Today is my last day as a 33-year old and I marked the occasion with a 12-mile training run. Considering that my head didn't hit the pillow until after midnight last night, I was not overly optimistic about how this run would feel. Why the late night? I marked my second-to-last day as a 33-year old with dinner and a viewing of The Dark Knight, which was fantastic! Long, but fantastic.

I slept in until 6:30 and finally hit the pavement an hour later with temps in the high 70's and humidity in the mid-60's. It was warm and rather sticky, but I was excited to be wearing an early birthday present from Paul - a Polar RS800 running computer with heart rate monitor, shoe pod and watch. This gadget is designed for gear geeks who live for stats. While numbers have never been my strong suit, it was fascinating to take in all of the data this gizmo threw at me - time, distance, pace, cadence, heart rate, stride length and even calories burned, which is rather satisfying to watch. (1,270 in case you're wondering)

I took it easy and felt surprisingly good. Fatigue did not rear it's head until 8.5 miles and, even then, it was only mild. The last mile was tough, but very do-able, leaving me feeling like I could have gone farther...but was happy that I didn't have to.

While I'm not setting any land speed records, I'm just pleased to feel strong and healthy at this point in my training. I've got many miles ahead of me before the big day in San Antonio, but I'm on track and feeling confident.

Life on the edge of 34 is looking good.