No, I don't mean that we've had the last long, three- (or four-) day weekend of the summer – after all, Labor Day is still a few weeks away. To those of us preparing for the Twin Cities Breast Cancer 3-Day, the last "long" weekend means that we've made it through the last of the long training walks!
Granted, our definition of what constitutes a long walk is markedly different from that of a normal person. (Of course, my definition of “normal” is in and of itself an issue I won’t go into here.) So to be clear, I’ll say that the recommended training schedule called for 18 miles on Saturday, the longest training day of the summer – and the second time I have trained at that distance in the past three weeks.
We’re now in the homestretch, it’s all downhill from here, and…well, maybe I’m getting ahead of myself a bit.
First of all, allow me to recognize three of my training partners from this past Saturday, Ali, Karen, and Dawn – shown from left to right in the picture above. They unknowingly posed for this photo, which I just couldn’t resist taking. Contrary to popular belief, this is not emblematic of the primary reason I walk in the 3-Day…but it’s definitely in the top 5!
Our Saturday in the park was actually a Saturday around the lakes – Calhoun, Harriet and Lake of the Isles in Minneapolis. We began our little stroll under partly cloudy skies, with a cool breeze at our backs. The air smelled of approaching rain – we would soon feel a few sprinkles, but we went forth, unconcerned. In fact, most of us preferred the prospects of a cool rain to the hot and steamy sunshine, predicted for later in the afternoon.
The first hour and a half found us walking around Lake of the Isles. We admired the large, elegant homes. (No, I’m not buying that one for my teammates. Nor that one. Or that one…So stop asking!!!) Great, mature shade trees ringed the lake, arching over the path to shield walkers from the sun and offering perfect locations to lay down with a good book on a lazy summer’s day – that is, if one of those lovely trees wasn’t laying on the ground, uprooted by the previous evening’s thunderstorms!
As for the rest of the day…well, it was sunny and warm; the downtown Minneapolis skyline seemed to sparkle, reflecting the clear, robin’s egg blue sky. The good people of the city walked and ran and biked; their toned and muscular bodies glistened with sweat, their eyes held a combination of determination and joy. A boy, perhaps four or five years old, stood at the edge of the water, near the Lake Harriet bandshell picnic area, with his arms wrapped around his mother’s neck, as she sat and threw pieces of bread to a gathering of ducks. Windsurfers criss-crossed the lake, skipping over the waves, dodging sailboats and kayaks.
I met one of our new teammates, Elizabeth, a tall, blue-eyed blonde, and learned that she attended St. Olaf College at or about the same time as my cousin Carrie. I talked to another teammate, Ali, about a singles volunteering group, which I joined a couple of years ago, but hadn’t participated in any events in over a year, though I intended to “get back into it once this walking thing is over”. Coincidentally, Ali met her husband through the same singles volunteering group! Perhaps there is hope for me yet.
And, of course, there was the usual conversation about women’s undergarments and feminine hygiene, which I have become all to used to, in a strange – yet masculine – way.
Our day finally ended, with four of us – of our original party of nine – returning to the parking lot where we started. We got into our air-conditioned vehicles and headed home to shower and relax…and perhaps enjoy a cold beverage (or two).
Granted, our definition of what constitutes a long walk is markedly different from that of a normal person. (Of course, my definition of “normal” is in and of itself an issue I won’t go into here.) So to be clear, I’ll say that the recommended training schedule called for 18 miles on Saturday, the longest training day of the summer – and the second time I have trained at that distance in the past three weeks.
We’re now in the homestretch, it’s all downhill from here, and…well, maybe I’m getting ahead of myself a bit.
First of all, allow me to recognize three of my training partners from this past Saturday, Ali, Karen, and Dawn – shown from left to right in the picture above. They unknowingly posed for this photo, which I just couldn’t resist taking. Contrary to popular belief, this is not emblematic of the primary reason I walk in the 3-Day…but it’s definitely in the top 5!
Our Saturday in the park was actually a Saturday around the lakes – Calhoun, Harriet and Lake of the Isles in Minneapolis. We began our little stroll under partly cloudy skies, with a cool breeze at our backs. The air smelled of approaching rain – we would soon feel a few sprinkles, but we went forth, unconcerned. In fact, most of us preferred the prospects of a cool rain to the hot and steamy sunshine, predicted for later in the afternoon.
The first hour and a half found us walking around Lake of the Isles. We admired the large, elegant homes. (No, I’m not buying that one for my teammates. Nor that one. Or that one…So stop asking!!!) Great, mature shade trees ringed the lake, arching over the path to shield walkers from the sun and offering perfect locations to lay down with a good book on a lazy summer’s day – that is, if one of those lovely trees wasn’t laying on the ground, uprooted by the previous evening’s thunderstorms!
As for the rest of the day…well, it was sunny and warm; the downtown Minneapolis skyline seemed to sparkle, reflecting the clear, robin’s egg blue sky. The good people of the city walked and ran and biked; their toned and muscular bodies glistened with sweat, their eyes held a combination of determination and joy. A boy, perhaps four or five years old, stood at the edge of the water, near the Lake Harriet bandshell picnic area, with his arms wrapped around his mother’s neck, as she sat and threw pieces of bread to a gathering of ducks. Windsurfers criss-crossed the lake, skipping over the waves, dodging sailboats and kayaks.
I met one of our new teammates, Elizabeth, a tall, blue-eyed blonde, and learned that she attended St. Olaf College at or about the same time as my cousin Carrie. I talked to another teammate, Ali, about a singles volunteering group, which I joined a couple of years ago, but hadn’t participated in any events in over a year, though I intended to “get back into it once this walking thing is over”. Coincidentally, Ali met her husband through the same singles volunteering group! Perhaps there is hope for me yet.
And, of course, there was the usual conversation about women’s undergarments and feminine hygiene, which I have become all to used to, in a strange – yet masculine – way.
Our day finally ended, with four of us – of our original party of nine – returning to the parking lot where we started. We got into our air-conditioned vehicles and headed home to shower and relax…and perhaps enjoy a cold beverage (or two).
P.S. Sunday – Beautiful morning…cool, clear sunshine…8 easy miles with Mary and Maria…home by 11:00…plenty of time to sit out on the deck with a good book and ignore yard work.
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