Santa Barbara Wine Country Half Marathon

Last weekend my sister and I met up in Santa Barbara for three wonderful days of sightseeing and wine tasting, chatting and catching up on our busy lives, and running another half marathon together!  Santa Barbara is a lovely and historical city nestled between the Pacific Ocean and the Santa Ynez Mountains on the central coast of California.  With its Spanish influence and stucco architecture, there were some resemblances to Santa Fe, and the cities are close to the same size, but the climate could not be more different.  This charming seaside town is known as the American Riviera and everywhere you look there are beautiful flower gardens, patios for wine tasting, restaurants featuring fresh seafood and seasonal fruit, and cheerful birds enjoying the proximity to the sea.  The weather was a little chillier than expected, and definitely too cold to swim in the water, but that didn't stop us from sitting on the beach bundled in our towels, watching the birds and enjoying the wind.  We also took a stroll out on Stearns Wharf to watch the sailboats and fishermen, and we even spotted a seal playing in the water.

Watching the sailboats in Santa Barbara 

Patio lunch

Birds of Paradise are my favs

Admiring the Santa Barbara gardens

The main event of our weekend was the Santa Barbara Wine Country Half Marathon, a 13.1 mile course through vineyards and charming towns in the Santa Ynez valley.  This race was one of my favorites!  The scenery was beautiful and the weather was perfect.  The race started at 7 a.m. and the weather was chilly as the sun was just beginning to rise.  The first half of the race was fairly flat, winding through vineyards, horse ranches, and lavender farms.  The halfway point of the race was through the small town of Los Olivos.  The second half of the race was much hillier, including winding switchbacks over "corkscrew hill."  I didn't see an elevation profile prior to the race, but the surprise made it interesting.  I always enjoy hills for the variety and the challenge, and running hills always reminds me of my high school track coach who taught us how to power up and over a steep hill.  The race ended in the charming, Danish town of Solvang, where we celebrated with wine tasting and live music.  It was a beautiful morning and we had smiles on our faces despite sore muscles and aching feet!  

My goals were to feel well throughout the whole race and to avoid injury.  I slowed down my running significantly compared to my usual pace, and held back when tempted to pick up the pace, and I felt pretty well after my cool down walk and some stretching.  I met my goal because I was able to enjoy the post-race wine tasting!  This was my second Half Marathon post-baby, and I still have a lot of work to do on my core strength and endurance, but I'm just happy to be out there doing it, and speed is not a goal at this point in my running journey.  It was so fun to finish 13.1 miles with my sister by my side!

I'm always trying new pre-race nutrition plans to find the perfect combination that gives me energy without making me feel sick after the race.  For this race, we had chicken and sweet potatoes the night before, and oatmeal in the morning.  I had a gel pack and a couple fruit chews during the run, and grabbed a sip of water or Nuun hydration as we ran through each water stop.  A short cool-down jog/walk is also key for me to allow my heart rate to come down slowly and my circulation to gradually return to its resting state, even when I'm so tempted to sit down and stretch right away.  I'm always sore for a few days after racing, and my knees were stiff on stairs the next day, but overall I feel great and I hope to do another sisters' race soon!

Sunrise at the starting line in Santa Ynez

Beautiful rolling hills and vineyards

Signs made with love

Enjoying the scenery

Bring on the hills!

More vineyards!

Finish line in Solvang

Post-race celebrations

I don't have any more Halfs on the schedule yet this year.  I did a local 5K yesterday, and Jaycob and I are doing a team triathlon in Arizona next month, but my goals for the summer are just to maintain fitness, do some more hiking with the toddler and the pooch, and get back on my bike again.  Stay tuned for some updates on our summer gardening and landscaping projects soon!