Belgium Waffle Ride NC recap - 131 miles of gravel

On June 10th, we participated in the 2023 Belgium Waffle Ride NC. Appropriately named "The Hell of the East" and "The Most Scenic Race in the World" the 131-mile course was scenic, challenging and fun. This was my first "real" gravel event and my first time participating in a BWR event. Karel participated in the inagural event in 2021 (which was a shorter distance).

We knew most of the race course as we only live ~45 minutes from the event venue (Kanuga) but the three private (un)roads kept us on our toes....literally. These rocky, rooty segments were so steep that we were often hiking our bikes up the unrideable sections. But that added to the "fun" of the event. We covered 14,692 feet, which included long uphills and flowing descends and rode on rocks, roots, gravel (of course), road, single track, sand and grass. We even biked through a barn! The course was well-marked, the volunteer and police support was great and all participants were encouraging and nice.

Here's a video of the course that I made with my Go Pro Hero 10. 

  

Karel finished the event in 9:24.35 (6th AG 45-54, 46th overall) and I finished in 10:57.19 (2nd AG 35-44, 11th overall female). 

RESULTS HERE

We checked off a few firsts at this event. This was the longest distance we've ever ridden, the longest time spent riding a bike (continuously) and the most elevation gained in one day on a gravel bike.

As Karel and I were talking on the drive home, we both felt that the race was challenging but not hard. This is because we expected it to be hard and our expectations met our reality. We were mentally prepared for a very long day of riding and that helped us throughout all 9 and 11 hours of racing. Going into the event were both a little nervous for the day because of all of the "firsts" that we would be experiencing but as soon as the race started, we were mentally ready for whatever the day would bring.

Below is a video recap discussing the event. In this discussion, we talk about: 

• Bike specifics going into the event - how we set up our bikes for this terrain (tire pressure, tools, tire selection, etc.)
• Knowing the course, downloading the course
• Pre-ride to test things out and wake up the legs
• Nutrition planning for the event
• Event morning (weather, meal, parking, lining up, etc.)
• Mindset going into the event, how we each mentally approached the distance
• Event recap - climbs, descends, terrain types, hike a bike
• Any setbacks throughout (I had a flat tire)
• Aid stations/fueling throughout
• How we felt at the finish and the next 24 hours

  

With almost 11 hours of riding, I had a lot of time to think. I couldn't stop thinking about all the riders who were in the event doing something really hard. It's so easy to become a creature of habit and avoid new or different experiences due to fear, fear of failure, worrying about what others may think or complacency.

I can do hard things.

How many times do you tell yourself this? Is it once a month, once a year, once a week or once a day? You have the ability to do hard things, you just need to believe this to be true. Comfort often leaves to contentment but it doesn't lead to growth. Stepping out of your comfort zone isn't easy when you approach something unknown, challenging or new but discomfort is the only way for meaningful change to happen.

You'll never know how strong you are until you try.
Doing hard things requires grit, perseverance, courage and self-belief.

But most of all, you must believe that you can do hard things.

 

Before

After

Project Iceman Documentary

 

I love motivational documentaries. Especially when the documentary focuses on an athletic attempt or accomplishment. I love feeling inspired by others who take on impossible missions to prove that anything is possible.

If you aren't familiar with YES THEORY, this group of discomfort seekers are exceptional at documenting deep connections and life's greatest moments. I enjoy watching travel volggers and I've really enjoyed watching the videos from YES THEORY. Thanks to YES THEORY, I learned about Project Iceman and I was instantly hooked. I have watched every video that Anders put out during this project, which started in 2017.

To summarize this documentary, Anders completed the unthinkable.....

• Swimming 3.9 km in ice water in Antarctica
• Biking 180 km in ice and snow
• Running 42.2 km on the glacial surface

"Anders Hofman was the first ever human to ever attempt and complete a long distance triathlon in Antarctica (3.8 km swim, 180 km bike, 42.2 km run), “the Iceman”, to show that limitations are perceptions.”

After putting his dreams on hold his entire life, Anders, a management consultant who hates the cold, decides to stop listening to what others tell him he’s capable of.

In this death-defying journey, we witness how Anders conquers his fears, doubts, and adversities as he risks everything in one of the most extreme athletic feats ever attempted.

Project Iceman is a triumph of human potential and spirit, showing that we all can achieve anything we set our minds to."

As part of his preparation, Anders also placed 3rd at Polar Circle Marathon 2018 (time: 3:22:00) and completed the most northern triathlon ever Half-Ironman at Svalbard.

I am excited to announce that Project Iceman is now available to watch with a 'Pay What You Can' model.

While the documentary shows an athletic attempt to do something for the first time, there is a deeper message behind the Iceman attempt.

"Limitations are really only perceptions, imposed by ourselves, relatives, or society at large, of what we can achieve. That’s a fact. We should set no limits for ourselves and what we can achieve, just because others do. We can always find the 1000 reasons not to chase our big dreams, because it’s scary, uncertain, challenging and “unrealistic.” But we need to look at the exact 1000 reasons to chase it. Our unlimited potential."

On Sunday evening, Karel and I watched the 1 hour and 52 minute documentary and we absolutely loved the production, scenery, stories and of course, the attempt of completing a long distance triathlon on Antartica. It was incredible. I highly recommend to watch this documentary. And while there are a few F-words mentioned throughout the movie, I do feel that this documentary is inspiring for kids. 

One of the primary messages that I got from the documentary was doing what's expected of you versus doing what you what you want for yourself. Sadly, it can be extremely difficult to recgonize our own internal voice. Are you making decisions because they are your decisions or are they they based on external influences? Despite living a good life, you will always feel unsatisfied if you are only making decisions because of what's expected of you.

Having the confidence to go against the crowd and walk in your own direction isn't easy. But it's vitally important to ask yourself if what you are doing is really what you want or what you think someone else wants for you? There's no solid answer but make sure you are not sacrificing your life for someone else's. 

WATCH PROJECT ICEMAN NOW

Enjoy. 

Bob and Brad Q2 Mini Portable Massager Gun

 

A few weeks I received an email from someone at the marketing team of Bob and Brad (Physical Therapists Bob Schrupp and Brad Heineck). Their names sounded familiar and when I did a quick google search, I realized I had watched several of their videos. The lady who reached out to me asked if I would be interested in trying out the Q2 mini massage gun in exchange for writing a review on my blog. Although we already have a massage gun (along with a plethora of other recovery tools), I liked the idea of a compact device that would be perfect for our upcoming travels. 

After receiving the kit, I was pleasantly surprised by the nicely designed gun. It was sleek, simple, well-designed and light (0.95 lb). There are 5 different massage heads to be used for different muscle groups. The gun is very quiet and there are five different speeds. We use it on the highest speed. Compared to other (more expensive) massage guns on the market, the speeds are very similar. Despite the small size of this gun, it is just as strong as other guns on the market. 

The gun is very easy to hold and it's much more comfortable to use than the larger guns that are on the market. If you have ever used a massage gun, you may have noticed that after some time, your wrist/hand gets tired from holding the gun in place to work your muscles. This gun is very light weight and easy to hold so you won't find yourself getting tired of using it. 

And the best part......the Bob and Brad Q2 Mini portable Massager Gun is only $69!!

In learning a bit more about this gun, I found out that it is......

#1 Best Seller in the Mini Massage Gun category on Amazon.
#1 Most reviewed Mini massage gun on Amazon.
#1 in search results for "mini massage gun" on Amazon.

Despite being the lightest massage gun on the market and the size of the palm of your hand, it maintains all the qualities of a full-sized massage gun, making it perfect for those who are constantly on the go. Also, it is designed with a brushless motor in a mini shape, making it a convenient (and quiet) option to get a massage in the office, gym, car, and at home. When fully charged, it can be used for up to 3 hours.

Since receiving the gun, Karel has used it every day. It's effective to help work out those little niggles and loosen the muscles before/after workouts. We plan to bring it to all future events when we travel. The case is nice because it helps to keep everything organized. 

If you are interested in purchasing the Bob and Brad mini portable massager gun, click on THIS LINK. And here is a 10% OFF Discount Code: BobBrad16.

2023 IM 70.3 Virginia Blue Ridge Race Recap

RESULTS
1.2 mile swim: 28:52
T1: 2:47
56 mile bike: 2:49:55 (+ 5 min penalty)
T2: 2:15
13.1 mile run: 1:38.30
2nd age group (40-44), 9th female

It was too hard to summarize the race in a blog post so Karel and I decided to make a video discussing our race experience. In this video we talk about....
-How I trained/prepared for this race (and why I didn't ride my tri bike more than a few times)
-Pre-race workouts and why its beneficial to train on the race course
-Managing nerves/expectations
-Pre-race fueling (and being organized and prepared)
-Swim and T1 execution 
-Karel's thoughts on participating in a relay (bike leg)
-How my mind was impacted after receiving a penalty 
-Serving the penalty 
-Putting together a strong run off the bike and breaking 1:40 for the first time in many many years

Congrats to the Trimarni team for placing 4th Tri Club! 

It's my birthday - living life with purpose

 

Today is my 41st birthday. I'll admit that I had a very hard time with turning 40 but now that I'm 41, I'm ok with being out of my 30's.  I remember moments of my chilhood as if it happened yesterday. Playing outside with my neighborhood friends, taking road trips with my family and staying up late during sleepovers. High school and college had a lot of highs and lows but I remember specific moments as if they happened yesterday.  As I reflect on all these memories at the age of 41, I realize how fast life is flying by. Sadly, I am also reminded of this quick passing of time because my dad lost his 10-month fight with cancer on May 28th, 2014 - four days before my 32nd birthday. For the past 9 years, my birthday month brings me back to the hardest day of my life and the passing of my dad reminds me that tomorrow isn't promised.  My dad always told me that 'it's not the years in your life that count but the life in your years."  My birth day always makes me think really hard about how I am living life. My birthday makes me think about life and death.  When a person has a health-related fatal accident doing something he/she loves, it's not viewed as a tragedy. But when the person has a fatal accident due to an outside factor, it's viewed as a tragic way to die and can make you think twice about how you are living your life. The purpose of life is to live it to the fullest.  I'm reminded of a quote that reads "Don't be afraid of death, be afraid of an unlived life. You don't have to live forever, you just have to live." - Natalie Babbitt I've heard that the 40's are the most unhappy period of life. I'm not letting this statistic get into my head. My 30s were hard. I spent most of it without my dad and I worked really really hard building my business. My dad often told me that I needed to get a hobby besides triathlon. Although he was always very proud of me and my triathlon success, he never got to see that I turned my passion into a career. A career that was built on my values, strengths and passions is now allowing me to live a meaningful and purposeful life.  In celebration of my birthday and living the past 9 years without my dad, here are a few questions to help you live your life with purpose. Remove the fear and worry of what others may think as you answer these questions:  Is your life aligned with your purpose? What are your values and beliefs?  What are your passions? Who were you born to be?  How can you help others with your strengths? Cheers to 41!

2023 Xterra Oak Mountain Race Recap

 

Oak Mountain Alabama is a special place as it was the location of Karel’s first off-road triathlon in 2021. We actually drove to the race without his mountain bike as he bought a new bike online on race week and we picked it up in Birmingham, two days before the race. Karel had so much fun racing a triathlon off road. Karel’s excitement initiated my mountain biking journey (on Karel’s old mountain bike, until I got my own in 2022), which has been humbling and fun.

Although we were very excited to participate in Xterra Oak Mountain, we were sad that we wouldn’t be able to race IM 70.3 Chattanooga. However, since Chatty was a team race for our athletes, we would still be able to spectate the day after our event.

The days leading up to our Xterra event were a bit stressful. Campy wasn’t feeling so great, the night before we were supposed to leave, a tube got disconnected from our 70-gallon fish tank as Karel was doing a partial water change and it caused water to leak from upstairs to downstairs (this made for a very late and stressful evening). We planned to arrive mid day on Thursday to pre-ride the course but predicted storms changed our plans to arrive in the evening.

Once we finished the 5 hour drive (that took over 6 hours due to rain and traffic), we were so relieved to finally be at our hotel. I had Chipotle delivered to our hotel so after we unpacked, we relaxed and yummed. We had a somewhat restless night of sleep but we were both excited to get on the course on Friday morning.

We met a local friend Steve at Oak Mountain State Park around 9am and we went for an open water swim. We swam ~1500 yards (~2 loops of the course) and the water felt warm with our wetsuits on.
After the swim, we changed and went for a mountain bike ride on the back half of the course. We did a private skills camp with Lon in Feb 2022 and although I was somewhat familiar with parts of the Xterra Oak Mountain course, I had never ridden on Blood Rock (the most technical feature of the course). Karel and I biked to the Blood Rock section and I worked my way through parts of it but we didn’t have enough time and didn’t want to take any risks the day before the race, for me to section each part of this part of the course. Although I was able to make it 3/4ths down, I decided that I wouldn’t take any chances on race day and would only ride ~1/2 way and then walk my bike down the rest of the way. It was good to see the last 10 miles of the course and we were both really excited for race day. I often find myself making a lot of mistakes over rocks and roots when I pre-ride a course the day prior as I’m trying to not overexert myself but every feature requires a bit extra power – it’s a careful balance the day before an off road event. We rode 12.4 miles in 1:20 and it was a good confidence booster for the event.

Walking up Blood Rock to descend down.

We went back to the hotel, ate some lunch and a few hours later, we went back to the park to pick up our packet. Karel picked up some food from Publix for dinner and I had Amy’s No Chicken Noodle Soup + cup of 90-sec basmati microwave rice (my go-to pre race meal). We slept somewhat ok but thankfully, we didn’t have to wake up too early for our 9am race start.

I got my period the night before the race, which had me feeling a bit blah in the days leading up to the race. I never know how my body will perform when I have my period on race day so I just put it out of my mind and focused on what I could control for the day.

We woke up around 5:45am and had our pre-race meals shortly after. I made a waffle downstairs in the hotel breakfast room and had a yogurt with it and Karel had oatmeal. We did a bit of mobility/foam rolling in the room before packing up the car, checking out of the hotel room and making our way to the race venue around 7am. We had a short 2 mile drive to the race venue and parked around 7:20am. Originally we were supposed to start our race around 8:35am but they pushed it back to closer to 9am to let the pros finish 1 full loop of the 2 loop swim course.



I used the Epic Weather app to check the weather and it was looking to be a humid day with only a small chance of rain.

The transition is first come first serve so Karel and I set up our bikes on the 2^nd row near the finish. After racing 4 off road tris in the past 10 months, I am getting more comfortable and familiar with setting up my gear for mountain biking and trail running. I’ve also really improved my transitions and have made them a lot quicker with practice.



We picked up our swim caps and timing chips and spent some time at the car getting ready. I did a bit more foam rolling by the car, did a short jog (which my legs felt horrible), went to the bathroom and then got my wetsuit on around 8:15am. Karel was feeling pretty good before the race and he was really excited to race. He has a friendly competition with Michael Dorr from CO and he knew he would need to be on the top of his game to beat him (he has never beat him before). I walked down to the swim start to watch the pros start and Karel walked down to the other side of the swim start to warmup in the water.


After the pros started, I warmed up in the water. The water was a bit warm for me in my wetsuit but there was a short sprinkle of rain which helped cool me off. It was really nice to get in a good warmup before the race start – I always swim better when I can swim before the race. Since it was a two loop swim with an Australian exit (get out of the water and run back in) I wanted to see how the pros were getting out and back in the water for any shallow spots. I gave Karel a kiss before he lined up to start 2 min before my wave.

SWIM (1.5K)

Marni – 22:24
Karel – 23:48

Karel started with the 49 yr and under male wave and everyone else (including me) started 2 minutes later. My goal was to try to catch Karel but that would be a big ask. Karel had a good swim. He felt strong the entire swim but he wasn’t able to get up to the front group of swimmers. It was fairly easy to stay on course with only two turn buoys and a big arch at the exit. I really went hard from the start and my take-out speed left me really out of breath. I don’t think I’ve have ever swam that hard before to start a triathlon but Xterra racing is more like an Olympic distance than a half distance triathlon so it requires a lot of intensity, which means tolerating a high heart rate throughout the entire race. After a few minutes of take out speed, I settled into a strong steady effort. I wasn’t able to catch the front 3 guys who got away from me so I was by myself for the entire swim, passing a lot of athletes who started in the wave ahead of me. It was fun to get out of the water and get back in and the swim went by pretty quick. I was able to see Karel get out of the water as I was nearing the shore. I exited the water first female and quickly made my way to my bike.

I had a quick transition by putting on my helmet and sunglasses and then my socks and shoes. I don’t buckle the Boa on my shoes until I am riding to help save time. I also put on my UWSE hydration pack and didn’t buckle it until I was riding (which required me to ride with both hands off the handlebars).

BIKE – 22 miles (~2000 feet elevation gain)

Marni – 1:54
Karel – 1:39

After participating in 4 off road triathlons in the past 10 months, I’ve learned a lot. I was able to apply a lot of lessons learned to this race.
1) Don’t worry about the people behind you. They will let you know when they want to pass and you just move over when it’s safe/clear to do so. Everyone is always very nice about it.
2) Ride hard on fire roads and anywhere that is not technical, especially hills.
3) Controlled is fast. Reckless is not.
4) If something scares you or you aren’t able to ride over a certain feature, don’t.
5) Don’t get frustrated when you make mistakes.
6) It’s you against you. Your skills, your effort, your race.
7) Have fun!

I had so much fun on this course. It had the perfect amount of elevation throughout the course and included a 3.5 mile fire road climb. The 2^nd half of the course was a bit more technical than the first half but the entire course flowed well. This course kept me focused and I felt I rode stronger and better than ever before. I walked my bike down the bottom half of Blood Rock and there was one rocky step up in the first few miles that I didn’t clear and had to unclip but other than that, I successfully made it over everything and didn’t have any falls or issues. I’ve been working on my cornering and I could feel me improvements throughout this course. Karel had one hard fall where a tree attacked his handlebar in the first few miles of the ride. He flipped over his bike and scuffed his hip and upper back. Other than that, he rode really strong and stayed ahead of Michael Dorr throughout the entire bike. Karel was near the front of the age group race with only a few guys ahead of him and he was back and forth with one or two other guys throughout the bike. The course was really well marked and the volunteers were great.

Throughout the bike, I consumed 1.5 liters of fluid which had ~130g carbs of Never Second Berry (~520 calories). Karel had 1.5 liters of fluid with 320 Maurten along with 1 Maurten gel (~420 calories).

Although I was focused on myself throughout the ride, I couldn’t help but think that at any moment I would be caught by other females in the race. My mind was playing a lot of games with me as I wanted to be competitive but I also needed to focus on myself to have a safe race. I really love the dynamics of mountain biking in a triathlon because it’s the perfect combination of fun and competition. People are so nice, everyone is supportive and you can tell that athletes are having fun in nature.

Run – 6.2 miles
Marni – 52:23
Karel – 45:21

I dismounted my bike really quickly (I keep my shoes on but did a flying dismount as mountain bike cleats make it easy to unclip) and ran my bike my rack. I saw Karel’s bike hanging there and his run stuff removed so that was a good sign that all went well during his ride (minus his crash with the tree). I quickly put on my Hoka trail shoes and grabbed my visor, two Nathan 10 ounce flasks (each filled with ~3/4 scoop Neversecond berry, ~100 calories each) and my bib belt and put everything on as I was running. I stuck each flask in my back pocket of my tri suit. Karel opted no trail shoes for this run and wore his road shoes.

The run had a little less than 400 feet elevation gain for the 6 miles which gave the course a good amount of undulation. The first ½ mile or so was on the road and before turning on to the trail I took a look behind and didn’t see anyone. But as I made my way into the trail, I looked behind at the road in the distance and could see another female who looked like she was running very fast. I continued to run as hard as I could, which made for a high heart rate run in the warm weather and high humidity. I sipped from my flask around every mile (when I could get my HR to drop on a downhill) and used water from the aid station (2 of them) for cooling my body. I really liked this run as you could run it all and it had a few fun sections of going over wooden bridges, jumping over trees and zig zagging across roots and tight turns. Around mid way, I could see the other lady getting closer to me. I kinda expected it as I always get caught on the run but after a mile, I was surprised that she had not caught me yet. Part of me was thinking “2^nd place overall amateur female isn’t too bad” but then I would immediately think “but who says you will get 2^nd!” I decided to keep running as hard as I could so that no matter what happened, at least I knew I gave it my absolute best. As I passed mile 5, I didn’t see her behind me but I didn’t want to give up. The last ½ mile was fun as I ran by the lake and gave everything I could until I crossed the finish line. Karel was not expecting me so quick behind him so he was at the finish line when I finished. Karel had one fall on the run as he tripped when a casual biker was passing him and he was passed by Michael Dorr with a mile to go and he couldn’t hang with him. The fight to win his age group is keeping Karel hungry for more.

I immediately told Karel how much fun I had. We both really enjoyed our race experience as the Xterra Oak Mountain course has exactly what we love in off road racing – technical and fun.
Although I've improved my skills over the past year, this was one of those days when I just felt strong from start to finish. 

When we checked the results, it was official. I was the overall female amateur. Since I am new to the Xterra race scene, I was told that I beat “the legend” Deanna Mccurdy. I congratulated Deanna at the finish and we talked a bit more at the awards and I’m looking forward to meeting up with her in Breckenridge in August when I go to support Karel at Brek Epic. Karel finished 5^th overall amateur male and 2^nd age group (1 min behind Michael).

After we did a quick change and received our awards, we packed up the car and hit the road to make our 2.5 hour trip to Chattanooga to cheer on our athletes at IM 70.3 Chattanooga on Sunday.

RESULTS
Marni – 1^st overall amateur female, 10^th overall female. 3:13.17
Karel – 5^th overall amateur male, 22^nd overall male. 2:51.15

If you are searching for a new or different way to train and race, I highly suggest Xterra and off-road triathlon. It's so much fun! 

Keep yourself safe while exercising in the heat

With memorial day just around the corner, warmer temps are soon to follow. As the summer begins, heat-related issues during exercise become more common. Before I discuss the tips to help you safely exercise in the heat, it's important to understand how heat and humidity affect your body during exercise.

As you exercise, your muscles create heat. To keep your body safe as you begin to build up internal heat, your body increases your sweat rate to remove heat from the inside of your body – this happens through evaporative cooling. Overtime, as you become dehydrated (from fluid loss), blood volume decreases. As a result, blood gets thicker. And the more blood going to the skin means less blood going to your heart which means less blood to your working muscles. To maintain cardiac output (the amount of blood pumped by the heart per minute), heart rate increases in order to supply the working muscles with blood. But due to a decline in blood availability (because of cooling), less blood is available to go to the working muscles. When the body can no longer take care of all of its responsibilities (remember - all of this is happening so you don't die in the heat), your body will start to slow down by shutting down to keep you safe. If you ignore the signs of overheating, heat builds up in your body, your core temp increases and you are at risk for overheating and may experience heat stroke.

Here are a few helpful tips for exercising in the heat:

Acclimatization
Complete heat acclimatization requires up to 14 days but body systems of the body adapt at varying rates. Be mindful that every time you exercise in the heat, you gain more tolerance but it could take at least 2 weeks for you to feel more comfortable exercising in the heat. But there's no point suffering in the heat if you are unable to complete a quality workout, which means sometimes you just need to exercise indoors.

Change in physiology
It is very important to lower the intensity during the first 2 weeks of exercising in the heat (ex. early summer) as your body is trying to improve control of cardio functioning. Be mindful that acclimatization will require you to reduce your effort/intensity so be OK with seeing slower paces in the first few weeks of acclimating. You will likely notice an increase in cardio strain and your perceived exertion will increase. You may also feel more tired, fatigued and exhausted than normal. Positive cardio adaptations occur in the first 5-10 days whereas changes in sweating mechanisms can take 10-14+ days.

Training modifications
Consider splitting up your workout (half outside, half indoors). Find shady areas to exercise. Opt to exercise indoors when the humidity is very high. Or, try to workout when it's not as hot (early morning or early evening). If you try to push your normal efforts in the heat, your body cannot safely adjust to the heat. 

Hydration
The symptoms of underfueling and dehydration are not pleasant.
A sport drink provides a practical and easy way to obtain fluids, electrolytes and carbohydrates - in the precise formulation - to optimize digestion and absorption. If you are exercising in the heat for more than an hour or you are sweating perfusely in the heat, opt for a well formulated sport drink (at least 30g carbohydrates, 240mg of sodium and at least 16 ounce water per hour).
Although your daily diet helps to keep you nourished and fueled, the diverse nature of hot and humid weather validates the importance of consuming well-formulated sport nutrition drinks during specific outdoor workouts.

Females
Females who menstruate regularly each month may notice an increase in thermal strain during exercise during the luteal phase (high hormone phase) before and during menstruation. The increase in progesterone causes body temperature to increase in preparation for the fertilization of an egg. When fertilization does not occur, estrogen and progesterone decrease before the follicular phase. The high concentration of progesterone during the luteal phase affects fluid balance, causing females to feel bloated from fluid retention. Additionally, whereas females are more likely to feel cold during the estrogen-dominant follicular phase, progesterone acts on the hypothalamus (temp control center) which increases body temperature. Females may feel warmer than normal, which makes it more difficult to dissipate heat (although a helpful physiological response for racing in cooler weather events). Females should be mindful of how the body responds to training in the heat, specifically in the 7-10 days before menstruation and adjust efforts accordingly.

Minimize heat stress
There are several ways to minimize heat stress. Your exercise gear should be breathable, light, wicking and should help you stay cool and minimize exposure to the sun. Your clothing should protect the areas of your body that are most exposed to the sun (ex. back, neck, shoulder, face). Always wear broad spectrum sunscreen when you train outdoors and reapply. Wear a cooling towel around your neck and regularly re-wet throughout your run. Bring a sport drink with you and sip consistently (every 10-15 minutes). Search for shaddy sections to run and select "cooler" times in the day to workout.

Know the warning signs
Identify the warning signs of heat cramps (muscle cramps), heat exhaustion (thirst, profuse sweating, fatigue, pale and cool skin, weakness, headache, nausea, chills/goose bumps, cessation of sweating, faintness, dizziness) and heat stroke (strong and rapid pulse, hot and dry skin, confusion). If you suddenly feel like you are experiencing a heat related illness, stop exercising, get into a cool environment and drink electrolyte-based liquids. An extreme loss of appetite, excessive sleepiness, headache, chills or abnormal fatigue during or post workout can all be signs that you are not properly hydrating (or fueling) during your workout.

Nutrition tips to help you excel in a warm weather race

As you go from winter to spring to summer, it takes much more effort and energy to maintain a "normal" pace as the temperature rises. As a way to keep your exercising body safe in the heat, your body increases your sweat rate to remove heat from your body through evaporative cooling. As you become dehydrated (from fluid loss), blood volume decreases. In turn, more blood going to the skin means less going to your heart. To maintain cardiac output (the amount of blood pumped by the heart minute), heart rate increases in order to supply the working muscles with blood. But due to a decline in blood availability (for cooling), less blood is available to go to the working muscles. When the body can no longer take care of all of its responsibilities (remember - all of this is happening so you don't die in the heat), your body begins to shut down to keep you safe. If you ignore the signs of overheating, heat builds up in your body, your core temp increases and you are at risk for overheating and may experience heat stroke.
If you've ever struggled running in the heat, you are not alone. There are a few primary reasons why performance declines in warmer temps.

1) An increase in overall body temperature. Similar to a fever, the higher your core temperature, the greater the perceived effort (everything feels harder).

2) In the warmer temps, a significant amount of blood flow is redirected from the working muscles to the skin in order to cool the body. Cooling (which is very important to the health of your body - your organs don't want to overheat!) happens from sweating and evaporation. Therefore, less blood is available to transport oxygen to the working muscles. Less oxygen in the heat is similar to training at altitude. But in humid conditions, the air is full of water vapor and it can't hold any more so sweat has a difficult time evaporating (which means it can't cool you like it would be able to do in low humidity).

3) Dehydration increases in hot conditions. When you are dehydrated, you lose blood volume which causes your blood to get thicker. This makes it harder for your heart to supply blood to your muscles. As a result, your heart has to work even harder to pump that blood. Additionally, when fluid levels drop, you have a harder time controlling body temperature which causes the core temperature to rise even faster.

4) You DO NOT lose sodium without fluids. Dehydration comes from fluid loss - not from sodium loss. If you are simply focusing on sodium and carbs (salt tabs, gels and chews) but not drinking enough water each hour, the sodium and carbs will not do anything to help you avoid dehydration. You must drink enough of a well-formulated sport drink to properly keep yourself hydrated.

The bottom line is that the harder you work in the heat, the more heat is generated from the working muscles. Blood in your body competes for the working muscles (energy), the skin (to cool you) and the gut (aid in absorption and digestion of calories). The greater the metabolic heat production, the more energy is needed to cool the body (top priority to prevent you from overheating) - which means more stress on the cardiovascular system. Heat stress also causes an increase in fluid, electrolyte and glycogen loss (which is why pacing is critical) but the heat impacts the ability to effectively digest and absorb calories and fluids. Thus the greater risk of GI issues in higher heat environments.

As you prepare yourself mentally for your upcoming long distance event, keep in mind that working at a higher effort than your body can dissipate heat is going to produce a build-up of internal heat.

• Create a race strategy that will allow you to use your fitness in a smart way.
• Your fastest performance is the one where you minimize a massive slow down.
• Navigate the conditions you are given on the day, don't chase a PR or metrics. Listen to your body.
• Focus on what you can control. Make sure to "check-in" with yourself and respond accordingly.
• Take walk breaks (reset breaks) when you run. The longer you let the heat build up, the greater the slow down (and greater risk of GI issues).
• Back off the effort. Start out conservatively to minimize the risk of irreversible heat stress. Save your heart beats.
• Go in with no expectations. Race your own race.
• Go into the event well-hydrated and fueled so you are in the best state of health possible to perform in the race conditions. Have a plan - don't just figure things out as you go along.
• Fuel and hydrate consistently and frequently. Moderate amounts of fluids consumed frequently will digest and absorb easier than large or tiny amounts consumed periodically. 
• Prioritize liquids over solids for easier digestion. As a general rule, the higher the carbohydrate content (and fat/protein) and lower the fluid intake, the slower the absorption rate.
• Focus on the process. Think of the race as a project, checking off to-do's and overcoming obstacles as you go through each mile.
• Keep yourself cool on the bike so you can start the run with a slightly lower (or normal) core body temperature. Use water from aid stations to douse the body.
• Your mour muscles demand more fuel (glycogen) in hot conditions. Muscles are more taxed which can affect efficiency and can also cause greater tissue damage.
• On the run, your stomach can only empty about 5-7 ounces of fluid every 15 minutes. If you drink more than you can empty from your stomach, you will risk a sloshy stomach. Also, if you only drink water, you risk diluting sodium in the blood. Make sure to rely on a sport drink throughout the race (that’s why I also suggest to wear a hydration belt on the run) and use water only for sipping and cooling.
• Use ice in your hands, on your head, around your neck and near your groin to help with cooling. Also use a cooling towel.
• Minimize the risk of a sunburn by using sunscreen.
• Wear a hydration belt with your sport drinks on hand so you can keep to your own drinking schedule.
• The harder the effort, the more your body temp will increase as more heat is being generated. The harder you push, the greater the increase in heat production. You will know when your body temp is increasing because you will feel yourself getting warmer. Control your effort to better manage your body temp throughout the entire race.
• Look for shaded areas on the course to avoid running in the direct sunlight.
• If you feel overly hot, dizzy or chills. Stop immediately, sit down and get yourself cooled.

If you found this information helpful and you'd like to learn more about sport nutrition (like should you concentrate your bottles during a race, how do I fuel before a long distance triathlon and more?) check out our team membership. 

Whitewater Off-Road Triathlon race recap

 

Keeping with our theme of the year, the Whitewater triathlon on May 6th was looking to be very rainy (we've experienced rain for all five of our off-road events this year). We debated if it was worth doing the race but on Thursday of the race, we decided that we would still gain a lot from the race experience. After we registered online, the weather started to improve and based on my Epic Weather app, it was looking like the weather would work out for a dry day of racing. 

Although this race had a small participant list, it didn't make the race any less important to us. We still felt the nerves/anticipation for anytime we show up to a start line, we want to give our best and we know to do so, the effort is going to be uncomfortable and there will be obstacles to overcome. The really cool thing about off-road triathlon racing is that the entire race experience feels more like playtime than something serious like on-road triathlon racing. Swimming in open water, riding a mountain bike and trail running is fun and we love the vibe of racing off road. 

After a tough group swim in the morning, we left for Charlotte/Whitewater center around 1pm, shortly after my mom picked up Campy so that he could enjoy 1.5 days with her. There was a little bit of traffic during our 2:15 hr drive so we arrived a little later than we had planned. We paid the enterance fee and changed into our bike gear and around 4pm. With the issues of getting off course at the Whole Enchilada a month ago, we wanted to recon the course to make sure we knew exactly where we were going. The course was mostly well-marked and Karel also had the course in his computer to follow. After around 8 miles and an hour of riding, we were having a lot of fun and completely lost track of time. At 10 miles into our 15 mile ride we decided to stop the ride as we somewhat familiar with the last 5 miles. 

After picking up our race stuff, we made a stop at Harris Teeter to get some items for dinner (I had a bag of microwave basmait rice mixed in Amy's No Chicken Noodle Soup - a typical pre race meal for me) and then we made our way to our friends house (Christi) for the night. Christi and her partner Pam were out of town so we had her house to ourselves. I've known Christi since we met in a running race in 2005. 

We both slept ok (tossed and turned) so we were not feeling really rested when we woke up at 5:15am.
Karel had his typical oatmeal concoction and I had my typical waffles (3 of them) + PB, Jelly, Banana. 
We watched some of the PTO race on the computer as we were doing mobility/foam rolling and then left around 6:30am to make the 20 min drive to the Whitewater center. If you are ever in this area, I suggest checking out this place. It's really cool to see people rafting/kayaking on the rapids. There are also a lot of great trails and activities. And it is dog friendly! 

We set up our transition area and then got warmed up with some jogging. We each did our own thing and met near the lake around 7:45am for the pre-race meeting. There were only ~50 athletes in the full distance with only a few girls. Although every off-road triathlon race seems to have something unique to it, this was the first race that we've done where we had a 1/2 mile gravel run from the swim to T1. We wore a pair of trail shoes to the swim and left them on the bench by the dock to put on after the swim (since I wear socks on the bike, I also had my socks with my shoes). I wore my compression sleeves under my wetsuit. 

The water was 65 degrees and I was a little worried it would feel really cold but it was absolutely perfect. We had an in-water start which we both really like as it gives us a chance to warm-up in the water and adjust the wetsuit. 

The swim took us out to a buoy, around the buoy (to our right), then a long straight to another buoy (turn right) and then back to the dock. When we started, I found myself in a group of ~4 guys along with Karel. I was shocked to see Karel there with me as he hasn't been feeling good in the water. Karel has great take out speed where it takes me about 10 minutes to get myself into a good rhythm. After the turn buoy, I was able to pick up my effort and Karel stayed behind me. I was able to get a little away from him but he was doing a great job trying to stay on my feet. I exited the water first overall and Karel was right behind as we pulled ourselves up the ladder on to the dock. The sprint distance athletes were gathered for their pre race meeting as we got out of the water so it was encouraging to hear their cheers. 

I removed my wetsuit and sat down on the bench to put on my socks and ON trail shoes. Karel stood up and put on his shoes. I grabbed my wetsuit and left the area before Karel but he quickly sprinted by me as we ran up a steep trail before making our way to the gravel. I actually really enjoyed running to T1, it was different and a fun way to clear the mind after the swim. We weren't sure if we should run with our wetsuit on or carry it but after trying to run with it on in the pre race warmup to the lake we knew carrying it would be the smarter option. I wrapped mine around my neck and Karel opted to hold his in his arm. 

Karel was out of transition before I got there. I felt like I had a good transition and put on my shoes, helmet, sunglasses and hydration pack. In past races, I had my helmet on my handlebars and would forget to put it on until I grabbed my bike so I had my helmet on the ground and everything went smoothly. I ran my bike to the mount line and started riding. 

The mountain bike course was around 23K (or 14.2 miles) with around 1100 feet of elevation gain. Most of the elevation came in the back half and it was much more technical in the last 8 miles of the course. The course was really flowy and fun with a lot of roots, ups and downs and tight corners. I struggled on some of the obstacles in the last 8 miles as I was getting really tired and they are very technical. I only saw Karel once and he gave me a cheer. I was passed by several guys but nearing 10 or so miles, I found myself alone. The course was really well marked. 

I had a total of 90g carbs of NeverSecond Berry in my USWE hydration pack along with about 1 liter of water (33 ounces). 

Karel led the entire race from start to finish and had a great time on the course. I also had a lot of fun on the bike as I felt like I was just playing in the woods. The hard part about mountain biking (especially in a triathlon) is that the heart rate stays elevated the entire time. It's like a short distance triathlon. You need a lot of strength, power, stamina and skills to negotiate the terrain. It's a very different change from long distance racing where it's all about riding your own steady state effort and dealing more with muscle fatigue than cardio stress. The course ended up being close to 17 miles on my Garmin (1:42 ride time). 

After arriving back to the transition area as the first female (there were only 3 of us, which means we need to get more females into off road triathlon racing!) it was time for the run. My legs felt really good and I really pushed myself on the run. I loved the flow of the trails and it was constantly up and down for 4 miles and 400 feet of elevation gain. I had 1 flask of C30 Neversecond berry that I kept in my trisuit pocket. I don't wear sunglasses on the trail run but had a visor on. I wore Hoka trail shoes. 

As I made my way to the finish line, I smiled big as I had so much fun. This race wasn't about winning or needing to prove anything but just having fun. I love that off road triathlon racing can be hard and challenging but also bring us so much joy. This was a good tune-up for us as we will be participating in Xterra Oak Mountain this weekend and we expect a lot of tough competition. Although I'm just doing the off road racing for fun, Karel is hoping to put together a really good performance this weekend. 

Overall Results

Karel Results                                        Marni Results 

Race Day Overfueling

The unfortunate truth is that most endurance athletes underfuel in training and overfuel on race day.

Sure you completed your training sessions but did your physiology change? Did you get stronger, more resilient, fitter or faster? Were you able to recover properly to gain the necessary fitness for your upcoming event? Did you gain confidence in your race day fueling and pacing plan?

Underfueling can be from many reasons:

• Fear of gaining weight
• A desire to lose weight
• Trying to be more "metabolically efficient"
• Not knowing how to use sport nutrition products appropriately
• Worrying about the sugar from sport nutrition because its not "healthy" 
• Not feeling that (more) calories are needed during training session
• Getting by with minimal nutrition
• Not planning stops accordingly to refill bottles
• Poor meal planning/feeling rushed to get in a workout
• Not knowing how much energy/fluids are needed to support the trianing session 

Underfueling does not enhance performance and consequently, not meeting energy and hydration needs can sabotage health. You do not get fitter, stronger, faster or more resilient by underfueling in training. 

Yet come race day, athletes are so worried about running out of energy that suddenly, eating "enough" becomes a priority. Sadly, you can't outfuel a body that was not well-trained. If you underfueled in training, you spent months compromising your ability to maximize your fitness for race day. Loading up on carbs and sodium before and during the race will not give you the fitness that you didn't gain in training. 

Overfueling on race day is often due to fear of not having enough energy. Sadly, no amount of calories on race day can make the body perform at a sustainable effort that was not created in training. If you constantly underfuel in training, not only are you missing an opportunity to maximize fitness but a body that has been underfueled in training will likely underperform on race day because you never gave your body a chance to gain the necessary fitness for race day. Additionally, overfueling on race day will increase the risk for GI issues. 

Yes, you may be checking off workouts, making you think that you are getting yourself race ready but you an underfueled body will constantly underperform in training. A performance minded athlete recognizes that a well-fueled body can adapt well to training. 

Every time you go into a workout underfueled (or avoid sport nutrition or proper recovery), you are missing out on an opportunity to gain fitness and confidence for race day. 

Doping in Sport - Part 3

At Trimarni, we are against cortisone injections until it is a very last resort after months of seeking other (less invasive) treatments. A steroid shot is usually not a treatment for an underlying issue. It's usually a masking agent for pain. Even when it helps with inflammation, it's not treating the underlying issue. More so, research tells us that there are many severe side effects from cortisone injections, such as nerve damage, joint infection, thinking of skin and soft tissue near the injection sight, bone weakening (contributing to osteoporosis), bone death, and tendon weakening or rupture. Corticosteroids also suppress the immune system. So with hearing those side effects, please avoid steroid injections.

While you may be familiar with cortisone injections, there are other glucocorticoids that can be prescribed via mouth, inhaler, intranasal spray, eye drops, topically and by injection: 

• Prednisone
• Prednisolone 
• Dexamethasone 

These are commonly used to treat injuries, manage chronic inflammation, IBS, asthma and rashes. Corticosteroids that are taken by mouth also have side effects, like swelling in the lower legs, high blood pressure, mood swings, upset stomach, thinning bones and problems with the eyes, such as cataracts.

Doctors routinely prescribe corticosteroids for common conditions like injuries, asthma and allergies but you may be surprised to learn that many forms of these drugs are banned under anti-doping rules and require a therapeutic-use exemption.

1. A triamcinolone acetonide injection may be prescribed for knee pain/osteoarthritis. According to WADA, a TUE is needed if receiving a triamcinolone acetonide injection within 10 days of competition. However, because some joint/tendon injection procedures may accidentally result in some intramuscular injection/absorption, a TUE for Triamcinolone acetonid is needed within 60 days of competition. 
2. The prescription of oral glucocorticoids (pills) is used for inflammation, arthritis, asthma and allergies. According to WADA, a TUE is needed if consuming oral glucocorticoids within 3 days of competition.

While athletes may understand anti-doping rules when it comes to the widely discussed drugs like EPO, testosterone and growth hormone, it can't be stressed enough that it is your responsibility to understand all anti-doping policies, rules and regulations and to think before you act/buy when it comes to medications, injections, pills and creams.

Resources such as USADA can and the World Anti Doping Agency can help you identify products that are safe and effective or that violate a doping code. Check your sport doping code every year to recognize what substances are prohibited in and out of competition.

2023 Prohibited List
Recognize the Red Flags
High Risk Supplement List
TUE process

And lastly, even if you aren't a front pack athlete, you are not trying to qualify for the World Championship or you are just participating in sport for fun, you do not get an exemption from WADA. When you register for an event, you must comply with anti-doping rules - no matter your fitness level. These rules are not just for performance but for your health and wellbeing.

Doping in Sport - part 2

Therapeutic Use

Some athletes require the use of drugs for the treatment of a medical condition. Athletes, just like the normal population, are not immune to illnesses or conditions where drugs are often needed for treatment purposes. For example, lets look at some reasons why athletes may need a drug that is banned by WADA.

1. The drug Raloxifene is used to help treat the thinning of bones (osteoporosis) in postmenopausal women. Raloxifene is a selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM) and is on the prohibited list. 
2. Calusterone is an orally active androgenic steroid used in the treatment of breast cancer. Calusterone is on the prohibited list. 
3. Pseudoephedrine is a common ingredient in Mucinex and Sudafed, which is used to provide relief to sinus issues, breathing issues or the cold or flu.  According to WADA, Pseudoephedrine is a specified stimulant prohibited In-Competition at a urinary threshold of 150 µg/mL. The threshold level of 150 µg/mL has been established based on the intake of therapeutic doses of pseudoephedrine, defined as a maximum daily dose of 240 mg pseudoephedrine taken either as four daily oral administrations (one every 4-6 hours) of a 60 mg (or 2 x 30 mg) immediate release preparation (i.e. tablet, capsule or liquid), or two daily administrations (one every 12 hours) of a 120 mg extended release preparation or one daily administration of a 240 mg extended release preparation. 
4.  IV nutrient therapies, like B vitamins, are common in the holistic wellness industry. All IV (intravenous) infusions and/or injections of more than 100mL (~6.8 tablespoons) per 12 hour period are prohibited.
5. When a male athlete presents with symptoms consistent with low testosterone, a doctor may be willing to provide a prescription. However, USADA (United States Anti-Doping Agency) will not process a TUE for the use of testosterone unless specific criteria are met by providing all required documents.

When an athlete seeks medication that is on the prohibited list, a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) may give that athlete the authorization to take the needed medicine. Because some drugs can be purchased over-the-counter or online, it's important to ensure that the consumed drug does not contain other banned substances.

Drugs taken by athletes that may require a TUE include (not limited to):

• Insulin
• Diuretics
• Beta-blockers
• Beta-2-agonists
• Glucocorticosteroids
• Decongestant stimulants
• Narcotics

The broad criteria for granting a TUE are:

1. The athlete would experience a significant impairment to health if the prohibited substance or prohibited method were to be withheld in the course of treating an acute or chronic medical condition.
2. The therapeutic use of the prohibited substance or prohibited method would produce no additional enhancement of performance other than that which might be anticipated by a return to a state of normal health following the treatment of a legitimate medical condition.
3. There is no reasonable therapeutic alternative to the use of the otherwise prohibited substance or prohibited method.
4. The necessity for the use of the otherwise prohibited substance or prohibited method cannot be a consequence, wholly or in part, of the prior use, without a TUE, of a substance or method which was prohibited at the time of use.

For more information on TUE - click HERE.

Social and recreational use

Did you know that up until 2004, caffeine was on the banned substance list? Whether for social purposes or for other reasons, athletes may follow their peers (or trends) and use social or recreational drugs. Although not every athlete using a recreational drug does so with the intent to enhance performance, some drugs have performance-enhancing properties. Additionally, being under the influence of these substances can pose a threat or danger to other competitors or yourself. 

Drugs on this list include (but are not limited to):

• Alcohol
• Cocaine
• Cannabinoids
• Stimulants

Performance Enhancers

Why do athletes take performance enhancing drugs? There are many factors which influence why an athlete will intentionally resort to using performance-enhancing drugs;

• To level the playing field,
• To win at any cost
• To improve
• Pressure from training partners/coach/organization/federation/country
• To please sponsors
• To change body composition
• To change physiology
• To manage depression self-worth
• To boost self-esteem
• To earn money
• For recognition
• To qualify for an event
• To set a personal best. 

However, no reason is a good enough reason to use a banned substance. Substances on the WADA list used to enhance performance is cheating. It threatens the integrity of sport and may compromise health. Performance enhancing drugs are shortcuts (cheating) to success and are not worth it. 

SUPPLEMENTS

Although most athletes are well aware that anabolic androgenic steroids or EPO (erythropoietin) are banned by WADA, you may not be aware that there are 835 dietary supplements considered high risk due to containing a banned substance. Supplements are not well-regulated and many supplements contain undeclared substances that are prohibited under anti-doping regulations. Be mindful that any supplement used to improve performance, improve recovery, change body composition, prevent or treat nutritional deficiencies or to enhance energy, may contain banned substances.

For example, on the Supplement High Risk List

Brand Name: MetaSalt
Manufacturer: CarboPro
Could Contain: Anabolic agents
Notes: Testing of an open container of an illegible lot number revealed the presence of ostarine. A sealed container of the same lot or formulation was not available for testing. For more information about SARMs see the USADA webpage on SARMS.
What the label says: The Supplement Facts panel lists "a variety of vitamins, minerals and extracts."

Another example is Vital Nutrients DHEA. DHEA may be recommended to you from your doctor or a friend as it's believed to improve sex drive, fight the effects of aging, build muscle, seek relief from menopausal symptoms, help with depression and adrenal insufficiency and treat osteoporosis. While DHEA is allowed in medications and supplements, it's considered a prohibited anabolic agent in sport.

As an athlete, it's your responsibility to stay updated with the current rules, guidelines and prohibited substances set forth by WADA. Even if your doctor makes a medical or supplment recommendation, most doctors are not aware of the anti-doping rules in your sport. A lack of knowledge by you and your doctor about performance enhancing drugs may lead you to fail an anti-doping test, even when it's not your intention to cheat. Whether you take a supplement to improve your performance or take a medication to improve your health, it's your responsibility to know what you are about to put into your body and to comply with all rules set forth by the World Anti-Doping Code. 

Bottom line: Do your research and make sure your supplements are NSF safe.

Resources such as USADA can and the World Anti Doping Agency can help you identify products that are safe and effective or that violate a doping code. Check your sport doping code every year to recognize what substances are prohibited in and out of competition.

2023 Prohibited List
Recognize the Red Flags
High Risk Supplement List
TUE process

And lastly, even if you aren't a front pack athlete, you are not trying to qualify for the World Championship or you are just participating in sport for fun, you do not get an exemption from WADA. When you register for an event, you must comply with anti-doping rules - no matter your fitness level. These rules are not just for performance but for your health and wellbeing.

In Part 3 I'll discuss one of the most commonly used banned substance by athletes.....you may be surprised that you took a banned substance and never realized it. 

Doping in Sport - Part 1

On April 24th, American pro triathlete Collin Chartier admits EPO use after a positive drug test. "Erythropoietin, known as EPO, is prohibited under World Anti-Doping Agency regulations because it stimulates erythropoiesis (red blood cell production) and can modify the body’s capacity to transport oxygen, increasing stamina, and performance."

Although doping is prevalant in all competitive sports, triathlon has had a reputation of being a clean sport (in other words, athletes train and race without the use of performance enhancing drugs). However, the recent news of Chartier reminds us that triathlon is not immune to doping and there isn't enough testing and education. And while some athletes will intentionally cheat, many athletes are unaware of what is considered "banned" by WADA or believe that if they won't be tested, it doesn't matter what they do outside (or during) sport. 

Doping describes the act of using a banned substance to drastically alter the physiology of the human body - often used to improve performance. Justifying the use of a banned substance for financial reasons, mental health, to break a record or to level the playing field not only threatens the integrity of sports but athletes risk health problems or death. As a reminder, anti-doping rules are not just for fair and clean sport but also to protect the health of every athlete who is participating. 

Unfortunately, in every sport, there’s great temptation to use performance enhancing drugs (PEDs). Anabolic-androgenic steroids are used to improve physical appearance by building muscle. Clenbuterol and ostarine are widely popular to burn fat and build lean muscle mass. Human growth hormone and testosterone, commonly prescribed to older adults to combat the age-related decline of these hormones, which may improve muscle protein synthesis. All of these drugs are banned by WADA (World Anti Doping Agency).

Most sports require an athlete to comply with the World Anti-Doping Code, which is "designed to set forth a standard set of parameters within which athletes can participate in triathlons and compete in a positive atmosphere of equal opportunity." As an athlete, when you train for a race, you are agreeing that you 100% comply with the WADA code. These Rules are intended:

a. to promote and maintain sportsmanship, equal opportunity and fair play;
b. to encourage and reward individual performance and initiative;
c. to protect the health, safety, and well-being of participants;
d. to promote the integrity of sport and triathlon as a positive cultural force in modern day society; and
e. to foster the foregoing ideals through the establishment and enforcement of punitive rules.

With this being said, why do athletes take performance enhancing drugs?

The primary reasons include;
Therapeutic use for health.
Social and recreational use.
Performance enhancement.

In Part 2, I'll discuss each of these reasons in more detail. 

For more info: 
2023 Prohibited List
Recognize the Red Flags
High Risk Supplement List
TUE process

6 gap gravel event recap

 

On April 28th, we participated in the inagural 6 Gap 9000 Ride Gravel Event. Whenever we participate in a first-time event, we always go in with no expectations and an understanding that things may not go smoothly. We can't say enough great things about this event. In each of our $125 registration fees we received a jersey, t-shirt, free breakfast and free lunch. The course was well marked and there was a timing system on each big climb. The aid stations were well stocked with incredible volunteers. When I stopped at the aid station around mile 41, the volunteers offered to fill up my hydration pack as I went to the port-o-potty. 

The event was held at Camp Merrill in Dahlonega, GA (~2 1/2 hours from where we live in Greenville, SC). We originally planned to stay in a hotel on Sat evening but last minute (like Friday morning around 10am) Karel decided that he wanted to gravel ride on Saturday to make a weekend of it. Luckily, our athlete Bryan was driving down on Friday from Charlotte so it worked out perfect that Bryan could pick Karel up on his way and Bryan had a two bedroom VRBO booked until Monday morning (we ended up staying in the house and cancelled our hotel room). 

Karel and Bryan rode 43 miles (4 hours) on Saturday in Dahlonega on some of the gravel course and I went for a long run (13.5 miles, 1:51) on Saturday and then made the 2 1/2 hr drive around 1pm. 

We've been a bit sad and anxious after hearing from the vet a week prior that Campy's kidneys are declining but we felt good leaving Campy with my mom for the night so that he could enjoy some quiet (cat-free) time with his grandma. 

The VRBO was on a farm and it put me in the best mood to be around Katie the donkey and all the horses. Karel made pasta for dinner and we went to bed around 9pm. I didn't sleep well and we woke up to pouring rain. 

I had been checking my Epic Weather App and although it was originally showing 90% showers for at least 2 hours, the rain chance dropped and it looked like it would be light rain for an hour or two and then we would have clear skies for the rest of the race. 

The event started at 8am and we left our place around 6:45am. We had a bit of drama leaving our place as the gate wouldn't open so we were stuck - until Karel managed to take the gate off so we could get our cars out. 

The course was very hilly and the gravel was perfect - not too chunky. There were some dirt sections that were slower but nothing compared to the Saluda mud fest that we experienced a few weeks ago. The scenery was incredible with so many waterfalls, mountain views, tree canopys and farms. I was in my element and I felt like I stayed in a mentally good place throughout the entire ride. 

To help me fuel for 91 miles, 7:24 hrs and almost 11,000 feet of elevation gain, I consumed the following: 

• 1.5 liters in my USWE hydration pack with almost 720 calories of a new formulation from INFINIT nutrition (maltodextrin and fructose formula that is not out yet, 90g carbs per serving). 
• 2 x 28 ounce bottles, each with 3 scoops C30 berry (90g carbs per serving)
• 1 mini can coke
• 1 bottle Heed at the last aid station
• 2 bars (~420 calories total)
• 2 packages Power Bar Chews (420 calories)

I experienced a big bonk with a few miles left to go. It was after a very technical descend after the last aid station that I stopped at and then we had a few miles of super technical up and down, muddy and rough terrain. Thankfully I had a bit of solid food left so I ate that and after around 20 minutes I felt much better. 

Karel also enjoyed the ride. He wished he was able to keep up with the front riders but he's often limited by his back. Thankfully he didn't experience any leg/hip cramping in this race which is a big deal for him as he is often limited by cramping in his hips. He rode most of the race by himself so it was a mental battle for him at times but the incredible scenery and knowing this was a great training day for his upcoming Oregon Gravel Grinder in June helped him power on until the finish line. He absolutely loved the fast long gravel downhills. He finished in 6 hours and 46 minutes and placed 14th overall. 

When I finish I told Karel that I had so much fun. I had never been so happy after a gravel event. I finished 1st overall female. Seeing that my first two gravel events were not so great (crash in the first and then DNF due to getting lost in the second), I was happy to finish this race without any issues. I even made it through a deep creek crossing without falling at the end (had to unclip to walk through starting out which made for cold wet feet starting around 20 min into the ride). The weather worked out great that we didn't have rain but just light sprinkles. It was cool in the 50's but I felt comfortable in my rain vest and arm warmers to start (I removed my arm warmers around an hour into the ride). 

Karel and I have really been enjoying our off-road adventures. As long time triathletes, the different type of adventures have kept us enjoying our training and each race gives us a different experience to learn from to apply to future races. We put together a recap of what we learned from this event and why we encourage other triathletes to seek out different events to help with longevity, mental and physical health. 

Are you effectively carb loading?

Over the past 50 years, a significant amount of research has shown the important role of glycogen for delaying fatigue in athletes competing in endurance and ultra endurance events. Glycogen is the storage form of carbohydrates. In humans, small amounts of glycogen are also found in tissues and cells, like the kidneys, red blood cells and brain. Glycogen is primarily stored primarily in the cells of the liver (~100g) and skeletal muscle (~500g). Skeletal muscles transform chemical energy to mechanical work. Glycogen is the body's predominant source of energy during moderate to high intensity activity. The depletion of muscle glycogen during endurance activity causes early fatigue. 

Dietary carbohydrates are converted to glucose - the main source of energy for the body and brain. For the non-diabetic population, when you eat a carb-rich meal, your blood glucose will rise. Increased blood glucose signals the pancreas to produce insulin - a very important hormone that helps the body cells take up glucose from the bloodstream to be used for immediate energy or for storage. Insulin tells the liver and muscle cells to produce the enzyme glycogen synthase that links chains of glucose together to form a glycogen molecule to be delivered to the liver and muscles. 

Because glycogen has a limited storage capacity, the intake of carbohydrates is extremely important for endurance athletes. High muscle glycogen content improves high intensity and endurance performance by increasing the time to fatigue. Due to the high demand for glycogen as an energy source, many athletes stay in a state of low glycogen depletion. Trying to complete high intensity or high volume workouts in a state of very low glycogen can increase the risk for damaged muscle tissue, immune system suppression and injury. Thus the importance of proper fueling, nutrient timing and understanding daily energy needs to support the current training load. And for all this to happen, the athlete must have a good relationship with food and the body. 

The heavily researched topic of carb-loading focuses on increasing the content of stored glycogen in an anticipation for the upcoming endurance event. Maximizing glycogen stores can help reduce fatigue in events lasting longer than 90-minutes. 

There are a lot of misconceptions around carbo-loading and a few key considerations to help you get the most out of glycogen supercompensation. 

• Muscle damage limits the capacity of the muscle to store glycogen, even while consuming a high carbohydrate diet. If you go into a race with damaged muscles (ex. downhill running, back-to-back racing), don't assume that a high carbohydrate diet will magically make your muscles perform/feel better. 
• Most of the research on carb-loading is on men. But there is a little research showing that females may require a slightly different pre-race fueling strategy due to metabolic differences from different hormonal profiles (specifically estradiol). Whereas men are advised to increase carbohydrate intake before a race, women are advised to increase carbs and calories. In other words, women may need to "energy load." 
• Muscle glycogen concentration is dependent on the diet. The higher carb intake in your diet, the higher the glycogen stores. 
• Training increases the amount of glycogen that can be stored in the muscle. Endurance training increases muscle glycogen stores and reduces the reliance on glycogen as a result of increased use of free fatty acids by active muscle cells. This metabolic adaptation allows your body to become more efficient at storing glycogen while also becoming more metabolically efficient. 
• After prolonged intense exercise, muscle glycogen levels may fall from 150-200 mmol/kg wet weight to <50 mmol/kg wet weight. When muscle glycogen levels fall to less than 70 mmol/kg wet weight, calcium release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum is impaired - which impacts muscle function, power output and performance. 
• Muscle glycogen resynthesis is a very slow process. It may take several days of rest or very light training (along with a higher carb diet) for muscle glycogen levels to reach adequate levels after several days of hard training. Consuming a high carbohydrate diet is critical to meet the demands of high volume/intensity training. 
• Carbo-loading should not be confused with overeating. Effective glycogen loading should the the result of emphasizing more energy-dense, low fiber carbohydrate sources and reducing fat intake alongside reducing (not stopping) energy expenditure (tapering). 
• One to two days of carbohydrate loading is sufficient to prepare your muscles for the upcoming event. 
• Glycogen depletion is considered an important limiting factor to performance. But eating more carbohydrates will not make you a better trained athlete. However, just because you didn't complete your  training as planned, this doesn't mean that you need to punish your body by underfueling. 

Carb-Loading Tips

• A carbohydrate intake of 5-7g/kg/day in the 1-2 days before your endurance event is recommended. 
• If you have a sensitive stomach or are prone to GI issues, be strategic with the foods you consume. Opt for a low-residue diet. 
• Males should aim for ~70% of the daily diet from carbs (without making a major change to caloric intake). A female athlete should aim to eat ~70% from carbs with an additional 30% increase in normally consumed calories. 
• Carbo-loading does not remove the need to stay well-fueled and hydrated throughout your event. Carb-loading is designed to help delay fatigue - not avoid fatigue. 
• Consume small meals, regularly throughout the day. Create a schedule (and plan) for eating so that you don't forget to eat or go long hours without eating. 
• If you feel "heavy" when you carb-load, this is good. This reflects the water weight that is added from glycogen storage. For every gram of glycogen stored in your body, you store ~3 ounces of water. This is ok! It doesn't have to do with a gain in body fat but water weight. This is also why people immediately lose weight on a low-carb diet. 
• Aim to eat your largest carb meals in the morning hours (breakfast - lunch) to allow more time for digestion. 
• Stay well-hydrated throughout the day to help with digestion. 
• Practice with similar pre-race foods in training to build familiarity and confidence for race day. 

Sources: 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6566225/
https://physoc.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1113/JP280221

https://www.220triathlon.com/training/nutrition-training/do-female-athletes-need-to-carb-load-more-or-less-than-male-ones-before-a-race/
https://www.mysportscience.com/post/carb-loading
https://www.scienceforsport.com/carbohydrate-loading-for-endurance-still-a-good-practice/

Multiple Carb Transporters - rethink your sport nutrition

 

The ideal fueling strategy during training/racing is the consumption of carbohydrates in a way that can be quickly emptied from the stomach, be rapidly digested and quickly absorbed so it can be used by the working muscles.  Just because you are consuming a gel, bar, solid food or drink with carbohydrates, this doesn't mean that your muscles are receiving those carbohydrates. The takeaway from this is not all carbs are the same.

Exercise shifts blood flow away from the GI (Gastrointestional tract) towards the active muscles and lungs. Digestion is compromised during exercise. This is why it's important that your carb choices during exercise do not require a lot of digestion. The quicker and easier those carbs are emptied from the stomach, the quicker those carbs can be used by the active muscles. Also, the more digestion that is required, the greater risk for GI issues. 

After digestion comes absorption. For the muscles to continue to perform during long distance activity, absorption moves nutrients, water and electrolytes from the small intestines into the cell and then into the blood. Because cell membranes are careful not to let dangerous substances into the body, they make it difficult for nutrients to enter the body. Therefore, nutrients need the help of a transporter (protein) to move across the cell membrane barrier. For carbohydrates to be absorbed, a transporter takes the digested and broken down carbohydrate from the intestional lumen inside the intestine, through the intestinal wall and into the body circulation. 

There are two specific protein transporters (SGLT1 and GLUT5) that allow for carbohydrate absorption. When your sport drink contains glucose, sucrose, galactose, maltodextrin or starch, exogenous carbohydrate oxidation peaks ~60g/hr (~240 calories). This is because the SGLT1 transporter becomes saturated ataround 1 gram of carbohydrate per minute. This is very important because if your sport drink, bar, or gel contains only the carbohydrates listed above, consuming more than 60 grams per hour will not result in more carbohydrate oxidation. The excess carbohydrate will not be absorbed and will accumulate in the intestines. This means the muscles will fatigue despite continuing to consume a large amount of carbohydrates and the risk for GI issues increases dramatically.

Because fructose uses a different transporter (GLUT5), the additional of fructose to a sport drink will allow for higher oxidation rates (up to 90g/hr) so long as you saturate the SGLT1 transporter with 60 grams of glucose or maltodextrin. Because these carbs use different transporters, you can deliver more carbohydrate to the muscle per hour.

If you are simply consuming carbohydrates without the awareness of how much you are consuming, what types of carbs you are consuming and how often you are consuming them, there's a good chance that you are not optimizing absorption - which means a greater risk for bonking, early fatigue, dehydration and GI issues. 

According to research, the ideal combination of carbs include: 

• maltodextrin : fructose 
• glucose : fructose 
• glucose : sucrose : fructose

If you are trying to consume more than 60 grams of carbs per hour (which is around 240 calories), you need to consume a product with multiple transportable carbohydrates so that you don't clog the SGLT1 transporter. 

Because most endurance athletes will benefit from consuming between 60-90g of carbohydrates on the bike per hour, I put together the helpful chart above to help take away the guessing when trying to plan how to fuel based on the duration of your workout/race.

To increase the capacity to absorb carbohydrates, it's critical that your sport drink has the right formulation. Simply eating/drinking whatever you want, whenever you want, does not guarantee that what you are consuming is being digested and absorbed.

Bootlegger 100 - DNS

This morning Karel and I were supposed to race in the Bootlegger 100 gravel event - 107 miles with over 10,000 feet of elevation. I recently announced our race schedule on my Instagram account and we were really looking forward to this event. I had booked a hotel, planned the restaurant for pre-race pizza and even found a Chipotle (yum) for after the event. The best part was that I was going to enjoy the event with a few friends. Well, we didn't do the event. 

Four weeks ago, Karel had a really bad crash at the Whole Enchilada MTB event at the Whitewater center. His bike slipped on a wet wooden bridge and that resulted in a direct fall to his right hip. Karel was able to continue to train for two weeks even though he still had a fluid-filled bump on his hip. But last week, the bump turned solid and started to cause him a lot of pain. Karel did some research and came across a similar injury that Jan Frodeno had and we instantly knew that this is what Karel had - A Morel-Lavallee Lesion. With the bump not getting any better after three weeks, we booked an apt with his general physician and he had a syringe full of fluid drained from the bump. This happened on Monday. He was also given a heavy duty 7-day antibiotic in the case of an infection. After a few days, the bump wasn't any better so we consulted with a friend who is in the medical field as well as our Orthopedic doctor and Karel started wearing tight compression around his hip 24/7. This helped a lot and the bump has finally gone down in size. It's not fully gone but it's a lot better. Karel may have damaged some nerves so he is still dealing with a bit of pain but thankfully no broken bones. The antibiotic made Karel feel super lousy on Wed and Thursday and then he had to see the dentist for a broken tooth on Friday. After all of that, Karel decided that it wouldn't be smart to do the ride and with a big schedule of races, he needed to put his health first. 

As for myself, I was still interested in racing but I wasn't comfortable going to a gravel race 2.5 hours away without Karel (seeing that my history of gravel races hasn't been the best). Additionally, the weather wasn't looking great in the morning and mentally, I haven't been in the best place and I knew this race would require a tremendous amount of physical and mental energy. 

On Thursday I took Campy to the vet as he hadn't been eating for 2 days. Campy has been showing a lot of aging signs over the past few months (ex. confusion, not hearing well, not seeing well, needing to wear diapers, sleeping a lot) but lately he just hasn't been himself. His urination issues have gotten worse, he vomited after eating one night and he has been drinking a lot of water. Our vet is wonderful and after taking some blood, she told me that his kidneys are declining. Although he is "only" in stage 2 of kidney disease per his labs, he is showing signs that he is in stage 3. Campy is now on nausea medication which has helped his appetite but we have had to change his diet so that it is not hurting his kidneys (which is hard when you have a picky eater senior dog with only 8 teeth left).

Although we have been sad about the signs and symptoms that Campy is showing in his 15th year of life, this news really broke my heart. To hear that Campy is nearing the end of his life has been really really hard for me. Knowing that we could have three months left or if we are lucky, over a year, has really crushed me. I can't focus, I feel like I have a huge weight on my chest, I am feeling anxious and I am really really sad. 

On Friday, all I wanted to do was to be with Campy. I know that now is not the end but mentally, I just couldn't gather the strength to leave Campy for this race and to ride for 7+ hours on gravel without Karel. 

Knowing that Campy is living out his final months is causing a lot of anticipatory grief, which is bringing me a lot of pain and heartache. With so much uncertainty about the next few months, our responsibility of caring for Campy has changed a bit but we won't stop us from making the most of every day. 

I debated about writing this post but I've always viewed my blog as my journal and I want to share all parts of my life - the good and the sad. 

Haphazard Race Day Fueling Mistakes

Practice, practice, practice. 

I can't tell you how many athletes arrive to a long distance race without confidence in their fueling and hydration plan. A precise balance of carbs, fluids and electrolytes are needed to delay the onset of fatigue by sparing liver glycogen, maintaining blood glucose concentrations and off-setting excessive fluid losses from sweating.


You can't 'fake it 'til you make it' when it comes to fueling during a long distance event. It's not uncommon for athletes to underfuel/hydrate in training and then overcomplicate fueling strategies on race day due to fear of running out of energy. Whereas too little of an energy intake (carbs, calories) is detrimental to performance, not having a well-practiced nutrition plan may result in GI issues, or more serious health complications. It seems obvious that if you are going to do something on race day, you should repeatedly do it in training, but far too often is this not the case.

Rushed and busy schedules, poor planning, intentional underfueling due to body composition concerns and a lack of an understanding of how to properly fuel for long distance sport are some of the many reasons why athletes struggle to perform on race day. Don't let this be you. Invest into your sport nutrition plan like you do with your training, coaching, body work and equipment.

If you are confused how to best fuel for your sport, reach out to a sport dietitian to help take away the guessing so you can perform with confidence on race day. 

Snacking - good, bad, healthy, unhealthy?

To snack or not to snack? 🥨🍇 🧀

Snacks often get a bad reputation because most people choose packaged snacks out of convenience.

Additionally, it's easy to snack out of boredom and stress, resulting in mindless grazing throughout the work day (or evening).

But if you choose your foods wisely (ex. planning ahead), snacking can give you energy to thrive during the day. A snack between meals can also help you maintain stable blood sugar levels for more consistent energy in the afternoon, decrease hunger and reduce the risk of overeating at your next meal.

What's your favorite snack?

2023 Trimarni Early Season Tri Camp recap

 

Day 1 Friday: 

8:30-9:30am - Long Course Swim at Westside Aquatic Center (technique and skills) 
11am-12:30pm - Run workout at Furman (hills - strength and posterior chain activation)
2-4:30pm - Tour of Boyd Cycling followed by a bike skills and terrain management discussion 

We have a great group of 10 athletes, with over half first-time Trimarni campers. We love returning campers but we also really enjoy having new ears and eyes to absorb new skills and information. Every Trimarni camper received Amp Human PR lotion (3 packets), Run In socks and a Trimarni water bottle. At the end of camp, every camper received a gift from us. 
We started the morning with an hour long course swim focused on the technique and skills.
After the swim, we had a short break before a late morning run workout. We are passionate about building strong and economical runners off the bike so the run workout included hills, strides, bounding and best EZ pace running.

Our afternoon session was at the Boyd Wheels facility. We had a very informative tour, learning about how the wheels are produced in-house and the great attention to detail to each wheel. We finished off the afternoon with a discussion on bike handling skills and terrain management.

Day 2 Saturday: 

8:30-9:30am - Long Course Swim at Westside (open water focus)
11am-2pm - Bike workout from Travelers Rest (terrain management and skill focus)
2:30-3:15pm - Run workout (pacing, form)

The goal of our early season camp is to help our campers develop and/or fine tune their skills in route to their upcoming early season events. Our morning 1hr long course swim session was entirely focused on open water skills and race day simulation.
During our 3-hr ride, Karel took every camper through specific descending, cornering, u-turn and climbing skills to help with safety and confidence on two wheels. After the sectioning session, the athletes did a 5-mile TT on rolling terrain to put all the skills to good use. Then it was time for a 25-35 min brick run with a bit of spice (long hill). Travelers rest was busy so we enjoyed the vibe as if it was race day. Everyone was amazing and worked really hard and applied all of their new skills to the workouts. 


Day 3 Sunday: 

9:30-11:30am - Run/Bike/Bike/Run/Bike/Run/Bike/Run/Bike/Run at Furman
Transition practice
The inaugural 2023 Trimarni camp duathlon x5.

We know that the majority of triathletes do not practice transitions in training and if they do, it’s never with the high heart rate, nervous and pressure that you feel on race day. For the last workout of our 3-day early season camp, our campers had ten opportunities to practice transitions with a
Run/bike (course recon) bike/run/bike/run/bike/run/bike/run workout.
The bike course was around 2.8 miles and our campers had an opportunity to get their heart rate up on the hills and work on bike handling skills like cornering. For the almost 1-mile run, they had to climb a steep hill before settling into a steady rhythm. Only to do it all over again…and again, and again and again, etc. We also had a designated mount and dismount line.
The workout was over 90 minutes total and the athletes collected almost 15 miles of cycling and 5 miles of running.
I’ll be honest, their transitions were very rusty to start 😵‍💫 with lots of mistakes and fumbles but toward the end, everyone mastered their transitions with confidence. Mission accomplished.
We really enjoyed working with this group of athletes. They learned, applied and worked hard. We had all different levels and everyone felt included and supported.

We'd love to have you at a future Trimarni camp. Here's a video sharing a bit more about our camp.