Running on Chardonnay

I think I do some of my best running after having some Chardonnay the night before. I wouldn't use it as a race strategy, or even a regular training stategy, but it does seem to work for me pretty well. This morning, I had a fairly easy run around my neighborhood and ended up averaging 8:35 minutes/mile for five miles. I wasn't looking at my Garmin at all, just trying to have a good run. I was very surprised and pleased with the results.

Last night, I had said Chardonnay at my neighborhood Bunco. In case you are unfamiliar with the bunco phenominon, it is not your mother's bridge game! Bunco is perhaps the simplest game ever conceived. You roll dice and count the number of times you roll the target number. In the first round, we roll for ones; in the second round, twos, and so on. The fun of it is that you change teams, circulate among all the tables, and get to play with everyone - hence, socialize with everyone. I initially met a lot of my neighbors through bunco. My group generally spends a lot more time socializing than actually playing the game, which is one of the things I like most about it. The other thing I really like, surprise surprise, is that we always have good food! My friend Cate, last night's hostess, served an amazing artichoke dip. I probably ate 90% of it. It was yummy! (TriGirl40, I used the word "yummy" just for you!)

To continue with my food obsession, today I am having lunch with my good friend Richard. We worked together for years at three different companies but sadly aren't working together now. We will again, though! We are a great team. We approach almost any situation totally differently, which means that when we combine our perspectives, we come up with better solutions. People used to think we didn't get along because we argue a lot - but it's just business and always with respect for each other's viewpoint. He is one of my favorite people.

Richard is also a big reason I started running. And biking. He started running a few years ago and was very enthusiastic about it and quite good at it. He ran a lot of races including two marathons, but he had to stop because he had so many problems with his knee. So he turned to biking, where he was equally good and enthusiastic. He made running, then biking, sound so fun that I had to try them! I call him "coach" because I often ask his advice.

I'm starving now! Hope I can make it until lunch...