2.5 weeks ago was the St Clair Vineyard Half Marathon. An annual event here in the Marlborough region where 25 or so families open up their property (mainly vineyards) to let 2000 runners/walkers stroll on through. I've been training for about 3 months now, so I thought I was ready--- until the week before I found out that Ipods weren't allowed. Eek! Running in silence? Not my forte.
My neighbor Denise has been training too, so she was great inspiration. Her husband and friend came along so we had some cheerleaders along the course!
Here's Denise and me at the start (even though it says "Finish")-- look how fresh we are!
Did I mention it was a trail run? Yes, my first. No real roads. All grass, mud, dirt, rocks, puddles.
And vineyards! There were still a few grapes on some of the vines. No time to pick and eat however.
Denise's husband George was my paparazzi man. Here I am running along a bank to the next vineyard.
Thumbs up, only 8 more km to go!
Woohoo FINISHED! 2 hrs 6 mins. Not bad for my first trail run with no Ipod :)
The best part is they don't waste money on medals. They give you a bottle of champagne instead.
We were so tempted to shake it up and spray it everywhere. :)
Afterwards, Denise, me and our fantastic cheerleaders decided to get a drink at Moa Brewery. A girl's gotta hydrate post-race, right?
Moa is an edgy craft brewery right here in Blenheim. I've been dying to check them out because they just released a breakfast beer!
A wheaty blend with a hint of Marlborough grown cherries. A bit contraversial--- one of Moa's owners appeared on the morning news in a Point/Counterpoint debate with some Addictions Specialist saying that "Beer for Breakfast" is a bad idea. Personally, that wasn't the point. The beer was refreshing but nothing special. I'd prefer coffee for breakfast and leave beer for the rest of the day. :)
That afternoon, once I showered off the sweat and mud from the course, I decided AGAINST taking a nap (and probably end up asleep for the rest of the day) and instead biked to my local winery for a late lunch.
This is the view from upstairs of the tasting room.
See that beanbag? I sat there by myself and enjoyed a relaxing lunch.
Anise encrusted tuna, chicken satay skewers, and courgette (zuchinni) with roasted pepper and grilled haloumi. And a glass of pinot noir. Beautiful and delicious!
And this was my view, as I ate my tapas and sipped my pinot... and rested my tired legs!
In other everyday life, it's STILL been raining here. But at least the sun peeks out every now and then. The day after the race, I saw FOUR rainbows! Rainbow Number One was so unexpected I didn't have my camera (gasp!) and unfortunately didn't get photographed.
Rainbow Number Two, photo taken from my driveway:
Rainbow Number Three, at Ward Beach:
And Rainbow Number Four, at the lone cafe/gas station/post office in Ward:
Check out a closeup! The pot of gold is probably RIGHT behind those clouds. Quite groovy!
Rainbow Day was spent with my pal Marty, a Blenheim local. He was the one that showed me Ward Beach. On the way home, we made a sidetrip for this....
My brother saw this picture and thought I went to a crackhouse. WRONG, bro!
We were at Dominion Salt Limited, at Lake Grassmere Saltworks!
To make a long story short, the breezes over this lagoon at Lake Grassmere have perfect conditions for evaporating water. So they pump seawater into this lake, the warm winds blow over, the water evaporates, the salt forms on the bottom, and machines like this harvest the salt. Neato!
Heaps and heaps of salt! In 2005 this plant produced half of New Zealand's domestic salt requirements.
The piles were taller than me!
They also make salt licks here for animals. And for Lindsays. :)
So, food, drink, exercise, salt, rainbows.... they're the essentials of my life here in NZ.
Cheers til next blog!
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