How I Kept This Body

A year ago the StarTribune ran a series of articles entitled "How I Got This Body" in which they did a write-up on myself. They recently revisited three people they had profiled in the past year to find out how their fitness programs were going -- and how they keep themselves motivated. I was one of those three people. I wanted to share this so that people who do not follow me on Twitter and/or Facebook would be able to see it as well. Also I wanted to note that at the time the interview took place I was in the Top 7% nationally but it appears I will fall into the Top 11% overall once final year-end rankings come out.

Here is how the story appeared:

Maas currently ranks in the top 7 percent of 50-54-year-old male triathletes in the U.S. -- despite taking 12 weeks off last spring after suffering a pelvic stress fracture. He shares a few of his tips for staying motivated (and injury-free):


Motivating factors are really having goals (I call them carrots) to shoot for. My son, Graham (now 11), is now running 5Ks and competing in triathlons. This last year, he and I teamed up in a triathlon relay in Park Rapids, Minn., and won the relay division. I swam and biked and he ran. Also joining us is my wife, Jackie, who is also competing in 5K running events. The highlight for us was each of us winning our respective age groups in a race in Bismarck, North Dakota, earlier this year. Lastly, my 70-year old father, Don, competed in his first-ever 5K in Fargo this year and I was in that race as well.

In the last three years I have competed in Texas, Arizona, Arkansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Wisconsin, and North Dakota. ... Training for events in Texas keeps up the motivation during the winter months.


The rule of thumb is not to increase your mileage by more than 10 percent over the previous week. When I got my pelvic stress fracture, it was during that nice stretch of warm weather last February and I basically doubled my run mileage for two straight weeks. Too much, too soon. [But], I responded [to injury-induced time off] by attacking my workouts to get into shape quickly and salvage the remaining 2011 race season. Also, I get deep tissue massages twice a month during the off-season and weekly during race season. This has helped me in terms of addressing those nagging aches and pains. I can literally barely hobble into my massage a day or two before an upcoming race and be running comfortably the day after and in fine shape for the race.