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While I am in shape, I cannot say that I specifically trained for this race. I thought it sounded like a good idea when my sister suggested it. I know that part of my good race had to do with the fact that the overcast low elevation perfect winter temperature had something to do with it. The view was beautiful of the Superstition Mountains.
Personal best in the half marathon distance!!
Mile 1-7:48 pace. Felt good but wasn't about to be the idiot that overdid it in the first mile.
Mile 2-5-on a straight fancy neighborhood street. Easy but boring 5K pace was 7:48
Mile 6-Quite motivating to get to the halfway point. The out and back concept makes it easy to really be aware of the distance remaining. starting to find my true pace-7:34 pace
Mile 7-9-started passing quite a bit of people. The people ahead of me dropped like flies here and there. I also had an idea in my head of 15 females ahead of me. I knew I would be able to reel in some of those ladies. I had about a 1/4 of a GU. Started accepting water at each station-tiny sips.
Mile 10-Go time. I had it in me to go. My official races stats above confirm that I got faster and faster as the race went on. 7:31 pace-rocking it and feeling so freaking good
Mile 11-13-got mixed up with 10kers. That was annoying but made me want to run faster to get away from them!
I would like to take a moment to celebrate my race pace! 7:26. I'm proud of that commanding pace. I knew I had it in me. The first place age group finish confirms this!! Just wait to see what I do next.
One of my favorite parts about this race was that I had negative splits across the board. I ave strengths and weaknesses as an athlete and runner. One of my strengths is honing in on negative split pace. I don't use fancy watches to gauge my pace. I feel it out, and I'm usually on the money.
My least favorite part of the race was that it was on pavement the entire time. We never actually ran through Lost Dutchman State Park. We were darn close, but it wasn't quite there. I would say that the course description is deceiving in that regard.