Another late race review.
I know, I know.
I need to get on it.
Sorry dudes.
Soooo….
2 weeks after the SLO Marathon,
I ran the Santa Barbara Wine Country Half Marathon.
It was amazing.
Honestly, it was the BEST race I have done in my life, EVER.
And that’s a pretty tall order.
The race started at 6:45 AM in downtown Los Olivos
(Which isn’t in Santa Barbara… but whatever)
and took us through the Santa Ynez Valley.
It is ridiculously gorgeous.
The weather, (because it is in Santa Barbara County), was perfect for running.
It was about 50-55 degrees.
The first half of the race had rolling hills.
For those of us who train on hills normally…
(pointing to myself)
the “rolling hills” should be a piece of cake.
At Mile 7, however, we hit a HUGE corkscrew hill.
It sucked hardcore.
After conquering this ridiculous hill, though…
it is alllllllllllllllllllllllll downhill.
Seriously.
Miles 7.5 through about 12 are pretty much straight downhill.
(Check out the elevation chart at the top of the page if you don’t believe me!)
It was so much fun.
I couldn’t believe how great my legs felt at mile 10.
So, I picked up the pace about 30 seconds per mile
and held it there to the finish line, in Solvang.
(which also isn’t Santa Barbara… but whatever)
Finish time: 2:14.09
More than 5 minutes faster that I ran 2 weeks prior.
BOOM!
Check out the medal!
(Yes…. it doubles as a corkscrew and a wine stopper)
I know!
It’s awesome… isn’t it!?!?
Anyway,
after receiving my medal,
stretching,
devouring some post-race pizza from the night before,
and hydrating myself…
I proceeded to un-hydrate myself with WINE!
Yes, wine!
There was a post-race wine tasting celebration and it was AMAZING.
It consisted of roughly 15 wineries pouring a number of different varietals.
SO AWESOME.
The music and atmosphere were awesome
and everyone was in a great mood because of the run.
Of course, the wine doesn’t hurt though.
It was by far the funnest (is that a word?) race I have ever done
and I have made a resolution to do it every year until the end of time.
Yes.. until the end of time!
I mean running and wine are by far my two of my most favorite things…
and when you combine them into an event,
it’s a WIN-WIN situation.
Can’t pass that up.
No, no I can not.
UPDATE!
I was recently chosen to be a Destination Races Wine Country Half Ambassador!!
Yayyyy!
And I think you should register to run with me!
Check out the dates and locations of alllllll of the amazing races that Destination Races puts on.
SANTA BARBARA, CA – MAY 7, 2016
LOUDOUN COUNTY, VA – JUNE 4, 2016
MCMINNVILLE, OR – AUGUST 13, 2016
WOODINVILLE, WA – SEPTEMBER 17, 2016
HEALDSBURG, CA – OCTOBER 29, 2017
KELOWNA, BC – SEPT 4, 2016
Annnnnnnnnnd save some $$$$$ when registering!
“DRAMBJONES” FOR $10 OFF ALL RACES EXCEPT KELOWA, BC
“DRAMBJONES2” FOR $10 OFF KELOWA, BC
Have you done a Destination Race?
Do you like wine?
Rather Be Runnin' 
I too love this run, have done it 4 yrs straight and will also run it until the end of time (either mine or theirs, whichever comes first). One correction it starts in Santa Ynez and through Los Olivos at the 1/2 way point. Why do I run it, WINE, WINE, WINE. We spend 3 nights in Solvang, its Mothers Day weekend, and I dont have my Mommy on earth anymore, so I run this for her and my Dad in heaven. Its definitely a do not miss, put on your running bucket list event.
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Thank you so much for the clarification! 🙂 I am glad to see that someone else loves this race as much as I do!
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This race is totally on my bucket list now!
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YEAH!! I will see you there next year!
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That corkscrew medal is ah-mazing. Too cool!
Congratz on the great race and finishing strong, and great job on the review.
Looks like a marathon is beckoning your name for your next race.. 🙂
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Thanks so much for all of the compliments!! I know, I love the medal too. It is by far my favorite one so far. I have already run 2 marathons and got injured pretty bad during the last one. I am sure I will eventually work my way back up to it- but for now, I am just trying to stay injury free. 🙂 thanks for stopping by!
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Oh that sounds Heavenly. Just the sunshine alone would be nice, but wine too
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Oh it is!! I highly recommend it. Check out their site: http://destinationraces.com/ for a race in your area. You won’t regret it!
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