I went for a walking workout this morning.
Tried a different set of streets in my neighborhood, found a new, rather steep hill (ouch), and then came back home up a familiar hill (ouch again).
It's been a while since I did this, and I pushed myself, but not too much. In the end I did almost 2.5 miles, in about 45 minutes. I sweated, I panted, I struggled and I kept going.
It was a funny mix of old and new. I wore my very oldest running shirt, and most recent pair of running shoes (and headphones). I went to new places, and on my way back, even saw new things.
Like this:
Sarah and Caitlin, whoever they are, have gone this way before. I have too. But I never saw that they had been there before I was winded enough to stop to look.
I'm very much in the place of getting in shape again. I've got my eye on it. And I'll admit, there's some shame in there, at having lost fitness I have to go find again. But bumping into Sarah and Caitlin helped, is helping me see something about it.
There's something very powerful about treading old familiar roads with new purpose. The road might be the same, but the person walking on it can't help but be different.
Thanks you two, whoever you are.