post-race

I did it! I finished the annual Saguaro National Park Labor Day 8-miler! And the adrenalin-rush provided by the thousand fellow runners helped fuel things--I finished five minutes faster than I've ever run it before...

So--a new 'personal best' for me...Just a few years ago, I'd never have imagined that I would willingly wake up at 4:30 a.m. on a day-off from work to go run up and down hills in the desert--for FUN!? ('Personal best' and 'race-day' just weren't in my vocabulary.) Such is life in Tucson...A friend of mine, who carpooled with us (yes, my wife even got up that early to be our 'cheering fan section' at the finish line), did VERY well--placed 11th overall and 2nd in his age division...Hats off to him! There were people in their 70's and 80's, even, on the loop! Inspiring! (...and, no, they did not pass me...)

Afterwards--met up with some friends for lunch at an Italian restaurant. Once a year--no more, no less--I permit myself to indulge in the miraculous alchemy of fat and carbs known as Spaghetti alla Carbonara. Afterwards, a nice long nap.

That's how to spend Labor Day...

...above photo from this morning's Tucson paper