Over Fueling when you are Fueled by Vivác

As we head into the weekend, it seems appropriate to have a very important discussion.

Hang over cures.

Since we take our slogan "Fueled by Vivác" very seriously, we often have to deal with the hang over the next day...often before a run too.

Now that we are all (Jesse, myself & Chris) back on the training path, running in the heat of Spring and Summer, it is even more important to cure the "fuel" over loading. Liliana (Chris' wife) hasn't caught the running bug yet, but then she has 2 kids (age 4 and age 1) keeping her 'running' a lot more then the rest of us!

Back to the cure...we have tried various strategies over the years, here are a few of them.

*More sleep: OBVIOUSLY a great one but not an option most of the time.

*Lemon water: awesome. Ya, that is all I have to say. All water should always be lemon water.

*Ibuprofen: (duh) but now that there is so much evidence that it is very unhealthy to take a lot of Ibuprofen, we can't take it daily...and we "fuel" every night.

*Coffee: a classic, but let's face it, if you are already dehydrated, caffeine isn't the best, especially prior to a run. Unless you only plan on running to the bathroom.

*'Hair of the dog' : a little more wine in the morning does sound tempting, especially to a group of people that live and breath wine, BUT running intoxicated is very dangerous. People drive like crazy maniacs around here and stumbling into the road is just asking for it.

*Vitamin Water Zero: my personal favorite. Has electrolytes, but no calories. Often these drinks rival my thirst for wine which is obviously a HUGE endorsement.

But honestly the BEST hang over cure is going for a run! I know, the one thing you are ready to cross off your list, is being recommended as the cure. Running kicks butt, forcing the sweat and toxins out of your pours, I mean pores.

So when you wake up with pillow creases on your face, a thumping in your head and a 'I'm gonna throw up' mantra, strap on your shoes, down a Vitamin water and head out. I promise, you will feel so great that you will want to celebrate...and start refueling. Cheers to your weekend fuel!

-Cheers from the Vivác Winery Family!

www.VivacWinery.com

There is no crying in Coaching

   You never know how you will effect someone's life. How the decisions you make will impact someone else. When you run a Marathon, others take note, reflect on their own abilities and sometimes decide to do what they think of as "the impossible". That has happened.

   A woman, a bit older than me, who has never been a runner, has decided to train for a 5K. This might not seem like a huge distance, but to someone that has never run and is facing the problems of a post menopausal body, this IS a Marathon!

   When I heard she was going to do this, I immediately put my coaches cap on and instructed her of sites to reference, goals to put in place and the most important decision...what to wear. Perhaps it is only women, but the idea of a new pair of shorts or running top will get me to hit the road at least 3 times simply by the I-look-cute factor. Men may not feel the same way, but Jesse figured out fast that this was a powerful motivator for me and has approached every sport with "well if you think you might like X sport (sub in skiing, biking, rafting, running...for X) then we will need to get you outfitted." Men reading this, the term "outfitted" may mean the actual bike for biking or the actual skis for skiing to you, but believe me, Jesse knows this is much more and that is how he lures me in. I can't tell you how many trails I have found myself crying on where he says "well at least you look cute" it works every time to give the situation some perspective and a good laugh.

   Just to clear something up, I have referenced crying on several blogs and just did again. Don't get me wrong, tears may be a part of my experience time to time, but I am a bad ass...even when I am crying.

   Anyway, back to coaching. My new found role has inspired me to think of various races at different distances I want to do, places I want to experience running in. I am also able to connect the dots in a way I couldn't when I was in the throws of my races. Coaching is incredible for my running!

   I think of just how great coaching is for my running while I talk to my athlete about her new victory. I refer to her as my "athlete" because Jesse used it with me and I found it very empowering, much better to hear "you are doing great athlete!" while crying at mile 22 than "you are doing great baby!"...even though at home we do call each other baby, it sounds different on the road. Shit, I mentioned crying again.

   Needless to say, I am settling into coaching my athlete. I can hear her beaming with pride about finding a better stride, through the phone, I say a few more words of encouragement and hang up. I lick the Doritos cheese off my fingers, open another bottle of wine (the dry Vivác Rosé of Dolcetto is awesome with Doritos), reposition myself on the sofa and turn my movie back on. Yes, yes, coaching is doing wonders for my running.

-Cheers from the Vivác Winery Family!

www.VivacWinery.com

Are they crazy?

   While we take a break to recover from our last Marathon...or more accurately, take a lazy vacation from running. We look to the future and all the exciting things that lay ahead. Chris is thinking he wants to run Boston which you have to qualify for. This translates to running a marathon in 3:15 JUST so he can go and run another (Boston) Marathon! Jesse has high aspirations as well, he has set his sights on an Ultra Marathon (50 miles) this summer! I think someone might be dumping crazy pills in the water over here.

   On that note, Vivác Winery has just released its first SWEET WINES! Oh yes you read correctly, the notorious dry red winery that has touted "No Sweet Wines" for 13 years, has actually made sweet wines.

   So what is the deal? Did we sell out? Cave to pressure? Run too many Marathons and contract some strange infection of the mind? No, we simply decided to put the additional money and resources needed into the equipment necessary to make a WORLD CLASS sweet wine.

   You might be asking yourself "what's the difference? A sweet wine is a sweet wine." but that isn't true!

   When we started our winery 13 years ago, we were the first to have an entire menu of all dry wines. We felt it was important to take in the bigger picture, be taken seriously in the world of wines, not just in New Mexico. In order to do that, we had to set a precedent, we would not make a doctored, artificially flavored, flabby palate sweet wine. We would only make old world, food friendly, serious dry wines.

   As you can imagine, when we showed up at the local festivals, there was some confusion. Everyone in New Mexico made sweet wines, why didn't we? We had to make a big delineation and fast. Our answer? "No Sweet Wines" banners! This made us easily identifiable to the public and soon we could see there was a real 'thirst' for the dry wines we make. We were off and running and the public loved it! Best of all, the wine world took note. Nationally recognized and visited by International wine makers, Vivác has made a name for itself in the wine Industry and with wine enthusiasts.

   When we could finally dedicate ourselves to the investment of proper equipment to make a dry white wine, we took the plunge adding a Sauvignon Blanc, Dry Rosè and recently a Chardonnay to our list. We wouldn't make a white wine until we could make one properly, one we could be proud of. We have done that.

   Now, not that unlike the stretch to white wines, we have taken on the grand task of making a world class sweeter wine. These wines do not have any sugar or sorbate added. We have simply stopped fermentation prematurely leaving a little of the grape’s natural sweetness in the wine. This means there are no off flavors & the wines still have that wonderful acidity you love from Vivác !

   We present to you the 2010 Riesling and the 2010 Luminosa (Luminescent). The Riesling has only a hint of sweetness with firm acidity making it perfect for dry wine drinkers as well as those that enjoy sweets. The proprietary sweet white blend, Luminosa, is a sweet wine that doesn't fall flat on the palate, but has enough ripe fruit and body to pair with desserts or be a dessert on its own. Try these wines with Spicy dishes, Chinese food or assorted cheeses.

   Sweet wines that have acid backbone and no additions are trickier to make, they require skill and artistry. We promise, you will not be disappointed.

   I think it is safe to say, there is a method to the madness and being a little mad often leads to greatness.  Or death in the case of long distance running.


-Cheers from the Vivác Winery Family!

www.VivacWinery.com

Graduation

Flying out to Napa, I was full of nerves, uneasy, sure that I was about to face death itself. With these thoughts racing through my mind, the only thing to do, in good Marathon training, was to drink! I took my family and my wine maker husband to 3 iconic wineries (Domaine Carneros, Chateau Montelena & Stag's Leap  Wine Cellars, not to be confused with "Stags Leap Winery") in which we were literally treated like kings. Finally it pays to be in this industry! The Napa Valley is so beautiful and with a winery every few feet, we were in Heaven...too much Heaven.

The Marathon check in welcomed us with excellent goodie bags and an expo to die over, however what made this a truly unique race experience was the full wine tasting of rotating wineries all day! It was like the mother ship calling us home. Even the hotel had a wine tasting for us every night!

With a day by the pool and an early night to bed on March 3rd, we readied ourselves for race day.

March 4th, 4:30am two alarm clocks buzzed followed by the phone ringing with our wake up call. A lump in my throat settled nicely in the pit of my stomach as I guzzled down a piping hot cup of coffee and a granola bar. We dressed in our "Fueled by Vivac" running shirts. I also dressed in a full outfit of compression gear bought the day before...yes I was about to run my 1st marathon in something I had never worn before...and yes, I know this is a bad idea. My new shoes I left on the floor opting for my tried and true ones, I'm not a complete idiot! Of course this was Jesse's idea, I would have worn the new shoes too...maybe I am an idiot, after all I was about to run myself full speed toward a heart attack.

5:15 we had a mass of runners loading onto school buses in the dark. The Napa air was cold and chilled you to the bone. We drove 40 minutes to the start of the race in Calistoga. I worked on not throwing up.

6:00 we arrive in Calistoga with about 50 other buses. The walk to the port-a-potties is long, dark and cold, really really cold. The lines at the port-a-potties is ridiculous but it gives me a chance to look around. People have already stripped down from their warm ups to their tiny race outfits despite the brain freezing cold we are shrouded in. Some have dressed themselves in trash bags to keep warm (I learn these can be dumped on the side of the road later on in the race). I realize, as I survey the crowd, that these are totally crazy people! Some are in wild weird costumes, but most are in very effective running gear that may or may not look good, but they obviously don't care, this is about results, not a fashion show. I decide to mention my observation to Jesse who quickly reminds me that I am now one of those crazy people too.

7:00am the race starts. Fog is swirling over the vineyards as the sun rises. The road curves through big trees, wineries dot the landscape, my heart pounds in my chest with adrenaline. Jesse, ever the amazing coach, reminds me to slow down, you start out of the gate too fast, you can't finish.

People have come down their driveways to play music and cheer for us, it is an unexpected pick-me-up and I realize what an asset it is to run a race with home town support. I make a mental note to run New York City or Chicago with its throngs of spectators. Then I realize I should wait to make plans for another marathon, it is only mile 8 and my legs feel tired.

Mile 16 I find Jesse's parents and my mom and dad along with our son Denim cheering. The pride I see on their faces hits me like a ton of bricks and I feel like I can run forever. I lean down to kiss our 5 year old and he yells "keep going mom! keep going!", I cried for a half mile after that.

The sun settled in the sky and the heat swarmed over our bodies, it was a little too hot for a marathon.

I continued to find the mile markers very funny since they were also posted with signs that said "donated clothing". These were the spots for runners to shed their extra layers which event staff would take to the finish line and you would hope your items would reconnect with you.

Mile 20-22 I became less than social. Jesse mused over the passing wineries, the vineyard pruning styles and the birds in the trees. I grunted.

Mile 24 I could see the end was in striking distance. Each aid station was a welcome respite as I walked for a few seconds drinking water. Starting to run again honestly feels like your fragile legs may shatter into a million pieces, yet I was able to muster only a few tears and enough effort to continue. Jesse reminded me that while I had compared running a marathon to giving birth to a child, that isn't exactly the same thing, the baby is coming out no matter what, with a marathon there IS a choice. You choose to finish it even under great duress.

As we continued the march toward the finish, I see people are on the side of the road vomiting, squatting down crying, falling apart. I slowly manage to put one foot in front of the other. I am chanting "3 more miles, 3 more miles". I start to recognize the exquisite scenery again. Holy crap, I am going to make it!

As we head down the home stretch, we again see the faces of our families beaming with pride, we take our son by the hands and all three of us run across the finish line. I am overwhelmed by the fact that I just finished my 1st marathon. I wonder if it isn't a dream. My legs are heavy and stiff, but I feel great! This has to be a dream, how on earth can I feel good? We pick up our bags and luck into a message. Everyone wants to know how it feels. I have no idea, I obviously can't feel, something is wrong with me maybe? Am I going to drop dead?

Back at the hotel, our parents surprise us with magical wines and a wonderful celebration. A little later we shower and head to the hot tub. I still feel great and now am even able to walk...and walk normally! What is going on here? Jesse and I decide the compression gear is absolutely the reason, my knee doesn't even hurt!

We reminisce with other runners about the event and everyone's experience. We laugh about what hurt and when, about the vultures that flew too low for comfort at mile 22. I smile realizing I am part of the club now, the "I can do anything club". I realize I have a sensation of pride unlike any other time in my life. It is amazing. I realize I owe this to Jesse. Jess stayed with me every step of the 5 hour 11 minute race.

There are husbands that give their wives jewels, bring home flowers and I have even heard of some that pick up their dirty socks. I don't have one of those husbands. What I have is a husband that encourages me to push myself in ways I never would on my own. A husband that in 20 degree weather rides his bike at a mere coast to cheer me on for an 18 mile run. A husband that hugged me tight at the end of this race and said "I am so proud of you. I love you so much. You are AMAZING!" I am the luckiest woman in the world, and to think, I thought he was trying to kill me with this training!

So what is next? A shorter race time that is for sure!

-Cheers from the Vivác Winery Family!

www.VivacWinery.com