Today’s race was a 4-mile race with a relatively small field of about 200. It was run on another flat Florida course that meandered through a community that called itself a “horse community”, where many of the homes have enough land to stable, graze and exercise a horse or two.  Today’s weather was nearly perfect for a race. Temp in the low 40's at race time. No wind. Low humidity. Sunny. The race started just about precisely on time.....I always appreciate that.

 

The excellent racing weather influenced the goals I set for today. The 5k race I ran last week in 25:47 equates to about 33:45 (8:26/mile) for 4-miles. I set that as my floor goal for today. Since today’s weather was a little better for than last week.... and a lot better than last year....I chose beating last year’s time of 33:25 (8:21) in this race for a realistic goal. For a short race, I usually set a ceiling, or optimistic, goal about 10 sec/mile faster than the realistic goal. So, I chose 32:45 (8:11/mile) for a ceiling goal.

 

With the small field, it only took a couple of seconds to cross the start line, so I didn’t bother to record it and fiddle with gross vs. net times. I felt strong at the start and pushed the first mile just a bit for a 1-mile split of 8:16. I thought that was a little fast for my realistic goal, so I eased just a bit heading into the second mile.

 

However, after the first mile of a short race, I employ the tactic of picking off runners in front of me and trying to avoid being passed. Shortly into the second mile, a shadow appeared from behind me. With the early morning sun from behind us, shadows were about twice as long as our heights. I first noticed “The Shadow” when the top of the head was at the knee of my shadow, which put him about 9-10 feet behind me. I watched it gradually creep up to my waist and decided, “That’s close enough!” I picked up the pace just enough to keep “The Shadow” where it was as we both passed a few other people. A half mile later, we reached a water station.  I don’t take water during a short race, so I ran through it. But, I saw “The Shadow” reach for a cup, then disappear as he slowed to drink. I figured I would gain enough ground that “The Shadow” wouldn’t be a problem again.

 

Thanks to “The Shadow” I only gave up 5 seconds in the second mile for a 2-mile split was 8:21. I was working a bit hard at that point. But with the race half over, there was no reason to back off the pace. I pushed to pass a few more people in the third mile and ran it in 8:17.