End of an Age Bracket

Today is my 44th birthday. That means my last year checking the box next to 40-44 on the race entry forms. How to celebrate this milestone year? Wallowing in middle age pity is not an option. After all, didn't Matt Lauer just say on The Today Show the other day that "40 is the new 20"? In fact, I'm sure I'm feeling better now than I did in my 20s. Look at those Desperate Housewives. Some of them are pushing 40 and they look great. Demi Moore became my idol when she posed nude and pregnant for the cover of Vanity Fair magazine and she solidified her standing with me when she snagged Ashton Kutcher -- a hot guy more than 15 years her junior.

So to mark this momentous occasion, I resolve to PR in every distance I race this year. 5k, 10k, 15k, Half Marathon, and Marathon. Little Miami Triathalon as well. It's not asking too much. My race times overall are pretty crappy, so they shouldn't be hard to beat. Well, my best Half was 2:10; that one may be tough. But my worst was 2:30. I can at least beat my worst.

If I succeed, I may reward myself for my 45th birthday by buying a new set of boobs. If that's not incentive, than I don't know what is. But I can't even think about it this year. This year, I have to be fast.

So, to start out, I did have a workout on the schedule today. A 6 mile run. There was no indication as to what kind of run, so I just ran. I wanted to see what kind of splits I could produce and what I could maintain. Overall, I'm happy. My average pace was 10:10. I couldn't maintain the pace I started out with, but just the fact that I was able to clock a 9:22 on a training run is pretty awesome to me. I felt good; I wasn't consciously pushing it. Just running happy.

If I make a concerted effort to start slow I should be able to maintain an average 10:00. So, that's my goal for tomorrow's long run. Start slow; run slow.

Now, I must go shopping for a new dress.