8 miles of running. 1K of wine walking.

That, my friends, makes for a great Saturday.  I joined my running club early on Saturday morning and set out to knock out 8 miles.  This week's run was pretty flat and I was very thankful for that considering last week's turn around spot was at the top of a giant hill.  It was a foggy morning and before the halfway point, I just wasn't feeling it.  I was lucky to be running with my great friend Nadine, so at the turn around spot we decided to blast some music from my iPhone to carry us home.  Dare I say it worked, since we booked it back to Gateway Park.  It was probably the Starbucks awaiting us, that was also a motivator.  Now that I've been consistently running, it hurts less and I enjoy it more.  I am way ahead on my training schedule, since the first 10-miler I'm doing isn't until the first weekend of March.

Now, for the weekend highlight.  Yesterday was the first time I participated in a 1K Wine Walk.  I had never even heard of this, so I have the Young Winos group to thank!  Our team name was Baby Got Malbec!  The idea is this: walk a 1k course with several wine stations located throughout an indoor mall that happens to have more vacant space than actual stores. Each walker got a race bib (that makes it official), t-shirt, wine glass and 20 tasting tickets.  If you were lucky, several people gave you their tickets along the course, which meant more wine!  There were a total of 11 stations, some with food, some with water, most with a good variety of wine.  I decided to be choosy with my tastings to make sure I had plenty of tickets left for the last station that had the largest selection.  I ended up being able to have a few glasses of wine at the last station thanks to all my hoarded tickets.  All the wines offered can be purchased at Crystal City Wine Shop, and I will certainly be paying them a visit.  Some of my favorites from the day include:


Dr. H Thanisch Bernkasteler Badstube Riesling Kab 2011
Fitz Ritter Gewurztraminer Spatlese 201
Dr. Pauly Bergweiler Bernkasteler Badstube Riesling Kabinett 2011
Kim Crawford Pinot Grigio 2011
Jam Jar Moscato 2011
Jam Jar Sweet Shiraz 2011
Atomasphere Rose 2011
Besserat de Bellefon Champagne Brut NV