On why my mother will most certainly be better prepared for this than I

Though I hope to convince my brother to go for a run with me tomorrow in the nearby park here in brisk Pittsburgh (where I am staying for the holiday weekend), my plans thus far to strike out on my own have not gone so well. For one, I'm afraid I'll get lost and end up on the wrong side of the tracks, but more importantly it's just too damn cold, and I'm a wimpy southerner with thin blood who just can't handle it. I also discovered a scale in my brother's house, and weighed myself for the first time in a couple years (I don't own a scale. Ignorance is bliss! And obsessing over small fluctuations in weight has never seemed worthwhile to me. If my clothes start to feel tight, that's my indicator.) And, well, let's just say that even though I walk everywhere in DC, my lack of regular running has had an impact. Phase one of my training for winter 08/09 (to increase my general fitness) has been stalled in favor of an alternate strategy for the holiday season: Eat and Grow Large With Food.
Laziness: 1, Laurel: 0

Preparation by way of racing

I have a bit of a head start on L on the running thing and maybe the wine thing as well. I ran the Turkey Day 5K race in Charleston, winning my age group in 24:03. That time is not particularly impressive unless you are under 10 or over 60. I'll leave it to your imagination into which category I fall. It was a perfect day for a race, chilly (46 degrees) and sunny with negligible wind. The post race libation was beer--bizarre on a cool morning, but we enjoyed it. It's a fun race and well attended (4000 plus). It's not always the case that a charity run can create an event which appeals to serious competitive runners. I am off to Chicago for a couple of days and then will try to better that race time at the Reindeer Run next Saturday. My most serious local competitors will be doing a half marathon at Kiawah on that same morning. I'm thinking their times will give me some idea of what I might be able to do in Napa next summer.

It's official

We're registered. That's it. No backing out now! The hardest part about it was not the act of committing to months of training for a grueling race (or the steep registration fee), but whether or not to sign up for the pre-race dinner/wine tasting. That's right, pre-race. We elected to decide on that later, instead assuredly choosing just the post-race wine glass souvenir/ticket to tasting, as running-whilst hungover is not currently part of our training plan.

Update

Well, I'm doing REALLY well with the wine part. (I didn't realize we were training for that portion, too, Ma :P) Not so well with the running part, though I did walk about 5 miles today all-told. I did a walk-a-thon for the homeless this morning and I haven't been that cold in a long time. Apparently jeans are no match for the 27 degree temperature + brutal wind along the Tidal Basin. That and a trip to the newly opened American History museum (which has a big exhibit on antebellum Charleston, btw) and I am just about walked out. So, that counts as training...right?

Purpose of this blog

Just for fun. And to encourage one another. And to encourage friends and family to encourage us. Because I will need all the encouragement I can get to train in the freezing cold for a race that's in July! It is also to document our journey and progress so that we can have a record of how this goes. (Mom and I have the memory of goldfish, so if nothing else this might prove useful as a memory aid.)

We hope that this blog will at least mildly amuse anyone who keeps up with it, and at most provide advice or inspiration for us along the way.

I'm new to this blog stuff, so bear with me. I am Nance, the Mom, who has agreed to this adventure in hopes of spending some quality time running with my daughter in wine country. How can it not be fun? (Except for my lack of enthusiasm for really long runs.) It is probably good for both of us to get out of our comfort zones and do something challenging and different and enjoy doing it together. I think it will be a hoot! I've even started training--ran 5 miles last night and then had a big glass of really bad, cheap Merlot! So what you doing, Tweetie?

We're doing what?

So, I'm not sure who convinced who here, but somehow mom and I have agreed (though nothing has been signed yet)to train for, and run (God willing) a half marathon next summer.

The idea launched this summer when mother uttered a series of words I'd never imagined she would: "You know, if you wanted to train for and run a marathon, I'd do it with you." Huh? Up until that point, I would not be exaggerating when I say that mom was adamantly anti-marathon: "Who in their right mind would want to do that?! I have no desire..." And I felt the same way. Running quick, fast 5ks or 10ks (and setting records in them if you're Nance) sounds like much more fun than grueling long runs and eventually running for 4 hours.

But, what's done is done. The harebrained idea has been hatched, and we're in it together. Towards 13.1!!

The race is July 19th in Northern California, and it's called the Napa-to-Sonoma Wine Country Half Marathon. Wine and running. What could be better? : )