The First Run of the Year

It has been months, and just as I planned
The holiday fat and winter sloth demand
The sun's warmth invites, and the roads they implore
So I pull on my shoes and head out the door
And so I am off, on my first run of the year

The air is crisper, and every step is a hill
My breath gets short, my stride shorter still
I race the sun home, and see just beyond
The geese standing idly beside their frozen pond
Yet I press on with my first run of the year

The final hill is unyielding, each step is a climb
Still I reach the end in rather good time
I hurdle over ice, as my breath forms a cloud
My lungs burn from the chill, and so I say aloud
Perhaps it's too soon for my first run of the year

Steve