The Ma & Pa Trail

The Ma & Pa Trail, found in Bel Air near my parent’s house, has always been my own personal challenge.  Dating back to my high school field hockey days, “going up to the trail” was always a good sign that I was in pretty decent shape.  As I transitioned From:  in shape high school senior  To: drink beer more days a week than I exercise college grad, my visits to the Ma & Pa became few and far between.

Since I’ve started running again, I haven’t visited the trail very often.  I always found an excuse why I didn’t have the time to make it up there, or it was too muddy etc.  Shortly before our wedding, I decided it was time to face the trail, but this time I was going to run the entire thing, from start to finish and back.  Go figure that the weather before our wedding was terrible…hurricane Irene really put a damper on my plans.  So, last week, about a month after the wedding, I headed up the trail – ready to run. 

For the first time ever (I think…) I ran the trail from one Bel Air end to the other and back.  The total distance was roughly four miles, and even though I was moving fairly slowly, I managed to keep running the entire time.  Four miles might seem like a small accomplishment, but for me, it was absolutely the push I needed.  Plus, now I am confident I’m ready for this 5K I’m doing on Saturday!

If you haven’t visited the Ma & Pa Trail, make some time to go check it out.  This hidden little gem in Bel Air is the perfect place to walk with pets, exercise or just spend some time with your family outdoors!