That Time I PR'd the Tantalus Loop (Another Runner's HI Run)

Since I started running on Oahu in 2013, my favorite loop is the 10 mile loop up and down Tantalus.  I've blogged about it plenty, but here is the elevation profile from Saturday:

10 miles.  First 5 with 1,654' elevation gained, second 5 with 1,437' elevation lost.  It was a rare completely dry and clear morning on the mountain.  I started out early and even saw stars!  There was more traffic than usual.  I didn't know it at the the time, but the HURT 100 trail race was going on.

I stuck to the road

My pace for the first 5 miles was 13:47.  My pace for the second 5 miles was 8:29.  The key in hitting a PR for this run is mile 6.  It's the first mile that finally starts going down, but then it kicks back up!  I don't know if I've ever run that entire mile before - it seems like when I get to the reversal my legs just refuse to run up anymore.  Not Saturday!  I kept turning 'em and hit that mile in 8:59.  I was feeling really good and kept right on pushing.

During mile 9 I saw a runner up ahead.  I couldn't even tell if it was a man or woman they were so far ahead of me.  I slowly caught them, and saw it was a young woman (late 20s, early 30s, I'd guess.)  I caught her, passed her, and never looked back!  That's a rare occurrence, so I savored it a bit!

After uploading my file to Strava, I saw that I was 9th overall on the entire loop (a new PR), plus 9th overall on the descent (another PR!)  I PRd the climb but am only 14th overall on it.  Les commented about it, and I agree, I am still reaping the benefits from my last marathon.  I didn't go through weeks of burn out or muscle soreness, I will say it again - cross training works!