Dana Farber Diaries

Maudslay State Park

Last Saturday was a beautiful day for running. Clear skies, cool temperatures, and sunshine. My wife, Catherine, suggested that I take my weekly run at Maudslay State Park.

Over the years, Maudslay has been a place where I have run alot - but not recently. So, this beautiful Saturday afternoon I was reminded why I loved running there so much. I'll add a couple of pictures to this entry so you can see for yourself!

Maudslay has a few miles of trails, and I could have simply enjoyed the scenery and the beautiful weather and ran throughout the park. But, I was interested in being sure that I covered a certain distance - and for me this week it was 9 miles.

The Newburyport HS Cross Country team uses this park for its practices and its home meets, so I have become very familiar with their 2.9 mile race course. I decided to run it 3 times (and add a little) to be sure of what I was doing.

I was glad I did, because even as beautiful as it was, my first circuit took 27 minutes - pretty slow for someone who considered himself a runner. I followed that with two more 'laps' both at 26 minutes. So, I guess I can pretty easily tell my average speed!

Just the same, it was a beautiful run and a beautiful day for being out there. Obviously, I have a long way to go to be ready for Boston in April!

posted by Fran Toolan @ 2:02 PM