Action Shots, Mile 11

 Mile 11, Ironman Wisconsin 2012.  Dreamlike day.  Fantastic weekend with friends.  Write-up coming soon, but wanted to get these two awesome pics out there.  How to sum up my learning for the weekend?
Never lose focus, never give up, always have fun, always stay true, always know yourself.  I made a hat of six crochet flowers to commemorate six Ironmans. Now it's seven--holy smokes!!!!

Brick, The Seminar

Today I went for a ride to the Dam with the guys, and Jack suggested that I join he and Mike for a brick run afterwards. I had a run on the docket for the day, so, of course! Training has bordered on lonely lately so a sunny morning with buddies was the perfect fix. This was a particularly good run because it gave us ample opportunity to discuss Ironman run training strategy. Mike is a true master, and I love to hear what he has to say. To me, Mike is a great Ironman theorizer because he balances technical training details with a considerable dose of heart (without which, the heart part, I would find the whole Ironman endeavor completely boring and as fulfilling as chewing on metal lawn furniture). When we all met up in Jack & Ave's spectacular backyard, we were all three wearing the same little fuel belt which carries fliuds and nutrition. Go team!
During our run we were spotted by no less than three of our Lake/Harlem cycling buddies plus my runner friend Mary. Jack & I were adamant that being seen bricking by our pals was a major plus. Cool cucumber Mike was nonplussed, but really, who ever knows what is going on in the mind of a champion...
After the affair, we sat down with a bit of apple juice, pretzels, deadly good salami, and cheese made in Ave's Italian home town.

Illinois Wildlife, Again

Solstice came and went, and it's time to start loading on a bit of volume, particularly on the run. Went out midday and the winds and dark clouds were grim but not hot and no threat of thunder--perfect long run weather! I've come to accept that summer around here involves crazy weather. Sometimes, it's worthwhile to take pause and notice how surreal it all is. Like this scene I approached about four miles into my run. A solitary young deer, standing at the corner of Thatcher and Greenfield, as if waiting for the traffic to pause so that he/she might cross back into the Cook County Forest Preserve. The deer stared at me for a long while and a few drivers slowed to gaze. Finally a break and Bambi was off like a shot. I continued for another hour-plus, aided by my little bottles of sugar water and Pandora Radio.

Another run in beautiful...

Today, the day before Father's Day, a sweltering, hazy, Chicagoland day.  Weekend of the epic Father's Day (youth) swim meet in the blistering sun and heat. I had already ridden a hearty fifty miles this morning, and then between swim meet responsibilities I ran for forty minutes, then another forty minutes after dropping Addie at her final event (that would be four hundred meters of freestyle).  Here I am, admiring the scenery from the overpass over the so-called Eisenhower Expressway.  Temp? Most likely about eighty with a heat index of about eighty five (don't worry, in another month it'll be ninety and we'll be wishing for this temp!

Heat Index is What?

OK, OK. Enough is enough! We sure put up with a lot around here.  Exactly one week ago I was standing on a play yard blogging, wearing hand-knit gloves and hat. Go ahead and see for youself! This week Mama Nature blasted the heat and threw us all into an utter state of shock. Today we were somewhere in the high eighties with a heat index of at least ninety. After teaching today I trudged out to the Forest Preserve and went for a run in what felt absolutely sweltering, although it was slightly cooler than yesterday and nice tree cover provided shade and beauty.
And so it goes. Life in Chicagoland...ya gotta work for it, here.