Should I throw away half a bottle of Chardonnay?

I wanted to do it. I got the bottle out of the fridge and examined it. I was going to head downstairs and put it in a dumpster.

Then I put it back.

No, this is not a story about alcohol addiction.

I don’t crave a drink when I miss my evening drink, say when I travel.

Before my running races, I don’t drink for several days.

But I do have two-three drinks on most days. Beer or chilled white wine. Never hard liquor. I never drink during the day to avoid feeling fatigued. Always in the evening, often after I’m done with my running.

If you follow me, you’d know I’m a running fanatic. In a couple of hours, I’ll be going for my Sunday long run. I’ll do close to twenty miles completing my eighty-mile week. I should be able to run a marathon in under 2 hours and forty-five minutes in a couple of months.

I eat healthily. I’d like to live a long life. I also want to continue to improve as a runner for many years to come.

With my alcohol consumption, it’s a little complicated. That it’s all empty calories, I don’t doubt. That it’s bad for your health, I don’t doubt either. I don’t get excited by studies that say moderate consumption of red wine reduces cholesterol. I don’t care if the French drink wine with their every meal. Not drinking at all is a healthier way to live your life, period.