Lost Dutchman Long Run

 I ran the Lost Dutchman Half Marathon this morning.  I had an 18 mile run on the schedule with the last 10 under 61.  When I saw this on my schedule I knew it was going to be tough.  I had never done anything that fast for that long before besides in a race.  I was already thinking about how I was going to be able to get the run done without any traffic stops and also be able to get some water during the run.  Earlier in the week I decided to do the Lost Dutchman half as part of my run so I would have a race day atmosphere to motivate me and also be able to practice taking water along the way.  I usually spill most of the water on me instead of getting it in my mouth.  For some reason I was more nervous for this run than my race last weekend.  I think I was just nervous because I wanted it to go well and usually when I am doing a race I have known about it for a few weeks at least so I have plenty of time to think about it.  I got there plenty early so I would have time to get my five miles in before.  Once I was there my nerves settled down.  I was waiting in the car so I texted Derek a dorky picture of me waiting.

 The warm up felt good. I ran the five mile warm up on the course and finished up at the start line.  I was excited and ready to go! It was strange running the first three miles at an easier pace.  Running in a race makes the pace feel so much easier.  I ran the first three miles around 7 minute pace and then picked it up from there.  I was shooting for the last 10 to be under 61 minutes so I knew I wanted to average around 6:05 pace.  The course has rolling hills so it was hard to judge if the pace was right some of the time.  Miles 1-3 of my pickup felt good.  The 4th mile had the biggest hill on the course and I was getting a little concerned that I may not be able to keep up the pace.  The course turned around at the halfway point and had a good downhill stretch after the turnaround.  I was able to get some good momentum here and started to feel really good.  I even looked down at my watch a few times and had to slow down because I was going too fast.  I could see the 1st female ahead of me and that kept me motivated.  I was catching her but not very quickly.  I caught her somewhere in between mile 9 and 10 of the race and from there I knew I would be able to finish at my goal pace for the last 10.  For the rest of the race I just tried to stay relaxed and hold the pace around 6:00.  I ended up winning the race in 1:21:47.  I was very happy I was able to run this pace.  It gives me some confidence running longer distances.  My overall pace for the 18 miles was 6:36 which is by far my fastest long run ever.  Next up is the Phoenix Half Marathon on March 3rd.  I was lucky enough to have my parents and Derek out there to support me today.  Derek's mom watched the kids so he could enjoy watching the race. Thanks!

I wore my Oiselle distance shorts for this race because I needed pockets for my GU.  The shorts have three different pockets and two of them zip up.  They were great to race in! Here are the results for 2012 Lost Dutchman Marathon.