Spontaneous half marathon at a winery
We were on a mid-year vacation last week in Napa Valley, California. The original plan was to take a weekend off and tasted as many red wines as possible. We also made a reservation at The French Laundry, which is a 3 michelin-star restaurant in Napa. So, our vacation was supposed to be the eating-and-drinking weekend.
However, because I am training for the first marathon in October, I still needed to get the long run in. On the first day we checked in at the farm (booked through Air BnB), I looked for a place to run around the house but seemed like it would be too dangerous to run on the road due to a lot of traffic. I was desperate.
Then, another idea came up. Why didn't I look for a race nearby? On Friday night, I found a race only 10 minutes away from where we stayed. It's "Water to Wine Half Marathon 10K". The online registration had already been closed. So, we had to go to the pre-race packet pick up on Saturday afternoon to register on site.
The packet pick up time was from noon to 5pm. We got to Kendall Jackson at 4.30pm and I thought I was the last one to register for the race. I was debating between the 10K and the half marathon as according to the plan I should only run 7 miles on the weekend. Well, I came this far not to only run 6 miles??? Plus, I've read many articles that talked about races at wineries. This was the opportunity!!
So, I signed up for a half marathon. A week ago I ran 12 miles on trail. One more mile should not matter?
On the race day, I showed up in my running outfit that I prepared just to do a "casual run". The temperature at the start line was 50F (a bit cooler than I thought). Everyone else was wearing a jacket!?!? Then, I realized it's California!
Mile 1-5 flew by. I ran through small rural roads and small local wineries.
However, because I am training for the first marathon in October, I still needed to get the long run in. On the first day we checked in at the farm (booked through Air BnB), I looked for a place to run around the house but seemed like it would be too dangerous to run on the road due to a lot of traffic. I was desperate.
Then, another idea came up. Why didn't I look for a race nearby? On Friday night, I found a race only 10 minutes away from where we stayed. It's "Water to Wine Half Marathon 10K". The online registration had already been closed. So, we had to go to the pre-race packet pick up on Saturday afternoon to register on site.
The packet pick up time was from noon to 5pm. We got to Kendall Jackson at 4.30pm and I thought I was the last one to register for the race. I was debating between the 10K and the half marathon as according to the plan I should only run 7 miles on the weekend. Well, I came this far not to only run 6 miles??? Plus, I've read many articles that talked about races at wineries. This was the opportunity!!
So, I signed up for a half marathon. A week ago I ran 12 miles on trail. One more mile should not matter?
On the race day, I showed up in my running outfit that I prepared just to do a "casual run". The temperature at the start line was 50F (a bit cooler than I thought). Everyone else was wearing a jacket!?!? Then, I realized it's California!
Mile 1-5 flew by. I ran through small rural roads and small local wineries.
Mile 1
Mile 3
Mile 5 was actually running IN the winery.
Mile 7. Word of wisdom.
Mile 8-9 were again in a winery.
The last 2 miles were on a straight road back to Kendall Jackson. It started to get warmer. Luckily, I was almost done.
Done! 13.1 miles of flat and fun. No spectator but the scenery was breathtaking. I enjoyed every single minute of the race. I am glad I went slow at the beginning and picked up the pace after the second half.
The good thing about winery race was that they gave you either a wine glass or beer pint as a souvenir. Then, you use the souvenir for unlimited wine and beer!
I was glad I signed up for the race.
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