DeGraff Fire Dept. 5k

Headed to my hometown this weekend for a nice little 5k.  This was the second year for this race with last year being a pleasant surprise.  I figured it would be a nice little speed workout for the upcoming Air Force Half. 

It was nice simply walking from my parents' house to the race start.  It was a nice, cool morning with a surprising amount of fog.  Not bad race conditions for early September.  I met up with a high school friend and we caught up prior to the race start.  It's nice coming home occasionally.  We lined up at the modest start line and headed out.

The first mile went very fast, but I'm curious about the mile markers.  More on that later.  We wound through town before making our way outside town.  Two runners made their way in front of me and there was nobody immediately behind me.  My parents were able to see us about a half mile in as we made our way past their house.  Good thing as they were the only spectators!  We started hitting the hills during this stretch.  They're worse than I remember.  My first mile clocked in at 6:11.  Way too fast!  The second mile was more hills and the turnaround point.  This is where things got interesting.  I was struggling a bit because of my first start.  I also noticed that the 2nd mile was a long time coming.  The marker was in the same spot as the 1st marker and I clocked in at 15:35.  Huh?  No way this is correct.   I just focused on where I was as I was holding on to third place.  Back by my parents' house, we made our way down the final hill back into town.  This little stretch is somewhat downhill with two blocks to go to the finish line.  I just kicked it in and crossed the line feeling pretty good.  Remember that 15:35?  My final time was 20:37.  I know I didn't run a 5:02 mile.  The course is definitely short as the mile markers are in the same spot, yet we don't finish as far into town as where we start.  Something was off, but I still had a good time.  Course measured at about 3 miles even, so a 20:37 is still one of my fasted times for the year.  I placed 3rd overall and 1st in my age group.

Next race: Air Force Half Marathon- Dayton, OH