Fishing is DANGEROUS!

Every other year my Father-in-Law, Brother-in-Law, and oldest son Jack go and fish the lower Umpqua on a couple of drift boats. This year, like most, was epic and we all caught a TON of fish... (catch and release only). So this year I'm fishing a nymph on my fly rod while standing on the upper deck in the bow of the drift boat. I hooked a HUGE Small Mouth that I'd been fishing for about 15 minutes! The boat lurched and I fell backward landing with my full weight in the middle of my back just to the left of my spine. It knocked the wind out of me and about all I could do was mutter a nice, quiet, "mutherf%#$@&". (Jack was in the back of the boat and didn't hear). I sat there for a minute, (making sure that my fly-line was still in the water and tight), and eventually put my feet under me and stood. The fish was still on and for some reason I just couldn't let it go... I landed it! Whoop Whoop! Sucked it up enough to snap a quick picture and immediately doubled over in a TON of pain. The guide filled a baggy with ice and I spent the rest of the drift icing the middle of my back. Long story very short, I'm still a bit bruised and battered but its slowly getting to the point where I can comfortably tie my shoes. It could have been a LOT worse... so once again... I'm super lucky!

My last race of the season is coming up on the 9th! Escape from the Gorge was my first triathlon EVER last year... so it has great sentimental value... I'm NOT missing it. I'm simply adjusting my expectations! I did a short swim last Friday, (felt like crap), and I did a short run today, (felt pretty otay), I'll hop on bike tomorrow and see how that feels... maybe turn it into a short brick. Regardless... I'm doing the race and I'm gonna have FUN!

I also wanted to offer my public CONGRATULATIONS to my buddy DREW on completing his first Ironman in Canada! Drew executed his race plan pretty much perfectly and as a result... he's walking around Bend, OR with a brand-spankin, shiny new Ironman Canada medal! WAY TO GO DREW! We're all really proud of you!

Breathe...