On Saturday I ran the Lake Wyola 31st annual 4.8 mile road race around the lake. This is one of my favorite places to go during the summer. The lake is about 40 minutes from my house. The drive there is easy and generally there is no traffic. My friend and I go at least once a week with our four year olds. This year we are sharing a parking pass which allows us access to many of the state parks across Massachusetts. We pack a cooler with drinks and lunch, unload our chairs, bags, beach toys, etc. and we are in for a fun and relaxing day.

There is a perfectly sized sandy beach area equipped with at least two life guards. The swimming area is roped off so the kids no where they can swim. We plop our chairs by the shore and chit chat away while the kids have a blast swimming and digging in the sand. It is such a low maintenance day for us especially after working all night.

Carlos at Lake Wyola 2010

Carlos at Lake Wyola 2011

My little fish

Anyway last week when we were there I noticed a sign for the road race. At the very last minute and after a really wet Friday I decided to run it on Saturday morning, the morning of the race. My Mom came to watch Carlos because my husband was working. He was bummed because he loves it there too.

Carlos and my Mom headed to the beach while I went to register and wait for the race to begin. The registration was held in the lake’s association building which was adorable. There was no line so I walked right up with my form and money. The people were super friendly and welcoming. There were huge trays of watermelon, bananas and orange slices out for the runners and walkers to enjoy along with water and Gatorade.

I absolutely love people watching pre-race. As I’ve said before I have no pre-race rituals. I just kind of hang around waiting for the race to begin. I watched as the walkers took off at 9:30. One woman at the front of the pack started off at a slow jog and was disqualified!

The race began promptly at 10 am. We ran towards the beach area which was only about a quarter of a mile away if that. I was able to high five my son. Then we began a nearly 1.5 mile ascent up the road that leads back into town. The weather was perfect for running but seemed blazing hot going up the hills. I ran almost the whole incline, but walked a small portion at the end while drinking some water. After the uphill climb we took a left and were treated with a steady decline along a shady dirt road. There were a few more small hills towards the end but they were nothing compared to the beginning.

I was so excited to see my Mom and Carlos at the finish line. I crossed the finish at 46:35. The post race festivities included more fruit, water, Gatorade and lots of baked goods. We stayed to watch the winners get their prizes and for the raffle. I didn’t win a raffle prize but I did go home with a bag of bananas…great for banana soft serve or smoothies.

While they were announcing the winners Carlos very loudly asked when they were going to call my name! I’m sure that I turned red. After every race he asks if I won. I always explain that I did win because I finished. Someday he’ll understand exactly what I mean, but for now I’m just glad that he’s there to watch me doing something healthy and active.

This was a fantastic race. I hope to do it again next year. The race was well organized, family friendly and followed a beautiful course.

To close this post I thought I would share a photo of how most of our trips to Lake Wyola end.

One tired fish