Well almost.

Monday, November 12th, the Islands felt the effect of the first winter storm with winds blowing out of the south west.  Wind gusts reached up and over 60 mph.  I listened to the wind howl all through the night with the thought that one of the tall trees across the street might come crashing down on the house.  I had that thought more than once.

I knew I needed to get my run in and my best window of opportunity was going to be at first light.  I was hoping that when it came time to actually run, the winds would have died down some.  Since I really hate running in strong winds, I was thinking that maybe today would be a good day to end the streak.

I didn't quit and the winds didn't quit either.  I ran a four mile out and back on Turn Point Road.  While running along the water the wind would come blowing up the channel into Friday Harbor.  I was very happy that I was not on a boat, though the ride would have been kind-of fun, in the same way that going to a horror movie, to be sacred is kind-of fun.

A few years ago I help move a 51' Swan sailboat, which belong to my friend, Tom, from Friday Harbor to San Fransisco.  The plan was to leave early on a Sunday morning, sail out the Straits of Juan de Fuca, turn south and move off shore about 50 miles, heading for the Bay area.  Our arrival was to be Friday.  We, the crew of six, would take turn at watches, meaning our trip would be continuous - no port calls.

About our third night out we encountered very strong winds, gusting up and over 45 knots, which were coming out of the north.  In the dark we dropped our mail sail and sailed with a short gib through very rough seas with waves height of 15 to 18 feet.  The nice part was the waves were coming behind us.

I spent most of the night at the helm.  The whole experience was truly an adventure, though at times I was completely sacred shitless.  One of the things that I learned is even though one can be to that point of fear, one stills needs to do their job, keeping a sharp focus to ensure a job well done.  I became a better person from facing that fear that comes from being on a small boat in the middle of the ocean when the waters are angry.

Back to the run.

While running I encountered down limbs, tree branches and a fallen tree or two.  For the most part the island took little damage to this first storm of the season.

Happy Running!