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Trimarni is place where athletes and fitness enthusiasts receive motivation, inspiration, education, counseling and coaching in the areas of nutrition, fitness, health, sport nutrition, training and life.
We emphasize a real food diet and our coaching philosophy is simple: Train hard, recover harder. No junk miles but instead, respect for your amazing body. Every time you move your body you do so with a purpose. Our services are designed with your goals in mind so that you can live an active and healthy, balanced lifestyle.
Should we be surprised in our diet crazed, body image obsessed society?
Research shows that almost 75% of athletes do not eat enough calories to fuel workouts and to perform to full capabilities on event day. Some of this is unintentional as many athletes underestimate how much food/calories are needed to keep the metabolic processes functioning well with the added load that exercise brings to the body. But undereating is not always unintentional. For a large number of athletes, undereating is intentional and purposeful.
Asking your energy-deprived body to perform doesn't make much sense but sadly, far too many athletes intentionally restrict food intake (specifically carbohydrates) - often to lose weight, become more metabolically efficient or to change body composition.
Although it's clear that committing to adequately fuel your body can improve performance, reduce the risk for injury and enhance well-being, far too many athletes are more motivated to undereat - than to fuel for performance - in hopes of losing weight, changing body composition and decreasing body fat. In other words, intentional insufficient fueling is almost always related to a strong desire to look differently.... change body composition. Underfueling is a form of stress and that alone can negatively impact training, mental well-being and physical health.
A well-planned diet, with enough energy (calories) and nutrients to fuel the body and help it recover from workouts is critical to fitness gains and overall health. Food is the best (and easiest) way to provide the body with the nutrients it needs to rebuild and repair muscle tissue, replace glycogen (carbohydrate) stores, maintain immune health, and to keep vitamin and mineral stores stocked.
Let's look into some of the consequences of intentional underfueling and not eating enough to support your body and exercise regime.
From a very young age, diet tricks, hacks and tips are introduced as a way to change the way that you look, to improve health or to gain control over eating. While some of these strategies can be helpful, many are unhealthy and sometimes hazardous to your health and well-being.
Your thoughts about food matter. In our diet-crazed society, eating too little, eating too much and never eating with pleasure can be harmful for the body. Both undereating and a cycle of restriction and binging can have serious effects, especially when this style of eating becomes a way of life. Feeling “fat” can make you more obsessed and preoccupied with food – making you more irrational about how you really look and more inflexible with your food choices.
Because under or overeating can cause many psychological and physiological effects, shifting the way that you look (and speak about) food is critical. The effects of poor nourishment on the brain can lead to difficulty in making common sense decisions. It’s not uncommon for people to give up interests and hobbies (ex. like training for an event), due to an obsession about food and weight. Always thinking about the next meal and wanting to get that meal “right” can make it extremely hard to give attention to other things in life. Learning to develop a healthy relationship with food can do wonders for your health, performance and well-being.
Avoid the diet mentality - A diet mentality robs you of eating a wide variety of foods. To foster a healthy relationship with food, you must give yourself unconditional permission to eat. Your body needs and deserves a wide variety of energy and nutrients. As a performance-minded or health-conscious individual, sometimes it’s easy to lose sight of a sensible eating approach as you want to get everything just right. The truth is that there is no such thing as a perfect diet. A healthy diet doesn’t have to be perfect to keep you in good health. Nutrition looks different on everyone.
Avoid the good vs. bad food list - When specific foods are prohibited (not for medical reasons), it creates a mental barrier. Saying that a food is “good” or “bad” may seem harmless, but this language often has a direct impact on how you feel about yourself. It’s as if you are assigning a moral value to food. For example, if you eat “good” food like a salad, you feel good about yourself. If you eat “bad” food like chips or candy, you feel bad about yourself. Transferring labels onto your self-worth can create shame and guilt – which in turn further affects how and what you eat. The reality is that enjoying French fries, a milkshake or regular pizza (instead of cauliflower pizza) will not make you a bad – or an unhealthy – person. To help you feel more at peace with food, learn how to remain calm with your food related decisions.
Stay flexible - Relaxed eating doesn’t mean that you are letting yourself go or you are giving up on health or performance goals. It’s actually quite the opposite. Being at ease with the social, emotional and physical components of food allows you to eat with purpose. It’s the ability to listen to your body, satisfy your hunger and keep your body fueled, all while enjoying what you put into your body. This flexibility allows you to eat without judgement, punishment or the need to compensate. Eating should never be extreme or all-consuming. With mental health and body acceptance in mind, your eating should respond to changes in your daily routine, workout regime and mood, without obsession on food, your weight or your body image.
For more education, motivation and inspiration, subscribe to our free newsletter HERE.
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Are you in need of improving your relationship with food and the body? With my new 6-series Whole Athlete course, you can understand any distorted views that you’ve developed with food and your body (some of which may be unintentional), while learning how to replace unhealthy behaviors with new ways of thinking. By doing so, you can elevate your performance, optimize your health and protect your well being.
The Whole Athlete course: Lesson 1: Diet culture Lesson 2: An unhealthy obsession Lesson 3: Race weight Lesson 4: Developing a healthy body image Lesson 5: Developing a healthy relationship with food Lesson 6: Thank you body
Once you understand why you think how you think about food, health and your body, you can fix the distorted views that you've developed with food and your body.
GI (or gastrointestinal) issues are no fun. GI issues are one of the most commonly blamed reasons for underperforming on race day. In some cases, gut related issues can result in athletes not finishing the event.
Many athletes have come to me expressing great frustration and discomfort from nausea, bloating, gas, bloody diarrhea, loose stools, cramping, stomach pain, abdominal distention or vomiting during training and competition. While these complaints can have a negative effect on performance, they have an even bigger impact on physical and mental health.
Thankfully, several research studies have discussed the reasons why endurance athletes are at great risk for GI issues. There is also good research discussing how to mitigate these issues during exercise - especially in the heat, at high intensity or during long duration.
Reduced blood flow to the intestines during exercise is one of the main contributors to GI symptoms. These issues are only exacerbated when the body is dehydrated. Because blood is diverted from the gut and to the working muscles, the lack of blood flow in the gut slows gastric emptying. As a result, the delivery of nutrients and fluids to the muscles gets delayed and may cause gut discomfort (and a lot of other uncomfortable side effects). Reduced blood flow to the intestines may also contribute to increased permeability of the gut wall, which may trigger an inflammatory response resulting in GI distress.
Because the consumption, digestion and absorption of calories, carbohydrates, electrolytes and fluids are all important components of the training adaptation process and the ability to perform well on event day, minimizing the risk for GI issues is critical.
The takeaway: The gut is an extremely adaptable organ. Don't wait until race week (or race day) to figure out your fueling strategy. Training your stomach is just as important as training your muscles.
Karel recently got into gravel riding and his immediate response was "why didn't I find this earlier?"
This past year has really taught us to embrace the current moment and to take advantage of every moment. With such an incredible triathlon playground in and around where we live, we have kept our love for nature alive by finding different ways to use (and improve) our cycling fitness. Most recently it was the GVL WBL 8-week group ride series and now I've ventured into gravel riding.
My first and second gravel ride was in Dupont State Forest. The first ride include snow, ice, mud and everything else - Karel didn't take it easy on me. Let's just say I learned a lot over 28 miles and 2.5 hours. My second ride was mostly gravel with a mix of roots, leaves and dirt. My third ride was on Friday (a few days ago), when Karel took me on a gravel ride adventure just outside our front door. We made our way to part of the Furman Cross Country course and then on the off-road trails around Furman. And then for the finale, Karel took me to the Gateway Bike Skills Flow Park in Traveler's Rest.
Although I still have a lot of skills to learn, I am finding myself more and more confident on my makeshift Ventum NS1 gravel bike. Instead of purchasing a new bike, Karel purchased a few off-road specific items and can now turn my NS1 road bike into a gravel bike anytime. Here are the specs of my "gravel" bike:
Ventum NS1 - XS (size 50)
650b wheels.
Front tire: Maxxistires Rambler 27.5 x 1.5.
Rear wheel: Continental tire Terra Speed 27.5 x 1.35 (650b x 35).
Gearing: 36x52 front and 11-34 rear.
Pedals: Look Quartz MTB.
Shoes: Bont riot+ MTB.
Karel is a natural no matter what bike he is on and with experience in mountain biking, road cycling, triathlon biking and now gravel biking, he has been a great teacher for me. Plus, it's really fun to enjoy this new type of bike riding together as we both enjoy adventure and nature.
Karel joined the Southeast Gravel group for two of their recent recon rides. Most recently (two Saturday's ago) he did an epic 70ish mile ride with over 7000 feet of climbing! After watching the preview video for the Sumter Forest Route in Clinton, SC. Karel and I felt like this course would be a good "intro" course for my first group gravel ride.
We left our house on Saturday morning around 8:30am, dropped Campy off at my mom's house for his all-day daycare and drove the 51 miles to Clinton, SC. It was a quick and easy drive and one podcast later we were there. It was a bit cold (~30-ish degrees) and cloudy but over the past few weeks of riding with the GVL WBL group, I feel like I have good experience with dressing for the cold winter rides (I've learned a lesson or two from being cold from not dressing appropriately). The ride started shortly after 10am and the large group of gravel riders were off to preview the Sumter course.
Ben and Boyd did a great job leading the way and giving tips and suggestion as we went along. Since this course will be an actual event/race in March, many people were getting their first preview of the course (along with a great workout). I had planned to do the 70-mile (long) version with Karel but depending on how I felt for the first part of the ride, I knew I would be able to branch off and do the shorter, 40-ish mile loop. I had the longer version in my computer to help with navigation. I'm thankful that every group ride has a route available to download into the computer. It really helps me know what's coming.
The first part of the ride was on pavement and then we went onto the first gravel section. While my on-the-road cycling journey was filled with a lot of scary, doubtful and apprehensive first-ever moments, I felt somewhat comfortable on the gravel. I am still learning how to interact and trust my bike on the off-road but each time I get a bit more comfortable. I made sure to eat a bit more than normal (a bit earlier than normal too) to keep my energy up. I also had two bottles on my bike (each with ~240 calories INFINIT) that I sipped on throughout the ride. I made a third bottle at the refill stop at a church but didn't drink it. Although I was a bit underhydrated, I felt strong throughout the ride. I'm learning with Gravel that you have to take into account the lack of available fuel/hydration stops. Since it was cold, I knew I still needed calories. I didn't feel dehydrated but I also knew I wasn't drinking like normal (but I was still able to stop and pee twice during the ride).
After we arrived to the split of the two courses (long and short), I was actually a bit more comfortable with our "small" group of 18 instead of the 50+ riders that started (not sure how many exactly but it felt like a lot). The ride was filled with some laughs like "don't get hit by the train on race day or else you will get disqualified" and a lot of other friendly conversations with the guys in the group.
The ride was a mix of long stretches of gravel mixed in with a several miles of pavement. The nice thing about the gravel bike is that it feels somewhat like a road bike on the road, even with the thicker tires.
The ride was really pretty as we were either covered in trees or exposed in a large field with only the gravel under us. There were potholes to dodge, tunnels to pass under and even a river to cross - my first ever river crossing was a success!
With each mile I was learning more about me and how to handle my bike on the off-road.
The group ride was really helpful as I could watch what other people were doing. I was always paying attention to how others took a turn, climbed a hill, descended or managed the sketchy sections. Plus, Ben, Boyd and a few of the other riders were always pointing out any rough-road sections and letting us know what's coming. Because I'm still learning, knowing what's coming next is really helpful for me so that I can be prepared.
After a quick stop to refill bottles at a church, we only had about 23 miles left in our ride. I couldn't believe it! I never looked at the time and my computer only showed the route. When we finished the ride, I couldn't believe that we had covered 70 miles in right at 4 hours. It went by so quickly!
I really enjoyed my first gravel group ride and this was just another reminder that my brain and body is really suited for diverse, nature-filled and dynamic courses. Sitting in aero, being by myself and with my own thoughts or settling into one tempo for several miles is just not my style of racing. Gravel riding has confirmed to me that I belong on challenging courses that are filled with nature, hills, technical aspects and the opportunity to see/be around other people. I am still a triathlete and I love the sport of triathlon but this past year has taught me that I love being a triathlete because of the people I get to meet and the places I can see because of my fitness. So yeah, I'm thinking IM Kona is not in my near future. Five times on that magical island was enough - it's time to venture out to other racing adventures and opportunities.
I have to say, I'm pretty proud of myself! Not only was this my longest ever gravel ride (4th ride on my makeshift Ventum NS1) but it was my very first gravel group ride.
I learned a lot of new skills, met new people, saw new scenery and had a fun time. With so much focus on the road under me, I still can't believe how quickly the time passed by.
I’m incredibly grateful for my body and health - and for Karel helping me build confidence in my off-road bike handling skills.
My message to you...never deprive yourself of feeling proud, empowered and strong.
In a world where it’s so easy to be impressed by others, don’t forget to impress yourself!
Drive is the fuel that keeps you motivated on your path to success.
But a powerful need to succeed can be driven by a fear of failure or constantly comparing yourself to others (or a past version of yourself). The more successful you become in each step of your goal-driven journey, the more afraid of failure you can become. As a result, you may find yourself compromising your values - and your mental and physical health. Being too driven may be doing more harm than good.
Being intrinsically motivated is required in any successful individual. To work hard and relentlessly pursue a goal with determination is a great quality.
Although drive can be a great thing (when you use it in the right ways), it can also lead to a single-focused mindset. When you are too driven, it can be difficult to switch "off" which can make it difficult to respect your health and well-being. While it's good to be disciplined and focused, being perfectionistic and self-critical may be putting your personal health and well-being at risk.
A strict set of standards that you strive to meet for your constant drive to improve can lead to a dissatisfaction when you fail to meet your high expectations and goals. As a result, this adds fuel to the fire and perpetuates a stronger drive toward perfection and control. It can be difficult for the highly driven athlete to accept suggestions or advice from well-meaning professionals - keeping you in a cycle of self-sabotage.
There's nothing wrong with being motivated, driven and dedicated. But when a level of perfectionism shows up in your eating habits and exercise regime or leaves you little time to rest and relax, being too driven can do more harm than good.
If you have recently found yourself biting off a bit more than you can chew or putting your work or athletic goals before all else in your life, it's time to take a step back and reassess.
What goals are you chasing?
Why are these goals important to you?
What are you willing to do to reach those goals?
What are you not willing to do to reach those goals?
Willpower, motivation and drive are great qualities to have but you may need to do a bit of a self-check to make sure they are not doing more harm then good.
For more inspiration, education and motivation, subscribe to our free weekly newsletter HERE.
Speaking of being too driven.....
Prior to making changes in the diet, mental skills or training, it’s critical that you unlearn any previous disordered eating behaviors that have been learned from diet culture, recognize the warning signs of an obsession with healthy eating and learn how to develop a more positive body image.
How can you improve confidence in your abilities if your self-worth is tied to your body size?
How can you fuel for your workouts if your diet is rigid and inflexible?
How can you expect your body to perform on event day if you constantly overexercise and underfuel?
With my new 6-series Whole Athlete course, you can understand any distorted views that you’ve developed with food and your body (some of which may be unintentional), while learning how to replace unhealthy behaviors with new ways of thinking. By doing so, you can elevate your performance, optimize your health and protect your well being.
The Whole Athlete course: Lesson 1: Diet culture Lesson 2: An unhealthy obsession Lesson 3: Race weight Lesson 4: Developing a healthy body image Lesson 5: Developing a healthy relationship with food Lesson 6: Thank you body
Once you understand why you think how you think about food, health and your body, you can fix the distorted views that you've developed with food and your body.
In our weight and image-obsessed society, it can be difficult to maintain a healthy relationship with food and the body when you are having an "uncomfortable body" day.
Our culture is really tough on bodies - we are taught that our current size/shape/weight is a problem and it requires immediate fixing.
The human body is amazing. It’s constantly working for you. As you go through life, it’s only natural and normal that your body will change along with you. The body is complex and dynamic. Every day your body is adjusting to its environment and the stress placed on it.
Let's look at some of the incredible ways that the body works for you and why you shouldn't overhaul your diet or exercise regime if you feel or see your body making a small shift in size, shape or weight throughout the day.
Due to the pressures within the sport environment, such as
coaches, teammates, competitors, uniforms and judges, every athlete is at risk for developing unhealthy eating practices to lose weight or to change body size/shape in order
to become more competitive and to meet societal and sport-related
physique ideals.
But not all athletes struggle. Why is it that some athletes refuse to diet or conform to an idealized body image but others end up in a dangerous place of disordered eating and extreme exercise?
Advice from coaches - Many coaches connect the ability to change body composition to
that of hard work, discipline and commitment to sport. Coaches (and onlookers)
will often applaud athletes who can reduce body fat to exceptionally low levels.
How many times have you heard an athlete, coach or commentator say that an
athlete looks race ready by referencing body size, shape or appearance? Comments made by coaches, social media, body shaming, fat talk, attributing poor performances on weight, and low self-esteem can initiate or intensify underlying body image concerns. It's not uncommon that many athletes (and coaches) believe that body weight is
determining factor of athletic success. Even worse, many coaches attribute a
poor athletic performance to weight. A coach who has an underlying obsession
with weight will only intensify an athlete’s body image concerns.
Body dissatisfaction - How often do you “size up” your competition based on a look of exceptional fitness? Considering that body dissatisfaction is normalized in our society, it’s not surprising to learn that one of the main contributors to dieting, disordered eating or an eating disorder is body dissatisfaction. Body
dissatisfaction (or poor body image) refers to unhappiness with the shape, size
or weight of one’s body or appearance. Interestingly, negative thoughts about
one’s body tend to develop (and strengthen) from body comparison. Have you ever
noticed how easy it is to establish your level of body dissatisfaction based on
how your body shape/size compares to that of another athlete?
Pursuing a race weight - The idea behind a “race weight” mentality stems from a
belief that your body will perform the best at a certain weight. More often
than not, this weight is often less than your healthy, set point weight. A low
body weight (or body fat percentage) is perceived as a biomechanical advantage.
This belief leads many athletes to work diligently hard to achieve a physical
body type to fit sport instead of letting the body develop and improve as a
result of sport. In other words, instead of letting your body unintentionally
change from the effects of proper nutrition to support consistent training, you
are led to believe that with some hard work (aka dieting), you can override
genes, hormones, age, fitness level and other physiological mechanisms to
achieve an arbitrary number on the scale that will guarantee peak performance.
In a race for leanness, many athletes succumb to unhealthy and extreme weight
loss behaviors. As a result, in the attempt to improve performance, performance
and health are sabotaged.
Deep in diet culture - No
matter who you are, diet culture wants you to feel like you have complete
control over your body image. Happiness and feeling good about yourself is not
something that you need to earn by achieving a specific body weight, size or
shape through dieting. Food should never be conditional. Diet culture is trying
to compromise one of your most special relationships – the one that you have
with your body and food. Dieting is a form of starvation. Whether it’s overexercising, undereating or a
combination of both, you are in a losing fight against your biology. When you
are underfed, undernourished or underfueled, your brain will obsess over food
until you “give in.” Your body is extremely smart. Whether you like it or not,
your body has powerful biological mechanisms which are triggered when your body
does not receive the energy it needs from food. You may feel like you are
addicted to certain foods but this is your body’s way of driving you to eat the
calories that it needs to function. The pattern of weight loss and weight gain from
dieting is called weight cycling. This constant yo-yo dieting is in and of
itself an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease, insulin
resistance, inflammation and high blood pressure. This cycle is more harmful to
your mental and physical health than maintaining a higher, but stable, body
weight. There’s nothing wrong with adopting new behaviors to improve your health,
performance or well-being. If anything, it’s encouraged! But health is not
synonymous with size. Peak performance is built from changing your physiology,
not your weight. Regardless of the incentive, intentional undereating (especially
when you are very active) is hazardous to your well-being. It can’t be stated
enough but anytime you are engaged in some form of intentional food restriction
(often for the sake of shrinking your body or maintaining a fantasy body), you
are buying into diet culture which is packed with false promises and
unrealistic claims. Pursuing a restrictive style of eating will keep you on a
roller coaster of mental, emotional and health struggles as you become more out
of touch with your hunger and satisfaction cues.
It's no secrete that many athletes struggle with body image. But what about elite and professional athletes....do they deal with the same issues? →Are Olympians afraid of becoming too muscular? →Do they feel pressure from coaches to lose weight? →Do they worry about weight? →Do they have days when they don't feel good in their own skin? →What about nutrition - do Olympians follow a strict diet plan?
Many athletes struggle with eating enough to support the energy demands of training and wanting to look a certain way. When the pressure is so great to achieve a specific body composition, it's not uncommon for restrictive or extreme eating strategies to compromise physical health, mental well-being and athletic performance.
It's not about the look of your body but what you can do with your body.
I hope you can take some time out of your day to listen to this raw, enlightening and educational discussion with Katie Zaferes. As a female athlete at the top level of her sport, she discusses how she fuels and eats for performance, how she deals with body image dissatisfaction as well as her tips for how to build better body confidence.
Thanks to the Greenville Winter Bike League, I had reason to get on my road bike at 10am every Saturday for the past eight weeks. I also had the accountability to layer-up and venture out in the cold weather for 3+ hours week after week. I only missed one ride due to the weather (we had a rain/snow the night prior and the roads were a little icy so I went out on my own solo ride). What started out as an opportunity to socialize with other people turned into so much more than I had imagined. I met new people, stretched my comfort zone, challenged myself in the designated QOM and sprint zones, improved my cycling skills, discovered new bike friendly routes, won some money (woot woot) and braved the cold winter conditions - all on two wheels.
The last ride was a tough one. It was a smaller group of around 30 cyclists and we covered 63 miles in cold (in the 30's), cloudy and windy conditions. The ride went on a beautiful route near Jones Gap and we rode on two new roads that I had never been on before. Karel didn't join me on this ride because he ventured to Walhalla, SC for a super duper hilly 69-mile gravel group ride. I can't wait to show Karel these new routes as they will be perfect for our future training camps.
Around 21 miles in, we had our KOM/QOM segment. The climb was relatively short and not overly steep but it sure did give my legs some attention. Once we regrouped, it was time for the "sprint" part of the ride. We rode several loops on the River Falls Road Race course - a beautiful 5.6 mile loop (although it was cloudy, it was still pretty with rivers, trees and mountains in our view). Each category had the chance to race one lap while the rest of the group rode the course behind the racing group. Lap 1 - Women's and juniors (scored separately) Lap 2 - Amateurs (category 4,5, and unlicensed) Lap 3 - Pro 1,2,3 Lap 4 - Masters 40+
I "raced" the women's category and gave all I could. I ended up 3rd and totally smashed myself on the final climb (the end of the loop). I tried to go with the Pro group but I got dropped pretty quickly. It was fun to challenge myself and to test my abilities. It was a cold ride and I struggled near the end. But thanks to the positive energy of the group, we all rallied together and stayed strong until the end. At the end of the ride, it was time for raffle prizes and cash prizes for the category winners. The organizers of this group ride did such an exceptional job of putting together a safe, fun and challenging 8-week series. It was extra special that the ride started/finished just 3 miles from our house.
Our friend/athlete Alvi who joined me for most of the rides.
As for Karel, he drove an hour away for his gravel ride. This was a "drop ride" which meant you need to stay with the group or else you are on your own. Karel said he paced himself better for his group ride (compared to the one he did a few weeks ago) but he was still pretty spent when he was done. He said the group started off big but got smaller and smaller as the miles went on. There was a lot of climbing and descending on his ride and while the climbs were tough, he really enjoyed the downhills. I found my ride super cold but Karel said that his ride was super duper cold because they were climbing up into the mountains.
Although I joined the GVL WBL ride and Karel joined the Southwest Gravel group ride, there were several other group rides in and around our area. We are so lucky to have so many safe and bike-friendly routes in our area!
I managed to do a run on the treadmill after my ride but then again, I am not sure if I was actually running. My feet were pretty frozen so I wasn't sure if I was actually running on them. Karel had an hour drive home after his ride so he arrived home shortly after I was making my post-workout meal.
Reflecting on the GVL WBL group ride, every week I found myself anxiously nervous for the unknown. Riding with cyclists (most of which race) was tough - I was constantly feeling challenged - mentally and physically. I am really proud of myself for braving seven 3+ hr rides with a strong group of 30-80+ cyclists over the past eight weeks. That’s seven opportunities of seeking discomfort.
I really embrace the idea of stretching the comfort zone. I wasn't always like this. Karel has helped me welcome discomfort as he has put me in a lot of uncomfortable sport-specific situations (primarily on the bike). While many of these situations often started with some type of argument from me being scared, I thanked him at the end for helping me discover my capabilities by doing something that was scary to me. For the record, I cried during my first ride here in Greenville as I found it too hard and too hilly. Thankfully, Karel didn't let me give up.
Every time you put yourself into a new and unknown situation, you are training your brain into something better and stronger than it was before.
With each stretch of the comfort zone, you increase the number of opportunities you will be able to take in life because you have gained the ability, confidence and options to do more things you’re comfortable with..... all because you had the courage to seek discomfort.
I learned a lot over the past two months as the GVL WBL group ride started as something uncomfortable and while it never became easy, I learned to become good at discomfort - week after week after week. And I had fun doing it!
Here are some tips I've learned to help you become better at stretching your comfort zone:
Seek discomfort - Don't be afraid to be uncomfortable. When you try something new, you are learning. You are becoming more than you were before. Discomfort may cause you to make mistakes, reveal your weaknesses and fear failure but discomfort is a sign that you are growing.
Take charge of your self-talk - Just because someone else is faster/stronger than you, than doesn't mean that you are bad or slow. Just because someone is having a great workout, this doesn't mean that you are having a bad workout. Just because someone looks differently than you, this doesn't mean that you need to change the way that you look. When self talk is negative, it doesn't help you move forward in a way that helps you challenge obstacles. If anything, it moves you backwards because you fail to recognize the progress that you are making or your unique strengths. Learn to reframe negative, self-defeating thoughts in a way that encourages growth and motivation.
View discomfort as an opportunity - Find your tribe (people you feel safe around and give you energy, instead of stealing it away from you) and let others help you stretch your comfort zone. It's easy to feel confident in your safe and controlled environment - one that is repeatable and predictable. While there's nothing wrong with being in your comfort zone, it's important to put yourself into situations/scenarios that you have never faced before. And then learn from them. It's easy to run away from a challenge when you are by yourself. When you are with others, you are more willing and likely to face a challenging scenario. And it's great to have the support of others who are there to celebrate your accomplishment along with you.
Feeling discomfort from something that is unnatural or uncomfortable isn't a sign that something is wrong. It's likely a sign that you are trying something new and different. Just like physical training, your brain will get better at managing uncomfortable situations the more you put yourself into them. Being scared or uncomfortable isn't always fun but it sure is fun to feel that comfort zone being stretched. Before you know, BOOM - you have stepped outside of your comfort zone.
Remember: What was once uncomfortable becomes comfortable....only if you are willing to seek discomfort.
Mark your calendars for a live broadcast discussion with 2019 ITU series overall champion, Olympian triathlete Katie Zaferes.
It's no secrete that many athletes struggle with body image. But what about elite and professional athletes....do they deal with the same issues? Are Olympians afraid of becoming too muscular? Do they feel pressure from coaches (and the media) to be lean on race day? Do they worry about weight?
Every athlete wants to perform at his/her best when it matters the most...on event day. But in certain sports, there is a lot of pressure to look a certain way - to reach a body type that's "ideal." Many athletes struggle with eating enough to support the energy demands of training and wanting to look a certain way. Alongside a misbelief that lower body weight (or body fat) improves performance, many athletes desire a change in body composition due to the display of their bodies in a tight or revealing uniform. When the pressure is so great to achieve a specific body composition, it's not uncommon for restrictive or extreme eating strategies to compromise health and fitness.
Body image issues are nothing new in the world of aesthetic sports like running, triathlon, cycling and swimming. Often times, the look of the body that is healthy and well-fueled does not match the image of the body that you think you need for sport.
The topics of body image, weight and body composition can be triggering for many athletes. Inundated with wrong messages from coaches and nutrition experts, along with high expectations and feeling a lot of pressure to perform, it's not uncommon for athletes to slip into disordered eating patterns.
But this doesn't mean that every athlete feels dissatisfied with his/her body image. Body confidence is part of what helps athletes achieve athletic dreams. Therefore, I find it extremely important to educate athletes on fostering a better sense of self worth.
With so much pressure to "lose" weight, we need to shift the conversation from loss to gain. Gaining power, endurance, resilience, strength....and most importantly,
GAINING BODY CONFIDENCE.
An athlete is more than a body. The strengths gained from sport are more than just physical.
I hope you can join me on Thursday evening at 6:30pm EST at Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition for an enlightening discussion on body image at the elite level with Olympian Katie Zaferes.
Instead of riding our bikes to Trailblazer Park (the start of the group ride), we decided to drive the two miles so that we could run right after we biked. Every Saturday, I find myself in a mental match of whether or not I can muster the energy to run off the bike. The change of scenery was just what I needed as I found it much "easier" to commit to the run after another challenging group ride. Plus, we were joined by our triathlon buddies so the accountable was nice from the extra company.
I was really looking forward to this ride as it was "only" 63 miles but it was a route that we had never done before. So much of the ride was new to us and we were really looking forward to seeing new roads and sights. It's incredible that after six years of living in Greenville, we are still discovering new bike-friendly roads!
After the first few miles, it was evident that this would be a hard ride as the wind was strong. Even with the group, it was hard to tuck-in and conserve energy. The weather was a bit on the cool side (in the upper 30's) but thankfully it was sunny.
The KOM/QOM climb happened early in this ride. We only had about 42 minutes of riding (and 12 miles) before we our hearts jumped into our throats as we muscled our way up the pitchy 1.42 mile climb. It was steep and kept going, until we had a slight descend and then another steep pitch. It was a new climb for us and the scenery around us was beautiful but wow, that was a kicker!
After the climb we had a fast descend before regrouping at the bottom of the climb. The next 15 miles were beautiful as we took a few new roads that we had never been on before so I was really enjoying the new scenery. Albeit, I was still trying to stay on a wheel and tuck myself in from the wind.
Our refuel break came around 30 miles at a CVS. I swapped by sport nutrition bottle out from the SAG car and snacked on some fig newtons. Throughout the ride I consumed 2.5 bottles of INFINIT (~250 calories per bottle) and had a few Skratch Cherry chews.
Karel was on the struggle bus. Even though he was mentally in it to ride, his legs were empty. This picture pretty much sums up how Karel felt for the entire ride. Riding the struggle bus is never fun, especially when you are with a group. Karel debated just doing his own thing but he stuck it out and finished the ride with the group.
The next 30 miles were on mostly new roads to us and they were beautiful. We were spoiled by smooth roads, rolling hills and a bit of wind at our back.
With only 4 miles to go, it was time for the ~2.5 mile "sprint" on Little Texas Road - a rollercoaster type road with a pitchy two step climb at the end. I wasn't planning on participating in the final sprint but I was feeling strong so I decided to go for it. Karel even attempted it and gave what he could, with whatever energy he had in his tank.
Although it was a shorter ride at just under 64 miles and 3:25 riding time, we felt the 4,700+ feet of elevation gain, alongside the wind, hills and dry chilly air. Thankfully, our legs showed up for the run off the bike. Karel, Yannick and Kenny ran together and I started off by myself but finished with Al. Al and I finished with 27 minutes and Karel and the guys finished with 30 minutes. It was nice to change up the running route but still had plenty of hills to manage (~400 feet for the 3.36 run).
After the ride, we recovered with a recovery drink and then it was time for semi-homemade pizza. We purchase the dough from Publix, leave it out for 1/2 day so that it can rise and then bake it in the oven at 350 degrees (flipping each side after around 10 minutes and then putting on the toppings). I kept the base of the pizza really simple with marinara, mozzarella and basil and then cooked a mix of veggies on the stove top for additional toppings. I also made a salad. It was a great meal for our hungry bellies. After another snack shortly after our post ride meal, I was ready for bed!
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After each ride, I find myself learning lessons. Not just about sport but about myself. I have so much gratitude for the ability to safely participate in these group rides and train with others. I'm finding so much joy out of our master swim group and this Saturday group ride. One lesson that I've learned over the past seven weeks of doing this group ride (minus one week), is the idea of performing under pressure.
Pressure keeps you sharp and paying attention. Too little pressure can make you lose focus (or not care) whereas too much pressure can make you feel anxious and can affect your ability to make smart decisions.
When performing under pressure, many athletes perform below their capabilities. But then there are athletes are rise to the occasion. Why is it that some athletes can perform under pressure whereas others struggle to perform to their full capabilities?
Perhaps you want to avoid failure, you feel you are being judged on the outcome or you don't want to look bad in front of your fans/friends/family. You may feel panic and anxiety under stress. These are valid reasons why you may make silly mistakes or throw good decision making out the window on event day.
But if you rarely (or never) feel pressure to perform in training, you can't expect to suddenly know how to perform under pressure on event day. Putting yourself into pressure-cooker situations - scenarios that are different, experiences that are uncomfortable and situations that bring a fear of failure, you gain experience. Simply hoping to perform at your best when it matters can work sometimes, but most often it doesn't.
Pressure is your body telling you to pay attention. It's your body's way of getting you ready to perform. You need to feel pressure to take advantage of it. Don't be afraid to put yourself into uncomfortable and different situations to experience the thrill and exhilaration of performing under pressure. Learn to see a situation as a challenge, not a threat. A challenge is to be embraced, not dreaded.
Worrying takes a lot of energy. It messes with your mind, steals your confidence and paralyzes your abilities. Let go of the added weight of trying to meet or exceed your expectations. Train and race like you have nothing to lose. Focus on the process, don't chase an outcome. Avoid paralysis by analysis. Don't overthink, just do.
Most of all, remind yourself that performing under pressure is an opportunity to have fun. When the spotlight shines on you to perform, enjoy yourself and don't forget to thank your body.
Think back to a time when you reached a goal. You likely experienced a great amount of attention, respect and recognition. There's nothing inherently wrong with the satisfaction you feel when you reach a goal, but being too focused on a specific outcome ruins the possibility of a different result. Anything less than reaching the goal may be considered a failure. Here lies the problem in goal setting. The focus is on the outcome, not on the process.
Behavior change is hard. No matter how strongly you are motivated to reach a goal, creating a new system - or breaking a bad one - can be extremely difficult.
Shifting your focus away from an outcome and to your behaviors will allow you to get more out of the process - regardless if you achieve your goal. With a behavior change mindset, great satisfaction comes from the present moment. And when you are in the present moment, you can observe what behaviors you actually need to change.
According to the Four Classes of Human Experience, there are four different classes to categorize experiences (or behaviors).
A Class One Experience is something that feels good, is good for you, is good for others and serves the greater good.
Class Two is something that does not feel good, is good for you, is good for others and serves the greater good.
Class Three is something that feels good, is not good for you, is not good for others and does not serve the greater good.
Class Four is something that does not feel good, is not good for you, is not good for others and does not serve the greater good.
When you think about the behaviors that you want to change, what class do they fall into? Likely class three or four.
By addressing your class three and four behaviors, you can move closer to class two and eventually to class one. Changing your lifestyle requires that you address behaviors that are not serving you well. As you move to class two, this is where the real change happens. You recognize that your new behaviors are uncomfortable, difficult and a bit foreign, but they are good for you and they serve you well.
A quality life isn't a goal. You shouldn't be driven to change just for an outcome. Life is what you make of it....every single day.
Change is a process, not an event.
For more information like this, check out our latest newsletter here and subscribe for free.
Over the past few weeks, Karel has been spending a good amount of time on his Ventum gravel bike. Although Karel has several bikes in his collection, this may be his new favorite.
Although I've never been off the road on a bike (well - just once on a MTB several years ago but I wouldn't call it a real ride), Karel wanted to share gravel biking with me. Seeing that my bike handling skills have greatly improved since moving from Florida to Greenville, SC. I figured it was time to get into nature and explore a different style of riding.
Instead of investing in another bike, Karel did a bit of research and Macgyvered my Ventum NS1 into a gravel bike (it can be quickly converted from road bike to gravel bike).
Here are the specs: NS1 - XS (size 50) 650b wheels. Front tire: Maxxistires Rambler 27.5 x 1.5. Rear wheel: Continental tire Terra Speed 27.5 x 1.35 (650b x 35). Gearing: 36x52 front and 11-34 rear. Pedals: Look Quartz MTB. Shoes: Bont riot+ MTB.
For several days, I was really looking forward to my first gravel ride on Monday morning. Not surprisingly, Karel didn't take it easy on me. We drove ~30 minutes north and parked near Cedar Springs Baptist Church in Zirconia, NC. It was a chilly 30-something degrees when we started the ride around 11am.
Since I am used to riding my road bike, the MTB pedals, shoes and wheels/tires were the only "new" things to get used to - and it was a quick adjustment. We biked a few miles on the road before the pavement ended and I had my first taste of riding on gravel. I immediately loved being tucked inside nature. Karel told me that we would be going on a "hike" today but on our bikes. That's just what it felt like - although a lot faster than hiking and at times, a bit more of an endorphin rush.
Karel led the way since he knew the route and gave me a few pointers along the way. Since this was all very new to me, it was nice to start on terrain that was more like hard-packed clay (and not too technical) to get started. Plus, we started steadily climbing once we hit the gravel so it was easy to feel in control of the bike. And I had no trouble with Karel's gravel "set-up" for my road bike. It handled really well on our route.
But then the packed clay-like terrain turned into a thin layer of snow. I stayed calm and started to really enjoy this off-road style of riding. And then we started climbing and climbing and climbing. And then we descended. After the first half of the ride, I started to get the hang of things and found myself being a little more adventurous (versus tentative when I started). I didn't want to ride overly confident as there were some sketchy sections of snow, ice and mud.
As I mentioned earlier, Karel didn't take it easy on me. He gave me snow, ice, mud, dirt, gravel, rocks, switchbacks, climbs, descends, stones, holes, wooden bridges and leaves. I had a bit of everything for nearly 2.5 hours and 28 miles. We also accumulated over 2400 feet of elevation during the ride.
Not only did I finish in one piece (without a fall) but I had a really great time. I found myself getting a little worried at times but I quickly shut those thoughts out and tried to stay confident and in control. I learned a lot in this one ride and I can't wait to do it again. Karel was a great tour guide and I appreciate his patience....as I know he could have bombed those descents much faster than my casual pace down the hills.
Over the past six weeks, Karel and I have been participating in the GVL WBL (Greenville Winter Bike League) group ride.The ride starts and finishes at Trailblazer park, which is a convenient 2.9 miles from our house (we bike there and back).
Every week I anxiously check the website for the upcoming route and mileage. The ride is put on by Debbie Milne and Andrew Crater and it's a very well organized, safe and well-supported ride. Thankfully, we have such a bike friendly community so having a group of 30-80 cyclists isn't a problem on our quiet country roads. We have been introduced to new routes - which is always exciting for us to find new bike-friendly roads. The riding options here in Greenville are endless! Each ride also has a designated stop around half way (to fuel/refuel) and there is always one or two SAG support vehicles that follow us along and mark the KOM/QOM or sprint zones with signs. Like I said - it's super organized! Everyone brings a mask (or buff) to wear at the start, finish and during the stop and there are even raffle prizes and other cash awards for finishing the ride.
Karel and I have joined this strong group of cyclists every Saturday for the past six weeks - except for ride #5. Our most recent ride (ride #6 past Saturday) was the longest group ride at just under 80 miles, 4.5 hours and a little over 5000 elevation gain. It was also our coldest ever ride - in the low 30's, cloudy and windy. It even snowed on us during the ride! (well, it was flurries but we count that as snow here in Gville).
As if our terrain wasn't challenging (and hilly) enough, we take it up one notch by factoring in group dynamics, competing for the KOM/QOM (King and Queen of the mountain) and most recently, competing for a "sprint." While this is all in good fun to build fitness and to socialize, each ride has tested me in many ways - physically and mentally.
The ride always starts out tough. It takes me a good 60-90 minutes to really feel my muscles start to wake up (and this is after doing a solid 20+ min mobility, foam rolling and active stretching workout before we leave for the ride). The pace is never crazy fast but it's also not easy. Riding in a group requires me to be ON, not just physically but also mentally. Thankfully, I've learned a lot from Karel and his bike racing days so my group riding skills are pretty good (but I'm always trying to improve).
After the KOM/QOM (~0.7 mile segment at 32 miles into the ride), I felt really defeated that I wasn't able to climb as I had hoped. With only five of us females in the group, the competition is fierce. I ended up 4th on this QOM. I gave it all I could but my best effort on this day was not good enough. Of course, it's all in good fun. But I did have a brief moment of self-doubt. Karel gave me a quick pep talk and within a minute or two, I forgot that the climb ever happened (mentally, not physically. Physically that climb was still with me - as was the past 32 miles).
Next up was the women's sprint at around 50 miles. There were five of us ladies racing at the front for around 3 miles. Prior to the start of the women's sprint, I had thought to myself that I would just sit this one out (and ride with the guys in the group) and not participate with the other four ladies. But then I would feel like I was missing out. It then occurred to me....
I was afraid to fail. I had fear of failure.
In my mind, not trying was safer to my ego than giving it a go and possibly failing.
At that point I decided that I would give it a go and be proud of my effort for trying. As someone who loves to test myself, I was a little taken back that I was counting myself out before I even had an opportunity to see what I was capable of achieving.
In the end it all turned out just fine. I ended up just missing winning the sprint finish by an inch and was out-sprinted by Claire (she's super strong - as are all the ladies). I had a lot of fun mixing it up and playing tactics with the other ladies. Although my legs were pretty smashed for the next few miles until our store stop, it was all worth it - because I didn't succumb to fear of failure.
The ride was challenging but that's what I come for. To me, it's fun to feel challenged. It's fun to see what I can do with my body. It's fun to be around other like-minded individuals who are crazy enough to ride in cold, windy conditions for 4.5 hours.
No one likes to fail. Not reaching your expectations can cause feelings of regret, confusion, anger, frustration and of course, disappointment. Although all of these emotions are normal, what's not healthy is when the emotions transfer over to your own self-worth and self-belief system and in turn, impact your actions.
I discussed my fear of failure with Karel and it felt good to hear, out loud, how my thoughts were about to negatively impact my actions.
Here are a few signs that you may be sabotaging your chance of success due to fear of failure:
Worrying about what other people think about you.
Worrying about your ability to reach a goal or feel prepared for an event.
Worrying that you won't be liked by others.
Worrying that other people won't think you are hard working, worthy or capable.
Worrying about disappointing others.
Telling other people beforehand that you don't expect to do well in order to lower expectations.
Giving reasons (or excuses) why you may not succeed.
Every time I go into this group ride, I focus on what I can control. I know I am the lone female triathlete in the group but I don't use that as an excuse. I go into this ride with plenty of sleep. I fuel for this ride as if it was a race - being extra mindful of eating more than enough in the 48 hours before the GVL WBL ride. This also means making sure that I fuel well around and during my workouts during the week as each workout is adding fatigue to my body and I need to do my best to arrive to this ride relatively sharp and strong - and so I don't get dropped! I find that far too often, athletes will underfuel for training and overfuel on race day. Why? Because of the pressure to succeed. Because of the fear of failure when it matters.
As a lifelong swimmer, I trained with a group for an individual sport. I learned at a young age that I needed to take care of myself in order to keep up with others. Still today, I see group workouts as a prime opportunity to make sure I am not self-sabotaging my ability to succeed on event/race day. For when you are alone, there's no one to compare yourself to, to compete with or to keep up with. It's so easy to underfuel, not drink enough, slack on sleep, fall short on sport nutrition or skip mobility - all things that you would never do before a race. I value group training for the accountability to not neglect the every day things that can negatively or positively impact training and health.
Just imagine what your body would be capable of achieving in training if you put the same awareness, focus and effort into your nutrition, hydration, mobility and sleep as you do before a race? What you do every day matter.
Don't self-sabotage. Don't succumb to the fear of failure.
You are capable of so much more than you think you are.
Sure, fatigue and niggles are major components of endurance training but it sure is nice to breeze through workouts without any issues. Perhaps we often take for granted allllllll of those workouts that do go smoothly without any major issues. It's easy to take good health for granted until a setback occurs.
As athletes, we are constantly balancing training stress and recovery in order to achieve positive adaptions. Sometimes we get the recipe right and sometimes an ingredient or two is missing and the final product turns out, well......really unpleasant.
On Sunday morning, I had a really great run on the neighborhood hills below Paris Mountain. I was feeling so much gratitude toward my body for being so strong and resilient. But toward the last few miles of the run, the posterior tibial tendon of my right leg became really inflammed from the up and downhills as well as from the camber of the road. I tried to minimize the inflammation by stopping periodically to not overstress it. Later in the evening, my calf and inner ankle started to feel much more tight and painful.
On one hand, I was frustrated that I may have injured myself. But on the other hand, I saw this as an opportunity to appreciate how remarkable the body is at healing. I avoided running for the next 48 hours and let my body go to work (with a little self care). By Wednesday, it felt 90% better. After a strong swim on Tues morning and another strong bike workout on Tues evening, I gave it a test run on the treadmill after my morning trainer workout and I had no issues. It took great courage to trust that my could heal itself. This also gives me strength for the next time - if this were to happen - that all I need to do is take a few days off to avoid a more serious setback.
As for Tues, I had a really strong swim at masters practice. Although I started out a bit tired in the water, my body showed up for the main set of 18 x 100's on 1:30 with every 3rd strong. I was cruising in around 1:18 for the steady efforts and around 1:15 for the strong. This felt so good and I was shocked with how good I felt in the water and how I could keep good form throughout the entire set.
In the evening, I had another solid bike workout on the trainer. It was a mixture of high cadence and heavy gear work with a bit of intensity. I rallied through it and felt really accomplished at the end.
Wednesday I could barely hold the power that I was holding smoothly on Tues. On Thurs swim, I could barely hold the paces that I was coming in comfortably for 18 x 100's on Tues.
I don't like using the word bad workouts as it's all relative. When your body feels off, you are simply comparing your abilities on that day to a day when your body feels on - when you meet your self-imposed expectations for how you wanted to feel.
Perhaps you have an injury that needs addressing, not well-fueled or hydrated or extremely stressed out? All of these warrant immediate attention so that future workouts (and your health) are not negatively impacted.
Otherwise, accept that off workouts are just part of the game. It's part of being an athlete. Don't let them weigh on your mind or self worth.
If anything, the workouts when everything seems to click are the magical days - not the norm. If every workout feels easy or if learning a new skill comes naturally, you are limiting yourself from your true capabilities. When things are difficult because they are unnatural, unfamiliar or uncomfortable, that's where the real magic happens. And improvements aren't linear. Sometimes you need to go through a series of blah, just ok, off workouts before a breakthrough happens.
The solution is not to not have bad workouts.
The answer is how you respond to the bad workouts that will inevitably occur throughout your athletic journey.
👉So when you are having an off day, show up anyways. 👉When you are having an off workout, don't give up on yourself. 👉Control your emotions when things aren't going well. Reflect and reframe. 👉No matter how bad things may appear, remind yourself that off days are part of your complete athletic development. Do the best you can with the day that you are dealt.
When you have an off day, don't overthink or question everything that you are doing. You don't need to overhaul your diet or change your equipment or gear. These things don't make the situation better - they may make things worse.
Create your crappy workout pile. When you have an off day, throw that workout in there and move on.
A 30-day challenge is a great way to implement new healthy habits into your lifestyle, push yourself through fears or to try something different. Hey, it's only 30-days....what's the worst that could happen?
Although time-bound challenges can be effective for behavior modifications, many people fail to reach the finish line. Here are a few things to keep in mind before you jump on the 30-day challenge bandwagon:
👍PROS: Changing habits is hard. With it comes great pressure and self-doubt as you think about committing to "forever." In the big picture of the year, 30-days is a period just long enough for you to experiment with what works and what doesn't work. You can begin to understand how the change affects you emotionally, physically, socially and spiritually. A challenge allows you to open your mind to new possibilities or a new ways of doing things and gives you confidence and a sense of accomplishment. Plus, it can put you well on your way to making something an actual habit.
👎CONS: A fixed-time challenge can be a great way to kickstart a new activity but it takes more than 30-days to ingrain a new habit. You can't rush the process in 30-days. While you may be motivated to reach a goal, there's no quick fix to long-term problems. More so, many challenges are oriented toward short-term results and not effective for long-term changes. It's not uncommon at the end of those 30 days for people to give up and return to previous habits (or worse habits due to frustration or relief that the challenge is complete). The outcome often becomes about reaching a goal or finishing the challenge, rather than on changing behaviors to maintain the change in a sustainable way.
Because you can't turn life into a series of 30-day challenges, it's important to make changes because they are important to you. A habit is a learned automatic response. To form a new habit - or to break a bad one - you must make the commitment to change, initiate the new behavior and continue to work at it until it becomes part of who you are and how you live. A challenge should align with your values and should be realistic for your lifestyle - in other words, it should make your life easier or less stressful, not cause you distress. Avoid the all or nothing, pass or fail mentality and approach the challenge with good intentions.
Everyday, write down one thing you are grateful for.
Engage in some type of movement for 30-minutes everyday (can be split up into segments).
Drink at least 8-ounces of water every time you eat (meals and snacks).
Consume 1 cup of fruits and 1 cup of vegetables every day.
Meditate for 5 minutes every day.
Eat breakfast every morning (within 2 hours of waking).
Commit to a random act of kindness everyday.
Floss your teeth every day.
Take a photo of something that makes you happy everyday.
Pay for everything with cash for the next 30-days. At the end of each day, put all loose change (or $1 bills) in the charge to use as an emergency fund.
Declutter (or organize) your house by one location (or drawer/shelf) everyday for the next 30-days.
Do something that makes you happy for 20-minutes everyday.
Get up ten minutes earlier every morning.
Limit non-business related social media usage to no more than 30-minutes a day.
Unlock Your Body's Full Potential With Good Nutrition Habits
Hi athletes, weekend warriors and fitness enthusiasts,
When did sport nutrition and nutritious eating become so complicated?
No matter your fitness level, as an athlete, your goal is to fuel your body to optimize your training and racing and to protect your mental and physical health.
In a culture of information intoxication, it's essential to remember that food is your fuel. If you lack an understanding of how to keep your body nourished and fueled or you struggle with your relationship with body image or food, it will be difficult to meet your energy needs. The bottom line is that you can't adapt to training and unlock your body's full potential if you don't fuel properly.
Proper fueling involves following basic sport nutrition guidelines without becoming obsessive over body weight, calories or food. You don't have to achieve a specific body composition or follow a rigid fueling plan to achieve athletic excellence.
Erin Green is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and former Professional Triathlete. With over 10 years as a practicing RDN with a background in Sports Science, she energetically promotes principles of total wellness as an avenue to a healthful and gratifying way of life. Erin’s philosophy is based on the notion that people must find enjoyment and balance in their lifestyles in order to perpetuate positive changes. Self-care, body kindness and a healthful food relationship are all critical in her nutrition counseling—which goes far beyond the simple what/when to eat.
If you are unable to watch live, you can watch the broadcast at a later time. I will also share on my blog, newsletter and on Instagram.
Disclaimer: By watching this broadcast, you agree and acknowledge that Marni and Erin (who are both Licensed Registered Dietitians) are not providing nutritional therapy services, or attempting to diagnose, treat, prevent or cure any physical, mental or emotional issue, disease or condition. The information provided in this broadcast is not intended to be a substitute for the professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment provided by your own medical professional or mental health provider. If you have or suspect that you have a physical or mental health concerns, please contact a medical professional or Registered Dietitian.
It's been a wild week (emotionally) but we are incredibly grateful for some sort of normalcy with our swim, bike, run training.
Karel made a quick 24-hour trip to Washington, DC on Sun and returned home on Monday. A month or so ago, Karel realized that his Czech passport was going to expire this year. To renew his Czech passport, he needs to go to the Czech embassy in DC to get an updated one. The embassy scheduled him for Jan 4th at 10am so it was a quick trip there and back. Thankfully, Karel enjoyed a safe and peaceful trip, as well as a run around the historic monuments.
It was weird to be alone for those 24-hours (well, just me and the 4 furry kids) as Karel and I spend pretty much all day, every day together. Thinking back, I think it's been several years since we have been apart for more than a day. In the late afternoon, I went on a 2-hour bike ride with mom. She really enjoys riding her bike on the country roads in our area and exploring new routes. She has really improved her skills and endurance over the past few years since she started riding (BTW - she just started riding around the age of 60 yrs!).
Every week we attend master swimming on Tues, Thurs and Friday. It's something that I really look forward to and has been a gift in terms of keeping my passion strong for swimming. Although the aquatic center isn't as convenient as Furman (where we used to swim - before the campus was closed to the public in March and remains closed to the public), it's a beautiful pool with lots of available lanes for lap swimming. If you are ever in the area, you can swim there with a day pass of $8. There is also a therapy pool (with lap lanes), a small gym and locker rooms.
I've been doing a lot of Individual Medley (IM - fly, back, breast, free) work at masters swim, which makes me feel strong and exhausted. I used to swim butterfly in college (200 fly) but I struggle to even finish a 50 without a lot of lactic acid build-up. But it's been fun to change up my strokes as it's been helping me achieve a better feel of the water with freestyle.
Here's one of the workouts I did near the end of December: Warm up: 300 1:00 [vertical kick]
6 x 50 1:05 stroke 1:00 [vertical kick]
3 x 100 1:30
Main set: 2x
2 x 25 :40 mod
1 x 50 1:00 strong
3 x 25 :40 build
1 x 75 1:30 strong
4 x 25 :40 desc 1-4
1 x 100 2:00 strong
[All swims choice]
Kick set: 1 x 400 9:00
Freestyle set: 4x
1 x 300 4:00 long & strong
1 x 150 2:15 neg split
1 x 75 1:15 strong
Warm down
4 x 50 1:00
On Wednesday, Karel set out for a gravel ride near Tuxedo, NC. He rode in Dupont state recreational forest for nearly 3 hours (and followed it up with a brick run). He is loving his Ventum gravel bike, which has been a great change for him. Since he has been riding bikes for almost all of his life, changing up his cycling routine (and bike choice) has been really good to keep the motivation to ride going, especially in the colder winter months.
I stuck to the trainer and did a specific bike workout that challenged me in all the right ways. So that I don't burn myself out from indoor riding, I am keeping with structured workouts on the trainer and anything unstructured, I take it outside for a happy, soul-fulfilling ride.
Here's the workout:
WU: 10 min EZ as you feel then ramp up the effort as: 3, 2.5, 2, 1 min ... go progressively harder so that the last 1 min is at sub threshold. 1.5 min EZ spin --- FPE (fast pedal efforts): 4 x 45 sec FPE w/ 45 sec EZ in between. 4 x 30 sec FPE w/ 30 sec EZ in between 4 x 15 sec FPE w/ 15 sec EZ in between. Go harder on the effort as the interval get less. Cadence is very high on all! There are no additional break between the 45, 30, 15 sec interval blocks! --- 4 min EZ recovery spin --- MS: 2 x 4 min 2 x 3 min 2 x 2 min 2 x 1 min 2 x 2 min 2 x 3 min 2 x 4 min Odds: Big gear work under 55 rpm and solid effort (Z3)- pure strength work. Evens: Z2/Z3 and Fast RPM over 105 rpm. All 1 min EZ choice spin in between. --- 4 min EZ recovery spin --- Finish with: 10 min Z2 (aerobic effort) but faster RPM 90+
CD: EZ spin
The bike workout was 1 hour and 55 minutes and I followed it up with a 27 minute run on the treadmill (with some intervals).
I've been staying really dedicated to mobility and strength training with the EC Fit On Demand app. I am really benefiting from the movement-focused strength, which I feel has contributed to me staying injury free over the past year.
On Saturday, Karel drove around 80 minutes away to do his first gravel group ride. He hung on for dear life as the pace was strong for the entire ride. He finished feeling satisfied and enjoyed his a$$ kicking (per his words :) The ride was 67 miles and was just under 4 hours. Because of the rain and cold on Friday, the roads were a little unsafe to ride in the early morning. Our normal group ride (GVL WBL) which normally starts at 10am was pushed back to noon. I debated about doing it but I felt like all the signs were telling me to just do my own ride. So I ventured out on my own for a solid 2.5 hours on my Ventum road bike (I haven't ridden my tri bike outside since November but I do ride a tri bike on the trainer) and followed it up with a 30-minute brick run.
On Sunday Karel ran with our speedy athlete Yannick and they did a tough 17 mile run over Paris Mountain (the Paris Mountain 20K road race course). I did the 10K course which gave me a total of just under 11 miles and ~1400 feet (starting from our house, which is about 2 miles away from the race start). Karel's run gave him around 3800 feet elevation gain. I was thankful to have "only" completed the 10K course as it was super hilly!
Right now I am not training with races in mind. Swimming is structured (and around 4400 yards per swim) but I find it fun and social. Running is all about frequency and staying injury free. Most of my runs are between 20-45 minutes during the week. My training is supported by prioritizing strength training and mobility. Biking is mostly happy and soul-fulfilling with a little structure on the trainer. In all, my hope is that this approach will keep me healthy (in mind, body and soul) and as we inch closer to the race season, I can begin to specify my workouts in duration and intensity. But for now, I am really enjoying my training and the fitness it is giving me to do incredible things with my body. During this time of uncertainty with races, I find it incredibly important to have an intention and purpose for each workout and to be willing to be flexible and try new things.
Hi athletes, weekend warriors and fitness enthusiasts,
I feel you. 2020 was a brutal year. We all lost our primary source of mental wellness - sport, gym, socializing, traveling, racing. We lost our routine and our favorite way to socialize. Sport and exercise affect us in deep and personal ways. After a year of cancellations, disrupted routines, changed plans and unpredictability, we all feel a profound sense of loss. We lost our self-identity during a time of uncertainty.
It's not silly to feel a wide range of emotions - almost like a death. Something this powerful and meaningful was taken away. Right now you may still be experiencing any one of the stages of grief - denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance. Left unaddressed, these feelings can lead to more serious mental and physical health problems.
If you have felt growing levels of anxiety and depression, you are not alone. You may be confused on whether or not it's worth continuing on with sport with so much uncertainty. There's nothing wrong with you. You don't need to feel bad for your feelings.
But don't give up.
With such a strong link between well-being and performance, you may feel like you need to hide from your thoughts and feelings. You may feel misunderstood or unheard. You may be confused and left wondering if it's worth continuing to train for your sport with no clear plans of the near future.
Don't give up. Sport and exercise serves you well in so many ways. To keep you thriving, I encourage you to address your mental health. Physical health is nothing without mental health.
To help with thoughts, coping skills and behaviors during this incredibly challenging time, I encourage you to mark your calendar to watch my live discussion at Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition with Dr. Gloria Petruzzelli on January 8th, 2021 at 1pm EST/11am PST. If you are unable to watch live, you can rewatch the broadcast at a later time. I will also share on my blog, newsletter and on Instagram.
This talk is not intended to be medical or mental advice or treatment. If your are worried about your mental health while reading this or while watching the broadcast, please contact a local medical or mental health provider. Call 1-800-273-TALK (8255); En Español 1-888-628-9454 The Lifeline is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The Lifeline connects callers to the nearest crisis center in the Lifeline national network. These centers provide crisis counseling and mental health referrals. People who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have hearing loss can contact the Lifeline via TTY at 1-800-799-4889.
Looking at this picture from seven years ago, I remember how nervous I was for every live TV segment that I did with News4Jax. I'd prepare for hours.....all for a 2.5 minute segment. Despite the nerves and unpredictable nature of speaking live (for the entire city to see), I would always finish the segment with relief and the feeling that it wasn't as scary as I imagined it to be. Overtime, I became more comfortable speaking live and started to look forward to each new opportunity. Trying something new can be intimidating but here's no time like the present to try something you've never done before!
Change is hard. Despite your best efforts, you may find yourself always reverting back to old behaviors and habits. Going from something familiar and within your control to something that is unknown and unpredictable provokes a lot of fear.
Affected by a feeling of insecurity, you may find yourself with thoughts like "will I be successful?" "what will happen?" "will I be ok?" Outside of a comfort zone is a fear of failure, self-doubt, and worry of judgement but to achieve something that you've never had/done before, you must push past these false beliefs.
To avoid being a victim in your own life, trust yourself and your abilities. Starting something new can be scary, but don't let your thoughts stand in your way. Let 2021 be the year where you transform fear into motivation. Although there will be great discomfort in trying something new, approach change with curiosity. Starting something new is an exploration. Let go of the fears and start exploring with your mind, body and soul.
For more on this topic, check out the recent Trimarni newsletter where I talk about a better approach to New Years Resolutions (and meal planning tips from Joey Mock).
Every year I like to recap the year, sharing our highs and lows and everything in between. Although 2020 didn't give us our typical year of racing, it provided us with a lot of new opportunities and experiences.
I posted this picture on Facebook on January 21st with the caption:
"When it feels like you are carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders, remind yourself that it’s better for the world when you first take care of yourself."
With 2020 being such an extraordinary year, it reminded me to never take anything for granted. We are responsible for one another. Every human in this world is interdependent on each other. Your well-being is my well-being.
Although Karel and I love to race, we actually thrived during this year of cancelled races. We stayed healthy and injury free and we kept our training fun and flexible. The worst part of a season of cancelled races was the sadness we felt for our athletes. We really missed the excitement, stress, worry and emotional rollercoaster that becomes part of our lives during "triathlon race season."
I experienced a great amount of anxiety and stress when the pandemic hit in March and began to disrupt the normalcy over the next few months. I really struggled. I found it incredibly hard to be happy when so many people were suffering. In addition to the pandemic, I was also affected by politics, racial inequality and so much more. It's been a really tough year. Although I have so much to be thankful and grateful for, I can't help but feel tremendous sadness as so many people have lost so much.
Personally, 2019 was an extremely difficult year for us as we lost so much. 2020 paled in comparison to what we endured in 2019. In 2019 we experienced.... -Campy getting attacked by a dog off the leash (requiring stitches in his side). -The loss of our friend and athlete to suicide. -Saying good-bye to our16-year old cat Smudla. -Me experiencing a hip/back injury which stopped me from running for 3 months. -Me getting my cornea scratched by Campy. -My grandpa passing away at the age of 93. -Five days later after my grandpa passed away, we had to say good-bye to our new kitten Felix after only 6 days together, due to pneumonia. -Karel getting sick soon after returning home from the Ironman World Championship.
After surviving 2019, we had a lot to be thankful for in 2020 - we personally did not lose anything or anyone. If 2020 taught me not to take anything for granted, 2019 taught me just how fragile life can be.
Despite so much darkness in the year, there was light. I was able to find gratitude during such a difficult time. Here's a look into the past twelve months.....
My third book was released in December and I went on my first book tour to Charlotte, NC and Roanoke, Virginia. I also had great support from our local running store Run In. Over the next few weeks, we also had several private camps with athletes from all over. We dedicated the early part of our year to helping out our athletes as much as possible as we had planned a trip to Europe for much of August and early September. My Ventum received a beautiful makeover and I couldn't wait to show it off at the upcoming races.
Alongside traveling to promote my new book and a few private camps, I traveled to my alma mater (Transylvania University in Lexington, KY) to speak to the swim team, triathlon team and exercise science students. Karel raced his only "planned" race of the year - a 10-mile road race just a few miles down the road. I had planned to do the race but my hip was acting up so I decided to skip the event. Karel ended up 3rd with a pace of 5:47 and placed 3rd overall after two youngsters.
The month started out with the arrival of my new Ventum NS1 road bike. Little did I know at the time that I would be spending a lot of time on it over the summer. After a loooong two months of winter training, we were super excited to head down south to Clermont, Florida for the official kick-off of the 2020 racing season. With a packed camp roster of over 16 campers, we were really looking forward to this 4.5 day all-level training camp in warm and sunny Florida. While the weather did not let us down, our camp occurred right before the news started to escalate about Covid-19. This was the last time that we would hug and be physically close to our athletes. Our camp race (which was a USAT-sanctioned event) was cancelled just an hour after we picked up our packets. This was the start of many more race cancellations. To help keep our athletes motivated, we created the Spring Challenge which was a 10-day training plan that we would all complete together for motivation and inspiration. We created our own bib numbers and opened it to the public (it was free) - with several dozen athletes joining us!
April - The new normal.
As plans changed, travel arrangements were cancelled and races were deferred to 2021, my focus changed from providing race tips and sport nutrition advice on my blog to discussing the importance of taking care of mental and physical health during such an unanticipated time in our life. You can check back to my blog as the entire month of April (and onward) focused on ways to manage during a difficult time of life changes, stress and cancelled races. This was also an interesting time for our coaching business as we needed to change our approach to help our athletes manage their emotions during such a tough time of uncertainty. We needed to find new ways to keep our athletes motivated and learn on the fly as to how to adjust training to prevent burnout in the case of racing in the late part of the season. I also struggled during this month as it's my dad's birthday month, which remains a difficult time of grieving for me - combined with the anxiety and sadness that I felt with everything else going on. Let's just say that April was a rough month. And when the pools were closed, my "happy place" was taken away from me. We adjusted by finding the nearest boat ramp for open water swimming (thanks to Karel for finding this "hidden gem") and we purchased an above-ground pool for at-home swimming. It was an essential purchase that really helped with my mental health. With a bit of a mindset shift, I kept myself moving by exploring new experiences and opportunities.
Leave it to Karel to do something epic and exciting during a time of cancelled races. Karel planned his own Ironman distance race course - which was strategically designed to be difficult and challenging. I was his on-the-go aid station and support crew, as well as his commentator and photographer. You can check out the above link for the full recap (with videos) of his solo 140.6 mile event in and around Greenville, SC. After Karel's event, I was inspired to set my own challenges. A few weeks later, I completed the "mini" coronaman with our friend Alvi. It was so much fun to feel competitive, even if we were not in a race environment. This reminded me how much I love triathlon and how it enriches my life in so many ways. Sadly, I didn't blog about it. I think I was feeling overwhelmed with emotions as I was excited about my mini coronaman (half Ironman distance event) but also sad with the current status of our nation. A few days later, I took a self-care trip to Lexington, KY (my hometown) with Campy as I needed a change of scenery. It was a very quick trip but just what I needed for a bit of a mental reboot.
To celebrate my 38th birthday on May 31st, Karel arranged a trip to Jehova Farm in NC. This was the perfect birthday gift from Karel as he knows how much I love animals and felt so much joy being around so many furry creatures. It was the perfect little get-away. Although we had to cancel our endurance group camp, as well as cancel several of our planned private camps, I found my purpose coming back as we kicked off triathlon week. During this month, we started to have some fun exploring new routes and finding new ways to have fun with our triathlon training in Greenville, SC. During our trip to the farm, I had the opportunity to create a beautiful yarn piece using a floor loom. This really excited my creative brain and helped me discover my love for string art. Over the next few months, we held a few more private camps and also celebrated our athletes accomplishing their own personal challenges and "mock" races.
With the theme of new opportunities and experiences, it was so much fun to feel all of the emotions, nerves and excitement for a race. While only a 10-mile time trial event just 20 miles away from where we live, it was so much fun to look forward to an event and to see familiar faces. We also kept exploring new routes and finding ourselves spending a lot of time on our road bikes. Over the next two months, we climbed a lot of mountains!
With several new precautions in place, we were able to safely pull off two small training camps after the cancellation of our group training camp in June. We decided to hold two group camps (each with 5-6 athletes) for 3-days each. So over 6 days we welcome 10 athletes to Greenville - and by the end, we were exhausted. But it was so worth it! A few days later we took part in another time trial event and this time Karel joined me as a "racer." It was so much fun to feel the good hurt that comes with racing. Near the end of the month, we took a trip to the Smokey Mountains for a bit of a getaway with Campy. We left our triathlon gear at home and traded swim/bike/run for hiking in the mountains. It was nice to change up the normal routine and to get deep inside nature. It was a nice bit of normalcy during such a stressful time. I also got into string art, which has been a great stress relief during this stressful time.
Although all of our planned races were cancelled (a total of 9), in addition to our trip to Europe (to participate in the 7-day cycling Haute Route Alps and to visit Karel's family), we started to thrive during our season of cancelled races and recruited some friends to be part of our quarenteam. We created some epic rides and had a lot of fun exploring our mental and physical limits. We did more 100+ mile rides this summer than ever before (probably combined since moving to Greenville in 2014). It was so much fun to enjoy conquering epic challenges with other like-minded individuals. With no races on the schedule, it was so much fun to use our fitness for different adventures. When we heard that a local Olympic distance triathlon event was a go in early September, we registered and looked forward to our first triathlon event since competing in the Ironman World Championship in October 2019. Of course, it rained on our drive to the race - in typical 2020 fashion :) We called this a "team" race as we had a large handful of Trimarnis out on the race course. Although there were new precautions in place, we didn't mind them as we were all out there doing what we love - and it felt completely normal during the race. A few weeks later, just before Karel's 44th birthday, we participated in another event - a 2.4 mile open water swim event at Lake Jocassee (about 50 minutes away). It was another wonderful opportunity to be in the race environment. We were so thankful to all of the race organizers for putting on such safe environment during such unsafe times. And a week later we completed 6-gap in Dahlonega, Georgia (which was our largest participant event since Kona!).
Although it was so much fun racing in September, the highlight of September was rescuing Sylvester (Sylvi) from a pile of spikey bushes along the Swamp Rabbit Trail. Ella now has a forever best friend and play mate. I still need to blog about his story (it's a good one!).
Feeling the itch to race more in 2020, Karel started to search for more adventures. He applied for the 2021 Ultraman in Florida (which was cancelled in December) and he registered for the Xtreme Florida Triathlon in November. After giving it some thought, I decided that I wanted to participate in the Xtreme triathlon with Karel. This required us to have support since both of us were racing so our friend Alvi offered to take time away from his family and work to crew for us for 3 days. With only registering for the event just a few weeks prior, we spent the month of October "priming" for the race with a few "race specific" workouts and a slight drop in volume. Since this would be our first ultra endurance triathlon, we felt nervous and excited. Still unsure if the event would actually happen, we stayed positive - even in the face of a hurricane passing through the venues just two days before the event).
Karel voted for the first time after becoming a US citizen in 2019. A week later, we made our way down south for a coast to coast, 3-day triathlon event. We were amazed with the crew and staff that put on the event as they made us feel safe and special. Certainly this was our highlight of the year as we did something that we had never done before and we even won the event! It was an incredible experience and one that has forever changed me - mentally and physically. After covering 300+ miles over 3 days, somehow my body managed to compete in the 10-mile road race that I had registered for long before the registration of the Xtreme Triathlon. Karel's knee was acting up on the morning of the race so he decided to sit out the event as to not take any risks in this fun run.
After a refreshing "off season" break around Thanksgiving, we have enjoyed a bit of a "fun" December. We joined our local master swim team and have really enjoyed the comradery of swimming in a group three times a week. This has really re-ignited my love for swimming (as if I didn't love it enough). Karel is still learning to appreciate swimming :) We also joined a local group ride (GVL WBL) which is a weekly ride on Saturdays at 10am. This ride has been something that I look forward to every week and it also fills me with a bit of nerves and anticipation. But I really enjoy stepping out of my comfort zone and the good hurt that comes with riding in a group of cyclists. I was a bit all-consumed with a new program that I am offering at Trimarni, which is called The Whole Athlete. I spent the entire month of December putting together this program and I learned a lot through this process. I am so excited to finally open it to the public. We really miss traveling. I miss hugs. Karel really misses his family (who is in Czech). We were supposed to visit them after our 7-day cycling event (Haute Route Alps) in late August but since that was cancelled, we aren't sure when we will be able to get back to Czech to visit them. Thankfully there is Skype so Karel can continue to speak to his family once a week.
Thank you for reading our year in review. I hope that your year was filled with safety, health and gratitude. Life is hard, no doubt. Right now it's really hard. Don't forget to take care of your mental and physical health. I look forward to a great year ahead - and lots of hugs and high fives!
