In my opinion, evening races are always more difficult to prepare for, especially when they take place on a work day. I’d much prefer a Saturday or Sunday morning event where you can rest up the night before, wake up and be ready to race.

However, the main goal of this particular 5k is to raise money for the Pamela Edwards Memorial Scholarship Endowment Fund. Scholarships are awarded every year to one of five deserving youth members of my local running club The Tidewater Striders – a worthy cause and one well worth contributing to.

The race went pretty well despite the head, humidity and narrow, twisty course. My fastest races are never at the Botanical Garden and I didn’t expect much different tonight.

The start was quite congested, with a couple of quick 90 degree bends to navigate; I’m surprised there were no fallers to be honest. I held back at first before making my way through the pack and settling in at around 20th place. The first mile was fairly fast 5:35 and despite moving into 12th place by the two mile mark, I’d slowed slightly and was struggling to keep my pace going.

I made a huge effort in the third and final mile, concentrated on a fast cadence and good form and was delighted to record a 5:45 last mile – enough to maintain a 12th place overall and 1st place in the 40-44 age group.

Official finish time – 18:05 – a few seconds slower than I would have liked, but with the twisty course and the oppressive heat, I’m happy.

For the record, tonight was my 33rd consecutive Tidewater Striders Grand Prix race – a streak stretching back to October 2005. The Grand Prix is an intra-club series of series (usually one per month) held over race distances from a mile to the marathon.

Top 5 overall and the top 5 in each age group score points in each race which are tallied up as the year progresses. At the end of the year, Tidewater Striders Grand Prix winners are announced and trophies awarded to the runners. Although not as popular as in years gone by, the GP is a great way to build up a healthy rivalry with your fellow age-groupers and usually generates an extra spark on race day. Great fun!

Normal training will resume tomorrow. I think (and hope) it’s an easy day…..

I was secretly hoping for a time of around 18 minutes, but knew the 80°F temperature would be a major factor. I arrived about an hour before the race, registered and after a quick change was off for a warm up. My legs felt sluggish and the heat was oppressive, but gradually things improved and I started to look forward to the 5k time trial.

Many of the area’s faster runners were in attendance tonight, so for me it was just a question of finding my pace (about 6:00 per mile) and sticking to it for the first half of the race with the aim of picking things up in the second half.

As easy as the first mile felt, I was slightly disappointed at the split of 5:59. It felt much faster than it actually was, but luckily my heart rate was still only at 168 beats per minute – quite a bit left in the tank. I tried to push the pace in the second mile and although I managed to pass 4 or 5 runners, I slowed to a 6:05 and my heart rate climbed to 172bpm – I was starting to struggle.

The last mile was all about survival. I tried to maintain a fast cadence, I tried to stay relaxed and I tried to stay focused. With one final loop of the parking loop where the race started, the finish clock came into view and I realized I wouldn’t be breaking 18 minutes today. Oh well. I sprinted to the finish line and stopped my watch at 18:26 – not too bad considering the heat and a great workout to boot.

For the record I finished 13th overall and 2nd in the 40-44 age group. Now I’m looking forward to Thursday afternoon’s tempo run and the challenging 20 mile long run on Sunday morning.

Despite completing my track workout early this morning, I wanted to take advantage of this free evening race that is #2 of 3 in the popular Tidewater Striders Summer Series held at the beautiful Norfolk Botanical Garden.

The race was due to start at 6:30pm, but as the Garden is only a 15 minute drive from work, I arrived early at around 5:00pm – plenty of time to get a few easy miles in as a warm up. The warm up actually turned into a soaking. The sky turned black as a storm passed over, dumping a couple of inches of rain in about 30 minutes. Oh well, at least it cooled the air temperature down a little.

The idea behind the 3 person relay is to be assigned a random race number beginning with either a #1, #2 or #3 (I was #191). You then have to find the person with a corresponding number (in my case #291 and #391) who then become your teammate. It all sounds a bit chaotic but usually works out very well, and makes for an interesting time while everyone locates their partners. Every year I meet new people that I’ve seen at previous races but never really talked to, and it’s a great way to get to know fellow runners in the area.

Just after 6:30pm the race started. All the #1′s started together to complete the first leg of the 2km relay (just over 1.2 miles). The start line is also the finish line and where you “tag” your #2 teammate who sets off to run their 2km leg. Finally the exchange takes place between #2 and #3 and the first team back to the finish is the winner. To be honest, no-one really cares who wins or comes in last – it’s just a fun event and a chance to meet new people and enjoy the beer, soft drinks and pizza after the race.

Here’s me (in blue) in the distance not long into the race, me just after the mile mark, and me again heading towards the finish.

Photographs taken by TriDuo.com Sports Photography who support all the local races.

For the record, my time was 6:57 for the 2km, which equates to roughly 5:37 per mile, and my team finished somewhere in the middle of the pack!