As I was walking home with Shane on Sunday, I started noticing all the little pathways available to us if we we wanted to venture off the most travelled routes.  The following poem came to mind and it teased me torturously all the way home because I forgot who the author was until looking it up on Google.

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The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost (1874–1963)

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TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,  And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood  And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;
     

Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same,
   

And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back.
       

I shall be telling this with a sigh  Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

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 Literal Interpretation: My favorite of all the interpretations – Personal Freedom and Independence.

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The poem’s last lines, where the narrator declares that taking the road “less traveled by” has “made all the difference,” can be seen as a declaration of the importance of independence and personal freedom. “The Road Not Taken” seems to illustrate that once one takes a certain road, there is no turning back. Although one might change paths later on, the past cannot be changed. It can be seen as showing that choice is very important, and is a thing to be considered. And that you will never know what the other path was like, so you may regret never knowing (the sigh), although it was still worth it because you made the right choice by knowing that you were able to exercise your personal freedom and independence.

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I love to run in the woods. There is something about being surrounded by leaves and trees and unpaved pathways that quiets the mind and relaxes the body.

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Since I don’t wear head phones and it’s only me and Shane, the only noise is the gentle foot falls as we progress along the path or the distant crack of leaves and twigs as the squirrels and deer bolt from our view.

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As the weather gets warmer, we will be able to take these paths as we run early in the morning because the light will guide our way.

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For another couple of weeks, we’ll just look along the paths wondering what mysteries await our discovery.

Do you prefer to run cross country or on paved roads?

Last weeks total miles:  34.88 running miles.

This week the work out schedule looks like this:

Monday: 40 min. TM run (4.5 miles) + 25 min. weights (back & triceps) + 3.31 mile run with Shane. Total run: 7.81 mils
Tuesday: 55 min. CT + 25 min. weights + 40 min. walk with Shane.
Wednesday: 12 mile run
Thursday: 30 min. CT + 45 min.weights (to make up for not doing it Wed. and in order to have Fri. off) + 30 min. run will Shane.
Friday: Just walking with the pup.
Saturday:  60 minute run. 
Sunday: Whatever.

What’s your workout plan?  If you don’t workout, share your planned eats with us.

Joanne

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