E.T.L. (EXERCISE THE LEGS)

The top of the shoe rack offered good vision, but endurance requires sustained ground movement. I descended the slatted frame rung by rung, dropping quietly onto the striped fabric runner below. A long, straight track stretched forward into the dim hall. Exactly twenty paces to the hall corner. I set my stance, chest out. One stride. Two. Steady rhythm, keeping my rigid boots firmly within the narrow red woven stripe. At pace fifteen, a dropped wooden pencil blocked the course. No detour. I adjusted my stride, stepped cleanly over the hexagonal shaft with a firm heel plant, and crossed the finish line without breaking form.