Summer Series 4 Mile Countdown
On a balmy evening at Norfolk Botanical Garden the runners gathered for the first race of the annual Tidewater Striders Summer Series. With the clock ticking down from 45 minutes, the goal with this race is to choose a time you think you can run the 2 x 2 mile loops and start running when the clock reaches that time. If everyone runs what they expect to run, there should be a huge stampede at the finish line when the clocks hits 00:00. It’s not as easy as it sounds though….
My goal was to start at 25:00 and try and finish with 30 seconds left on the clock (about 6:08 pace). With Mike Villani, Fess and Charles Schindler for company, we set off and soon got into a nice groove - 1st mile in 6:14 and good for a 24:56 finish if we stuck to that pace. Time to pick it up a bit. 2nd mile was covered in 6:05 and after a quick glance at the halfway mark only Mike was still with me.
The 3rd mile is usually the toughest to stay focused, but I clicked it out at 6:08. By this time it’s starting to get crowded on the course as everyone swarms towards the finish and the clock continues ticking. Picking my way through the fading runners, I manage a 6:06 last mile, still feeling good and happy with the time on the clock - 27 seconds. That equates to 24:33 for the 4 miles (6:08 pace) and only just outside the goal.
Looking forward to the 4 x 2k Relay next Tuesday evening - same time, same place….
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