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Breakthrough Triathlon Training has three distinct sections. The first section, “Attitude and Philosophy” discusses the power of cultivating a pure motivation and a healthy, balanced approach to the sport. Kearns will share stories from his personal experience as a top professional triathlete, anecdotes from top endurance athletes and practical steps to break free of the obsessive/compulsive approach that is so common among amateur triathletes.

The second section, “Training Principles and Strategy”, discusses actual training methods and strategies – aerobic base building, periodization, heart rate guidelines and the guiding principle of stress and rest for improvement. Other sections will dispel common triathlon myths about speed work, strength training, acclimatization and training for the challenge of swimming.

The third section, “Developing the Mind of a Champion” discusses the mental and psychological factors that generate peak performance and distinguish the champion athletes from those at a lower level. Extensive, never-before-published commentary from a 1:1 interview with Lance Armstrong will bolster the theories presented about how to develop the mentality of a champion.

Kearns will uncover the mysterious shroud that surrounds the concept of being "in the zone" as an athlete, where peak performance is natural and effortless. Explaining and quantifying these "zone" factors will help the reader develop the skills and the mindset to enter the Zone at will and avoid the mistakes that often hinder one's best efforts at peak performance.

Collectively, the book gives a triathlete all the tools he needs to go beyond the mere mechanics of how to train and race (the focus of nearly all triathlon books) into an integrative and holistic approach to the sport. This "Breakthrough" will enable athletes to effectively balance the pursuit of triathlon goals with a happy, healthy, busy lifestyle off the race course.

An enlightened new approach to the challenge of triathlon training in hectic modern life, by Brad Kearns.

Book Excerpts

Don't Let Nobody Steal Your Joy
Fear and Consumerism
Mental Toughest is for Wimps

Don't Let Nobody Steal Your Joy

I never obsessed about or even verbalized the time of 2:38, as that could have been self-limiting. We have to be careful attaching too much importance to time goals and results. When you attach your performance to a time or a placing, you run the risk of limiting your potential and enjoyment. If you achieved your goal, maybe you could have gone faster but subconsciously limited yourself because you nailed your goal. If you miss your time goal, you risk artificial and illogical disappointment.

You run a similar risk if you are attached to external recognition. I remember one of my most dramatic races in high school track – a huge upset victory where I passed six guys on the final lap to win a 2-mile race in a new personal record. After the race I went into the stands where my teammates high-fived me and celebrated my victory. When I saw my girlfriend, she said, “Hey, how did you do?”. She was in the bathroom talking to a friend during the latter stages of the race! As you may imagine, it kind of burst my bubble. Nevertheless, it was a valuable opportunity to learn the lesson of foregiveness…I mean the lesson of not attaching your happiness and satisfaction to the eyes of others!

As comedian Martin Lawrence said in one of his movies, “Don’t let nobody steal your joy”. If you are attached to external judgments like time, place or validation from others, you are vulnerable to getting psyched out by opponents, getting discouraged when times or places don’t match expectation and limiting your ultimate potential by the anxiety produced by your mind.

Fear and Consumerism

While most of us entered the sport with a healthy, relaxed approach, a turning point typically occurs in response to competitive stimulus. Once you finish a couple races with encouraging results, your mind begins to whirl with the ‘more is better’ thinking that is epidemic to the American culture. Corporate advertising has fueled the most rabid consumerism in the history of the planet. Our brains have been programmed since childhood to believe that bigger and better equate to happiness – better job, bigger office, bigger car, bigger house, bigger bank account, bigger meal portions at fast food restaurants. Thus, it’s natural to apply the same thinking and behavior to our triathlon career – or anything else that we are doing.

Model and yoga instructor Colleen Saidman said, “As a model, your thrown into a completely materialistic world, where the answers are ‘bigger, better and more’. But the real answers are quieter and subtler.” Try replacing ‘model’ with ‘triathlete’ and reflecting on the quote. As a professional competing for my groceries and house payment, it’s a challenge to internalize this message. It’s hard to appreciate the quiet, subtle lessons when I’m getting my butt kicked. I prefer to learn the loud, dramatic lessons of victory! However, upon reflection over my completed career, I realize a couple important things:

I learned more profound and lasting lessons in defeat than in victory
When my motivation was pure, I was able to perform at my peak

This ‘pure motivation’ concept is little understood by the athletic world and certainly not the material world. The saying, ‘that which you want most becomes the most difficult to obtain’ often becomes relevant. When my motivations would drift away from pure towards impure – focused on money, media coverage, beating other athletes, etc. – it caused me to make bad decisions.

Often I forced my body to do workouts or improve at a rate faster than was naturally meant to be. Or I would decide where to race based on financial incentive rather than the ideal where and when to deliver peak performance. In a sport where being off 2% from peak means the difference between winning a large amount of money or breaking even in 6th place, an impure motivation was devastating.

It’s quite a bit more difficult for the triathlete to proceed along this path than for someone in a yoga class. The sport is grueling, highly competitive and results are graphic and dramatic. There is tremendous momentum from peers and the outside world to achieve and be recognized for tangible results. A pure motivation can frequently get snuffed out as a result.

A Catch-22 occurs because you can’t expect to just float to the top on a fun cloud in any competitive arena. I was intensely competitive and extremely driven to achieve my athletic goals, or I would not have achieved them. However, one must find a balance and strive to not become attached to results. It’s okay to strive mightily for victory, but you have to walk away and forget about it after the race is over.

Mental Toughness is for Wimps

It seems that most triathletes think the key to success is to follow a consistent training schedule, have the best equipment and develop the mystical “mental toughness” skills that enable them to persevere when things get difficult in workouts or races.

Mental toughness and confidence are things that fall into place naturally. You can’t buy them or rub them on like a temporary tattoo. They should not warrant the consideration that most triathletes pay to it. Sure you can exercise a stubborn will out on the lava fields (or any race course that seems like lava fields in the latter stages!) and drag your battered body to the finish line. What’s the big deal? For all but a small percentage of athletes at the back of the pack for whom merely finishing is a true peak performance, finishing a race for the sake of finishing can often become more obsessive than honorable. It could be hard for many readers to agree with this.

In the rat race, someone who takes on the competition, increases market share, brand awareness and profit margin is considered a hero. Fight hard, never give up, be mentally tough and kill your opponents. This stubborn will concept seems to be the main theme of the business world and the self-help motivational books, audio tapes, seminars from today’s leading gurus. Consequently, it also seems to be the main redeeming quality and character lesson from triathlon. This is thanks in no small part to the heavily dramatized TV programs of triathlon and other sports.

It was quite dramatic to see two-time Ironman defending champ Tim DeBoom pass a kidney stone on the run course of the marathon during the 2003 Hawaii Ironman TV program. I guess that tactless close-up shot inside the ambulance makes for good TV, but it is not relevant to his career as a champion athlete. He should be lauded and celebrated for his victories, not his struggles. The same is true for Julie Moss. Her crawl to the finish in the 1982 ironman finish put the sport on the map and is burned in the memory of triathletes everywhere. However, the most powerful memory I choose to have of Julie Moss not her sprawled out on the pavement in Kona, it’s her storming to the turnaround on the run course of the 1989 World Cup Australia tri, on the way to her biggest victory and most amazing run of her career.

While it is powerful and inspiring to see triathletes struggle against the odds and cross the finish line successfully, I don’t think that struggle and suffering should be the central element of your triathlon experience or the triathlon ideal. Most of the people who are driven enough to get themselves into a predicament like running 13 or 26 miles after several hours of swimming and biking don’t really need to hone their stubborn will skills.

This misuse of mental toughness may be a contributing factor to the mediocrity epidemic. Apply mental toughness and a stubborn will to conducting workouts that are intuitively wrong will fatigue you and sabotage your fitness. Applying mental toughness and a stubborn will to struggle to the finish line can often scar you long term. Few will forget Mark Allen in the 1987 Ironman, where his 4-minute lead at mile 22 of the marathon evaporated and he struggled across the finish line 10 minutes behind Dave Scott, looking dangerously exhausted and emaciated. He was suffering from internal bleeding and rushed to the hospital, where he spent several days recovering.

If your compelling purpose in life is to win the Ironman, climb Mt. Everest or make an NFL roster, it is definitely necessary to compromise your health on the path to these goals. Few are inclined play these high risk games. After all, the 5 people that die for every 100 that attempt Mt Everest (*MtEverest.net) is a real buzz kill. If triathlon had a similar mortality rate, would you still be a competitive triathlete? Even the most serious world-class amateur competitor will hopefully agree that athletic pursuits are not worth risking or compromising long-term health.

In the early 80’s, a triathlete acquaintance of mine went to a race in Mexico, where he pushed valiantly to finish an extremely difficult course in steamy tropical conditions. He was overcome by heat stroke at the finish line and hospitalized. While he lived to tell the story and race another day, he sustained permanent damage to his body. In future races where even moderate heat and humidity were present, his cooling system would malfunction and his body would shut down. His finishing the race in Mexico was a brilliant display of mental toughness – deserving of an award. But who wants to receive an award from a hospital bed?

When I asked Lance Armstrong about his mental training/mental preparation for competition, he revealed that he gave this little thought! To Lance, the important thing is to do the physical work on the road and live a life that is congruent with his purpose of winning the Tour de France. If most triathletes were to take notice of this message, they would likely suffer less in the races and perform better. This would allow them to learn the important lessons of competitive excellence and discard the superficial ones – like how to struggle and push on with a stubborn will.

When you train and live correctly, racing becomes less of a suffer-fest and more of a peak performance experience that it ideally should be. This revelation came to me at the very beginning of my endurance athletic career. At the age of 14, on a whim, I entered a local 10k road race. Armed with a handful of 20-minute training jogs, I toed the line and raced flat out for 6.2 miles. While I finished in a respectable time of 38:47, I was shattered by the effort. For most of the day, I was flat on my back suffering from an endless wave of stomach cramps and nausea. This happened after several more races, including during my first year as a high school cross country runner.

As I learned more about running and mixed with some elite athletes, I was astonished to notice that they could race a flat-out 10k and then go for a 3-mile cool down jog within minutes of finishing! I had a similar amount of competitive drive to the elite runners, but my experience of racing involved more pain and suffering of the wrong kind. Only when I escalated my training and commitment to an athletic lifestyle (like not eating a huge breakfast an hour before races!) was I able to approach the sport like an athlete.

Book Reviews

Breakthrough Triathlon Training was great. I opened it up one morning and was immediately hooked. It’s the first triathlon type book that I’ve read completely. The book reiterated some of the Chinese Tao philosophy that I like to keep in mind for daily life. Thanks Brad Kearns for writing this book!
Tim DeBoom - 2x Hawaii Ironman World Triathlon Champion, Lyons, CO

"Breakthrough Triathlon Training has been a joy to read. In my sometimes not so humble opinion, this is the most insightful and informative book written to to date, including Friel's "bible". Your latest work is the most clear, cogent and concise that I have seen. It offers and welcomes the opportunity to individualize a very - as you call it - Type A sport. Breakthrough Triathlon Training is a book to be reviewed many times over."
Tim Allin - Rocklin, CA

Brad Kearns's approach to training has totally changed the way I train. No more hammer sessions on the bike, no more hard "masters" swims, all runs are at an easy to med. pace. I did have my doubts as did my training partners who thought I was a little crazy preaching this new way for me to train. They thought I lost my edge, letting people pass me on the road and not chasing them down and making them suffer. I just let them go and told my bro's "it's only February they will be toast by May...remember last year, that happened to us."

So, with NOT ONE day of speed on the bike and with two weeks off of running because of my calf injury, and the swim has been about 50% drills and only 500 total yards of fast swimming the past 3 months. I went into a sprint triathlon...what was I thinking? No speed work, hell yea I was nervous for the first time in years. For the first time ever I led the swim and exited the water first in the 30-39 male swim wave. Then on the bike put about 2 min. on the nearest 30-39 year old. With about a half mile to go a 30-34 year old was 20 seconds down on me, so I picked it up hard to the finish and beat him by one second. Last year he beat me by an average of 2-4 min. depending on the race. I took 8th OA, and first in age group by over 3 minutes.

I see all the forums of people saying "to race fast, you have to train fast". Actually, training sensibly, balancing stress and rest and aerobic with anaerobic, as Brad Kearns describes in Breakthrough Triathlon Training, is the true answer to peak performance.

Louis Bednar - Orange County, CA

Breakthrough Triathlon Training was fantastic, filled with exciting anecdotes of Kearns’s victories, defeats and lessons he learned along the way. Kearns's re-telling of his back-to-back victories over Scott Molina at the Desert Princess Run-Bike-Run is an adrenaline rush.

The book will make you want to get up off the couch, go out for a run, and start scheduling your next race. Though I have been running my entire life, I learned a great deal from this book regarding the importance of base building, heart rate monitoring, aerobic v. anaerobic exercise and more. It was easy to read, very motivational and very informative. I would recommend (and I have recommended) the book to everyone from novice athletes to weekend warriors to ironman triathletes.
Robert Benun - Santa Monica, CA

Thoroughly enjoyed Breakthrough Triathlon Training. Having returned to Tri after a ten year break having kids, etc. it makes a lot of sense and may well help me keep a better balance than before. The typical obsessive behaviour you note was certainly one of my previous traits and none too popular with my then girlfriend, now wife!
Dominic Brooks - Surrey, England

Brad Kearns has written a great book for busy, working real life people. Lots of people are going to come around and discover a reason, and a rationalization, to get them to follow this incredibly pure message: listen to your body, balance stress and rest and remove that stress of 'dam I missed the workout'. I believe that this is the key to more enjoyment and success of the sport.
Tim Cahill - El Dorado Hills, CA

Count, measure, gizmos- somewhere along the way, many of us feel the adventure of traithlon has been lost. Kearns' book brings it back, he describes some truly magical and memorable racing and training experiences and also moments when everything went completely awry. My favorite part was the list of crazy-assed but insanely fun workout suggestions, including; bike from sun-up to sun-down then call someone to come and pick you up. I agree with the author, triathlon is not supposed to be about workouts and racing, it's about having fun in life, finding yourself and living the adventure to its fullest.
Paul Charteris - Davis, CA

I bought Breakthrough Triathlon Training at a Borders bookshop in Bournemouth, England. It is about the best I have read on the subject. I nearly didn't buy it because I thought, oh just another book on triathlon. I particularly liked your focus on pure motivation and the section on aerobic heart-rate training. I found out the hard way that the misuse of anaerobic training can lead to demoralization and burn-out. I have been involved in triathlon for just over two years. At age 43, some might say that I should have taken up something a little less strenuous but I love this sport. I look forward to taking some of Kearns’s life-affirming beliefs shared in the book and incorporating them into my training.
Adam Dickson - Dorset, England

Brad Kearns has clearly struggled with the major issue facing all endurance athletes: balance. Here he relates how to set goals, train for races big and small, and do it all without sacrificing family, work, or perspective. In fact, he actually makes triathlon sound like an adventure in personal growth rather than a daily grind of swim, bike, and run. Highly recommended for anyone who loves the sport and plans to compete for years to come."
Martin Dugard - Rancho Santa Margarita, CA (Author of Chasing Lance - the 2005 Tour de France and Lance Armstrong's Ride of a Lifetime, The Last Voyage of Columbus, Surviving The Toughest Race on Earth and others. Visit MartinDugard.com for an entertaining blog on endurance sports, global travel and random adventure.

Breakthrough Triathlon Training completely changed the way that I am training for races. The holistic approach to training and competing that Brad Kearns spells out really spoke to me, and I have felt much less stressed about training and feel more effective
when I listen to my body while training and resting.
Dudley Hancox - Bergen County, NJ

I met Brad Kearns toward the end of his triathlon career and was interested in knowing how he was able to stay competitive for so long. Now that he's articulated his balanced, holistic approach in this book, I've come away with a strong sense of not only how he did it, but also how I will be able to incorporate the same attitude and "pure motivation" into my triathlon career.

A must-read for anyone who considers themselves a triathlete and is looking to develop a corresponding healthy lifestyle. I just wish he had published the book sooner!
Mike Llerandi - Ridgewood, NJ (Hawaii Ironman World Championship top-3 age group finisher)

Breakthrough Triathlon Training is about way more than just triathlon training. Brad’s emphasis and clear discussion about keeping things in balance and paying attention to the body often glossed over in many books and magazines. Today, there is so much information thrown at us that it can become paralyzing – ‘do this in off season’, ‘do this if you’re over 50’, ‘do this to get stronger in the hills’, etc.

I like to remind myself, ‘Hey I’m not going to the Olympics, so I need to keep everything in balance.’. It’s fun to have a new bike and new equipment - that makes for a better experience. However, the typical person who is motivated enough to do the sport and stay fit needs to stay focused on the big picture. Brad’s book puts it all into perspective. It’s easy to say you want balance, but more difficult to dice up your life to make everything work. One tiny thing can throw you out of balance – whether it’s work, or family issues compromising your training. Or, qualifying for Hawaii and sending the rest of your life out of balance. Breakthrough Triathlon Training serves as a guide to make everything work and get the most out of your triathlon – both in enjoyment and in performance.

Diane Malven-Pang
Olympic Valley, CA (Ironman Canada Finisher)

Breakthrough Triathlon Training is one of the most insightful books I have read about training and life. It has really changed the way look at just about everything I do..not just triathlon. This book came at a great time for me. I was burned out, tired all the time and had to struggle through just about every workout. Needless to say running a business, maintaining a second full time job, family obligations and 3 marathons in 3 months took its toll on me. But yet I did not slow down. Go figure! I now understand that "tri" athlon is not just swimming-biking-running.....it's physical-mental-emotional.
Jim Murry - Plano, TX

Instead of the normal "on Tuesday run 5 miles at a set pace", this book allows real people to adapt their training and race goals to the rigors of everyday living of family, work and exercising. Brad Kearns' focus on key workouts that matter instead of filling a log book with empty miles is the way to train for busy athletes.
Kevin Pedrotti - Fair Oaks, CA

I loved Breakthrough Triathlon Training!. A fast, fun and informative read. I highly recommend this book to our team!
Tim Sheeper - Triathlon Legend, Founder/Head Coach of Team Sheeper Multisport, world's top professional triathlete over 40, Menlo Park, CA

About 8 months ago I stumbled upon Breakthrough Triathlon Training. At that time I was a confused 25 year old that enjoyed triathlons, but really had no reason for doing the races. I decided to commit myself to Brad's training principles and mental approach to the sport. I also bought Power Month and made some key changes in my lifestyle. Previous to reading this book my best 1/2 ironman time was 5:15 and a 156th place finish. After about three months of following Brad's advice, I turned in a 4:45 in the same race - 78th place finish. Then two months after that, a 4:30 half for 7th place
finish. Two months after that I raced in my first ironman distance race and finished 4th overall at The Great Floridian!

Not only did I improve in triathlon I gained a much greater respect for the people around me and life in general which I have learned is more important than any result. I am writing this letter not to brag about myself or toot my horn but to let everyone know that Brad's books influence peoples lives and can really make a difference, and for that I am thankful from the bottom of my heart.
Mark Weghorst - Carmel, IN

"I love this book! I had my head so wrapped around numbers and feeling disappointed with my races. Now I feel completely chilled out. I'm good with the idea of doing triathlon for years and having my base get better and better along the way. OK I don't want to bore you by going on and on about how great you and your book are. You must get that all the time ;-)"
Rebecca Whitaker - Oakland, CA

"Breakthough Triathlon Training conveys Brad Kearns' healthy balanced approach very well. I learned that its OK to take days completely off, or a week of little to no training. I feel that any athlete of any level or sport can learn a great deal from this book."
Matt Winstead - Huntsville, Alabama, USAT Nationally Ranked Triathlete (20-24)