39 and holding

Every year on my birthday, I do the same exact thing. I head down for the basement storage unit and find the one pair of jeans I've held on to for the last 20+ years. A pair of Guess jeans circa 1986, complete with tapered legs and zippers at the ankles. Every year, I try them on. And so far, every year they have fit (except for 1999 and 2002 when those pesky pregnancies got in the way.)

I figure if I can still fit in the jeans I wore in high school (no matter how un-stylish they may be,) how old can I really be?

This year, however, we made the mistake of going downtown for lunch. Big mistake. You see, tomorrow, our fair city is hosting the "Ironman." That is where people swim for a long time, then bike 112 miles, and then, just for kicks, run a marathon. All in the same day. It's absolutely insane.

Now, I run marathons. I run lots of marathons and other events. I ran 18 miles last weekend. I will run 20 mile next weekend. I still fit into the same jeans I wore when I was 17. You'd think I'd be reasonably confident in my physical fitness. And I am. Until I run into those Ironman Freaks. My god - they have no body fat. They are 100% muscle. They are super-humanly fit. And this weekend - they are EVERYWHERE. You can't turn a corner without running into one of them.

Luckily, the rest of the day was so wonderful that I forgot all about my feelings of inadequacy in comparison to my Ironman brethren.

We had a fabulous lunch. But I kept fixating on the voice at the next table. I couldn't help myself - it was such a familiar voice. NPR junkie that I am, I knew that it had to be someone from radio. Sure enough, it was Michael Feldman (host of NPR's "Whaddya Know?" - and he was very nice and didn't even mind my interrupting his lunch to tell him I was a big fan.

And tonight, our neighborhood had a huge block party. Tons of kids and adults with fabulous food and great conversation. It was so fun that I completely forgot that our children normally go to bed at 7:30. We *all* left the party at 10:18 pm. Yes, almost three hours past bedtime. Tomorrow, there will be hell to pay. But tonight - tonight I thoroughly enjoying my last year as a "30 something." Next year - the big 4-0. (and no - I will NOT be doing the Ironman!)