With less than two weeks to go before the Lavaman Triathlon, Adam answers some FAQ about the race, his training and lessons learned along the way.
- How has the road to Lavaman been different than your first triathlon?
They’ve been two completely different experiences. Bluewater was my first tri and my first major fundraising effort. My friends and family responded so generously to my calls for support that I met my fundraising goal of $2,200 pretty quickly, without much stress. Most of my efforts focused on training, but even that was a bit scattered since it was my first go-round.For Lavaman I’ve developed a steadier training routine and I feel like a stronger and smarter triathlete. I swim more efficiently and ride and run more strategically. The biggest difference has been how much more time and energy I’ve spent on fundraising and getting the word out about Tri for Les. Not only did I have to raise twice as much money this time, but I had just asked all my friends and family to chip in for Bluewater a few months prior. So I really wanted to add some fun incentives for people to participate and I knew that I’d have to get creative.
- What’s been the biggest challenge so far?
Time. Over the past five months most days have been packed to the brim with work, training and fundraising. There just aren’t enough hours in the day to do it all and learning how to manage my time and not go completely insane has been a major challenge. For the first few months I had trouble sleeping (bad night sweats) from anxiety over the fundraising goal hanging over my head.But thinking about how many people benefit from that money helped keep me going. I found ways to stay somewhat balanced by incorporating some other passions into this experience. This channeled that anxiety into fuel. Fuel to spend hours tinkering with triforles.com. Fuel to design my first t-shirt. Fuel to play with video. Fuel to get creative. Sometimes pressure, deadlines and weight make you perform your best.
- What advice would you give to other triathletes?
- Have fun. If you don’t, it will suck. (This applies to anyone, anywhere.)
- Don’t beat yourself up for taking a day off (if you need it).
- Learn Total Immersion Swimming. Cooperate with gravity. Glide easily – extended in a fuselage position – through the water, rather than working hard to crawl through. (Easier said than done.)
- Keeping a steady cadence when pedaling. Let the inclines come to you and shift gears strategically. Don’t take breaks when drinking water or fueling. Only rest when the race is over.
- Don’t run in Vibram Five Fingers at night. (I stepped on a big rock one time and it hurt.)
- You can’t say “thank you” too many times.
- Are you ready?
(Laughs) - What’ll your time be?
2:50:00 (A personal record)