Photography

Since I quit tennis in December 2011, I have been looking for a new hobby. I have really enjoyed photography. While there is a certain skill level to get great photos, sometimes you are in the right place at the right time, and the shot just works. The two below were not planned; they just happened without all kinds of set-up and planning.

Then you see other photos and think, "Were these staged or accidental?"  Like below are totally innocent but look a little inappropriate:

And then those that are set up and just cool!

Anyway I look at it, I have so much to learn and seems like little time.  But that makes this life fun, all the unknown -- the uncertainty. Like running a marathon or an ultra where very little is constant, and that is how I like life.  Always thinking and trying to do better.  I think it would really suck to be the best, as then it really is hard to see where one can go.  So, I love being the 1 millionth best at what I do.

Carry on my friends...

29 down, 1 to go...

It was 29 years ago. I had a goal of running Grandma's Marathon and Twin Cities Marathon for 25 consecutive years. The postal service goofed up my Twin Cities streak at 12 when the machine chewed up my entry, and it was returned after the race. So I had Grandma's...

When I reached the 25th year, I was prepared to call it quits. Then, my son encouraged me to run with him for the 26th race. For the 26th, I decided I would run 5.24 miles and quit. That would mean I ran 26.2 consecutive Grandma's Marathons. My son decided to run the whole race with me, so I could not stop at 5.24 miles, as this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. That means only one thing! The goal was now 30 consecutive finishes.  

The 29^th Consecutive finish at Granma’s marathon is complete.  I went into the week of the race thinking the 5-mile training run on June 15^th was inadequate to finish.  That was the first run since Grandma’s 2012.  Since that was such a poor run, I decided to run again on Wednesday the 19^th.  I completed a 4-mile run and felt expended.  This year I was really concerned and knew my only chance was to be mentally strong and I believed I know my body and capabilities well.  So I told Shelley I would run 12:30 minute miles for the first hour with the average pace slowing every hour to the point where I averaged a 15-minute mile at the end. 

I left for Duluth on Friday at about 12:30 PM.  I was going up alone as Shelley had plans with her parents in Lincoln, Nebraska, and my sister could not make the race in a year.  I arrived at 4:30 PM (traffic was horrible) and quickly picked up my packet.  I walked around Canal Park to calm my nerves.  After evaluating the clothing option I brought with me, I decided to purchase gloves and sleeves.  They turned out to be so valuable in the race!

2013 Finisher

So it was nighttime, and it was just the Smart Car and me. This would be the first time I would try to sleep in the little thing. I brought five pillows and a blanket. I stuffed the area between the seats with pillows, put my legs in the passenger area, and starched my body across the less than 5-foot space. While challenging, I slept about as well as I could. Of course, two Advil PMs helped.

The forecast for the race was dismal.  Cold, rain, and heavy winds.  The only thing that could have made the weather look worse was snow.  Thank GOD that did not happen!  However, we may have had sleet if the winds had come off the lake.  But the winds were from the northeast.  No lake breeze today!   

I made it to the start of the train and prepared for the race.  To shorten this post, it went exactly as planned.  In the first hour, I averaged 12:24 miles (planned 12:30).   After hour two, I was at 12:49 (13:00 Planned).  I felt good but decided not to risk cramps or fatigue and follow the plan.  I held back and did some walking to stay with the plan.  Well, I finished with a 15:02 average, four minutes better than last year.  I felt good.  I even jogged to the drop bags and to the car. 

The drive home took a lot of work to start.  The fog was in Duluth all day and cleared when I was past Cloquet. (See video).

On a side note, on April 13, 2013, I went to see a nutritionist.  I really am into what she says and have followed her advice.  I have not stepped on the scale since April 13, 2013, until today.  While I have lost weight, I am a little disappointed.  I have lost an average of 2.4 pounds a week (24 pounds). Is that a healthy loss rate?  In 2006, when I also went to a nutritionist, I had an average of 4.3 pounds a week for the first 10 weeks.  I need to be patient.

Now, it is time for recovery. I hope to be back on the bike and taking that 18-mile commute to work in the next few days!

Carry on…

What is today?

Today is Father's Day, a day of celebration honoring fathers and celebrating fatherhood, paternal bonds, and the influence of fathers in society. Father's Day can mean many different things for many of us (the same goes for Mother's Day)… I thought I'd pose the question to you above: Just what does Father's Day mean to you through your viewfinder in life, past and present?

Is Father's Day a lunch, a pair of socks, a tie, or a comical card about the old man's age? Commercialism will tell us it is all of the above and more if they could sell it to us. It is like Christmas sometimes with an effort, and mostly at the last minute, to buy that little something to show our appreciation. 

Of course, there are good and bad fathers, my own being of the latter variety. Not that I stay bitter for too long; it has only been about 30 years, and I am unsure if I can say I forgave him.
The father's role is not easy; I know that well. I have a son and had a daughter. We fathers often give the attitude of a hard exterior and pretend nothing really bothers us much because, as a dad, that is expected. We are the foundation and cornerstone of the family, whether we like it or not, and we should never delegate that role to another. I have let a family fail and delegated fatherhood to another…

As a father, I often hurt more than many will ever know. I can be good at hiding it, but often, it comes out as anger. I anger myself for failing each time I believe I fail. Then, we try our best to compensate for those failures, and it seems life repeats itself. One difference between my father and myself is that I tried. I'm not sure how well either of us succeeded.

Am I the perfect father? Far from it! As I said, I did not have a very good role model to draw from, and so often, I was simply trying to do what I believed my father should have done for me. A bad father does not fail now and again; the bad fathers are the ones who fail to try.
I have never needed to purchase a Father's Day card or take a loving old man to lunch and watch him take pleasure in the ones who loved him sitting around a table celebrating the day with him. If you had that privilege this Father's Day, you are very blessed; many never had and will never have that day.

I quit celebrating Father's Day the day my Grandfather died. He was the best, well, only father I recall having. I have no idea how my father did not learn from him. They were polar opposites. They say that happens. When you are not happy with your upbringing, you do the opposite. 

 
My father grew up poor and was high on people knowing his success in his chosen field. But that was a Grandfather

However, I still wonder if I did a good job. My son is so much like me, except for his anger toward his father. He treats Father's Day just like any other day. It is because he makes me feel like it's Father's Day 335 days a year. (I know there are 365 days, but even we have an occasional issue.)
But I know that as a father, I have succeeded and failed. It is too late to change that. I only hope that if my son becomes a father, he will take the time to learn more about that important job than those before him. No matter what a father or mother decides when raising a child, there is never a right answer, as each child is different.

With that, Happy Father's Day, Grandpa. I miss you so much; you have been gone for over 15 years!

Carry on, my friends, carry on…