wishes and dreams

I just got home and Sleepless in Seattle is on. The little kid has just called into the radio show and that particular episode was titled "Wishes and Dreams," so that's where I nabbed the title of this post from. It's fairly appropriate because I was just attending a Sneak Peak Open House for some good friends of mine who are FINALLY opening their own gym. It's been a goal of theirs for several years, but you know how much time and money these sorts of ventures take. In any case, they are seeing their "wishes and dreams" come to fruition so we're all really pleased for them.

This morning started the 2009 OKC Memorial Marathon training. We had around 125 runners show up for a six mile run! I'm really proud of this because a) we have one of the greatest marathons in the country, b) this training group started and grown in 2001 by a hero, and c) I'm honored to be on the newly formed committee to keep the training up to that hero's standards. The Oklahoma wind notwithstanding, it was a beautiful morning! Sunny, clear skies and a relatively mild temp of 49 started us out. Of course I was running with three friends who are significantly faster than I am, so my focus was more on the voices in my head screaming "what the @#$%@$# do you think you're doing?!?!" I could have easily dropped back without anyone giving it a second thought, but pride and curiosity to see if I could hang wouldn't let me. I kept up, but sweet mother! By the last half mile, I was contributing nothing to the conversation because I decided that breathing was slightly more important than talking.

Afterward, a few of us jetted over to another area lake to do an annual trail run organized by a friend of mine. He has a 50K and 25K route marked, but you can run whatever distance your legs will take you. Mine only took me seven miles. I started out with the same speed demons from the road earlier, but we grouped off fairly quickly. I ran the last half alone on the trail, and as much as I love running with others, it was rather enjoyable being talked to only by the trees. I'll never be one that only craves solitude when running, but it's a nice change from time to time. I ran back to the start (after turning the wrong way out of the trail head and tacking on an extra hill... I have no idea why I can run the trails with perfect direction and get turned around once I get out!), and waited for my coffee compadres to get back. We headed over to the nearest Starbucks, which, by the way, is NOT just across the interstate as the sign says, and replenished the depleted coffee supply in our bodies. I'm convinced that I need to be at least 98% coffee in order to be fully functional. Medical doctors would argue water, but you know how studies are always contradicting themselves....

While sitting there, we got in a conversation about wine - how bad Oklahoma wines are, how good wines in the rest of the world are, and the joys of Missouri's cotton candy flavored wine. I kid about that last part..... not about the fact that they have cotton candy flavored wine, because they do, but about them being joyous. They are only joyous in the sense that you have something to laugh about, not joyous in flavor. Well, it just so happens that there is a swanky little wine store just a few doors down that custom blends wines for you and will even customize labels! What better way to end the morning than a little bit of wine tasting! We walked over to discover some very interesting blends, such as black currant merlot, raspberry zinfandel, and a nontraditional ice wine (can't remember the flavor of that one). He also let us try a FANTASTIC old vine zin and an incredibly bold barolo. He teased us with the description of a Chilean rioja before telling us that it was no more....sold out at Christmas. Anyway, the place is called Vintner's Cellar and it's on 15th and Bryant in Edmond. Check it out if you get the chance.

So with 6 miles on the roads, 7 miles on the trails, good coffee, and an impromptu wine tasting, it was a great first day of OKC Marathon training and I'm looking forward to next weekend!