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Gravity Hill 5K

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20122013
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Location:

South Jordan,UT,

Member Since:

Sep 08, 2012

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Local Elite

Running Accomplishments:

5K: 18:33 Gravity Hill 5K - 09//12

10K: 39:30 Striders WRC 10K - 02/13

Half Marathon: 1:29:57 SoJo 1/2 marathon - 10/12 

Marathon: 4:01:25 SLC marathon 2011

Short-Term Running Goals:

Sub 1:25 SLC 1/2

Sub 38:30 10K Leho Roundup 10K

Sub 18 5K by the end of the year

Long-Term Running Goals:

Be the best that I can be, be as fast as I can be

Some milestones along the road are sub 1:20 half, sub-3:00 marathon

Do an ironman => qualify for Kona

Personal:

I am 22, French, and a psych major at the U. I plan on getting a PhD in counseling psych after that. I lived 17 years in France, 1 in mexico, and 5 in the US.

I actually smoked for 3 years and the first time I really trained for a race was for the SLC marathon in 2011; at the time I knew nothing about running, I had shoes too small for me, had never run more than 16mi, and got injured a month before.... my race was miserable, but I realized how strong I could be. I have been serious about running and training since March 2012

Fun fact: I cannot eat prior to a race because I am ALWAYS gagging in the last 0.6/0.5mi... Not sure if that is normal

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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Race: Gravity Hill 5K (3.11 Miles) 00:18:32, Place overall: 1, Place in age division: 1
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.003.117.11

Gravity Hill 5K!! Last 5K of the Racing With Passion series

Coming into this race I was hoping to be able to follow my race plan, unlike last time, when I lost 10s or so in the last mile. After a quick scan of the runners in the front of the pack I spotted one, whom Naty had warned me of, who looked like he would not make it easy for me... And indeed he didn't... lol

For once I started fast in the first meters just because I did not want the other guy to leave me in the dust at the start of the race... After 0.2mi I was already a good 20 feet behind him and I was barely hanging on, running much faster than expected based on my race plan... I wondered if I should let him go to avoid blowing up in the end, but I decided to stay as close as possible for as long as I could. I knew that right before the 1mi mark there was a short downhill with 20ft loss or so; I used that to bridge the gap a little. Then I was within 10ft or so of him, but the effort of the first mile was making it too hard for me to place myself by his side so I stayed behind until the turnaround.

At the turnaround, he took the turn very much on the inside so he left a lot of speed there; I took it a little more from the outside, thus conserving more speed, which allowed me to bridge the final gap and placed myself by his side. At that point I had already dismissed my race plan and just "took it easy", just trying to recover before the final mile...

Starting the last mile, there was a sharp left turn... I was on the inside so I used that to gain a lead of 5ft or so. He hanged on behind me for 2min or so, and then I just pounded my way to the finish, embracing the downhill... Soon enough he was out of sight.

It obviously wouldn't have been possible to finish without gagging... which first appeared after 2.65mi... Somehow however, I didn't feel emotional despair as last time, distress yes, but no despair. I think I have to thank the very cool temperatures for that (was freezing my butt before the start). I managed the gagging, finishing strong to get 1st place overall and getting a new PR!!! 18:31.87 for 3.104, 18:33.02 for an exact 5K (5:58 pace); official result of 18:32.6.

In addition of getting the first place overall award, I got a trophy for having the lowest combined time of the 3 races, as well as the RWP award "for embracing running and being fearless when it comes to competition". Almost got a bit emotional when I was presented the award ^^

On a sidenote it was very windy during the first 0.8mi and during 0.1/0.2 after turnaround, and I had no stitch whatsoever :D

Now NUMBERS! I love numbers ^^
Goal splits (0.5mi): 3:20, 3:10, 3:07, 2:50, 2:55, 2:40, all out
Actual splits: 3:11, 3:12, 3:06, 3:04, 2:47, 2:41, 0:31 (4:57)
Mile splits: 6:23, 6:10, 5:28, 0:31 (4:57)

Elevation: +312ft / -434ft (Seems much more accurate than last time +350ft but same -120ft difference)

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/220244552
http://runnercard.com/runner/data/1825/3822/Result/2012_Racing_with_Passion_5K.htm


 

Night Sleep Time: 7.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 7.00Weight: 139.00
Comments
From Adam RW on Mon, Sep 10, 2012 at 14:44:38 from 204.99.166.110

Hi Flo

Glad you decided to join the blog. I hope it is useful to you. From your race report it looks like you will fit right in. Congratulation on the win both this weekend and overall. The special recognition and back story that Stephanie told had to have been great for you and your family. Good luck with both your running and thesis work.

From Andrea on Mon, Sep 10, 2012 at 15:24:10 from 72.37.171.52

Welcome to the blog! Congrats on the new PR!

From Flo on Mon, Sep 10, 2012 at 22:17:25 from 207.224.198.58

Hi Adam, I actually wanted to send you a message but couldn't figure how to do that. So I wanted to say thank you for bringing me here, I am sure I will be able to learn a lot from the community ! And yes the award was very nice, it meant a lot, especially given the background. And thanks, I need to start working on my thesis ^^ Congrats on your wife for winning overall and blasting 2min of her previous time. Congrats to the both of you for first places with strollers ;)

Thank you Andrea!! I have actually seen your name a couple of times on race results... always at the top obviously ;)

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