October, the most beautiful month of the year!

After struggling through the first few weeks back it the heat, the weather has finally changed. It's stunningly beautiful in the mornings, not forcing us to run at dark thirty am. The evenings are starting to cool, and our AC is finally not killing itself to keep the house cool. Yup, it's fall here in AZ, honestly one of the most beautiful times & places to be....

The first weekend in October we had the honor of heading to Sonoma to celebrate the wedding of our friends Ric & Sara. We could not be more happy for this couple. I can honestly say this was one of the most beautiful, elegant weddings I have ever been to. The setting was gorgeous, the details simple and perfect. And, of course the weekend of wine tasting could not have been better...

Our AZ family with the Happy couple

The happiness was so obvious, you couldn't help but get goosebumps during the ceremony




Natalie & Jeff...

Our own little "rehearsal dinner" night

and rehearsal day....

Shane & I had some time on our own to do tastings. Every visit we always have a favorite place we find, this trip it was Robledo Family Winery. The wines were incredible, the story amazing & inspiring. If you are in the area, it's a don't miss...
It truly was a fabulous, perfect weekend - complete with a visit with my old college friend Kelly. She works for Trinchero Family Wineries in the Sutter Home Facility. We headed over to St. Helena for a visit & she treated us with a tour of the facility & then lunch to catch up. So fun seeing good friends after such a long time!
After our return it was back to the daily grind. Work has picked up after a pretty slow summer & training is returning. I've had my two big "test" long runs to see if my IT band could hold up for the full marathon. Yesterday was my 2:40 run & it went GREAT! 17.3miles with a lot of climbing! I'm thankful my leg is holding up, and really thankful the weather has been so great!
This week is a recovery week (running) so we're going to try & build up some bike mileage & see if doing the dual 109mile el tour 3 weeks before the marathon is worth it. I know I CAN do it, I am just not sure how much effect it will have on my marathon performance and if it's worth it..... I think I'll know after this week!
Happy Fall!

Comments

Elli Davis said…
Beautiful pictures! I bet you are really happy the hot days are over. I don't think I could survive in such hot weather like in Arizona. I am barely surviving in the summer here in Toronto...haha. I guess I'm just a winter loving person. Anyways, you should check out my article on how to keep your home cool. Maybe you'll find it useful for next summer. Thanks for your post,

take care, Elli
October 13, 2009 at 6:05 AM
momo said…
such a great time. i'm so glad you wanted to go to a wedding in sonoma and that it could happen so that i could go too!
October 13, 2009 at 1:14 PM
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