But it hurts so good!

The weeks are ticking away drawing me ever closer to my 1st Marathon. Are the runs getting easier? NO!

I have had a lot of people ask me how to become a runner. I can't help but laugh at this since I really don't consider myself a "runner" still. I guess I think of a runner as someone who just LOVES to run. I still feel pain and anguish when I run.

Can you tell that my 17 mile run left a fun impression on me? Yes I completed the 17 miles, but with a head cold, having had a long and stressful work week and screaming "I hate running!". That isn't a joke, I literally screamed that at Jesse...who lovingly hugged me. Ahhh...the trials of being my coach.

So how do you get yourself up off the couch to train for a marathon? Well first you have to walk before you can run. Get on-line and find a program that has you walk/ jog train so that you can get comfortable running regularly, then you can start thinking about a training schedule.  If you are a goal oriented person like me, I suggest you train for a short race like a 5K and build up to a half marathon. This  will not only keep you running when the excuses are flowing, but also ensure that you enjoy it enough to scare the crap out of yourself with marathon training. I am obviously not a professional athlete, trainer or doctor so this is simply advice from a wino.

One thing about running 17 miles, 8 feels like a picnic! And after running that much, self medicating with a bottle of our dry Rosé of Dolcetto doesn't just seem necessary, but the entire bottle was need to stop the temper tantrum.


-Cheers from the Vivác Winery Family!

www.VivacWinery.com

Can drinking improve your workout?

     "Can drinking improve your workout?" Well that was enough to catch MY eye in a recent "Runner's World Magazine"! Being that Chris, Lili, Jesse and myself own a winery, our running is always accompanied by a drink. How else do you sooth sore legs? How else do you reward hard effort? Congratulate a friend on a PR? Or in my case, even finish a run without the promise of a great glass of wine. I know, for some of you it is a beer or you like the hard stuff, but I promise once you get yourself over to wine, you too will be chatting CAB! CAB! CAB!  (and I don't mean the vehicle that you wish would come along and save your sorry butt, I mean Cabernet Sauvignon!). I mean really, who works this hard and DOESN'T drink?

    Well it turns out a fair amount of do-gooders are out in the world and they think you should NOT drink the night before a run and that it actually lessens muscle recovery. Boo!! What do the scientists say? After an initial study measuring performance, they found that men actually performed worse and women better if they drank the night before a hard run! Cheers to me! So what does that mean for you? A shopping trip to Vivác Winery of course!

    All kidding aside, they found, like all studies, that they need to study more, but I do like the initial conclusions and I think I will "run" with that!

    Now where did I put my wine?

-Cheers from the Vivác Winery Family!

www.VivacWinery.com

Getting High (Part 2 from "Sweet 16, are you ready to lose it?"

(PART 2...continued from "Sweet 16, are you ready to lose it?")

As tears welled in my eyes, we started down the hill. We were half way to a full 16 miles, farther than I have ever run, farther than I thought was ever possible! The truth is, I never wanted to be a runner, I was the one that would say "the only way to get me to run is if something is chasing me" and now, I am attempting 16 miles. If I can do this, maybe, just maybe, I will make it to my Napa Valley Marathon finish line.

At mile 13.1, Jesse congratulated me on passing my wall yet again (see blog "The Wall") and we strode on to mile 14, tears streaming down my cheeks; bouts of crying seem to be routine on my long runs. My legs were heavy and the pain was cursing through my quads. My feet thumped the ground shooting pain into my calf muscles. The end was in sight, I thought I might be able to will myself each and every last step through mile 15, when suddenly and quite by accident...I got high.

I have heard of getting high running, but had never experienced it. As a seasoned wine drinker, I know a thing or two about getting your buzz on but the "Runner's High" completely eluded me. What do you have to do, how far do you have to go to experience this magic people talk about? Evidently, I had to go 15 miles.

As I pushed on, I suddenly became clear headed. I stopped connecting to the pain in my body. As if on automatic pilot, my body took over and I realized I didn't have to will my body to do it, but trust my body to. I looked down at my legs, almost an out of body experience, and realized I had sped up! My breathing was steady and confidant, my body moved easily and I hit 16 miles strong... and then I lost it. I burst into tears, sobbing.

Was I proud of myself? Yes of course, but this was something else. It was as if I had reached so far into my core and each muscle fiber in order to accomplish this feat that I was now releasing emotions and stress that had been harbored in my body for who knows how long. Now, standing on the side of the road, it was purged out of me.

At home, I sat on my sofa...quite... still and without the normal battery of thoughts. The list of things to do, work that had to be done, was nonexistent. I felt utter peace. It became very clear, this is why people run long distances. I think I just found the Runner's High.

And so, with my sweet 16, I did lose it and not only was I okay, I felt I had really grown from the experience. I felt a sense of calm and decided as a full fledged woman now...a glass of Vivác Diavolo was appropriate.

-Cheers from the Vivác Winery Family!

www.VivacWinery.com

www.VivacWinery.com

Sweet 16, are you ready to lose it?

 

You know the feeling, butterflies in your tummy. Nervous anticipation. Naive excitement. Are you really ready? Will it be everything you want it to be? These questions plague an inexperienced person.

Weather or not you are ready, you have decided to go for it.

I was so nervous, it was so cold and I thought...am I going to totally lose it? 16 miles stares me straight in the face and whispers, come find me. I almost threw up.

Amazingly I started running, up hill, in 17 degree weather. Jesse had found a new trail, one Chris recommended, touting that it was truly beautiful. He was absolutely right. Our usual run along the river with birds of all sort flying and playing at the river's edge had actually become hideous as week after week we added new tough mileage to it. I went from loving the adorable ducks to wanting to throw rocks at them as they mockingly quacked at me. But THIS, this was a new experience; a road that winds up into the mountains and looks out over the mesa. We turned around at 8 miles, a vista before us that makes your heart pound and again I thought...am I going to lose it? Tears burned my eyes...

 (to be continued...)


-Cheers from the Vivác Winery Family!

www.VivacWinery.com

The Wall

It is Monday and just getting out of bed feels like a marathon. Maybe I have hit "The Wall".

"The Wall" a term most people are familiar with even if they are NOT runners, is a term most runners fear. My fear around it comes with the complete melt down at my half marathon. The training was tough and haphazard due to injury, but I finished the race...then proceeded to be sicker than ever in my life. I decided that perhaps running is not good for my body. With time I began to train again, like a child, distraction had completely erased the details of the event (or my massive consumption of wine had killed those brain cells). This time as I approached the 12 miles and the cursed 13, my gall bladder gave out and I had to have surgery. Recovery took much longer than expected and once on my feet again, I found I was determined to train AGAIN. What can I say, my husband was/ is sneaking me crazy pills. As training picked up, I again faltered at 12 miles and the ugly 13 miler won. Jesse continued to train and ran another Marathon with Chris. It was obvious that "The Wall" for me was mile 13.

Friday, I ran 14 miles. As Jesse and I ran past mile 13, Jess said "look, there was no big brick wall there" and he is right, I ran past mile 13 without my legs disintegrating under me or my heart exploding in my chest.

I have tender feet and heavy exhausted legs. Monday morning means a new week and a looming 16 mile run. Today I somehow have to will myself onto the treadmill for a 7 miler. They say that "The Wall" is as much mental as it is physical, so what keeps you running when all you want to do is stop? What gets you out of bed on Monday morning when all you want to do is sleep?

I will ponder this while I put up my feet and have another cup of coffee...or...is it too early to have a glass of wine?

-Cheers from the Vivác Winery Family!

www.VivacWinery.com

Cheater?

Jesse has started running with a new partner and she is all he talks about. He actually spent most of Christmas day setting up for their first run together.  After only a few runs with her, it is all Jesse wants to talk about, she is so smart, so interesting, she keeps him on pace or challenges him if he wants. She knows all kinds of information about where they are running and his body. It is a little ridiculous and his obsession may be a cause for alarm.

I finally ran with them for our 12 mile run last week. Sure she is interesting, but Jesse spent most of the run talking to her, not me. Then out of no where she told me to speed up! Not cool, not cool at all, even if you are only a watch.

Yes, yes, my husband's new love affair is with his new Garmin Forerunner running watch. It is more of a computer than a watch which is how she knows SO much. If you are in the market for a personal trainer, skip it and buy the watch. Jesse recommends the 310 rather than the 400 series, easier to use and lighter. However if you are thinking of it as a gift for your spouse, I would encourage you to think twice. Do you really want to be replaced?

*An up-date on Chris, due to lack of additional runs, he felt he was not in shape enough for the half marathon in Mexico on New Years Day. He wanted to knock it out of the park if he did a half and at this point, surrounded by family, sitting in the warm sun, drinking a cold beer seemed like a better choice. We couldn't agree more...except we would ask that it be replaced with a chilled glass of wine.

-Cheers from the Vivác Winery Family!

www.VivacWinery.com