getting used to it

Ten miles outside are grueling, the last round of 3-miles-plus more than the others. Not that the first two are easy. One side of the perimeter, the longest, goes uphill, and to begin with I could not put it behind me without walking from time to time. The second round is always the best. The limbs are warm and still willing, the morning still cool, and advancing is imbued with exhilaration at the sheer conquest of space. Sometimes I even look forward to it.