Seward Highway

Eric and I were headed down the Seward Highway to go fishing. During this stretch of the drive, you can always see mountain goats. I usually don't see one this close, so I snapped a picture as we drove by.

Halibut Fishing

This huge tractor is towing our boat/trailer out to the water.

A huge group of eagles on the beach eating fish remains

The first halibut - on the line after only 15 minutes.



A bit small, but we'll keep it!

FISH ON!

Nice "but" boys!

The tractor awaits to pull us to land -our boat trailer is in the water

Mount Iliamna Mt. Redoubt

Our view from the campground

After my half marathon, I quickly showered, grabbed a sandwich and piled in the truck for a fishing trip. Eric and I took our friends Erin and Roger along for the trip. We headed for
Ninilchik, which is 3 hours south of Anchorage on the Kenai Peninsula. Eric read that the halibut fishing was hot! Eric took a halibut charter the other day out of Seward, so he learned the tricks. We were all excited to try our hand at halibut fishing.

We drove to Deep Creek Campground. This is a beautiful, clean campsite that overlooks the inlet.

Mayor's Midnight Sun Half-Marathon

Rainy start......

Can't catch us! Mile 10

All smiles

2 hours and 10 minutes - our fastest time

The Anchorage Moose!

Brandi and I ran in the Mayor's Midnight Sun Half-marathon. It was pouring rain, but we were pumped! We stood at the start ready to run a good race. Now that we are getting older :) we want to keep beating our time. Yes, running half marathons are a blast, but now it's about the time. How hard can you push it?

We cruised along the miles faster than we planned. We wanted to be careful, so that we had energy at the end. This race is popular for out-of-staters, so we met all sorts of people. As we were headed into the trail portion, we met a guy from Massachusetts. We asked him if he had his bear bells. He had no idea what we were talking about. In Alaska, you carry bear spray and bear bells at all times - the bells are to let the bears know you are around, so you don't spook them. We told the runner that bears are everywhere in Anchorage (the marathoners saw a sow with 2 cubs). Anyway, we told him to have a good time in the woods! We freaked him out. It was hysterical!

The trail part was the best. We cruised through those miles. As we went back on the pavement, Brandi had a saying - every time we went down hill it was "down hill fun time!" So, we would pick up the pace as we went down hill and on the flat stretches.

I knew there was a HUGE hill at mile 12.5. We had ran the entire way, but by the time I got to the hill - every part of my body ached. Brandi pushed me on and told me we are on target to beat our time. I will admit, I start to poop out around mile 11 - this is something I need to work on.

We entered West High School's track and I realized we were going to beat our time, so I pushed as hard as I could so that I would finish strong. Our time was 2 hours and 10 minutes. That was extactly the time we were pushing for.

Next half marathon is Humpy's in August. We are going for a 2 hour time......

Keep on running!

Running Bird Ridge

Bird Ridge

Seward Highway along Turnagain Arm

Beautiful view of the Turnagain Arm

Who's idea was this?

My friend and I decided we needed more hill training as we are preparing for the Mayor's Half Marathon. She suggested the Bird Ridge Trail - it's along the Seward highway, and has killer hills. Okay, bad idea. It was a beautiful night, but this sucker was tough. Anchorage has a trail running club, and Bird Ridge is one of the races - it's actually on Sunday June 15. No thanks.

It was an awesome workout, but we were exhausted. We went about half way up, and decided to head back. Runners were flying down the path. They must be half mountain goat or something.

http://www.akhs.atfreeweb.com/Hikes/BirdRidge.htm

All in all it was a great way to spend an Alaska summer evening.

the DAVE rowing challenge

Who's ready to row?

The DAVE rowing challenge participants

So serious

Trying to get it together

So close! We lost by a stroke.

A little pre-game, or should I say pre-row warm up

A rowing team in Alaska????? Yes, it's true. I participated in the DAVE rowing challenge with a group of my co-workers over the weekend. This event was sponsored by the Thorsness family, who was the first to bring crew to Alaska. Groups of 8 learned how to row on Friday night, and raced on Sunday. It was a blast! I have never been so tired. I loved gliding along the water in the skinny shell (boat).

My team was made up of doctors, med students and dietitians from work. We did pretty well at the practice, but had a bit of trouble keeping it together on race day. My friend came to take some pictures and said it looked pretty easy - it's not! This event raises money for the charity of the group's choice, and teaches the group the importance of teamwork.

Birthday Girls!

Janna and I celebrated our birthday together today. We met for lunch at Peter's Sushi Spot (YUM!), then went for pedicures. I laugh because I am a decade older than Janna!