Pursuing Excellence, Whole Hearted

 1. Intro

As I sit here, in the cold of December with an actual case of the actual FLU, I can tell you I'm still incredibly grateful and incredibly proud for the effort and manor in which I competed this year. We'll get to the results, but I have embarked on a new journey, one that has a mental sphere of influence beyond just triathlons or competition. I've enjoyed this year more than any previously not just because of the joy of the competition, but the joy in sharing my sport. I've made real friendships and have tried to share my love of the sport and knowledge and wisdom (if there is any). As I look back, I can truly say that I have embraced my wife's mantra of "make friends, have fun".

I guess if you read this Inner Excellence book enough, it starts to rub off on you ;)

I have, to the best of my ability, adopted the mentality of "living my dream" and not being so caught up in my goals. Goals are things you can't really control (not completely). This is completely obvious when a friend finishes way ahead of you in a time trial format race just to learn that you beat THEM by 1 second. The same thing happened TO me in my last race in Key West. It's a function of who shows up really. I can pick out 100 triathletes just in my age group that I bet I could lose to on any given day. So where does that leave goal setting? Does it really matter?

Well, if I were just goal driven, 2025 would be absolutely impossible to beat. I was healthy the whole year (got the flu a week after my last race fwiw). My equipment was completely on point. I had very few missteps (sorry about the penalty in Wilmington everybody). I competed to win every time but also realized winning wasn't what was driving it. I like the lifestyle. "Living the dream". I hope to remain healthy and do that in 2026.

Ok, but let's look back and document this bananas year I had. I'm convinced everything I'm about to say overstates the year I had, but its a kick to look back.

2. Year in Review

1. All American Status: My final USAT Score for 2025 will be 109.404. That is good enough right now to be ranked 4th in the country for my age group. So this will be a check 
2. Win NCTS For AG. My total NCTS Score ended the year at 37,624. That's about 2k more points than last year. And also got me #1 overall for NCTS, all age group/advanced males. 
3. Improve my overall USAT Final Score. I went from 95.676 to 109.404. I also improved my score in every USAT sanctioned race from previous years (the only exception was Wilmington where I got a 2 min penalty. If i didn't get the penalty, I would have beat my old score for that race as well. And that was with the same bike fwiw). 
4. Be the highest ranking triathlete in my age group in the state. I think I was the highest ranking NC athlete over the age of 41 last time I checked as well fwiw. 

Stretch goals added half way through:

1. >100 USAT Score 
2. Win NCTS OA 
3. Improve on every race 
4. Top 3 ranked in country  (almost, likely 4th)
5. Podium PR 
6. Avg Place 3 

<Update> I need to fit in one more thing here. This one wasn't even a goal (or stretch goal) I had. On January 3rd, I got word that I was the overall winner for the Trivium Multisport Series. This series has always been "the other" big triathlon series in North Carolina and one that I would fit in when I could. I never once checked my stats or where I was in their rankings. To win the OVERALL for this against the true badasses that show up for these all the time was the shock of the season for me. Because of this win, I get free races for life with them. Wow. Also, I can claim that I was the OVERALL Series award winner for BOTH Setup events AND Trivium. Truly grateful for that.

The Details:

1. 25 Triathlons, 1 Duathlon completed in 2025 (26 multi sport races):
• 23 AG Div Wins
• 22 AG Overall Wins
• 26 Top Ten OA Finishes. Lowest place was 8th (Wilmington because of penalty, would have been 5th)
• Podiums
• 7 Outright wins (including my first chase down win). Remember this?
• 4 2nd places
• 3 3rd places
• 5 4th places (fwiw)
• My average (and median) place for the year (including my 8th place in Wilmington) was 3rd
2. Highlights for me:
• First race of the year felt like a let down. I mentally couldn't compete with top 2 guys and I ended up settling for 3rd. My very next race I had my first ever chase down win. The only difference was between my ears.
• Pinehurst felt like my best race of the year. My legs felt fresh, I had gas in the tank at the end, my first 100+ score.
• Lake Norman: I always do bad in that race (I thought). I probably put my best performance together that day on a VERY difficult course. 
• It was great to finally fit Badin Lake in again after like 15 years.
• I tried 2 races in the same week. It was WAY hard.
• I didn't bring a wetsuit to a race in August and it cost me. I still had a good attitude that day though.
• Outer Banks is a great race. I really like that one. Some races are great just to be there. This is one. Extraordinary performance is a subset of extraordinary experience.
• Cocoa Tri was a great win for me, tough competitors, kept my composure.
• Key West returned! Maybe stayed too long. Don't need to see the Durt Bags that much. One night is plenty.

3. What's next?

This is always a question that bugs me. And I think I know why. Because I started to suspect that I could hunt and peck races to make me look better than i am. I didn't necessarily do that on purpose in 2025, but I could easily see myself doing that in 2026. I'm not going to do that. 

So here's what's next: I'm going to focus on living my dream and see where it takes me. I'm not going to try to beat my number of podiums. I'm not going to try to beat my USAT scores. I think I could do that and it would limit me. I wouldn't branch out, take chance, enjoy this stuff. If I just did VERY early and VERY late triathlons, I could podium ALL of them and maybe win most of them, especially the ones that I know and that do not necessarily draw the same level of competition. So if in one year I say "I had more podiums, a higher percentage of them, did less and was choosier with races", that would sacrifice why i actually do this. That would sacrifice living my dream. AND my dream is to race every weekend and feel the cadence of that. It's not a lifestyle if you do it once a month 3 months a year. I'm in this for the mental, physical, spiritual benefits. Hell, I didn't even save any of my first place trophies either! I stopped wanting my 1st place AG awards the same way I stopped wanting my participation medals. Who cares? Not me. It's always fun to appreciate the day in the moment and then move on to what's next. This is already who I am. If I did something different, it just wouldn't be me.

SO, what does that mean? It means, I'm going to try to continue to have the American Dream - to PURSUE happiness. The journey and the effort is what I'll celebrate. I'll be doing the now draft legal race in Sarasota. It will be a completely different race. Good. New challenge. 

One more thing. Towards the end of the season, I started to lose this mentality a bit. I started to think about the wins. I didn't like it. It didn't change my results. It didn't make me happier. It just made me appreciate less. Whenever I get back to that, I need to re-evaluate and change my attitude. I'll always compete to win. But I need to remember, the journey and the pursuit is where my pleasure is. 

<Update to remember>
The Sarasota race was great fun. I saw friends and was shocked to hear that the book I recommended to one of my competitors was something he was reading. It absolutely made my day. Felt like I competed hard, didn't come close to winning. Got 5th. I drove all the way back to my airbnb singing this song. I used to think longer distances made me happier. They don't, I'm just as happy. I used to think winning a race made me happy. It doesn't, I'm just as happy if I feel like I competed at a high level. I want to be Neo at the END of the Matrix. I feel like that is when I'm most powerful. And I'm feeling....good.

Here We Are. Fall.

 

Ugh so the regular season is officially over now. I'm so sad that another year is in the books and its already fall. Except, I do really love fall. The only problem is it signals another triathlon year has come and gone.

Looking back at 2025, it's been an absolutely amazing year. I set a series of goals and I have blown right through them. 

With no issue at all, I've achieved all 4 of my original goals for 2025. I still have some hope to hit all my new/stretch goals as well. We'll see. I'll comment on that more in my end of year analysis.

I really just wanted to check in with how I'm feeling about the year. I feel incredibly grateful for my family allowing me to race as much as I have. I feel massively grateful for not having injuries or illnesses that would have kept me from competing. I'm more than a little apprehensive about future goals since I worry I truly peaked this year. I may be able to tighten some screws but the gains I saw this year have moved me up to next level. Given my age and the amount I can train, I'm really facing the first year (2026) where it will be VERY difficult to improve. But enough of that thinking for now, we're still in 2025.

I am beyond grateful for 2 more races this year. And I do plan on hitting the ground running with races in January, February, March to keep the streak alive. 

So all in all, felling very grateful, thankful of an amazing ride/journey in 2025. And super excited for the opportunity to compete and stay healthy in 2026. More on results in my next post. My journey to being whole hearted and pursing excellence continues. This journey permeates all parts of my life, even beyond sport. Someday maybe I'll look back at this journey and ponder what it was all about and what I achieved. In the mean time, I'm in the moment with gratitude and trying to focus on what I can do to improve.

Already More Than Half Way Through...

Ugh I hate that we are already more than half way through this season. But boy it's been a fun one so far...

I never have read a "sports psychology" book before but was really interested in this book when I heard A.J. Brown was reading it on the Eagles sidelines between plays, I thought "Hmm, good enough for him, maybe I'll give it a try". 

It's been amazing frankly. It's changed my entire viewpoint on competition and it has given a language for why I never stick around for awards. If you haven't read it, it's a great read. 

I think it's made me a better triathlete AND a better competitor. And by better, I mean someone who truly values everyone who comes out for a race. It's also shifted my mentality to be less results driven and focusing on enjoying the ride.

But to my wife's chagrin, I still do care about how things turn out. I mean, it doesn't say to not set goals or anything. The results are just feedback. And so far this year, the feedback has been really good.

Here are the things I changed coming into this season in order of impact from what I can tell:

1. Training Cadence: If you train more, you do better. ;) This year, I swim 5-6 days a week without fail. This has helped tremendously. Not just with the swim (which it has obviously) but also my general conditioning. I also have made a commitment to hitting the bike 3 times. I've been playing with running 3 times too (I have really reduced distance to a ridiculous level though to keep my right knee happy). 

2. Equipment: When I bought my new bike, this allowed me to free up my old Cervelo to be used as a training bike. I bought a  Garmin TacX Neo 2T and this has changed my bike training. Before, I'd go out and ride on gravel and it was fun. But it never seemed to translate no matter how hard I went. By locking in on my indoor trainer, I have hyper focused my bike form and cadence to be maybe 80-90% of race pace. I can do that because of the built in power meters on my new bike and the TacX so I always know how had I go. Now when I ride indoors or at races, I always look at Watts/kg 3 second average. I don't even look at speed. I only get that info AFTER I race.

My new bike has definitely given me some gains. It's kind of hard to measure because I also made so many other changes at the same time. I do love knowing that I have the fastest bike/wheels/aero helmet that can be purchased so really if I'm not doing well it's just me :)

Much less impact but worth mentioning is I have invested in quality race goggles and haven't had any fogging issues which I know keeps me more straight.

3. Race Approach: I always loved to race. I do love the "lone gunman" feeling of doing all this alone on my own. Training for instance is all just me. And that's the way I still like it. 

I have to admit though after reading the book, I love races even more and it's BECAUSE of the relationships. The friendships I've made in the last few years has really made it even more fun. Who else knows the trials and tribulations that we endure than these other old dudes doing the same thing I'm doing?! It's been amazing.

So how is it going? Well, if you'll recall I decided I would abandon the SCTS series and (with the exception of my beloved Tri the Rabbit) it's been wonderful not trekking down to a very far away place every other weekend. Those races (except for the aforementioned Rabbit) were really not my favorite anyway. I've reconnected with some old triathlons I did many years ago and have done all the close ones. Let's check in with the goals:

1. All American Status: Well as I type this, my current rank score is 108.305 (!) Frankly, this is a ridiculous score. I had a very legitimate 99.8 last week, but got awarded a 129.887 for competing in a new Super Sprint. Truth be told, I wanted to do the longer tri option that day but I did a Wed night race that week and my legs were dead. Either way, whether my 99.8 or the 108.3, achieving this goal was in the bag.

2. Win the NCTS for AG: There have been 9 races so far and there are 5 left (we are now enduring the long summertime where they inexplicably have no races for me to consume - how dare they!). As it stands now I have a best of 4 races total of 36,815 (I competed in 6 of the 9 so far...the next highest number of races so far is 4 - I'm putting Bill's kids through college.). Ok, so nobody really has come close to my raw number so I'll do an average. Assuming I don't do any better, I'll end the year with a 9203.75 average. The guy currently in second has a 8908 average. So that looks pretty wrapped up (unless the other guy scores a 10,091 or chips away at it in other races). In fact, I have the highest average of anyone in the Age Group category and 142 and 119 points away from the top 2 Advanced males. 

3. Improve my overall USAT Final Score: Last year I had a 95.676 and in 2023 had my previous best at 98.480. So that's already done. In fact, this year I have outperformed every single race I did last year from a USAT Score perspective (10 races). I mean, these scores are a bunch of bull but I'll take it. Doing it again next year... that will be the real challenge given how much focus and effort I've put into this year. That kind of thinking though is what burns people out...

4. Be the highest ranked triathlete for my AG in NC: Well, if my 108 stands, that looks pretty tough to beat... Had a shot before that too. But these 3 race folks who train and train and just do a race every 4 months? Who knows...

This is NOT something I want to be so results oriented with since it really doesn't mean anything other than who did or did not show up, but fwiw, I have 7 podiums this year so far with 3 wins (counting the duathlon win I had in February), 2 2nds, and 2 3rds. My average place this year is 3.57 (but again, not something I want to dwell on since its beyond my control and may be more a statement of folks not coming out to the same races as me, etc). But my record of 9 podiums from last year looks like it may be well within reach. Possible new stretch goal, have most podiums in a year ever. I'll go ahead and say I should include the duathlon win in the results since its multisport (as opposed to running races I've won in the past and haven't included). Need to make a call on that I think. 

If I ended (or still somehow do end up) with a 99.8 or whatever for a final score, I obviously would have craved a 100+ overall score. If things stand where they are, this stretch goal is already then achieved.

Other than continuing to try to best my old USAT scores for each race, I'm not sure what else I have for stretch goals... I'll keep thinking.

Looking Back, Looking Ahead

 A whole lot to catch up on since my last post! 

1. Spain! 

Ok, learned a lesson here. It was an amazing trip full of great family moments. But I'd have to admit it felt like a rehash of last year in Pontevedra. And the venue was pretty much as dull as I was expecting. Rather than an ancient European city (Pontevedra), it was a beach town that looked more like Myrtle Beach than anything. I also kind of almost died on the swim so that wasn't fun. The story there was just there was tons of people, HUGE waves, and some current to contend with. And if I was totally honest, my heart wasn't as into it as last year. Bike was real good, run was decent so I did fine, but nothing to really linger on. "Ok Adam cry me a river about your multi week Spanish vacation". I know I know. But I think I'm done with the high pressure World Championship venues for a while. I had a goal for 2024, I qualified, I competed, moving on. 2023 will be the magical World Championship we all want to remember. Michael Jordan as a Bull not a Wizard.

2. Year in Review: 

Despite the Spanish race, it was an amazing year. 2024. Pretty convincingly the greatest athletic year I've had to date. Let's make the call for the 2024 goals:

A) Travel as much as possible:

Jeebus this was a check. Sure they cancelled the Key West at the end of the year but I was still able to race in:

1. Florida
2. Cuba(!)
3. North Carolina
4. Virginia
5. South Carolina
6. Texas
7. Tennessee
8. Spain
9. Arizona

B) Win NCTS for Age Group:

 Done! Had the 5th most points overall (no one in same age range)

C) Win SCTS for Age Group: 

Done! Had the 8th most points overall (no one in same age range)

D) Get USAT All American Status:

They don't close the books until February but I can say done!

E) Qualify for 2025: 

Not sure how to score this one. I guess a miss. I realized half way through year that not only was my family burned out on these mega trips, nobody had any interested in Australia. So I skipped Omaha. If there is a miss here, I didn't recognize what a death march this would become.

F)<STRETCH> #1 Ranking for Triathlon in my AG in NC:

In the category of "better to be lucky than good", it looks like (not official until February) I'm going to end up as the top ranked triathlete in my age group in the state of North Carolina. There are some better guys out there but just didn't do the minimum 3 races. But let me make my case (to myself) that I should be in the conversation regardless:

1. Within those 9 places above I traveled, I managed to do 30 triathlons in 2024. I also raced on Thanksgiving which is the tradition and managed to squeak out a win at the Reindeer Romp 5k in Cary for the second year in a row. 
2. How did I do in these 30 triathlons?
• 27 1st Place AG Division finishes
• 25 1st Place AG Overall finishes
• 25 Top Ten Overall finishes. FWIW, the race in Spain was never going to be a top 10 OA and another race I did had the top collegiate triathletes in the nation, so...
• Improved my USAT score in 10 of 14 races I repeated year over year. Of the 4 I didn't improve, 3 were before I made an early season training adjustment. The other one (and actually one of the 3 previously mentioned) had some shenanigans. Like, the swim was much further, so our times were worse, so I ended up having a lower score. This is all voodoo but I pay attention to it.
• 9 Podiums
• 2 Outright wins
• 4 2nd places
• 3 3rd Places
• Highlight Races:
• 1st AG Overall in Cuba, stood on same podium that Gwen Jorgenson was on minutes earlier at the Hotel Nationale in front of peacocks. PEACOCKS!
• 1st Overall Master at the Cap Tex in Austin (massively huge race)
• 1st AG at NC State Championship
• 6th OA at YMCA Wilmington (massively huge race)
• 3rd American in AG at World Championships
• Won a Toy Pineapple for winning Sprint of the Konas in TN and saw lions and an elephant en route to winning Miami Man.

3. Now the Hell What:

Yeah. Still working on it to be honest. Some thoughts...

First, the idea of traveling to South Carolina to win a South Carolina prize makes less and less sense. This may be surprising but, I don't like in South Carolina. I'm actually pretty freakin far from these races. And I was (not kidding) literally passing closer races on my way to these races. So I'm done with the SCTS series. I may pick up a race if I happen to be in Charlotte, but that got old almost immediately. 

Second, I probably competed in the most races in America (or close to it). I can't help but feel like my USAT scores are not being properly calculated as a result. For instance, first race of the year last year, got second, felt like I had a crap swim, got a 95. Race 19 of the year, after racing every week, training hard got second again, felt really strong. Got a 92. I've also noticed that certain races I do, tend to produce better scores than others.

Third, now that I have actually (seemingly) achieved top ranking in state, I really can't make it a stretch goal anymore.

4. Here are my 1st Draft 2025 Goals...

1. All American Status: Gunning for 3 years in a row here...
2. Win NCTS for AG: Planning on doing a lot of these, going to go for my 4th in a row (3rd in this AG)
3. Improve my overall USAT Final Score: Again, there be shenanigans afoot. But I need some measure to show progress and this is easiest. I could mention here that I want to improve year over year again but that is implied within this. Also, I could mention that I may try to hunt and find high score races. But again, redundant to the above goal. 
4. Fuck me, be the highest ranking triathlete in my age group in the state again