An old dog is trying to learn new tricks. Above is a photo that I took yesterday as I attempt to learn some "real" photography skills. I'm still trying to grasp the whole depth of field concept and how to bring focus to a particular subject in a piece of art. The rule of thirds was thrown right out the window but I did put in a little biker dude between my grapes and the refridgerator. I should get bonus points for that?
I know a lot of people that feel that the fall is their favorite time of the year. I'm pretty big on fall myself. It's a great transitional season and the gateway to the holidays (which I LOVE!). One thing that I do love about the fall is the natural foods that can be enjoyed during the fall harvest.
I've learned to love grapes. But when I eat them, they initiate two mental triggers, which make me think of other people. Almost everytime I eat grapes I think of two people; my good friend Paul Carriere and my wife Angela. I think of Paul because I started eating grapes by hanging around Paul. We used to do these endurance camps or go and do races and I always remember Paul going into the grocery store, buying about a thousand pounds of grapes and then going back to where we were staying and eating them. He could do the same with apples (like sit down and eat an entire bag of apples) but I already liked apples.
I think of Angela because she taught me the differences in grapes. Everybody knows those normal green grapes or red grapes that you get at your local grocery store. Those are ok, but those aren't the super delicious, scrumptious, juicy grapes of the fall harvest. Angela taught me about Holiday grapes, Concord grapes, Muscadine grapes. Oh man, I love quality grapes! Above were some of the best tasting Concords that my lips ever touched. YUMMY in my TUMMY!
I exchanged some texts with my sister Stephanie today. She took the day off to do her last long run prior to the Marine Corp Marathon. 22.6 miles. She's ready. But when she was done, she said she had a bad case of "chub rub" and I fell over laughing. I HATE chub rub (and I never heard that phrase prior to her telling me). I really hate it when I find out I have it when I get into the shower and my inner thighs are on fire. I think it happens most often when I run long (which causes long duration friction) and my shorts are wet from either rain or sweating. Not a pleasant experience either way. Be glad for Body Glide and stretchy pants...
Had lunch today with fellow blogger Scott Moranos who was in town for some business. Scott's a great guy and getting to be a darn good triathlete (went sub 5:00 at Augusta 70.3!!!) and did it with a job, a wife, two kids, the works. He somehow makes it all happen while balancing things out and it was great to hear about his experiences. I have a TON of respect for working athletes with corporate jobs that require travel, meetings, long work hours, who also have children.
Any triathlete that says single athletes with no kids and joke jobs are on par with the time demands of married athletes with kids and corporate type jobs may not have an accurate view of what it really takes to get decent in the sports world and keep things balanced out. I can't seem to figure out how so many of my friends balance out work, families/kids, training and other life events. Their dedication and determination is very inspirational. It's amazing what they can do.
By the numbers;
- 184.2 - today's weight (January 1, 2009 weight was 184.2). Goal weight for 10/25/09 is 165.
- 15 - days until the Marine Corp Marathon
- 234 - Total days trained in 2009
- 0.00 - Miles run today
- 252.50 - Miles on current pair of shoes
- 1,208.00 - Miles run in 2009
Out of all of the texts I send you- CHUB RUB is what makes the blog? Good grief!
Posted by: $tessy | October 09, 2009 at 04:21 PM