's crazy to think that it was just a week ago when we were swimming with fishes in the ocean, and sweating in the lava fields.

This past Saturday, we returned back to our mountains (with arm warmers) and explored a new route on two wheels (on road bikes).

I absolutely LOVE cycling this time of the year - the tree leaves are so pretty!

Our route was familiar to me as I had rode it at the Purple Patch Fitness (PPF) Greenville camp but it was new to Karel. It's crazy to think that we have lived here in Greenville for 2.5 years and have never done the  Green River Cove loop together!!

I am absolutely in love with this 20-mile loop! The beauty, the switchbacks, the descends, the climbing, the flat roads, the river views, the nice pavement, the quite roads, the mountains...it has everything a cyclist should love when riding on two wheels!

Seeing that we will ride this loop at the end of the 80-mile Hincapie Gran Fondo next Saturday (following climbing Skyuka mountain and Howard's gap), it was nice to preview it for an "easy" ride. 

3 hours and 15 minutes, 51 miles and around 4000 feet of climbing......so much fun!

Since Karel is always so kind to let me stay (suffer) on his wheel when he is training, I took some of the pulls to help out his tender, post IM Kona legs.

We hardly ever drive our bikes anywhere as we can ride safely from our doorstep to our favorite country roads, but to eliminate an extra 30+ miles of riding, we drove to Hotel Domestique and started our ride around 9:30am from the hotel (it's also a popular place where many cyclists start their group rides - also the home base for the Purple Patch Fitness Greenville camp). 

Here are some of the pictures I took from our ride.

I absolutely love riding here in Greenville - it's hard for me to not take more pictures! 

Karel is slowly recovering from IM Kona. He is slowly getting back to a normal sleep routine, his appetite is in full force and he has some deep fatigue in his quads. His training (exercise routine) is minimal as he is finally able to fully rest (and reset) his body after a long season of training and racing. 

This recovery is a bit different than the last two Ironman's this summer for a few reasons:

It's the off-season.

No more races until next season.

It's a true break from structured training.

Thinking about the recovery post Ironman, there are many factors that contribute to how quickly an athlete can recover from his/her 140.6 mile effort. Factors like racing intensity, nutrition (daily diet), fueling/hydrating (during the race), prior training/fitness, taper, execution, weather and race course terrain can all dictate how well an athlete can recover before he/she can slowly ease back into more structured training. 

But when your Ironman occurs at the end of the season, it can hit you hard - mentally and physically. Karel and I discussed this topic in great detail during our ride (despite 4000 feet of climbing, we kept the ride pretty conversational.....until Karel made me sprint up the last climb up to Hotel D!). There are a obvious and not-so-obvious strategies of how to transition from Ironman in training to Ironman finisher to finally, an athlete in the off-season.....where you instantly don't feel like an athlete anymore!

Don't over analyze your race. Reflect and then move on.

You are not lazy or out of shape. You are an athlete in his/her off-season.

Pick out the highlight moments in your race experience and keep reminding yourself of those successes.

Determine your weaknesses that were evident in your last race and decide your action plan on how you will continually work on them. 

Start planning your next season of racing.

Don't become sedentary - stay active with non-structured exercise that doesn't reflect triathlon "training".

Don't bash your body or diet/restrict calories. Thank your body and establish smart, realistic and sustainable healthy eating patterns that reflect your current exercise regime.

Plan more fun stuff - go for a hike, kayak/ski, travel, vacation, volunteer.

Select fun low stress, minimal impact events (5K, 10K, bike events, swim events, etc.) to keep yourself motivated.

Recruit your favorite (or new) exercise partners (ex. family or friends) to keep you motivated to work out for health benefits and stress relief.

When you recover, don't train for a running race. Start functional strength training.

Keep yourself "in the sport" - follow blogs, read articles, subscribe to magazines. Don't completely "check out" of the sport.

Give yourself a break - you deserve a break from structured training. Create a new normal and enjoy it. Don't wake up and live each day with guilt and a deep feeling that you should be doing more. There will be a time to train hard, set an alarm for an early wake-up, go to bed early and make sacrifices. Your off-season is not that time. 

Be ok with this temporary, but necessary, time to let your body fully recover and rejuvenate.

2016 Season Recap

How do you define success?

Is success a feeling or an action?
Is success a time or placement or from something more internal?

In looking back at our 2016 racing season (starting from December 2015), we would define 2016 as a successful racing season. 

Perhaps the most successful racing season for both of us (in my 10 years of endurance racing and in Karel's short 4-years since he started triathlon training).

While the wins, podiums and PR's can define success, our 2016 success wasn't defined simply by our end results.

A few things come to mind when it comes to defining "success" in 2016. 

-Consistency - despite a major setback with Karel in late May with a MRI diagnosis of a hip labral tear, followed by SI joint/back issues, which followed 11 months of overcoming a plantar tear, Karel was still able to train somewhat consistently to absorb a lot of training stress throughout the season. These injuries required a lot of help from PT's, massage therapy and doctor visits but also a smart mindset with the ability to focus on the can's and not the cant's. I have not been injured in over 3.5 years (after 6 years of chronic hip/back issues) which has not only helped me become more resilient but I have improved my confidence in racing as I can take more risks when I train and race with trust that my body that it is not fragile, but instead, it's very strong right now.

-Team approach - we have a strong support system. We believe in a team approach when it comes to coaching our athletes and when it comes to our own individual athletic journey. We like to surround ourselves with professionals and resources to give us the help, guidance and assistance that we can not give ourselves. We have a great coaching mentor, we have amazing sponsors, we have supportive friends and family and we have highly educated and experienced professionals to help us when we have problems...and you better believe that we use them a lot!

-Hard work ethic, not obsessed - it goes without saying but to achieve great things, you can't have a mediocre mindset. You also can't fear failure. Karel and I are passionate about our sport and training has a defined place in our lifestyle - but triathlon is not our life. We set boundaries for ourselves in terms of finding that right balance between being extremely dedicated to our sport and putting in the work but also staying extremely focused on our business, on our athletes and our close friendships and family. I don't think balance is necessarily the right word as there is a constant shift in daily priorities. Sometimes training is not a high priority.

-Moving on - it's great to be critical of yourself in terms of seeking improvements. We are never too hard on ourselves as constantly focusing on the bad and bashing the body can be limiting when it comes to development. We find it somewhat easy to move on from a bad workout and we never over-analyze a race. While we do express thoughts about what didn't go well in a workout or race, we make sure to each keep us both in check so that we don't dwell too much on the past but instead, stay focused on forward progress.

-Having fun - whether it's part of our lifestyle or we just love to swim/bike/run, training is always fun. Some workouts are miserable and sometimes the motivation to train is low but in the end, our triathlon hobby makes us happy. A big part of keeping our training fun is staying processed driven and not outcome obsessed. Being too focused on end results can be mentally exhausting.

-Staying healthy - while some things are out of our control, great performances come from a healthy body and mind. Our healthy habits drive our actions....not our performances. Eating enough, fueling smart and sleeping well keep us healthy. When we are healthy, we can perform consistently well. Far too many athletes take extreme measures with training and the diet, only to achieve marginal gains. Many short term fixes prove to be performance enhancing but in the end, they have long term consequences. Our healthy lifestyle choices will never take a backseat to training harder or longer.
I have not been sick since 2007 and Karel has not been sick since 2009 or 2010. Neither of us have ever had a stress fracture or broken bone.

-A smart approach - we are all about improving performance with the least amount of work possible. This doesn't mean we seek "easy" when it comes to boosting our fitness but instead, we take a smart approach to training and racing in order to set us up for the best performance outcome. This season has been filled with many lows, surrounded by many successful race day performances. Ironically, a big component to our racing success has been the concept of learning how to train and race smarter. 

As we become laser focused our triathlon goals for our 2017 racing season, our 2016 racing season has given us a lot of confidence to dream a bit bigger next season. 

Thanks for being part of our triathlon journey - your support means a lot to us.
We hope that we can inspire you to dream big and to be willing to work hard for your goals. 

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DECEMBER

Paris Mountain 20K Road Race
Greenville, SC

A fun race to break up the monotony of our foundation training. Funny enough, despite no speed work, we both ran really well due to a heavy focus on strength training in our foundation phase. 

Marni: 1:36.38 (2nd AG, 6th female, 19th overall)

Karel: 1:24.28 (3rd overall)

Fastest couple award (combined time)

MARCH

Great Clermont Olympic Triathlon
Clermont, Florida

Concluding a 4-day triathlon camp, all of our campers raced in the Olympic triathlon. With no pressure on race outcomes, many of our campers placed on the podium!

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

Karel: 2:10.32 (1st Male Masters, 7th overall)

APRIL
Toughman Half IronmanChattahoochee, GA

First ever overall half ironman win for Karel as a triathlete. What an exciting day for him to cross the line in first place, for the very first time in a half ironman. He also ran speedy fast!

1.2 mile swim: 29.38
56 mile bike: 2:25.51
13.1 mile run: 1:31.00
Total: 4:28.37

MAY

Lake James 50
Lake James, NC


Our first ever double win! We selected this race because of the location but also because it was a week prior to our key early season half IM races. It was nice for me to get out some racing nerves but also to place on the top of the overall podium with Karel.

Marni:
25.19 swim (fastest female swim, 2nd overall fastest swim)
1:58.20 bike (fastest female bike, 7th overall fastest bike)
1:04.03 (2nd fastest female run, 9th overall fastest run)
Total: 3:30.33

Karel: 

26.57
1:47.19 (fastest bike)
54.53 (2nd fastest run)
Total: 3:11.26

MAY

Mountains to Main half ironman
Greenville, SC

Karel's third overall win of the season! Karel targeted this inaugural local race as his first key race of the season and the race that he wanted to win. Escorted by a motorcycle for almost the entire race, Karel left it all out on the course with an incredible performance from start to finish. And what a run! This course was extremely tough. 

1.2 mile swim: 31.12
58 mile bike: 2:34.48
13.1 mile run: 1:24.04
Total: 4:31.43

MAY
Rev3 Knoxville half ironman
Knoxville, TN

2nd overall female due to a 6 mile detour at mile 55 of the bike course.
Despite the detour, I placed 2nd but missed first place by less than a minute. I lead the swim and the bike before the detour and nearly missed first place overall. I was incredibly sad about the detour but it fired me up for IM Austria.

1.2 mile swim: 31.11
56 mile (+6 mile "pink arrow" detour) - 3:07.57
13.1 mile run: 1:39.07
Total: 5:21.29

JUNE

Ironman Austria
Klagenfurt, Austria

My favorite race venue ever!!

Karel was in tremendous back/hip pain going into this race after the long travel but somehow managed to pull it together on race day and run his fastest ever marathon in an Ironman.
I achieved my big goal of placing on the podium (top 3) at an international Ironman. I also had a few personal bests throughout the race. 

Karel:
2.4 mile swim: 1:03.05
112 mile bike: 4:56.51

26.2 mile run: 3:06.05
Total: 9:13.10
9th AG (40-44), 68th overall

Marni:
2.4 mile swim: 57.04* (fastest overall female swim split, *pros did not wear wetsuits)
112 mile bike: 5:18.00
26.2 mile run: 3:42.57
Total: 10:06.54
2nd AG (30-34), 4th female amateur, fastest American amateur female 

This was a dream come true for me. 

JULY

Greenville camp 
Greenville, SC

Although not a race, this was a big production for us and we felt it was a great success for our athletes. We worked them really hard over 4 days! 

AUGUST

Lake Logan half ironman
Canton, NC

Overall female win!
I achieved my second season goal of winning the Lake Logan half IM. I had a PR for my overall time and left it all out on the course - this was one of the hardest bike courses I have ever raced on (St. Croix is up there with it) and I biked extremely hard without fearing failure - I was willing to take some risks for my last key race of the season.
(My other season goal was to win Rev3 Knoxville but the detour on the bike course detoured that goal from happening...but I still gave it my all.)

1.2 mile swim: 26.06
56 mile bike: 2:40.05
13.1 mile run: 1:43.15
Total: 4:53.47

AUGUST

Purplepatch Fitness camp
Greenville, SC

Although not a race, I participated in the 4-day Greenville camp just 5 days after winning Lake Logan half IM. I suppose I was on a high and filled with endorphins after Lake Logan because I pushed really hard at the camp (encouraged by Coach Matt and Paul and inspired by the other campers). The Monday after the camp, I was completely exhausted. We traveled to Mont Tremblant a few days later and my body was completely empty. I called it a season as I needed a full 2 weeks to recover from my season. I decided to sign up for the Hincapie Gran Fondo on October 22nd as a fun "race" event instead of training for another half ironman in September.
As a coach, I learned so much from taking part in this camp and as an athlete, I was pushed to my physical limits. 

AUGUST
Ironman Mont Tremblant

Mont Tremblant, Canada


2nd Age group - 2016 IM Kona qualified!

Just 8 weeks after a super performance at IM Austria, Karel ran his way into 2nd place for his age group on a very tough (chilly, pouring rain) day of racing. He also had the fastest male amateur run split. This was also a key Trimarni race, which made it even more exciting to see so many of our Trimarnis in action on the race course. 

2.4 mile swim: 1:06.08
112 mile bike: 5:08.52
26.2 mile run: 3:08.21
Total: 9:30.55
19th overall male, 20th overall

SEPTEMBER
5-day CO trip
Breckenridge, CO


Not a race or a performance-enhancing trip but instead, a fun trip with a few guy friends to ride road bikes in CO and check out of life for a few days (Karel also did some running and a little swimming in the hypoxic conditions out West).

OCTOBER

Ironman World Championship
Kona, Hawaii

25th AG, 7th fastest AG run

There's a saying that reads "forget all the 99 reasons why it won't work and believe in the 1 reason why it will work".

Just six weeks after a dig-deep performance at IM Mont Tremblant, which came just 8 weeks after IM Austria, Karel set out on his 3rd IM since June - in extreme hot and windy conditions, on a tough race course.

Karel was mentally and physically in a great place and it was almost as if he felt like he didn't race the prior two Ironmans (and 3 prior endurance triathlons) as he felt fitter than ever and not the least bit burnt out or fatigued. Coach Matt Dixon designed a smart training block for Karel between Mont Tremblant and Kona, due to the short turn around.
It's almost as if he was racing himself into shape over the summer! We don't recommend this strategy....there's probably 99 reasons why it won't work!.  

2.4 mile swim: 1:08.36
112 mile bike: 5:07.27
26.2 mile run: 3:10.08 (7th fastest AG run)
Total: 9:33.33
25th AG (40-44)

Cheers to a great season!

As I always say - thank you body for letting me live this extreme lifestyle filled with activity, travel and pushing my limits.

There may be a day when I can't do this with my body but now is not that time. 

2017.....we can't wait to see what you have in store. 

No doubt, it will be filled with challenges, obstacles and low moments but if you dream it, there's a good chance that you can achieve it with the right mindset and dedication.