It's okay to have 2 beers, 1/2 a burger, fries, chocolate truffles and calimari as a reward, right?

Ethan's Run - After

There is an age bracket in running that is highly competitive.

My age group - naturally.

And here's why; we are 30-39 year olds. We are trying to salvage any half-way decent body parts we have left. We are trying to prove that we are still capable of doing the unthinkable- exercise for an hour, non-stop, without wetting our pants. And we are too time-strapped and cheap to join a gym. So we hit the great outdoors, and we run ( I also run to stave off anxiety and depression. Cause when you are exhausted you don't have the energy to be depressed that you are no longer 22 and men now call you ma'am ).

Scot and I did well. We wanted to do the 6.2 mile run in under an hour. We did it in exactly 54.47. That's a 8:49 minute mile. I was thrilled. A personal best.

It was a beautiful day. Cloudy with dark clouds looming on the horizon. Temperature around 60 degrees. The setting was a large subdivision in Mesa, Arizona. It was hilly with desert scape and a lot of waterfalls and rocks. There were 261 runners. Tons of fresh-scrubbed families with babies to root on the runners. Some of the participants had photos taped to their backs. In the photo would be a baby or child they know. Usually the photo was taken in a hospital, with a tiny baby suffering under the weight of tubes and cords, and machines in the background. Every mile marker featured a different child that was born with a heart defect. You couldn't help but stare at the image as you ran past.

I'm glad I was there. I thought of Ryleigh and all the other poor babies that fight every day just to survive. I'm sorry her and Ethan had to go. Life is not fair.

I finished 102nd out of 261, but only 30 out of 73 for my age group. I'll keep running. I've got causes to contribute to, a time to beat, and several womens' asses I'd like to beat.

Yeah, I know. If I didn't eat all that crap, I'd probably get faster. But ya know, gotta live.