End of the World

December 21st 2012 is suppose to be the day the world ends. Why don't we make a pack to make our individual worlds end...whoa, not like that people. Think of a new world, one where instead of saying you are going to get into shape, you actually do it! A world where that bike on the side of the house rusting finally gets a tune up and a new tire and you actually ride it! Where you don't eat foods that are slowly giving you cancer. A world where you don't have to wait till 5:00pm to enjoy a glass of wine!

Why don't we dream a little bigger and end our personal worlds filled with judgement and self centered actions and replace them with true random acts of kindness (not just posting the ideas on your Facebook page). What if each of us, every single day, did something kind for another person for no reason, no benefit to ourselves, what would that collective world look like?

I plan to greet my new world on December 22nd without procrastination...OK less procrastination. I can see that will be difficult since I am already finding reasons why I won't be able to run on Dec 22nd. The bitter cold. I have to work that day. I'll probably be hung over. What? You can't expect me not to be drinking a fine wine as the world ends or not to drink a choice wine to celebrate the glory of a new world greeting me the next day! I never said this new world would have less wine in it, if it did, that my friends would truly be the end of days.

-Cheers from the Vivác Winery Family!
www.vivacwinery.com

Running with Santa

As I spend more time running around trying to get the secret Santa shopping and wrapping done, I spend less and less time actually in my running shoes running!

With all this non athletic running, my mind is now running.

Most of us can agree, that this time of year is about loving, giving and appreciating what we have. That is unless you are a six-year-old. Then it is about Santa!

As parents of a six-year-old, it is about running! Running around like a crazy person trying to make a child still believe in Santa. I wonder why we do this? Is it for them or is it for us? Will the magic of Christmas really die with the belief in Santa? After all isn't this time of year about loving, giving and appreciating what we have?

What is it to believe? What is it to have faith? After all don't we believe in the idea that we really will start that diet or get back into shape? We keep believing that we will start running just not today but maybe tomorrow. We believe that we will stop eating all those Christmas cookies. So can't we keep a child believing in the magic without extra gifts and all the running around?

I plan to figure out the answers to all these questions… on my next run… which will start on the first of the new year of course!

Until then I will pop open a bottle of Vivác Cab and recheck my naughty and nice list.

-Cheers from the Vivác Winery Family
www.vivacwinery.com

To Give and be Merry!

Tis the Season to give and be merry.  Evidently my husband misunderstood the concept of this and is now giving me a ton of poo and he seems quite merry about it!

Now as you all recall having read about Jesse's rigorous training through this blog, that I would be the one that trained and ran a race next. The only problem with this plan is that I have become incredibly lazy! As training for a Marathon forces your body into shape, sitting on the sofa forces it the other way. Trying to keep my running schedule now takes a monumental amount of mental work. I feel like a child trying to get out of going to school... "I can't today! I'm sick (fake cough a few times). I'm injured (fake limp for a few steps). I have a paper cut!"

Needless to say, I have needed a little prodding. Jess is a good prodder.

Our run on Friday revealed that I seem to have a new coach too. I'm not sure I like this guy either. While Jesse was ever the supporter coaching me through Marathon 1, this new side of him is full of torture and sick excitement. He cleverly waited till the last mile of our run, with me exhausted to the point I had stopped talking (takes a lot for me to stop talking), when he says "so what we are going to start doing is speed trials". He sounded absolutely delighted! He went on to outline my new training schedule, giving and giving and giving in true holiday spirit. His lack of recent running seems only to have catapulted him into a sadistic individual intent on my misery. How is he so happy and excited about this?

So, as I write to you, attempting to avoid the inevitable run looming in front of me today, I see that this holiday season will be kind to some of us and not to others...ooh ouch, I think I just paper cut myself on my keyboard!


-Cheers from the Vivác Winery Family!
www.VivacWinery.com

Super Fuel

Well, I'd write about running, but I haven't been running...so... I won't. I'd write about working, but I'm writing to all of you to avoid working...so...I won't. I'd write about a new workout that you all should try, but I don't know of any.

Yep, currently the "Fueled by Vivác" is all about the fuel! The tryptophan has impregnated my veins requiring me to lay on the sofa only getting up to fetch more fuel. That turkey makes you thirsty right?

So this week, I simply say...when you can't run, Riesling. When you can't bike, Barbera. When you can't swim, Syrah and when you can't get up from the couch because your sauced...cheers us because that my friend, means you are truly "Fueled by Vivác"!

-Cheers from the Vivác Family
www.vivacwinery.com

Being Run Down

When training for a difficult race, be it a 5, or 10K,  half marathon or a full Marathon, it is inevitable to feel run down during the training. After the race there is let down and again the inevitable run down...many get ill as a result. Yet running is suppose to be good for you, you are supposedly building up your immune system. So where is the line?

Obviously it is personal, there isn't any set in stone guild. For me, my half marathon, quite literally, almost killed me. Running a full Marathon however was no problem, but Jess was run down and caught a terrible cold. Of course he then ran 53 miles and not only wasn't sore, he never got run down! He is obviously from another planet. Hmmm... I am now picturing that movie "The Astronaut's Wife"...I hope I don't have to zap Jesse with a toaster in a pool of water.

Back to subject...

So, then in turn how is it that work, stress and life in general can regularly run you down? It seems frustrating that if you don't run you can get run down, if you do run, THAT can run you down and if you live in Northern New Mexico, the cars most certainly will run you down.

I see no other choice than to stop doing all types of running, physical, mental, emotional and start drinking more wine. They say 2 glasses of wine a day keeps the Doctor away, so surely that is the cure to being run down. I might have to double that number just to be safe.

-Cheers from the Vivác Winery Family!
www.vivacwinery.com

Going Cold Turkey

After a good long break from training, I have decided to jump back into things. Ironically it is as the weather changes and I find myself running in the bitter cold. My husband finds this amusing since I am notoriously cold...all the time.

I'm not sure why I choose to run in the cold. Perhaps it is that work has finally slowed down or that our son has settled back into school or that the fall leaves are layered across the road and the sky is a shade of blue that inspires painters. The crispness in the cool morning air seems to quicken my step and I feel alive. It really is a beautiful time of year to run. Even if both sets of cheeks are frozen.

Having run my 1st full Marathon this past spring, many would expect that I could jump right back in, sadly that is not the case. I almost had a heart attack running 3 miles. Now I'm wondering if the Taos Turkey Trot 5k is more appropriate for me right now than a half or full Marathon. For some reason, my diet over the last 6 months of bacon, cheese and a mass consumption of wine, has left me shockingly out of shape!

I think I need to ponder my new training goals now while I drink a bottle of our Refosco wine, it goes so nicely with cheese.

After all, I can't let my body go into shock.

-Cheers from the Vivác Winery Family!
www.VivacWinery.com

Deadman or Dead Man?

Hello to all you fellow running winos. Jesse here, I am writing the blog today instead of Michele to give my race report on the "Deadman Peaks Trail Run", my first Ultra marathon.

I walked outside the morning of the race, it was cool, not cold (maybe 40°F).  The perfect temp. for a start. David, my father-in-law, drove me to the starting line 8 miles from our B&B. On the way we saw a beautiful bull elk next to the road.., the day should go well. I had been nervous while driving into Cuba the evening before, but this morning I was ready. I got out of the car to go sign in and realized it was a full 10° colder at the valley floor starting line. Luckily, I had packed my running pants, hat and gloves. I could take them off at the first aid station 9 miles in.

This was my first headlamp race start. (Earlier this summer "Taos Marathon" started in the dark, but it quickly got light, it was on the road, and nobody needed headlamps). What an awesome way to start a race. I saw a friend of mine in the darkness,"Scott, what's up man? Kinda cold huh?" It was comforting having a friend out on the course. We started down the dirt road which lasted about 2 miles before turning to single track trail. It was really great to have that room so that most of the jockeying for position was done by the time we hit the trail. I ran with him for the first 3 or 4 miles, until I could no longer keep the pace, knowing I had another 50 miles or so to go. "Have a good race if I don't see you again." "Thanks man, you too." He said. I had made my first good decision of the race, I just need to keep my head in it.

I made my way to the top of the first ridge (mi. 6) by first light. There was a cliff to my left and the valley south of Cuba, NM spread out below in the early morning light. It was just gorgeous and I knew this would be the experience of a lifetime. No regrets. The steepest section of the course was just ahead. A 1.5 mile scramble strait down the side of the cliff. This part wasn't too runnable, though I noticed that those ahead of me seemed to be doing a pretty good job of it. I hooked up with Artem, from L.A., he was walking this section which seemed a bit safe, but definitely a good idea, I would hang with him. Don't beat yourself up too early, my second good decision. From the base of the cliff it was an easy mile or so to the first aid station (mi 9).

We rolled into the aid station and immediately they took my camel-back and asked if I wanted water or Heed. "Half and Half, thanks." Then they handed me my drop-bag and I took off my hat, gloves, long pants, and headlamp. I emptied my shoes of a few pebbles and put them back on. Did I forget anything? No?...OK here we go again. I shouted out "Number 48 out.," this was something I had seen a couple more experienced runners do. The entire aid station thing in this ultra blew my mind. The volunteers were so helpful, I never once had to fill my own camel-back. The tables were full of various goodies; chips, crackers, pretzels, cookies, pb&j, coke, hammer gels, sometimes even beer. They were also rigorously keeping track of each runner. We checked into and out of each aid station, and they talked with other aid stations via walkie-talkie, to  make sure no runners went missing in the boonies. This was comforting because we only crossed 1 dirt road on the entire course.

From there we went through 2 more aid stations and over several more mountains before crossing the Deadman Peaks and down to the turnaround at mile 26.5. The trail was rigorous; alternating between solid rock and sandy arroyos, always with lots of rocks, and plenty of really steep, short pitches. The landscape was incredible; a cross between Painted Desert Arizona and N.M. pine forest, with a splash of Moab, Utah. I ran most of this section solo, in my own zone, listening to my science shows on the ipod and loving every minute of it. I started counting the runners as they passed me on their way back. "Holy cow, I am in 9th place!?!"

I got to the turnaround feeling awesome, maybe the best I had felt all day. There awaiting me was my whole family, my parents, my parents-in-law, my brother and his kid, my wife and my boy. I was so grateful to see them all. I sat down and Michele helped me change my shoes and socks. Angela held an umbrella over me for shade, which felt great. My mom ran to get me snacks from the table. "One marathon down, just one more to go..." I hung out with them maybe 10 minutes and then "Number 48 out." and I hit the trail.

The next 10 miles flew by. With 17 miles to go I noticed that I was starting to feel all the miles in my legs, but I still felt great. I ran into Scott again at an aid station, he wasn't feeling so hot, and was a bit down about it. We talked briefly and then I hit the trail again.

At 14 miles to go I felt a shooting pain in my left knee, it was my illiotibial band, which I hadn't felt in years, but I knew exactly what it was. This made running downhill quite painful and eventually made it impossible. Within a couple miles I tripped several times stubbing 3 toes on my right foot, which also caused a ton of pain. My head wanted me to stop, but I never let myself consider the notion. The pain came and went. I tried to cherish the occasional new view and the way everything looked different with the afternoon light on it.

I got to the final aid station, "you're almost there," a volunteer told me. "only 9 miles to go...". This time, for the first time all day, I wanted to sit down for a bit longer. Several runners came into the aid station as I sat there, making me hurry up. I thought I was in 7th and I really wanted to hold on to my place. The scramble up the cliff was a difficult one and 2 runners were catching me quickly. I kept at it, working hard. Shortly after reaching the top they caught and passed me, chatting with each other as they went by. It didn't seem like they were in as much pain as I was, and they were definitely in better shape. After they passed me I felt like my 9th place was fairly safe if I just kept a decent pace, this was hard to do because the next 4 miles were a steady downhill, and downhill hurt the worst. I slipped down into my own little pain cave with my favorite podcast "Hardcore History with Dan Carlin," and tried my best not to dwell on anything. Before I knew it I was on the dirt road where the journey had started. I didn't recognize a thing, it had been dark before. I turned around and there he was behind me, about a quarter mile back, the runner who could kick me back to 10th. I dug deep, opened my stride, and ran my fastest mile in the last 45.

Crossing the finish line I felt great and started to cry, then I hugged Michele for a while, and cried again. Honestly at this time I felt really good, and it got even better as I sat there drinking some Marble beer, some Vivác Chardonnay...and some Vivác Dolcetto and reminisced with other runners. I felt great about my time, I felt proud of my accomplishment, I left everything out there on the trail. I don't yet know how many more of these I will do in my life, but if the answer is zero, I am glad I did it at least once and glad that Deadman Peaks is the one I did. As it turned out I got 8th out of 53 starters (14 of which wouldn't make it the full distance), with a time of 10:48:08. What an amazing day.

Thank you to everyone that made this possible for me, I love you all.

-Cheers from the Vivác Family!

www.vivacwinery.com

Who's the boss?

I admire people running with a dog on a leash, the graceful animal gliding by their side. It looks like the kind of partnership one hopes they will have with "man's best friend" when they adopt that adorable puppy.

Often when I travel to other cities I witness this unity. It always inspires me to take my own beast out for a run. Unfortunately for everyone that lives in the rural communities of New Mexico, leashes are a rarity, thought of more like an act of cruelty "tampering with the animal's true spirit". Evidently that true spirit is to be a total ass. I have only ever found taking my dog on a run results in dog fights with loose muts attacking us or an insane number of near misses as my spastic beast cuts in front of me or lags behind only to jolt forward into the back of my legs.

I tried to leash train (despite the apparent animal cruelty defense) only to spend the entire time fighting ferociously a terrorized animal hell bent on making me dizzy as he wrapped the leash around me and I had to spin quickly undone to avoid catastrophe!

Needless to say, a run with my dog is like a freak show. It is hard to get your heart rate up when you are standing in the middle of the road screaming profanities at an animal.

So, it is to all of you skilled leash runners that I raise a glass of our Dolcetto in a cheers! It is obvious that you are the boss, I evidently am the mere puppet for my beast.

-Cheers from the Vivác Winery family!
www.VivacWinery.com

Where Runs Go to Die

It is a dark, cool morning. The light of the flashlight scans the rocky road. It is quite except for the steady sound of breathing and a single pair of feet falling on the road.

Dirt changes to pavement and cars speed by in a tornado of heated air and exhaust. It is still a pitch black early morning sky.

Pavement is again dirt, illuminated by the brightening sky, and the call of various birds echoing off the surrounding rock mountains.

Ahead is a stretch of road that is called the Mesa. There is no electricity or running water to the smattering of houses here. The road is straight for the most part yet has the ability to become a mirage in several sections. The sun is up in full glory which revels the stark landscape. It is a place where runs come to die. Think of the place where the Onceler lives from the story "The Lorax". It is a place that drives the question "why am I doing this?" deep into one's soul.

Finally after narrowly surviving the war with the Mesa, the road transitions and the homestretch seems in striking distance.

Feet feel swollen and burn like running on hot coals. Toes feel sore and the insteps cramp. Thighs grip onto bone screaming for mercy and the heat from the sun boils what little reserve you have out the top of your head. Streams of fatigue streak your face as sweat pours uncontrollably from your body.

Tears, sobs and deep relief come with the last steps of this 34 mile run.

wait wait wait...you know there is no way in hell this was me right? My husband Jesse ran this run. I ate nutella on waffles while sipping lots of coffee and playing on Facebook!

His run was a test of epic proportions and I hope it tells him that he will not only complete his first Ultra at 54 miles, but will do great! I am so proud of him. I also can't wait till this is over and we can start running together again, I miss my coach.


-Cheers from the Vivác Winery Family!
www.vivacwinery.com

Fueling the world with Vivác

As you all know, we have these fabulous "Fueled by Vivác" sports shirts that, should you run a race in the shirt and post a photo of you in the shirt with your bib number at the race on FB, we will give you a bottle of wine! Ya, we are just cool like that.

Needless to say, the shirts seem to be more and more popular. In part due to our sponsorships of various races around New Mexico...and of course the wine. Our partnership with Chasing 3 even garnered us an off shoot of our "Fueled by Vivac" with shirts for several of their races being "Fueled by Wine". The up coming Deadman Ultra is sponsored by us as is the Taos Balloon Rally; because even hot air balloons need wine! For Deadman, we feel anyone running 54 miles, off road, in the desert, will need LOTS of wine...and a medic...and more wine.

So, as we blanket the world in "Fueled by Vivác" shirts, spreading the love of running, biking, Tris, skiing...you name it, we have grown more accustom to the conversation of the winery being brought up as we run our races. Usually the conversation is other racers jokingly asking if we have any wine on us at that moment. Being the ever constant marketer, I do consider running with wine in a camel-back so I can give samples and business cards out during the race. Why just run when I could be working too? I like to multi-task.

I digress, what I want to tell you about is the Santa Fe half marathon Jesse just ran on Sunday. He had the usual fun chats about the winery (because we only race in our red, white or black "Fueled by Vivac" shirts), but as he got into the race he found a woman actually running in a "Fueled by Vivác" shirt! Jess approached the Puerto Rico to Santa Fe transplant with "nice shirt!" her reaction was one of zeal and great excitement as she recognized Jess as one of the wine makers and asked to have a photo taken with him. We later learned that Mariela is a wine club member too! How fun is that?

As he continued, passing runners like the bad-ass he is, he found our new Los Alamos friend, Scott, also in a "Fueled by Vivác" shirt, and the team Vivác took full effect. Nothing is more fun than seeing co-racers wearing our winery shirts! Scott will join Jess at the Deadman Ultra in October. I assume in the "Fueled by Vivác" shirt.

Jess finished the race in 1hr 30mins, a PR to say the least and I am pretty sure it was the boost of Team Vivác that gave him the extra kick. Or maybe it was all the wine the night before, you never know, they do call Pinot Noir the fountain of youth wine, maybe it is good for running! Just in case it was the wine, I will pack extra Pinot for Deadman.

Treadmill Training

Treadmills should come with a warning. Not because they are dangerous in the way you are thinking, but because they seriously alter the way you run!

As I stepped onto the treadmill the other day, headphones on and plugged in, channel selected on the near by TV, I found my body settle into the familiar routine of running. The gentle glide under my feet and cushion in my knees, a fan blowing in my face cooling the drops of sweat...ahhh, running.

Disrespectfully the damn thing jerked me into a vicious incline and due to it being a treadmill it decided I would keep my pace as I raced up the "hill" and also due to it being a treadmill, I was tethered uncomfortably close to the operation panel by my headphone cord!

I hate interval settings.

After that ridiculous experience, a long summer of indoor running, and a glass (alright a bottle!) of wine, I realized that I could hit the actual pavement in the cool Fall air. I wouldn't be tethered to anything, but rather feel free to glide on the road, changing my pace any time I wanted. Free to stop for a sip of water rather than the gymnastics jump I execute on a treadmill to escape being jerked off the relentless spinning track. However, the sip of water will now need to be a handheld bottle...that I will have to run with. I wonder if Jess will run with me? I need him to hold my water.

The next day, I hit the road. As I ran, the hard surface wore at my knee joints. My iPod bored me with music that just wasn't quite right. I missed my "shows", the crappy TV I allow myself to watch while on the treadmill; it makes an hour fly by. My water bottle was really heavy too, Jess had not come with me. I also had to sprint from a very aggressive mini dog. I was miserable. That is when I realized it had only been 20mins.

I needed to meditate if i was going to get through this. Deep breaths. Settle in. My body relaxed into the familiar rhythm and like Pavlov's dog, my head gently veered to the left. I didn't realize it for a while, but as my right side narrowly escaped a close encounter with a car, I realized this was not normal. While most road runners stare down the road ahead of them, treadmill runners run with their head off to one side...as trained by the placement of the TV they watch! This does not apply to those of you that go to fancy gyms with the treadmills that have personal TVs. We live in Northern NM where you are lucky to find a gym that has a TV in it at all!

After a Forest Gump type of run, I decided the treadmill sounded appealing again. Like being called home. Running outside had proven to be highly over rated! So I again saddled up, water in my treadmill holster, cell phone in place, headphones plugged in and that glorious crap TV show blaring in my ears. My feet hit the soft whirring track and I was off...comfortable 45 degree turn to the left in my neck.

Suddenly with a loud smack and various groaning, I was pulled from my reverie. Like a fine tuned gymnast, I grabbed the side rails of the treadmill, pushed myself up and sprung my feet to a perfect 10 landing on either side of my spinning track, a slight slack in my headphone tether. I asked the tangled lump of person and headphone cord on the treadmill next to me if they were OK. "ya, ya...just not use to running with my head turned to the side!"
Newbie.

Crushing the Marathon

The Marathon of wine making is Crush. This is the time when we have grapes coming in from vineyards in the southern part of the state, our own private Estate vineyards need to be pruned, netted, harvested and then each varietal needs to be crushed, fermented, maintained, lab tested and aged. In order to make room for the new wines coming in, we need to bottle older wines! We do everything by hand so the bottling, corking and labeling is a lot of work. Mix in our regular duties of running a business and the day to day of distribution, sales, wine clubs and employees, we find ourselves in a scramble...of course we need to do it all with various events, festivals, trade shows and parties thrown in to boot! Now add to that...we have young children.

So you ask, how is the running coming along? What race do you have next? My answer is, I am in it! We literally have a constant freight train of work coming through for 3 months, after that it is more like a scenic touring train...manageable and pleasant. Jesse manages to run during this chaos, but has to do it at 4am! The rest of us try to wring out every last drop of sleep, it is rare and should be cherished.

Today we host our Annual Picking Party for the "Fire Vineyard". This event has gotten better and better each year. This will be the second year that we welcome Chef Ky Quintanilla of Lambert's Taos. Chef Ky is hands down the most incredible, inventive chef we know and his 4 course lunches on our patio are astonishing.

Bright and early, everyone starts picking grapes in the vineyard with the wine makers, which gives you the feeling of truly being a part of the magic you enjoy in the bottle. Think of it as the start of a race where you run as a sea of people, individual yet flowing through the street. Each cluster of grapes picked by your hand will be transformed into art in a bottle.

It is at lunch that you receive the lavish indulgence of that art. Wine generously pours, paired with each decadent course Chef Ky has created. Seated under the apple tress, you are welcomed into our home and our families. It is similar to how 1st time Marathoners find they are part of an inner circle of people that few get to see. We thank each new friend at the end of lunch and send them off with a bottle of last year's vintage of "Fire Vineyard" wine, a reminder of what they have helped make.

So you can see, the Marathon is under way, and while you may ask why we do it, it is no different than the reason why we run. Because we have to.

-Cheers from the Vivác Winery Family!
www.vivacwinery.com

Wine over Running

The "Up and Over" race at the Taos Ski Valley in Northern New Mexico, is literally just that...up and over... a notoriously steep mountain. A 10K (6 mile) race, this is not for the faint of heart, literally. Starting at the base of chair one (at 9,207 feet) the race drags you straight up the face of the mountain, over the top and back down to end at the base of chair one again. An awful lot of work to end up right where you started don't you think? It seems like a great example of Buddhist philosophy.

The scenery is gorgeous, the air temp holds a slight chill and the "path" promises danger with every step. This is what you call off road racing. This is what you call an accident waiting to happen. This is what you call a good time for my husband Jesse.

So I know you guys are holding your breath in anticipation, did I derby (see "Being Derbied by Running")? No, no I didn't...because I was sitting in the sun at the base of chair one with a chilled glass of Chardonnay gleaming in my glass. I too started and ended at the base of chair one, but my experience was a hell of a lot more fun!

Jesse ran this race as part of his training for the ever nearing "Deadman Ultra". He joined me, with his  legs like jello, for a glass of wine at the end of his race and we marveled at the beauty of the mountain together.

I also enjoyed the feeling of satisfaction as I watched people wretch at the end of the race and Jesse complain of muscle fatigue, ahh yes, I again made the right decision, wine over running, yes definitely the right choice.

-Cheers from the Vivác Winery Family!
www.VivacWinery.com

Being Derbied by Running

The Olympics are over. Have the tears dried?

I was so inspired during the Olympics, seeing the life time goals reached by these incredible athletes, tears streaming, heavy sobs of joy as golds were attained...and the athletes seemed excited too!  By now all of you should realize I am a crier. This joy was juxtaposed to dreams dashed like raw eggs against a wall, tears of agony on their faces. OK, and yes mine too.

One particular athlete I was moved by, was Morgan Uceny. She tripped on the last lap of the 1500M final just as she was poised to take off from the pack, Olympic goals coming into her sights, only to trip and end up on her knees sobbing; absolute heart break.

I had a special connection to Uceny as I have "derbied" several times on long off road runs. Derbied is a term I have given to my particular style of flailing into the dirt. One of my all time favorite people, Lindsey,  plays Roller Derby and having been to some of her bouts, I have seen girls fly in a way that looked like it was more than painful! Derby falling is not just the usual fall onto the hands and knees, but is face crushing spills that wrack the body into strange contortions. This is the style in which I seem to fall on my runs...thus "Derbied".

I have derbied twice, tripped many times, but nothing is quite like the derby fall. Blood, busing and swelling are absolute results. I once fell so hard on my chest that the wind was knocked out of me and all I could think was 'wow, glad I don't have those fake boobies yet!'. The other derbied fall gave me the fun task of running the 6 miles back to the car with bleeding hands, knees and my left hip. I had to have looked like I had been attacked by a bear. Sweat had swept the streaming blood into a swirl down my legs, arms and through my clothes. It seemed only natural to tell my husband, who watched the fall and subsequent hemorrhaging, "Ya, that's right, go derby!" followed by a list of possible derby names that included wine puns or running puns. I think those 6 miles back to the car were very long for him. Amazingly I didn't cry! My supreme wit must have taken up all the juices left in my body.

Morgan Uceny wasn't "derbied" in quite the same way, but lets face it, falling in the final lap at the Olympic finals is a pride crushing, emotionally wracking event that would leave anyone in contortions of pain and bewilderment.

I hope someone had a lot of wine ready and waiting for her.

I recommend our new Riesling for wounded pride, our Refosco for emotional pain and our '09 Syrah for all contortions of pain.

-Cheers from the Vivác Winery Family!
www.VivacWinery.com

No Rest for the Weary

It is 3:00AM. I need my rest, but can't seem to get it. Why is it when you need it the most, it seems the farthest from your mind? You trick yourself into thinking your determination can alter the base needs of your body.

Rest from running is no different. I was determined that I would stay in Marathon shape so that I could simply jump into another race without as much work, HA! Not so much work, what a joke! Staying in that kind of shape is work, hell it is a full time job! Not to mention that your family has to be on board for support and their own amount of sacrifice. But beyond that, there is the body's need for rest. But what does the right amount of rest look like for your body?

Every body is different, but as I obsessively read "Runner's World" magazines and find that the recuperation of a full Marathon may take weeks or months, I tried time and again to rush it. Some how I didn't think I should need the amount of rest my body obviously did.

The pay off to taking the time to rest, is the renewed love of running. But you have to actually take that time off. My haphazard running schedule, and obvious denial of needed rest, has included a run with my husband Jesse who is deep in training for a 50 miler which means he is working on speed as much as endurance...and determination. He took me out on what would be a "quick run". In my mind this meant short, in his mind it meant...QUICK. They say, men say exactly what they mean despite women reading into it. This is a great example.

After the red faced, heart pounding want-to-throw-up "quick" run, I stopped running again. I could say it was my work load, or the kiddo being out of school for the summer, but the truth is, I simply needed the rest. I would like to tell you I was cross training, but that wasn't regular enough to really claim either. I was on exercise vacation. I felt guilty about it too.

A recent conversation with my brother-in-law Chris alleviated that guilt. Chris is a natural born runner that has run several Marathons, most with abbreviated training, he is what I call "a true runner". He had previously decided to give up running after a Marathon that he essentially did not train for at all (and managed to score a time at elevation that most people would be VERY proud of) however, he really hurt for the first time afterward. He needed rest. Needless to say, he stopped running for about 6 weeks and found that with a sudden surprise, the call to run was coming back.

Jesse took 13 days off running and missed about 80 hours of training! Ya, no joke. So he is back at it and running circles around me. Literally. We went out for another run together and this time I was on guard to run my pace, not his. So with our 52 pound 6 year old  son crammed in our BOB stroller (thank you Gods of BOB strollers!) he bolted up steep hills and back down past me, around and back up to meet me for a few minutes, then bolt off for another sprint ahead of me and circle around to find me again. It was a good run for both of us. I felt good when we finished and he got an OK work out. It was exactly 6 months to the day from running my first full Marathon.

In all honesty, this is not what I had wanted to have the evolution of my running look like, but the truth is, we can't determine what path our running (or our lives for that matter) will take,  as much as we try to. I am finally wanting to run again and that feels great. I watched the women's Olympic Marathon race and was inspired to run another Marathon. I am actually looking forward to the training! Of course first thing is first, our family has to see Jesse through his race. Who knows how much rest he might need after that, or how much wine...I am guessing a lot of wine.

-Cheers from the Vivác Winery Family!

Whine on running

It seems this blog is transforming from "running on wine" to "not running, but a lot of wine".

We find ourselves staring straight into the face of Crush. Crush starts with the vineyards being harvested. Different grapes ripen at different times so this will happen in waves over the next 2 months. Once we have the grapes at the winery, we have to crush them, separate them from the stem (for whites, press the juice off) and start fermentation. Once they are fermenting in separate vats, the reds need 4 daily punch downs in which Jess and Chris use paddles to push the grape skin cap down into the juice for better extraction. The wines need constant monitoring and testing to guild them through fermentation in the slow, gentle manner we like. Then we press the reds. Pressing is a big job when you use 2 side by side traditional basket presses with hand hydraulics. This all happens (from picking to pressing) when the grapes are ready so we suddenly become "on call" during the 2 months of Crush. The grapes need to be dealt with immediately so that might mean working late into the night or at the break of day...or both.

This also means my sister-in-law Lili and I pick up the slack, a lot of slack, both at the winery and around the house. When Crush is over, all of us are exhausted.

So when the hell do you run?!

Distractions have already pulled Jess from training. Having just returned from Los Angeles CA, Jess found that his excitement for surfing outwayed the want to run and so skipped a week of running; a stresser for him as we hit Crush.  I have been on the path of self destruction pretty much since I ran the Napa Valley Marathon this spring and have only haphazardly run. I think it is safe to say I am no longer training for anything. Chris, with 2 kids in toe and Lili's family visiting from Mexico has left him with an acceptance of not running until next year! This isn't looking good for any of us. So with Crush being physically exhausting and extremely time consuming, there is very little time for family much less a 2-5 hour long run during this time. Yet Jess is trying to train for a 50+ mile race, I simply would rather not start at the walk/ run training all over again and Chris? Chris is probably running in his dreams, so that might be enough training for him to wake up one day and run a marathon. Bastard.

What is interesting is that, Liliana is working out at home, my parents ran every day while they were in CA on vacation and several other friends that were "inspired" by this blog are now running races! I have no idea how my complaining has inspired anyone, but cheers to all of you!

What we do seem to be doing instead of running is consuming large amounts of wine! Is it the busy season that kicks us into high stress modes, juggling working on the road, working at night, going on vacation...the new vintages that just taste so damn good? Any way you size it up, the wine is winning over the running...for now.

-Cheers from the Vivác Winery Family!
www.VivacWinery.com
 

Creative Counting

When there is no time to run, I find that I get very creative with delineating what activities "count" as exercise. I have been in a hotel room for a week so everything is off schedule. Sure there is a gym at the hotel, but I am traveling with my son who can't be left in the hotel room alone (or can he at age 6?) and I certainty can't take him with me to the gym, he would die of boredom (or would he play with the iPad like a happy little camper?). Well I can't get caught up in silly details, but the gym is out! The heat takes running outside out. I could probably find a YouTube video to do...something, but...but...I have no reason why I didn't do that. Damn, that would have been a good idea. But then, what would I write about? I would feel so bad that you wonderful, deserving people didn't hear me gripe this week and I simply couldn't do that to you.

What the hell was my point? Oh yes, counting OTHER activities as exercise. So in a typical day, while on vacation, I have had to heave my 50 lb child into and out of various preferred viewing positions at museums. That counts as bicep curls at least! Chase a running 6 year old up and down stairs and around museums while carrying my purse, packed with every sort of Armageddon necessity, along with my child's backpack full of... crap, that definitely counts as weighted sprints. The 9 million times I drop things on the floor out of my purse while searching for something that has fallen to the bottom of my bottomless pit, then bending down to pick those fallen items up is obviously squats. And of course, the countless times I had to snake on my belly under a coffee table into the "cave" to reset the broken DVD player counts as yoga AND Pilates!

So when I start to feel bad about being off schedule with my running (Again!), I breath a sigh of relief. Sure I didn't run this week, but I got a mean work out.

You know if you add in lifting my wine glass each evening...

-Cheers from the Vivác Winery Family!

Work it baby, work it!

The alarm is silenced after a few painful seconds of beeping. It is 5am. The darkness blinds me. Every inch of my body resounds with the reverberation of the alarm, every cell clenched. The sheets hush my tension, the perfect weight against the chill in the air. My pillow softens under my head. I wonder for a moment how the bed can be so cruel? At night as I crawl in, the bed seems too hard, the sheets like rough paper and the pillow a rock. I spend so much of the night too hot or too cold only to awaken to the world's most perfect, comfortable cloud of a bed! Absolutely cruel.

Ahhh, the sweet joy of rolling over and falling back to sleep, cradled in the soft warm sheets.

Why didn't I get up? Because getting up at 5am is crazy! If I could I would sleep till 9am or 10am every day. Getting up at 5am to go running? I don't think so. No, that alarm was for Jesse.

Jess diligently rises with the buzzing. He heads out in the soft morning light to meet Scott, a new friend and one of the best track coaches out there. It just so happens he lives in Dixon. Jess runs 2 miles to their meeting spot, then runs sprints, intervals and various other disgusting exercises designed to make you puke. When the torture is over, he runs 2 miles home.  Que "Rocky" theme music.

Jess finds me still in bed when he returns. He beams with excitement about his morning routine. I love his enthusiasm and commitment. His face weekly becoming more and more chiseled, a far cry from the rounded face of high school reunion photos currently circling Facebook.

Scott, while I have only spoken to him a few times, has become a big part of our family. He is there for most conversations, referenced to over the course of the day and there first thing in the morning. I can see I might need to get to know Scott better.

Jess' training will culminate in the "Deadman's Ultra" in Cuba this October. No, no, not THAT Cuba. Cuba, New Mexico. I believe Cuba consists of a couple small hotels, some dinosaur stuff (as you can imagine Denim is excited) and a grocery store. I know, your jealous that I am going and you are not right?

I have to say I am not happy about the name of this 53 mile race: "Deadman". I hope they are being funny. However, 53 miles over rough terrain might be just that, a deadman's race. I certainly hope not.

After his 10 hour race, we will celebrate in royal fashion! I think we will have to pull something very special from the cellar. Jess claims this will be his 1st and last 50 miler. I say never say never. Some how I foresee that with celebration wine spilling from his glass, he will say "Maybe a 100 miler next?"

-Cheers from the Vivác Winery Family!

www.VivacWinery.com

Olympic Trials & Tribulations

This past week, as we sat watching the Olympic trials on TV, my son sat near by writing his own dinosaur book and I realized just how much has happened in the last 4 years.

4 Years ago I watched my first Marathon on TV. Jesse insisted we watch the Olympic Marathon race. I couldn't have imagined anything more boring. Watching people run is like...watching people golf, only maybe more boring. I seated myself on the floor with our then 2 year old son as he played with his very first dinosaur; a gift that would alter our lives drastically. I settled in for what I assumed would be a slow decent into a torturous death.

As the women's Marathon came to a drastic finish with athletes collapsing, crying, barely walking, some unable to finish at all, I stared shocked at the TV. Why the hell would anyone do that? As if the producers of the show heard me, they launched immediately into the history of women running, the history of the Marathon in Greece that was 26 miles (the duty of a messenger to run information about the war) to the addition of the .2 mile being added (so the British Royals could have the start of the race in front of the Palace). It was amazing to learn that running, a natural instinct of the human body, was so controversial! Women had to sneak into races and were persecuted, literally shoved as they ran in races and degraded simply for wanting to run.

Katherine Switzer is one of the big names associated with women's running. She was the first to enter and complete the Boston Marathon in 1967. For those of you not into running as a sport, Boston is to running what Krispy Kreme is to doughnuts, or In n' Out Burger is to fast food burgers. It is what all the others want to be. Naturally everyone wants to run it, so of course it is the hardest to get into. It isn't the Olympic level, however Olympians do run it, it is the 'possibly attainable mega race' for amateurs...if running multiple Marathons really fast can be call amateur.

In order to run the Boston Marathon... you have to run a different Marathon... and have a qualifying time. For example, for Jesse and Chris' age group, they would have to run a 3 hour 10 minute Marathon just to be considered eligible for registering for Boston. Then they would need to fly out to Boston, pay a steep entrance fee... and run another Marathon.

For those of you thinking it isn't at all like the In n'Out or Krispy Kreme analogy, you must not live in Dixon, New Mexico where you have to travel hundreds of miles in order to get your hands on one of these delicious, heavenly delights, or you don't have an inclination for ridiculously amazing junk food.

Wow, I got way off track. No pun intended.

So I watched my first Marathon 4 years ago thinking what ridiculous people they were and cementing in my mind that I would never do that.

Now as I watch the trials and feel the excitement of watching the Olympic games, I look forward to watching the Marathon. I see how ironic my ideas of what and who I am have been and that you can never say "never". I have run for 3 years now which means it wasn't long after the last Olympics that I picked up the sport. I have run several races including a half marathon and a full Marathon and am deciding on which race will be next. A far cry from the woman sitting on the floor mocking the runners flailing on the screen in agony.

With the 2012 Olympics, I am reflecting on how much has changed in our lives. I am not only inspired by the amazing athletes but the incredible ability for people in general to adapt, change and thrive in situations they thought were beyond them. None of the athletes at the Olympics have an easy story of how they got there. It is with this thinking that I offer to all of you... what have you said you could "never" do? Why did/ do you think that? What would your life look like if the opposite were true?

It certainly can be applied to many situations, what if Jesse and Chris had said "open a winery?" "no way! I can't do that!". We would be sitting watching the Olympics with terrible wine in our glass, wondering how we will pay for our child to become a Paleontologist. We are still wondering how we will pay for his education, but at least we are enjoying incredible wine while we do it. You never know, maybe he'll be the one to run Boston.


-Cheers from the Vivác Winery Family!

www.VivacWinery.com

My partner

Hot tears weld up in my eyes. My body felt alive with tingles that swept from head to toe. Even the hair on my head seemed to arch out of my scalp with intensity. I had the surging desire to run.

I didn't jump up from my seat and go running down the street in my flip flops, but instead I stayed seated at a table in a crowded cafe and let tears quietly cut through my make-up. I sat at the table and let the sensation and desire to run wash over me, through me, wave after wave reminding me why I run, calling me to run.

It was at that moment I put down the "TrailRunner" magazine article about Scott Jurek and decided to share my thoughts with all of you.

I feel like a novice, a newbie, a baby. I want so badly to be a runner...I want to...WANT to run. I find frustration in the fact that I have only run 1 half marathon, 1 5K and only 1 full Marathon. I realize many of you will be rolling your eyes at the "only", but it is a strange world (the world of running), the more you do, the more you see others do; be it faster, farther or more. I feel like I simply fight myself to even get my shoes on much less join the toned, dedicated, disciplined runners I admire.

Since running the Marathon in March, I have aimed for several races of varying length and completed...drum roll please...ZERO! Ya, it pretty much takes that accomplishment and pride from completing your first Marathon into embarrassment and self doubt pretty quickly.

What was I thinking? I'm not a runner yet! Runners run! I slumped. The truth is after
several attempts at jumping back into training, I have slowly regressed, cutting mileage, trying to trick myself into finding enthusiasim until I finally cut back so much that I haven't even run once in 2 weeks. OK, maybe it has been closer to 3 weeks. I simply haven't found the drive! I tried to dig deep, push through, but found a bored, sad core with zero inspiration.

Today as I read Scott Jurek's story of becoming an UltraRunner (50 miles or more) I was touched by the struggle between pushing ones self past pain and discomfort and finding the journey, the partnership with your body. I realize part of my sadness with the loss of running is the incredible bond and partnership I have had with my husband as he trained me through every one of my races. The encouragement he gave me when I cried on the side of the road, the cheers he gave as I pushed on and completed new distances. I don't think I have it in me to run without him. I miss him.

For all of you now thinking he died, he did not. He is on his own training mission for a 50 miler and that leaves me on my own to do my training alone. Due to circumstances of where we live (middle of nowhere) there are no running groups to join and due to where we live (middle of nowhere) and being a woman, I don't feel safe running certain places alone. This is just enough of an obstacle to stop me from lacing up, but to top off my excuse list, we also have a 6 year old son on summer vacation, we run our own winery (along with my brother-in-law and his wife) and about a million other things that fall under the heading "sorry for myself".

Excuses ran out today. Scott Jurek's story reminded me that the beauty of running is you don't have to read books or win races to run. Running is a relationship with YOUR body. It is a matter of partnering with yourself to "free ourselves".

With a sudden realization and acceptance, I let the tears fall...and people stare. I let the tingling sensation stir deep inside me and well up. I could feel the joy and inspiration for running reappear. I realized I can't hold my husband to being the reason why I run. I have to be my own partner. I have to stop crying in the cafe!

So, I don't know what will happen when I cry on the side of the road during a hard, long run by myself. I know those will be times when I miss my husband a lot. I hope I will be able to be there for myself with words of encouragement, something I have struggled to do my entire life. I hope I use the emotion to pick myself up, dust myself off and run home and into my husband's arms. I know he will be very proud of me that day.

Until then, I will simply get started again, stop giving myself such a hard time and learn to love running all by myself. Like a big girl. Of course that has to start tomorrow...I have wine to drink today!


-Cheers from the Vivác Winery Family!

www.VivacWinery.com

Prostitute wine

When we started the winery, we thought we were going to be running a sprint race to the golden lotus of fame and fortune.  13 years later, we realize we are running a Marathon....and the lotus may be a mirage. But, we are still running.

In the beginning, as with everything, you find you make mistakes. Out of the gate too fast, over train, take out a ton of loans, you know, the over enthusiastic approach. Take the case of one of our first wine club newsletters, our wine maker Jesse sat down to type a serious wine review of the newly released Barbera. As a young wine maker with a new winery, the need to be taken seriously was great. This made it even more embarrassing to have spell check on an old computer change "Prosciutto" to "Prostitute"! As you will read in the copy of the letter sent in by a wine club member in his elder years, the wine paired beautifully. It is when someone reminds you that mistakes are made, lessons are learned and regardless, we move forward, that you realize, this race will have bumps in the road and may not be the course you set out on. This bump has forever sealed the fate of the Barbera made at Vivác as "The Prostitute Wine".

So don't forget to not take your race so seriously! What matters is that you keep going, riding out the bumps in the road, no matter how big they are.

Now where is that little Prostitute? I need a glass of wine.


-Cheers from the Vivác Winery Family!

www.VivacWinery.com

Getting your Freak on

It is an interesting journey, running. I use to say I would only run if something were chasing me. Now I am trying to run on vacation. If I can find a race somewhere interesting and call it a vacation, even better! So what happened? My crazy husband and his crazy brother happened.

When you watch someone run well, it is inspiring. Even if you think they are a little crazy for doing it. Maybe that is why it is so inspiring.

This past weekend, Jess and Chris ran yet another Marathon, this time in Taos. Jess had a PR of 3:48 (5th place over all) and shined with pride at the finish line. Chris, who was unable to do the training necessary to run a Marathon the way he would have wanted, finished 13 minutes behind his brother. The look of frustration and irritation was apparent. I started to feel bad for him. I started to empathize with the idea of not doing well despite all your hard work. Then I had a thought that stunned me into reality. Chris ran a few long runs, skipped most of the training and then ran a 4:01 Marathon at 7,000ft! Wait wait wait, I don't feel sorry for you! That is absolutely not fair! He came in 7th over all at the race. This is NOT a sad race day! 

It is at that point that I realized these crazy people I am surrounded by are more than just crazy. They are Freaks of nature. Jesse told me stories of working the packet pick up for the race and the number of people that were simply on vacation and saw that there was going to be a marathon the next day; they thought "hey that sounds like fun!". Who shows up to a mountain town and unexpectedly runs a FULL MARATHON?! Crazy people? No, Freaks!

Turns out there was a guy that ran a 100 miler 3 weeks previous and ran 2 full Marathons since then...he signed up for the "fun little Taos Marathon" because he had never run here before. WHAT?!
Women, men, it didn't matter, they flooded in and signed up to run...while on vacation. This is a whole new level of crazy runners.

For those of you not up on the running or training of a full Marathon, let me fill you in. 16 weeks is considered fast training for a Marathon and requires you to be a runner before hand, that means you run regularly, this is not a couch to Marathon program. Then as you increase millage, and want to kill yourself, you push your body to the brink, then you back off giving it much needed rest before the big race. It is important to mention at this point that people will refer to a Marathon as "little" in reference to the draw, the crowds or organization, NOT the length. A Full Marathon is ALWAYS 26.2 miles, always, even if it is a "little" race. So when people decide to run a Marathon on vacation, these are people that run Marathons a lot, people that are in such good shape that they do not need a taper, they can simply run 26.2 miles any time they want. They are, say it with me...FREAKS!

I stood at the finish line chatting with a new friend, a runner. He spoke of the blights of running a Marathon, the pain and destruction of your body. He spoke of how he loves the 5K or 10K. He sounded like the voice of sanity amongst all the crazies. My mom bought it hook, line and sinker. She looked at me, always the caring mother and I could see she was thinking "you see, maybe that is too much for your body" (not everyone is in the Marathons-are-fun crazy sector and family members are usually the ones most concerned for your health). I whispered to her that she was right, this guy wasn't crazy at all. He modestly told stories of running, but left out that he has run Duke City Marathon 14 times, placing 3rd last year and has run countless other Marathons around the country. No, no he isn't crazy. He is a Freak! He is actually the guy that trains Freaks!

So now as I started to see that I had joined the ranks of the crazy, there was yet more to aspire to. I am not yet a Freak. I don't know if I ever will be. I looked at my husband, he had just PR'd at 7,000ft and this was simply a training run on his way to a 50 miler this fall, definitely a Freak. I looked at my son, wearing my red "Fueled by Vivác" shirt, eyes beaming with excitement and pride at his dad, he has already run a 5K at age 5 and can't wait for his next opportunity to run another race and I see that we have probably spawned a little Freak.

So, as I pour another glass of wine, I am left to ponder, when will I discover my inner Freak?

-Cheers from the Vivác Winery Family!

www.VivacWinery.com

Running Rescue

It is hotter than hell, sweat seems to be purging from your skin as if your entire body were a wet sponge being wrung out, your head pulses and you know you probably are going to die. This is what it feels like to run in the heat of summer. Yet I see all of you crazy people doing it...while I drink chilled wine...in an air conditioned restaurant.

I have discovered that I am actually a winter runner...and a heavy drinker. So strange since I am always cold, but I really hate the heat...and I really like wine. The heat makes me feel like I am suffocating. The heat makes me lethargic. The heat makes me mad. So I don't run in the heat. Waking up early also seems to make me mad, but Jess would say waking up at all makes me mad. What can I say, I am not a morning person (and no it isn't because of the wine)! So I can't beat the heat with an early morning run and the treadmill is boring if you do it everyday. It is a real dilemma. But I have to keep running don't I?

Inevitably, when you are training hard or have finished a big race or simply run everyday for fun, you can and will burn out. Guess what I have? No not alcoholism silly! Burn out!

After the intense effort to train for my 1st marathon, I found that running just to run was refreshing, however, slowly the drive to run has been replaced with the drive to do anything BUT run. It feels like I am trying to run away from running.

Talking this dilemma over with my many running enthusiast friends, and of course Jesse (who said it took him over a year to run another marathon after his 1st, and is now approaching his 5th only 2 yrs after that) I have discovered something. Something I will generously share with you. You are welcome.

Runners are tweakers! They are obsessive, often compulsive people that take on running in a way that makes something that should be a fun activity and turn it into the center of their lives. Jesse said at a dinner party the other night when asked what was new "all I can think about is my running". When runners aren't running, they are planning their runs, reading about running (thank you by the way), figuring out what to eat...that will be best for running! It is pretty easy to burn out when it is so all consuming.

It occurred to me that after 3 years of "serious" running, I have postpartum from the marathon. The excitement, the build up, it is over and I want to get that back. The training and races prior to that were leading up to the incredible moment of crossing the finish line at my first marathon! A feeling of empowerment and pride that is like nothing else you've ever experienced.

How do you ask, does someone get that amazing feeling back? Rid themselves of the postpartum? I have no freakin idea people!

What I am trying out as a cure is diverting my attention. Not wanting to run in the heat? Not wanting to hit the treadmill to watch the same bad TV shows? Play list sucks? Go find a friend and hike in the cooler mountains, swim laps at the pool, jump on a trampoline (actually a great workout) or run the river (as in Rafting, not "I Shouldn't be Alive" craziness)! Mix it up so you feel like you are having some Summer fun! And, of course, drink plenty of wine.

...or start taking the same crazy pills Jesse is taking and train for a 50 miler. I bet that finish line blows your mind!


www.VivacWinery.com

It's a Marathon, but Someone has to do it!

Everyone loves to joke about the distance of a full Marathon (26.2 miles).  If you say you are training to run a full Marathon, you will inevitably hear "ahh man, anyone could do the 26, but it is the .2 that gets you!".  Hardy-har-har.

The truth of the matter is, that .2 is a killer! You struggle through the ending miles of a Marathon with heavy legs, only to finally get to the 26 mile marker and have the .2 stretch out ahead of you like some sick joke. That .2 is torture. That .2 is hell. Or maybe that is just me...I have only run one full Marathon and I think it is when I saw the mirage of the finish line at the end of that deadly .2 that my lungs literally stuck together. Maybe it gets easier, but that isn't what I have heard from even those that have run many...like Jesse and Chris.

So will there be another Marathon in the near future?

The Taos Marathon is June 10th (www.TaosMarathon.weebly.com) and of course Chris and Jesse will be running it. Chris, in true Chris form (see previous post "A Family Affair") has jumped in and started his training with a 20 mile run. I know, he totally sucks. Jesse on the other hand is diligently continuing his training for the ULTRA Marathon this fall, so he is running 26 miles today. Yes you read that correctly, TWENTY SIX miles...for a training run! We would say he had completed yet another full marathon, but he isn't doing the .2 so it doesn't count. And yes I will be telling him this as I laugh and sip wine. You see I am not running today.

I am on the wine marathon. I am training very diligently, 100% focused. Every single day I make myself drink more wine. "How does she do it?" you may ask, but there is no way to explain it, some people have a gift. I have that gift.

Sauv Blanc, Riesling, Cab, a blend, a sparkling wine, then back to a Chard, oh yes I can go from white to red and back again! Recently at a blind tasting, or in the wine marathon arena, The Main Event, I managed to nail every single wine blindly including several vintage dates. I am very impressed with myself. You see, in the wine marathon, you don't need screaming supporters, you just need to think highly of yourself.

So I am taking a short break this week from training for running races and focusing on running circles around my glass. I hope you join me. It is so much more fun...and less sweaty.

 -Cheers from the Vivác Winery Family!

www.VivacWinery.com

Toe to Toe, I Feel Your Pain

No one can prepare you for loss. No one can tell you how you will handle it, how you will feel about it. Loss, big or small, is a process, one in which you have to get through in your own time, in your own way.

For me, I had no idea what was coming. Zero indication that I was about to be thrown feet first into it. In fact, the only glimmer of what was to come was a sensation, call it a "blister" about to rub. I was 100% focused on my first full Marathon and I blazed past all the warning signs.

The high of completing my first Marathon was crushed by the news of my loss. I was not flooded with pain the way I thought I would be. Instead it was like a steady pressure. An all consuming mental absorption. I couldn't think about anything else and I couldn't make the ever increasing pressure lift. Numb, I simply let the process unfold. It was as if it had to happen to me yet I was not a part of it. This was NOT what I expected at all. I expected to be writhing on the floor, screaming in pain. I pictured lots of tears.

I sat sipping wine, wine the color of my bruising. Wine that helped me feel numb. Wine that helped with the healing. I sipped my wine and stared at the inevitable before me, legs outstretched, swollen feet propped up. My future laid open and exposed to everyone.  I thought to myself, "How did this happen to me? Would I ever be the same?" I leaned on Jess who consoled me. He promised that I would get through it, but that it would take a long time.

As days turned into weeks. There was no bloody carnage, but rather a clear stream of relief, an utter sense of acceptance. But as with all loss, it comes in stages.

As the almost beautiful bruising was swept away in pieces off the floor. A new evolution of loss came to me. It was summer where barren soles play freely, but mine, I felt I had to hide. No one wants to see the deformity I had become. As time went on, I would actually forget about it only then to suddenly become aware of it again and wonder if anyone else had noticed. In a self conscious panic I would try to hide the glaringly obvious loss.

Now with more time having passed and as they say "time heals all wounds", I have been feeling on the mend! Only yesterday I was sucker punched with a new wave of this process. A pain I hadn't felt before, the first real pain I have been in touch with. A pain that dug in sharply. A new sense of life pushing its way into the old. This is not when I thought I would feel pain, yet that is exactly what I have.

"WHY?!" I screamed. Can't this just be over? I am tired of it being a thought, tired of it being a part of my daily existence. I want to wear sandals!!!

They say it is only a matter of time before you experience the loss all distance runners experience, the loss of a toe nail. But I didn't think it would happen to me. Now all I can do is go through the process. The long, tortuous process.

I hope someday to feel whole again. Someday to join the free soles of Summer. Someday, to wear sandals again.

At least my toe no longer matches the color of my wine.

-Cheers from the Vivác Winery Family!

www.VivacWinery.com

A Family Affair

Our journey is no longer ours alone.

Jesse decided he wanted to run, I am guessing, during one of his long bottling days with his brother Chris. I assume this because these are the days when, side by side, the two brothers come up with wild ideas. These are the days I usually refer to Chris as Jess' "other wife".  Chris becomes the "other wife" due to the sense of commitment Jess has to the idea they thought up together and there is nothing I can say or do to dissuade him, he has married his idea with his brother. The days where Jess and his "other wife" band together to talk the women in their lives into some hair brained idea come all too often. Running has always seemed a hair brained idea to me and seemed to be the next big adventure these two were ready to take on. Anyway, Jess came to me with the idea of running a marathon and after a couple bottles of wine, I was being talked... no bribed, into running a half marathon. I swore I would NEVER run a full Marathon. Jess took what he could get that day and then slowly wore me down over the years. I ran my first full Marathon in March of this year.

*Tip to those trying to bribe (and things to watch for by those about to be bribed), LOTS of wine and a substantial gift seem to work wonders.

Before I knew it we were off and running, pun intended.

You might be asking, why Jess and his "other wife" didn't just do the running by themselves, why do the ladies need to be involved? I think for Jesse, I was a stepping stone to get to the level he could then join his brother on. I said yes because I wanted the bribe gift...and there was wine involved... lots of wine.

The "other wife" takes my place as the extreme running partner. Chris has always had a natural gift for running, an ability to randomly select a day to run 10 miles and do it at a pace I will probably never be able to train for ...and he'll do it hung over. Absolutely unfair.

Jess ran with me until he was able to build up enough speed to run with Chris. They have managed to race Marathon after Marathon, encouraging each other to add another race to the calendar. The races get faster for Chris and Jess, having found that endurance is his gift, get longer! Chris hopes to shave enough speed off his Marathon time to qualify for Boston, Jess is training for a 50 miler.

Needless to say, it is hard to not feel the stirring in your gut to get involved, usually for me that is because I ate greasy food the night before...but that is a different blog all together. Seeing people push themselves, commit to a goal, follow through and finally cross the finish line at a race is beyond moving. I have cried at all of Jesse and Chris' races.

Chris' wife (his actual wife, not his "other wife" Jesse) Liliana, has been working out at home while raising her 2 kids, perhaps secretly planing to step in and race one of these days. I have no doubt she could kick some butt and do it without sweating. I seriously don't think she sweats! Due to a second pregnancy, Liliana has not yet taken up running. Lucky girl.

Now, Jess' son Denim (about to be 6 this summer) and Chris' son Maddox (turning 5 this week) have taken to running. Yes I know all children run, but they want to race!

Enter race opportunity #1:"Run for the Zoo". This is a race held in Albuquerque offering a 1/2 marathon, 10K, 5K and 1 mile fun run. The kids signed up for the 1 mile. Maddox unfortunately came down with a cold and could not participate. Denim, along with Dixon Elementary (the 3rd most entries of all Northern NM schools) joined the thousands to run Sunday morning.

A few days prior to the race, the elementary kids got their race packets. Denim excitedly asked to put on his new zoo shirt and have me pin his bib on just as he had seen Jess and myself do for our races. He proudly posed for photos and packed his "gear" for the race. Each day he thought about what foods to eat that would make him run better. He talked about being a little nervous and he tried to get more sleep. The dedication of this 5 year old to a race was more than adorable, it was touching. We felt a sense of pride watching him ready himself for his first race. In a time where kids watch more TV than play, it is exciting to see kids participate in sports. Especially when it is your child. Especially when your child would rather read college text books on dinosaurs than go outside.

The day of the race, nerves were on edge, the pressure and crowds were setting Denim off. We found a group from the school and huddled together, moving with the sea of people through the start gates and down the race course. The mass moved us blocks down the road...and past the turn off for the 1 mile loop. Yes, we were now moving with the last of the 5K group NOT the kids 1 mile "fun run".

How did this happen you ask? Well, we would like to know as well. It seemed odd that the race had started early, but then again, when you have thousands of people crammed into an area, confusion seems to be the norm. Disoriented, we started with the mob we were in.

Denim ran the 1st mile well, at a quick clip even. Then as he began to tire, he walked. The path ahead seemed never ending. Like a mirage, we thought each bend in the road up ahead was the finish line. We encouraged him to press on, take breaks when he needed and run 'his race'. Jess and I looked at each other nervously as we continued with the crowd far past what should have been the 1 mile stopping point. As we wound our way into neighborhoods we knew, this was a 5K. Denim managed to run 2.1 miles. A true Marathon for a 5 year old. He had stayed in excellent spirits and even literally stopped to smell the roses. However, shortly after the 2 mile point, he was unable to continue. I picked him up and carried him in my arms. My very tired this-is-too-far-to-carry-50lbs arms. So much for the "fun run".

Denim wasn't the only one ill prepared for a 5K! I was wearing a skirt and converse, not the attire that would support 3.1 miles. We neared the end and Denim had a resurgence of energy, running across the finish line with pride. I was more like a drowned rat. My skirt was dirty from his shoes rubbing on it and it was twisted off to the side. My shirt was soaked with sweat and I had blisters on my toes. Lovely.

After a bag of cotton candy and a tour of the zoo, we walked a mile back to the car. The poor kid did about 4 miles of walking that day. On the drive home Denim reminisced about the fine points of the race concluding "If I can do 2 miles at age 5, I think I will run a half marathon at 14 years old and a full Marathon by the time I am 20 years old." I am relieved that this experience didn't deter him, but inspired him to continue. I have to say if I thought I was heading out for a half marathon and found I was on a full Marathon course, I would not be such a good sport. The cotton candy at the end of that race would have to be made out of Oxycontin with a side of wine.

And so, with one race down, and a future of races in front of him, we see that this journey of running is not just ours, but inspiring future generations. Maybe Denim and Maddox will inspire their kids to be runners too. If only talking them into taking over the winery were as easy.

-Cheers from the Vivác Winery Family!

www.VivacWinery.com

Running out

Running out of time?
Running out of excuses?
Running out of food at home?
Running out of money?

Usually running helps me deal with all the other "running" I seem to do, but lately it is building up. The frustration, the impatience... the thirst. It is too much. Then I came across a wonderful article that talked about vacations from running. Yes as a runner you can stop running!

Once the competitive drive ratchets up, it seems to be a never ending process of what-comes-next syndrome. The constant training, the scheduled runs, the panic of missing one, the details of getting around an injury. It starts to feel like another job! But it doesn't occur to you that you can and should take a break! This doesn't mean stop running and sit on the sofa eating ice cream...however that is exactly what I did after my first full Marathon. After my first half marathon (and yes I purposely capitalized Marathon when referring to a full and not when referring to a half, it deserves a little more respect in my mind) I had complete gall bladder failure and was also strapped to the sofa eating ice cream, but that time it was laying down. Anyway, back to my point...

Start enjoying running again! Run as long as you feel like running rather than the prescribed mileage for that day. Skip a run to do something completely different, ski, bike, raft, swim, yoga...sleep? Not training suddenly frees up so much time!

Ironically... I am in training for the Taos half marathon. But I am taking the advice to take a vacation and stop all the "running" in more ways than one. We start Happy Hour Season this weekend and it is important to enjoy seeing our friends and neighbors again, often the only time anyone gets to see the 4 of us is at these Happy Hours. So I say skip a run, stop "running" around and come running to our Happy Hour!

Kicking off Saturday April 28th with "The Pathetics" from 4-7, you can relax, forget the stresses of the week, enjoy a wine flight with savory plate pairing or sample some of our gourmet picnic items. Enjoy half priced wines and free live entertainment! Need an excuse to have fun? Now you have one! (this advertisement has been brought to you by Vivác Winery)

Sometimes you have to know when to stop running and smell the roses...or the wine.

-Cheers from the Vivác Winery Family!

www.VivacWinery.com

5 Race Must Haves

Wanting to run your first race?

Here are the TOP 5 things you will need post race no matter what the distance.

#5 Salonpas, they are absolutely amazing, they kill pain AND have menthol so they make your aches go away immediately! I had my body completely covered with them and then read the warning to wear one at a time. oops. Oh and not to drink while using them, I ignored that part too.

#4 compression socks, the blood pools in your legs and that is part of what causes the swelling and painful recovery. OK so I don't know the exact details, I was only half listening when Jesse told me about them. I heard "less painful recovery" and rushed out to get some! I think he may have still been reading when the car squealed out of the parking lot. I have been wearing them ever since.

#3 flip flops, you want those shoes off ASAP. Unless you are wearing the compression socks...obviously.

#2 make-up remover wipes or baby wipes, YES for both women & men. You sweat like crazy at a race and the salt on your face looks gross, feels gross and needs to be removed. These make you feel MUCH better. Also great for your hands which become sticky for some reason...I'm guessing the sweat you wipe off your head? The gatorade you slop all over? The self loathing you grip onto as you wonder why the hell you are doing this to yourself?

#1 WINE! Hello, what did you think I would recommend as #1, chocolate milk? Chocolate milk is actually my favorite post race treat, but it is mandatory you have something stronger for accomplishments. A great bottle of celebratory wine and a great big pat on your own back. To finish your first race no matter the distance deserves a celebration, each race that is longer, harder, a PR (Personal Record) or anything else you can think of is cause for a celebratory bottle of wine!

I realize these may be the items on a race must have list, but they seem to also double as items for a...
Hard day at work
Hard day with the kids
Hard day with your spouse
Hard day trying to be creative
Hard day with a friend
Hard day with your dog?

Best of luck to all of you who are about to do something new! We know it is scary, but do it anyway. When you finish and pop that cork, make sure to cheers yourself and know we are there with you...uh...well, if you are drinking Vivác wines that is, if you are not... we will just be feeling sorry for you.

-Cheers from the Vivác Winery Family!

www.VivacWinery.com