Tri - Runner's Roost

A blog from a "Middle of the Pack Marathoner" starting his journey from Newbie to Ironman. The ride is awesome!

I Don’t Wanna Stop

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History

I started running in January of 2004 to get in shape. I had gained too much weight and felt terrible. I was able to run my first 5K 3 months later. 2 years later and 50 lbs lighter, I have continued to push for greater goals and have run 5 marathons and I am training for an Iron distance triathlon now. Everyday I wake up with a positive attitude towards life, training and my future.

Marathons Completed

Arizona RockNRoll 2007
Salt Lake City Marathon 2006
Steamboat Marathon 2005
Boulder Backroads 2005
Las Vegas Marathon 2005

Why do I Tri?

Should be why do I want to Tri? I want to see just how far I can push myself. With everyday I am in the best shape of my life. And I'm never going back!!!!

Sponsors

Elite Family Fitness-Canon City
BB's Tanning and Massage

Scheduled Races

Littlefoot Triathlon
Bolder Boulder 10K
Highland Ranch Sprint
Boulder Long Triathlon
Redman Iron Distance

I'm Back

November 30, 2006

Sorry for my absence for the past week. Life has been kinda wierd and crazy.

Well the weather outside is ------COLD, VERY COLD. The winter blast brought a blast of cold air to our region with about 6 inches of snow at my house. I am hoping to take delivery of a snowmobile anytime now. Yeah, I know, not very physically demanding - but WOW, what a lot of fun.

Let me get back to my ride last Thursday. I took Apollo, Quintana Roo, on a 60 mile bike ride. Everything was going great on the ride, it was a little chilly out for short sleeves and shorts but I was doing OK. About mile 15 I flated. The rear wheel. I pulled off to the side of the road and sat there resting for a few. Getting the tire off was a breeze, I found the hole and patched it. Got everthing back together again and found out the patch did not hold. So I just went ahead and put my spare tire on. I have a small frame pump and it took forever to get the tire up to pressure. Does anyone have any ideas on a better way to fill tires up to pressure out on the road without a floor pump? Next time I will try a CO2 cartridge and see if that gets it up to pressure. Anyway I got pretty discusted and just headed back into town after that. The trip in was a lot harder because of the strong headwind, but I got into to town in a short time and felt great.

The rest of the week I have been mostly running in the mornings and cycling on my trainer at night. Yesterday I got in a short swim session. It was snowing pretty hard outside and the road were a mess so there was no-one else in the pool. Otherwise it has been a pretty uneventful week. Ciao

posted by Mondo @ 8:49 AM 0 comments

Turkey Day Arrives

November 22, 2006

This week has, so far, been real good. Except for some aggravating trouble with my new bike that I will get to later, this week has been awesome.

First Off - Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.

Remember to be thankful for the health that allows us to be able to participate in the greatest sport on earth.

I actually celebrated the Thanksgiving Feast on Saturday with the family. I got my daughter and her family to join me on a 4.7 mile run before dinner to clear room for all the great food that would be going in. The run was excellent as usual, I ran with my daughter's son and he is quite a runner at 13 years old. I am hoping to get him into Triathlon training next year and he seems to be very interested. My daughter hasn't run in a while and by mile 2 she was already stopping to empty her stomach a little more. Once we were finished, we were all starving. The food was great and the desserts were awesome as well. It is wonderful to be able to have family and friends around to enjoy the holidays.

Monday I worked out at the gym - I did a little brick with a stationary bike and treadmill. It felt good to get back on my feet since the Rim Rock Run. My legs are feeling fresh and ready to go again. Also on Monday I got my new/used LOOK pedals in the mail and went home with the idea to just pop off the old pedals and put on the LOOK pedals and ride on the trainer for an hour.

So here goes the problem. I got the right pedal off without problem and put on the other pedal. I went over to the L pedal and it was stuck. Now there is stuck and there is mother******* stuck. I don't know what the last owner of the bike thought he was doing but a pedal does not need to be tightened to nuclear warhead specifications. anyway, by the time I was done trying the lug was stripped and I was down to vise grips. The only way to get it come off would be to take off the crank arm and lock the pedal in a vise. But do I own a crank arm removal tool - of course not!!!!

Note To Self - "Buy some bike tools"

So, after pounding and trying to get the pedal off for 2 hours I finally gave in and went to bed. But unfortunately, sleep was out of the question. Have you ever had something on your mind that you cna't forget and are never able to completely fall asleep. Yeah, same here. I woke up as tired as I was when I fell asleep. After getting my stuff together I loaded the bike and headed to town. Too early to go to my bike shop, I headed to the gym. My workout was less than thrilling and I gave in after about 45 minutes and headed to work.

Once I had the bike at the shop, my bike pro took one look at the pedal and asked my what I used on the pedal. Looking down at the floor I admitted that I had used vise grips but did explain that the pedal was already messed up before I got to it. We pulled the crank arm off and tried to lock the pedal down in a vise to unscrew it. But nothing is that easy. The Speedplay pedals have a round shaft, so the vise would not hold. He seemed a little hesitant to ruin a pedal - but before we knew it we were at the grinder making a flat part on the shaft that the vise could hold on to. After about 45 minutes of work and pounding the pedal finally came off. He took a look at the threads and determined that the previous owner had probably tried to take the pedal off but was not informed about the reverse thread on the L side of the bike. therefore the pounding that he did was actually compressing the threads. He re-threaded the crank on on went my new LOOK pedal.

Today I got in 20 miles of hillwork on my old bike and tomorrow I have a 60 mile ride planned in the morning using my new bike. It should be quiet on the roads since everyone is going to be stuffing themselves and sleeping on the couch. Till next week - CIAO

posted by Mondo @ 12:37 PM 0 comments

Water Worn

November 17, 2006

Well it's Friday, this has been a very busy week and I am ready for a rest break.

For the past 3 days, swimming was the order of business. My training has been nothing but swimming. I figured I would keep my legs resting for about one week before starting back up again after my last race.

The swimming has gone pretty well. I am still feeling some improvement in time, endurance and form. As usual, I still have no coach or training partner to get feedback from, but I do feel more comfortable with swimming. I have increased my continuous length to 1000 meters. That is without rest and just treading water as long as possible. A few time during my laps I actually felt a Zen like calm and rhythm to my stroke and breathing. I hope that is what I am suppose to be feeling like.

Speaking of training partners. I hung a notice at the local gym and pool asking if anyone was interested in working out together for a common goal of doing triathlons, or just working out and I got ZIP. That's right NADA, NOTHING, ZERO, ZIP, SNAKE EYES. !!!!!!!! I guess there really isn't anyone in the town that wants to train for a triathlon. It really did not surprise me, our town is not what you would call, athletic. Sure a few people run, and a few bike, not many swim, and it seems most don't want to compete. But still that sucks. So it looks like I'm on my own again for next year. No coach, no training partner, just me pushing myself onward. Hell I don't even have a decent bike shop in town. The 2 small shops in town are geared toward MTN bikes only, and ordering in equipment gets expensive at small shops.

Sorry, I guess I'm taking out my frustration on you readers. Sometimes I just feel like screaming.

Anyway, back to the pool.

I totalled about 6000 meters in 3 days. My arms are pretty tired so the next 2 days will be a welcome relief. Next week I will start back up with running and cycling training. I have my bike set up on the trainer at home and should start working out at night as well. 2 weekends from now I am going to go run a 1/2 marathon in Pueblo. I have a few friends that are running that distance for the first time. So I told them I would run with them. Should be a lot of fun.

I hope everyone enjoys tomorrow's game between Ohio and Michigan. Since I am not from that area - I wish luck and skill to the team that wins. DUH. Have a great weekend, CIAO

posted by Mondo @ 9:05 AM 0 comments

Race Report

November 13, 2006

2006 - RIM ROCK RUN - GRAND JUNCTION, CO

The 2006 Rim Rock Run was held on November 11th 2006.

There were 259 runners that started and only one DNF. The weather started out cloudy and cold with a temperature around 38 degrees. Most runners started out with jackets or pullovers but quickly started to shed the extra layer in the early miles of the race as was evident by the numberous piles of clothing along the route.

The race did live up to it's description with the first 8 miles being uphill. The first 4 miles were the worse but not worse than I have been training for. The roadway was new asphalt for most fo the race. Once the gun went off runners headed up the mountain. I had not driven the course in sometime and so did not know what to expect as far as the steepness of the course. By miles 2 it was obvious that some runners went out too fast and were already walking. The scenery was magnificent from the beginning to the end. the rock outcroppings were amazing. Running along the edge of the road around the top of the rim was a little scary with straight down drops of 1000 foot on the side of the road. WOW. Makes you wish wings were possible.

Once on top the 4 miles of gentle rolling hills were a welcome relief from the hard climb up. The support stations were well stocked along the route and the enthusiasm of the volunteers helped make the day go by faster.

The 10 miles of downhill is harder than it may sound. The pounding of the fast descent made my legs ache from top to bottom. I started getting leg cramps in my L leg around the 17th mile. I worked them out and continued on however the cramps came back at 20, 21 and 22. Mostly in the medial or inner quadriceps muscle. This happened in Steamboat Spring 2 years ago also around the same point. Both races have alot of downhill running. Next marathon I am going to try to vary my nutrition during the later parts of the run and add some salt replacement. I have been using my Gels on time but feel that I may sweat more than I am figuring.

The finish line is visible from the top of the canyon and looks so little down at the bottom. The serpentine route quickly descends to the end of the race. The finish line was lined with enough cheering fans to make the finish fun, the announcer calling out the names of the finisher and cheering them on.

I finished with a better time than I expected. I wasn't sure how fast I would be able to run the uphill half of the race. I had predicted a finish time of 4:00:00 - 4:15:00. I ended up with a 3:52:36.9

I felt great after the race. My legs being a little sore from the cramping, and the downhill pounding. The after-race refreshments were very good with everything from danishes to pizza and beer. The race results were quickly posted and finishers received a Finishers Pin and a Card with their time listed.

All in all this was a must do again race. I would encourage everyone to run this race at least once. I hope that this race continues into the future and I would consider it a yearly must do run.

posted by Mondo @ 12:48 PM 0 comments

2 TO GO

November 09, 2006

2 days out from the Rim Rock run and in traditional thinking, I really don't feel prepared for this race.

That is usually how I feel after a taper anyway.

Well, whatever happens, happens. I just want to go out there and have some fun. I ran a short 3 miles this morning as a relaxed run. Although my legs felt a little stiff I think they are strong enough for the challenge. I just need to make it up the first 8 miles and I will be good after that. Hey it's not like I'm running a marathon. (3 miles short)

The weather is suppose to be super for the run. It should be cool in the morning and then warm up nicely. Not too cold though and I should be able to wear shorts for the event. I hate getting too warm.

Tomorrow I'll be driving out there. Hopefully getting there early enough to pick up my packet and take a drive over the top of the route during the daylight. And then get in about 2 miles of warm up and stretching. So, I'll give everyone a race report on Monday.

That is if I am physically able tooooooooooooooooo

posted by Mondo @ 12:27 PM 0 comments

Getting Ready

November 07, 2006

Yesterday I got in a great 5 mile run in the morning. hell the weather has been perfect for training recently. I am looking forward to this weekend's run on the Colorado Monument and I have started getting my stuff together for the trip. I know this is going to be a real hard run. I talked to several runners who have done this run and they all rave about the support and the course.

This morning I decided to give my running legs a break and I got in a nice swim. The water was A little warm for training but beggars can't be choosers. I swam a 200 meter warm up and then swam a freestyle 700 meter followed by 200 meters of pull and kick drills. I finished off with 4-5 100's. I do feel better in the water but still not to the point where I could swim 2000-4000 meters non stop as in a 1/2 Ironman or full Ironman. I am trying to get my off season training set up and feel that I should place an emphasis on swimming at some point. This will not happen until after January 14th since I will be going to Phoenix for the Rock and Roll Marathon. I don't plan on a PR down there but instead I am going to go just to have fun for a change.

This afternoon I took my faithful training bike "Athena" for some hillwork. We rode west of town up the highway which is an 8 mile climb to the top. I was able to maintain my speed without having to go to the smallest chainring. Today is the first time I have been able to do that. Then on the the way down I detoured and started up the very steep "Skyline Drive" route that I usually run up. I had never tried it on a bike before. WOW, what a workout. I will need to do that again. I did notice during my ride that my back started hurting again. something that I did not feel on my new race bike. I am going to have to look at my position on the bike and try and figure out why I am having so much back pain with the old bike. Tomorrow is a rest day. i am looking forward to it tooooooooo.

posted by Mondo @ 3:12 PM 0 comments

Loving Colorado

November 06, 2006

There is a reason for Colorado being the Mecca of sport training.

It's the weather.

It is absolutely beautiful out here for the 1st full week of November. The weather this week is suppose to be clear and have highs of up to 70 degrees on Wednesday. Wow what awesome training weather.

Friday was not so bad either. I was able to take my new bike out on the road for the first trial ride. The weather was clear and about 65 degrees. There was a slight breeze here in town. I headed out of town taking the highway east towards Florence. I had to stop by the bank anyway. the bike took some getting use to, being a shorter wheelbase and smaller rims than my other bike I felt a little unsteady in the aero position. After getting the hang of it, I pushed it hard to see how I felt with the new frame.

To my amazement, it rocked. I headed out of town on a very hilly course and did not have to use my small chainring. The bike felt so light under me. My quads were burning in no time. For the first time on this route I was able to stay in the aero position for the entire ride out. And guess what? No back pain. I use to always get some low back pain on my other bike when I stayed in the aero position for a long time.

The fun kinda ended when I took the turn to go to Florence. I was hit with a stiff crosswind. I found out what a wind does to carbon wheels. HOLY CRAP ! The increased surface of the carbon wheels felt like sails. The wind kept pushing my wheels out into the traffic and made it almost impossible to maintain the aero position. I can just imagine what it would be like with full carbon disk wheels. There was a couple of times I though I was going to biff it bad. Once I got down off the bluff the wind calmed down and I felt a little better, and calmer.

All and all the ride was a learning experience. I really like the way the bike handles and the way it feels. My back never hurt during the entire ride and I did feel the work being done by mostly my quads for the ride.

posted by Mondo @ 9:07 AM 0 comments

About Me

Name: John Maynard
Home: Canon City, Colorado, United States
About Me: In 2008 I completed a full Ironman. Since that time I have continued to keep myself in a decent shape with running and hiking. As the years have rolled on so has my midsection. With my 50th birthday behind me I have embarked on another journey in life. This journey will take me into my next decade in the best shape of my entire life. It's time to kick life into overdrive.
See my complete profile

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