Lake Wyola Road Race

One thing about racing is that athletes tend to be so  focused on racing, they miss whats happening around them. Thankfully i pre-ran the Lake Wyola course and really got to experience the beautiful scenic roads and neighborhoods. This course is a gem. Yet, like most races, once the race begin, the view point changes.

The Lake Wyola trail race is a challenging 4.8 mile course that ascends for 2 miles, decends rapidly down a shady dirt road followed with rolling hills before the straight away to the finish.  I moved up that first hill at a moderate pace without falling too far behind my competition. By the time i reached the top of the hill though, i was already feeling exhausted. My recovery is not as quick as it used to be. I was still holding on to 6th place, behind some of the faster runners in the area. On the downhill, i let my legs fly and made some progress, but it was the rollers on the last 2 miles that really made me feel like i hit a wall. This was a tough race for me. I finished in 7th overall.

The race included a team competition and as a member of the Sugarloaf Athletic Mountain Club we had a great turnout with 3 racers in the top 10 and a second place finish. I got to take home a massive danish that Crytal, her sister Ann Marie, and myself ate for the rest of the week.

After the race, several of us  went for a 3 mile cool down through some of the prettiest shady meandering dirt roads. I definitely want to head back to Shutesbury for more long runs..they are fantastic.  My knee felt good and after all was done I tallied just about 14 miles. This is about the time the brain starts putting crazy ideas in my head...racing + distance=racing longer races.....do i dare start to think of the 'M' word again.