Having a little bout with Achilles tendonitis has me researching my old running diaries to see my history with dealing with it .. twice… But the research has turned into a ton of fun!
I’ve been a runner for 31 years and just now, with minimalist footwear (Vibrams) and barefoot I am enjoying it as much or more than I did at 15, minus the achilles tenderness .. I am hoping I have caught it early enough though and will nurse it back to health quickly. … one thing about running into one’s 40s, I may still be addicted to the runner’s high but I pay a lot more attention to an injury now than I did before. I’d rather keep running for the rest of my life than try to run through and injury, thinking only of today and then needing to take the next month or more off.
Anyway, thought I’d share some of the beginning’s of my running days as I continue to share my current adventures .. these pictures show my diary entries from my 1982 running diary and my transition from High School to collegiate running at Iowa State University.
Less than a week ago I had a blog subscriber email me with criticism. He liked to imagine me out early canoeing to stalk my wildlife subjects. He didn’t care that I deal with mosquitos and he didn’t care for snapshots of my tendons bandaged with duct tape and frozen vegetables. He wanted to see only the images, not the stories. He claimed that my posts were self serving which made me snicker a bit at the irony of his email. He wanted to imagine what he wanted me to be (but not what is reality .. I don’t stalk my subjects .. and I don’t find my subjects via a canoe but rather with my feet through hiking and running). He blamed me for deflating that imagery with what really is/was by stating that blogging my own truth (telling the stories behind the pictures) was self serving .. I like the guy still and never got defensive. I always try to see if there is something to learn from criticism. But sometimes, upon analysis of most others spouting words and phrases like “inspiring” or “fun to follow” or “living vicariously through your adventures” – I realize that the writer of the email might be better off by looking in the mirror … as far as narcism goes, to some degree everyone’s blog would be that or we’d turn the blog over to other people to write for us 
Now onto why I included the jist of that email in this blog post … it’s the stuff behind the photos that this guy loves that make the photos! Without the adventures, the pictures would be about as exciting as a psychology statistical report. … For all the years that I have been a professional photographer I have had more people asking me where an image was made or they marveled at the patience it takes to be in one spot for hours at a time, on the conditions of extreme cold and wind, the distance hiked to get there, the weight of the pack on my back, and even down to the challenges and hard earned (but not wanted) blisters, heat rash, and battles with mosquitos. And so I decided to tell the stories and keep telling the stories that get me to pictures that you see. The pictures, trail guides, etc are the products of my passions! …
What is it with running? My feet take me where I need to go. I love and honor my feet as a golden treasure.
Running taught me focus that’s been a theme for my life. Running pre dates me as photographer, but it’s my feet that get me off the beaten path, to make many of my images…;) I will continue to be a living experiment, learning the amazing capacities of our own bodies, minds and spirits! I encourage us all to be what makes us happy!:)
My first running diary. I informally started running when I was about 8. I started the love for photography when I was 12. It was my love of nature and running all over the fields when I was 8 that inspired my Dad to give me a camera as a tool to "capture" what it was that so inspired me. ... I'm forever grateful Dad!
and it was my Mom, who's constant optimism and belief in me, despite challenges of any kind, helped me to know that my destiny was up to me. Some of us seem more fortunate than others but we ALL have challenges and if we risk being who we know ourselves to be we will fail forward to succeed. It's those failures that bring us to our successes. I honor failure .. If we fear failure and remain status quo we will be those sorry souls "wishing we had , wishing we were younger, wishing ... " .. it's never too late to begin. .. Just do it, just start. Thanks Mom, I will always be thankful. I don't know if you know how great you are but you are my inspiration.
An 87 year young man that I just met is running ultra marathons. He started when he was 65. .... I'm picking up these diaries from 31 years ago and I believe in the strength of the human mind, body and soul, along with our ability to heal ourselves, ... Thank you all who have inspired me. This is the beginning of my own challenge to myself.. I've failed enough to understand what it means to be successful and its not about money .. its about living ....
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