Dana Farber Diaries

Plummer Street Loop

Last night, I got home from work about a half hour before my wife who was bringing home dinner, and I decided to get out for a run. I hadn't run since the prior Sunday, so I was really feeling the need. I did have a couple of excellent cross training workouts on Tuesday and Wednesday, but hadn't gotten the chance to run.

As it was about 6:00pm and the daylight was quickly waning, I donned my reflective vest and set out. As I meandered through the back streets of Newbury approaching Route 1A, I started hatching my plan on where to run. Running along Route 1A South into Newbury is a fairly standard route for me with many different options. On this run the plan was to be dependent on the daylight as there are a couple of nice runs that include some trails, but without sunlight, they would be difficult, if not impossible to manage.

I realized pretty quickly that I wasn't going to have enough daylight to do any trails, so I dropped down Plummer Street. Plummer street is a dirt road that goes through a pretty heavily wooded area. Not having run for a few days, my legs were feeling downright "springy" - something I haven't felt out of them for a few years! The running was easy, although I was working hard. I haven't really been worrying about my speed, but this run felt faster than many of my previous ones. I also felt more in control of my body than I have previously - no slouching, no feet moving with a mind of their own - it was great.

The Plummer Street loop is an extension of the Hay Street Loop and is approximately 4.5 miles.

Darkness decsended quickly last night, and I was pleased that I decided to put on my vest. I nearly ran straight into a woman running and pushing a stroller toward me. I didn't see her at all, and had to jump out of the way to avoid collision.

As I finished up the run, I had another sensation that I haven't had in a long time as well - energy at the end of the run. I found myself really pushing through the final half mile, up a small rise until I arrived back at my house. Maybe I can get back in shape after all!

posted by Fran Toolan @ 9:45 AM