Notes
Great race! Amazing temp, a little breezy on the 2nd half but not bad. Had some company for about 2, then was on my own. Nice course, fun race! 13s PR officially, though results may have gifted me 5 seconds but hey at least Strava agrees and I'm not going to argue haha.
I knew the course was fast and that the weather would be great so I was definitely looking for something quick today. Sub-34 was the minimum goal but a PR felt very much on the table. Since I knew the first couple miles would have a little tailwind and were mostly a straight line, I was looking to get out hard and hit halfway at 5:20 pace, and almost nailed it. I wasn't expecting company but I actually had someone to work with for the first 2 which was helpful, and knowing he wasn't too far back for the rest helped keep me honest. I think I held effort well on 4 and 5 and the slowdown was just a product of the course turns/slight uphill and little breeze. I needed 11 flat to match my PR with 2 to go, which seemed very doable but not a sure thing either so made sure I kept on the gas. Still had enough in the tank to pick it up for the last 1.2 and sneak a PR.
It's hard to compare this one to this year's CRBR. The weather was better and the course was obviously easier, but the stakes were lower and I had to do a lot of work on my own. But obviously this is a great result no matter what! Pretty cool to have a PR race be a win race too. Plus, this weekend last year I ran a 5k at around this pace (slower, officially!) in similar weather on a similarly quick course, so that's GOTTA be good news for Kiawah!
Also, this was a very well-done race with some great volunteers!