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Free Yourself from the Numbers

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With each passing day I gain the new friendship of a runner or triathlete. Since my first race, the NYC Mary in 2008, my life has taken quite a turn and I love it. I honestly don’t know what I did with my time before training for Ironmans and Marathons?

Look! I used to run in PANTS!

As my athletic endeavors became more challenging I found myself absorbed in the science behind it all. I hired a fantastic coach, learned about nutrition, heart rate, cadence, pace strategy and aerobic thresholds. This helped me tremendously! I saw improvements in my times and felt great about my training regimen. I had a sort of revelation the other day though, watching my twitter feed and everyone talking about their runs, bikes or swims and the mileage and pace associated with each one. (Funny how all my friends now are athletes says the kid who went to art school.) I got kind of turned off by the whole thing, the science of it all. Even I was guilty of over analyzing my training.

I had forgotten that at it’s core, the reason I run, or racing in triathlons, is that it’s fun. No matter what pace you hit, how even your heart rate was, or how many miles you put in, at the end you still feel great and probably really enjoyed yourself. You just forgot because you were too focused on numbers.

I set out to do a little test 2 weeks ago during the Grete’s Great Gallop Half Marathon. I was going to run naked (without my precious Garmin) and prove that it doesn’t matter. I raced my heart out and came within 5 seconds of a PR I set in 2010! I wasn’t looking at my wrist every 30 seconds, I was focused on how I felt and how fast my legs were turning over. It was very ‘freeing,’ similar to turning off your cell phone during a vacation.

The New York City Marathon is in 2 weeks and I am running that bad boy Garminless. I invite anyone interested to try it! Obviously first time marathon runners or people out to BQ might not apply, but everyone else, what have you got to lose? Who’s with me?!

Anyone want to make any Garminless predictions for my time? My course PR for New York is 3:00:48.

RACE REPORT: 085 Grete’s Gallop 1/2 Mary – 1:20:53

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The mighty Grete Waitz (for those of you that don’t know) was a rock star of a woman, winning the NYC Mary 9 times. Whaaaaa?! She is also from Norway and based on a recent DNA test I found out I am primarily Norwegian. Perhaps a distant relative? One could only wish for a relative like her. I digress… this Half Mary is in her honor and takes place in The Central Park.

Since completing Ironman in August a huge weight was lifted in my training both physically and mentally. My ‘A’ races (Boston as well) for the season are over. I’m racing NYC Marathon, but I always do that simply because it’s so much fun! Therefore, I’m not stressin’.

That brings us up to speed on our discussion on Grete’s Gallop. To race, or just run, THAT is the question. Abbe told me to race it and seeing how the Mary is 3 weeks out thats more than enough time to recover for it. Also, I secretly can never just ‘run’ a race no matter what I tell myself beforehand.

Now I was nervous. I started thinking about my latest Marathon PR and how I achieved it. Perhaps I could use that same strategy? This strategy (used in the Kentucky Derby Marathon) was simply to throw all pacing rules out the window and run as fast as I could the whole time.

The day before the race was actually quite relaxing. Abbe and I went to the Met (I now live a stones throw from it) and checked out the Warhol exhibit. We hit the Member’s Lounge for a few drinks and then headed back to the apartment for a nice home cooked race meal. In bed by 11! “Baker, good god man why so late?” The race started at 10:30, who ever heard of that?

RACE DAY

I had a strange dream about my father during the night that was really vivid. He ‘visited me’ and brought me a keepsake. It kind of affected m a lot and I decided to hone in on it while racing.

Had some coffee and really just counted down the hours until I had to leave! Abbe left earlier as she was volunteering. You can read all about her wild experience here.

A quick 10 minute jog got me over to the Start Corrals. I saw Erica Sara finishing up her 20 miler and ran with her for a hot second.

Up in my corral I didn’t see (for the first time in awhile) any of my Blue Corral buds. I later found out Antonio was hiding in it somewhere.

The usual suspects spoke… National Anthem… race route instructions… THE GUN.

I never know how a race is going to go until I start running (or swimming if we are referring to a Tri.) Immediately I felt as if I ran hard the day before. My legs, although moving at a good pace now, felt exhausted.

We hit Mile 1 at 5:45. What did I tell you my plan was? That’s right, run hellfire speed the whole time and I seemed to be holding up to it. In my mind thought I was like, “Man, this hurts bad. Maybe this isn’t such a great idea. Remember that easy long run we did last weekend at a 7 minute pace, let’s do that!”

Unfortunately, my legs didn’t listen. They can be stubborn. I was already tired by the time we hit Tavern on the Green (the Finish) and was like, “OH, now we have only 2 laps to do.” I kinda wanted to come up with a reason to DNF since my heart was on fire and I was super hot, and yet, I just kept running.

Oh, I forgot to tell you. I intentionally did not wear a Garmin. I wanted to try and get in tune with my heart and not just numbers.

I saw my friend Elizabeth at Mile 4ish who’s cheering gave me a boost.

By the time Harlem Hill was approaching we had formed a single line of runners, spaced out 10 meters each. A few of us started leapfrogging, but we were all holding the same pace so no one gained. It was at this point I started running ‘boy, girl, boy (me), girl’ with a few legit competitors. We would run the entire rest of the race together! That’s 9 miles of us all in formation, each of us taking turns leading.

Harlem Hill kicked my ass. Oh, and we had to run it one more time, awesome!

Climbing the east side of it I saw Jim from ‘Dad Posse’ who gave me a good cheer!

As our line barreled down the East Side we played the tangents. Well, we played them until I saw Course Marshall Abbe at which point I veered over to give her a high five. I tried to think of something more entertaining to do, like tackle her into the bushes, but I was exhausted.

Then, we saw Ed from ‘Dad Posse’ who gave me a cheer. I wondered if they both knew each other were in the Park running?

After we crossed the Start area I switched on some much needed music. Based on my calculations we were running right around a 6 minute pace. I was happy with this but knew we would slow down, this being the half way point in the race.

Right around Mile 8 or 9 I noticed that I felt pretty good! So weird. I was still tired, but I was running happy and knew I would finish.

I saw Sebastien cheering on the sidelines who gave me a boost.

Our pace team, led by a tall brunette with a grey sports bra, a CPTC guy, me, and a brunette in a pink hat and shades, were now attacking Harlem Hill for the second time. We hit it pretty hard and showed no mercy. I was happy to hit the apex. (ohhh good word.) Barreling down the descent I saw Josh on my left cheering us on. I yelled, “Josh baby, what’s popping?!” I seemed to be in a cheerful mood, maybe because I had 3 miles to go.

By now we had started lapping other runners and it was no longer possible to hit the tangents, having to run wide left. We would no longer be able to get to the aid stations unless willing to risk serious time loss.

Passing Abbe again I gave her yet another high five. Then I saw Sebastien again (who had crossed the Park). I love seeing all the Runner Army out there support each other. Times like this make me happy to be a part of the local running community.

I hit Mile 11 at roughly 1:06 and change. I tacked 14 conservative minutes onto that and calculated that, yes, I might PR. I ‘thought’ my PR was 1:20:21, so that was the time I aimed for.

It got real crowded the last 2 miles and I was just trying to make it around the other runners without slamming into them. I was really excited to PR and was trying to keep pace up.

As the last mile hit I came upon and Urban Athletics runner going my pace. “Hey Chris!” he said. I evidently knew this person but had a hard time putting a face to a name until someone yelled out, “Go KB!” Beganics, of course! We chatted briefly before reeling in the last 400 Meters. The clock said 1:20 flat and knowing I could never PR at that rate I didn’t punch it. In reality, my PR was 1:20:48 and I probably should have blasted ahead. Way to do your pre race homework Baker.

Truly exhausted.

I finished in 1:20:53 and you know what, I’m so happy with the time! I raced without a Garmin and was a few seconds from a Half Mary PR, one that I set in 2010 in fact!

Sex/
Age		 Bib Overall Place Age
Place		 Finish
Time		 Pace/
Mile		 AG %
M34 132 83 17 1:20:53 6:10 73.5%

 I have no idea what I was doing at the end… waving at the crowd? 

 

Fall in New York… Run.

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This weekend (for me) was not the end of Summer, but the start of what looks to be an amazing Fall.

I had a manly steak dinner with my second youngest brother Jeff Friday night at Keen’s Steakhouse, one of the oldest in New York City. In fact, it has Peter Luger’s beat by merely one year. He is getting married this weekend so I was just making sure he didn’t have cold feet. Kidding…

Saturday morning I rode my bike up to 168th and Broadway where I met Josh (aka Speedy Sasquatch) and his crew. He was hosting a 20 mile training run in the Pallisades, the same Pallisades where the Ironman run took place, and needed bike support.  It turns out my friend Allen was biking too so we got to hang out all morning and catch up!

We had a blast riding up and down the Pallisades handing out water to the 15 or so runners. They were a great group and all of them are gong to kill the NYC Mary! Here a few shots of the gang as they ran. Nice to meet all of you!

I was secretly jealous that I wasn’t running.

So, Sunday morning I set out on a long run. My goal was to just maintain a 150 heart rate and see where that leads. It was gorgeous out and I was really having a blast. Around the Park and down the West Side path to the Battery. Even ran (ha!) into my friend Sebastien doing his long run. I haven’t ran further than 14 miles since Ironman in August and the NYC Mary is like 6 weeks away or something so this was a necessary workout. I was so thrilled because I ran 7:30’s flat with a 150 heart rate! I used to be more of an 8:00-7:50 per mile with a 150 heart rate, which means I am improving overall! Thanks Coach, it worked!

I bumped into Erica Sara at the end of my run and had a fun chat before realizing I was late for brunch at the Waldorf!

Booked it home and had 15 minutes to shower and get dressed to make the brunch. Did I pull it off? Hell yes! I even dressed in a suit.

Fall is here and with it, Marathon season!

RACE REPORT: 084 5th Avenue Mile – 4:57

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1 Mile, from 80th Street to 60th Street, down 5th Avenue. No turns, just a straight shot of blistering speed right to the lungs. It hurts but is over just as fast as it began.

This was my 3rd time running it and I was a bit nervous. I was chatting to some of my runner friends about this last night. I wasn’t nervous about finishing the race, or running it close to what I might be capable of. What was on my mind, and many others, was would I be able to beat my previous mile time of 4:59?

After a quick jog over to the Start I left Abbe at her corral (Wave starts based on gender and age) and I ran down to the Finish. (It was only 1 mile away.) I ran into Erica and Lora and we had some quick runner talk before wishing each other well and setting off.

As the Women (aged 19-29) came blasting down I watched for Abbe but lost her in the masses. I did, however, see Robin blazing a path! Nice work.

I found Abbe at the Finish and she had accomplished her goal of breaking 7 minutes with 6:38!

She took my position cheering and I ran up to the Start. (It was only 1 mile away.)

It was quite humid out so I grabbed some water before running into Josh, Elyssa and Bojana. We high fived, of course. Josh and I left the gals to their corrals we did some sprints while chatting. We took our place behind the gals as soon as they set off.

Josh and I were probably 50 people back from the Start mats. As the gun went off I counted down how long I had to cross the mat (to subtract it from my clock finish) but I was so amped I kept counting while running and messed up the plan.

I cut hard left and took off, passing a large chunk of the masses. The corrals are not based on speed so it’s always a mixed bag. Moving ahead I passed this guy, then he hung on maintaining pace. Not to judge or tease, because I am happy for anyone who wants to exercise, but home slice had on basketball shorts and may have been wearing high tops. He inspired me to speed up because his foot falls sounded like he was trying to break the concrete. It was like a ‘foot belly flop’ every time he hit the ground. Quite annoying, so I sped up.

The uphill at the halfway point definitely took some spunk out of my game. I tried to just maintain whatever pace I had, which I was unsure of since I wasn’t wearing a watch.

At the crest of the hill I tried getting my heart rate to cool it. I think it worked as I blasted down the decline with ease. It was here that I heard my name being cheered on a few times! Turns out it was my friend Robert. Thanks for the pics man!

As I approached the final 3/4’s of the mile I felt great and got fired up. I also saw Abbe, Elyssa, Erica and Lora off to the side screaming my name which helped tremendously. Just like previous times, even though you can see the Finish and it seems like you’re cruising, it takes an eternity to reach it. All the while watching the clock tick off those precious seconds… 4:50, 4:51, 4:52.

I crossed the Finish at 5:02 but knew I had some sort of buffer based on my start. Later that day when the times were posted I learned that I had a 2 second PR with a time of 4:57!

Sex/
Age		 Bib Overall Place Age
Place		 Finish
Time		 Pace/
Mile		 AG %
M34 369 117 27 4:57 4:57 76.3%

So now next year will be extra stressful trying to top that. It’s funny how just one second can be such a big deal in a small race like this.

Congrats goes out to all my friends who ran today! It was pretty glorious for everyone. Oh and double ups to the winner, Matt, who beat out Bernard by .2 seconds with a 03:52.4. That, is fast.

 Post race lunch with a friend.

On Ironman NY’s cancellation

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The WTC recently announced that it would not continue with Ironman NYC due to various issues and feedback. A few friends asked my opinion on this and so I felt compelled to do a quick write up.

“Producing an event in a large urban market is complex and challenging. The combination of the ferries, transition in Palisades Interstate Park, and the difficulty for our spectators to watch much of the inaugural race all combined to create an experience that needed substantial improvement.  Also, the inability to have amplified sound in Riverside Park after 10 p.m. does not allow us to offer the IRONMAN finish line experience our athletes love.”

Originally from: http://ironman.com/mediacenter/ironman-discontinues-aquadraat-sports-ironman-u.s.-championship#ixzz278CYB0VF

I think that the above statement clearly explains why Ironman can’t take place in the NYC area. I have lived here for a long time and am just amazed they were even able to pull off the 2012 race!

The Expo: It was located on the West Side, a quick skateboard ride from work got me there. It had quite a lot of venders and I enjoyed it. I never go to the opening night dinners at these things as I would rather find my own food sources so I have no opinion on that.

Transition: Was Transition hard to get to? Perhaps. I feel that being a local I have a different perspective on this. I know Pallisades Park very well as it’s where I train. Rather than take the 3AM ferry to transition, I simply hopped in a cab at 5AM having the driver drop me off at the park entrance. I had 2 extra hours of sleep under my belt! That also meant the night before Abbe, Claire and I could have that many more beers.

On Spectating: This was a disaster. $50 per person to get into Pallisades Park top cheer? C’mon. The Manhattan side of things was just the opposite though and anyone could stand along the course and at times people were ON the course and didn’t even know it.

Race Fees: This race was $850 instead of $600. It was even raised to $1200 for the anticipated 2013 event causing an uproar. Once again, I am a bit jaded here as I live in New York. I look at it like this… Last year I raced Ironman Arizona. I paid for Race Fee, Hotel, Airfare, Food, Bike Transport and vacation days from work. All of theses things might have tripled the $850 IMNY fee. Therefore, being that it was a local race for me all I paid for was the entry.

Why wasn’t the race in NYC the whole time: To shut down city streets for upwards of 17 hours is insane. Especially in a race consisting of 2500 people where you might not see a runner for a few minutes, compared to the NYC Marathon and it’s steady stream of 40,000 runners.

A lot of people complained about the course as well and how hard the run was. It’s an Ironman, it’s supposed to be challenging otherwise everyone would do it!

Overall I think it was a great race. The organizers had to tackle some serious urban style obstacles and I think they did a fantastic job. I am sad that there won’t be another IMNY, but am honored to have been able to race in the historic event.

 

RACE REPORT: 083 Harriman Sprint Tri – DNF

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This year’s Harriman Sprint Triathlon marked my 3rd year in the sport, 4th year in running. It is a really fun local race and would be my (triathlon) season closer.

I was rolling up to Harriman with the ‘Dad Posse’ (Jim, Ed and Mike) and we were going to camp there the night before. We got a late start out of ol’ Manhattan Friday night after work and didn’t arrive until maybe 9:30PM. It was a fun drive though as we rode the Ironman NY course and got to reminisce.

Mike had beat us up there and had scouted out a place for us to eat, Rhodes Tavern on Route 17. As we pulled in I noticed an awful lot of motorcycles. Were we going to get in a brawl? Who knew?

We grabbed a table in the dining area and were greeted by cheerful and friendly staff. With a live cover band blasting the likes of Led Zeppelin and Aerosmith, mixed with our tasty beers we were a happy gang. I ordered the steamed clams and shrimp, not a recommended pre race meal but I have an iron stomach and Harriman was to be a fun race for me. Ed, on the other hand, had a French Onion Soup and french fries… perhaps his smartest race meal yet.

Back at the camp site by 11PM I was determined to have a fire. You simply cannot say you went camping without a fire! From 11-3AM we sat around the camp fire drinking beers and having a blast! You would never know from the looks of it that we had a triathlon in 4 hours!

Mike woke us at 6AM and it hurt. I was in charge of coffee and I got right to it using my Bucaletti, it was fantastic. After we drank our java and had some bagels we hopped in the car for the 5 minute drive to Welch Lake. It’s very ‘Friday the 13th’ in case you were wondering. The temperature was 60 degrees or so but quickly warming with every passing minute as the sun rose.

Doug and his girlfriend met us at the lake. This was his first triathlon and I have been kind of coaching him through emails so I was excited to see what he was gonna do!

We eventually lined up on the beach and prepared for attack. I was very excited and felt feisty.

The gun went off and I plunged into the soup. no longer do I hold back and wait for the masses to clear. Bring the noise.

My swim went well. My form was not as tight as it could be and I floundered once or twice but overall held a nice pace. The water was crystal clear and felt amazing.

I exited the water and Mike and Ed were right with me!

Up in T1 I got my act together fast. I was excited to get my bike on.

Out on the course I felt pretty strong. Since it was a 15 miler I was pushing all I had. The course is pretty hilly, but manageable. We had some wind and unfortunately is was never at our backs!

Blazing down a straightaway, I wasn’t paying attention to the terrain, head down, and hit a rock. It made that characteristic ‘ding’ noise we know so well. “Damn!” I yelled, thinking maybe it would be okay. It was not. 500 more yards and I was flat.

I pulled over, half thinking I was close enough to the finish I could run my bike in. “Officer!” I yelled to a nearby volunteer cop. “How many miles to the finish?” He told me I had 7 to go, no way am I running it. I got to work changing my tire as streams of bikers passed me.

Ed and Doug rode by at the same time and both yelled, “Baker? No!” I think it took me 20 minutes to change the tire due to the last bead being such a pain to get over the rim. I was pretty proud of myself for actually changing a race wheel.

FUN FACT: In my 3 years of triathlon I have never had a flat during a race.

I kept a positive attitude knowing that this was just a fun race for me. Finally, I was ready to go after using my C02 and assembling my bike again. I took it easy knowing that my front tire was most likely not at the proper pressure it needed to be.

Up ahead there was a rider in distress on the side of the road. As I approached I saw that it was Mike! He looked at me and said, “Baker?” Where did you come from?” I quickly explained my situation as he told me his back wheel had fallen off and he was about to throw in the towel. This was Mike’s second triathlon so I thought we had better get him back on the road. I threw my ride in the grass and jumped over to help. The wheel and chain were in a jumble. We straightened the chain, tweaked the rear derailleur and attempted to set the wheel. It wouldn’t set so I grabbed the front tire and pulled while I had Mike pull the rear wheel. It moved correctly and then with a quick punch on the tire it locked into place.

Mike was pretty psyched. We started riding again and he told me to go so I did. I was jazzed up too so I forgot that I was riding on a bunk wheel. 1-2 Miles further I was in aero crushing it on a rough patch of downhill when I heard a fizz and then my wheel totally flatted again! I maintained control and pulled off to the side of the road.

A few minutes later Mike pulled up in disbelief, “Again!?” I told him I was done. He had said he had called the SAG Wagon to pick him up before I had arrived, so I was expecting a ride soon. He took off and in a few minutes an ambulance came up behind me. “You the guy that called for a ride?” “No, but I’ll take one!”

We took up the rear of the race for the next 5 miles following the last racers.

Back at T2 they were already doing the awards! Jim and Ed both got 3rd AG Awards! Nice work guys! I saw Doug too, who was ecstatic for completing his first triathlon! Congrats Doug!

We wrapped up the day with lunch at Rhodes!

It’s a funny feeling not finishing a race. I wasn’t sore or tired and I had this sense of un fulfillment. I wasn’t disappointed in me, I was just sad that I didn’t get to rocket through a run and cross that Finish. There are always more Battles right around the corner…

‘Death Day’ Commentary

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Today, as I was walking up Park Avenue running errands I saw a woman riding her bike with one hand, on the phone and helmet-less. Never mind the fact that she was in a dress, which both irritates me due to safety and makes me stare in wonder at the fabulous fashion statement.

It reminded me of a time in my life that I rode recklessly. There was one day in particular where I should not have lived to see another. I call this day ‘Death Day’ in a sort of humorous way to remember the experience.

—

July 21, 2007

I awoke to an incessant ringing at 7 in the morning. It was my cell phone and I was not pleased. I had been out the night before and my head was very foggy. I had not yet started down the path of running or triathlon, my lifestyle was different and this was considered early.

It was a friend who convinced me to go bike riding with him even though I tried to resist. He was going through a rough patch and so I said “What the hell.” I did, after all, love biking.

I jumped into some track pants and a white tank top after slamming a cup of Bustelo. I grabbed Athena, my trusty track bike (the same one I ride today in fact) and blasted out the door. Remember, she has no brakes and due to it being a fixed gear, it cannot coast. It is the oldest and purest form of bike riding.

Crushing it down 9th Avenue while the Drum-n-Bass was blasting in my iPod, I had not a care in the world and my hangover was quickly dissipating.

I banged a left on Houston and was probably riding 25MPH. As I neared the intersection of 1st Avenue and Essex Street a few minutes later a car in the opposite bound lane made a left turn in front of me, cutting me off. This is a common occurrence in NYC and my mind quickly went over the 2 options I had… skid stop or veer behind the car continuing on. I chose the latter.

In a left, then hard right evasive maneuver I swung around the car but to my surprise they were being tailgated by a white Ford Expedition and they intended to make the light as well. I hit the SUV head on, flew onto the windshield and rolled off the back of the car.

When I awoke seconds later everything was quiet. I jumped up and a girl who had come to my aid told me to sit back down. I said, “Where is my iPod and sunglasses?” She returned them to me after collecting them off the ground. The entire flow of traffic was halted East to West and North to South in ‘the Nexus of the Universe.’ The white Suv was stopped and I heard someone get on the phone to call an ambulance. Seconds later I literally heard the siren click on a few blocks away.

Once the ambulance arrived two young, very New York, EMT’s came over. “Hey buddy, how we doing.” “I’m okay.” I replied as I jumped up. “Whoa, whoa, seriously, are you hurt?” I touched my face and head, my ribs, my legs… everything was there. I hadn’t realized the magnitude of the situation. “We want to check you out in the ambulance okay?”

Walking around now, I saw that there were police questioning the driver and maintaining order. As I climbed into the back they were kinda chuckling at me. “Okay, where do you live? What’s your social? How many fingers am I holding up?” were just a few of the Twenty Questions that occurred. I had a question of my own. “Hey, where is my bike!” “Don’t worry, it’s fine, it’s leaning against the ambulance.” Whew!

“You, my friend are quite lucky to be unscathed. What would you like to do?” “Well, I’m a bit shook up, can you guys give me a ride home?” In a roar of laughter they said, “No sorry man, we don’t do drop off service. How about you come to Bellevue Hospital and get checked by a Doctor just to be safe?” I agreed and they pulled my bike into the back. It wasn’t even dented. Tires were fine. Strange indeed.

They were whispering to each other and then turned to me and said, “Come here, before we go we want you to see something.” They walked me out to the front of the white SUV. “Damn!” I gasped. The entire front windshield was collapsed and shattered. There was a baseball sized hole in the passenger side of the windshield. I said, “My handlebars, right!” One of the EMTs touched my right cheekbone and it hurt. “Your face. It was your face that punctured the windshield buddy. Like I said, you’re lucky.”

Back in the ambulance they told me that I had to be strapped down. Whatever. I asked for my cellphone so I could take a picture. They got a kick out of this as well.

One drawback was that technically, since I was okay and it wasn’t an emergency they wouldn’t put the sirens on for me. Lame.

As I was wheeled into Bellevue on the gurney, my bike was being wheeled in as well. We stopped at one point and I could hear the nearby Doctors talking about my bike and how gorgeous the frame was. Damn straight, it’s vintage!

They put me in a giant square room with many other patients waiting on beds, each of us in our own nook facing each other. Soon, a Doctor came over and gave me the riot act about not wearing a helmet. Then, he poked and prodded all over. He pushed his hands into my lung cavities and pushed my head this way and that, you know, Doctor stuff. He shuffled off.

Soon after, he returned with another Doctor. He explained to the other Doctor that he could find nothing wrong with me and wanted a second opinion. This new chap did a lot of what the other did and also had a few new tricks up his sleeve. As long as there weren’t needles involved I was game.

Finally, they told me I was free to go. “Do you want anything for the subtle pain you might have where your cheek hit the window?” “Certainly!” He then wrote me a prescription for extra strength Aleve and walked away. I felt lame because I had just been prescribed high powered aspirin.

I grabbed Athena and walked out of Bellevue. In doing so numerous police yelled at me and each time I had to explain that I was hit by a car.

Out on the streets again, I looked up 1st Avenue, jumped on my bike and rode home. I celebrated my survival with a few beers on my roof that afternoon.

—

I now wear a helmet every time I bike, even though only my cheek bone was bruised.

I also never take life for granted. Go out and live.

 

RACE REPORT: 082 Percy Sutton 5k – 18:03

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I love 5K’s. Straight up pedal to the metal maximum overdrive with a smile. A breakfast full of pain that ends as quickly as it started.

The Percy Sutton 5K is one of maybe two NYRR races of this distance and just as I predicted, all the speedsters came to play.

Kelly met Abbe and I in front of my apartment (we no longer live next door so she had to hoof it up the 10 blocks) and we set off to the start. It was a 3.5 mile warm up that I definitely wanted. Running a 5K without a warm up isn’t smart. Imagine starting up your car and immediately slamming down the gas pedal.

We had a lovely run through Harlem and up to the start of the race. I saw Antonio and Sebastien before getting corralled up. Speaking of corrals, Abbe got to be in Blue with me for the first time ever! Hey there speedster, nice to meet ya! After a few words from Mary and a very cool trumpet performance of the National Anthem we were off.

It took me 14 seconds to get to the Start mat and begin.

I would like to take this moment to go on a rant. I noticed that there were a lot of people sneaking into the Blue Corral. Not just people in Red from the next fastest corral right behind us, but people who were in Orange and Yellow too. This defeats the whole purpose of having a corral system. If you think you deserve to be in a faster corral, then earn it like the rest of us.

As soon as I was in the mix that little button in my mind ‘clicked on’ and I was on the hunt. Originally, I was just going to get it done and run a nice manageable pace. Maybe next time. I was bobbing and weaving through all of the runners trying to get up to maximum speed. By the first 1/2 of a mile I had broken free and was in a group where we were running roughly the she pace.

Just after this point we starting going up a huge hill! I had thought this was a mostly flat course but was totally wrong! We were running up into the Heights! It hurt bad but I held my pace and made it up to the top of the long ascent.

Right past the first mile I started picking it up a little more. As I was passing some people I saw this guy with his shirt draped over his back with an ORANGE BIB! How did he get so far up? Oh I know, he snuck into the very front of the Blue Corral. As I passed him he hung onto my pace and followed me. Then, as we were taking a sharp left he came around to my right and tried to box me out! My adrenaline spiked and I broke hard right knocking past him with my shoulder and firing my afterburners, leaving him behind. Peace out cheater.

Fun fact: The only sport I ever played growing up was Ice Hockey.

We were now in the Heights running along the top of the park. My legs were tired but actually felt pretty good. I pressed forward.

Past Mile 2 we started heading downhill. You can really wipe out going downhill at 5K speed so I tried to maintain some control and not over do it.

We broke hard left again and were in the finishing straight away. I made a few more passes but was fading out. At the last 100 meters this guy came barreling past me like a bat out of hell! Props to you speedy stranger!

Sex/
Age		 Bib Overall Place Age
Place		 Finish
Time		 Pace/
Mile		 AG %
M34 133 109 23 18:03 5:50 72.7%

I finished in 18:03. Not a PR, but it did knock my NYRR ‘on file’ pace from a 5:52 to a 5:50.

After I dumped some water on my head and slammed 2 cups I found Sebastien and we chatted for a bit. I also saw Antonio and got to meet David. They all had fantastic races.

This moment right here is what I love most about the local racing scene. Hanging out with friends, chatting about our times, having a few laughs. There really isn’t a feeling of competitiveness at all. Each of us complimenting us on one anothers different strengths, whether it be speed or distance.

I found Abbe, Kelly and Amanda after the race. We headed back to my place for eggs, bacon and coffee! Woooo. All before 9:30AM.

RACE REPORT: 081 Ironman NY: 10:27:47

Posted on by Posted in All, Fitness, Race Reports, Triathlon 15 Comments

I signed up for the Ironman U.S. Championship not really taking into account that it was in the summer. I was more excited to be racing on home turf and didn’t really add up this equation: NYC + August + Ironman = (please fill in the blank).

This being my second Ironman distance I was not stressed out at all and my nerves were pretty good.

The day before the race (a work day for me) was when we needed to check our bikes in. I think I was the only guy in a suit and tie in transition. It was pretty funny looking I think. I also had a bit of a laugh when one of the volunteers checking my run bag gave me some advice. He looked in my Run Bag and saw my sneakers and a hat, nothing else because that’s all I need. He said, “Have you thought about nutrition? You know it’s an important part of the race.” Shut up! You mean, I should be eating things on the run? I immediately called Coach Sonja and scolded her for leaving out this important piece of knowledge. Seriously though, I told him I will be just fine and tied my bag shut.

That night Abbe and Claire came over for our Ironman sleepover party. We started off with some fine cheeses and some exotic beer Claire brought. Abbe then made my new favorite pre-race meal of Cacio e Pepe pasta with a tomato mozzarella salad. While making dinner the gals helped me get my gear bags in check. The whole night was really fun and you would never know I had to do an Ironman the next day! Off to bed by 10:30PM…

RACE DAY!

I woke up at 4:30AM Folgers Style. “Baker, what’s Folgers Style?” I’m so glad you asked, let me explain. You know those Folgers Commercials where people just wake up to the sound and smell of brewing coffee? My new coffee maker has a timer on it (I know, not new technology) and so I could hear and smell it brewing. I love coffee.

The three of us rolled out to grab a cab at 5AM. I had until 6 to get into transition. Did I need to? Not really, but it’s always safe to make sure your bike still has wheels.

Our first cab driver was whack. Put the scene together… we are on a quiet street off Park Avenue at 5 in the morning. Birds are starting to stir, the air is still. I get in the cab and he tells me it’s going to be $50 to go over the GW to the start. I yelled, “What? Turn on your f&^ckin meter man! I’m not paying that much to go over the bridge.” He, in turn, told me to watch my language. I called him an asshole and stormed out of the cab. He mumbled some profanity and then Abbe yelled at him, “Hey, YOU watch YOUR language!” He responded with “No, you watch YOUR language!” Since Abbe hadn’t cursed she clearly had the upper hand.

As I got in a new cab the driver calmly explained that to go to New Jersey there is a flat rate of $50. I looked at the girls and we started laughing. Why didn’t the other driver just tell us that?

We arrived at the entrance to the start at 5:30AM. The girls were not allowed in so they staked out some good cheering locations.

As I started the 2 mile walk down into transition I decided I probably needed to run in order to make it on time. I was cruising down the road when all of a sudden this car rolled up along side of me. How are cars allowed in here I thought? The driver said, “Are you running because you want to run, or do you want a lift to transition?” Hello angel in disguise! I hopped in and he told me he was a volunteer and was running late. We passed like 100 other racers going to the start, why choose me? Where ever you are Warren, thanks for helping out!

Now, with oodles of time to spare in transition I watched an episode of the office on my iPad to kill the time.

After dropping off my various gear bags I wandered over to the ferry line. I started eating my oatmeal and bananas and finished my coffee. In line I bumped into my friend Jim! We chatted for awhile about the race and our goals. (Congrats Jim!) Then, I found Neal. He was really excited and we got all jazzed up talking about the swim. We boarded the 4th (out of 6) ferries and got a seat on the upper deck. It was a sticky morning but the view on the Hudson of the swim course was beautiful.

The way the swim worked was, as a boat docked at the barge racers just filed off. When you reached the lower barge your timing chip activated and you just jumped in and tarted swimming. Imagine penguins just filing one by one into the soup, that’s what it looked like.

As we docked 20 minutes had already passed by. We walked down and after a quick fist bump to Neal my second Ironman race began.

I have never been more excited to start a triathlon swim. My training in the water has been amazing the last 2 months since joining a new pool by my office. I swim at lunch almost every day and because of that I knocked 4 minutes off my mile time! (Jim from ‘Dad Posse’ also taught me a new technique which was instrumental) I started the swim nice and easy. The water was probably the cleanest I have ever experienced in the Hudson.

I got bumped a bit here and there but didn’t get too beat up. One thing that was different about this swim for me was that I drafted off a few fast swimmers. I have never been able to do that before, but with my faster stroke I held on! For me, the swim is the calm before the storm, so I try and enjoy the serenity of the water. On every ‘left breath’ I watched the sun start to rise over Manhattan.

As we neared the end of the swim portion I could feel my heart rate increasing as my excitement grew. My bike was calling my name…

Up on dry land I ran to the wetsuit strippers and skipped over a bunch until I found Susan and Jocelyn! I said hi and they were like, “Lay down Baker, lay down!” Duh. They had me stripped lickety split and I was off. Just then, I heard my name yelled and it was my friend Gio spectating!

Over in T1 I found Neal. He had a fantastic swim! Coincidentally, we both ended up at the bike starting line together too!

SWIM TIME: 54:49 (2.4 Miles)
PLACE: 1584

As we made the ascent out of Palisades Park I tried to stay steady. When we made the turn to go up towards the bridge the crowds got thick and I saw Abbe, Claire and Maria screaming at me! It was awesome. Their cheers helped me manage the steep hill that led out onto the highway.

Once I was on the open course I smiled and yelled, “Wind it up!” I dropped into aero and started increasing my speed. I felt awesome.

The bike course was a double, ‘out and back’ so I basically broke it into 4 (28 Mile) sections. The first ‘out’ portion was fantastic. I even hit 44 MPH on one of the downhills! We were screaming down the hill and it’s really too bad there wasn’t a photographer there because I must have looked like a bat outta hell, all smiles.

The first turn around took FOREVER to appear. It was really a lot farther than I was mentally gauging. Up in the northern part of the course the streets were in pretty poor condition too. I even lost my Clif Bar after I took the first bite because I hit a bump and it went flying!

Remember that crazy fast downhill? Well, we had to go back up it on the return trip, not fun. I was playing the numbers game with my Garmin and I had just hit the 21 MPH Average speed for the course when this hill appeared and knocked me back to 20.4 MPH… not cool. I was diligently drinking my EFS and my UCANN. (they were in separate bottles. Could you imagine how gross that would be to mix them? Vomit City.) I also had my first of many pee ma pants moments. I am very courteous when I pee ma pants and make sure other bikers are a good distance behind so they don’t get sprayed. To anyone unfamiliar, this is a pretty common practice in triathlon. If you stopped on your bike to pee you would easily lose 10 minutes per stop.

Right before the second turnaround (back by the Start) was Special Needs. I screeched to an abrupt stop right in front of my helper. It feels funny going from 3 hours on a bike at 20MPH to a sudden stop.  It’s like coming out of warp speed. My bike almost fell over but he was a great volunteer who supported me. I grabbed my fresh EFS bottles and my back-up Clif Bar and was off riding again!

As the 3rd leg of the bike course began the clouds dissipated and the sun was out blasting us. It got real hot real quick. You could feel the heat radiating off of the asphalt and it was kind of slowing me down. I knew things were about to get real and the pain was to start. I had that huge downhill to look forward to and devised a new strategy. To conserve my energy I was going to quickly max out my speed on downhills then coast, resting my legs. I also ate a bit of my Clif Bar which boosted my spirits. It was, after all, past noon and therefore lunchtime.

I peed again to kill the time.

Then, out of nowhere this guy rolls up on me and says, “Hey KE! Good luck. I’m with Runner’s Roost!” I yelled something back and then it dawned on me, he must be from Colorado, the home of Kompetitive Edge, and must be a local racer. I am the NYC faction of KE so I rarely have a moment like this and I was quite excited.

I was not excited when I saw 2 brutal bike crashes. These guys were laid out and in bad shape. I hope they were okay in the end.

A few miles later we finally hit the turnaround point. I yelled out, “Bring it on home boys!” (homage to Led Zeppelin) and got some wind behind me. I knew these last 27 miles were gonna be hard, so I tried to be goofy any way I could. I even did my ‘Scotty from Star Trek’ voice a few times yelling, “Captain, were not going fast enough to make warp speed, give her some more power!” Whatever works right?

It was blazing hot and at the next aid station I grabbed a water on my drive by. I sprayed it all over me and instantly felt great. Duh Baker, your overheating, that’s why you felt crappy. I also peed ma pants again.

For the remainder of the bike my crotch and neck hurt, my legs were sick of riding and ironically, I wanted to run really bad! I cruised into T2 and the spectators were out in force!

BIKE TIME: 5:43:17 (112 Miles)
PLACE: 402

T2 went pretty smooth. I hit up the sunscreen gals (of course) since it was an inferno out there. We had to immediately run up a steep hill to get to the course. It was painful and I tried to keep my heart rate as steady as possible.

Out in the park I made my way towards Mile 1. There wasn’t an aid station there which disappointed me because I was in need of water and potato chips bad. I think it was more like the 1.4 mile mark when it showed up. I poured 4 cups of water on my head, drank 1, ate chips, drank more water, grabbed a cold sponge, stuffed it down my short and kept going. I would repeat that process basically at every aid station in order to stay hydrated, cool, and sane.

The first portion was a 2 loop out and back totaling 14 miles, little did I know it would be hell on Earth.

There is this notorious hill in Palisades Park that bikers know. It is a 1 mile ascent that is grueling on the legs even in the lowest gear. As we rounded the corner I saw that we got to run up it, twice in fact. I said out loud to someone, “You have got to be kidding me!” I slowly ran up, not wanting to waste any leg power as this was only Mile 2. The only good thing about these first miles was that there were periods of shade. The air was still and humid though, like an oven. I was dry by the time I got to each aid station and I tried to just take the race one mile at a time.

At Mile 3.5 we turned around. I tried to be positive but these rolling hills were beating me up bad. I was still doing my ‘systems check’ and trying to figure out what my body needed. I had eaten a ton of chips and pretzels, now I was onto orange slices to try and get my mind in the game since I was starting to  wonder if I was going to make it to the end.

I tried to make up time lost going up the big hill by cruising down it at break neck speed. Mission accomplished. I was running at an 8-8:30 pace the first half and wasn’t happy about it.

Back at the turn around by the start I was walking through the aid station hosing myself down and eating more pretzels when I heard someone yell, “Baker, what are you doing walking! Get your ass moving!” It was Gio who was joined by Gallagher! I chuckled and ran over to get some high fives replying, “Guys, it’s a freaking inferno out here!” “We know!” they said as I started up again. Always good to see buddies on the course and this was just the beginning!

Lap two felt a little better, especially since I had the aid stations and the course mapped out in my head.

I saw something slightly disturbing (I wonder if people are writing that about me) on the final return lap. I started to feel really good and strong and was passing people. As I was passing this gal I noticed some wires flopping around. She was listening to an iPod! Totally illegal but I was secretly jealous.

As I was finishing up my second lap of the double out and back I saw my buddy Jim who gave me a high five, then Neal showed up looking great who also hit me with a fiver! Way to go fellas!

Passing the start area and moving onto the final 12 miles felt great. (Sounds silly to get excited to only have 12 miles to run.) The course cleared out a bit and got quiet which was very peaceful. I was listening to the wind in the trees and the birds, knowing that mighty Manhattan would surely bring the noise. 2 factors knocked my mile pace way down right here at mile 14-15. One of them was the monster hill heading up toward the GW Bridge. I know this hill well because I bomb down it on my bike all the time thinking, “Wow, it would suck to have to ride ‘up’ this.” Then, as we entered the North side of the GW we were confronted with maybe 5-10 sets of staircases leading to the pedestrian walkway. Not cool IM Corporation.

As I ran across the flat GW Bridge I looked to the south at my beautiful city and got fired up. My pace increased and I was once again passing people. As I exited the bridge and started moving through the streets I saw Michelle and Tavia right at mile 17 screaming at me! Awesome! Through out the next 9 miles I would see countless friends, so please excuse me if I missed you on my shout outs!

Miles 17-21 happened in a heart beat. Along the flat path I saw Lam at an aid station. I also ran up along side of my Runner’s Roost buddy. I introduced myself and told him that I was part of the East Coast faction of the Kompetitive Edge Team. We had a few chuckles before I took off wishing him a good race.

Next, I caught up with my friend James (the Iron Cowboy) who is attempting to break the world record for most Ironmans raced in a year. I think this was his 15th or something!

I was moving at a sub 8 pace now, but I was exhausted. We were now right next to the river on the running path and I was praying that the cloud cover we had would remain. Then, off to my left across the West Side Highway was this group of super loud spectators making quite a scene. As soon as I saw Claire’s giant foam finger I was like, “Hey, its my crew making all the noise!”

I wound around the course and started heading up towards them. I saw my friend Julianne here who wished me luck! Then, as I approached my gang I saw Abbe, Claire, Erica, Gillian, Kelly, Susan, Bojana, Elyssa, Maria, and Maura! They made a Power Arch and I blasted through it high fiving as I went by! Go Runner Army!

Right after them I entered this out and back zig zag part of the course that was a total mental killer BUT it was great for spectators. I saw my friend Jason here and gave him a sweaty high five.

As I rounded back I was now higher up in the park on a beautiful paved walkway. The whole crew ran up there and was now joined by a second gang of friends… Jeff, Billy, Ali, Todd, Ila, Keenan, Asher, Ilka, and Adelaide! This was a serious cheer force. I was so tired but the support really fired me forward. On the return I passed them one more time (Mile 24 or so) and headed into my final 2 miles. I saw my triathlete friends Michelle (Trilife) and Amanda (Terrier Tri) here who cheered me on.

They made us go up one more hill right at the end. It hurt bad.

As I cruised into the long finishers chute with no one else around me I decided I was going to celebrate a bit on the way down. I slowed up to almost a walk and threw out my arms, big smile on my face! As soon as I crossed the finish my friend Elizabeth was in the Press area (she works for TNT) and she gave me a huge shout out!

RUN TIME: 3:42:13
PLACE: 137

OVERALL TIME: 10:27:47 (a 50 minute PR!)
DIVISION PLACE: 30

Look! There’s my friend Elizabeth taking my picture to the right!

Right after I finished my 2 handlers (as I like to call them) started asking me questions like, “What’s your name? Where do you live? Let me see your eyes, please take off your sunglasses.” Once they saw I was fine they asked what I needed. “Pizza. I saw someone with pizza so just point me in the right direction.” Right before I could make it into the pizza tent the whole crew caught up with me. Abbe gave me a sweaty hug even after I warned her!

The true New Yorker in me came out when I was at the pizza table too as I asked them what restaurant the pizza was from, as if I was going to not eat it.

After my pizza, Abbe, Claire, Maura and I caught a cab over to my place so I could shower. We then went to Brother Jimmy’s and had a few quick pints with Jeff, Ali and Gillian before hightailing it over to watch Neal finish. We caught him right at the end as he was coming through! Awesome work Neal!

Finally, Erica hosted us at her place for beer and pizza for the final celebration. Whew!

—

This, my second Ironman, was an amazing experience. What I learned was that the mind truly IS more powerful then the body. Having done one of these before I mentally knew I could complete it, even with minimal food sources, making it that much more easy. It doesn’t matter how physically fit you are, what matters is that you believe in yourself. If you can do that, then your legs will do the rest.

Thanks to Kompetitive Edge, my sponsor, who provides me with the support needed to accomplish such a race!

Thanks to Sonja, who has trained me in such a way that all of this keeps getting easier!

Thanks to my cheer squad up and down the course, especially Abbe and Claire who hiked around NJ for 3 hours before the race!

Big ups to Neal. You sir, are an Ironman!

 

…and remember to always have some fun out there no matter how difficult things get.

 

 

 

 

 

 

T’was the night before Ironman…

Posted on by Posted in All, Triathlon 5 Comments

T’was the night before Ironman and all through the house…

My second Ironman (I’m doing 1 Ironman per year until I die) takes place tomorrow and I am quite excited for a number of reasons.

– You’re on my turf! I wonder if any of these racers even know the 9W gang sign?

– You’re on my turf! I can take a cab to the start which means I get 2.5 more hours of sleep.

– It’s my second Ironman and I have zero stress or worries. I have tried to compare it to running a second marathon for those who just run.

– My training has been pretty good. I started training for the Boston Marathon and Kentucky Derby Marathon in January and haven’t stopped.

– We got hot ass swag bags! They are transition bags with lots of cool secret pockets. I love secret pockets!

– Pre race dinner. Chef Abbe is making my favorite meal and Beer Specialist Claire is brining over beer.


– My bike can time travel.

– You’re on my turf! I train on the course every weekend. I’m really quite sick of it in fact and can’t wait to NOT go to Jersey for a freaking bike ride next month!

– I have an awesome Tri Kit thanks to my sponsor Kompetitive Edge! Thanks guys, I wear the colors proudly!

– My bike helped deploy Curiosity onto Mars then returned home to Earth really fast in order to make the Tri. Assuming my bike’s home is Earth.

– I have friends racing like Neal, who is rocking his first IM and is gonna do awesome! He is going to be done the swim before I take 2 strokes. James, who I have never met but we are triathlete friends on Facebook. He is trying to break a World Record by racing the most Ironmans in one year, pretty BA. Jen and Annemarie and a few others like my pal John I made friends with on the Ferry.

– You’re on my turf! I have the best group of friends ever (from the Runner Army to all my drunk bar crawlers) and they are all going to be out cheering!!!

– Abbe, Erica and Claire will be manning a secret Omelet Station on the bike course for refueling. After 12PM they convert it to a Taco Station.

– You Are On My Turf! We are going to have an awesome after party. Hit me up to find out where!

Godspeed to all racers tomorrow! May you have a fantastic race and remember to enjoy it. I could not think of a better way to spend a Saturday then to do all the things I love… swimming, biking, running and celebrating!