The Dark Place

With all of the weird International distances becoming more popular these days - I realized I haven't even toed the line on an actual Olympic distance triathlon (1500m swim, 40k bike, 10k run) this year. I had thought about traveling out to Flagstaff, AZ for "Mountainman 70.3" but with it being only a month out from the World Championships - my coach and I decided to stay close by and just train through The Chula Vista Challenge. Flanny wasn't kidding about "training through" this race. With it being the critical build phase leading up to Vegas, this week has been one of the more difficult weeks I can remember. As I write this on Friday it hurts to walk haha. I have another 3.5 hours of workouts today and then one day of rest and hopefully I'll have some decent legs for the race come Sunday. I imagine I'll do alright and PR even with the tired legs. I'm not much of a "taper" kind of athlete anyway. I don't do well when I back off of volume and intensity and just stay sharp like most athletes do leading up to their A race. I do well when not much changes from the standard routine.

I feel like tapering is the hardest thing to figure out. I'm a big believer that everyone is different when it comes to hitting a race with the perfect amount of rest, sharpness and mental readiness. What I mean by the mental readiness is being prepared to hurt and go way beyond that dark place. Some call it "digging from the well" - something I believe you can only really do a few times a year. It's when you are at your best, pushing past all of the pain and physical/mental fatigue - performing better than training results may indicate. The goal obviously is to make this happen on race day with all of the variables at play. This is what most athletes seek - some may call it "the perfect race." You see it with the pros from time to time. I think of Crowie at the Ironman World Championships in 2011 - he had his perfect race. With just a few miles to go he was cramping and hurting. You could tell he was in a very dark place. This is when the magic happens. Professionals or Age Groupers alike, we all seek that moment where everything is clicking, we can dig deep and have our best race ever.

I'm preparing for that dark place at Vegas. I want it to be midnight, no light, blurry vision and a relentless desire to bury myself.

Twitter updates via Amy on Sunday, wish me luck!!!

Catching up

First of all, thank you to everyone that gave me such nice/encouraging words/comments from last weeks post - means a lot!

Wife had me crack a rare smile on the trainer!

The past month or so has kind of gone by like a blur. I hurt the back of my knee a few days before SDIT so it took awhile to recover from that, but as of now I feel like I'm about 90% healed and back to the grind. Even with the little hiccup, right now - I'm no doubt the best triathlon shape that I've ever been. I know there's still big gains to be made in the upcoming build weeks and there's no doubt that Flanny has been bringing it with some serious workouts. Not since college have been I been a little intimidated by workouts. When I look at them on paper the week before, they seem very do-able. But then in his never-ending quest to make me fast with tired legs, the workouts become almost impossible by the time I get to them. I've learned to push through them, nail them (for the most part) and then the confidence skyrockets.

I had a huge epiphany this past month. It's pretty sad that it came this late in the ballgame - but I'm glad I finally realized it. As a 800/miler in college - the whole mindset was to practice extremely hard and then recover the next day or two then do it again over and over. Breakdown the muscles, rebuild, do it again. So we would always go into the hard workouts with pretty fresh legs. We would rarely do two hard days or even more so - three hard days in a row. And there really wasn't a need to - to much risk for injury. 

Powerbar letting me train as hard as I do!

For triathlon - I've learned it's a whole different story. Since we are working three sports, there isn't that huge risk of injury like running has- so working out with tired legs is not only do-able but very important when you're talking about IM or 70.3's. I've still kind of clung onto that same mindset of hitting the hard workouts fresh (and fast), recovering and then doing it again. The problem with that is - it doesn't mimic what you get when you race. You're going to be hitting that bike leg with a lot of swim fatigue and even more so - when you hit that run, you're legs are going to be screaming. Not only training your body to preform at it's best in that state but also training your mind to be able to handle the pain that comes with it. I'm a big believer that pain tolerance differs from athlete to athlete. However, it can and should be trained just like anything else and you'll see improvement.

So Flanny has really taught me in the short time we've worked together on how to be fast when both your body and mind are completely fried. It is freaking brutal. Almost every single day there is some sort of intensity. There have been a few times where I reach out and let him know I'm freaking smoked but for the most part I've just been putting my head down and charging it. The best part? I've been seeing major gains. The numbers don't lie each week and I'm really excited to toe the line at Vegas.

Next week I'll be racing a local Olympic race - The Chula Vista Challenge. Typical 1500 meter bay swim, hilly 40k bike and a longer 6.5 mile trail run which should play to my strengths. Since this is such a critical time in my Vegas build, I'll just be training through it but still expect to see a PR even on the longer/harder course. It's only in it's second year as a race so it won't be as competitive as most San Diego triathlons but I'm pumped to race and get my feet a little wet before Vegas is here next month.

Here's a bunch of pics over the past month:

Took the fam to Disneyland for 3 days #familyfirst

Amy left me for Jack Sparrow

Caught the kids playing dress up as triathletes!

I may have played dress up too. Serious about Racquetball

And....my beer lineups:

Grillin at home with one of my favorite IPA's

So glad breweries are making good lagers again.
Perfect for a summer/session beer!

 

Societe Brewing Happy Hour

Crush Brew, one of my new fav local spots

Grilled peaches paired with Dogfish Head Pestina Peche

 

Big boy, Tall boy from one of the first good craft breweries to can

 

Cheers!!

Time to air some things out...

Well I think I needed that month off hiatus from blogging. I've been pretty consistent about blogging every week for the past three years. After a poor showing at San Diego International - I just needed some time to get away from triathlon mentally and neglecting this blog was part of that. I'm not going to do a race report on SDIT - I feel that it's behind me now and although it did leave a mark on me mentally and physically, it has made me stronger NOW and that's all I'm concerned with. I've had a lot of time to think about the sport and my involvement. Time to air some things out:

1. It gets pretty tricky when you get to the so called "elite" level. Everyone has their opinions on what elite is. Mine is simple - if you're FOP (front of pack) in legit races, you're elite. I consider myself there and when you're part of an "elite" team - such as Wattie Ink - you have duties/responsibilities. Promote the team and brand. A big part of that is promoting yourself. The more exposure I get, the more exposure Wattie and my sponsors get. So I've been pretty aggressive over the past few years. This means posting workouts to help promote sponsors, blogging/telling your story to help promote sponsors and being very active in social media - yup, to help promote sponsors. Our job is to create excitement and I feel I've done a good job at that along with a lot of my team mates. However, this is a little different approach from what I have always been used to. You know the saying, "Let your legs do the talking..." My old high school coach (who past away years back) was a big believer in that and so was I. Even through my college years we took the same approach. Here I was, from a little private school in CA lining up against the biggest/fastest 4x800 teams in the nation at the Penn Relays. Even dropping the baton we went 7:19 and took down some of the biggest names in the sport.

Fast forward to 2013 and I think things are a lot different now. Companies need triathletes to inspire others to buy their product. People don't buy the product you are using, they are buying you! Social media has completely changed the way companies market their product. If you are a fast triathlete that never posts, never blogs, just shows up to races and wins - you're not going to be ideal sponsorship material. Unless you have Craig Alexander talent, no one will ever know who you are. You'll show up, win your races for 5-10 years then fade away without making any kind of impact on the sport or those that follow it. Fine you say, but the reality is - you had inspiration written all over you. You could have been that person that got someone off the couch and into triathlon. You could have been that person that took a start-up company and helped turned it into a major brand. It could have launched a coaching career, a writing gig, a dream job, allowed you to explore the world racing and traveling. Being loud and having a voice may not be that bad after all...

I've chosen to be a little loud which comes with a lot of negativity. With a lot of random "followers" comes a lot of opportunity to take jabs at me. "Cocky" "Overrated" amongst other things. I have thick skin so it doesn't bother me (actually motivates me) but those that actually know me - know who I really am. Just know that I'm just doing my job on this team and trying to motivate others. This is a hobby of mine - I don't think I'm the next Andy Potts or anything, just doing my best to get as fast as I possibly can while doing my job on this team. Which brings me to my next point...

2. I've mentioned this before, but I don't do this for "fun." If I was doing this for fun I'd train half the time I do now and workout when I feel like it. Granted, there are times when I'm working out and I'm having a blast (especially going fast) but it's not the reason why I do this. I do it to compete. I've always had a huge competitive drive and once I switched from a sales job to a marketing position ten years ago I had an empty void in my life. Once I found triathlon three years ago - the void was filled and the competitiveness in me drives me every single day. Outsiders sometimes don't understand why I take it so seriously. The question is, why wouldn't I take it so seriously? Time is a very serious subject - we don't have a lot of it in this lifetime!! When you invest a lot of time and energy into something-especially away from your family, wouldn't you care how well you did at it? To not care about your outcomes is a lack of respect for the sport. It's a sport that challenges you every single day and I will always take my races just as serious as I do my workouts. And I'll be loud about it all...

If it wasn't for those loud triathletes that I've followed over the years I'd probably still be a recreational runner trying to loose a little weight and getting injured often. If it wasn't for those loud triathletes that posted their workouts, showed me how much time it takes to get good and how much suffering/sacrifice is involved to get faster - I'd still have that void in my life.

This is why I'm loud. I know it bothers some but it motivates others even more. Month in and month out I will continue to talk myself and my sponsors up and will always enter a race 100% committed to back it up. Sometimes I will, sometimes I won't - Either way I'll go out fighting.

For those of you that have always supported me, I thank you. Vegas is 7 weeks away and I am no doubt the best shape of my life and am excited to share the journey leading right up to it. If it wasn't for all of the praise, comments and feedback I've received over the years, I wouldn't have a punched ticket to the WC's. As always, thanks for reading.

SDIT Race Week

Been climbing a lot of mountains! - Lake Wolford w/Kendra

It feels like St. George was ages ago. Even though technically it was last month it's been close to two months since I've raced and I'm itching to get on the starting line. With all the sickness I dealt with earlier in the year I pretty much took my mid-season break from Oceanside - raced St. George out of shape and sick - all the way till I started working with Flanny about a month ago. After a month of some really tough and focused training - I feel very prepared going into the San Diego International triathlon this Sunday. It's a 1k swim, 30k bike and 10k run. It's a very popular race and attracts a lot of good local talent and it will be my first time lining up against the pro's/elites. There's money that pays out to the top three I believe so there's always some super fast pro's that show up (last year included HJ, Lesley Patterson, Chris McDonald amongst others).

And running plenty of single track!

I'll have my hands full, no doubt but I'm embracing the opportunity. I'm going into the race probably in the best shape of my life and just like when I lined up against Bernard Lagat, Gabe Jennings, Michael Stember in the mile back in my track days - it elevated my game. I became faster, I walked away with more confidence, more fire and desire to get better. So it's a win, win situation for me and you can't beat that. And speaking of running, I'm pretty excited to enter T2 Sunday. There's no doubt after racking my bike, slipping on my shoes and crossing that "Run Out" line that I will be smiling. My running fitness has no doubt slowly blossomed working with Flanny. Over the past several months it's seemed stagnate and always felt like a struggle to hit pacing. NOW it seems like no matter what is thrown at me I can hit it and for this race - no doubt will come down to the run as the swim and bike portions are shorter than your typical Olympic race. So can't wait to race! Amy will try and send out tweets (follow me) as she sees me throughout the race. Otherwise I'll throw out an update after I'm done killing the beer garden!

As much as my focus has been on training, it's also summer and have made sure the balance of FUN is always there. Here's some pictures over the past few weeks. Thanks for reading!!!

Camping!

Fishing. Kids both caught their first fish!

Sidewalk Art Festival

My 2 beautiful girls going on a date

BBQ'ing it up a lot

Playing poker tournaments...Top 3 paid out on this one
and I placed 4th...doh!

Recovering right: www.recoverye21.com use code: Jadams for 10% off

Beer lineup lately

My favorite dark

So good, must try

My go-to camping beer

Cheers!

KONA

I'm pretty big when it comes to goal setting. I have all my goals hanging up all around in my bedroom, in my closet and even express some of them on this blog. Over the past year I've been obsessed with qualifying for Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Vegas and it felt great qualifying at Oceanside. It was a sense of relief and accomplishment from all of those hours of training. I finally put together a good race and executed. Now, I'm very excited to go race in Vegas and trust me I am dotting every I and crossing every T with my coach in training lately (follow him on Twitter). This is the most focused and disciplined I've ever been in triathlon and I've seen huge fitness gains in just the short month we've been working together. However, since qualifying for Vegas - I've been having KONA on my mind lately. I keep trying to ignore these thoughts and move on but it has kind of become an internal thought obsession.

I still think of Vegas as the minor leagues (for AG'er's not the pro's). There's a ton of roll downs at these races and really if you place top 10 in your AG you'll have a good shot. KONA slot? Not so much and The Ironman World Championships doesn't have that 70.3 astrik. It's just "The World Championships." The race that has made triathlon what it is today. The big leagues, the big show and I want it. I want to experience the feeling that ALL finishers at KONA talk about. A life changing experience - one that you'll never forget. That's why we are doing this right? For these kind of moments. Especially as an age grouper, I'm not going to be winning any big races overall. Sure, it would be sweet to win my AG or even better be an overall amateur at a legit race but you're still not the overall winner - those are the pro's! It's just not the same in my mind.

So for me, part of the excitement is chasing a goal. The fact that it is ridiculously hard to qualify for KONA really intrigues me. Then once you do qualify you get to fly away to a magical place and experience a whole week of paradise! I know Vegas will be one that I will never forget - but let's be real here. KONA vs. Henderson, NV? So I think 2014 will be my Ironman debut. Haven't yet decided where yet - need something hilly, at sea level and nothing too crazy far away. Tons of options, we'll see. Another reason why I want to chase a KONA qualifier is because I'm not sure how much longer I'll be doing this. I am NOT going to be a "lifer." I've got kiddos and dreams of traveling and experiencing life with them. As much as I think I have the balance between family, career and triathlon down, it's not pretty. As in, I don't have very much fun these days. If triathletes with a career tell you that every workout is "fun" they are either lying or not putting in enough volume/intensity. The casual triathlete is an exception of course because they do it for the fun of it, not to compete. Unfortunately, I am a huge competitor and hate to lose so I am either an all or nothing kind of guy and that's what keeps me going day in and day out. Most of all, I've learned an extreme amount of discipline through triathlon. Something that I will take with me/fall back on in the rest of my life during family and career decisions.

So it makes sense to chase a KONA qualifier. The run is so important in the full and I've got that in my hip pocket, so why not use it? If I were to quit triathlon anytime soon I do not see myself coming back to it years from now. When I move on, I move on and I'd like to check KONA off my checklist of things to do in this short life. A miler turned Ironman? We'll find out-

X-1 Audio "Momentum Earbud" Review

When I hooked up with H2O Audio (now X-1 Audio) last year I was super stoked to get my hands on some waterproof headphones. I pretty much only use headphones when I'm working out and when you add a ton of sweat during the hot months and some rain during those winter months - it's exactly what I needed to add to my gear list. For the past year I've used the Surge Mini Waterproof sport headphones for riding my bike on those long lonely rides (with my left ear unplugged to listen to traffic) and for running as well. They were super lightweight and they came with a ton of earplug sizes to choose from so you really do have a custom fit. The only problem was, when it rained, my iPhone was still vulnerable to the moisture so I got myself an X-1 Audio Amphibx Fit Waterproof Armband which works perfect for my phone and even fits nicely around my aero bars on my TT bike - win, win!

Recently, X-1 sent me their new "Momentum Earbud." I was excited to try something new and they came at the perfect time as I was about to head out for my long run. I loved my Surge Mini's but the Momentum's ended up being even better. The "ear fins" secure the headphones in place so they never come out of the ear especially when the wind was kicking. I even noticed the sound quality was a lot more full and clear.

I highly recommend X-1 Audio's products to anyone looking for a waterproof way to listen to your music. They have a ton of swimming products available too. I've just never used them in the water because I'm too busy hurting, panting and focusing on what I'm doing! If you do use them on the bike, just use extreme caution! As I mentioned before I only have one bud in my right ear with the music turned way down so I can hear traffic and my surroundings. On the trainer? Let it blast!

Visit their website at www.x-1.com

Consistency

4:15am wake up calls again!

My coach from the get-go has always harped on consistency. It's no secret that's is key to getting fast or doing well in anything, really. When I started coaching myself late last year the consistency really fell off. Since I was in control of my days/workouts - I would plan my workouts around my days instead of the other way around and the consistency suffered big time (along with my fitness). I would either have extremely fresh legs or completely dead legs because I'd miss some key sessions, make up for it on a few big days then suffer through the next few with no life or motivation. Sound familiar? I got away with a good race at Oceanside but ultimately the fitness dwindled.  I think when you know what you are doing, there's always someone out there that knows more - which is a big reason why even the big horses in triathlon have coaches too. Just in the three weeks I've been working with Flanny I've seen huge gains in consistency which is leading to quick fitness gains and I'm ITCHING to race.

Last week I entered my first swim meet. It was a US Masters meet in Mission Viejo and the masters group I swim with had a few that were going - so I decided to jump in. If I'm not racing any triathlons right now at least I can jump into a swim meet to satisfy my competitive desires! My tweet after my race kind of sums up how I felt about the day: Today I went to a swim meet just looking for a good workout and left with an overwhelming desire to get faster in the water.

Thanks Jeremy for the pic!

I had so much fun. It actually reminded me a lot of a track meet. Check in, seeded waves, warm up in the warm up pool (track), announcer calling out your name and most of all - accurately measured results. In other words no annoying comments about why your 10k time was too fast because it was short .12 miles or that the current is why the swim was so fast or the climbing on the bike was only 2000ft not 5000ft...oy. In my case, I swam 1500 meters (LCM) and not a meter shorter or longer. Here were my splits:

500: 8:10
1000: 8:08
1500: 8:06
Total time: 24:24, 2nd AG (out of 2 haha)

So for us 'emerican's that's 1:29/100 yd pace on some pretty tired legs as I put in a solid track workout Friday night and backed it up with a 75 mile ride with some HIM intervals the next morning. This was a good confidence booster that my 30:00 at Oceanside was not a fluke and that I'm capable of breaking 30 - especially with fresh legs, a wetsuit and drafting in the mix. However, the biggest take away from the whole race was the fire it lit inside of me. It made me really want to become a student of swimming. I've always just kind of went with the flow by going to masters and getting the work in, but now I'm on a mission to make swimming a weapon instead of my weakness.

Amy and the kids came with me and it was so cool to here them cheer me on every 50 meters. Afterwards we hung out at the beach and enjoyed the day as a family. I can't wait to incorporate more swimming meets in the future to keep feeding that fire. Next up is SDIT on June 30th. Until then it's all about keeping the head down and staying consistent.

Oh ya, does anyone have a cheap power meter they want to sell me? Hit me up on FB or twitter! I really need to start training with power...

Thanks Heather for counting with my kiddos!

Kids knocked out after a long day! 

Already summer here!

Padres + great seats + Ballast Point = good day!
For the record I did NOT quit drinking! I just quit drinking
alone or just with Amy. Official social drinker only haha

More Padre fun with my sister and friends

And plenty of work...