Track and Field Blogs - Josh McAdams

Thursday, August 14, 2008 Our adventures are getting less and less adventurous as we draw closer and closer to our competition dates. Leo and Lindsey found out what heats they’re in. Both are in the first heat which is probably the worst. The third is the best because you can see how fast the other heats have run, and then run for a time to make it to the next round. Usually each heat will take 3 or 4 automatically from each heat and then like 4-6 qualifiers on time. The steeple will be top 3 from each heat auto… more »

Wednesday, August 13, 2008 I almost got 9 hours of sleep last night. I almost missed the bus to the practice track too. I set my alarm for 7:40AM, and then thought I set it for 8:05AM after it went off. When I woke again, my watch said 8:26AM. I said, “Ah poop!” Leo asked what was wrong I told him I had 4 minutes to make it ½ mile for he 8:30AM bus. He said, “It’s only 8:05AM.” Well I guess instead of resetting my alarm, I set the clock to 8:05AM and so my watch was 20 minutes… more »

Monday, August 11, 2008 I’m not sure if it was the weather or the half tights or Coach Eyestone being there or perhaps it was the Rice Krispy cereal cause I got the snap, crackle, pop back in my legs. Today was the first workout in China that I felt sharp and relaxed the whole time. I warmed up for 20 minutes. Then I did a warm up 800 meter at 2:09. After a lap jog, I did a 1200 meter with the first 800 meters at 2:10, then the last lap at 57 seconds. I finished with 2x200 meters… more »

Saturday, August 10, 2008 After hitting the sack at 2AM, 8AM was pretty early for getting up, but as the Kenyans say, “You better be up and running before the lion or you’ll get caught.” No wonder they are so incredible at distance running. We just missed the bus going to the practice track at Beijing Normal University so we had an hour wait. I called Whit and the opening Ceremonies were just about to start in Utah. I let her go and cracked open some Twighlight to kill the hour wait. On the bus some female freestyle wrestlers sat… more »

Opening Ceremonies Man oh man. I can’t tell you how awesome the whole evening was. It was long and my feet and legs felt like a full days work - that’s 5 hours for me - at the Home Depot. We got all spiffed up like high schools boys before prom and headed to the fencing hall to meet the President of the United States. That’s right. George W Bush and George Bush both showed up to wish us luck, shake hands, and snap a few photos. As I shook the President’s hand, he wished me luck. Regardless of whatever,… more »

Thursday, August 7, 2008 Leo and I were out by 9:40pm and up at 6:30am. Pluses and negatives to that. The plus is that I get to talk to Whit first thing in the morning. The negative is that you sit around until 8:30am when the bus leaves for the practice track. Then you don’t start your workout til about 9:45am and it’s hotter and more humid than ever. The workout wnet okay. 8x400m@59-60 seconds with 90 seconds rest between each. I went over the hurdles on the even laps. I hit all the times I needed to, but I… more »

Tuesday, August 5, 2008 Slept til 5:15AM and then couldn’t sleep anymore. I guess that’s what happens when you go to bed at 9:10PM. It’s just hard to stay awake when 1, it gets dark at 7PM since the whole country is on one time zone, and 2, the meals by our chef flown in from Denver are so good you just eat until you get droggy. So I Skyped, internet phoned, Whit and read some. At the track I did a hard interval workout. I warmed up by pacing Lindsey Anderson through 800 meters of her 1500 meter time… more »

Okay now that Leo and I got these straightened out, I will share the last few days with you according to my journal that I've been sending home. The pics are of the girl who is predicted to take the gymnastic gold, Casey and AG with lil ole me, and the arcade at the Olympic Village. My Olympic Journal Wed, July 30 The last few weeks have been so busy. After making the team, I was bombarded with newspapers, interviews, photo shoots, and even a Sports Center crew coming out for a segment. On top of that, Whitney, my wife,… more »

Man I totally forgot all about this blog. I have been trying to keep up on my personal blog. Well I made the Olympic Team and am so stoked to go compete. My wife and I have been very busy getting stuff ready for Beijing, a move to Memphis once back, and then all the newspapers and media stuff. We have been in a little town called Mt.Pleasant, UT for the last 2 days at a high school cross country camp. It's been nice to get away and have no cell phone reception. We head back tomorrow. I will jump… more »

Osaka has been so fun! It has been great running and hanging out with some famous runners. Leo Manzano and I have been trying to stay out of trouble. We went to the mall and had a blast with all the little kid sinks and toilets. You can check out his blog for some of the pics. It's funny b/c we just started busting each other's chops right at the bat and we've been inseparable since He still hasn't beat me at Wii Tennis, but he keeps killing me in Boxing. If only the Wii could tell when a low… more »

After feeling a little sluggish at the PanAm Games, the last two weeks have been the best workouts I've had in about a month. I'm stoked to go and represent the USA in Japan. Unfortunately, the last two weeks have been crazy.
After winning USAs, I decided to defer optometry school in Memphis, TN for a year to prepare for the Olympics. We had been pre-approved to buy a home there, my wife had interviewed for a good teaching position, and we sold our contract on the apartment we'd been staying in. So ever since getting back from… more »

If you have not been there, you should go before you die. And you'll probably need to do it within the next few years while you still have your health. It's a 10 mile hike in and 10 miles out. You can have some mules carry your gear for a price. No trash bins. No open flames. Carry out what you carry in. Whit and I would have been okay but I thought I would starve so we packed way too much food. Hiking in was a bear, but after eating 30lbs of food in three days, hiking out was… more »

According to one of my teammates, "Being last years NCAA champion is no longer a fluke." On June 24th, I claimed the title of USA National Champion as well. It really was surreal. So now I get to represent the USA at the Pan Am Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and at the World Championships in Osaka, Japan. more »

8 years after graduating from High School, I finally made it through my undergrad at BYU! Here's me with my mom and dad and wife. more »

So I really am the luckiest guy in the world. Whit is great. She says, "If you wash that dirty, white hat of yours, I'll make you any dessert you want." Sounded like a good deal to me. So that's what I ordered. A triple chocolate layered mousse cake. It was delicious. more »

So this is what happens when you play intramural dodgeball. I ran up to the half-court line and threw that ball as hard as I could. Well if you cross the line you're out. In an effort to stop myself asap, I got this little diddy. The rowdy fans, our wives, said it looked like i pulled a break-dace move out there. Needless to say that ball was like a laser, and I was out.Here's some more tough Clevelanders. My buddies Pat (Mr. Clean) and Matt came out to ski the greatest snow on earth. We went out to dinner… more »

Sonny the brother-in-law, Eric the father-in-law, and myself wearing our new aprons that Whitney made as Christmas gifts. As you can tell, Sonny and I have a rivalry between our BYU and University of Utah Alma Maters. Obviously Dad, being a professor of geology at BYU, is a BYU fan, but the dinosaur apron was a perfect fit. Both Dad and I were relieved BYU beat U of U this year in football. That's why our grins are that much wider than Sonny's! more »

Here's what you get when you order the Macho Grande at Cafe Pierpont. It's $14, and basically all you can eat. It really is the size of a newborn. I ate over half of it but had no desire to eat it all considering I'd be content with the leftovers for the next two days. more »

Whit and I headed up to the hot springs in Spanish Fork. The hot springs were great and I caught a 4 foot bull snake! Some of these things were so hot they scalded my foot when I stepped into them! The guys from left to right are Bowen, Warren, & Jacob (a.k.a. Swede) more »

Jake invited Whit and I to Utah Lake for a day. We did some wake surfing, wake boarding, and tubing. Wake surfing was a new experience. Even though Utah Lake is filled with green gunk and I face planted in about 6 inches of lake bottom mudd, I still loved it. This little pic is of Jake and I doin a little dance for the ladies. more »