Napa to Sonoma Half Marathon
This was my first and likely only trip to wine country where I was completely sober and something about it just seemed strange.
Matt and I arrived on Thursday (his birthday). After the drive from SFO to Sonoma did a little wine tasting at Paradise Ridge (Okay Matt did) and then had dinner at a restaurant we discovered 2 years ago when we were there with Sarah and Geoff. I discovered a great non-alcoholic wine at dinner, Navarro Pinot Noir, not quite the real thing, but close. This became my drink the entire weekend.
The foggy Pacific coast in the morning
Friday we drove to the coast and found a great little Indian restaurant for lunch. That afternoon we did a little exploring and went for a 45 minute run near the hotel before hitting the pool. The rest of the team arrived on Friday and we all went to dinner where I had more Navarro.
Saturday morning we got in a 35 minute run in much cooler weather. Matt and I headed into Sonoma for lunch, the expo and a stop at Sebastiani. I'll admit I had to take a sip of the Cherryblock as I watched Matt drink his $20 glass. There is a bottle sitting in our wine fridge waiting to be opened in January, I think we might have something to celebrate.
The wonderful Cherryblock
My Pinot Noir substitute
Saturday was the hottest day all weekend with temps nearly 100 at times. This was also the night of the pasta dinner which was held outside in a field with no shade, good thing it cooled pretty early.
Minnesota Team Challenge before the race
Marathon morning was nice and early. Matt managed to transfer a bib from one of my runners who was ill so he was able to run. Right off the bat the course was uphill, just a peak at what was to come. The scenery was much the same all the way, grapes are only exciting to look at for so long. Overall it was a nice race and everyone finished despite the heat that crept in near the finish. They did manage to run out of water at the mile 6 water stop pretty early on in the race, being that it was out in the middle of no where the water wasn't replaced.
I also learned that the medical team on the course consisted of some teens (okay probably older) who would drive people to the finish. Not the best solution when a runner is down, dehydrated, confused and hypotensive at mile 9. I spent about 1 hour with her on the side of the road which turned into an interesting experience. I am used to big city hospitals, medics, etc so this was new. The first cop on scene was great and even offered me his motorcycle, I passed on that or there would be another runner down. The first EMT with the local fire department looked to be barley out of high school and didn't seem to want to take any advice or information from a woman who happens to know something about medicine. He even managed to relay to the medics that she had fallen, hit her head and a c-collar and back board. Not quite since she was sitting up and puking on me at the time, I guess water vomit is low on the list of nasty bodily fluids that I have been in contact with. I was finally able to relay the correct information to the medics, get her fluids and sent to the hospital.
The finish line party for the team was great, I have never had a better tasting veggie burger. Matt and Heidi did a little more wine tasting that was set up for the runners. Back to the hotel for a nap and hanging out at the pool, what a perfect day and a great weekend overall.
Matt ran a half marathon PR despite not planning to run, 1:55.
Matt and I arrived on Thursday (his birthday). After the drive from SFO to Sonoma did a little wine tasting at Paradise Ridge (Okay Matt did) and then had dinner at a restaurant we discovered 2 years ago when we were there with Sarah and Geoff. I discovered a great non-alcoholic wine at dinner, Navarro Pinot Noir, not quite the real thing, but close. This became my drink the entire weekend.
The foggy Pacific coast in the morning
Friday we drove to the coast and found a great little Indian restaurant for lunch. That afternoon we did a little exploring and went for a 45 minute run near the hotel before hitting the pool. The rest of the team arrived on Friday and we all went to dinner where I had more Navarro.
Saturday morning we got in a 35 minute run in much cooler weather. Matt and I headed into Sonoma for lunch, the expo and a stop at Sebastiani. I'll admit I had to take a sip of the Cherryblock as I watched Matt drink his $20 glass. There is a bottle sitting in our wine fridge waiting to be opened in January, I think we might have something to celebrate.
The wonderful Cherryblock
My Pinot Noir substitute
Saturday was the hottest day all weekend with temps nearly 100 at times. This was also the night of the pasta dinner which was held outside in a field with no shade, good thing it cooled pretty early.
Minnesota Team Challenge before the race
Marathon morning was nice and early. Matt managed to transfer a bib from one of my runners who was ill so he was able to run. Right off the bat the course was uphill, just a peak at what was to come. The scenery was much the same all the way, grapes are only exciting to look at for so long. Overall it was a nice race and everyone finished despite the heat that crept in near the finish. They did manage to run out of water at the mile 6 water stop pretty early on in the race, being that it was out in the middle of no where the water wasn't replaced.
I also learned that the medical team on the course consisted of some teens (okay probably older) who would drive people to the finish. Not the best solution when a runner is down, dehydrated, confused and hypotensive at mile 9. I spent about 1 hour with her on the side of the road which turned into an interesting experience. I am used to big city hospitals, medics, etc so this was new. The first cop on scene was great and even offered me his motorcycle, I passed on that or there would be another runner down. The first EMT with the local fire department looked to be barley out of high school and didn't seem to want to take any advice or information from a woman who happens to know something about medicine. He even managed to relay to the medics that she had fallen, hit her head and a c-collar and back board. Not quite since she was sitting up and puking on me at the time, I guess water vomit is low on the list of nasty bodily fluids that I have been in contact with. I was finally able to relay the correct information to the medics, get her fluids and sent to the hospital.
The finish line party for the team was great, I have never had a better tasting veggie burger. Matt and Heidi did a little more wine tasting that was set up for the runners. Back to the hotel for a nap and hanging out at the pool, what a perfect day and a great weekend overall.
Matt ran a half marathon PR despite not planning to run, 1:55.
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