HOW
RAD
IS THIS TRIAL BIKER?!
HOW
NERVOUS
ARE THESE GUYS?!?!
(PS - Do you see me in the background snapping a picture?? I will post that one later once I get it off my camera...it's pretty awesome)
Showing posts with label Action Shots. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Action Shots. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Tricked, Fooled, Conned ... A Sports Story
Did I ever tell you guys about the time I got tricked into running a marathon?
Yes, that is right; I was fooled into completeing 26.4 miles of self-inflicted physical and mental abuse.
I am pretty sure I have mentioned I ran the Dubai Marathon in January, but what I failed to explain was how this feat ended up being added to my list of "Life Achievements". (And yes, I have contemplated puting my marathon victory on my resume under "skills", haha)
Clearly, I got tricked into this because no one in their right mind decides to train for a marathon only 13 weeks before it (with Christmas & New Years falling square in the middle), in the HOT Middle Eastern desert, in a city that only has 2 safe places to run long distances. But alas, I am a sucker and a fool.
It all started with an e-mail suggesting that it would be fun to go over to Dubai for a weekend getaway and while we were there run the 10K race that was being held in conjuction to the marathon. Somehow this fun suggestion snowballed into a "who is the biggeridiot man" competition where 20 of my coworkers (including the fiance' and myself) were peer-pressured into running the marathon. We even paid 80 USD for the awesome pleasure of torturing ourselves.
To be honest, the idea of running and training for a marathon did not seem *too bad* when supposedly 20 other people would be there to support you through the duration of training and during the actual race. However, as the weeks went by more and more people hung up their running shoes. By the time race day came only 4 (myself and the fiance' included) of us actually made it to the starting line and only 3 crossed the finish.
And let me tell you...running a marathon is no joke. I mean you hear the word marathon and you think "yeah, that sounds tough," but really you have NO IDEA until you actually run one. Of course, I was completely fooled & under prepared. I ran the first half of the marathon in 2 hours (a decent pace) and was having a good time. It felt pretty good and I was enjoying seeing Dubai for the first time. The problem is, in my limited amount of training, I never ran more than half a marathon distance. BIG MISTAKE. I had no flipping clue what I was up against because the second half of the marathon was not only hard, but it was HOT (we are talking nearly 100 degrees). So hot that I was pouring an entire bottle of water over myself at every 1.5 mile water station. And the last 6 miles were BRUTAL. I was on the verge of emotional hysteria by the time I reached the finish; bursting into full on tears as I crossed because I seriously did not think I was going to make it. Afterwards I vowed that I would NEVER run another marathon again. Been.There.Done.That.
But here is the awful truth: the further I get away from the experience, the more I find myself contemplating attempting another one or maybe something more.... I keep thinking, "I could have run that faster" or "I can do it without crying". And there I go now fooling myself into more physical punishment. Which, the point to my story being I have now been CONNED, yes, conned into completing a HALF IRONMAN.
I know guys! I know. But it's not my fault! I swear. (ok, maybe a little bit my fault) So basically, after recovering from the marathon I have been thinking all sorts of crazy things. For some reason I now believe I am part super-human, perhaps? I don't know. But what I do know is that I have this super cool cycling friend (who the fiance' picked up for me one night - that is another story though) M from Australia who is super awesome and also a triathlete and she convinced me that I can be one too. I currently cycle between 50-80 miles a week (if not more), I have got the running thing down (thank you marathon)and I used to swim competitively in High School - so I figured I could definitely do a Sprint triathlon (750 m swim, 20 km bike, 5 km run) or with a bit training an Olympic triathlon (1.5 km swim, 40 km ride, 10 km run) no sweat. But she flipping signed me up for a Half Ironman (1.9 km swim, 90 km ride, 21.1 km run aka The Long Course)! See?? I totally got conned!
So here I go again - signing up for more self inflicted physical and mental abuse. Seriously, I should probably get my head checked.
Yes, that is right; I was fooled into completeing 26.4 miles of self-inflicted physical and mental abuse.
I am pretty sure I have mentioned I ran the Dubai Marathon in January, but what I failed to explain was how this feat ended up being added to my list of "Life Achievements". (And yes, I have contemplated puting my marathon victory on my resume under "skills", haha)
Clearly, I got tricked into this because no one in their right mind decides to train for a marathon only 13 weeks before it (with Christmas & New Years falling square in the middle), in the HOT Middle Eastern desert, in a city that only has 2 safe places to run long distances. But alas, I am a sucker and a fool.
It all started with an e-mail suggesting that it would be fun to go over to Dubai for a weekend getaway and while we were there run the 10K race that was being held in conjuction to the marathon. Somehow this fun suggestion snowballed into a "who is the bigger
To be honest, the idea of running and training for a marathon did not seem *too bad* when supposedly 20 other people would be there to support you through the duration of training and during the actual race. However, as the weeks went by more and more people hung up their running shoes. By the time race day came only 4 (myself and the fiance' included) of us actually made it to the starting line and only 3 crossed the finish.
And let me tell you...running a marathon is no joke. I mean you hear the word marathon and you think "yeah, that sounds tough," but really you have NO IDEA until you actually run one. Of course, I was completely fooled & under prepared. I ran the first half of the marathon in 2 hours (a decent pace) and was having a good time. It felt pretty good and I was enjoying seeing Dubai for the first time. The problem is, in my limited amount of training, I never ran more than half a marathon distance. BIG MISTAKE. I had no flipping clue what I was up against because the second half of the marathon was not only hard, but it was HOT (we are talking nearly 100 degrees). So hot that I was pouring an entire bottle of water over myself at every 1.5 mile water station. And the last 6 miles were BRUTAL. I was on the verge of emotional hysteria by the time I reached the finish; bursting into full on tears as I crossed because I seriously did not think I was going to make it. Afterwards I vowed that I would NEVER run another marathon again. Been.There.Done.That.
Here I am in all my marathoning glory (totally beating the cr*p out of that fit looking dude)
But here is the awful truth: the further I get away from the experience, the more I find myself contemplating attempting another one or maybe something more.... I keep thinking, "I could have run that faster" or "I can do it without crying". And there I go now fooling myself into more physical punishment. Which, the point to my story being I have now been CONNED, yes, conned into completing a HALF IRONMAN.
WTF, KP!?!?
I know guys! I know. But it's not my fault! I swear. (ok, maybe a little bit my fault) So basically, after recovering from the marathon I have been thinking all sorts of crazy things. For some reason I now believe I am part super-human, perhaps? I don't know. But what I do know is that I have this super cool cycling friend (who the fiance' picked up for me one night - that is another story though) M from Australia who is super awesome and also a triathlete and she convinced me that I can be one too. I currently cycle between 50-80 miles a week (if not more), I have got the running thing down (thank you marathon)and I used to swim competitively in High School - so I figured I could definitely do a Sprint triathlon (750 m swim, 20 km bike, 5 km run) or with a bit training an Olympic triathlon (1.5 km swim, 40 km ride, 10 km run) no sweat. But she flipping signed me up for a Half Ironman (1.9 km swim, 90 km ride, 21.1 km run aka The Long Course)! See?? I totally got conned!
So here I go again - signing up for more self inflicted physical and mental abuse. Seriously, I should probably get my head checked.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Sports Illustrated, Here I Come!!
No, not as bikini model! That would be the day. Ha! But maybe as a sports photographer??? Who am I kidding, I think the closest to published anything I photograph & edit will ever get already happened when I was Sports Editor of my high school yearbook (a million years ago). None-the-less, I borrowed the fiance's fancy Nikkon with its' giant lenses and pretended to be a pro-photog and support car crewmember for an afternoon. Now usually I rock out with my Olympus Stylus Tough on my ski and outdoor adventures (many of which you have seen posted in this awesome blog).
This bad boy is shock proof, waterproof, and adventure ready at all times. It is perfectly engineered to point & shoot mid-action/adventure/awesomeness and capture a stunning & high quality image. It is also small enough that it is not a burden to carry around while having said adventure. However, for this event since I would be on the sidelines and riding in the support car, I figured trying my hand with a serious camera would be fun. To be honest, I am surprised that the fiance' even let me put my hands on his sick camera...I mean, I have a shockproof/waterproof camera for more than one reason (read: I am a huge clutz). On this occasion, he happened to be a competitor in the race (his first road race ever!) and I think he wanted to get the best quality images of him dominating the competition as possible. So after a quick tutorial of the way too many buttons and features that the camera has we were off and KP - Pro Sports Photog came into action.
Just a little taste for you. It was really fun to have the camera on sports mode and have it shoot like 20 pictures in a few seconds. When viewing them on my computer I felt as if I were watching the race in action. Although, many of the pictures that I thought would be great turned out a bit out-of-focus...guess I should have been listening better during the fiance's tutorial! Opps. All in all, it was a great afternoon. I had a blast taking pictures and riding in the support car with Coach Capes; handing off water bottles out of the window (just like in the Tour de France!) and giving them information/motivation as they rode. The fiance' did extremely well for his first race ever (in my opinion). He was riding up against the Qatar National Professional & Junior Team and also against a bunch of amatuer, but seasoned riders. He spent the majority of the race up in the front group and finished 4th for the amatuers and 10th overall. Not bad if I do say so myself. I definitely see medals in his future ... and maybe some photography lessons in mine! Although next time I think I might be on my bike; tough work but definitely a cool experience.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Fav Photos - Summer Series p. 2
The summer celebration continues! Here are a few of my favorite shots from Summer 2008 - the Naturally Northwest Tour. I spent the summer on a series of adventures all over Washington from the Cascades, the San Juan Islands, Whidbey Island, to up at Mt. Rainier.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Fav Photos - Summer Series
In celebration of summer I have decided to post a series of photos from past summer adventures. These are a few of my favorite shots from Summer 2007, also known as IPG (International Party Girl's) European Escape. Enjoy.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Just another day at the office...
Talk about a job with a view:
Photographed early this morning; a bull moose and her two calfs.
Photographed early this morning; a bull moose and her two calfs.
Click to enlarge!
Monday, March 2, 2009
Don't Try This At Home
Your daily dose of awesome:
T-Wolf conquers Vail's China Bowl. (As filmed by KP)
T-Wolf conquers Vail's China Bowl. (As filmed by KP)
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