I get home from a week on the road and ask her how her week was. … like most women she took my question seriously and began to give me a blow by blow account of everything she did while I was away.
On Wednesday she went to the chiropractor and met a nice guy in the waiting room. She got chatting to him and he said he was doing Iron Man Canada soon. She wished him luck and as the veteran of a couple of olympic distance races and a few marathons herself she proceeded to give him some advice on what to eat and how to look after his back on the run…if it gets tight stop every few miles and stretch it out.
She goes in to get her adjustment and the converstaion gets around to the guy in the waiting room…the Chiro asks he if she knows who that was…
She tells me it was some dude called Chris Leeto or Layto or something…apparently he’s pretty good.
Humble guy. I like that character - a person that know something well but still listens to what others have to say.
I noticed this quality in Dave Scott. When I was talking to him after a race, he genuinely was more interested in what I had to say. no, I was not talking about tips for triathlon. I was talking to him about my life in general (the good things).
The sign of a great athlete is that they are a student of the game. All f the great ones are/were like this, Gretzky, Woods, Scott. They read and study everything they can to learn all the nuances of the game. I also like this trait.
M~
I read a story once about Wayne Gretzky. A sportswriter was interviewing him, and the writer and Gretsky’s family were going to go to dinner. They didn’t have reservations, and it was dinner time. Long story short, Gretzky refused to use his name to secure a reservation or a table, so they ended up going to like an Appleby’s, and standing in line with everyone else.
“We recently moved across the bay and through the tunnel.”
So you and I (And JohnA and Heinz57 and a few more) are all going to the same Chiro in Walnut Creek? Cool. I’ve been going to him longer than Chris. He’s awesome, and great with orthotics.
I’m a card holding member of the Chiropractor Sceptics Club of America…I’ve only been to one once and thats because he is a good friend and he promised to cure my piriformis pain. I’m not a patient but my wife speaks very highly of the guy and she has been to see more back doctors than a room full of Benkins moving men…she knows a good one when she sees one…she just can’t spot an Ironman winner fer shit!
I’m also a card carrying member of the YMCA and a running club. I don’t need anymore clubs…but a country club membership would be nice if I could afford one of those.
Anyway, I’ve been crocked for a couple of months with a bad achilles and haven’t been able to run…the upshot however is that I’m getting much stronger on the bike.
I’ve had orthotics for about 15 years and I love them. The last pair has lasted 10 years. I had them checked a few weeks ago and when I pulled them out of my shoes, the Podiatrist said “wow, those look good” and he meant it. They look like new.
Now for the bad news. I went running last thursday and when I raced out of the changeroom, I left my 2 week old shoes and amazing 10 year old orthotics behind. When I realized, they were long gone. Now I have to replace the shoes and orthotics with lower quality orthotics and it will cost me about $700, just as I was saving for a new road bike. F%#K!!!
Hey, that’s funny. I saw Gretsky and his wife (wow) at the Atlantis in the Bahamas just this Feb (he was doing the Michael Jordan Celebrity Golf thing). Restaurant was packed - he was in line waiting like everyone else (and then John McCenroe joins him). Of course, none of the “islanders” recognize the “great” hockey and tennis player. Lots of hockey played in Nassau
Finally, a little American (or Canadian I guess) boy recognizes Wayne and runs over for a photo op - no problem: he picks him up, poses, talks, etc. People did start taking notice then and McCenroe (sp) looked a little aggravated (BTW, his sone was with him and looks EXACTLY like a clone of him, curly hair and all).
Dennis Rodman then gets in with someone I didn’t recognize and was immediately escorted to a table through the line after some “words”. I thik it was Stuart from ESPN, not too sure. Mario Lemieux (a very good golfer I might add) eventually joined Wayne when they finally got a table.
My respect for Wayne (and I’m not really a Hockey fan) went up greatly after that outing. It basically remained the same for Rodman
She tells me it was some dude called Chris Leeto or Layto or something…apparently he’s pretty good.
I laughed.
Are you going to be able to hold off telling her the whole truth until after this weekend? It should be fun to pull up his IMC results (and perhaps bio) and say “Hey honey, what was the name of that guy you were giving advice to last week? Say, looks like it worked.”
“Hey honey, what was the name of that guy you were giving advice to last week? Say, looks like it worked.”
LOL!
However, if MattinSF’s wife ever catches on that he knew who Chris Leeto was all along, Matt may be sleeping in the garage for a few weeks until his wife gets over it.
Most of the pro triathletes I have met have been like this. I think it goes hand in hand with being in a fringe sport. I once sat and talked to Lothar Leder for about thirty minutes without a clue as to who he was (other than a triathlete from Germany). Very quiet and down to earth guy.
Chris Lieto…mmmmm.