Celebrations

Sometimes you need a really decent bottle of wine for a celebration.  This past weekend just happened to be one of those times.  Saturday morning was The Long Run 15k here in Columbia, SC.  While I must admit I was expecting warmer temperatures, I cannot complain about my race.  I have not run a 15k in a very long time.  I did a little research and knew what pace I wanted to hit.  I have a rule to never mention my target out loud before a race because you just never know what can happen.  Now that it is over I can tell you that I wanted to hit 62:30 for this race.  A 15k is 9.3 miles.  This was going to be a hilly course through the Columbia and West Columbia area.  Mile 4-5 and mile 7-8 were brutal.  I crossed the finish line is 62:06.  Thrilled with my time and happy with the race.

The better part about this race was that a majority of my teammates also ran.  For the 15K, the Strictly Running ladies team went 2, 5, 6, 7 in place.  For the 5K, the Strictly Running Ladies team went 1, 2!!!  Red Storm!

We had some celebrating to do!  Luckily, I had stocked up on a few bottles before the weekend just in case this goal came to pass.  Saturday night I popped open a bottle of Vina Eguia Rioja Tempranillo.  A few weeks ago, I told  you all about the Crianza.  This is its bolder older sister.  Very smooth and just rich enough for the chilly weather that hung on all day Saturday.  I am a proud supporter of these beautiful wines from Spain.  This one retails for about $15 per bottle.  Not too much to splurge on for the great taste. I am telling you, if you can find this, get it.  You will not be disappointed.



Another find this week came from our trusty Trader Joe's.  I threw caution to the wind and bought the 2013 La Finca Malbec from Argentina.  This was a very deep red, almost purple color.  Very robust, deep, hearty flavor.  I was pleasantly surprised because I have only tested a few of these and they have been higher dollar.  I figured that I would give this a go knowing that I was only out a few bucks if I did not enjoy.  I had this with a wonderful pasta tortellini dinner and will definitely buy it again.

More wines to taste as I head to dinner with the SR Ladies this week and also to Dallas for work!  Stay tuned.