that classic time of year

I know I've written mostly about training lately, but besides the ass explosions and long hours spent on the bike (thankfully these are separate incidents), I've been dealing with a lot of craziness at work.

In other words, the annual Food & Wine Classic, held this past weekend in Aspen. But this year wasn't like the previous ones -- we pumped up our presence in a big way with a huge hospitality party on opening night, a fleet of Washington wineries at numerous events all weekend and tons of branding and logos wherever we could manage it. (That govino in your gift bag? You're welcome.) And I was the lucky one running point on the entire activation. (Perhaps this explains why my bowels have been so irritable.)

This is what the office looked like in the weeks leading up to Food & Wine.

The cats would've loved it.

Yes, folks, contrary to popular belief, the wine industry isn't all outdoor patios and glowing sunsets and filet mignon. There's a whole lot of schlepping and sleeplessness and wearing sweats to work so you can move boxes and sit on the floor and pack things and count things and curse with full body motion when things are missing. Last Thursday, the day of the party, I worked from 7 a.m. to 2 a.m. And my dinner was a $4 frozen entree because I didn't have time to eat real food -- even though I was at a restaurant moving furniture around for most of the day.

So hectic that I had to do my strength-training with a 6L!

Still, it's pretty amazing to work so hard and watch an unforgettable night come together.

We were targeting 150 to 200 guests, and we ended up with 455.

I have no idea who this guy is.

Winemaker vs. sommelier dance-off

All in all, it was a great night. And the rest of the weekend went well too. A few highlights:

Blue sky, green hills, white tents

I know, right?

I got back last night. Unfortunately, my roommates were less than pleased by my absence and decided to share their wrath.

Nothing like a feline welcome home.