Miles 1 &2: done at a trot up and over the long grades of the road

Mile 3: a cold spring wind comes from the North

Bracing and refreshing in the high morning sun

Miles 4 & 5: running over the rolling rises

Passing windswept ponds and majestic pines and oaks

Mile 6: the relief of the flats

Daffodils in various stages of bloom

Mile 7: the railroad tracks

Then another climb with a view of the Vale-

The mills, river and the old manse

Moving by the boys’ old elementary school

Deserted on this seventh morn

Mile 8: Charlotte Drive

Legs carrying me along the curves and wetlands

Ready for another hill

I lean in, reaching its crest with a whoop of relief

Then it’s down the rattlesnake road

Winding and quick to the waterfall

Mile 9: one last ascension

A half-mile long

Feet dragging, legs aching

I force myself to pick up speed

Mile 10: home is in sight

The finish draws near

A hot shower awaits me

to settle my beaten body

I let the steaming water

stream over my head

My skin is red from the heat as my muscles relax

I have eased my mind and I am at peace