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RACE REPORT: 063 Run for Central Park 4M: 23:39

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The Central Park Conservancy Run for Central Park is a 4 Mile race that supports and raises money Central Park. Seeing as how Central Park is my backyard I felt like I had to run it.

The Friday night before the race Abbe, Jackie and I went to see Harry Potter. I’m not a die hard fan, but it was still pretty awesome. Jackie and Abbe made this mint, goat cheese pasta before hand which was so amazing! With that and the salty popcorn I would consume in the theater I would be sufficiently carbo-loaded for the next day’s race.

RACE DAY

Up at 6AM, fueled with some Bustelo and out the door by 7:30 to jog over to the start. I stopped and grabbed a banana to eat on the way.

My goal for this race was to PR since last Saturdays 10K was very far from that. My 4 Mile PR is 23:28 and I was really gunning to break 23 flat. That would be a tall order considering I would have to run at a 5:45 pace the whole time.

Hitting my corral and waiting for the start I noticed a ton of team shirts. Of course! It was points race for the local teams so all the speedsters were out in force. This would be good for me since I could run on the tails of these folks. Another thing of note, the temperature in the sun. It was HOT.

As the gun went off I hung to the right and sped forward. I heard “Go Baker!” and I looked over to see Kelly and Ali were sidelined cheering us on! Thanks!

We were all cooking pretty fast and Cat Hill came up like a heart attack. Not wanting to blow up and also knowing I had to keep my pace up I found a nice middle ground and attacked. It hurt.

At the top and as the course leveled out I thought “The hardest part is over.” True? Maybe. I mean, we didn’t have to run Harlem Hill so… Did I mention yet how I love this course?

We hit Mile 1 at 5:45. Right on target but deep down in my head I knew it would take a lot to hold this pace. My chest was burning, I pushed forward. Mile 2 arrived at 11:30, right on target. I grabbed some water and celebrated by dumping it on my head which I thought was on fire.

I chose to wear my Garmin for this race and I could see that between Mile 2 and 3 I was slowing ever so slightly to a 5:50 pace. I kept smiling, kept moving my legs and adjusted my breathing so I didn’t explode. I had forgotten about the West Side Rollers, a series of hills that one might not assume daunting. Daunting they are when blasting through the tail end of a 4 Mile race.

Trying to hold it together for the last mile was tough in that heat. I saw Lam and cheered him on. It’s always nice to see fellow runners in the race, even if conversation is limited! I also saw Erica Sara yelling and taking pics, cheering me along.

Thanks to my friend Mary for snapping this shot of the finish!

Cruising into the finish I was so happy to be done and to get my hands on some freaking water! After a quick high five to Lam I grabbed two cups, one for my mouth and one for my head.

My time was 23:40, 12 seconds off from a PR but still a solid race in my mind.

Sex/
Age		 Bib Overall Place Age
Place		 Finish
Time		 Pace/
Mile		 AG %
M33 137 181 41 23:40 5:55 72.03%

After the finish I met up with Erica Sara a couple yards in front of the finish to cheer on the rest of the runners. A few minutes later Abbe met us (she was starting a long run).

RECOVERY RIDE

Per the Doctor’s (Coach S) orders, I went out Sunday morning for a long bike ride up to Nyack again. 4 ½ hours and 67 miles later I returned home to go watch the Women’s World Cup with my brother, Ali and Abbe. It was a great weekend.

RACE REPORT: 062 Boomer’s CF Run to Breathe 10K: 39:02

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The week back from a long vacation is never fun, but I was very excited to have a race at the end of it. The Boomer’s Cystic Fibrosis Run to Breathe 10K was a new race put on by the football legend himself.

The Friday before the race I did some easy spinning to loosen my legs, then went to Abbe’s for dinner. Amanda and Stefan came over and Abbe made us some amazing pasta dish to carb-o-load on!

RACE DAY

Up at 5:30AM! What? Yea that’s early but stupid Irish steel cut oats take forever to make and I am beyond Quaker Oats. Sorry Wilford.

Abbe and I did a warm up run up to Central Park arriving to our respective corrals right on time. I get really stressed (quiet, pensive) before a race until I am in my corral ready to be let loose. Surprisingly there were not that many runners up in Blue. I had front row seats to watch Boomer give his lil speech! I was highly disappointed that Peter Chacha was not there to give race instructions as it’s always a good time (I learned this from Matt6) to yell “ChaCha!” as he takes the mic.

The gun sounded and we were off. First up was the notorious Cat Hill. I ascended it easily and kept my heart rate low, trying to build a nice pace. What I realized as I hit Mile 1 in 6:15 was that I was running to conservatively. My PR in a 10K ha me running 5:58s all day, I would need to make up some time in order to PR, but could I?


I was running steady with a group of runners that I decided were holding me back. Increasing the pain threshold I moved past them and started picking off people.

Harlem Hill arrived like a heart attack. It burned pretty bad and this time I didn’t pace myself, blasting up it. As far as strategy goes, I think I’m a fairly decent hill runner so I try and put some distance on people on the uphills.

One thing I took note of on this race, is that due to the fact that all my systems were in check and working great (legs, arms, food, heart, mind) that I was having a blast! I try to tell myself on occasion when racing “This is what you love doing, do not be so concerned with time, enjoy yourself.” I didn’t even wear my Garmin so I had no idea what pace I was hitting and you guys know me and my math skills, those Mile clocks are baffling!


At Mile 5 I saw my time and to PR I would need to run the last mile in 5 minutes or so. A tall order. I decided to try. I gunned it, and then I started thinking of my Dad and how although he never got to witness me race in person, he was probably watching at this moment. I was passing people and putting the pressure on my legs and lungs. It was really hot out by now and the sun was on top of us.

Cruising up 72nd Street I saw the finish and also saw a few guys flanking me, attempting to pass. I threw it into overdrive and blasted forward giving it all. I have no idea what my time was for that last mile, but I do now it was the fastest of the race.

This was my ‘Peter Pan’ landing…

My time was 39:02 which is easily 2 minutes shy of a PR for me, but still, it was so fun!

Sex/
Age		 Bib Overall Place Age
Place		 Finish
Time		 Pace/
Mile		 AG %
M33 136 44 10 39:02 6:18 69.6%

After a pear and some water, I marched over to the finish line and cheered on the rest of the runners waiting for Abbe and Erica Sara to finish. They came through, Erica Sara first then Abbe like 10 seconds behind her, both looking very strong!

We had some coffee and then took off to hit the showers.

POST RACE

For lunch Abbe took me out to ABC Kitchen in Union Square. It was amazing!

Then, we went to Brooklyn (I know, wow! so far!) to my friend Dimotta’s birthday party at Berry Park. I saw Dimots, Mirko, Lauren and Molly among others who I had not seen in some time. It was great catching up.

Next up, I took Abbe out to Dinner at Robataya in the East Vil. It’s a fairly new restaurant owned by the same guy who owns Sakagura, my all-time favorite restaurant! We had a plethora of Japanese food, all prepared with such detail. It was amazing. Abbe said to me that night “This should be great fuel for our workouts tomorrow!” We would come to find out that Japanese food is exactly the wrong food for pre-workout dinners.

SUNDAY RECOVERY RIDE (not!)

As I woke Sunday Coach S had me queued up for a 4 hour ride to Nyack. Fun? Of course. Always. I would sleep on my bike if I could.

It was a hot, but beautiful day and I set out on my Tri bike ‘Andraste‘ with a smile. I hit a number of hiccups along the way which really discouraged me and as I saw my mood change I realized I was cranky because I was exhausted.

The South path of the GW was closed so we bikers had to use the North, more ‘walker friendly’ side. I think I carried my bike up and down 7 or 8 sets of staircases.

Once I was in dirty Jersey I got cooking. Then, another problem… there was a roadblock on the Palisades and a No Bikers sign! What? Not wanting to end my ride I ept going straight toward Englewood New Jersey where I discovered the biggest hill I had ever seen in the area. It was a set of 4 or 5 consecutive bomb drop hills! I was flying, tucked in, maxed out on my gears. Then, to the left I saw some bikers walking their bikes UP the hill and I got to thinking, “Oh man, I have to go back up this monster!”

That’s exactly what I did. Nice and slow with an easy heart rate I ascended all the hills returning to the bridge. Then I remembered you can go under the brige to the Park portion which is just as fun. That’s what I did.

I forgot how pretty it is over on the cliffs overlooking he city (where Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr dueled many years ago).


45 miles and 3 hours later I returned home, ready for a shower, lunch and to put my feet in some cozy sneakers.


It was an awesome weekend of races, workouts, adventures and food!

Product Review: MuscleCare

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I don’t often use pain relievers, but I was recently offered a chance to test a product called MuscleCare. It came in 2 forms, one was your typical gel and the other (my personal favorite) was a roll-on!


So… first things first, I needed to put myself in some serious pain.

I geared up and hit the Great Lawn in Central Park. Coach S. had assigned me some sprint intervals that day which seemed perfect to generate some muscle pain. The workout consisted of 5 intervals; 3 minutes at a 6 minute pace followed immediately by 5 minutes at an 8 minute pace. They were pretty brutal, but I love these kinds of drills. My total mileage was around 6 miles and by the time I had finished I was on fire.

I slowly slogged home, anxious to have dinner. My legs were toast.

Back home, I grabbed a shower then applied the roll-on MuscleCare to my quads and calves. I was really impressed with how quickly the roll-on took to apply and I didn’t have any goop on my hands like when using Tiger Balm. Also, Tiger Balm smells like Vicks Vaporub and makes me nauseous every time I smell it, like in the start corrals of a race.

As I started cooking dinner my legs had this tingly coolness set in. I wondered if I was going to collapse as my muscles went numb, dinner still cooking and me unable to reach up to it. This did not happen. Instead the MuscleCare really did work at relaxing my muscles. I’m not going to go as far as to say ALL of my self induced muscle pain was gone, but my legs felt great.

The following day my legs were not nearly as trashed as they normally would be and that in itself is worth it for me.

—

“MuscleCare is an all natural topical pain reliever (containing no parabens, wax, petroleum or colouring agent), which comes in a 3 oz roll-on and an ointment.
The active ingredient in MuscleCare is Magnesium, which elicits the relaxation of arterial smooth muscle and aids in enabling skeletal muscle to relax.

MuscleCare products are available at DUANEreade retail stores and online at www.musclecare.net, www.amazon.com, and www.cvs.com.”

RACE REPORT: 061 Sharkfest Alcatraz Swim: 59:46

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My friend Todd wanted me to swim from Alcatraz to the mainland, ‘Escaping Alcatraz’ in ‘shark infested waters’ essentially. I of course, signed up immediately.

SIDENOTE: This story is all about Adventure!

We left for San Francisco Wednesday night at 4:30PM out of JFK.

I shot a picture of some of our wall clocks… they always feel so welcoming.

We were flying Virgin America and I was instantly sold (being the digital master mind that I am) on their touch screen ordering system. You can order movies, TV shows, snacks, and yes… booze. You can actually start a tab and when you order a flight attendant quickly arrives procuring your ordered beverage. Amazing! Todd and I took full advantage of everything they had to offer and by the time we landed and our friend Buerkle (Kris Buerkle, but we call him Buerkle much like everyone calls me Baker) picked us up we were quite a handful.

Never having been to San Fran my eyes were a gaze at the beautiful scenery. Our first stop (after dropping our things off in Buerkle’s apartment in the Mission) was to get some Mexican food. It did not disappoint. One thing I noted was the temperature. It was like 55 degrees! Wasn’t it summer? Isn’t this Cali -forn-I-A?

Waking up at 6AM, the three of us set off for a white water rafting adventure. It was a 2-3 hour drive out East (weird saying that being from the East Coast) to Coloma. Gold was first discovered there along the river at the famous Sutter’s Mill.

I was taking in all the scenery, especially the mountains and all the different variety of trees! We are really missing out over here.

Arriving late to the white water rafting instruction seminar we had to quickly get in gear. We made a fantastic decision to rent wetsuits (since the American River’s water temperature was around 45 degrees.) Our raft guide would be Taylor, a very experienced 24 year old native. After some basic WWR instruction, helmet and life jacket checks, we set off down the river which normally outputs 1,200 cu ft/s of water was pushing 6,000 cu f/s! It was moving so fast! I was half excited and half fearful of this knowledge.

There were 7 of us in our raft… me, Todd, Buerkle, Taylor, Mike (55), his girlfriend Kate (50?) and daughter Michaela (12). We would come to learn that Michaela kicked some serious ass for being only 12. I sat front left in the beginning and as we hit our first Class 2,3 Rapids I took (along with Buerkle) a barrage of ice water to my torso, knocking me back. It was basically awesome. All of us quickly adapted and by the time we hit the Class 4 Rapids we felt like nothing could stop us.

For those of you who have not WWR before here is a bit of what happens. Just like the movies, you hear the water before you see it. Then, the raft speeds up and you enter the churning white water, paddling forward, left, right, or ‘holding on’ as Taylor would often instruct us so we didn’t get swept off the raft. In the front of the boat, it was much like being at sea where the nose would dip straight down into the rapid, then blast through the top portion of the waves, soaking those in front with an icy blast! Occasionally, we would hit giant swells sideways and get bumped around, talking on waves from different angles.

This was a 21 mile excursion down the South Fork of the American, so lunchtime was a destination, thank god. The 5 rafts of our company pulled over around 12:30 and we had a picnic lunch on the bank of the river.

SIDENOTE: This was absolute wilderness. From the start of the trip we were traveling down huge gorges and valleys where we might occasionally see a house on a cliff, but otherwise it felt very Wild West. This is going to sound really messed up (blame Hollywood) but I was imagining a bow and arrow attack from the banks of the river and what I would do in such a circumstance.

Once we were fueled up, our team was raring to go and wanted some big rapids. Taylor delivered, sending us down rapids called ‘Ambulance Chaser’ ‘Satan’s Cesspool’ and ‘Recovery Room’. It really was so amazing.

At one point as we pulled over to wait for the other rafts, Taylor noticed some trash in the river and picked it up. It was an unopened Coors Light Beer, ICE COLD! Todd, Buerkle and I shared it of course.

As our ride ended we lashed the rafts together to be towed in to shore. The kayaker who was riding along side of us jumped in our boat to get a ride and who was she? Louise Urwin from New Zealand, who is ranked like 9th in the world for down river kayaking! She was very cool and quite BA.

It took us 3 exhausting hours to drive back to San Fran. One highlight along the way was stopping at Ikeda’s Produce where I purchased what is as of now the best peach I have ever eaten. Perfection.

That night we ate a restaurant called Weird Fish. Oyster shooters, some Halibut, a lil Sav Blanc… everything the body needs… or maybe we were celebrating?

Friday morning Todd and I were on our own as Buerkle had to work. We went down the street to Tartine Bakery where I had the Morning Bun and an amazing cup of coffee! Tartine rules.

We then went to Union Square (yes, there is another!) and I bought a track jacket since I thought California was perpetually warm before I arrived. Then, we rode the Cable Car (hanging on the outside like in the movies and Rice-a-Roni Ads) all the way to Fisherman’ Wharf. We were now on ‘Special Mission: Eat Crabs.’ After cruising Pier 39 we decided on The Crab House as our choice restaurant. Sitting down at 11:45AM (we were on a Mission mind you) we ordered a beer and then something strange happened. The power went out… on the whole Pier! After eating our Crab Bisque we left in search of new electrified accommodations since power would not be restored until 2:30PM.

SIDENOTE: This would not be the last time we would loose power on this trip.

We made a quick decision to go to the Franciscan (est. 1957) where I met this guy. I would eat him and love every moment of it.

After lunch we met Todd’s friend Ingrid who showed us around Crissy Field. Locals were running, biking, wind surfing, swimming and having picnics. It was quite a cool place.

That night we found our self at a dive bar playing pool. The place was awesome and it was a clear realization for me that the New York I moved to 11 years ago was dead. This place made me feel like I was trolling the East Village in 2000 again, playing pool for fun yet thinking ‘I could get my ass kicked in this place for ordering the wrong drink’.

For dinner we went to the Noe neighborhood to a place called Lupa. It was right by Twin Peaks so of course we had to climb them.

Fueling up on some top notch Italian food, we felt ready for the swim. We were in bed by 11PM.

RACE DAY

Battle Stations were called at 6:30AM. After some quick oatmeal prepped by chef Buerkle we set out to Escape from Alcatraz (which is funny because we had to get to Alcatraz first).

Arriving at check-in we came to the visual realization that there were 1000 swimmers! This made me happy because it meant that the ratio of crazy people to normal people was not as tipped as thought. After putting our wetsuits on in the 52 degree air, we marched off to the ferries that were to ship us to Alcatraz.

I felt pretty good and really wasn’t that scared or nervous. I guess experience plays a role in that now as well as the fact that I do not believe in impossibilities.

2 ships took us across the Bay. We slowly turned around and anchored a hundred feet off the shore of Alcatraz Island before we all filed off out of the 2 side exits each ship had, swimming toward the front.

SIDENOTE: Many have asked me why we couldn’t jump off the actual island. The only answer I have is that I have no idea how 1,000 swimmers could all start a swim race on a rocky shoreline.

Once all of us were in the water and bobbing around in the 58 degree (cold!) water, they set off the start horn. No one told us where to sight, so we asked some veteran swimmers. Even though they gave us some answers, swimming toward tiny buildings in the distance and not even seeing the finish line makes it tricky. I’m used to orange buoys and yellow triangles.

This was the first time I actually practiced what I preached and started very slow and in a non-panicky ‘have to win this’ way. I simply just started swimming with the proper form Sean had been teaching me and began my journey. It’s funny, in a triathlon, bike or running race my head is in a totally different place. A competitive place, set on winning. When I am just swimming, I am so relaxed and chill, just enjoying myself. Maybe that’s the problem? Maybe I need t get more aggressive?

The water tasted great! I mean come on, swim the Hudson or East River a few times and I may have been swimming in Veuve Clicot. Mmmmmmm…

After 5 minutes the cold water was no longer a concern, I was in form and just plugging away and I really felt confident and fluid. I started pretending I was actually an escaped prisoner and how awesome i would be if I made it to shore.

Halfway through the swim we were in the middle of the Bay and confronting 2-3 foot rolling swells. It felt fun while swimming but if you sighted during one you got a face full of ocean. At one point I couldn’t see land, only the Bay Bridge to my left and the Golden Gate to my right. It was at this point I thought I saw a seal swimming next to me (which was obviously my imagination) and then started picturing sharks underwater watching me. I quickly thought of other ‘happier’ things to occupy my mind.

As San Francisco got closer, it got more and more confusing on where the entrance to the finish was. Then, a lone kayaker yelled at me, informing me I needed to swim to the left hard because I was drifting off-course. I said, “Just tell me where to aim.” He sent me perpendicular to the course I had been following, and I aimed for a Naval Vessel. I fought the current hard for at least 10 minutes and at times I felt like I was on a water treadmill.

Eventually, the sea wall came closer and I was able to take a right into the cove. Then, as I joined my peers again, someone kicked me right in the temple. Nice to see you too swim friend. The finish was in sight and I just stayed the course and wrapped up this escape. The bottom of my wetsuit pants were totally falling down and I’m sure my finish photo is hilarious. (Brightroom took it so I’m sure I’ll get it in the next month or two…)

My time was 59 minutes and change. Am I happy about it? Not really, but I am just excited at the thought of Escaping Alcatraz (and we didn’t get eaten by sharks!)

I walked over and met Todd (47 minutes) and Buerkle (42 minutes) and had a few high fives!

Later that day Todd and I set off to Saulsalito (Buerkle had plans) to have lunch at the famed Fish restaurant. It’s north of San Fran on the water and quite beautiful. After feasting there on crabs, clam chowder and tuna white bean salads we headed to Muir Woods to ‘deactivate the deflector shield.’

Redwood Trees and Return of the Jedi, nuff said. Unfortunately, there were no Ewoks hanging around.

Next up we drove the coast to Stinson Beach. It’s another amazing place. Fun Fact: Great Whites breed off shore from this beach. Fun!

We linked back up with Buerkle and his friend Jenny for drinks and food later that night. We stopped in to play some pool at a bar called Gestalt. Guess what happend when we were there? The power went out! Seriously, how strange is that?! The day before at Pier 39 and now in the Mission.

For dinner we went to a place called Locanda which was awesome! The Pride Parade was right out front so we had some serious entertainment through dinner. Todd and I hopped an 11PM red eye back to NYC, saying goodbye to San Fran.

All-in-all the trip to the west was superb. I have a new found love for the Northern California Coast and recommend it to anyone looking for some adventure.

SIDENOTE: Big ups to Neal of the Runner Army who was in San Diego swimming the La Jolla Pier to Cove Swim. In his words “This was my first ocean open water race ever, my first swim-only open water race, my longest swim race ever, and my first swim-only race of any sort in 22 years!”

Way to represent the East Coast, Runner Army!

First annual ‘Run for Bruce’

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Following the death of my father a few weeks ago, I have been overwhelmed with the amount of love that has come my way. It’s really quite amazing. One gesture, made by Samantha with the help of Abbe, was to have a run in honor of my Dad. It was in this way that ‘Run for Bruce’ was born.

—
The night before the run Abbe, Samantha and I went to Sweet Revenge to indulge a little bit. They serve wine and cupcake pairings. I know what you’re thinking, ‘Awesome!’


It was a great way to end the week and I recommend it to any lover of sweets.

Saturday was beautiful. I set off at 10:30AM to run a quick 3 miles before the Run for Bruce which would add another 5.5 miles to the equation. Arriving at Columbus Circle (our starting point) I was greeted with numerous friends and family, 35 in all!

SIDENOTE: My step mom Christine and step bro Patrick were also running, but in Virginia.

We set off along 59th Street, making a bee line for the West Side Greenway. My brother Jeff and Joey D took off, leading the way.


Unfortunately, starting a run at 11AM in the middle of June means HEAT! We were all sweating like crazy and stopping at water fountains where ever they were available.

I was bouncing around talking to everyone as I ran, it was really great. Eventually, I set into pace with my cousin Cat and friend Anna. We were trucking pretty good for the last 2 miles for sure.


The run ended at PJ Clarkes in Battery Park for lunch and beers. Jeff ended up being first with Joey D right behind. Slowly all the runners trickled in. PJ’s gave us a whole section so our loud-stinky-runner-ness didn’t disturb the normal people.

We all ate, drank and were very merry  from 12-3PM.

SIDENOTE: Claire left and ran another 4 miles! Go Runner Army!

To be straight-up and honest, it was awesome. The amount of people who showed up, and the fun we had running in memory of my Dad was really fantastic. Thanks to all my friends and family who came out for the run, it really meant a lot.

“All you need is love.”

I leave you with Alice, my friends Anna and Danny’s adorable little girl. She says she is going to run it next year.

RACE REPORT: 060 Lavaman Triathlon: 1:13:17

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The Lavaman Sprint Triathlon would mark my first triathlon for the 2011 season. I was very excited.

Friday night right after work I met Mike and Ed of the ‘Dad Posse’ by Penn Station and we hopped a train to Little Silver, NJ. We popped a few Coronas and caught up on life.

After a brief stint at Mike’s place in Little Silver we headed south to Belmar. We were meeting Jim (he was driving down with our bikes) at a place called Klein’s Fish Market. Klein’s ‘wowed’ all of us with their dockside seating, fresh fish and beach vibe. Personally, I was having a little slice of heaven, a.k.a…. steamed clams.

SIDENOTE: The waitress was cracking us up. She kept forgetting to bring us things (like forks) and proceeded to drop an entire beer in my lap. As it went down it also took some clam butter with it. We all just laughed and made the best of it. Yes, those jeans are in the laundry now.

We made it to Granny’s house (Jim’s grandma) by 11PM. Her house literally sits right on the bike course, it’ so perfect!

RACE DAY

Waking up at 5:30AM is never easy, especially on a Saturday morning. After a quick cup of Cafe Bustelo, we set out on our bikes to ride the 1/8th of a mile to the start.

After check-in and setting up transition we all walked the beach to get to the swim start which was half a mile from transition. We jumped in the bay with 15 minutes until start. The water was perfect! The 3 of us bobbed around close to the start, but not too close as I couldn’t stand in the deeper water… Ed and Jim have a couple inches of height on me. A fist bump and then the start sounded.

The men start was about 200 people and it was pretty rough swimming. For some reason, I was enjoying it. I was pushing legs out of my face and getting my feet tickled by countless other swimmers.

SIDENOTE: Although it has only been 2 weeks since the Great Hudson River Swim, I felt 1 million times stronger, more confident and happy to be in the water swimming.

I really dug in and was focused on my form, stretching my body’s length and pulling the water. Running out of the bay, I unzipped my suit and was doing a good job of undressing while I ran.  Normally, my wetsuit top gets caught on my head and I’m running like a blind man into things.

I was in 141st place out of the swim.

Jumping onto my bike, my legs were ready to unlock and get some speed going. The first place female (who is the sickest female bike rider I have ever seen) was riding along side of me for a mile or so before she made her assault and disappeared.

The bike course is 3 loops with 180 degree turns at each end so you can see who you are chasing and who is chasing you! I was pushing really hard and passing a lot of people. I think once I hit the second lap my legs were really fired up and cranking. I set my eyes forward and just cranked.

During the bike I got so focused on passing people I realized I wasn’t enjoying the ride, or the scenery. I thought to myself, have fun, relax! You love bike riding, so take it all in, not just the chase! And I did.

As I was finishing up my bike, I saw a few guys starting the run. They easily had 5 minutes and I tried to do the math on what it would take to catch them. “Run like an animal.”

Coming out of transition onto the run course I could feel someone on my ass. I let him pass me but kept him in my sights. My legs were a bit wonky (mostly my quads) and the first mile I chased him and tried to get my legs into run mode. At mile 2 that’s exactly what happened. I felt awesome and had no pain. It was at this point that the guy I was tailing started to slow up and look tired.

I caught him and I guess since I was in a pretty happy mood I yelled “C’mon Penn (he had a Penn Cycling hat on) let’s do this!” I flanked him and he held on to my pace. He told me we ran mile 1 in 5:30 which might have been a bad idea. I assured him it was a great idea and that we only had a few miles to go.

Together, we started passing a lot of runners. At one pint Ed was on the other side of the run course and yelled “Yea Baker! Go!” Penn was like “Are you on some kind of a team?” “No, those are just my buddies. We are out for a fun time.”

We didn’t do too much talking during our attack on the run course, but every once in awhile Penn would tell me were were hitting 6 minute miles, which I was happy about. When Mile 3 approached, I yelled to him, “1 to go, lets see how many more guys we can pick off!” He smiled and looked ahead, saying “We definitely got those 2! Lets go.”

I felt a weird presence during the last 800 meters or so, and then I realized some guy was chasing US down! I yelled to Penn that we need to step it up, we were being tailed. We finished with the guy literally steps behind us, but we held him off! It was also the first time I didn’t have the need to sprint the finish like I normally do. I guess I was just enjoying the company.

Total time: 1:13

Penn came in 19th and I was 20th.

 

Sex/

Age

Age

Place

Overall

Place

 Swim

0.4M

 T1 Bike

12.5M

 T2 Run

4M

 Total

Time
M33 5
20
 12:03 1:18 35:06 0:52 23:56 1:13:17

I immediately went to the water station and slammed a few cups. Penn came over and introduced himself. His name was Eric. He thanked me for helping him out back at Mile 2 when he was fatigued. I in turn, thanked him as he kept my pace up as well.

The first place female was hanging out in the tent too and I gave her a congrats. She crushed it.

I then went over the finish line to cheer and wait for the guys. Jim finished, followed by Ed.

All of us had a really great time out there! What a great start to the season!

Next up is the ‘Run for Bruce’ this Saturday.
—

This year marks the inaugural Memorial run for Bruce Baker. Join us at the starting line at Columbus Circle at 11AM. From there we will zip down the West Side Highway with a final destination of PJ Clarke’s on the Hudson (250 Vesey St, New York, NY, 10281) for food and libation.

In Memory of My Dad

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On May 21st, my Dad passed away at age 59 after a 2 year battle with Lymphoma.

I questioned whether this was an appropriate place to write about such a heavy topic. My Dad was a huge inspiration for me in all of my races. He loved tracking my progress and hearing all the details afterward. He was also running way before I could.

Aside from all of that, his story needs to be told.

—

Thanksgiving was my Dad’s favorite holiday. He always compared it to Christmas, but without the pressure of buying or receiving gifts, you simply just ate and drank with your loved ones, plain and simple. My five brother’s and I (2 blood, 3 step) always looked forward to going back to Virginia to be there for that holiday because it was always a classy, no expenses spared event. Dad and my Bonus-Mom Christine were also very insistent that we join them.

On Thanksgiving 2008, we noticed my Dad acting mysterious, sneaking off to appointments. My family has no secrets and are quite in your face and so this was a red flag for us. My brothers and I just decided to call him out when he got back and sure enough he confessed to being at the doctors. He was going to wait to tell us. He had been diagnosed with Lymphoma, or more specifically for those interested B-Cell Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia, ‘CLL.’  In lay men’s terms, it disables the body from producing antibodies, therefore the patient cannot fight off infection.

We were saddened by this but did not despair. My Dad has always seemed invincible and health problems were of little concern to him for all his life. He would just get treatment and fight.


For those readers who didn’t personally know my Dad, just imagine an older, wiser version of me or my brothers. He was 100 percent optimistic and totally outgoing, befriending anyone. He had few enemies or people he disliked, so we knew if you fell into that category you must be truly evil. He ran, played piano, loved music, golf and his family. We had no doubt that he would crush this disease.

For the first half of 2009 he received treatment from John Hopkins. He had fantastic doctors and by mid-summer the Cancer was in remission.

To celebrate my brothers and I set up a ‘Dudes Weekend’ with Dad down at Bethany Beach, Maryland. We had a blast racing Go-Karts, playing mini-golf and teaching him how to Wii Bowl.

Life went on.

In Early 2010 his Cancer resurfaced, this time stronger.

After some serious consulting by many doctors, his end goal was to live out the rest of his days happy and healthy, whatever had to be done in the meantime. That meant that the solution would be a Bone Marrow Transplant. It is a very risky procedure, but is the only known cure.

In order to qualify for this, he had to get his blood counts up, so back to clinical trials he went. These next few months were grueling for my Dad. He went through so many horrible tests and procedures. One of the harder treatments required him to be hooked up to the IV drip for 5 straight days. He would call us and tell us how much he wanted to go home, but he knew had to endure the pain to get better in the end.

His body was taking a serious beating. After one failed clinical trial, he would have 2 weeks off (where he said he felt great and back to normal) before taking on another. We would constantly get emails from my step-mom Christine (who was by his side for the entire battle) telling us his status.

A sad moment for me was during the NYC Marathon. He and Christine had planned to come up and cheer me on. He had never seen me race so I was very excited. As it turns out, they had to bail on the trip because it was too risky for my Dad’s weakened immune system to be around all of those people. I’m a very positive person, but deep down I knew that was the last opportunity he would have to see me run a race. It was a weird feeling.

My race came and went.

Thanksgiving was a memorable one in 2010 because all 6 brothers were in town. We had such a great holiday with he and Christine. He looked great and seemed normal aside from his swollen nymph nodes. This would be the last time I would see him alive and in a healthy state.

It was also during this time that my brothers, aunts and uncles were all getting our blood tested to help Dad. My brother Phil was the winner. The doctors wanted to attempt a kind of mild white blood cell transfusion that I never quite understood. He underwent this treatment in the beginning of 2011 and after a few weeks we had learned that it failed.

I really am so proud of my Dad’s spirit. Through all this hope and despair, he had such a positive outlook and never gave up.

With all clinical trials failing, the only thing left was the Bone Marrow Treatment, the problem was that my Dad’s ‘counts’ were too low. He started traveling (a 6 hour drive) to Ohio Stet to see another specialist recommended by his Hopkins doctors. They put him on anther clinical trial in combination with some steroids. He liked this one because his nymph nodes immediately reduced in size.

—

On Sunday, May 15th my step-mom and my Dad went to the movies and had dinner out at one of their favorite places. It was nothing out of the ordinary.

Monday, Christine had noticed his speech was a bit slurred and he was a weaker than normal.

Tuesday morning my father couldn’t get out of bed. Christine had to use the wheelchair for the first time. She took him right to Hopkins to have him admitted. She sent the brothers an email explaining what had happened. Alarmed, but not to worried as these emails explaining Dad’s condition were common, we hoped for the best.

As Wednesday came. his condition was worse. Christine sent an email at the end of the day saying that she wished she had good news, but he wasn’t getting better. This isn’t a great email to receive while out at a happy hour, and I was immediately upset and worried. Abbe took me home and we went to bed. I was leaving for the Boston area the next day for the Reach the Beach Relay and had been so excited for it. 20 of my best runner friends (aka the Runner Army) were participating.

Thursday morning at 5:30AM I was startled out of sleep by my cell phone. It was my Dad’s ID, but when I answered it was my step-mom. In a very calm voice she simply said “Chris, you need to get here as fast as you can.” Shaking, I hung up the phone and paced. I started backing my backpack. How long was I going away for? One day? A week? I packed running gear, why I have no idea. After talking to my youngest brother Jeff who lives in the city we were booked on an 8:15AM train to Baltimore.

By the time I left for the train the only news I had from my brother Phil who lives close to Dad was that he had brain hemorrhaging and they couldn’t thin his blood because it was too risky based on his steroid treatments. I was really upset and in a daze.

Jeff and I made the train and had a very quiet ride. We were both in denial at the possibility that this could be the end. After a call from my brother Phil saying “Dad’s humor is alive. He was teasing some nurses and now they are taking him for a CT Scan.” we were confused and changed our outlook to hope.

The next 3 days could be summed up with ‘Hope and Despair’ repeating over and over. One of the worst roller coaster rides I have ever taken.

I went to college in Baltimore so it was refreshing to see the old campus. We arrived at Hopkins just after 11AM. My brother Phil greeted us in the lobby and warned us of what we were about to see.

Nothing could have prepared me. My once invincible father was pale and sleeping with so many tubes hooked up to him. His left side had had multiple strokes and was droopy and disfigured. His breathing was erratic. I immediately broke down and cried.

His condition was that he was delirious and his eyes would roll back occasionally. He woke up and I talked to him, telling him to get better so we could go home. He was so confused and was looking right at me saying something to which I couldn’t understand as his speech was slurred. He was so frustrated, he was in there, he just couldn’t work his body.

We watched the neurological team come to some reflex tests with him that nearly broke my heart. He couldn’t lift his left arm and thought it was November 11, 1973. Once again he was frustrated and tried to answer the doctors questions as if to say “Why are you asking me these stupid questions, I’m perfectly fine.”

The doctors thought it was an infection or possibly something with his brain but had no solid answers. They needed to take him away for another test so my brothers and I went to the cafeteria to get lunch.

When we returned he was worse. He was sleeping but his breathing was totally crazy. It hurt just listening to it. We got the doctors and they woke him up. “Mr. Baker, you are having trouble breathing, would you like us to give you a breathing tube?” I saw him look right at her and say yes. That was the last time I would see my Dad conscious.

We were all a mess. We waited for nearly 3 hours while they outfitted him with a breathing tube and something called a main line.

Finally, they said we could go in and see him. I lost it again. It was the saddest thing I have ever seen, breaking my heart yet again. My father had tubes out of his mouth, in his neck, his arms, everywhere. So many machines surrounded his bed beeping and blinking with data. He was peacefully sedated.

We talked with so many doctors. No one had answers.

Our routine was to go in and sit with Dad (I could only last 10 minutes at a time) then go out to the waiting area where we had started camping out. My step-mother never left his side.

As night fell, a wild storm approached and I remember whispering to myself, “If there is a god, he is here now.”

My Uncle Bill, Aunt Margie and cousin Cat and step brother Matt arrived at 7PM. It was good to have fresh faces but sad to have to relive the heart brake of new family coming to the realization of what was happening here.

Before we left for the night, the doctors explained that Dad’s Kidney’s were failing, he had fluid around his lungs and bleeding in his brain. Measures were being taken overnight to correct these things and we needed to be hopeful.

All of us left for Dad’s place except for Christine and Matt. At Dad’s we were all hopeful, and very confused. We drank and toasted to his health and went to bed at midnight.

Friday morning we all arrived back at Hopkins hoping for some good news. There was none. In fact his heart rate was fluctuating between 125-165 which any of you runners out there know is not a resting heart rate. They put him on meds to stabilize him and it worked.

It was at this time that my brothers and Christine and I had the discussion with his doctors on ‘what to do.’ Never in a million years did I think I would ever have to have this conversation. My Dad never wanted to be hooked up to machines, which was exactly the case at that moment. We made a decision that we would give Dad 48 hours. If there was even just an inkling of recovery, we would keep him going, but if he showed no signs of improvement we would let him go.

The doctors took him off sedation and gave him antibiotics, the theory now being that he had an infection that was attacking his whole body. They wanted him off sedation because they wanted a neurological reaction from him, something that showed he was still fighting and mentally in tact.

Once again, all day we were in and out of the ICU. I was in such a daze, it felt like a dream.

At 3PM, Friday my brother Jeff’s fiance Ali, and my Grandma and her boyfriend arrived. Ali knew by our faces that it was grim. As I approached Grandma (one of the most amazing women I have ever met) she kissed me and smiled saying “Hi Christopher, so is he better?” I started tearing up and she looked down saying, “Okay. Let’s go.”

Walking my dear Grandmother down to see her dying son is the hardest thing I have ever done. We both wept as we slowly walked arm in arm. “Chris, he means so much to me. He can’t, not now.” Crying I repeated, “I know Grandma, he means so much to all of us.” We both wept hard upon entering the room, her caressing his head and whispering to him.

All day we spent calling relatives telling them that needed to get here. Most of them in denial that Bruce would surely get through this. Hope is so powerful, and I was loosing it.
As Friday came to a close the doctors explained that his condition was ‘poor.’ We would need a miracle. His body was basically failing on multiple levels.

Before leaving for the night I was in his room and for the first time I was left by myself with him. Something deep down inside of me knew this was the end. I talked to him. I held his head and told him so many things, most of which he already knew, we were close. I was crying really hard and told him to stop fighting, that he didn’t need to be scared for him or for us, that we would see him later. I told him to watch over me and that every race I would ever run from here on would be for him. “Bye Dad.” as I walked out of his hospital room.

As soon as we got back to Dad’s place Christine called me. “Chris, I’m sorry to tell you this, your Father’s heart stopped briefly. If it happens again we aren’t going to resuscitate.” As I relayed the information to my brothers and relatives everyone lost it and the reality of what was inevitable set in.

Saturday morning at 5AM my brothers and I sped to the hospital in silence. I cried under my sunglasses the whole way.

In Dad’s room it was very somber. Dad’s condition had gotten worse again and it was time to let him go. We waited until the rest of our group arrived 30 minutes later before doing anything. The nurses had removed everything except the breathing tube and had redressed his bed, making space for us to lay with him. He was very peaceful.

Each family member had some privacy and said their goodbyes to Dad. Soon after, the nurse said it was time to remove the breathing tube. A few of us left the room because we are queasy.

All of us surrounded Dad, quietly crying as we all tried to tell some fun stories of him. He was breathing slowly. He was sitting up a bit and we were holding his hands and talking to him. It was so heart wrenching seeing everyone in tears. Every time I heard my Grandma’s cries I cried harder. Then, his eyes opened! It was so amazing, he just sat there watching us. His eyes were so colorful and beautiful at that moment.

His breathing slowly stopped and he left us peacefully.

We all hugged each other and were crying profusely. I had thought the whole ordeal took 30-40 minutes but the nurse told us it was only 7 minutes.

—

2 weeks later on June 4th we had his Memorial Service. It was a celebration of life, 5 friends and family members got up and told stories of him before bagpipers led us to his burial site. It was so beautiful and I know he was up there smiling down upon us. Afterwards, we had a huge reception at the Lansdowne Resort with food and drink. There were around 300 people in attendance.

He will be missed.

—

I have been thinking a lot about life (obviously) lately.

My Dad lived a great life, and had amazing experiences and friendships. Have I? Have you? Are you happy? If not, time to get working on that. Do you dream about taking a trip to the Grand Canyon? Take the trip. Do you want to learn the guitar? Take cooking classes? Have kids? Stop wasting time. Do you want to run a marathon? Don’t be scared, I believe in you.

My father’s wishes were to raise money for Lymphoma research so this doesn’t happen to another family. If you wish to contribute, please follow the link below. Any money we raise is going to be doubled by an anonymous donor.

Thanks for listening.

http://www.lymphoma.org/teammates/beyonddefeat

RACE REPORT: 059 Great Hudson River Swim: 43:39

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The Great Hudson River Swim is NYC Swim’s kick off event of the season. It is a 1.6 Mile swim from the Christopher Street Pier down to the North Cove Marina in Battery Park.

The night before Abbe and I went to Todd and Ila’s place in Battery Park for a sleepover party. Abbe made dinner which was a fantastic pasta dish with clams, tomatoes and bacon. Even while in my vegetarian phases (this was not one pf those phases) I can never resist bacon…

We examined the water conditions that night and it was crazy choppy!

Awake at 6AM and Cafe Bustelo began coursing through our veins! Abbe, Todd and I left at 6:30 to walk up to the start. It was a beautiful morning. We checked in and grabbed a spot in the grass on the pier. My friend from previous races, Elik, came by and said hello.

Then, out of nowhere, Jess, Rick, Maria and Maura H. were there to support me! Awesome! (it turns out, as you will see in the end, Abbe had set up a little surprise cheering squad for me!) After high fiving everyone I made my way to my wave. I was in the first, meaning I am in the slowest group of swimmers. This is just something I have learned to deal with, fast on land… slow in water… FOR NOW. Todd and our friend Sam were in the last Wave and I told them to take it easy on me as they passed by during the race. Todd said he was going to dunk me. Fantastic.

Right before jumping off the pier into the water I looked back and saw a few more of the Runner Army waving! What was going on?


I had to wait maybe 1 minute before the Wave Start sounded. I dug in and started my race. My only goal was to finish. It had been a hard week and I did not need to stress out.

Something very scary happened as we swam along the pier before cutting out left into the river. I didn’t have it in me. I was rotating between freestyle and breast stroke and my mind was racing. It had been one week since my Dad passed away (almost to the minute) and I was bummin’ out. At one point I was just said “F this.” and looked over at the pier for a way up to take myself out of the race. I’m not one for giving up, so I gave it a few more tries and I slowly got closer to the turn buoy, knowing that once I got into the river it was sink or swim.

Before my Dad passed away, as I was saying goodbye to him one of the things I told him was that I would race every race for him, in his honor, until I couldn’t race anymore. With my face in the murky cold Hudson, with nothing to listen to but my air bubbles and my stream of consciousness, I thought of that. Before I knew it, I had made the left turn and was in full swim form, cruising down the mighty river on a beautiful sunny day.

I focused a lot on my form and all of the knowledge bestowed upon me by Coach Sonja and Swim Guru Sean. We had come a long way in the 2 months I had decided to take them on to help me, this was the first test. I was still not taking this race to heart as a competitive event, so on occasion I would pop into breast stroke to enjoy the peace and quiet. Maybe it’s because in NYC we never had silence, but I am always so amazed at the peacefulness of swimming ¼ mile off the Manhattan shoreline. I am also amazed at my fearlessness in comparison to the last 2 years. I knew I would finish and I knew there was no possibility of drowning. I thought to myself “Enjoy this.” and I did.

As I finished the swim, popping out onto the dock, I hear a loud cheer in the distance “Baker!” A large portion of the Runner Army had come out top support me and cheer me on! I was thrilled! After they hosed me down, I came around for some serious high-fives. Role Call: Maria, Maura H, Susan, Elyssa, Erica Sara, Matt6, Steph, Jess, Rick, Claire, and Abbe!

Time: 43:39, 10 minutes faster than the year before! PR!


(Thanks Erica Sara for the awesome photos!)

I found Todd and Sam and we high fived.

Before we all headed out for coffee, Maria (my Reach the Beach Team Captain) presented me my honorary finishers medal and tee-shirt. Due to my Dad getting sick so fast last week I had to bail on the relay. This gesture made my day, it was so nice of all of them and they pretty much rock. Also, now I had 2 medals… who else had 2 medals?!

There was a lot of love floating around that day, thanks everyone!

My New Newtons

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My friends took me to the Yankees game last night. It was awesome! The Yanks won it in the 9th inning, something I have never witnessed. Needless to say we (along with most of the other fans) had to go to Stans Bar to celebrate after.

Spilling into my bed at midnight, I knew the next day would not be pretty.

Naturally waking at 5:45 AM can have a negative impact, especially if you need more sleep. Laying awake I thought, “What better way to cure a hangover then a brutal run?”

I have new shoes. Brand new unworn Newton Gravitas to be exact. They were my fathers.


My father passed away Saturday morning after a rough 3 day battle with his Cancer. I am going to write about that another time because I think his story needs to be told, but this is about his Newtons.

Sunday morning, after the dust had settled, my brothers and I were at my Dad’s place hanging with my step-brothers and step-mother. They rock. During a conversation about running and what sneakers I wear my step-mom told me how my Dad bought some Newtons at my recommendation. We went into his closet and sure enough, a new pair of Newton Gravitas were present. I tried them on and to my amazement, they fit!

Back in the present ‘hungover’ state, I laced them up and took off toward Central Park. I hadn’t run in 11 days and was looking forward to it. I compared me not running to Top Gun and how when Goose died Maverick didn’t go flying right away. Viper says “Get him up there flying soon.” My mind is a funny place, it’s true.

It was hot, humid, sunny and exactly what I wanted. This run was very difficult. My poor nutrition and lack of sleep were apparent as I cut my run short. My Dad’s Newtons worked perfect and it’s as if he bought them for me. We don’t even have the same shoe size.

3.4 Miles at a 6:02 pace… I ran that hangover right out the door.

RACE REPORT: 058 Healthy Kidney 10K: 37:02

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The Runner Army went to battle today.

—

The Healthy Kidney 10K is unlike most of the other 10K’s in the New York City area because it is sponsored by the United Arab Emirates and all of their money. Therefore, there are a lot of big players in the running circuit that come to town. Seriously, the winner gets $25,000 plus the bonus $20,000 if he (yes ‘he’, for some reason only boys are eligible. Take it up with HR.) breaks the course record. I WISH I could win that much cash running on what I consider my backyard!

What I was looking to accomplish in this 10K? Well, put my D-tag on correctly and not attach the instructions as I had for the Scotland 10K! I didn’t put any requirements on myself. Deep down I have wanted to break 37 minutes since last year’s 10K PR at the Healthy Kidney (37:11) but was really just excited to ‘race.’ Coach Sonja has me doing a lot of slow work (which has shown results!) so I get excited now when I get to use my speed.

The day before the race I was queued up for a 1 hour trainer ride from hell. During the entire hour I had to maintain a 145 HR. For those not familiar, this is high for the bike and like a race pace. After sweating my brains out, I then had to throw on my kicks and hit the streets for a 30 minute run!

That night Abbe and I fueled up with some Pasta Primavera I cooked up. It was delicious and filled up the gas tank. Asleep by 11PM!

RACE DAY!

Awake at 6AM and fueling on a nice Cafe Bustelo/Stumptown hybrid blend I made by 6:15! Probably I should have had a more substantial breakfast than toast with peanut butter, but… I was having fun with my coffee.

Arriving at the start with plenty of time to spare Abbe and I met with Erica Sara and Melissa. My friend Dani also popped over to say hi! After a few high fives we all split to get in our corrals.

In my corral I saw 2 speedy runners I always run into on the course. We fist bumped and wished each other luck right as the gun went off!

I crossed the mat a second off the start time, we were already flying! I didn’t get too wild off the bat but we still crossed Mile 1 at 5:49, which pleased me. Soon after we crossed Mile 2 at the 11:45 mark, this also pleased me. Splits = 5:49, 5:51, 5:44.

It was at this point I saw my friend Robert up ahead running with his friend Danny. From this point on I held them in my sights about 25 feet in front of me, trying to reel them in. I wanted to yell out to Robert, “Robert! I’m coming for ya man!” but realized it would definitely take much more energy then it was worth. Thanks to Robert for holding that pace because it helped me for sure.

Harlem Hill sucked just like it always does. I wonder if anyone ever says “Wow, what a lovely jaunt up Harlem Hill that was. So relaxing.” On the second ascent up the hill I really felt it in my chest.

SIDENOTE: For the first time ever I had zero pain in any part of my body, whether it be legs, knees, feet, arms, I mean nothing! What I did feel for the first time was the internal parts of my body in overdrive, like my heart. I was very in-tune with it and at times I would adjust my breathing to calm my HR down a bit. It seemed to work.

As soon as we leveled out on the top of Harlem Hill me and this other chap I was running with laughed about the hill. I was very excited as I knew the worst was over. Focus, move those arms, and keep my posture in tact.

Blazing (Hip Hop n R&B) past the 89th Street crossing I saw Elizabeth and we had a yelling exchange. Soon after I finally caught up to Robert. I like to kinda sneak up on my runner buddies, so I just run right along side them until their like “Who is this guy over here all flanking me and stuff?” Then, they look over and are like “Baker!”  and it’s all happy times. BUT, it’s really not because we are on Mile 5 of a 10K and we are exhausted.

We paced each other the rest of the way and I have to thank Robert again as at one point I was falling behind and he told me to keep up my pace. I did.

Rounding the southern end of the Park to finish out the last mile, my chest was burning something fierce. I pushed hard and as I passed the 6 Mile mark I knew I had a slight chance of breaking 37 minutes, but it would be close, really close. Blasting through the finish with all I could muster my time was 37:02! Even though I didn’t break 37, it was still a 9 second PR and I was happy. Splits = 6:11, 5:49, 6:00, 5:33 (for .2).

“Hi Mary!”

Sex/
Age		 Bib Overall 

Place

 Age
Place		 Finish
Time		 Pace/
Mile		 AG %
M33 134 64 10 37:02 5:58 73.3%

I met up with Robert, Antonio, Danny and Helen right after and we celebrated our race.

Right after that I ran into my friend Kevin and Micheal and chatted with them for a hot second before I realized I was holding up the Front Runners Team photo! (my back was to the camera) Sorry guys!

After getting my bag I ran into my neighbor (and fellow blogger) Kelly who had a fantastic race, then, back at the Finish Line I got to see Abbe finish! We waited for Erica Sara then the 3 of us went off to find the Joyride Truck to get some Balzac (which is a blend of coffee). We sat on the steps of Lincoln Center pondering the meaning of life and other fun facts.

SIDENOTE: While we were sitting on the steps having coffee this guy on a bike pulled up and asked where my skateboard was?! It turns out he rides past me on Park Avenue everyday while I’m skateboarding to work! What a small town!


—

It was a great day for all our runners and as if it couldn’t get any better, Maura and Bryan
(of the Runner Army) were throwing a party later that night. In attendance were Abbe, Erica Sara, Elyssa, Maura H, Neal, Robin and our gracious hosts! It was a really fun time and capped off an excellent day.