Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Black skies and unhappy runner visions

What happened to the sun?
Of course, on the day, that I had a running date set up, it is sleeting. YUCK!!! I hate this weather. Yesterday was glorious. I walked to Cherry Creek to savor the sun and how it made me feel.
When I woke up, this morning, the sun was shining and life was positive. Endless opportunities and growth. I foolishly believed that the weather forecasters were wrong. I hoped for sunshine.
My running partner (Barefoot Runner) texted and said--why don't we go now so we can avoid the rain/snow that is supposed to start at 2?
Had I not been working, I would have loved to have went running at Eleven am.
But, work won that round.
At noon, there was a hint of foreboding. The sun still was shining and I was hopeful that running would be doable at 5.
One o'clock and the sky changed. Black clouds and ominous sky. My running hopes were crushed.
By two, it was raining.
Now, I wait to stretch, grab my poncho and head to Wash Park. I found a poncho, somehow, remembered that Brian had one in our old apartment. I knew that it was in my junk drawer/junk box of stuff that I never seem to get around to unpacking.
This will be challenging, but I am committed to running. The marathon is in a month and my taper does not officially start for another ten days. I have one more 16 mile run to contend with before I can rest.
I want the sun back! Very sad..........

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Twenty Miles

It's November and 78 degrees--I love it!
This morning, I woke up, knowing this, and so I dressed appropriately--t-shirt and shorts. There was no need to bring a jacket.
I arrive at the designated spot and do some mild stretching. I check my ipod and realize that no, it would not be accompanying me on the 20 mile run. Damn ipod was not functioning.
The group was tiny and I feared that I would be running solo from mile 6-12 without any inspiration. That would suck! I had arranged to have one of my running friends, the Barefoot Runner, meet me at the turnaround point, mile 16. I knew that the final 8 would be challenging for me, but at least, I would have someone to talk to.
I joined the pace group and headed towards Cherry Creek. I think there were fourteen people and had overheard most of them saying that they were going 12-14 miles. I was screwed.
We ran up the bike path and headed south to Wash Park on Downing. I am extremely familiar with this area since this is my typical run. I was feeling great, too. The pace was decent and I felt confident in finishing the dreaded solo portion of the run.
We ran through Wash Park and started talking about food. This girl, Severin, mentioned the French Laundry and I started envisioning amazing food. She wasn't dining there. Instead, she and her husband were hoping to get in at Frasca. The som and chef both worked at the French Laundry at one point. Ahhhhhh, food, and how distracting it is, for me.
Mile 6, aid station. I knew that this was the end of running with others. Out of nowhere, this guy goes--anyone going 20?
I about fell over. Ecstatic, overjoyed, extremely happy.
We took off and b.s.'d about childhood, New Orleans, Vegas Marathon. I liked him and sensed that we were similar in age due to his stories.
I told him that the Barefoot Runner was plannning on meeting me at the Mile 16 turnaround. Ironically, he knew him, too. A few weeks ago, they ran on one of the Saturday long runs. Small world, but still in the runner's world.
As we approached the mile 9 mark, I wanted to find a porta potty. Of course, there weren't any in sight. And, I had no money and we were not near any convenience stores. We were in a residential area with a few small parks, here and there. I noticed a woman, walking. She looked like a native to the area and so I asked her if she knew where a porta potty could be found. No---there are none anywhere around here....
Bummer!
Focused on finding a potty, I noticed another park, with a small stucture. It wasn't a mirage. It was a bathroom. Eureka!
It was locked. Of course.
I saw a blue structure and headed that direction. It was available and a heavenly break from the 20 mile dread. Apparently, the woman passed by Rich and said--oh, this must be new. I hadn't noticed it before. Funny.
One mile later, we made it to the turnaround. We passed by the blue heaven, stopped at an aid station and had to slow down, twice, so that I could have reserve energy for the final 3 miles. I wanted it to be over and so I kept speeding up.
At the 16 mile turnaround, we picked up a solo runner---Grady. It was funny. He was hitchhiking to join us.
I was very envious of his fresh legs as we trudged back though the DU campus, Wash Park, Cherry Creek Path and Cherry Creek. The last two miles sucked. I was ready to walk.
However, I knew we were 7 blocks from the end and so I started telling them about the weekend in Napa. I could do it. I did.
Rich and I finished in 3.5 hours. I feel fantastic and great about Vegas.
Afterwards, we entered Runner's Roost hoping that bagels and coffee would still be available. It wasn't and I don't blame them. Like I mentioned, most of the group were running 8-12 miles. We came in late.
Now, I am resting on my purple couch and trying to delay the time. Closing shift be damned!

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Mid-afternoon break from wine

We had asked Rony where we could enjoy a snack. He suggested a gourmet shop near St. Francis. Normally, I prefer gourmet shops while wine tasting.
Ironically, we countered with wanting to go Russian River Brewery since I had met the brewer at the Great American Beer Festival. And, I like to take breaks between wine tastings with beer. Plus, Sara wanted to check it out. She mentioned that since we were so close to it, we should attempt to go.
Rony said--Oh, I love that place! Really? You are going there? I could meet you--Too funny.
We drove into Santa Rosa. Russian River Brewery is located in the downtown area. I am somewhat familiar with Santa Rosa from a previous trip to wine country. I remember wanting to watch the NCAA basketball finals at that particular spot. But, due to overcrowding, I returned to my hotel without sampling their amazing beer. I watched the Florida/Ohio State game at the Flamingo Hotel. Talk about letdown of a game and karoake ensued at the Flamingo.
This time, I was determined to enjoy a pint.
Of course, the brewer was not there. I guess this means I will have to return for another visit.
We entered the packed establishment and was seated by the wall, under a large screen tv. The World Series Game was about to begin. Lindsay loves baseball and so I knew a few of our collective needs were being met--location/beer for Sara, and baseball, for Lindsay. I think Megan just liked being there, like me.
We ordered water and beer and then the game began. Blasted from the sound, we moved to the last available open table. It was too much. I couldn't handle the sound. It was unbearable. I felt like an old lady; however, I wasn't alone with the sound factor.
We ordered some flatbread and drank a beer. I drank the porter, Lindsay tried the wit bier and Sara and Megan drank an IPA. We were sated.
Wanting to have an enjoyable dinner, we stopped at a Peet's coffee shop and drove back to Napa. I needed a shower! No more wine tasting without a change of clothes. I liked our costumes for the holiday and that everyone asked what race we had run. But, I was ready for a change.

Wine tasting







We drove to St. Helena to do a wine tasting at Failla.



This winery had been suggested to me by my friend, Huston. I value his palette, his suggestions, his knowledge when it comes to food or wine. He was the sommelier at Bouchon in Las Vegas. Absolutely, this guy knows his wine.



I e-mailed the winery to set up the tasting. The room, itself, was small, comfy, very familiar feeling. We were tasting with two other couples--one from Phoenix and the other knew each other from school.



I overheard our guide mention that he had a scholarship to Gonzaga, but turned it down. Looking at him, he seemed to small to be a football player and not tall/lean enough to be a basketball player. Either way, he had turned down the opportunity to attend Gonzaga.



Still, he retained the frat boy mentality.



He did use questions to engage us as a group. Where are you from? Where are you staying? Where are you dining? I fielded that one. I mentioned that although I had wanted to dine at Bouchon, they were booked til 10 pm, and had we gotten into the restaurant, we would need a car. Driving to Bouchon was not an option after a long day of wine tasting.



Instead, I told them that we were dining at Zu Zu.



The wines were decent. We tried a surprisingly good chardonnay. I say that knowing that typically, I do not like chardonnays. This one was lovely.



We tried a few different pinot noirs and a syrah. I enjoyed them and then, our guide, said--alright, you can purchase wine, pay for the wine tasting, and then we will go to the caves.



We opted to pay and leave. Short on time, still in our running gear and really not love-loving the wine, I told the guy we would pay for the tasting. I handed him my Bull and Bush business card/sticker and asked about utilizing a chardonnay barrel. The brewers want to age a beer in a used chardonnay barrel and I agreed to investigate.



Our guy lost focus at this point and I was ready to leave. We paid and left.



Headed back to Sonoma with the promise of Russian River Brewery soon.



We arrived at St. Francis Winery 30 minutes early. They had a full tasting room and from the windows, their grounds were stunning. We met our guide and he told us we could taste 4 wines.



He started us off and we enjoyed the wine. He became busy with a club member and so he gave us Rony, our Peruvian guide.



Rony was awesome. We tried several additional wines to the promised 4. Plus, he was knowledgeable, had an accent and coined the phrase--You will have happiness in the heart--which became our trip saying.



Yes, St. Francis was perfect. We bought wine, for later, and chocolate since we all agreed on the chocolate factor.
Day one of wine tasting was complete. Failla was a nice intro into wine country and St. Francis was delightful. The service we received made a huge difference in our experience and perspective.


Race Day Photos






Candid shots from Saturday. My friends are AMAZING and they all got along extremely well......








Wednesday, November 3, 2010

1/2 Marathon

Healdsburg Half Marathon
I woke up at 4:30 to shower. I wanted to feel refreshed and I knew that that would be the only time to do it. My friends were uninterested in the shower factor and so I woke up, completely, alone.
15 minutes later coffee was served. I had nerves and rushed around trying to make sure that I did not forget anything.
I had my shoes. My chapstick. Visor. I considered not bringing it, but knew, that yes, the visor is my security blanket. I have run twice without it since I began this journey as a runner.
I left my ipod at the Box (our lodgings) since I knew that Lindsay and I were running the race together. The ipod was unnecessary.
Somehow we wasted 45 minutes. Originally, we planned on leaving at 5:15 in order to drive to Healdsburg and catch the last shuttle at 6:30. The race had shuttle stops that were conveniently located around Healdsburg. I felt if we parked at the Dry Creek Best Western that would be the best option. Post race, that particular shuttle, was supposed to run back to the location every twenty minutes. It would work.
Megan drove to Healdsburg in the complete dark. Our road was windy and there were stretches of one lane only. Thankfully, there wasn't much traffic. Still, we arrived at the Best Western at 6:30.
We arrived as a shuttle was departing. There was a considerable amount of people waiting in the parking lot and so I knew that they would send another shuttle. We took the Charter Bus and arrived at Francis Ford Coppola. I needed another potty break and so, Sara and I headed to the line and waited, and waited and waited. Seriously. That line didn't move and they kept saying---5 minutes til we start. The race started late since there were people still arriving from shuttles at 7:15.
Prior to the race, Megan decided that she would walk the race. She had an injury on her hip and was told if she ran, she would postpone her recovery by a month. Megan is a competitive person and waivered with what she wanted to do. I told her that she should listen to her body and decide what would work best. If she wanted to try to run, she should. Otherwise, she could take a shuttle to the end, I thought.
Race began with Sara, Lindsay and I running together. It was a beautiful day--overcast, humid, but incredibly beautiful landscape. We started off conservative. At mile 3, we listened to some chick yell---This is the only porta potty.....I am going here! It only stuck out since she was so loud about it.
Continuing on, I was a little ahead of Sara and Lindsay. Our pace was good and I felt the race was going extremely well. At mile 5, Lindsay and I separated from Sara. Sara is more of a solo runner and I knew that she wanted to focus on the race, figure out her pace/exertion rate; while, Lindsay runs for herself and prefers a conversation for the race. Me, I figured it was a training run and approached it as such. I felt awesome.
Mile 6 was in front of Quivira Winery. They had wine available at the aid station. We drank it.
The course was rolling hill and it was funny how easy it was to conquer the hills for us. I think elevation worked in our favor. Actually, I know it did. A little humid, but otherwise, the conditions were perfect.
At mile 10, Lindsay started to want to conserve energy. I wanted to race with her and so I hung back. We slowed down, a little. The next three miles, we ran and I felt that I definitely could have picked up the pace. I kept pushing for it, and she encouraged me to take off. I wouldn't though. I wanted to finish with her.
We passed by a male runner that had dehydrated. The Red Cross van was attending to him, but I didn't want to stare at this as we ran by since I had this unusual feeling that if I focused too much on his situation, it would happen to me. I know it was irrational. I just didn't want to feel his pain.
We crossed the finish line and was handed a lovely medal for finishing. I had turned around to get ready to root for Sara and she crossed before I could get my camera ready. Bummer! I wanted to cheer for her but was unaware of her proximity to us.
Our chip time (mine and Lindsay) was 2:15:57. Okay time--right dab in the middle, but I really enjoyed the race. I know that I could have competed and felt I could have PR'd that race had I not agreed to run with Lindsay. It was a training run, for me, and I ran it with someone.
We retrieved our bag which took too long and was about to head to the wine glass line when Megan showed up. She ran her first 1/2 Marathon, injured and all, and finished in 2:44:00. Amazing, especially knowing that she was attempting her first and not in the best condition to do so. Everyone told her that she should sit this out, but her determination aided her in tackling the 1/2.
At this point, we needed to head back to Napa, shower, and drive back to Calistoga/St. Helena area. We walked to the shuttle return area to find 3 huge lines. Disorganized. Messy to contend with. Other people had envisioned the great Best Western return, too, only to find that it wasn't every 20 minutes. More like 35-45 minutes. I was happy to be in line and grateful for the service. Unfortunately, there were many people that were bitching about the time it took to return to cars which did not help the situation.
I think that should be addressed when planning next year's race and even the porta potties, too. There were not that many available along the course. They definitely could have used more.
Instead of showering, we drove to St. Helena and arrived 5 til one. Wine tasting commenced in our workout clothes. More on that later.
I am so glad that we ran the Healdsburg Half. It was a beautiful course and something that I will always remember--food, wine, and friends.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

best day to travel

Of all days--Tuesday--is the best!
Absolutely amazing.
This morning, we walked around San Francisco in search of a breakfast burrito. Yes, I had to have a breakfast burrito. Lindsay agreed as I knew she would. I think she enjoys mexican food as much as I do.
We headed out of the hotel. We had to walk through the junkies (again) and head towards union station. I thought there would be a selection of mexican restaurants available to us. I did. I found one when I stayed in the city in August. We walked by it, this morning, and my friends considered that as an option. I declined.
We walked by numerous Thai, Vietnamese and Asian restaurants. No mexican.
Eventually, we utilized Lindsay's phone to speed the process up. We located a restaurant and walked in that direction. We found the spot and it wasn't open yet. Of course, it wouldn't be that easy.
We sought out the internet again amd found an alternate location.
They were open and offered breakfast burritos. Breakfast was served. AMAZING. Fantastic salsa and a delightful burrito.
Afterwards, we picked up the bag, checked out of the hotel and walked to the BART Station. I was surprised at the cost--$8.10 per individual--but I recognized that it was less than a taxi or shuttle service. Plus, it is efficient. The train leaves multiple times during the hour. Our ride to SFO was painless.
Upon arriving at the airport, we checked into the flight and walked to security. Five minutes later, we were in the terminal. Super quick.
Next, we drank a beer and waited out the two + hour wait until our flight departed. We reminisced the weekend, the photos and the saying--Happiness in my heart--coined by Rony, at St. Francis Winery. More on that later.
We headed towards the gate and realized that we were holding the flight up. However, in our defense, boarding started at 2:15. Apparently, it had been quick. Within ten minutes, we were the only stragglers.
Flight left on time. Arrived on time.
Lindsay took the shuttle to her car and Sara and I picked up her bag.
Each step required minimal effort and affirmed that, yes, Tuesday, is a wonderful day to travel. My trip to Healdsburg was remarkable. I intend a recap of the Healdsburg 1/2, wine country, food and San Francisco. Super eventful and noteworthy.