Cry me a river

As with all new sports I try, I spend a great deal of the time scared of it.  My 1st raft trip was no different. Incredibly, after growing up in Northern New Mexico and having returned here as an adult, I never went white water rafting. I never saw the point. I can enjoy the beauty of the river from the bank without freezing cold water being splashed in my face or the white knuckle zeal of ramming into rocks totally out of control!

But alas, I married an out door, sports enthusiast. I decided to suck it up and see what all the fuss was about and joined New Mexico River Adventures for my 1st ride down the rapids. The company (who is guest blogging below), was professional, friendly and focused on a fun safe ride. Immediately I felt I was in capable hands and my neck slowly grew out of a lump of stress...which some people call shoulders. The guides moved the raft with skill and ease and were a wealth of information on the flora, fauna and history of the area. Even with a dip in the cool water, I found the thrill much more manageable, dare I say even intoxicating, than the horror I had pictured and found myself excitedly planning the next trip before I was even out of the boat! If you haven't been rafting before, it is a must.

Come Memorial Day weekend, we will have a 3 day float trip down the Chama. What makes this more amazing than any other kind of trip is that we will be accompanied by Chef Ky of "Lambert's Taos" fame. These extravagant wine dinners (uh did you think I would go somewhere without wine?!) are laid out on white linens and are complete with china and beautiful glassware. This is not the camping or rafting I grew up with!

Read on for a little write up from New Mexico River Adventures...the only raft company that wines and dines you.
-Cheers from the Vivác Winery Family!
www.vivacwinery.com

Rivers and Wine

  Yes, it might seem like an unlikely pair until you've traveled to the beautiful Lower Rio Grande Gorge and enjoyed both.  We are lucky enough to live in a part of the country that offers world class options for both.  The wine making industry in this area, 1 hour north of Santa Fe and 20 min. south of Taos, is flourishing and the canyons containing the Rio Grande and Rio Chama are some of the most beautiful and exciting in the country.  There are a large variety of things to do during your trip to Northern New Mexico, but the combination of a whitewater river rafting trip rewarded with an afternoon of wine tasting at Vivac Winery should be at the top of the list.
  Just a short drive from Santa Fe or Taos takes you to the New Mexico River Adventures Headquarters where your river adventure begins.  The Rio Grande offers trips for all ages and levels of excitement.  The most popular trips on the Rio Grande are the Racecourse and the Taos Box.  The Racecourse section is the perfect trip for first timers or those whitewater enthusiasts who only have a limited amount of time available. It is class II-III(IV at high water) and a great choice for everyone.  The Racecourse trip is also run as a full day trip by adding a placid morning float through one of the most scenic parts of the canyon with great opportunities to see a variety of wildlife including mule deer, river otter, beaver and many different birds of prey.
  The famous Taos Box river trip is truly one of the greatest single day rafting trips in the country.  Nowhere else can you find the same quality whitewater in such a remote and pristine canyon with incredible wildlife viewing opportunities. The "Box" flows through the heart of the Rio Grande Gorge some 800 feet deep. After a superb riverside lunch prepared by the guides,  the rafts continue into one of the most remote portions of the canyon.  In the final five miles of this Taos box rafting trip, the gradient increases and the rapids become more intense and come in much quicker succession. Brace yourself in and paddle hard through these steep and visually stunning rapids! You are almost guaranteed to spot Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep leaping across boulders below the cliffs or enjoying a drink from the river as well as river otter and a large variety of birds of prey as you float through this spectacular canyon.  Whichever trip you choose, you're sure to be rewarded with a highlight of your trip to Northern New Mexico.  
www.NewMexicoRiverAdventures.com

Inspiration

The curious thing about inspiration is that you don't know where it will come from; a stream of consciousness post on Facebook or even a quick quip, a celebrity giving back in an extraordinary way or the kindness of a stranger. The pure poetry of nature...a gentle snow fall while sunlight strikes each snowflake magically turning the landscape to diamonds or the fleeting moment of a beautiful bird perched just outside the window can move you. For each of us, it is different, for each time of your life it will be different.

As I reach the mythical 7 year cycle, and my birthday that takes me to the year 35, I find that I am introspective. I am now officially not a kid, in fact I am approaching 40! Questions flood my head, 'what do I value?', 'am I the person I want to be?'. I thought for sure I would have run a second Marathon by now and instead I find running a daunting task. How is it that it is still so hard to motor my legs down the road? Why do my lungs burn and my mind scream in horror as I try to run a once easy trail? It isn't fair! I want it to be easy!

Then, completely out of the blue, my 6 year old son decided he wanted to run on our treadmill. I'm not sure if it was the countless races we have drug him to that sparked his curiosity or the countless stroller rides we subjected him to as we ran training runs, but I too remember a time when I thought the ghastly beast called a treadmill was friendly.

As his little body transitioned from the long, slightly awkward limbs into languid, graceful strides, it occurred to me that I was watching something extraordinary, something inspiring. The treadmill garnered more and more speed and he relished the idea of running faster and faster, unyielding to our pleas to take it easy. Finally at 3 1/2 miles, we coaxed him to stop. He beamed up at us and announced "I think I will do this a couple times a week...you know, to blow off steam.". Not bad for his 1st real run!

I realized that I too had once enjoyed running, as a child we all did. When did it become a chore? I replayed the images of his stride lengthening, stretching out, allowing him to feel free and uninhibited. Suddenly I was struck with the power of not taking it so seriously, using running to "blow off stream". Embracing running for the gift that it is, the time and space to have as your own and let your body move. As is the incredible gift of a child's clarity, my son's actions and enthusiasm spoke to me. Maybe, just maybe, this isn't hard. Maybe, just maybe, it is my thinking about it that is making running so hard.

Now, I'm not going to lie, climbing back on the beast after a long break is not easy, but the reward was the feeling of moving again. My knees moaned a bit and it took several minutes to easy into my stride, but I had silence finally from my constant over working mind. No more lists and reminders, no more bad self talk, just my body moving.

As I finished my run, my charming boy greeted me with the echo of my own words to him "I'm proud of you." and you know what? I am proud of me too.

Now where is that glass of wine I've earned?

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

Too. Much. Fuel.

With New Year's Day only a breath behind us, I promptly boarded a plane to Vegas. And yes I did vow just as all of you did to drink less and exercise more, eat better and get more sleep, so doesn't it make sense that I should start the year off with a Ladies trip to Vegas? Of course!

The entire time I was in Vegas, my running shoes never escaped the binds of my suitcase, but hey points for packing them right? My eating habits turned to the most indulgent of pleasures and my drinking? Well...they give you free champagne all over the city! What is a girl to do? Needless to say, on the plane ride home, I sat... half drunk, half hungover (a terrible combination) and I realized just how terribly I did with my new resolutions, in fact it was as if I had stood before the mighty New Year's God and announced my resolutions, then went hysterically laughing, naked and crazy down the street in the other direction. Thank goodness that is not a metaphor for what actually did happen in Vegas...no naked running down the street.

Once back at home, I decided that I needed to be a little less "Fueled by Vivac" and started a cleanse. I dutifully did my research seeking a good cleanse...on Facebook, and determined my own "Vegas detox". Honestly I live in the middle of no where and since I was gone for 3 days, there was literally no groceries in the house so it limited my possibilities. Lemon and water became my tonic and I struggled to add veggies and fruit. I cut out caffeine, alcohol (cue gasps of horror), wheat (which I do anyway, but should still get credit for), refined sugar and dairy. By day 2 I needed to have a hard boiled egg in addition to this crazy diet. Day 3 I forgot I wasn't eating cheese and by that evening had the DT's and broke down to have a glass of wine. A glass of the most divine, luscious, nectar ...Vivac Tempranillo. So evidently I do a cleanse a bit like I handle my resolutions.

However, I haven't failed miserably at it all. I learned to scale my "laws of the new year" and  have decided total restriction isn't the answer, but portion control is. A good night sleep naturally means less caffeine needed the next day and while we have become a crazed running family over the last couple years, ANY exercise is better than none. And finally, but most importantly...if you start drinking at lunch, you can consume your necessary, daily 4 glasses of wine without ever feeling the ill effects!

So I leave you to ponder your New Year's Resolutions, ask if you can really keep up with the demands you have set for yourself. I recommend you do this over a glass of wine...we don't want to jump into anything too quickly, it is only mid January after all and resolutions don't truly start till February 1st...right?

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