Bever Fever Duathlon

It almost didn't happen. Sunday morning at 5am when the alarm sounded I was so close to turning it off and rolling back over. But I laid there for a second and thought about it. I knew if I skipped the race I'd check the results next week and regret not doing it. So I threw my feet on the floor and staggered to the bathroom. We arrived in Philomath just before 8am. I had just over an hour until race start. So I had plenty of time to set up my gear get registered and freeze my ass off. It was a chilly 38 degrees but sunny and clear. So the race started pretty close to on time. The first 5k was a loop around town with a couple rolling hills and one short steep climb. I came into transition in 6th with a new 5k PR(18:19). Once I got my helmet on I was off. Within the first 3 miles I had climbed up to 2nd and begin the hunt for first. The 18m course was nice country back roads with rolling hills and 2 pretty good climbs. I was able to get within sight of the first place guy but wasn't able to close the gap he had on me. My legs were not happy today after doing a tough ride the Friday night before with Grant. Typically in a race of this distance I should be avg'ing ~310 watts. Instead I was struggling to hold 290. Into T2 I was about 50 seconds back from the leader. But based on his run split on the first leg I knew my chances of catching him were slim. The last 5k was on the Philomath high school's XC course. It was 2 laps and had a lot of sharp turns and varying terrain. It was painful but fun and it went by fast. I finished about a minute and a half back from the leader but managed to hold on to 2nd. I was happy that even with tired legs I was able still able to crank out the fastest bike split. The downside was that I have beaten the guy that won in 2 other Tri's this year. Oh well, you can't win 'em all.

Run

Over the last few weeks I have started to appreciate running again. It's been a while since I have had the opportunity to really focus on it and make it my priority over the bike and the swim. The only downside is the loss in fitness in the other areas. I am having a bit of a hard time letting the bike fitness go. I am still riding, but not nearly as much as I was. Since the bike has become my strength in Tri's I am very hesitant to neglect it too much. With the base I've built over the last year though I should be able to bounce back pretty quickly after RnR marathon. It's good to be a runner again though!
This coming weekend I am planning to get a race in and us some of this fitness I have been trying to build and maintain. The issue I am having is trying to decide which race to do. There is a half marathon downtown on Sunday, but I don't feel like I am ready for that yet. It would be fun though since so many Ironheads will be doing it. Or there is a the OSU tri club's Beaver Fever Duathlon (run/bike/run) in Corvallis. This sounds the most tempting since I could break up the run with a little 18 mile ride. This may be better then an actual Triathlon for me since I wouldn't have a swim to slow me down. Who knows, good thing for day of race registration I guess.
Earlier this week we were in Disneyland with our twin nephews for their 8th birthday. Good times... I love Space Mountain! It's always nice to get home though, the crowds get a little old after while. Disneyland would be so much more fun if there wasn't so many kids there :) Fortunately while we were there I did manage to run everyday. On Tuesday we drove down to Huntington beach and I ran from there to Newport beach and back (about 10 miles). Flat, but great scenery. It was nice to get away from D-land for a few hours. The other two days were running around Anaheim. Not the ideal place to run. Both times I got a little lost and found my self a little concerned for my safety. But when your lost and a little scared the time flies by! Like I said, it's nice to be home...

Hunnington Beach

Flakey

So yes, I am feeling a little like a flake lately. A couple of posts ago I was all fired up about doing the SOMA Half. Shortly after I decided, Scott posted my training plan. I don't know why but I just wasn't feeling it in the workouts. I was getting them in but was dreading the actual race. I'm not sure if I was just getting burned out a bit or what. Anyway, I've changed my mind again and I will not be racing. I decided I didn't want to waste the time, energy, or money for something I was excited about. Since I made that decision the workouts have been feeling outstanding again. Today will be my 6th day in a row of running, and I should get close to 50 miles this week. I've backed off of the riding a bit, but am still getting 3 rides and 3 swims in per week. It feels good to be getting the running endurance back though. Right now I am getting over the hump of sore and tired. It's the point in which you think "how am I going to run today with these tired legs" but when you start running they feel great. The last 3 days have felt like that and each day the runs get faster and feel better. RnR Marathon is still a long way off so I really need to stay focused on not over doing it like I have in the past. Nightly stretching and recovery drinks after each run have been key.
Speaking of marathons, last Sunday we went down and watched the Portland Marathon. It was a harsh reminder of how hard marathons are. Trying to run that hard for that long hurts. Especially with the goals I have in my head for January, it's really going to hurt! But it was great to see so many friends coming in looking strong. There were, of course, the train wrecks that pushed beyond their limits and paid for it. Like the guy who was projectile vomiting as he ran up the street to finish. He was under 3 hrs, but it was not pretty. Then there was the lady with what looked like mud running down her legs. Needless to say it wasn't mud... I'll admit I gagged a little as she passed. Why do we do these things to ourselves... Oh ya, cause it's fun!

The Great Tuna Adventure

This last Saturday Rob P and I set out to the coast. That afternoon we fished the Neacanicum River just off hwy 26. This is where I caught my biggest fish up to that point. It was a 10 inch trout. I was very excited. After few hours we continued on to the booming town of Hammond just outside of Astoria. We met up with our guide Jad, Capt Chuck, and the other two guys that were fishing with us the next morning. The goal was to head out before dawn, stop for some bait and out into the ocean in pursuit of Tuna. The unique thing about this trip was the fact that we would be using fly rods rather then normal rods. The main difference is the length. A normal rode is much shorter and stiffer which gives you more leverage once you hook into the fish. With a fly rod the pole bends almost completely in half and makes if difficult to get the fish up to the boat. Especially when it's a Tuna fish.
So we were up at 4:45, mostly because we couldn't sleep. We loaded up the 36ft boat and headed out. A quick stop in Ilwaco for live sardines (bait) and we were off. The Columbia river bar is one of the roughest bars in the world and this was my first time crossing it. I was excited to experience it, but a little nervous about getting sea sick. I have never had the issue before, but my actual time out in the ocean is very limited. As we progressed towards the mouth of the river the swells grew and it became a noticeably rougher ride. It was amazing, the sun was just coming up, it was clear and relatively calm. It was a perfect morning.
We arrived at the fishing grounds at about 9:30 in the morning, about 30 miles out at sea. On the way out we saw a whale and some sea lions. We dropped the lines and started fishing. Within 20 mins we started catching fish. It was crazy at first. One person would get a fish on and yell "fish on" and everyone else would start reeling in their lines as quickly as possible to prevent getting tangled. Through out the day we had a fish on every 20 to 40 mins. Typically the goal is to find a large school of fish and throw out the live bait to attract them and bring to the surface. Then you cast your line into them and hope they take your fly. In this scenario it is normal to have multiple fish on at once around the boat. Unfortunately the wind had picked up so much that it was impossible to see the schools or really use the bait. But total we still ended up with 10 fish caught and 3 others that got away before we could get them to the boat. Not a bad day at all.
Overall it was an awesome trip. It is unbelievable how strong and fast a Tuna fish is. I had no idea. Also, just being out on the water that far off shore is very cool. You see so much more wildlife. I can't wait to do it again next year. Unfortunately the season is pretty short since the Tuna travel with the warm currents. So they really only show up from mid to late July through early October. But, I think that makes it that much better, makes you appreciate it more when it's so limited. In the meantime it will be back to the river in search of those little guys. Everything is going to seem little after this...

Here's a video that Rob put together:

http://perkwire.com/tunafishing

And some photos: