The Season of Two-Tones

It's here again. Some see it as fall, others see it as a season of two-tones. Yes folks, you can see evidence that the two-toned season his arrived. Just look around at gas stations, sporting good stores and hardware stores. This time of year is like a right of passage for many adult males over the age of 16. God created the earth in six days. On the seventh day he drove his Jeep down gravel roads.

Size 14

In past years my favorite fly was a beadhead pheasant, size 16. Although this fly has hooked many trout, it never caught many big trout. You know, the ones over 14 inches. This year I sized up to size 14 flies. Beadhead pheasant, beadhead prince, hares ear, all size 14. Maybe it's a coincidence, but I caught more and bigger trout when I made the switch to a size 14. I realize that the size difference between a size 16 fly and a size 14 fly can be measured in millimeters. But it did seem to make a difference. Maybe like humans, trout get older and could benefit from glasses and Lasik surgeries. Then they'd eat my size 16's again.

"IT" Factor-ed

Well, I finished the Twin Cities Maraton today, but unfortunately ITB the bull ran over me. The weather was perfect: cool, light breeze, partly cloudy. The gun went off and started down the road. I felt decent and soon found myself running by feel instead of by pace. After mile 3 I looked at my watch and noticed I was running at a pace to finish in sub-3:40. I decided to go for it, it was the perfect weather today. Around mile 9 I went down a hill and felt pain in my IT band. It wasn't terrible, but I slowed some to protect my knee. I went through the halfway point in 1:50:49. Not bad pacing and the rest of my body felt strong. As the miles continued the pain in my IT band increased. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19 was in sight at the top of West River Road. Legs were getting tired, but still doing alright. No cramping and no signs of hitting the wall yet. As I hit the halfway point on the incline climbing up the Franklin Bridge, my IT band instantly shot with sharp pain and I was forced to stop immediately. I then hobbled to the top of the bridge. Across the bridge and my IT band locked up again. I knew I was in trouble. I pushed through the pain a few times but the next 7 miles were miserable and there was nothing that I could do about it but run, walk, run and walk some more. If there was ever a day to crush a PR, today was it. Weather was perfect. Nutrition was good. Fluids were good. I guess the only benefit of the IT band issue is that I was forced to walk alot in the final miles. So the wall wasn't too tough and the rest of my body isn't too beat up. Finished in 3:57. 43 seconds off a PR. Nice to finish in sub-4, but still disappointing.

The IT Factor

Less than a week to go before running my next marathon, and again I have runner's "issues". A couple of times I've come down with colds and other times its been a nagging hamstring issue. Oh, I'm sure part of my past issues were partly mental. But this latest issue might actually be a real issue. New to the list this go-around is one that's purely physical. The dreaded IT band issue, a common ailment among many runners, has made it's first appearance in my life. It first popped up two weeks ago around mile 13 of a 20-miler. It came out of nowhere, and I had to stop twice between miles 13 and 20. I felt the same pain again last Friday night on my last "long" run, just an easy 9-miler, but the IT pain was there again. My marathon finishing times have been slowed by heat, slowed by lack of training, but never have been forced to a "DNF" (Did Not Finish). I guess I'll find out next Sunday if this latest running "issue" is the real deal.

Repeat performance

Game #2 at the new TCF Bank stadium is in the books. The Gophers played tough against a #8 ranked Cal team but the better team rallied in the end to give our Gophers their first loss for the season.

We kicked off the morning with an eggbake and french toast in the parking lot around 9:00am. I don't know if I've ever combined tailgating, eggs and beer before, so this was a first. Good times, good times.

Blue Collared Trout Fisherman

The other day I stumbled across a few pictures that I took when I lived in Colorado. The pictures tell the tale of an excursion to an alpine lake located at about 11,000 feet above sea level. It's a beautiful lake at the foot of a rocky peak that holds monster brook trout. However, in order to get to the lake you must first tackle 3.8 miles of rough hiking trails that raise 2,500 feet in elevation. To make things worse, most of the trail is steep, rocky and exposed to the sun. The first section of the trail is so mentally and physically taxing that the locals call it by name - S.O.B. Hill (Son Of a Bi*ch). But by the time you get to the lake you are pretty drained of energy and more or less ready for a nap or a drink, and not necesarily in any particular order.

Seeing those pictures again made me think about the type of fisherman I am. I think the best way to describe me as a trout fisherman is by saying that I'm a blue-collared trout fisherman. The truth is most of the trout waters that I fish fly low on the national radar. Sure, I've fished many of those popular spots with magazine-worthy names like Gunnison, Madison and Yellowstone. But those are not the spots that I normally fish, and on 99 out of 100 fishing trips you will find me fishing less glamorous spots, a.k.a. the blue-collared trout waters. Blue-collared trout waters don't require thousand dollar fly rods, brand name drift boats or direct instructions from the very best fishing guides in the area. They are void of easy access points, roadside pullouts marked with fancy, fandangled signs and streamside parking lots built for fat-assed fishermen. Blue-collared trout waters are those tough to reach places located off the beaten path that the common angler won't ever visit. The truth is that you know that you're fishing a blue-collared trout water if your shirt is heavily sweat "pitted" before you even reach the waters edge. However, if you can deal with a few deerflies, jungle-like hiking and your own not-so-pleasant body odor, the end results are usually worth the effort. Fish in these areas are much less pressured, willing to bite and tend to grown up nicely.

That alpine lake in the pictures, a.k.a. the blue-collared trout water, gave up this 18.5 inch brookie.

Maroon and Gold

Maroon and gold. Everywhere you looked, it was a sea of maroon and gold. In a state ruled by purple, a new era of Minnesota football was born. I was lucky enough to attend the inaugural football game at the new University of Minnesota this past weekend. It was a memorable day, starting with tailgating next to a new outdoor football stadium. I was amazed by all of the people dressed in maroon and gold, proudly making a statement that they were a fan of U of M football. Who were these people?!? And where had they been for the past 27 years?!? Over the past 10-12 years I've been to countless gopher games in the Metrodome. I've also been on 5-6 trips to Wisconsin and a few games at Iowa during that time. Yet no where had a I witnessed Gopher-mania like I did this last Saturday. It was real college football. It was real college atmostphere. It was real college fun.

Go Gophers!

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