I decided to try and film my skateboard adventures. They are a lot more exciting in person, but you get the idea…
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15 Days to Ironman (and a cool bar)
Since returning from my youngest brother’s 4 day bachelor party Coach S has me in a sort of ‘Hell Week’ (or 2) to get me ramped back up. Ironman is in 15 days. I am actually more excited than nervous for it. Do you know why? Home turf bitches!
Speaking of home turf, I took a break Wednesday night to hang with my coworkers and one of them led us to this ultra unknown waterfront bar! It is in Long Island City at the end of a very industrial and desolate stretch of road. As you come to the end of the road, to the left is an auto shop. Next to it is a fence with an opening and a hand made wooden sign that says something like ‘Annabelle’s Yacht Club and Grill.’ Upon entering you find yourself in an open area with 10 picnic tables lining a most scenic waterfront view of mighty Manhattan. The bar is just a window where you order bottled beer or white wine that evidently tastes like apple juice.
Notice how convenient it was to park my Yacht nearby. Disclaimer: Beyond Defeat does not condone drinking and sailing.
The place is definitely rogue ops, but it’s got quite a view. I was told by my coworker that it is a Bulgarian run bar, hence the Bulgarian sausages and Chevapi being served on the lone grill. I totally recommend checking this place out for a spectacular NYC sunset.
Back to ‘Hell Week’… I shaved 4 minutes off my 1 Mile swim time! Wooo hoo! Thanks Jim (from ‘Dad Posse’) for teaching me a new technique!
Evolution: how did you get here?
I think it’s really important to reflect on how you got to certain places in your life.
“You may find yourself living in a shotgun shack
You may find yourself in another part of the world
You may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile
You may find yourself in a beautiful house with a beautiful wife
You may ask yourself, well, how did I get here?”
Seriously. This morning as I was riding my track bike (which has no brakes or gears and cannot coast) I thought, “Wow, this puppy is so different from my Tri bike!” Then I remembered, track bikes are my roots! If I had never started riding a track bike, I would have never attempted a triathlon!
In case you don’t know my athletic past, there is none! I went to art school people, and am still an artist.
In the year 2000 (say that in the movie preview guy voice) my mountain bike was destroyed by a truck in midtown. I had ridden it like 10 times, it was a graduation gift from my Dad and to help for when I moved to the city.
I was pretty bummed. I was telling my friend Jae (aka Hardy Boy) about the ordeal. He rode track bikes, the most dangerous of al bikes, and suggested I get one since I had such strong legs from playing ice hockey.
I did just that and was propelled into a world of bike riding. Thanks Jae!
I rode NYC streets every day for around 9 years. Then, in 2008 the president of our company told me I needed to run the NYC Marathon.
I did and was propelled into the world of running. Thanks Allen!
In January of 2009, shortly after getting hooked on running my friend Todd told me I needed to do triathlons. “Todd, I can’t swim to save my life!” He agreed to teach me how to swim in order for me to get my triathlon on.
I learned to swim and competed in my first of many triathlons. Thanks Todd!
Looking back, all three were catalysts to each other, the end result being that I became a triathlete. Had my 3 friends not believed in me, and I not believed in myself, I would not be where I am today.
How did you get here?
RACE REPORT: 080 NYC Triathlon: 2:18:49
I wasnt going to race the NYC Triathlon this year because I forgot to sign up in time, but then the lead sponsor Aquaphor offered me a chance to partner with them. I have a hard time resisting a good race.
The night before the race we (Jeff, Ali, Cat, Abbe and I) headed to New Jersey to a huge family party put on by my Uncle’s girlfriend Cassandra. (Great party Cassandra!) My Uncle Bill was retiring to go back to school to get his Ph.D. and this was in celebration of both events. I am really proud of my Uncle Bill for making this decision, it’s very inspiring and so of course, Tri or no, I wasn’t missing the party.
As if that wasn’t good enough, my Grandma was a surprise guest!
So really, going to a party where you have no idea what food you will be eating and how late you will be out is risky business the night before an Olympic Triathlon, but hey, mix it up a little right? Also, family is really important to me.
I was asleep by 11PM. Not bad.
RACE DAY
I woke up at 6-6:30 and had some coffee and checked twitter to see where they where in the ‘heats.’ SIDENOTE: The NYC TRI has like 60 heats and it takes 2 hours for all of them to go. I estimated that I would be going off at 7:30-7:45 AM a full 2 hours after the Pros had started.
Some of you are saying, “Wait, Baker what about transition! How are you going to get your bike shoes in there?” Excellent question. My biggest complaint about the NYC TRI is how transition closes at 5:45AM and you end up waiting around for 2 hours. 2 precious hours where you could be sleeping! There is no way around this. Try sending off 3,000 swimmers down the Hudson at once and it would spell disaster. My solution? When I dropped off my bike the day before I just set up my bike/run gear then! Boom!A few friends were like, “Baker it’s going to rain tonight, your shoes will get wet.” Listen honey, after racing the entire Rev 3 Quassy Olympic in a cold downpour I have become immune to rain. I’m actually really happy about that because I used to be a baby about in-climate weather.
Back to the race.
I took a cab up to 96th Street at 7AM and had oodles of time. While sidelined waiting to go I hung out with my friend Ben. He was doing the race after breaking his toe a few months earlier. Props Ben!
It was now that I ate 2 bananas. These would be the only nutrition I would have aside from half a water bottle full of EFS on the bike. Less is more? I have no idea but it worked.
Soon it was time to line up for the plunge. It was hot out and I was looking forward to a dip in the mighty Hudson. The current was flowing something fierce and I wanted to get in before it reversed. FUN FACT: The Hudson River is not a river, it is a tidal estuary the ebbs and floods daily. Meaning, the current changes direction from North to South daily and vica versa depending on the tides.
As we neared the Start pier I got excited. It’s funny how just 2 years ago I was terrified, and now it’s second nature. In my head I like to say, “The Hudson… she calls…”
As I stood on the edge my group of racers was kind of blah. I looked up and down the line up and yelled, “Come on fellas! Lets have a great race out there!” at which point everyone erupted in cheer. Bravo.
The gun went off and we took the plunge. I started digging in immediately. My goal was to blast through the swim. It did not happen.
I started with great form. My sighting was on point. There weren’t too many people around me but my arms felt like dead weight. Immediately I thought about how much swimming I had been doing the last week and perhaps this was a side product. None the less, the show must go on. I pressed forward and just got it done.
Other setbacks? I have swum the Hudson like 15 times. Never ever have I swam it when it was so dirty. My hand kept hitting drifting trash like styrofoam cups and wood pieces. At one point I ducked underwater and swam under the garbage slick.
There was also this dude that was zig-zaging in from of me and I could NOT get around him. It was like an open water traffic jam. I think I even popped my head up and gave him a, ‘Seriously man?’ Look as we were side by side.
As you exit the swim there is a 400 meter dash to transition. Some people complain but to me, it gets your legs loosened up for the bike. I saw Erica and Lora and gave em a big “Heeeeey!”
As you run along they have this section of shower things along the straightaway you can run through to wash off. This one guy was taking his wetsuit off IN the shower area so people couldn’t pass through. I wanted to pass him a bar of soap or something.
As I approached my bike I had no idea what to expect. Remember, I hadnt been in transition since the day before. Arriving at ‘The Morrighan’ everything looked perfect. Tires full, shoes in tact. Let’s roll!
Speeding out of T1 I saw the gang again and gave them a funny face. Once out on the highway, it was go time. It was kind of congested so I took my time carefully passing people. It wasn’t until about Mile 3 when my legs were in check that I dropped the hammer and started plowing past people.
Thanks Erica for the great shots!
I was riding with 2 guys and we were leap frogging. I was really starting to have fun. One of the guys would pass a group of people and get like 200 meters in from me, then when an opportune time presented itself I would plunge ahead passing him and so forth. We weren’t drafting each other, just kind of flanking each other barreling up the highway. Dig it.
The course is an out and back with some long rollers. As we got up into the Bronx, Riverdale to be exact, I heard, “Yea Baker!!!” It was Sharon cheering everybody! Right on!
It was just past here I got very pissed off. I was on a tear now and in my highest gear, not concerned with saving anything for the run. On a downhill I was coming up on 2 riders and announced, “On your left!” As soon as I said that, and I was going way faster than him, he merged hard left blocking me and I had to slam on my breaks. Not cool at all. I let him go ahead as my heart rate cooled. The minute I warmed up again I jammed past him at top speed, furious.
The second half was even more fun. I don’t know how, but I got Scotty from Star Trek in my head. Every time I was in my fastest gear I would say (out loud mind you, in my own version of a Scottish accent) “Captain, we’ve got to to faster to break warp speed!” This seemed to push me faster in fact. Whatever works right. SO for the remainder of the trip I imagined having a conversation with Scotty and how we were trying to always break warp speed.
Heading back into transition I knew the run was going to be brutal. It was already really hot out and the sun was climbing high.
I immediately set off at a hard pace. I just didn’t care. I also had no Garmin on so I had no idea what speed I was hitting. This is a neat way to race. Not really conducive if you are trying to PR, but it makes the race about feeling, not numbers.
What a ham.
As we ran across 72 Street towards Central Park I was moving quick, but my legs were still wonky. It wasnt until we enter the Park that everything started coming together. I was taking smaller strides at a faster rate and passing a lot of people. To keep myself motivated I was hunting people in my age group.
At the Mile 1 aid station Matt6 was volunteering. I ran up to him yelling, “Bakeeeeeer! I made you the best Cytomax drink ever” We had a laugh before i pressed on. I also met a guy here who knew me from the Fire Island 5K races! Small world!
I think I was happy to have found shade.
Harlem Hill sucked, both of them. When you run Harlem Hill clockwise there are 2 uphills. No fun! Something interesting happened on the way down one of them. I was passing this big meat-heady dude and he said, “No fair, I’m like twice the size of you!” I was so annoyed that he was allowed into the race that I didn’t even know what to say. I felt like shoving him into the bushes… but I didn’t.
Things were real hot on the East Side of the Park. There was zero shade. At Engineers Gate I saw two familiar faces cheering me on, Eissa and Elyssa!
With 1 mile to go I was excited to be done. I had no idea what my pace was, I just kept chasing people. Up along Bethesda Fountain I heard Dani cheering me o then saw my brother Jeff and his fiance Ali! I gave them all high-fives, sweaty high fives! Then, I saw Abbe in the Finish chute!
| Sex/ Age |
Age
Place |
Overall
Place |
Swim 0.9M |
T1 | Bike 24.8M |
T2 | Run 6.2M |
Total Time |
| M34 | 16 | 158 | 24:40 | 4:03 | 1:08:28 | 1:34 | 40:07 | 2:18:49 |
I finished in 2:18 which is 1 minute shy of a PR. Had it not been for my swim I would have bested it, but there will be other battles.
After a few group shots Jeff and Ali departed leaving Abbe, Erica and myself to go get some ice coffee and muffins. What a fun start to the day!
—
Big ups to my sponsor Kompetitive Edge who represent some of the best gear out there (TYR, Quintana Roo, Newton, Oakley) and support me with it! Also big thanks to the race sponsor Aquaphor for giving me the opportunity to race!
Body Evolution
A popular phrase I like to use is something I call Body Evolution. I believe that during training peaks we evolve to a kind of ‘next level.’ Most of you have had it, but might not realize whats going on. Check out my very first post to read about when I first discovered it.
Today, I had a Body Evolution moment as I consumed 3 meals before lunch. I did this so I did not die, as I certainly felt like it. I was shaky and even tripped a few times on the walk to work.
You might say, “Dear Baker, how do you know this? How can I, a runner or triathlete, know when I click into a new level?”
Good question reader, you have to listen to your body and watch for signs.
First, lets back up and see what I have been doing recently.Sonja has been amping up my workouts in preparation for Ironman NY and she has me riding my bike A LOT. Sunday I rode 84 miles out to Stony Point and back and I was riding pretty hard. That night I slept like a rock and I slept for a long time. Still, I had a hard time waking up for work. When walking to work I had a ravenous hunger. Like crazy man hungry. If someone had pushed me or antagonized me it would have been game on, a kung fu battle right in midtown Manhattan.
Look at my snazzy Kompetitive Edge race kit!
I made it to work and immediately ate a huge bowl of muesli, breakfast of squirrels. An hour later, I had another big bowl. An hour later I had a salad, then roasted potatoes, spinach and a salmon fillet washed down with 3 Girl Scout cookies. Samoas baby. All of this while still feeling like I was high. What is wrong with me!?
Body Evolution is happening! I shocked my body into a new level and its just adjusting. This happened to me a lot when I first started being running in 2008 but has been less frequent recently. I was really happy to have hit a new mark.
Have you ever had a Body Evolution experience?
RACE REPORT: 079 Front Runner’s Pride Run 5M – 30:55
The Front Runners New York Gay and Lesbian Pride Run (woo that’s one hell of a long title) is part of New York’s Pride Week. It’s a blast. People tend to not take the race so seriously and come out to support Gay Pride, dress up, and act crazy in general.
I started my morning with a 2 hour bike ride (150 HR Tempo) so I was pretty warmed up by the time I got to the start. I also had a 4 hour ride queued up for the following day so ‘Jello Legs’ would be the theme of my Monday morning.
I was just chill in out in my corral in a cute little shady spot when I saw Abbe. She has gotten way fast so now she is either in the Red or Blue Corrals. This time she was in the Red, so I went to the back of the Blue and we talked. It was something out of a movie, but replace the red tape with the Berlin Wall or something a bit more dramatic. “When will I see you again my dear?” “At the end of the race in about 30 minutes.” “Farewell!”
Back towards the front of the Blue Corral a lot of the Front Runners were assembling. I was watching for my pal Kevin, but saw him nowhere. Then, I saw Josh, who came over and chatted. I told him how I was tired and he said to just have fun.
SIDENOTE: Josh has started doing triathlons with plenty of time before he peaks out. Like 10 years. (Triathletes be afraid as he is a sick swimmer and even faster runner.) Josh, let me coach you on the bike, we may have a shot at getting you an Ironman win! I’m not even kidding here, I have on my serious face.
Back to the present. The gun went off and I just started running. My legs felt a bit heavy so I just ran as best I could. I didn’t have a watch on so I had no idea of my pace. Sometimes that’s a fun way to roll.
Mile 1 was AFTER Harlem Hill. Thankfully the hardest part of the race was over by then. I hit the mark running a 6:12 and was like, “Oh, okay I guess my legs aren’t that heavy.” I decided to try and maintain or go faster at this point.
Between Miles 2 and 4 I was running in a race pack of 3 with a Central Park Track Team member and a WSX runner. We were jockeying for position back and forth and it was quite fun. Sometimes I would lead, sometimes them.
Rounding the bend from the 72nd Street transverse to Park Drive East I heard my name from a mile away. “Baaaaaaaakeeeeer! Goooooooo!” It was Elizabeth cheering on with a few of her Dashing Whippets teammates. As I passed by, full of new found energy she sent me off with a, “Baker go win this thing! GO!”
I blasted forward making my way up Cat Hill thinking… “Win this thing… hmmm, well I know for sure Josh and his boys are up ahead killing it with sub 6 paces so that’s not gonna happen.” At the top of Cat Hill Maura was cheering too!
As I come past mile 5 we got where all the speakers and the ‘party’ was from the start. I was doing great until I heard them blasting “We fell in love in a hopeless place.” by Rhianna. I was thinking a few different things:
– Where is the DJ, I’m going to tackle him.
– If this gets stuck in my head after the race I’m going to find the DJ and tackle him.
– If I hear that song 1 more freaking time I am going to tackle who ever is responsible for playing it.
– Where is this ‘hopeless place’ you fell in love? Is it scary like a dungeon or more like a desert island?
I cranked through the finish with a 30:55. I was really sweaty and it was burning my eyes something fierce.
After saying good race to my fellow competitors and asking Josh if he won I went to cheer on the gals. (Abbe, Elyssa, Bojana, Erica, Sharon, and Jess)
| Sex/ Age |
Bib | Overall Place | Age Place |
Finish Time |
Pace/ Mile |
AG % |
| M34 | 136 | 45 | 13 | 30:55 | 6:11 | 70.13% |
We had color coordinated so that we had a rainbow spectrum. After the race we invaded my new neighborhood and ate at a diner as a stinky group of runners.
Congrats to everyone who raced this weekend! (You know who you are!) There were some big races and a lot of my peeps crushed it!
Back to Bricks
If you asked Coach, I don’t think she would agree that me surfing out at Rockaway Beach was on the training program. I did bike after that, so I think she was appeased, especially since she had me queued up for a serious brick on Sunday.
My younger brother Jeff, number 2 out of 6 of the famous Baker Tracy Gang of Brothers, had expressed interest in biking out to Jersey so I invited him along.
We set out at 8:30AM under overcast and cool skies. It was actually perfect. The Sunday morning Manhattan streets were very quiet and we easily made our way up to the epic George Washington Bridge. Once over, I had given him 2 options. Option 1 was to ride 9W straight to State Line while option 2 was to (as I call it) take the low road and blast through Pallisades Park. He chose option 2 as it would be more scenic. It was a good call.
Pallisades Park is a fast ride through a tight windy forest. I liken it to the speeder bike chase scene in Return of the Jedi, minus the lasers. I noticed (as we passed this stealthy looking fellow) that he jumped on my brothers tail and started a draft. Jeff and I were already drafting each other. You know why? Because we are brothers and not total strangers looking for a free ride. No biggie though, I figured we’d pull him along for a few minutes. Then, it got a little out of hand. Not that I mind, but we had a long way to go and I didn’t want us to bonk later. I pretended we needed to stop and look at something and he zipped past. He did, however, say thanks as he departed. That’s cool.
We felt the fury of that last super long hill at the end for sure. Anyone who has ridden the course knows exactly what I’m talking about. Slow, burning, pain.
Out on 9W I asked Jeff what he wanted to do. He seemed fine so instead of doubling back we headed toward State Line.
Next, at State Line we had a conference and yes, we were pushing forward again. This time, as we barreled down State Line Hill we had just committed to the full ride. I love State Line Hill as it’s this long slow descent where things can get a bit hairy. We topped out at 40.3 MPH which made me happy because I had promised Jeff some good speedy attacks.
Once we entered the Piermont and Nyack areas we kind of just enjoyed the scenery. I took him to Runsible Spoon because their muffins are not to b missed. I had their Chocolate Chip Banana one on my mind since the start of the ride. We chilled for a hot second enjoying our snack before heading back.
I had told Jeff that the ride home was fast than the way there with just 2 uphills. He would later yell that I was a liar.
If you think riding down State Line Hill is fun, you should try going up it. They don’t make a gear small enough. This is where all my Colorado friends are shaking their heads going, “Wuss. You have no idea what a hill is.” Indeed! But you, my friends have no idea what pizza is. Or bagels.
Jeff’s chain started popping off as he hit his low gears (note the grease on his face). It looked more like we had been mountain bike riding through some bogs.
We made it back safe and sound. We had traveled 53 miles in 3:15:00 which I think is impressive since he had never done the ride.
We parted ways and I jumped into my running shoes for 30 minutes of pain. Actually, I felt really good running after the bike. I even got yelled at by Coach for running too fast. Who knew?
After a shower I ate like a maniac then met back up with Jeff and his fiance Allison to have some dinner in drinks in remembrance of our father. It was a pretty solid weekend.
Oh, and thanks Kompetitive Edge, my new helmet is here!
I am a surfer!
One of my life dreams is to live on a beach and surf. I would own a little taco hut, tikki bar thing and in the afternoons I bar tend. The problem is, or was, that I had never surfed.
After I closed on my new apartment this spring I went to inspect it. Inside the previous owner had left his old, perfectly awesome surfboard! It’s a Gordon & Smith Fish, which I think is a respectable surf board. This seemed to me like a surf omen. I must surf. I must surf soon.
Enter Delvecs. He is an old friend of mine who happens to love surfing. We kind of put all the pieces together and planned some weekend trips to surf! Awesome!
We drove out to Rockaway Beach “New York City’s only break.” There, we met Delvec’s pal Jay (who actually happens to work with my brother) and got suited up in our wetsuits. What did I wear? You’re g’damnd right I wore my TYR Cat 5 triathlon wetsuit! Turns out it was perfect for the water temps.
Out at the beach we had a little Surf 101. Jay is a very good surfer from California so between him and Delvecs I was covered.
The breaks were pretty crowded so we hung to the right by a jetty to start. I jumped in the water and started paddling, worried I wouldn’t get past the breakers, but I did. I guess all those Triathlons have helped my swimmy arms.
We floated on our boards now, waiting for the good stuff. Songs like ‘Catch a Wave and you’re sitting on top of the World’ and ‘Surf Wax America’ rattling around in my head.
Then, Delvecs instructed me to catch the next one and to start paddling. I did this and I did it without looking back, I just paddled.
Out of nowhere this unseen force swept me up and sped me along at an increasing speed! Without thinking, as I barreled down the wave, I just ‘popped’ up as they had instructed me. I was surfing! I held the line until the wave faded out. I was so happy!
Back out with the guys they they congratulated me. I was thrilled and so we kept at it.
We surfed from 8AM to 11:30AM. I caught a few more waves and really started to get a good feel for it.
Now, I would be a poor sport if I left out a few of the wipeouts I took and just let you to believe I was some Cinderella Story surfer. I took some serious nose dives from the top of the waves! Here’s the thing, if you are situated too far back on the board everything goes wrong. Lets replay my description of catching a wave, but change my body position.
Out of nowhere this unseen force swept me up and sped me along at an increasing speed! Without thinking, as I barreled down the wave,my nose went forward and slammed into the water tossing me forward the wave crashing on top of me.
So, that happened a few times.
All in all I am so excited to have learned how to surf! Now I just need to spend some quality time out there honing my technique a bit. Big thanks to Delvecs and Jay, my awesome surf instructors!
Surfs up bitches.
RACE REPORT: 078 Lava Love Sprint – 1:16:24
The Lava Love Triathlon (formerly known as Lavaman) would mark my 3rd triathlon in just over a week. It is one of my favorite races and I was really looking forward to it, especially since the weather looked optimum, unlike last weeks Rev 3 flooding!
How do you prepare for a Sprint Triathlon? A 3-legged race of course! That was Thursday night, the following morning at 4:45AM Jim, Ed (of the ‘Dad Posse’) and I left to pick up Mike (also of ‘Dad Posse’ fame) to go fishing. It was going to be another double header weekend but this time we subbed out a Tri with fishing.
Our boat left out of teh Red Bank area and we spent a gorgeous morning fishing off of Sandy Hook. We caught maybe 4 fluke, but for me, just being out on the water was relaxing. I kept thinking to myself, “If we capsized, I could totally swim over to there. Or there, or even over to there.”
I am also kind of living out of a bag the last few weeks since my apartment is being renovated so I forgot sneakers to wear on the boat. My Newton MV2 racing flats actually worked out great!
Back at Mike’s we had a few beers before setting off for Lavalette, NJ. Since we hadn’t caught any fish, we were on a mission for seafood. Were does one get their seafood fix down on the Jersey Shore? KLEINS!
Kleins rules. It sits out on the waterway where all the boats go in and out fishing so it’s a blast to watch. They also have everything you could imagine to eat, from the ocean of course. We wanted clams so we started with 2 dozen steamed cherry stones and 1 dozen cherry stones on the half shell. These were like the biggest clams I have ever seen. Almost too big. For my unnecessary main entree, I chose the blackened Mahi sandwich and it was spectacular!
Back on the road Ed suggested we stop for ice cream. Hoffman’s is a legendary home made ice cream shop a few minutes from Jim’s Grandma’s house so we simply had to go. I was now beyond stuffed.
At Granny’s, we unpacked all 4 of our bikes, geeked out on them for a little while, riding them up and down the dark neighborhood streets, had a beer and went to bed.
RACE DAY
We were all up between 4:30 and 5:30AM bright and bushy eyed. There sure are a hell of a lotta birds that love to get up early in Lavalette! Waking up multiple days in a row before 5AM has now started not to faze me which is frightening.
Granny’s house is literally on the bike course! We hopped on our rides and took the 5 minute ride over to transition. We were like a bad ass Tri-gang rolling 4 deep.
After setting up my area which took all of 3 minutes I went over to assist Mike. This was his FIRST EVER triathlon (Jim just signed him up and sent him the registration confirm) so I wanted to make sure he was good. I still remember my first tri and how my buddy Cenk walked me through all the steps. I tried to pay it back.
Down at the water we found Gio who was also racing. Together, all 5 of us entered the choppy bay and started wading out to the start buoys. The water was really nice and I was enjoying the rough waves.
The gun went off and it was total chaos. The only other worse chaotic swim has been Ironman for me. I don’t know why, maybe the mass start or the chop? It was pretty nuts though for a sprint. I have done enough of these now that getting kicked in the face or having my head dunked doesn’t really upset me. In fact, I kind of enjoy the survival aspect of it. I did get kind of freaked out though after a quick kick when I thought to myself, “Hey, wouldn’t it be crazy if I got kicked so hard I got knocked out?” I quickly started thinking about rainbows and beer.
My swim went well. I was sighting on point and my form seemed fluid.
As I ran out of the water I was so excited to get on my bike. This is a fast course and I was ready to drop the pedal to the metal. This being the 3rd Tri in 2 weekends, my new QR Illicito is pretty broken in and I am comfortable maxing out my speed.
As usual, the first mile my legs were on fire! I started analyzing it a bit and then came up with this. In a sprint tri, when you get on the bike its similar to the start of a 5K running race, all or nothing. Hence the pain.
After passing a few folks I equalized with most of the pack and started churning the cranks building my pace. I was now having a blast! The course is 3 loops on an oval course with 2 180 degree turns. You can see who is ahead of you coming the other way which is very handy. The lead bikers were 3-5 minutes ahead of me which was a huge lead, especially since they were probably clocking 21-23 MPH. Still, I pressed on grinding those gears pushing forward, passing people here and there.
On the 3rd and final loop I passed Ed, then Mike and then saw Jim who was coming the other direction as he was ahead of me. We all did some yelling and cheering to each other, like we always do. I asked Mike how he was doing (this being his first triathlon) and responded with, “This is so awesome!”
Seeing the guys broke my train of thought and I wasn’t sure if I was on my last loop or the second loop anymore. I am REALLY glad that I opted for last loop (because it was correct) and also because otherwise I would have maybe com in last place.
This weekend I was running with my Newton MV2 racing flats (I love me some racing flats) instead of their Distancias like last weekend. These suckers are fast man let me tell you. It’s like running in slippers.
Out on the course with the bikers, I didn’t want to red line it just yet so I just shook out my legs. I didn’t have a Garmin with me as I have been trying to get in tune with my speed on my own. I have no idea if it’s working so I basically just run as fast as I can. After Mile 1 I was ready and dropped the hammer. I was steadily passing a lot of people and enjoying myself. I remember thinking how it didn’t hurt nearly as much as it did last year. Maybe I am evolving as an athlete?
I had some fun chats with people as I passed. One guy yelled, “Hey, you passed me last year! Whats up?” “Nothing. How ya been?” “Good!” “Cool, have a nice race!”
One guy was really pumped for me and was screaming for me to go get after it. Yessir, I was trying.
At Mile 2.5 I finally caught up to Jim. He told me to try and catch Gio who was up ahead. A daunting task but why not?
Pressing forward I saw him just before the turnaround which meant he was 1/4 mile ahead of me. I was running 6:20’s but there was no way I was catching him.
Finishing up I felt great and cruised through at 1:16:24. Gio high fived me then we waited for Jim, Mike and Ed to come through.
| Sex/ Age |
Age
Place |
Overall
Place |
Swim 0.4M |
T1 | Bike 12.5M |
T2 | Run 3.8M |
Total Time |
| M34 | 3 | 28 | 12:58 | 1:37 | 36:34 | 1:02 | 24:11 | 1:16:24 |
We were trying to figure out if any of us had gotten podium and really could decide. It looked like maybe I was 6th or something. Before the awards, Jim and I biked off to get some coffee for the gang. Just as we returned and were passing out drinks I heard over the loudspeaker, “Christopher Baker!” I was like , “What? What did I do?” I had gotten 3rd in my age group and won a pint glass with the race name! SIDENOTE: I collect pint glasses with race names and have Ironman Arizona, Boston Marathon, and The Boilermaker to name a few. I could not have been more thrilled at this particular award!
It turns out Gio also got an award too! How cool!
After the awards we went to Granny’s and packed up, heading north to ol Manhattan once more.
It was another awesome weekend!!! Mike, congrats and welcome to the addiction known as triathlon.
RACE REPORT: 077 Great South Bay Triathlon – 1:11:28
…continued from Rev3 Quassy Olympic Triathlon.
Somewhere deep in what is known as Connecticut, we find our protagonists speeding along a dark and stormy highway in a white Mercedes Benz drinking coffee. Little did they knew what lay in store for them just 30 miles ahead…
Sunshine. Lots and lots of sunshine. It was as if there was some evil curse over Quassy spewing cold rain and wind all day. Not cool.
On our way to the second triathlon of the weekend, The Great South Bay Triathlon in Islip, Long Island we stopped in a town called Croton Falls searching for food. We ended up at a place called Primavera which was a pretty high class place! Good thing we were able to shower at the hotel after the race or we might not have been admitted. Primavera (Zagat rated in fact) made some of the best spinach ravioli. Jim and I quickly feasted before moving on.
In around 2 hours we were on the southern shore of Long Island checking into the tri. This race was a bit more home grown. The funniest part was when they went to body mark me and didn’t know what to do since I had my Rev3 tattoos still on! SIDENOTE: Dear Rev3, what is in those body marking tattoos? I was using a wash cloth (with soap) and they weren’t even fading! The women thought it was really cool that we did a triathlon that morning. “Jill, look at this guy, he already has body markings!” They put my new number under my Rev3 number. It was messy, but I’m not gonna lie, I felt pretty bad ass with 2 different tri markings on me. I already had my age practically tattooed on my calm so they didn’t have to worry about that.
We met Ed at his boat slip (Yes, Ed has a boat) and while waiting for him attempted to dry off our wet everything. Seriously, everything in our bags was wet from the race.
I dubbed this moment ‘Triathlete Refugee Camp.’
As we blasted across the sound Ed had noted that there were white caps. They were no joke! If you weren’t holding onto something, you were in the soup. Did I mention we were drinking beers on the boat?
Arriving in Ocean Bay Park a mere 20 minutes after setting sail, we checked into our rooms at the Fire Island Hotel. Ed owns it so he didn’t check in. He was launching the new website that night (fireislandhotel.com) along with a series of new renovations and a music series so there was a party going on. Live music and a wine tasting from Barefoot Wines along with some sensational apps. It was pretty awesome!
Not to promo Ed’s place too much, but any of you city folk that haven’t gone out to the Fire Island Hotel for a weekend are missing out. It has a Margaritaville vibe, with a classy new look. From Manhattan you could be there using only public transportation in and hour and a half.
We had a really nice dinner at the Hotel’s restaurant. We all basically had these amazing fish tacos. Thank god all of us were exhausted because it meant we could sleep early! I think we went to bed at 9:45 which was desperately needed after the full day of racing and traveling.
RACE DAY
Once again I woke up at 3AM and was tossing and turning until 5. Maybe I had too much sleep? Probably not.
The Hotel was quiet and peaceful. Jim and I met Ed at his house and then set off towards the boat. Aside from getting to drive by the swim course on a boat (way cool) we also go to see the sunrise across the sound.
Arriving at Transition I felt very sleepy. I was yawning and basically non-energetic. I was BIB 15 so my spot was right up front which was a first. I made friends with my neighbor Tosin (also a New Yorker who works in my hood actually) and we went down to the water together.
It was hot, it was sunny, the water was gorgeous. I loved all of it. It was like waking out of some triathlon nightmare. That nightmare was cold and rainy Quassy the day before! This was like a big fluffy triathlon cloud. If only the people complaining about the chilly ocean water knew what we endured. Maybe they did because I had a hug SEG on my face and was splashing around like a penguin.
I was in Wave 1 and we set off right on time. Unlike yesterday, I just put my head down and dug in hard. I was actually swimming over people for once! It was a triangular course and my sighting was dead on, until the end.
Everything was going so great, I was making smooth progress, hitting the buoys, and having a lot of fun. Then as we rounded the last buoy to head to shore I had nothing to aim at but the beach. I overshot the pier boundary and found myself making friends with kayakers telling me to, “Swim left!” Not nearly as scarey as the Alcatraz miscalculating, but still annoying since I lost some time.
On dry land once again I bolted to T1 with a fury. I bounded onto ‘The Morrighan’ and took off. Now that the back wheel was no longer rubbing against the frame it sliced silently through the course!
To give you a not so Apple-to-Apples example of how the wheel affected me… Rev3 = 16 MPH, GSB = 22 MPH
The course was really winding and very fun. My strategy was to ride as hard as I could. I didn’t get passed too much at all on the bike. In the beginning 2 guys in the most serious bike outfits for a local race overtook me. Like, it may as well have been Kona, disc wheels and all. For the bulk of the ride I rode neck and neck with is guy going my pace. Every time I went to pass him he sped up. That was until out of nowhere, Jim comes flying by yelling, “Heeeeey Baker!” I laughed out loud and yelled, “Wait up!” I shot my gears down and really cranked it, quads burning. We only had 1-2 miles to go so I figured I could hang onto Jim as he’s a pretty fast rider.
T2 was a blur. I threw on my Newtons and took off. One thing I noticed… Pre-race I was eating these Gu Chomps because I was a little hungry. When setting up Transition I left the bag in my shoe in case I needed them on the run. Guess what was stuck onto my big toe? Correct, a GU Chomp. In my mind I was like, “F-it, it’s only 3 miles.” Maybe I would need it at Mile 2 or something? Eeeeeeew.
I saw Tosin up ahead and he instructed me to chase down the 19 year old that had passed him. Aye aye.
I was running pretty hard but was feeling the fatigue from yesterday’s Olympic set in. Finally, at like Mile 2.5 I passed the 19 year old. Do you know what he said as I ran by? “I will let you go since you aren’t in my age group.” Oh to be young.
I saw DiGangi and his cousin Sal, then as I was finishing I saw Ed coming in on the bike!
I finished in 1:11:28 which is actually a PR by 2 minutes or something. I’ll take it.
| Sex/ Age |
Age
Place |
Overall
Place |
Swim 750M |
T1 | Bike 11M |
T2 | Run 3.1M |
Total Time |
| M34 | 6 | 54 | 19:52 | 1:12 | 30:17 | 0:55 | 19:12 | 1:11:28 |
After Jim finished, we went up to cheer Ed on. Turns out we are standing right next to Boomer Esiason! Small world.
Ed came in shortly after then we departed to have a victory breakfast! It was there Ed informed us of how some speedster took a turn too hot and T-boned him! Ed was bruised and cut, but the attacker went to the hospital in an ambulance.
—
What a weekend! ‘Tri Hopping!’ Even though these weren’t my best times and I didn’t place, I spent the weekend doing what I love most, racing. Sometimes you cant get too caught up in the big picture, you just need to enjoy where you are at that particular moment.