Running. This has been a passion of mine for many years now and still continues.
Alas, long distance running is now a thing of the past for me. Due to reasons brought to light here on these pages over the last few years, it is simply not a joy nor possible to run continuously over a six to ten mile distance. Any half marathon is a combination of intervals and walking. And I have come to terms with this. No, it is not easy seeing my fellow runners of my own age or older run half and full marathons weekly and not only keep in great shape but medal in their age divisions. Yet that is simply how it must be. No amount of training, therapy or medications is going to change this and while I know there are a few methods that might help to get me more miles and lower times, it just hurts too much and is not enjoyable during and after such long distances. Therefore the concentration will be on running for health and social fun, keeping my distances between the 5K and 10K's with a yearly half marathon with the Vancouver Marathon and Half. Besides, I cannot afford all the races I used to run in anyways.
Cycling is starting to take the place of the missed running miles as it is a LOT less damaging and painful on my aging arthritic joints. A ride of 30 miles is still completely within my abilities and a few times a week. This way I can keep in shape between the 10-15 miles a week running and 50 cycling. At least I shall give that a shot.
That is it. Fifty years is not really old at all for most people but I have witnessed many come and go from the running and cycling crowds I know and they always come back in one form or another. I'm not going away but will be seen less at events and on the road. As for cycling, that will increase. I'm NOT a couch potato most of the time at all and so will not allow my body to become such a thing. I might be down a it but never out of the game!
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This year marks my fiftieth summer as a human on this beautiful globe and there have been no shortages of delights and amazing experiences. With a lot of time spent in Portland shooting photos and exploring, there have been many opportunities to meet up with old friends as well as meet many new ones. The weather has been rather nice for a season I truly don't like most of the time. But, if summers were like this every year, I might be convinced to change my thinking. I can recall only two days over one hundred degrees and perhaps five over ninety, making it a rather average one. Still, August is just around the corner and who knows what that will bring.
There have not been many changes in life, and that is just fine as surely the old cliche of "no news is good news" can be true indeed. Mother is still in the process of chemotherapy, which is showing signs of working. The photo business is still the same and while no new projects have taken off and made me $$, I'm honing the craft and hoping to still win some awards and contests with well received photos. Dragon Digital has been a delightful part of my life and I hope it eventually takes off and I can do better with it. Dragon Digital Photography
Still using the Nikon D300 and D7100 bodies as my workhorses and don't see that changing anytime soon as I enjoy them both, their functions and truly delightful ease of use. The new models are certainly beautiful and worth drooling over but no way could I afford to buy them. If I had a choice and were able to choose a model, it would be the D750 or D810 as they have all I would need for many years. But seriously, the D7100 is an amazing camera that does not need any upgrades. These are a few of what it has captured as of late:
These were all shot around the Portland/Vancouver area and a sampling of what these cameras will do.Simply marvelous!
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