i might be wrong

IMG_0021.JPG, originally uploaded by digitaltammi.

Clay and I sometimes shop for wine at Olivino in Clinton Hill. Yesterday I was on my way to meet the Bed-Stuy Craft Group at Common Grounds and was pleasantly surprised by the presence of Olivino Wines' Bed Stuy branch on the corner of Macon and Marcus Garvey. Of course I had to buy a couple of bottles. I got a good Malbec for only 10 bucks and a Giogondas for about $25.

The store has been open for 4 months and you can bet we'll be frequent customers. I've been waiting for a nice wine shop to open in our neighborhood. Welcome Olivino's and see you soon.

For a person who hasn't run more than 6 miles at a time since the marathon in November, I sure am ambitious in my running goals. Not only am I running a half marathon this weekend, one that I haven't trained for at all, I am also running a half marathon 2 weeks after that and not only that... I'm also considering the More Marathon in April. It's crazy talk, I know. Really, it's not that cold out. I'm just being lazy. Actually, I'm not being lazy, I'm knitting and sewing up a storm (more on that later). Seriously though, I need to get off my ass and get out there and run. I think I'll be slapped back into reality after the Manhattan Half this weekend. I think I'm in for a reall ass-kicking. The Great Hill in Central Park is taunting me right now and will probably kick my ass all over the asphalt come Sunday.

Training is everything. I ran the Manhattan Half Marathon Grand Prix in 2:30. Not my slowest time, but still pretty slow for me. My legs are sore, sore, sore. Muscle memory is a bitch. Make that, lack of muscle memory is a bitch. I usually feel great at 10 miles in, but today I could hardly lift the legs. I went slow and walked at some points, including the entire mile between 11 and 12, which is a first for me. I didn't mean to. It just happened. I was hungry and dizzy and cold. Silly me didn't eat anything before heading over to Central Park (the usual paranoia about being late for a race) and I was looking forward to the free bagel at the end of the race, but alas, there were none. Apparently they ran out early because a lot of the early runners took 3 at a time.

I ran with my friend Clarence the first 3 miles before telling him to go ahead. I didn't want to slow him down. He ended up finishing in 2:05! Much faster than he thought he'd finish. He said he went on a crash 3 week training course and that was the key. Training.

I walked a lot in this race. I have never walked this much in a race, not even the marathon when I was tired and cold. That day I was able to tell myself to ignore the sore legs and keep going. I think stopping so much today made it worse. My muscles ended up getting cold and the lactic acid built up and that made my legs unwilling to pick up. Today I stopped at landmarks ("just make it Tavern on the Green" and "I'll stop at the Boathouse before Cat Hill", I told myself), water stations, before big hills (I walked up the Great Hill on the second loop) and mile markers. Pretty much any place I felt like stopping. I didn't see the need to really kill myself on this since I hadn't trained and it would be hard enough to get to the end.

This is not at all surprising. I had a bad race because I didn't train. Despite all of this, I am happy I finished my first race of the year. I can only get better from here, right?

...but I am in love with these bridesmaids dresses by twobirds bridesmaid. I think I saw them first on the Brooklyn Bride blog and then I saw them again in the latest issue of InStyle Weddings. I love that it's one dress that can be worn at least 10 different ways which means my bridesmaids, my sister Traci and Clay's sister Sheena, can get the dress in the same color but wear it in a style that suits her. I don't know if they will like these dresses or want to wear them, but I certainly love them. I like that you can choose to show more skin or show less. The dresses are sexy, they look comfortable and they come in great colors. Best of all, they don't look like bridesmaids dresses and can definitely be worn for other occasions.