Leaving the PNW.

 Beautiful race mornings.

We worked at the Black Diamond race festival. 7 races, but only about 1,000 people. We arrived at 10am as the sun was warming things up. It felt like it was about 50 degrees and we were pulling on sweaters. That made me decide not to do a triathlon. Getting out of the water and riding my bike while cold and wet isn't my idea of fun. People were putting on arm warmers or long sleeve cycling tops and my transition times are too important for that kind of nonsense. I did what I thought the logical thing would be and ran the half marathon instead. Sure, I didn't have much training, I was on my feet for 2 days before, and it was freezing cold, but it would be good training for SOMA, right? God, after doing the race, I got acupuncture and I think that it actually helped. Maybe my mind was focusing on the needles. (I hate needles. I pass out when blood is drawn.)

But then I got in the car and drove to the border of California and Oregon today. It was about 400 miles and 8 hours. My legs are killing me. I look like I am 80 years old walking down the stairs. Proudly, My pace was 7:10s for the half marathon. It took me 1 hour and 34 minutes. With training, I can do a 1:15. I love the distance. My body is used to running 4-6 miles. At mile six my body tried to quit. There was some shuffling and my feet were not picked up very high. About mile 9, I convinced my body to work again. I passed a couple of people and wasn't chicked (passed by a girl). That is two races in two weeks not getting chicked! These small races are awesome. Sunday afternoon, I forced myself into the Green River because it is Steelhead season. There were lots of Pink Salmon spawning, none eating, and we caught some of the world's smallest trout.

For some reason I might miss these two.

So now we are near the California border sitting in a hotel in Oregon. I still don't have pictures from Kirkland Triathlon, but I will post them when I get them. If I ever put on a race I feel lik e I would know what to do for the athletes. I am glad that there were no photographers at the half marathon. I went out really fast and was leading for the first 3 minutes of the race. My Skins Sox are supposed to help me, but they fell down instead. I wear size XXS. I guess not all of us are perfect. Time for the hot tub.

Eating is good.

Being a guest at the Collins' house is amazing. Despite trying to eat everything that we can, they are still nice to us. There is amazing food and wine available whenever we want. Tonight's menu is set to include crab cakes on a bed of spinach with a white sauce and teriyaki short ribs for those of us that prefer not to dine on crustaceans and their ocean dwelling counterparts.

Just trying to get kicked out.

I raced in the Kirkland Triathlon this past weekend. Ben won and I was happy with my result. I will post pictures when I get them. Staying with Ben, I always jump on the opportunity to train with him. I am horrible at training on my own so having someone much better than me is motivating. Even if I don't see him for most of our runs. Today, the weather was in the mid 80's and sunny.
I was a little nervous when I opened a drawer and saw a container labeled "Carl's Gruel". I wish that there was a person named Carl here. Maybe even a dog. Either way, I wont complain about the food.

My Lake Washington Swim

St. Joe, Idaho.

After Vancouver Island, we went to Spokane for a race. It was a fun time and Mojdeh was able to compete in her first Olympic distance triathlon. Her race report is here. Sunday afternoon, we stopped by a fly shop in Spokane. The info that they gave us was fantastic. Stop by the Silver Bow fly shop in Spokane if you ever get the chance. We drove to the St. Joe river in Idaho for another 3 day fishing trip. God, I love my life.

Gorgeous waters with even better looking fish.

We found a spot that was magical as soon as we arrived. I nailed a couple of 16" cutthroat trout in a the first few hours that we were there. Next task was to find a place to sleep. There were lots of campsites along the river. For $6 a night we had a fire pit with a grill, bathrooms, and drinking water.

 

Cutties galore.

Oh yeah, and it was a stone's throw from the river. I was too happy to sleep or eat, but we brought the usual steaks, potatoes, and onions, etc. so that we could have a large leftover lunch the next day.

Campsite location was ideal.

 

Moth making a fatal landing.

In the evening, I walked up to a large pool and found fish coming to the surface and eating the large moths that landed for too long in the river. They would be feeding within 15 feet of where I was standing. It was amazing.

 

My view looking downstream.

I caught a couple there the first night. One of them had some holes near his head. I thought he had gotten into a fight with another fish, but it might have been an Osprey. Another fisherman told me that the Ospreys live nearby and prey on fish that are hooked and dragged to the surface by fishermen. I wasn't sure if I believed him (fishermen have been know to exaggerate from time to time) until I saw the birds myself.

One of 3 hungry birds I saw!

Here is the fish with holes.

We also saw snakes, bald eagles, deer, all sorts of wildlife. It was a quite far away place with great fishing. I loved it. The fishing the next day wasn't as good as the first day that we were there, but it was fun all the same.

 One of my faves.

This fish was awesome. Well where he was sitting was awesome. You can see the fast water behind me hits a rock. It was a difficult drift and required a well timed strike to catch the fish, but I somehow managed. So after a few days, we headed back to Seattle. Now we are kickin' it with Ben and Courtenay.

Quick vid of Idaho

Just a quickie before I write my blog tomorrow.

Vancouver Island.

We left Seattle early Sunday morning and headed for the first of many ferries. Then someone sitting beside me realized that they forgot their passport. Luckily, it was only a four hour delay. The weather was typical Seattle weather, but that was to be expected. We traveled for about 8 hours before arriving at a campsite beside the Cowichan River. I was told that this would not be an exclusive fishing trip, but we somehow always stayed near the water.

One of many ferry rides. 

The house going to Canada.

The Cowichan River was beautiful. It was set in a semi deep gorge with steep sides. The water was a series of pools with small waterfalls. It made for tricky fishing, but saw a guy pull a big Rainbow Trout so it gave us hope. Unfortunately, we hauled out the small dumb trout. What makes it worse is that the guy with the big 20 inch trout was using "worms and weights". Weak. Us fly fisherpeople are supposed to be a bit more civilized. And maybe even, dare I say it, better anglers.

 

Cowichan River fishing.

Leaving the town of Duncan and the mighty Cowichan, we headed to Campbell River looking to kayaks to rent. Arriving at the end of summer is great. There are always campsites available, the amount of tourists is cut in at least half, and all of the kids are back to school. However, a lot of businesses close after Labour (sic) Day. We took another ferry to Quadra Island. It is an island with few people and hopefully Orcas, seals, bear, etc. The weather wasn't cooperating so couldn't go kayaking. 25 knot winds didn't sound like fun out on the water. We got in a fun, but hilly bike ride, practiced casting into the 25 knot wind, then went down to the only pub in town for dinner.

 

I noticed something funny on my saddle.

On our bike ride, we stopped at the Quadra Salmon Eco Centre. It showed us how the salmon live and die. More importantly, it showed us what they eat and where they hide. We went to bed hoping for better kayaking weather the next day. We woke up and it was pissing rain. Looked like there was nothing else to do but fish. We departed for Campbell River, grabbed some blue, pink, and green minnow pattern flies and started fishing in the rain.

Fishing in the rain.

 

We are going to need a bigger net.

It worked out well for us.

 

A female Pink Salmon.

A male pinky.

Biggest of the day.

Labor Weekend.

My life...

So Courtenay had a blog post about a friend who said something inspirational or something. It was about not making excuses. So I read that and then she let me sit on her wheel for an hour as we rode our bikes to Lake Sammamish. On my way home I saw some monster fish along the Sammamish River Trail. I am not sure if fishing is allowed there, so I had to try to forget about it and ride home. I am very unproductive when riding beside a river. Luckily, we are leaving for Vancouver Island tomorrow.

Yakima River

We had what I would call a successful 3 day fishing trip. There were lots of small fish caught. Not as many as last time, but I still had a lot of fun. It got windy on the 2nd day which messed with the casting a bit, but probably made us better in the long run. I loved using my new waders and boots.

Again the orange stimulators were great for the trout.
The day after we left, my passport arrived. The weather is supposed to be more Seattle like (lots of rain) over the weekend so we are going to try to hit Vancouver Island this coming week. Arriving back at the house, I rode the trainer for an hour and then did my new core workout. I need to start getting ready for SOMA.

Race excitement.

The antibiotics have begun and none to soon. I signed up for SOMA today. I can't wait. The best part is that I will have some good training in Kona while we are there in October. It will be a wonderful time to swim, bike, and run my heart out. The folks at Red Rock Company put on some really fun events. Check out their PBR Urban Dirt Tri. It looks like a lot of fun as well.
I am still waiting for my passport to arrive before taking off to Canada. I made cookies today and Moj is making some sort of banana meringue pie. That probably isn't conducive to fast race times, but I think that it is well worth it. I guess I could take up aqua jogging like Courtenay...