MY Path

I love my walking path, especially this time of year. Don't get me wrong, as far as walking paths go, mine is pretty ugly. It runs parallel to the interstate on one side and a fairly busy road on the other side. It is not peaceful. It is not beautiful. I've been in races in Albuquerque that followed a path that was so very peaceful and so very beautiful. I've seen paths along beaches where the ocean is the constant view. My path could never compare to those paths, but it IS near my house. It IS a straight path where I can easily add on miles just by walking in a straight line.

I truly think moving to a house near this path changed my life. Without this path, I doubt I would have ever tried to walk to Walmart, five miles round trip, just because it was possible. I never would have felt the need to see if I could make it to the end of the path just days later, a ten mile round trip. I never would have realized that if I could survive a ten mile walk with virtually no training, that I bet I could train for several months to make it to that great 26.2 mile marathon length.

This time of year is especially fun on my path. When I take my walks I see so many new faces. I see so many people who are trying to get healthy, who have resolved that this year will be different. It is so great to see the pride in their faces. They know they are doing something good for themselves by walking or jogging along that path. When I greet them in passing, I really want to tell them to keep it up--that simply walking along this ugly path really can change their lives this year--that they CAN do it. I don't know which ones will become the regulars that I will see day after day, week after week, year after year. I know from experience that some of them will stick with it, and that MY path will soon become THEIR path, too.