Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition

In a divisive world, people are very passionate in their beliefs and opinions. This is only heightened on social media where anyone can express opinions without censorship, restraint or legal penalty. When a topic is polarized by different views, thoughts or opinions, you may find yourself in one of two situations - you either full heartedly agree or disagree. While it may be hard to accept that a friend or family member has a different opinion to you, the ability to understand and to be understood in a world of conflicts is extremely important. Every person in this world has a unique context which helps inform and shape the way he/she sees the world and behaves in it. As much as you want people to understand where you are coming from (and your point of view), you must be willing to do the same for others. To enter a space of conflict or lack of understanding, here are a few tips: Accept differences. People come from different backgrounds and are brought up and taught to believe in di...

I have had the most wonderful time over the past two days, visiting my alma mater - Transylvania University in Lexington, KY. This is my first real visit to Lexington/Transy since I graduated college in 2004. Wow - 16 years have passed by and so much has changed! Both in my life and in Lexington. After spending the first 22 years of my life growing up in Lexington, I have so many amazing memories here. Why am I here? I was invited to Transy to speak to the senior exercise science students, the triathlon team and the swim team, as well as to some of the sport/exercise staff/faculty. I arrived on Sunday afternoon and I will be leaving Wednesday morning. It's a quick 5 hour drive. I have been sharing my journey of how I got to where I am today and I owe so much of it to my amazing liberal arts education at Transy. Funny story - my high school swim coach is now the head coach at Transy. And the triathlon coach is married to one of my friends from my high school swim team. What a s...

Performing at your best requires an effort that goes beyond your old limits. This new limit (or unexplored territory) means that you will ask your body and mind to do something unfamiliar on race day. If you are racing this weekend, you are capable of achieving something incredible on race day.  However, first you need to get past all the self-doubts, fears, insecurities, pressures, anxieties and nerves that are possibly holding you back from achieving greatness on race day.  While there is nothing wrong with pre-race nerves, it is important that you believe in your fitness and your ability to overcome anything that comes your way on race day. Trust that you have done the work that you needed to do and be confident in your abilities.  Do not take your race day for granted, especially if you are not sick or injured.  Don’t live your life waiting for a better time to do something or assuming you will have another opportunity.   Racing is h...

When I met Karel in 2006, I knew him as a corner hoping, crash dodging, race in the hurt-box type of guy. In other words, I feel in love with a cyclist.  For a little over 6 years, I watched Karel race all over the east coast as a cat 1 cyclist. There were times when he would be on the podium, other times when he would just be happy he hung on to finish the race. There would be times when he missed a break and would have to settle for a sprint in the mid pack and times when he would be stuck behind a crash and his race would be over. No matter how good he felt going into his races, the tactics of cycling can be just as exciting as  they are frustrating.  Karel's transition to triathlons in the summer of 2012 meant that Karel was embarking on a new challenge. Not only with his fitness but also with learning about the sport of triathlons.  Karel brings a very interesting thought-process to the sport of triathlons and he owes a lot of it to his 20...

In six days I will have the opportunity to challenge myself in one of the hardest endurance events in the world ALONGSIDE the best endurance athletes (age group and professional) in the world. The finish line is the goal, anything else that comes with it (ex. PR on that course) is a bonus.  For the medal awarded to every athlete that crosses the Ironman World Championship finish line before midnight is the prize that commemorates months and months of hard work, discipline, passion, commitment and a body and mind that was trained to perform.  Knowing that athletes and fitness enthusiasts, family and friends from around the world will be watching their own favorite athletes as well as the successes of strangers, it is likely that you will be inspired by watching every athlete cross the finish line...from the first professional male and female winner to the last finisher that crosses before midnight.  While the inspiration will fill your body to ...

There are those who love hard work and then those who don't. Most likely, it's obvious to the eye as to who is most determined and dedicated to reaching a goal. There isn't much moving forward for the person who feels the task at hand is too difficult to achieve. Sometimes, there is even moving backward for the person who is not willing to accept difficulty before something becomes easy. But then there are those who are passionate about learning news skills, habits and traits in order to make a change, for a change.  Hard work works for everyone, regardless of talent. Whether you think you "got it" in you or not in order to achieve, there's nothing natural or gifting about working hard for something that you don't have now. Medical doctors who treat cancer patients are not born as natural healers. They work hard to find answers. Teachers are not naturally talented to educate but instead, passionate about helping others. You can be anything you wan...

Athletes are all too familiar with wake-up calls. Waiting until things happen and then wishing they would have started doing things earlier. Injured? Perhaps you said I should have been better with strength training, I should not have pushed through that workout and I need to be stretching. Burnout? Perhaps you said you knew you should have rested when you kept pushing through. Not at your racing fitness? Perhaps you wish you would have made slow progress earlier in the year than trying to make everything happen in the last few weeks of training.  As humans, I feel it is perfectly normal to use wake-up calls appropriately for we all need a little kick in the butt to remind us that life has meaning and we need to appreciate it to the fullest.  For the 20+ year smoker has been known to quickly stop smoking when he/she finds out he has cancer and the individual who thought that diet and exercise didn't matter may feel instantly motivated to change habits after learning...

      Before every endurance event I do, I like to read my old race reports. I was recently reading my IMWI  and IMKY  race reports and I just laughed while reading them because I guess two and three years down the road, my mind still wants Ironman racing to be "easy".  I always think about a past race and somehow, my mind tells me it was "easy" back then and now I am really going to hurt. But it's funny that when I read my race reports, it was not easy and it was never easy. I guess the saying is true...  I guess when it comes to thinking logically, the body and mind do not like to suffer. Not a good combination when it comes to endurance racing. Not sure how many times you look for that "easy" button but if you find it while training for an endurance event or while racing, I am not sure you will want to use it because if "it" was easy, everyone would be doing it. You see, the great thing about endurance sports is that you g...

  As athletes and fitness enthusiasts, we are notoriously stubborn. Perhaps that is why many of us need a coach in that we love to go, go, go and push, push, push and we do not like to slow down. With an admirable worth ethic, we love to be "on" all the time. Certainly, we need a return on all that investment so with every off day comes the build-up of energy for another quality week of training.   In light of the recent Boston Marathon events, I can't help but feel an amazing amount of energy from social media and from others who refuse to let this event slow them down.   As a coach to a group of amazing athletes (feel free to read their inspiring bios HERE) it is my responsibility to make sure my athletes are on when they need to be on and are off when they need to be off. Sometimes I prefer to keep their switch on dim as I know they all love to work hard for their goals. I am sure you are the same in that you'd rather keep moving forward than to find ...

I was so excited to write my next blog today, talking about my training over the weekend. In view of the fact that many people are suffering from the explosions at the Boston Marathon today, I can't help but be extremely saddened by this horrific event. As a writer, I express myself the best with words on paper (or computer) so it only feels natural to write my blog but with a different take away message. Life brings challenges, stressful situations and emotional times. It also brings success stories, inspirational moments and memory making experiences. Everyone is unique and comes with a story. When I started my business, I thought long and hard about my philosophy and what I wanted to provide to others in this world. Over time, I took mental notes as to how athletes and fitness enthusiasts were living life and I loved the fact that so many people in this world have goals related to diet and exercise and wanted me to help them reach their personal goals. With yet another eye-...

Ladies - how do you use your training gear? Do you put it on and go out shopping? Do you wear it to events? Do you worry about sweating in your training gear? Let's be honest - you can absolutely care about how you look during exercise (it's true - if your race outfit matches your bike, you will bike faster! : ) but most importantly, you should care about how you feel during exercise. Sweating, laughing, legs-shaking, stretching.....when the workout is done you feel accomplished and worry more about what you got out of the workout than how you look in front of a mirror or around others. If this does not pertain to you, likely you will not want to fill out the Oakley Women contract. I have seen SO MANY amazing contracts posted by active women via social media and I couldn't wait to fill out my own contract. As an Oakley Women ambassador, I have learned how amazing it feels to not only feel great in your active wear but to also use it appropriately. "My ge...

From cyclist.... To triathlete..... To runner..... I can't help but smile when people ask me if I get jealous or upset about Karel's "natural" talent to go from 20+ years as a competitive cyclist to a triathlete who can run crazy fast. Karel and I both grew up as "athletes" so we both understand what it means to work hard for results. Of course, 6.5 years ago, when I met Karel on the bike, I never thought that I would now be married to a triathlete. It's often said that cyclists can run.....but I would have to disagree that just because a cyclist is fit on the bike, it doesn't mean that fitness will transfer over to a weight bearing activity like running. Karel found running uncomfortable and often unbearable during the off-season in years past but then again, he only liked to run for beer and he never "trained" for running races, just used it as "exercise". Since starting a new multisport lifestyle in June...