An Early Morning Trail Run

Trail Run: 4.2 miles in :34:45 min. @ 7:30 a.m.

Weather: Sunny, 66°F, 65% Humidity, Winds: CALM; feels like 66°F.

Pace: 8:16 min./per mile avg.

Solitary. Damp. Bright. Coarse.

Waking up this morning I set out to handle a combination of some very common walking paths: Birdsong, Quaker Pond, and Swamp Trails, all of which start at the Nature Center in Mendon Ponds Park. I drove into the park at about 7:00 a.m. with my running stuff and our dog-eared copy of Take a Hike! by Rich and Sue Freeman, with the committment in mind to run the trails I had walked numerous time before with my wife and children.

The weather was perfect and the scenery beautiful. It was wonderful to, more than once, come across local wildlife: woodchucks, chipmunks, deer, rabbits... going about their business only acknowledging my presence when I would huff-and-puff my way past them on the trail.

Breathe in, breathe out... YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!