Saturday, August 4th I ran in the White River 4 Mile Classic in Batesville, AR. Unlike the last two races in which I ran, The Go! Mile and the Fleet Feet Firecracker Fast 5K, this is a race I planned to run. This was the 40th running of this race which is known for its challenging and hilly course. Given that it is held the first week in August in Arkansas the heat and humidity can present a challenge as well.

My plan for this race was to to work on running negative splits. I wrote out a plan for a 31 minute race and one for a 30:30 minute race. My training has been going really well and while these might be stretch goals, they still felt realistic. I decided to forgo one of my speed sessions the week of the race and count the race as speed work instead.

I shared my race plan with my friend and teammate, Tia, who thought it would be great for the three younger girls on our team to run with me so they could practice this pacing strategy for their upcoming cross country seasons. I told the girls to trust the process of starting out slow. This is no easy task since this race starts out downhill. All three girls had run the race before. I reminded them how hard the last mile is and explained that conserving their energy in the first mile would help them towards the end of the race.

The weather turned out nice. At 7:30 am, the starting time it was only 70 degrees. However, it was still humid.

The girls and I ran patiently the first mile. At 7:41 it was 9 seconds faster than my race plan, but it felt good. During the second mile we began passing more runners than were passing us. JoAnna, the older of the three girls stayed right on my left shoulder. The other two, Abby and Abi, dropped back just out of my sight. By the time we reached mile 2, I wasn’t sure that they were still with us.

I was disappointed that the second mile split was 7:58. JoAnna matched me step for step. She looked relaxed and strong. I loved having her energy and it felt like we were working together. I could feel her starting to pick up the pace as we neared mile 3. I told her when we got to the third mile that if she was feeling it, she should take off. Mile 3 was a 7:51.

JoAnna surged ahead and it was fun to watch her. I struggled to maintain contact and the uphills during the final mile got the best of me. Fortunately, this race ends with a great downhill finish when you make the final turn. Tia was there and shouted at me to run hard for another 30 seconds! That was just what I needed to here. You can do anything for 30 seconds, right?! The fourth mile split was 8:34 and my finish time was 32:12.

Things didn’t go quite according to my race plan, but I believe it is important to focus on what went right and learn from what went wrong:

• #1 on that list would be that my third mile was faster than my second mile! A slower third mile tends to be an issue for me in the 5K.
• The first three splits were within 17 seconds of each other and all under 8 minutes.
• I felt solid and strong for 3 miles. This makes me feel good about next week’s 5K.
• I have only been running again for 7 weeks and I ran well enough to place 2nd in the Grand Masters division.

The girls all did a great job and I was really proud of them. (The results can be found here.) Next up, the Hope Watermelon Festival 5K. All participants get a free watermelon!

Have you ever run a 4 mile race? Tell me about it in the comment below!