My Neighbor, I New It!!!!

Good morning.

Looks like another really nice warm sunny day in Chicago. Now as I sit on my favorite worn brown leather chair, coffee in hand the scene has changed dramatically. Green, green, green is what I see. Love it.

Yesterday I decided to do my 8 miler earlier in the day because of the major wind warnings. Well, the run was terrific and the winds had not really begun yet. Just a nice breeze. The run was a breeze as well. It's getting harder to "not" run under 8 minute miles. I like that.

In order to be a competitive triathlete I need to pick up the pace a bit. I am looking forward to doing brick workouts. A brick workout would be triathlon focused. For example, I would do a good bike workout and immediately go for a run to simulate tri conditions and teach the legs a new trick.

I am also so tempted to buy a tri bike. I went and visited Get a Grip Cycles and looked around. Beautiful tri bikes and very expensive. I asked one of the guys if I could trade in my Ducati for a tri bike. He was interested. I may just do the triathlons this summer on my nice road bike and see how it goes and see how much I like triathlons. Knowing me like I do, I am sure I will love tris and want the tri bike.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here is an interesting story:

There is this guy who lives across the street from me. When I get up in the morning around 5-5:30 or so, the first thing I do is take the dogs out. We go down the block and cross the street and come back the other side of the street. When I walk in front of my neighbors house, "the guy," across the street, I see him running on his treadmill. He does not have any window treatments on any of the windows of his house si it's easy to see him. He hauls ass.

I met him a while back. I said, "I see you like to run, I am a runner also." He's like, "that's great, what do you like to run?" Well we had this conversation about marathons, etc. He said,"I do not run marathons any more, the pavement is to hard on my legs, I stick with trail running." Oh, ok. Cool. He is sort of an ecsentric and unassuming kind of guy. He hardly ever cuts his grass and like I said no window treatments. But, I really don't let that bother me at all. I just know there is something different about him. Something special!

Well, as I read, Chicago Athlete Magazine yesterday my suspisions were confirmed. This issue of Chicago Athlete focused on "Ultra Distance" events. I turned the page and BAM! There he was. Larry Hall, my neighbor. He is an ultra distance runner, and, a good one. So is his wife. Here is a quote from the magazine:

"About every month, they travel together to an ultramarathon. Beth, 51, prefers the longer 100 mile races, and is doing her 25th 100 mile race in May. She ran five 100 milers last year and will be running the same number this year. Larry remains competitive in 50K and 50 mile races, including a 5th place overall finish (3:55:06) in the Chicago 50K in March 2010.

How cool is that? I always new he was an exceptional runner. I can't wait to get to know them better. His wife still lives in Milwaukee and she moves here this summer. Can't wait to say to him," hey Larry, nice story in Chicago Athlete Mag!"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Today, I will try something new. Yoga!! I am going to a 90 minute Bikram Yoga class. Looking forward to it.

I also tried on the new Nike Free Run + shoes yesterday. More minimalist than the Nike 5.0. May try these in the future.

Split Time Moving Time Distance Elevation Gain Elevation Loss Avg Pace Avg Moving Pace Best Pace Avg HR Max HR Steps Calories
1 0:09:09 0:08:47 1 0 7 9:09 8:47 7:48 117 130 0 82
2 0:08:24 0:08:23 1 14 0 8:24 8:23 6:02 131 140 0 96
3 0:08:01 0:08:02 1 0 0 8:01 8:02 7:07 140 144 0 96
4 0:07:57 0:07:58 1 0 15 7:58 7:58 6:49 143 146 0 96
5 0:07:43 0:07:43 1 15 0 7:43 7:43 6:18 146 153 0 96
6 0:07:44 0:07:45 1 0 0 7:44 7:45 6:46 151 153 0 98
7 0:07:47 0:07:46 1 0 4 7:47 7:46 5:58 149 158 0 95
8 0:07:44 0:07:44 1 0 8 7:44 7:44 6:48 152 157 0 99
9 0:00:34 0:00:34 0.08 0 0 7:37 7:27 7:07 156 157 0 7
Summary 1:05:08 1:04:42 8.08 29 34 8:04 8:00 5:58 140 158 0 765



-----
" Beyond the very extreme of fatigue and distress, we may find amounts of ease and power we never dreamed ourselves to own, sources of strength never taxed at all because we never push through the obstruction."

* It takes courage to push yourself to places that you have never been before... to test your limits... to break through barriers. And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight inside the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” - Anais Nin