Splintering off of South Church Street in Fairhope are some hilly roads.

Last weekend, under the umbrella of darkness, a man ventured from his childhood home for a short 30-minute workout.

When the man went outside, he noticed that it was hot and humid. A combination that’s not welcome to those who are working on getting fit. “Maybe that’s why people prefer gyms,” he thought.

After a short stretching period, the man got on the road.

At first, he walked and then picked up the pace with a soft jog — he likes calling things not what they’re known for.

Taking a right turn on Pecan Avenue, his nemesis from a previous workout, the man jogged the downhill slope toward the salty air of the bay of Mobile — Eastern Shore, really.

Instead of pining toward the comfort of the water, the man diverted right onto Pomelo Street, and then took a left onto Nichols. This was the second time in as many as four days that the man took the same route on his workout. He visited his parents earlier in the week, and put together a successful workout on a much cooler evening.

Walking-running down Nichols, the man reached the water for a short period of time. He noticed the Mobile Bay and the Port City that sits on the other side. He thought about all of the lights on the other side, and those who must have been working at the late hour.

When a security light enhanced its brightness, the man got back on course and headed toward home, via Pier Avenue.

The man stopped at an old and now closed gas station. He thought about the glass Gatorade bottles he’d get after playing golf with his dad on the weekend.

Then, the man set his eyes on the road before him.

“Dangit!” he thought, looking at the long, steep climb ahead of him.

The man started up the hill, running at spots, but walking up most of the street.

He finally made it back to his home, where he embraced the ice-cold glass of water waiting for him on the kitchen counter. The man always thinks ahead.

Taking a few sips, the man thought about the workout session, and made sure to put Pier Avenue on the list again, for I will conquer it again one day.

Just not anytime soon.