Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens

For spring break, Brianne and I traveled to sunny California for a change of scenery. It seemed simple but there were only two things we had on our agenda for the whole week, parasailing on Sunday and train outside in the sun. That was it. Well, as soon as Friday rolled around we shot out of Logan, UT as fast as we could towards St. George. This little town in extreme southwest Utah was beautiful and warm situated on the very edge of the Mojave Desert. The following morning Brianne and I found a perfect little running/cycling path right by the Virgin River and got in a good solid hour of running with a nice 20 minute tempo thrown in. Then it was time to pack it up and drive to Los Angeles. And that concludes my enjoyable outside training for the week unfortunately. And we hadn't even made it to California.

Los Angeles is big. It's crowded. Everyone is in a hurry and the cost of living is through the roof! As soon as we arrived in LA I had to absolutely force myself to go for my shake out 30 minute jog. To avoid getting lost I just ran out and back stopping about every 2 minutes to cross a busy street or wait for cars to back up. I realized very quickly LA is not the best place to train for triathlons. I did however, enjoy the new exotic plants and warm(ish) sunny(ish) weather.

One of the highlights of LA was visiting the Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens. I have heard about these gardens for a long time and have been itching to visit them if given the chance. Well, now was my chance and boy oh boy, they did not disappoint. Coming from a cold temperate climate, the gardens were loaded with tropicals from around the world that I've only seen and read about in books. These were likely the most impressive gardens I've ever visited... and I've visited many!

Golden Barrel cacti (Echinocactus grusonii) right center, Silver Torch cacti (Cleistocactus strausii) left center, Mammillaria geminispina bottom center, and many other cacti species.

A pathway leading through the spectacular mass planting of Golden Barrel cacti (Echinocactus grusonii). Many of them are over 75 years old!

Vatricania (Espostoa) guentheria on the left and some other candle like cacti to the right.

Brianne admiring the largest Pony Tail Palm (Beaucarnea recurvata) ether of us have seen.

A Dragon Tree (Dracaena draco) among a smorgasbord of other desert succulents.

This is an Ombu Tree (Phytolacca dioica) from Argentina. "They are usually scattered many miles apart and are often the only trees to be seen. The native cowboys have long used them as shelters and landmarks under the seasonally dry conditions. In habitat, ombu trees form a massive base that stores water for use during drought periods. This ombu tree was planted here in 1914."

A crown of thorns shrub (Euphorbia milii var. vulcanii). Prickly!

Not sure what this one was but it's pretty.

I'll never get over how impressive the mass planting of Golden Barrel cacti (Echinocactus grusonii) were.

I always thought the Joshua Tree was the largest species of yucca but there are many other equally large species in the garden.

This is the Creeping Devil cactus (Stenocereus eruca). They look like big spiny caterpillars.

It was very nice to see Brianne's friends in LA and we were both very grateful for their hospitality. However, we both decided that we didn't ever need to go back to LA. Onward we made our way to Davis California to see the campus and the arboretum in the hopes that I may get the great job I have applied for there. If you have never been to Davis you may be like me and think that it would resemble any of the other stereotypical California town with over sized houses, speeding cars, and image obsession but it was not like that one bit. Davis was rated the number four cycling friendly city in the USA and it was easy to see why. Low speed limits, tree lined streets, small houses, large yards, a warm Mediterranean climate, and a history rich in agriculture. Yep, I could live in Davis California no problem. Please oh please I want the UC Davis Arboretum position...

From Davis, Brianne and I slowly made our way over the Donner Pass. And I emphasize slowly! It was snowing harder than I had ever seen it snow. The mountains had already gotten something like four feet of snow in the last two days with an additional two plus feet expected that day! We were forced to buy chains other wise the pass was a no-go. We then sat in traffic for hours and my bladder proceeded to fill to the point of bursting. Nothing like being stuck in traffic and having to pee. Finally we got over that God-awful pass and made our way to Elko, NV (ie. the middle of nowhere). In the morning we were greeted to five inches of snow! So much for this sunny California training vacation. By the time we finally arrived in Logan, UT all the snow was gone and it was a balmy warm spring day. It was the best weather we had seen all week! $%@!!

And that concludes Brianne and Adam's Spring Break 2012.

Back to Utah

So, after much debate and thought I ended up driving home for three weeks to see my mom and dad (and the dogs) and get some good quality job searching in. I did manage to find many amazing jobs but so far... nothing... still. People have been telling me that is okay, now I can focus 100% on triathlon and really see where it goes. Unfortunately for them, I am not the sort of person that can train and then sit around at home twiddling my thumbs waiting for the next workout. Besides, how do you pay the bills? Some die-hard triathletes might find it crazy but triathlon is not my life. I like to do and participate in other stuff too, even if the majority of my blog is filled with tri-jargon.

Anyway, I went to Spokane and enjoyed feeling fast again due in part to the altitude drop. Now I'm back in Utah sucking wind on my tempo runs and hard swims trying to get acclimated again. Also, my new coach Mathieu O'Halloran, is really working well for me. I don't have to think about my training anymore, I just do it. Having Matt monitor workouts and progress sure takes a lot of pressure off. In addition, having an expert to consult with has helped me avoid doing dumb or unnecessary stuff. Training for three sports is tiring and hard. We Americans have much to learn about this concept that more is not always better. No need to do more than you have to. At least not now in February.

In one last note, last weekend Brianne did her first swim meet in almost five years! I was very proud of her, especially for taking on the 500 yd free with like a week of training! I am excited to see her progress and look forward to many more good times sitting together on the pool deck. So that's it from Utah, happy training.

Brianne in the 100 breast.

A Quick Update

The job hunt is still underway and although I have heard back from a few great places, nothing yet. I'm also currently back in Spokane visiting my mom and dad, seeing the sights for a few weeks, and getting some good quality job searching in. Then it's back to Utah to continue with training and the job hunt.

I'm also happy to report that the training is going very well. I'm working on my general conditioning and base right now but we will, of course, build on that over time. It's a long season and I'd like to enjoy all of it this go around.

So I'll end there. Short and sweet. And also, the days are getting longer.

Goals

Things are going to be different this year. I have thought long and hard about both my past and future and I have decided I can not do it alone anymore. Since I first started triathlon training I have been flying solo. Sure I swam with Masters swimming and rode with some bike buddies occasionally but I have, for the most part, just been winging it with my training. My whole philosophy and approach to training, up until now, has been taking tips and advice from magazines, my friends, online articles, blogs, stories, and even my mom and dad. What resulted was a big old jumbled up messy pile of sporadic results and broken spirits. I have finally enlisted the help of a professional coach to keep this from happening again and to see where we can get with consistent and intelligent training. So, without further a due, here are my goals for 2012:

Life 2012 Goals:

• Have more compassion and patience for those around me
• Have a more positive attitude
• Live in the moment
• Give Brianne at least 24 kisses a day
• Be more confident
• Take more pictures
• Start drawing again
• Find a more permanent job
• Find a good group of friends

Triathlon 2012 Goals:

• Win the amateur division at a 70.3, Rev3, or other large international half-iron event
• Place as one of the top 10 amateurs for the 70.3 World Championships
• Complete 3 cycling races
• Break one hour for a 25 mi TT
• Improve my run to where it should potentially be:
• Break 16:30 for 5k
• Break 34:00 for 10k
• Break 1:14 for half marathon

• Complete at least 2 of the three times at a half-iron triathlon:
• Swim 27:00
• Bike 2:15
• Run 1:15

• HAVE FUN, meet new people, see the sights, and enjoy the journey!

December

Sometimes I don't want to train. Then for a day, I enjoy doing things again. I feel motivated to get up early and go to masters swimming. Then, three days later I can't even seem to get out the door, even in the middle of a pleasant afternoon. I am so hard on myself that my lack of motivation seems to only make things worse. I haven't been to a doctor for a while but I'm fairly sure I suffer from seasonal affective disorder (SAD). Winters are just plain hard on me, both physically and mentally. All of my hobbies revolve around things that are warm and outside. Plants, cycling, camping, gardens, pumpkins, etc...

This past month I can't count how many times I've meant to get out the door for a run or to the pool for a few laps. On several occasions I even managed to get a few blocks down the road on a run before giving up and heading home. I was coming unraveled mentally. I had even made plans to pack things up and head home to Spokane to get my life back to a stabilized, sustainable, and most importantly, meaningful state.

Since the cold dark weather was really starting to wear me down and I had no other options, I decided to make the best of current circumstances and pay a little visit to the treadmill. My outdoor runs previously were slow and difficult (for me). My best effort to maintain an 8 minute mile pace ruined me. Once on the treadmill I began playing around with my heart rate and discovered that at my current outdoor pace, my HR was like 115. Here was proof that all my feelings of sorrow and self doubt were just in my head. Once I realized that my mental thoughts were dictating my pace over my physical ones, I dialed up the pace and discovered that I could maintain a more encouraging 7 minute mile pace at a more useful HR of 145. Pretty much my long run pace I was at last year!

So now the days are getting longer (finally), training is a little easier (mentally), and I am feeling well and warm at the moment. My swimming with the masters team and coach Emily (and Janet) is paying off, due to correcting my wide pull. My run is feeling smoother and stronger, and I'm ready to get the bike dusted off and humming once again. Yes, here we go, the beginning of the next chapter, isn't this exciting?

Our new rental house! Oh the memories. You bet there will be some plants around come spring.

Spruce is our new warm cuddly friend. He's a one year old Labrador x Husky. His hobbies include tug-of-war, fetch, growling at shadowy figures, and burying bones in the house.

Keeping Myself Busy

Well it looks like winter is finally here to stay in Logan. There is now a substantial amount of snow on the ground and it is gray and cold. Yes I am still waiting to learn what exactly is happening with my life but I have decided to just do the best I can with what I have. Worrying about it too much wont help anything.

Mid last week I did a video tape analysis of my swim stroke and was a bit shocked. Swimming always came fairly natural to me so I figured I had a pretty good stroke. I was a little shocked to see my arms flailing incredibly wide when I pulled like a drunken spider or something. I was engaging the large muscles in my back no doubt (like I felt you were supposed to do) but I was loosing so much power by pulling wide. It's good we discovered this now so I can get things right for my rebirth on triathlon this next season.

So speaking of next season, it is very likely I will have a coach who will keep me on track and in the game. I have contacted a couple so far. I am a little nervous about the financial thing at the moment but in all honesty, as long as I have a roof over my head, food in my belly, a little bit of free time to train, and of course my Brianne, I am happy. Training by myself in the dark can only take you so far (so I've learned the hard way). It is an individual pursuit no doubt but a team effort. No one can do it on their own.

So this post has taken up a little time thankfully. I am feeling a bit more motivated after all of that so I think I will head off to the the pool and practice my drills. And one last thing before I go, I wish to give a shout out of luck to my two Jeremy friends (Cooper and Harwood) next week at Ironman Arizona. I know you will have a great day!

The Twilight Zone

Things have been interesting. Currently I am in that foggy twilight zone found between the chapters of my life. The job search is still going on. I have luckily heard back from a great vegetable and poinsettia nursery in Nipomo, California but it has been over a week since we last spoke and I am getting nervous. I really hope I didn't blow it on the phone interview. I know I am fully qualified and could do an amazing job for them. The only thing I am lacking is that little thing called experience. It is rather frustrating, you can't get a job these days without experience, and you can't get experience without a job. It is like a closed inside circuit. I suppose I could volunteer but then how do you pay the bills? Besides I have experience anyway, maybe it's not job experience but it's experience just the same. Perhaps I should start my own business. Who knows, maybe there is a market for old bikes draped in moss or something. In all, I am just lucky I still have Brianne and my parents to lean on in these hard times. But it is not that great, deep down it would be nice to be financially dependent.

Triathlon is hot on my mind too. I want to continue with my hobby but it is becoming more and more expensive. I need a trainer, Garmin, heart rate monitor, warm clothes, new shoes, etc... To keep improving and stay on track. Many people have asked me why I am not sponsored yet. It is good question but I always make up excuses like: I am not fast enough, I am not a professional, I don't want the extra pressure, I just do it for fun, or worst of all, sponsors will contact me if they want. This kind of thinking, I realize, needs to stop. I am fully capable of attracting and representing sponsors well. And to toot my own horn, I feel am able to compete well with the best of them (if I can just stay consistent and on track for more than three weeks).

So I wonder what will happen with my life; with Brianne's life? There are so many scenarios that can take shape. Will she go to graduate school here in Logan, UT? Will I get the job in Nipomo, CA? What happens if both happen? What happens if neither happen? Please, someone just let us know what is happening.