Gratitude Challenge: Day 10

I must confess that I kind of cheated with this post.  I don't have any photos to post along with my words -- but in my defense, a camera would have been kind of awkward.  I went for a run along the Stanford Dish Trail today -- okay, it was more like a walk, but if you've ever gasped your way up that steep, steep trail you'd slow down too.  Unless you're Lance Armstrong.  Except everyone who does The Dish must end up feeling like Lance Armstrong, because for me, at least, when those exercise-induced endorphins kick in, I feel like I could run forever.

The Dish on a spring day or a summer morning is possibly one of the nicest places to be in the whole Bay Area.  You feel the warm sun on your face and the cool air on your skin.  You see the blue sky above you and the green fields around you (In the summer it's more like brown, but hey, golden wheat-colored grass can be pretty too.  I tell you, those endorphins make everything good.).   Sometimes all of this passes without notice because you're sweating and struggling.  But once you get to the top of the hill and turn around to look, your breath is taken away by the amazing view of Stanford and Palo Alto and the San Francisco Bay.  On a clear day, you can almost see all the way to San Francisco and the Bay Bridge. 

Whenever I do The Dish, I sometimes start out reluctantly and painfully, but I always end up feeling happy to be alive.