Mountain Bikes, Bass Guitar, and other stuff I like

First of all, huge thanks to my wife Renee for getting up with me at 4am to get ready for the race and providing pit crew and moral support! Went into my 3rd triathlon in Blue Ridge, GA pretty confident after spending this year ramping up my swim at the Aquatic Center and Open Water Swims at Lake Allatoona.  Swimming being my main limiter and  biking and running, my strengths.  I never realized just how much technique is involved with swimming and it's been a challenge to get faster in the water and to also become comfortable in open water. For this race, I knew I would have no problem with the Sprint distance: 600 yard swim, 18 mile bike, 3.2 mile run. No I don't have an expensive Tri bike with aero wheels, aero bars or aero helmet. In fact, you'd laugh at how much my race bike costs. Hey, I figure I'll build my body up first before diving in fully with the expensive gear. Rested 3 days prior and was battling a groin/adductor pull.  Hurts like crazy unless leg...

Rope Mill Half-Marathon June 14th 2014 My goal this year was to get on the podium (top 3) in the Long Course race series for Mountain Goat Adventures.  The long course is 9 miles or over with the longest race being a half-marathon (13.1 mile) race at Rope Mill in Woodstock to wrap up the series.  Last year I missed the podium because I sprained my ankle in the first race of the series in Cartersville, GA and it was difficult to overcome the deficit.  One has to have 4 consistently good race performances in the series to have a chance.  While I didn't podium in any one individual race and came in 4th on today's race, I am still enormously pleased with my result today coming in 2nd on the Long Course for my age group. I put in a 12-mile effort last week in Raleigh,NC where I was on temp assignment working on a technical manual.  There aren't as many hills over there but I knew that I needed to get at least one long run in while I was there.  This helped my ...

Couldn't wait for my second Triathlon and first off-road Tri . Alarm went off at 5am but snoozed until 5:30. Out the door at 6:08 and made it to race venue in Winder at 7:20.  Mad dash to get bike to transition an get checked in to get my race numbers. It's amazing that I actually made it on time. Even had time to get in the water beforehand to warm up some.  This race was an absolute blast and I can't wait for the next one. This despite a severe bike mechanical where my frame cracked and caused my chain to come off. I literally had to run my bike the last half-mile of the bike course. Last summer I did a road Sprint tri and had a rough time with the swim, which was only 200 yards.  Feelings of panic and total body shutdown.  Since the swim cost me several minutes I decided to bolster up my swimming with training at the local aquatic center starting in January.   That training paid off in Saturday's race, which was held at Ft. Yargo State Park in Winder, Ga. ...

Well we had us a muddy good runtime buddies at Allatoona Creek Trails in Acworth, GA, the scene of the 2nd Mountain Goat Adventures Trail Run Series.  Inch or 2 of rain days leading up to the race made for a peanut-buttery,swampy, slogfest!  The trails are relatively flat to and take on water easily.  The race start was reverse from last year and was a quick one. My 1st mile was a 7:30 then dropped to the 9s in the twisty singletrack. Corners were treacherous. Should've left Altras at home and brought the Roclites, or ran barefoot.  Slipslidin awayyyyy.  Heard footsteps behind me the whole time it seemed and was leading several pain trains at various intervals. After singletrack made it into an opening and was passed by several peeps.  Got a little feisty through there with some drafters.  Then same peeps darting back and forth hoping not to be drafted. Interesting.  . But checking in and feeling good and didn't wanna go much faster. Cadence 84 or...

This is one of my favorite races since I love the multi-sport format and these trails are in my backyard.  In fact, I owe a lot to the fine folks at SORBA Woodstock and Blanket's Creek trails for helping me to get in shape in the first place! Running and biking sounds like a fun time on the trail!  This is the 3rd year I've done the race solo and pleased to report that my times have gotten faster each year.  The 1st year Renee and I tag-teamed it with her running and me biking. Woke up at 5:30 race morning and had some bulletproof coffee (coconut oil mixed with coffee). This really helped keep me sustained for the race. Normally I would race on that and maybe a piece of chocolate but was feeling extra hungry. Probably ate a little too much solid food with eggs, ham and cheese, a few almonds. Felt full up until race start at 9ish.  Definitely was NOT well-rested.  It's ok because I was feeling pumped. Not really nervous at all, just amped.  Feeling focused...

My second trail race of the year was a tough one at the beautiful Garland Mountain horse/hike trail system near Waleska, GA.  Temps were in the 40s at race start but skipped any warm clothing. Had the trusty Altras on, which did well on a muddy,slick course.  This race was part of a national cup series so there were some elite runners in the field.  I positioned myself at the front of the pack and had a quick start, perhaps a tad quick although I felt like I could maintain that pace.  I was putting in an 8:15 or so over the first 3 miles. Maybe an 8:30 would've been a wiser choice.  I'm sure all this will come with more experience.  Strangely, 2 weeks before during my half-marathon, I felt a lot better overall and had a strong finish. Today, I felt like I stumbled toward the end despite a eyeballs-bleeding uphill climb to the finish. A week before I had finished the Snake Creek mountain bike time trials then followed with an 8-mile run the next day so I ma...

Around 5 years ago when I began Mountain Biking there was one trail that struck me as one that I must ride one day when I obtained the skills and fitness to do so, that trail is Snake Creek Gap near Dalton, GA.  Just a mere mention of this trail seems to strike awe in bikers and runners alike, for its daunting technical features (roots and rocks ad nauseum) and lung-busting climbs.  This is not a "fun" trail necessarily (although there are plenty of fun downhill sections) but more of a trail to help you discover what kind of person you are.  Call it a vision quest for the modern age.  "The Snake", as it's affectionately called, can definitely teach one a thing or two about themselves.  Some people ask me, "Jonathan, why do you do what you do? Why subject yourself to such torture?"  I don't really have an answer for that except, to see if I can do it.  "Because it's there." 5 years later I finally got up the gumption to enter thi...