Lost Dutchman 1/2 Marathon

13-16 Feb: Absolutely nothing athletic, is that so wrong?
17 Feb: Lost Dutchman 1/2 Marathon in Apache Junction, AZ

Almost all of my family lives in AZ (minus the parents and youngest sister). I had a 4-day weekend of FREE leave, so I decided to fly down to Phoenix for the weekend. Coincidently the 1/2 marathon, among many other races, was taking place that weekend. My sister was cool with driving me down there, and she had agreed to run the 10K.

Conditions were PERFECT!
-Pre-race dinner at grandma's house, complete with ice cream sandwiches (I do well with higher fat foods)
-Perfect weather (even though I forgot my hat)
-Good night's sleep
-King girls having FUN!
-Nice scenery
-1/2 the race on a packed dirt road

The race was anything but flat. The hills weren't HUGE, but they definitely made the course more challenging. My goal was to break 1:40 and use this race as a litmus test for Boston training, which I have zero confidence about.

Splits:
Mile 1 7:56 (started in the middle of the 800+ pack, no chip timing)
Miles 2-3 15:31
Mile 4 7:38
Mile 5 7:20
Mile 6 7:19 (first half in 50:00)
Mile 7 7:21
Mile 8 7:24
Mile 9 7:37
Mile 10 8:09
Mile 11 6:53
Mile 12 6:59
Mile 13 7:14
Mile 13.1 0:46 (second half in 48:19)
Total time 1:38:19, total pace 7:29

55/848 overall
8/468 overall women
5/48 division (3/46 since first 2 were #1 and #3 overall)

This race was a PR for me. Not a huge one, but a PR nonetheless! According to the McMillan calculator, a 3:40 at Boston is definitely a possibility.

Post-race King girls at Grandma's house with her phallic cactus

(Grandma put those rocks there)