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RACE REPORT: 076 Rev3 Quassy OLY – 2:59:37

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Somehow, I was talked into doing 2 triathlons in one weekend.

On Friday I left work early to meet Jim for our drive up to Quassy, Connecticut. Yes, we hit loads of stupid Friday rush hour traffic. How people do that everyday I do not know. What I do know is that if I participated I would be the most stressed out crazy person on the road and possibly wanted by the police for roadside murder.

The first thing Jim said to me as we began our trip was, “Did you bring your rain gear? I did.” No, I didn’t pack rain gear, nor did I pack anything warmer than a tee shirt. My race outfits were 2 tank tops. I was worried.

We arrived in Quassy at 7PM with 1 hour to spare before transition closed. We checked in, then listened to the race director discuss tomorrows plan as we were in for a bit of a storm. In fact, it was already pretty gloom out and I was cold. While there we bumped into Gallagher, one of our friends who we thought was racing the Half on the following day. It was great seeing him and we made plans to meet up the following day.

I had us booked at the Waterbury Marriott a few towns over so we headed there to check in before dinner. Entering our room, we were overwhelmed by it’s grandness, then I remembered I had booked the business suite! Ed was supposed to be doing this with us but had to bail, so Jim and I both had separate rooms with a kitchen, dishwasher, 2 bathrooms, the works.

After check-in we went in search of carbs! Driving towards an Italian spot I had looked up we hit a red light. Jim and I were looking at this really cool restaurant to our right before we both said, “That place looks cool!”

It was. The place was called City Hall Cafe and had a really old classic vibe going on.There was even a live band doing Neil Diamond covers! So cool.

I had lamb chops (I’m a sucker for lamb) and Jim had pork chops. It was enough food for 4 people. To get our carbs in we had a few beers.

Back at the hotel we noticed the Celtics game on in the lobby bar. I agreed we could have one more beer as long as we were in bed by 11:30AM since we had to get up at 4:45AM. Not to justify staying up because of crappy weather racing, but I was NOT looking forward to the next day’s rain.

Asleep at 12. Up at 3. Crazy thunderstorms. Asleep at 3:30. Up at 4. Asleep at 4:30. Up at 5.

Thanks Kompetitive Edge!

RACE DAY

I am addicted to the Doppler Radar. I love it so much! I spent the morning analyzing the rain patterns trying to predict when the rain would pass. It was drizzling now and looked (generally speaking) pretty crappy outside. Like, if you didn’t have to race, you would sleep in and drink coffee in your PJs until you absolutely needed to leave your apartment. We, on the other hand, were going swimming.

I ate a banana and threw on my Kompetitive Edge race kit. I was really excited because even though I had worn the red and grey KE tops in marathons this April, I hadn’t worn the full kit including the tri shorts.

In transition everyone was pretty chipper as the scene in any Rev3 race, but the rain was coming down and I was cold. As soon as I could I put on my wetsuit, a general faux pas in any normal circumstance because you get hot. Even with the wetsuit on I was cold.

Gallagher, Jim and I headed down to the beach to get some swimming in before gun time. Amazingly, the water was warmer than the air and it felt so good to get in! I felt like those arctic monkeys you see on the animal station in the hot springs with only their ice covered heads poking out! Monkeys don’t wear goggles.

We had to wait awhile back on the beach to start because one of the course buoys had blown off. We were once again freezing.

As my wave lined up at the waters edge (Wave 2) some of the guys were praying for more rain insisting that we should get it over while swimming. I hate all of these people. They prayed way too much. Stay tuned.

The gun went off and we bolted into the soup. I was hard right, second back, and pretty unfazed at the prospect of a bunch of people swimming over me. I guess Ironman mass starts with over 2500 people will numb you to a wave start.

That’s me second from the front.

This was my first open water swim of the season and I freaked a little. Not like I stopped swimming, I just got all up in my head. Was my breathing off? Where was I going? Like, really stupid things to think about. The col thing, was that this same thing happened last year during my first swim and I knew it was just a matter of time.

Indeed it was. After I passed the first red buoy, marking the 1/3 mark, everything was fine and I was swimming hard. It was lightly raining and visibility was sub par but I did pretty good on my sighting. Now, all I thought about was how to make the swim longer because the bike was going to suck. It was so lovely in that lake water. Warm, no wind, I had eye protection and if I needed nutrition there were fish.

Exiting the swim I kept my wetsuit on as long as I could. I didn’t even unzip it and in fact I ran hard to get my temperature up. I threw on the arm warmers I bought the night before. They were like the last pair and if I hadn’t had them I don’t know if I would have finished the race without a med tent stop.

I started the bike portion, semi-excited because I was racing my new Illicto aka ‘The Morrighan’, and sad as it was raining and cold.

I saw Jen right off the bat which cheered me up.

The Rev3 Quassy course is no joke. There are no straight aways, only uphills and downhills. Imagine this if you will… as you rode up the hills it was quiet and calm with the rain slightly annoying. Once you began the downhills and started hitting 20+ MPH the rain stung and made visibility null and void. Thanks god I had switched out my Oakley Fast Jacket’s dark lens with the red ones. This helped immensely.

The first 10 miles were brutal and I was getting passed a lot. This pissed me off because I am normally the one doing the passing on the bike (since I get passed by so many people on the swim). My bike was making a funny sound, like a hissing sound, but since it was raining I couldn’t pinpoint it and just kept riding. (Travel into the future with me. As we were getting ready for the next day’s triathlon Jim and I discovered that my back wheel was rubbing against the frame and brakes! After making the adjustment the ‘hissing’ sound stopped and the wheel zipped around. Live and learn right?)

I’m not sure what exactly happened at mile 12 or so but I got this fire inside me and everything stopped hurting. I blasted into the high gears and started passing people on the downhills and laughing out loud at the crazy rain. I was back.

My joke of the day was, as I rode next to someone going the same pace I would say, “I heard we’re in for some rain.” I had a few guys laughing pretty hard which was my goal. I mean come on, riding in a 50 degree downpour? No one is having a great race so we may as well make the best of the situation.

Even though I was on my second wind or warmed up or whatever, at Mile 20 I was ready to be done. My hands were numb and it got really hard to shift gears. Then I started thinking about how hard it would be if I needed my brakes.

Once again, I saw Jen! She held her hand up as to high-five me and I thought, “No way I can do this Jen, my hands are numb and I will crash.” But then she just said something like, “Virtual high Baker, looking good!” Phew!

Riding into T2 I was really pumped to get out and run. Biking in the rain, not cool. Running in the rain, very fun. Good thing I brought my trusty visor!

Leaving T2 I grabbed a Gu since I hadn’t eaten anything but my banana earlier. My feet were numb so it kind of hurt to run on them. More worrisome, was the fact that if I was actually running to hard and maiming my feet I would have no idea.

The run rocked! I was really feeling it and got my legs in check real quick, like by mile 1.

I passed a lot of runners and used that as my motivation to keep going. I thought of ‘Reach the Beach’ and our Kill Sheet and how many kills I was making.

Mile 4 came up really fast. I didn’t even see Mile 3 for some reason so Mile 4 was like, “Surprise!”

One interesting thing that happened was that as I was passing a guy in my Age Group he said, “Ah, damn it!” I wanted to be like, “Hey man, we are nowhere near getting any kind of awards today. It’s gonna be okay.”

Rev3 is mostly chill people but you occasionally get a hot head.

The last mile is all uphill, not cool. As I made my way to the finish I was surprised to see my friend Amanda cheering me on and then doubly surprised to see a field of mud separating me from the Finish!

My time was 2:59:37 which was the least of my concern. I just wanted to get it over with. I have heard a lot from people like, “Dude, rain and cold ain’t nothing. You should have killed it.” Sorry, but not in my world. Case in point… I ran a 3:23 Marathon in 90 degree (shit show) heat and then a 2:54 two weeks later in perfect conditions.

Sex/
Age
Age
Place
Overall
Place
 Swim
0.9M		 T1 Bike
25M		 T2 Run
6.2M		 Total
Time
M34 39 234 35:51 3:18 1:34:55 2:21 43:13 2:59:37

Anyway, it was still an awesome Rev3 as always and I was so happy to have finished!

I chatted with a bunch of strangers afterward and then went to the Finish to cheer. Once Jim came in we made the decision to bolt. Why? We had 1 hour left on our hotel check out which meant we could take a hot shower.

“Oh Hell Yeah.” (and we needed Dunkin Donuts)

After the most amazing shower and coffee Jim and I continued our journey. We were headed to Long Island to meet up with Ed for our Sunday triathlon…

077 The Great South Bay Triathlon

Big thanks to sponsor Kompetitve Edge for hooking me up in some sick gear!

 

RACE REPORT: 075 AHA Wall Street Run 3M – 18:21

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The Wall Street 3 Miler is not a ‘runner’s race.’ This is not the race to PR. You will be elbowed, crowded, tripped, and generally annoyed unless you take it as it is, a fun run.

I met Ed pre-race (after saying hi to Melissa and Erica) and we headed over to the start. There are no corrals, just approximate pace flags. We had done this race a few times and knew the protocol, just go as far forward as you can regardless of what the flags say. Like I said earlier, this is not a ‘runner’s race’ and therefore a few of the rules of competition were skewed.

The gun went off and it took me a good 30 seconds to cross the Start. I was wearing my Newton MV2 racing flats (Thanks Kompetitive Edge!) and was anxious to really test them out.

I was moving at a steady pace passing people, but other gung ho runners were blasting past me like crazy men. These people were not regular runners and I would see lots of these fellas at mile 2 1/2 fading.

As we twisted and turned through Wall Street and the canyons of the Financial District I really started enjoying the course. It was somewhere around Mile 2 and although still thick with runners, it was manageable. I just held to the outside and kept my pace up as high as I could. There were lots of good crowds out cheering people on, mostly people who had coworkers running out supporting them.

Turning onto the final long stretch we were running directly into the sun. It’s very surreal because you can only make out these dark silhouettes of runners ahead. My pace was at its peak on this last mile and I felt good and was very excited to meet up with my friends after. Making the last turn on a quiet neighborhood street I heard, “Goooooo Baker!” It was Claire and Abbe causing a cheering ruckus!

Blasting down the homestretch I could no longer catch anyone. I finished in 18:21 and am happy with that time. I had no goals for this race aside from just enjoying myself, which I did. I didn’t even wear a Garmin!

Sex/
Age		 Bib Overall Place Age
Place		 Finish
Time		 Pace/
Mile		 AG %
M34 3765 77 18 18:21 6:07 67:43%

After the race we (Ed, Jim, Abbe, Erica, Melissa, Chelsea, Maura, Elyssa, Joe, Allen) went to Eamonn’s of Brooklyn which is not in Brooklyn at all. We celebrated with a few pints and some food. Yes, it was awesome!

Saturday I am off to Rev3 Quassy followed by the Great South Bay triathlon on Sunday! Weekend doubler headers rule!

RACE REPORT: 074 Reach the Beach: 26:09 (hours)

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The Reach the Beach relay is a 200 Mile (36 leg) race across the state of Massachusetts. Each team is comprised of up to 12 people who run constantly until you ‘reach the beach’ 200 miles later. You don’t sleep, you just run, eat, and use the bathroom.

This race is particularly monumental to me because last year on the day I was supposed to leave for it, I received a call telling me my father was dying and that I needed to get to him immediately to say goodbye. Instead of racing, I was a part of the hardest thing I have ever had to do in my life.

They say time heals all, and while that may be true I have learned (in this last year) that our time is limited, so you must embrace every moment of every day. I could think of nothing more fitting then to do what I love most right now, to run all night.

Our super start team, Team Honey Badger, left Thursday afternoon in a 2 van caraVAN (see what I did there? Clever right?) towards New Haven. Team Roll Call Go! Alamar, Maura, Elyssa, Neal, Allen, Abbe, Robin, Patricio, and me!

After spending a few hours in rush hour we finally parked in New Haven, aka Neal’s turf. He went to grad school here and has a pulse on the scene. What scene are we talking about exactly… Pizza! “I’m going to take you to the best pizza restaurant ever.” To which I replied in my snotty New York voice, “Um, I rarely eat pizza outside of NYC.”

If there were a pizza scale, lets say it was 1 to 10 (10 being supreme-o) Pizza Moderna was an 11. We had a fried clam pizza along with the Italian bomb and the veggie bomb. I think I had like 3 huge slices! We had a few pitchers of beer which Maura entertained us with stories of her doing hard time. I’ve known Maura for awhile so having a convict on my team didn’t really bother me.

Back on the road we arrived at the start (Fitchburg, MA… home of the corn dog) by 11PM.

RACE DAY(s)

Abbe, Elyssa, Robin and I got up early and went to the local grocer to get supplies. “Hmmmmm.” you ask. “What does on need on a 200 mile race across a U.S. State?” We picked up bananas, apples, water, Gatorade, Peanut M&Ms, granola bars, peanut butter, bread, grapes, sliced turkey, ice, almonds, and some Coca Cola. These are all things we split between the 2 vans to aid our team once the race began.

I misspelled the team name.

After we checked in and took a few team photos it was time for Allen to set it off. Our start time was at noon. SIDENOTE: They started the teams based on speed in order for everyone to end up at the beach at roughly the same time. If you started at 9AM you were a slower paced team then someone starting at 2PM.

It was a beautiful day, but it was getting hot.

Allen and 10 others started the 12 Noon wave by charging up a serious uphill.

Van 1 (Abbe, Robin, Patricio and myself) ran to the van and started toward the first transition point. Allen came blasting through and Abbe lay in wait. As he hit her with the slap bracelet baton she took off. It would go something like this for 36 legs.

My first leg started at 3PM and I was so excited to finally be running. We had made a ‘Kill Chart’ so keep track of people we passed during each leg and so I was secretly eyeing up my targets before Patricio arrived to tag me in. He hit me with the baton and off I went. We had no intention (as a team) of trying to place, we were just out for the love of the game, so Kills were everything.

By Mile 1 I had 3 kills under my belt but I was hurting bad. I was holding a 6:15 pace but needed to slow it up so I dropped my speed. I turned onto a dirt road and thought, “This, is awesome!” Basically, I imagined myself in the Duke’s of Hazzard blasting down the road, but with Newtons instead of a Dodge Charger.

Other vans with funny names were driving by constantly cheering us on. This would happen the whole entire race and I thought it was so cool!

Van 1 was waiting at Mile 3 to dish me some water which I needed bad. I had passed another 3 people (innocent older mom-like runners) and was ready to be done running.

7.2 Miles @ 6:30 pace = Kills 8

After Leg 1 our van decided to go in search of real food, like burritos. We ended up in Worchester (secretly pronounced Wooster and NOT home of Worcestershire sauce to our dismay) at Tortilla Sam’s. Tortilla Sam was selling burritos for like a buck fifty! A smart person running a 200 mile relay who was at the beginning of the race, might have questioned these outrageous prices and worried about food poisoning or even sudden death, but not Team Honey Badger. I had a veggie burrito and got a rice and black bean to go. All of us also had coffee.

We picked up Van 2 at their last transition and Allen began his second run. It was now after 6:30PM and so the rule was to have a reflective vest, 2 blinky lights and a head lamp on. We looked like crazed miner-crossing guards being chased by non-existent zombie school children.

By the time it was my turn to run again it was 3 hours later. This was the norm for everyone. It was also 9:15 PM and pitch black. I had my reflective gear on (Thanks Claire!) and was actually kind of scared to run in the dark with all this crap on me. Little did I know this run would be one of my most memorable and fun runs to date.

I started off on the shoulder of a highway cooking down a hill against traffic. Not so cool right? Then, I (and I say I because in a race like this there aren’t any other runners around) turn onto a back country road. It was very dark.

I was flanked by thick forest, my head lamp creating a sort of ‘bubble’ of light around me as I ran into nothingness. All I could hear was my footfall, my heavy breath and the crickets emanating from the left and right. It was cold now so every time I exhaled a sort of steamy fog passed into my light bubble for a second.

I felt an intense fear, as if I were going to be attacked from any side by an unseen foe. Then, I laughed a bit and thought, “Wow. If my Dad could see me now. He would think this was possibly the coolest thing ever.” And it was.

Me, and the street, nothing else. It was the purest form of running I had ever experienced. I couldn’t tell how fast I was going because I couldn’t see things passing me by. I could hear my breathing and footfall and ran to that as if it were music.

A few miles in I saw some blinky lights, meaning, targets were up ahead. I sped up and passed one or two runners. Then, a few more. As I came into transition like a bat out of hell I had been running a 6:14 pace and not even known it.

6 Miles @ 6:14 pace = Kills 12

Our van was now half way done our part in the relay. We went on a quest for coffee. I was in the way back having a semi-heart attack and cleaning my body with baby wipes. The cool thing about running in the dark? No sunscreen!

As Abbe pulled us up to the drive-thru Burger King, she order coffee then Patricio goes, “1 Large Fry.” I sat there for a second thinking, “Damn it Patricio.” “Make that 2 Large Fries!”

I housed them and loved every minute of it.

We parked at the transition area where we were to meet Van 2, 2 hours from then. We all tried to relax and maybe sleep but it seemed impossible. 2 hours is not a lot of time to try and get some z’s either. The temperature was now nearing 45 degrees.

Leg three approached and it was nearing 1AM. Allen geared up and waited for Neal at the transition. Even though it was late, it was still the same giant runner party at transition!

As Allen finished his 3rd leg he blasted past 3 people to make his kills for that leg 14, a team record! He was on a mission.

It was getting really hard to get aid to our runner due to the darkness. We had a hard time finding out which runner was ours and they, in turn, had a hard time figuring out what van we were!

Abbe, Robin and finally Patricio finished up as I waited in the cold to start my 3rd leg. It was now 3:15AM!

I tried setting it off as I did the run before, but I was starting to feel fatigued from running and lack of sleep. I did however manage to pass an Ultra Team runner girl (an Ultra Team was a team of 6 people who were most likely fast) that had passed Abbe. Abbe had been talking about it so I figured I would avenge her being a ‘kill.’

This run was almost as cool as the other night run accept I was exhausted. It also took place on major roads with cars, so the whole spooky aspect wasn’t really there.

4.2 Miles @ 6:20 pace = Kills 10

As our 3rd leg came to a close all of us were really wiped out. We were delirious. Immediately we drove to our last transition start to try and sleep before Van 2 made their way to us.

We did actually manage to get somewhere between 20-60 minutes worth of sleep. It helped me tremendously. As I woke to the sun at 6AM I felt not great, but good. I walked over to some local moms selling coffee and BSed with them for awhile. The volunteers and helpers in this race were so wonderful!

The rest of the gang woke up and were a bit groggy. Allen got ready for his 4th and final leg and went to meet Neal.

It was kind of refreshing to be out of the darkness and into the light. I feel like we had made it.

The only unfortunate thing about the light is that it gets hot fast.

During Robin’s last run Allen and I were waiting to give her water we we started chatting with a few other teams. They actually thought we were an Ultra Team! We told them no way and they insisted, saying that they started at 9AM as opposed to our 12 Noon and so we had made up 3 hours. I’m not going to try and be modest here, because this is a team race, but we felt pretty bad ass. A few other teams after said the same thing and thats when we started doing some quick math. “Did we have a shot at placing?” We had been running for fun this whole time, not knowing if we stood a chance at a decent finish time.

As I started my last run I was far from excited. It was 75 degrees and sunny and I was very tired. Mainly, my legs felt trashed.

My leg was a straight shot down a highway, so exciting. I wanted to quit and walk so very badly but I just kept going. I took it mile by mile. Abbe saved me when at mile 3 she busted out some Coca Cola for me. I chugged a few ounces and kept going, the heat bearing down on me.

Finally, I rounded a corner and came into transition, finishing my end of the race.

6.5 Miles @ 6:35 pace = Kills 2

Exhausted and hungry, our van decided we needed a proper breakfast. We hit Old Country Buffet. As far as NY Times food rating go, it would have been sub par, but I’ll tell you what… that food was fantastic! Bacon, sausage, eggs, pancakes, fruit, coffee and for dessert a Raspberry Lemonade Icee!

We headed to the finish after that so we could rendezvous with the gang.

We chatted with Jess for a bit, who was on the New Balance Team before heading to the beach to run in with Neal. As he round the corner we all gathered around him and ran into the finish chute, all nine of us triumphant! I have never crossed the finish as a team before and it was quite cool.

Next? What a silly question… the beer tent! We all threw back 1 or 2 delicious cold ones before heading to the beach for a group picture.

200 Miles = 26:09 Hours. 20th overall and 5th in our division!

That night we went out for an early dinner. The last time I stayed up all night was 15 years ago so I was basically a mess. Half of us went to sleep at 8PM. We slept a full 10 hours and I felt so refreshed in the morning.

Total Kills = 133

Thanks to Captain E for setting up this race and thanks to my amazing teammates! All 8 of you are truly Beyond Defeat.

To those of you who think this race might be easy… it is far from it.

—

After traveling back I headed down to DC to be with my 6 brothers and my bonus mom (step-mom.) The following day, on the one year anniversary of my father’s death, we drank Johnny Walker Black scotch around his grave site telling happy stories about him and what he meant to each of us.

The people we surround ourselves with are a direct reflection of who we are and what we represent. I am honored to have these friends and family in my life. Keep running.

 

 

New York I Love You

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I am going to start doing a series of posts on my experiences here in New York City and this is numero one. Dig it.

—

One of the things that makes New York great is the ability to do anything. Do you like to sew? There are classes and talks on sewing. Maybe you like to collect butterflies. Yes, there is a butterfly collector meet-up.

When my friend Elizabeth asked if I wanted to go see Chrissie Wellington speak this week I thought, “Oh man, Triathlon Nerd Meet-up.” “Hell yes I want to go!” For those of you who have no idea who Chrissie Wellington is, I’m going to slap you. Seriously though, the gal won the Ironman World Championships 4 times.

What would I wear? A running outfit? Perhaps a Rev 3 visor? My wetsuit minus the goggles and pee? (people were actually wearing these things by the way.)

I get out of work at 5 and the event started at 7… what to do, what to do?

Abbe invited me to be her guest at a wine tasting downtown that started at 5:30. Perfect!

I arrived at the very dark and sleek venue and met some of her colleagues before getting started on my Vouvray wine experience. We started with the drier wines, moving down the spectrum to some sweeter ones One of them literally tasted like you were biting into a crisp green apple. Amazing.

All of this was happening while we were being served some spectacular hors d’oeuvres. My favorite were the lamb tacos, which were no taco at all mind you. It was more like spicy lamb wrapped in puff pastry heaven.

At 6:30 I left the gals and headed uptown to see Chrissie. I blasted north on the Subway, arriving promptly at 7. Timing is everything.

As I was entering I saw my friend Josh! Josh is a speedy runner (Homeslice just ran a 2:38 in the Dirty Jersey Marathon coming in 3rd overall) who runs for the Front Runners team. Shorty after that I found Elizabeth and we took our seats.

John Korff, the man who’s company puts on the NYC Tri and Ironman NY was our MC.

Chrissie was really fun to listen to. She gave a lot of great pieces of advice, most of which I have heard over the years from others, including my Coach. What was so captivating about her though was how she used Ironman as a vehicle to a larger world stage. Now that she is known for her athletic achievements she can pick and choose her charities and foundations, raising awareness and money.

The other thing that resonated was, she said she always wanted to run a race and give it all physically and emotionally. It resonated because I think I actually did that for the first time a few weeks ago at the Kentucky Derby Marathon.

Everyone stuck around to get their books signed, but I departed, mainly because the line was insane and I was starving!

Walking home in the cool spring air after a talk like that made me want to run.

Where else can you go from a fancy wine tasting to an Ironman talk?! I love you New York!

 

RACE REPORT: 073 The Kentucky Derby Marathon – 2:54:04

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It’s funny how plans can change. Sometimes maybe it’s better to not even have a plan, or a goal for that matter.

Boston was supposed to be my PR marathon and 2 weeks later, The Kentucky Derby Marathon was to be a fun run if you will. That all changed when Boston, or Mother Nature, kicked my ass. I was so bummed and worn out that I wasn’t even into running Kentucky, just come and cheer on Abbe and Katie.

Arriving in Louisville Thursday night we immediately went to ‘Joe’s Old as Dirt’ to meet Katie, Dr. Jordan, her brother Chris and parents Clay and Linda. They were already into some beers so we naturally followed.

We stayed at Katie and Dr. J’s that night and in the morning went on a ‘shake out run.’ Katie showed us around her town, it was really pretty and smelled so fresh, especially compared to NYC.

The weather report said we were going to have great temperatures (55-65 degrees) but thunderstorms in the morning. Not good.

After our run we headed to the Expo to get our bibs. We then went to BBC Brewery to have a hearty lunch. Abbe’s folks Linda and Dave arrived and joined the party. I tried to eat smart and had a rice and bean burrito and an ESB. So far so good…

Pre-race dinner was at this really cool place called Bello Rosso. It looked like someone’s house. Well, actually it was a house, it just looked like a family still lived there with tables sprinkled throughout. Way artsy. I had the lasagna. I normally don’t get lasagna out because I make a pretty serious homemade lasagna which is my Mom’s recipe which in turn is our family friend Debbie’s (she Italian) recipe. What I’m trying to say is that Debbie’s recipe kicks ass so why risk eating a lower grade lasagna. I chose to because our waiter said it was good. It showed up and was roughly 3 servings worth of lasagna. Was it good? Yes. Would it feed an entire starving family? True. I ate maybe 1/3rd of it before feeling like I was going to give birth to a lasagna baby. We will come back to this topic in the Race Day section of our story.

The weather report had also been updated constantly all day and it now looked like 20% chance of thunderstorms. That means no rain in my book. The race was on!

I slept from 10-1 that night and then just lay awake wishing for sleep. I even put on my iPhone App that makes ambient noise to see if it would help. It only helped Abbe stay asleep.

RACE DAY

I woke up at 6AM and was not even the slightest bit hungry. In fact, I was full and still pregnant with my lasagna baby. I did manage to force down an apple. (I love apples.)

Abbe and I were picked up by Katie and Dr. J at 6:45. It was clear skies and 45 degrees. Had it been raining it would have been horrible. Dr. J dropped us off a block from the corrals and Katie, Abbe and I made our way over. We had 30 minutes to spare which is plenty in a race where there wasn’t high security staging areas… I’m talking to you Boston.

We hugged and wished each other well before departing for corrals. Up in my corral I found it really fascinating from a sociological stand point. All the local speedsters knew each other, just like the New York scene! People were high fiving and yelling to each other, very cool Kentucky.

I saw the Start mat but chose to hang back and play ‘Dark Horse’ this go around. I still wasn’t even sure what was going to happen and after Boston I had been kind of doubting myself. “Had I lost it? Am I slowing down?”

The gun went off and we pushed forward down the main streets of Louisville in a tight pack. My music was off and I was doing systems checks left and right. (Think Top Gun) “How are the legs? Am I hungry? Do I have any tightness left from Boston? Is my heart beating? Did I bring my free beer ticket for the end of the race?”

After over a mile of straightaway we cut south and then back west the way we had come. Remember, I was running with Half Marathoners too, so there was no easy way to tell who to pace with.

Miles 1-3: 6:25, 6:28, 6:23

I was going way too fast. I thought about where I needed to be and that was in the 6:45 range in order to break 3. I thought about Boston and how that was my ‘plan’ because that’s what speed I train at. I was mentally limiting myself. I was telling myself I wasn’t capable of anything but a slight sub3. I was playing it safe.

“I’m going to set it the fuck off.”

I said that out loud by the way. My legs felt awesome and I started speeding up faster, passing more people.

Miles 4-6: 6:24, 6:22, 6:20

We were now running due south towards Iroquois Park. I substituted Iroquois Park with the Red Mountain from IMAZ and then it all became familiar. The crowds were great and the kids were so cute high fiving us. What a nice break from the loud  Boston crowds.

At Mile 8 we turned into Churchill Downs! We ran under into the tunnel and then out onto the outfield. There were horses warming up (or doing whatever it is horses do a week before a race. Tapering?) It was a definite highlight of the run.

As soon as we came back onto the course they split the Half Marathoners, who started the return, and the Marathoners who continued south. It emptied out and the only guy in front of me was like 100 yards up. Seriously? Where is everyone.We were running on a street lined neighborhood street and I was loving it. I even had a snack, that’s right a Vanilla Gu! What a delicious treat at 8:30 in the morning.

Mile 7-9: 6:23, 6:25, 6:24

Just past Mile 9 was our cheer squad consisting of Dr. J, Linda 1, Linda 2, Dave, Clay, Chris, Kristin, and Adam complete with signs and making some serious noise! It was awesome!

My goal at this point was actually to just hold my 6:23 average pace as long as I could and I was doing okay! Then… well then came Iroquois Park.

Miles 11-15 were the turnaround location and also wound through a hilly (yet scenic) park. It begins with a dramatic winding uphill for, oh say 1/2 a mile and then thrashes your legs with ups and downs, lefts and rights over the next 3 miles. It was very wooded and at this point I had no one visible for in front of me or behind me. At times I often wondered if I was even going the right way. Perhaps I was supposed to turn around somewhere and head back?

I also held off the urge to pee. Those trees were calling my name man, “C’mon Baker, take a break, no one is around.” At Mile 14 I kinda figured we were looping back around and just tried to maintain some speed. I used the downhills to my advantage even though I knew I would pay for it later.

Miles 10-14: 6:30, 6:30, 6:46, 6:31

I was never so happy to leave the wilderness. Back at the entrance I saw the bulk of the marathoners entering the park as I left it. People cheered me on. I blasted back down onto the street and plunged forward, my body slowly adjusting to not climbing hills anymore. It felt good but I knew I had a ways to go.

These miles were easy as I knew the course and I had everyone coming at me wishing me luck and telling me stuff like, “You’re in 4th place.” I saw Abbe coming up and we high fived and smiled! Then, I passed our cheer squad again, this time they were ready with the cameras! One thing that was difficult was wishing people good luck back. I was exhausted and every 5 feet someone yelled, “Good pace.” “Great work you’re killing it!” and so forth. Most of the time I simply waved or nodded to them but I really wanted to yell back.

I saw Katie cruising up around Mile 19 and guess what we did? That’s right, we high fived!

Miles 15-19: 6:29, 6:19, 6:37, 6:24, 6:39

It was also right around this point that we temporarily merged (2 miles) back into the back portion of the Half Marathon pathway. Not a good logistical decision. It was like entering the freeway doing 80 and up ahead was stand still traffic. I did my best to be polite and bob and weave past people on the right side. It was actually kind of fun.

Some runner also yelled, “Go KE!” which is the abbreviated name of my team Kompetitive Edge. This guy knew the team for sure and I thought that was quite cool.

At Mile 20ish the Marathoners split right onto an open roadway. It was me and one other guy wearing orange who was way ahead of me. I ate my second and last Gu. Things started to get rough right around here. I was by myself with little or no crowds, the sun was rising, and it was the last 6 miles of a marathon (duh). I just focused my eyes on the orange of the guy in front of me and kept moving.

I started doing the math in my head here and got really emotional at the prospect of a PR. I told myself to cool it and stay focused, I could get all weepy when I got my ice cold beer at the finish.

Whoever said there were no hills at the end of this course is the biggest ass. I turned a cornier at Mile 22 and was confronted with a serious uphill. Then, at the top (being excited to be done with the hill) I saw the next hill, even bigger, up ahead! I tried my best to just swing my arms and get through them and I did. I didn’t walk at all during this marathon, not even at aid stations.

At the end of Mile 24 I was a mess and fading.

Miles 20-24: 6:39, 6:42, 6:55, 7:10, 7:19

Something came over me at the start of Mile 25. I got like a second wind or something and really dug down deep. We turned the last left and there was this immense straight-away (not too dissimilar to Boston) and I just punched it. I swung around like a bat out of hell, scaring a few Half Mary walkers and jammed through the Finish line feeling triumphant.

Miles 25-26: 6:58, 6:59

I finished with a 4 minute PR in 2:54:04! It was also 29 minutes faster than my Boston Marathon 2 weeks earlier.

Sex/
Age		 Bib Overall Place Age
Place		 Finish
Time		 Pace/
Mile		 AG %
M34 128 13 3 2:54:04 6:35 71.00%

After the finish I walked back to Mile 25 to cheer on Abbe and Katie. I found a really great spot and cheered everyone along. When Abbe showed up I jumped in and ran with her asking how she was and giving her the rest of the lay of the land. I dipped out and made my way back to the Finish to find her.

At the end of the run we all met up. Abbe and Katie both PR’d! Congrats gals, you did so great! We had a few beers before heading out in search of worthy food.

That night we all celebrated with some Kentucky BBQ and some bourbon! It was well deserved.

—

Thanks to my sponsor Kompetitive Edge!
Thanks to our hosts Katie and Dr. J and the whole cheer squad!

What did I learn in today’s episode? Stop limiting yourself to your safety zone. Set it off!

The Cure for Pain

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Moments ago I was listening to the band Morphine’s ‘Cure for Pain’ and started laughing out loud. I’m about to run my second marathon in under 2 weeks and it seems that I am ‘looking for pain’ not it’s cure.

Most of you reading are some form of an athlete whether you consider yourself one or not, being a runner, triathlete, swimmer or a soccer player. Why, as athletes do we quest for this pain? Maybe it’s just that runners are a bit crazier than the rest of the lot?

For me, I think it comes down to battle, or rather it’s modern equivalent. When I am 16 Miles into a Mary, I am deep in battle. It hurts everywhere, my senses are heightened, and the only thing that matters is pure survival. Last week’s Boston Marathon was a perfect example of that since the only thing I was concerned for at Mile 16 (or maybe even Mile 9) was surviving the race and getting my medal!

This weekend I am not the only one racing. In Kentucky, Abbe and Katie will be running I have a number of friends racing Big Sur… Bojana, Eissa, Elyssa, Shawna (who I met on the bus to Boston), Robert. I’m also through with wishing my all friends ‘Good Luck’ which is odd since I’m irish. You don’t need any luck, you already have what it takes. Instead, to all of you I say Godspeed! Go find your pain.

—

Thanks for everyone who came out to the run last night! I look forward to many more runs with you.

 

Wanna go for a run and get free stuff too?

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Anyone want to join us for a run on Tuesday in Central Park?

Join me, Erica, Abbe and Zeev from Zensah for a lovely few miles in Central Park on Tuesday, April 24th. We’ll be meeting at the Jack Rabbit Upper West Side store at 7pm and then heading out shortly after. Jack Rabbit has graciously offered us the use of lockers so if you are coming straight from work, just head downstairs and drop off your stuff before the run.

The first 10 folks to show up will get a free pair of Zensah compression sleeves! And every person to show will be entered into a raffle for a custom engraved Erica Sara Designs race necklace.

RACE REPORT: 072 The Boston Marathon – 3:23:41 ‘Total Carnage’

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The Boston Marathon or, ‘The Invitational’, as I have so dubbed it took me 3 years to get to. 3:15, 3:13, 3:15, 3:02 (the year Boston sold out in 8 hours) 2:58 and a 3:00 were my times and the last 2 secured my spot thanks to the new application procedures. Why am I telling you this? Mainly, so non-runners understand what it means to run Boston. It’s something you earn. Runners work long and hard for the privilege to run with the best-of-the-best. I feel like my time had come and I have been very excited ever since I was accepted!

—

Abbe, Erica Sara and I hopped a train mid day Saturday. I had a few beers with me, Abbe made us sandwiches and Erica brought supplies to make friendship bracelets. We had a really fun time traveling up. The girls even taught me how to make a friendship bracelet, but I think I need some practice.

We checked into our uber fancy hotel (the Langham) and headed down to the bar to have a pre dinner cocktail. Next, we headed out to Union Oyster House for dinner. For those that don’t know me personally, I have an affinity for history and the preservation of historic landmarks. Union Oyster House is all of the above, claiming to be the oldest restaurant in America.

Erica and I had Lobsters (it was her first) and I guided her in lobster eating lessons. Abbe opted for Salmon. Also, my New England Clam Chowder was the best I have ever had and you can quote me on that.

Back at the hotel bar we met up with Maura (Deeds), Bryan; Brandon and Yo; Susan, James and Amy for some drinks. We chatted about the race and all things running. The heat warning had not been issued to their fullest extent yet.

The following morning Abbe, Erica and I went on a running jaunt around Boston. It was awesome! Following our run we hit the expo. We had a bullet list of things to do which we executed perfectly.

Zeev from Zensah wanted us to pop by. We chatted a bit and he gave us the low down on some of their newest products. SIDENOTE: He is coming to town Tuesday the 24th and organizing a run. Stay tuned, there will be free Zensah gear to the first 10 runners.

After the expo we hit the Barking Crab, another fantastic institution. Situated on the water, it has a huge outdoor covered deck and inside it looks like you might be in the Caribbean. Deeds and Bryan met us again an we chilled out eating and drinking as I needed to stay off my feet.

That night we went over to Deeds and Bryan’s house in Jamaica Plains for some home cooked food! They have such a cute place. In the middle of hanging out on their porch I got the call… it was Coach!

Our conversation was a pretty typical Coach to Student pep talk but with a shift of plans. Sonja told me a week ago that I was to race this puppy with everything I had. Sure, I’m totally game! But now, with the 89 degree heat warnings things were a little different. I have run 2 other really hot races, the NJ Marathon of 2010 and more recently Ironman Arizona which is in a desert, so I wasn’t entirely nervous to be honest. She knows I’m good at reading my body and racing smart and she said to be safe using that knowledge. My goals, I told her, were to basically run 6:45s – 6:50s (6:50 is a 3 hour marathon) and see where that takes me. Her words, which resonated, were, “Remember Chris, a bad day at the Boston Marathon is still a great day.”

Abbe made pasta with kale pesto and shrimp while Erica made a kale salad with avocado and grapefruit. I couldn’t have asked for a better pre-race dinner! Thanks gals and thanks to the Weber’s for being such superb hosts! Just when we started having fun I had to go to sleep. Stupid run.

RACE DAY

I slept really poorly. I was asleep from 10-1, then 2-4, then awake until 5:30. Awesome.

I geared up, kissed Abbe goodbye and headed out. It was 65 degrees at 6AM and so I had no extra layers. As I stepped outside it was gorgeous, perfect running weather right NOW. In my head I thought, “Holy S*&t. This is gonna be rough.”

On the (school) bus out to Hopkinton I sat next to a really excited gal named Shawna. She was way cool and had qualified with her first marathon, San Fran. I tried to ease her worries about the heat and to be honest, I was still not concerned. Play it as it’s dealt was how I was thinking. Little did I know what was in store.

The ‘base camp’ is so much cooler than New York City’s. It’s 2 giant fields and its very easy to navigate. As I entered the MC was like, “If you are just arriving, to your left is Gatorade, up ahead powerbars, further down bagels and if you need coffee come to the very very front.” I thought, “DO I need coffee? YES! I love this man.”

That’s exactly what I did (no not love that man) but head to the coffee zone. There I also found a bagel and bananas. I roved around until I found a quaint sunny spot on the blacktop. I had 1:30 hours until it was time to get into corrals so slowly I ate my bagel, banana and coffee. It was quite lovely actually. Then, I covered my body in Zinc Oxide, predicting that I was going to get scorched.

Once I was done with my breakfast I decided to roam around. On one of the fields this photographer stopped me and took my photo. Then, this girl goes and jumps in the picture with me and I’m all confused and then I realize it’s my friend Eissa! No way! She was with one of her friends and I hung with them until it was time to leave for corrals.

I also ran into my friend Dorothy Beal (we went to rival High Schools!) who happened to be walking by. Her and I chatted, both of us peppy and not too worried about the heat.

As I walked to my corral, a very long walk, for the first time I felt like I had earned my spot. It really sunk in and I got choked up thinking, “Dad if you could only see me now. I’m about to run the Boston Marathon.”

I snapped out of it pretty quick though as some guys on the sidelines had a grill offering us (in Boston accents) “Braghts! Who wans some braghts n bear!” I could only imagine the horrible consequences of eating a sausage and beer before a marathon.

Getting to Wave 1 Corral 3 was kind of like looking for your car in an airport parking lot. I just kept walking and walking following the numbers. Before going into my corral I ran into Paddy and we chatted for a bit. Next up I saw Sebastien. He and I chatted about times. Because of the heat he was going to shoot for a 2:40. “Totally man, play it safe.”

As I entered my corral I saw Susan’s pal James (who was aiming to go 2:50) and my old pal Rowland! Rowland and I have always run the New York City Marathon together. Like, 3 times but here’s the catch… we don’t know each other (well now we do) and we don’t plan it. We have ‘spot on’ the exact same pace. In NYCM last year we ran neck and neck miles 1-9 pacing each other like a force to be reckoned with. I lost him and we finished within 1 minute of each other.

Just standing in the corral I felt the power of the Boston Marathon. These people all around were hard core and they looked it. There were tons of team singlets from all over the world. It was so cool. I was also sweating and they were only just starting on the Nation Anthem, this worried me.

The gun went off and we… we didn’t go anywhere. It took me 3-4 minutes to get tot the Start and I was in Corral 3! Yes, there were that many speedsters in front of me!

As the run began it was very crowded. It stayed like this for 3 miles or so and I was dismayed wanting to surge ahead I looked at my Garmin, 6:50. I was right on target! So wild that there were so many people hitting the same pace.

Miles 1-3 were great. In fact I was rockin a steady 6:49 pace. I had been carrying a Gatorade bottle that I had filled with water and was strategically using it to pour on my head when needed. Really though, the heavy water pouring wouldn’t start til mile 6.

Since we mentioned it, lets just jump head to Mile 6 since nothing terribly exciting happened from 3-5. Mile 6 is right around the time I said something like, “This is fucking bananas.” It was in the high 80’s, no shade and zero wind. The gods were betting against us. SIDENOTE: If you haven’t seen a picture of me racing take this time to do so. I am really white. Blistering sun with no shade is my arch enemy. I had a few guys run up along side of me and say they hoped I put on sunscreen. Guys. I didn’t become pasty white overnight, I have been managing severe sunburn my whole life and I have also run a few times outside in the sun.

By now there was a little more breathing room on the course. The crowds, however, were a lot thicker than expected and were extremely loud and muting out my internal monologue.

I think Mile 9 is when the downward spiral began. I saw time slowly slipping away on my Garmin. I did a systems check… hydrated, check; energy, check; full stomach, check. It was the hot sun and steaming asphalt beating me down. This pissed me off since everything else pointed to signs of a potentially good race.

I was now pouring 2 cups of water on my head for the rest of the race at every station and drinking one. That’s a lot of cups… like 75 or something?

As I hit the Half at 1:33 I thought, “Well this isn’t the worst first half I have ever run.” But actually, I think it was. I also thought about all my friends tracking me and seeing me slowly fall to pieces wondering what was happening. I honestly thought about pulling out of the race.

Miles 13-15 also sucked bad. I ate a Gu and my time was fading even more. Should I quit? As we hit Wellesley I saw my long lost Aunt Jen! (her and my Uncle divorced when I was 12 and I haven’t seen her since.) She yelled, “Go Chris Baker!” Thanks Aunt Jen.

Mile 16 is where ‘S%$t Hit the Fan’ so to speak. My vision was blurry and I was more stumbling than running. Was I okay? Was it in my head? My feet were on fire so I started pouring water into my sneakers, a trick I learned in the Jersey Marathon. The crazy part was, once I was drenched from head-to-toe I would be bone dry 3/4 of a mile out and repeat the whole process at the next aid station. The aid stations at this point were a disaster. They were like giant traffic jams filled with drunk drivers. No one had it together, people were slogging around and weaving in total chaos and there were hundreds of cups and oranges on the ground.

I suppose it was right around now that I made the decision to carry on, no matter what. I thought about how long I had wanted to run this race, what it meant and that all I needed to do was finish. We were all in this together, so I slogged forward.

Back to the feet on fire thing. I was convinced my socks were the culprit so I pulled over between Mile 17-19, took off my sneakers and socks, then put my sneaks back on barefoot. Did it help. Yes, a lot in fact! I was running in Newtons and they have great ventilation on the top so my feet instantly felt cooler. The question is… did anyone keep my socks?

At Mile 19 some college kids has cups of some strange liquid. I ran by and one said, “Ice cold beer!” He may as well have told me I had won the lottery. It was the most delicious coldest thing I had ever tasted. So foamy and amazing, it turned my frown upside down.

There were also spectators with oranges, icy pops and ice cubes. I took all of these things all the time, especially the ice. Seriously, it was like Ironman. I was consistently thinking about what could help me. For instance, someone was handing out what I thought were cold wet paper towels to wipe off salt and grime, but they were dry towels. I immediately threw it on the ground.

So, I have to tell you about this guy that pissed me off. At this point during the race everyone was in survival mode, meaning, no one gave a damn about anyone else. Up ahead I see this spectator with a hose and a spray gun attached drenching the runners. “Hell yeah man!” I bee-lined it to the right so excited to get cooled down again and as I approached, the guy in front of me TOOK the hose from the spectator. He aimed it at his face and just blasted himself like an Irish Spring commercial. He did this for 2 minutes! I kept looking at the spectator like, “C’mon man, reclaim the hose!” Finally he did and sprayed me. I started running again and as I passed the hose hog I yelled, “Not cool AT ALL man!”

I saw Elizabeth around this point which picked up spirits!

Heartbreak Hill wasn’t so bad. It was a big long hill but I would have taken ten of them in a row if it was 50 degrees out.

Miles 20-26 I got kind of a second wind. Not like I was running at break neck speed, but I was at least holding a consistent pace. My quads were on fire but I just wanted the end to come. I broke the course up into 6, mile long segments (yeah it was that bad) and told myself to just take it one mile at a time.

At Mile 23 I saw my Uncle Curt who screamed my name. Then, I saw Kelly across the other side who cheered me on and finally Abbe, Erica Sara and Maura who I high fived! I thought about stopping to talk to them but I was worried I wouldn’t be able to start running again.

As soon as I passed them I shut everything else out of my vision. I stopped looking and listening to the crowds and just focused on maintaining my pace which was now in the 8:28 range.

The last mile was a giant wide open space and for the first time during the race I tried to enjoy the moment. I soaked up those last minutes fighting fatigue. I saw my friend Robert here and when he yelled I nearly cut off this poor fella in my excitement! The Finish came into view on the historic straight away and it took forever to get to! It was here that Susan’s friend James popped up along side of me and said hi.

Crossing the Boston Finish was the first time I ever thought of the Finish in a race to be memorable. It’s a pretty impressive Finish line and as I crossed I put my hands together in a prayer-like motion, not triumphant, but thankful to have made it.

Time: 3:23:41, my slowest marathon by 8 minutes. Am I upset at my time? Not at all. Sometimes just surviving a battle is a win.

My chest hurt as well as my legs and well, my body felt like it was in an oven. I grabbed 2 waters and emptied them on my head, instantly feeling better. As I was chatting with a group of runners all of them said the same thing, “That was my worst marathon time.” Ditto.

Since I had nothing on me I walked back to my hotel after chilling out in the family reunion area for a second. My legs needed a break and I thought the girls might have made their way over to collect me. At the Langham the concierge told me that we had checked out, but alas, my very ‘stand out’ Kompetitive Edge Team bag was easy to identify. (Big thanks to Kompetitive Edge for my awesome race outfit too! The crowds were screaming, “go Kompetitive Edge!”) The concierge emailed Abbe telling her I was there and then let me shower in the Health Spa.

Afterwards, I was hanging with the Concierge and he asked if I wanted water. “I am so sick of water. Ive been drinking it all day and soaked in it. I really want a beer.” “Well Mr. Baker, I would suggest you go down the street to the outdoor pub. We will tell Ms. Abbe when she arrives.” These guys rock.

I sat down outside on a quiet street and took in an ice cold Harpoon IPA while basking in the sun.

Abbe ran up shortly after and gave me a big hug and kiss! I think she was more excited at my finish than I was. Erica was right behind her and after some food we caught our train.

While on the train Eissa tweeted at me asking if she was on our train? Indeed! We added one more to our train party and it was such a blast!

—

What a fantastically fun weekend this was. Had it not been for the marathon part it would have been perfect! I’m kidding. I learned a lot during this marathon. Mother nature is an unstoppable force, but mainly to never give up, no matter what. On the right part of my site I have the definition (in my words) of what Beyond Defeat is all about.

“Beyond Defeat represents the will and drive to never give up, no matter what challenges you face. It is the acceptance of the challenge. All of us are Beyond Defeat, we just need to rise to the occasion. “
Many of my friends were beyond defeat today and fought through some of the worst conditions I have ever seen in a Marathon. For that, I proudly tip my hat to all of you.

Meet ‘The Morrighan’

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I would like to thank my sponsors, Kompetitive Edge, for building me one of the sickest bikes I have had the honor to ride.
Meet the Quintana Roo ‘Illicito’ or as I have named her, ‘The Morrighan’.


Why name your bike? Why name your bike ‘The Morrighan’? What does that even mean?
I name my bikes because I am superstitious and also I have something great to yell while chasing people down in a race. Seriously, I yell.

The Morrígan is a Celtic goddess of battle, strife, and sovereignty also referred to as ‘Phantom Queen’. She is the goddess who determines whether or not you walk off the field of battle, or are carried off upon your shield. People both fear her and admire her.

I have taken her out for a few rides round Central Park and it is easily the most comfortable bike I have ever ridden. It is also the fastest. It literally cuts through the air. It doesn’t even have a left seat stay!

Cobrawing Aerobars, very cozy.

No left seat stay! It’s magic!

Big ups to Ryan at Kompetitive Edge who built this bad boy for me!

 

RACE REPORT: 071 Colon Cancer Challenge 4M – 23:28

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Race Season has begun! (for me at least.) It’s officially warm enough to where I can come out of hiding.

The Colon Cancer Challenge 4 Miler (not the 15K, do I look crazy? C’mon!) is a race cause that speaks to me as my Mom is a survivor. When I was 14 she was hospitalized for 3 months and barely made it due to complications. So yeah, I run the hell out of this one.

Guess who was visiting me and my youngest brother Jeff this weekend? That’s right, momma Baker! She came in Thursday and we had been having a whirlwind tour of restaurants and landmarks. My brother picked Saturday’s dinner location and I didn’t have the heart to tell him I couldn’t eat that the night before a race.  I’m talking about Sushi people! (the food not humans made of raw fish.) I decided to just go with it and see what happened on race day. Who knows, maybe Sushi was the secret super runners pre-race food?

RACE DAY

9AM races rule. You can wake up, have like 2 cups of coffee, watch the news and part of GMA and even have a healthy breakfast!

Abbe and I left with 45 minutes to spare and did a warm up run up 5th Avenue. I even saw one of my construction worker pals by my office. His response, “What no camera today?” He knows me as ‘Photographer/Graphic Designer Baker’ not ‘Runner Baker.’ Up in the Park, we split up and took to our corrals.

After a very poor rendition of the Star Spangled Banner, like so poor I thought it was an April fool’s day joke, Cha Cha gave the word and we were off!

I kept my iPod off. I was going to switch it on at Mile 1, but I wanted to listen to myself first. I also had no Garmin.

The first 800M I spent navigating through people until I was in the single file pack, lead vehicle in my sites. I wasn’t sure how fast I was going but it felt right. Mile 1 arrived at 5:55, not good enough.

Needing some pep, I switched on the iPod and blasted forward. I was in a small group of 3 guys and we had pulled away from the others behind us by a pretty good margin. Up ahead, was the lead pack starting to spread out.

I felt pretty good and made the decision to skip the water station at Mile 2. This proved helpful as I lost a few guys and pushed ahead, suffering with thirst. The clock said 11:40 which means I had made up some time, but the West Side Rollers were ahead.

I was now running single file chasing this guy 100 feet in front of me and in turn, I was being chased by a guy 100 feet back. It was quite spread out, more than I have ever experienced in a NYRR race. Mile 3 came up fast and it read 17:50. I was losing time now and wasn’t happy about it.

My left shin had been hurting like crazy since Mile 2, and now I told myself mentally ‘This is nothing, it hurts and there is no injury. Throw down some speed.’ I was in fact able to pick it up a bit. The worst of the hills was over and I knew I just had to hang on. I could feel a presence behind me (sorry, I watched Star Wars yesterday) and knew I couldn’t let up. The guy I was chasing was well out of my grasp and at this point I was hoping that I might have a PR in sight.

Rounding the corner of 72nd to finish I saw this guy out of the corner of my eye behind me. “No way was I gonna get out sprinted.” I threw it into another gear and rocketed to the finish. As I got close my Mom, brother, sis-in-law and friend Vicki cheered me on like crazy! After the finish I stopped and shook the guy’s hand behind me and gave him props for staying on my tail like that. I also saluted the guy I had been chasing. He had beat me by 8 seconds, but it seemed like 30.

My time? 23:28, the EXACT same time I got the last time I raced this. I did, however, move up in placement to 9th overall!

Sex/
Age		 Bib Overall Place Age
Place		 Finish
Time		 Pace/
Mile		 AG %
M34 55 9 2 23:28 5:52 73.00%

I always like to describe the end of a race like this like when the Millennium Falcon comes out of Warp Speed and everything stops at once. It’s very disorienting and I have learned to come with the sudden urge to vomit by downing water and breathing exercises. Whatever works right?

I met my family up at Bethesda Fountain and we waiting for Abbe to finish. She PR’d again which means I had to buy lunch! We have a deal, who ever PR’s gets taken out by the other to celebrate.

Big ups to my Kompetitive Edge Teammates (Terry Nugent, Ryan Borger, Stephanie Stevens, Brandon Jessop, Sonja Wieck, Mark Hillers, Michelle Ford, and Jason Stoddart) this weekend for killing it too!

Big ups to all my local Runner Army peeps too, there were a ton of PR’s!