Preparing for my half...

 I wrote this for my weekly newsletter but thought I'd share with you all...

Picture a beautiful day, blue sky, a light breeze blowing.  It’s 7:30am.  You start off walking and the path passes by the tidal marshes and salt ponds.  Reeds are thick, and water is to your left and right.  Over the hill is a very blue lake.  Later, people will be kayaking and sailing there.  For now, as you walk, the rivers on either side are filled with ducks, geese, and pelicans.  A little farther and you spot a crane, standing regally still.  You pass the mud flats on your right, the water seeming to stand still while there are deep crevasses in the middle.  On your left, you watch a family of pelicans, about six of them with a black duck for a mascot, moving forward as a group as they keep dipping their beaks in the water to eat.  You think to yourself, they must be herding the fish with their fins as they swim.  Suddenly, you find yourself in a shady patch, the trees overhead giving you a brief respite from the sun.  You welcome it, only to resume, once again, in the bright light of the day.  You and your friend are walking and taking all this in when up ahead, you see two other friends walking, who once were at least a half mile ahead, getting closer.  You decide to try and catch up and give the extra push by jogging, finally catching them.  The path changes from pebbles to dirt, much easier to walk on.  Someone points out a family of ducks, Mom, six babies, and Dad following. There aren’t many other people out, and the quiet and peacefulness fills you.  You come to a bridge and after another half mile, you come to a friendly face.  You’ve now walked 5.8 miles.  The mentor waiting for you has water and sports drinks and a clean bathroom near by.  You and your friends take ten minutes to refresh yourselves, then turn around for the long walk back.  But now, you see some of your teammates jogging towards you.  You hug and exchange high fives, greeting each other with joy and encouragement.  Up ahead, something crosses your path.  Then another. Then another.  They are chipmunks, and so cute.  The blueness of the rivers amaze you, and the pelicans are still feeding.  Around the corner, in the high weeds, you notice a large group of geese all staring at you.  And you wonder if you are on display for them, invading their home and giving them something to discuss around the dinner table.  The goslings are all huddled together, grey and fluffy, with downy feathers.  It’s getting hotter now as you near the finish line, and when you once again hit the shady patch, you slow down to saver the break from the sun’s rays.  A couple of times, one of your jogging teammates takes a break from jogging to walk with you and share stories.  Not much further and even though your thighs are sore, you speed up because you know you are almost back.  Finally, you complete 10.3 miles and friendly faces are there to cheer for you and offer you water and food.  And you feel proud of yourself that you did it.  And think, only three more miles and you’ll finish the half marathon.

Peace.
Jan

Wow!  I kinda want to do this now!!!  Sounds lovely!

 Well Sue, come to California and I'll take you.  I lived in Waltham when I graduated college and took my first job a MIT Lincoln Labs.  I loved to visit Waldon Pond, which, in my mind, is actually more a lake.  I think that would be a lovely walk.

Jan

no kidding?  I was born and raised in Waltham.  Went to college in Waltham, too.  Now I'm living here again after a little wandering around MA. 

Walden is a lovely hike.  I try and go at least once/year.

 Waldon will always be special to me because my husband proposed to me there.  I was raised south of LA, went to school in San Diego and now live in San Jose, but spent 14 months in MA, most of them living in Waltham.  Had my seasons, which was an experience.  Fall was amazing, but I was even more amazed by spring.  It was so beautiful to see the trees come back to life with all the colors and smells after feeling like everything was dead all winter.  But you can keep the snow.   I did not enjoy digging out my car every morning.