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A Taste of Spring!

Posted on by Posted in All, Fitness, Training: Cycling, Training: Running 2 Comments

This Thursday and Friday in NYC were slated to be in the 50’s and 60’s. You better believe everyone was outside doing something whether it was running, biking, or drinking.  I did all 3.

On Thursday night some of the Runner Army met in Central Park for a tempo run. In attendance: Joe, Matt6, Samantha, Susan, and Abbe. Clearly, Abbe and Matt6 need blogs.

We split into 2 groups of 3 and blazed the northern loop of the Park. So many people were out and it was really fun wearing single layers of clothes in the mighty February.

We finished up the run (strategically) by Tavern on the Green, where Joe had parked his car. He had brought us all a sample beer from his latest brew, Coffee Stout. We sat in a circle in the Park savoring this amazing beer, i was so fun. After the beer, Susan, Abbe and I hopped in a cab headed East to continue our ‘Bamboozaling’ as Abbe dubbed it.

We grabbed a table at Brother Jimmy’s, all of us still decked out in running gear. We drank and ate runner style til 11! How did that happen? ‘Time flies.’

Friday was even warmer than Thursday! I had been skateboarding to work again and today was no exception!

After work I jumped on ‘Athena’ my trusty track bike that has never let me down. Once we crashed headfirst into an SUV going 25MPH (through the windshield) and rode away unscathed, but that’s anther story.

SIDENOTE: Fellow run/fitness blogger Kelly from Meals for Miles and I discovered a few months ago we are neighbors. I ran into her  (our first time meeting) leaving for my ride and we discovered that we live in neighboring buildings! How wild. Who says NYC is a small town?!

She is the ‘Fastest Bike in the Galaxy’ and is very responsive. It is a Cyclops Track bike made my Mike Mulholland for a US Track rider. It was made in the early 80’s with Columbus tubing and weighs nothing.

I set off down Lexington full throttle. It was amazing out and I was really having fun. I decided to ride through Times Square and by the Empire for nostalgic reasons. It wasn’t the best idea seeing as everyone was out in large groups, making it dangerous at major intersections. Why is it that a car going 30MPH inhibits pedestrians from crossing the street, but a bike at the same speed doesnt? Its still going to be quite painful when I crash into you.

SoHo was bumping and people were eating outside everywhere in the sidewalk seating. Such a refreshing change from piles of snow. (and I like snow)

I jetted up 3rd and 1st Avenues to get home. The cool thing about now riding for awhile is that your legs get stronger, like scary strong on a track bike. At stop lights I could ‘0-60’ sprint very fast and get my max speed up in no time at all. Did I mention that it has no brakes? That’s where the scary part comes in.

TRACK BIKE 101: A true track bike (or fixie as those god forsaken hipsters I hate so much dub it) has one gear per se. It is always locked into this gear and cannot coast. Meaning, at a standstill you could pedal backwards and the bike goes backwards. The handle bars have nothing but grip tape on them, no shifters, no brake levers etc. It is the purest form of a bike. In order to stop you must slow your legs down or skid. Another way is to throw your legs in the air (like you just don’t care) and while the back tire is off the ground, reverse the drive train. I live for this.


I finished up my ride and felt great having taken advantage of the amazing weather!


Survive my Birthday + Cycle for Survival

Posted on by Posted in All, Fitness, Training: Cycling 1 Comment

Question: Can you survive an epic dance birthday party, only to wake up and have to spin your face off at Cycle for Survival?

My birthday party was Saturday night. My REAL birthday is February 15, so you still have time to get me presents. (Swim coach) Todd and I had been planning it for about three weeks and were hoping for a whopper of a party.

I rode my bike down to meet him Saturday morning since the weather was amazing! 40 degrees and sunny. Wait, thats nice weather?! NYC has been slammed with a winter I wont soon forget, so 40 and sunny sounds like heaven. Speaking of heaven, thats exactly where I was when riding down to meet him. It had been 2 months since I rode and I really missed it. All smiles.

We went out to Costco to get beer, liquor and snacks for the party. It was absolute mayhem. They send everyone into the store with these obnoxious double wide shopping carts that no one knows how to drive. On the outside I looked like a happy shopper, but on the inside I was screaming. This was an exercise in patience.

Lets skip right along to the party.

For the first few hours I was bar tending. It was during this time that I realized I am a horrible bar tender. I get way to distracted talking to people and bobbing around to the music.

The place really got bumping around 10-12 when the entire Runner Army showed up (sans running gear) as well as numerous other friends. At one point there were 40-50 of us out dancing.

SIDENOTE: If I am not running, biking or swimming I have an over abundance of energy. If you feed me enough beer I will dance until my legs fall off. I like lots of attention and therefore will try and dance with everybody.

I was home in bed by 1:30-2AM. On a non-race weekend this would be dandy as I could sleep in, but I had to wake up for Cycle for Survival.

I had joined Jess, from fitchickinthecity.com, and her team. I had the last shift which was a life saver based on my behavior the night before. Arriving at 10:30AM I had 20 minutes until it was my turn to ride. There were maybe 500 people and 150 spin bikes set up and the volume of dance music trumped my party by 10.

Jumping on the bike we set off with a bunch of intervals. My instructor was this feisty gal who whooped our butts. In 10 minutes I was soaking wet with sweat and totally lucid. This feeling is why I love spinning. You cant really experience it on a regular bike because the faster you go, the more windy it is, therefore cooling you down.

After 45 minutes of grueling spin it was over. I’m pretty sure I sweat out all the booze from the night before. Jess, her husband Rick and I set off for some food.

After food, I rode my bike down to help Todd clean up the party.

Thanks to everyone who came out to the party! it was so awesome seeing everyone!

(Run like) being chased by Zombies!!!

Posted on by Posted in All, Fitness, Training: Running 4 Comments

As the weekend approached and weather for Sunday looked optimal, I contemplated racing the Gridiron 4 Miler.
After some peer pressure from some of the Runner Army who were racing as well, I signed up.

Saturday, the rain was stuck in limbo. It was coming down just hard enough to need an umbrella, but not really? I hate that.
I live right by the NYRR so it was a quick walk to pick up my race number.

At the A-B last name area the woman informed me that “There is no Christopher Baker” in her numbers. Strange indeed. Had I used one of my alias? Perhaps my secret identity? The next woman I spoke to (who had a laptop) told me that the online race registration closes the Tuesday before the race, so it was impossible that I could have been signed up. Touchè race organizer lady. You win this time.

Leaving Road Runners, I was very disappointed and sulking. The rain didn’t help and I couldn’t help but to laugh at myself. Wow, did I really want to race that bad? Either way, I was running tomorrow, and if I couldn’t race the Gridiron, I would race unsuspecting recreational runners.

I was cooped up all Saturday and really wanted to be social (if you personally know me you get this) so I called up Ahern and Robin to see what they were up to. After a brief discussion we decided to have a Wii Golf Tournament, but not just any old tournament… We decided to dress like golfers and make ‘golfer cocktails’ too.

It was a blast. We made all kinds of ‘golfer cocktails’ but my favorite was the Ginger Beer and Jameson thingy we constructed. Needless to say by the end of the night more people had arrived and ‘golfing’ turned into  ‘wild dance party.’

This is a photo from the night capturing one of my breakdancing jumps. Michael Jordan has nothin’ on my air. Don’t judge.

SIDENOTE: I studied Shaolin Kung-Fu a few years back and the only thing I was good at (or good enough to demonstrate) was the jumping tumbles. Our Master would have me do them in front of class, having me clear a 5 foot rope, then summersaulting to the ground and popping up. It was fun and I like attention so, win win.

RACE DAY (in my head)

I left my apartment around 11AM to hit the Park. It was such a gorgeous day for a change! I wore shorts, Zensah calf and arm sleeves and a dry fit top. I hate wearing loads of stuff when I run so this was perfect for the day.

My best ‘Love Sign’. I did this because for some reason in my race pics I always have the ‘Love Sign’ made with my hands. It’s really weird.

Starting the run I could tell it was going to be a good one. Sometimes you just know, you can sense it, like the engines are revved up and nothing is stalling out. Bueller? Runners? Bueller? Anyone? Are you with me?

I always enter on 84th and 5th Ave and make a counter-clockwise loop (de loop). I decided not to look at my Garmin too much. The first time I looked at it was at the end of Mile 1. It read 5:50. For real? It didn’t feel like a sub6 pace, but I guess I was zoned out.

generally speaking I was having a blast! It was sunny and I had broken a sweat (which is fantastic for February). I showed Harlem Hill what time it was, but it still slowed me down a bit.

As I rounded the lower loop I was really cooking. I started laughing out loud as I was passing other runners, because I thought how crazy and maniacal I must look. I thought, “Wow. What if ‘they’ thought I was being chased by Zombies and running for my life!?”

SIDENOTE: Running fast and laughing hard is a bad combo.

I finished up the 6 Miles with a 6:03 average pace. My legs were totally trashed, but I kinda wanted it like that.

I ended up limping my way to some Superbowl Parties later that night. On the way there, I was walking down 1st Avenue and this gal passed me who looked familiar. I had made a pact with myself a few years ago to always make contact with anyone who looks familiar or I think I may know. Life is too short and I also think coincidences happen on purpose.  So! I said, “Hey Dori?!” She turned and was like “Yeeeeees?” We quickly figured out that we knew each other from twitter/fbook and had a mutual friend, Erica Sara. I love NYC because of moments like this.

Swimasaurus Rex

Posted on by Posted in All, Fitness, Training: Swimming 2 Comments

Yesterday, as my errands finished at noon, I wondered what fun thing I could do in the city seeing as I had no plans. Just then, like something out of Twilight Zone, my phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Bakes, it’s Todd, what are you doing? Let’s get our swim on.”

“Hell yes! See you in 20 minutes.”

And with a simple phone call my fate for Saturday was sealed.

SIDENOTE: Are you kidding me? You think I didn’t know it was Todd calling me? What ‘phone’ of the year 2011 doesn’t have caller ID? A crappy one. I added our names for affect, and in case you forgot who’s blog you were reading. You’re welcome.

I haven’t swam since the Harriman Sprint Triathlon last August!!! That’s like 6 months.

After some coffee, prepared for me by Ila (thank you Ila!) we hit the pool. Todd said we were to swim 1 Mile and to document our speed and time so we can follow our progression over the next few months. I was down, but more importantly to me, I just didn’t want to drown during Ironman Arizona at the end of this season.

This is my ‘To infinity and beyond’, ready and willing to swim pose. My goggles are awesome.

After a 20 lap warm up we stet the clock (Todd has one of those underwater timing thingys) and started the swim. Todd is faster than me, but for some reason I always try to keep up the first couple of laps before I realize I’m burning out.

When you take me out of Air and put me into Water I turn from fast to slow. It’s quite frustrating. Last year after getting help from Brandon (who is a sick swimmer) and a few others, the consensus is that my form just needs time to marinate.

Focused on this, my swim was based on my technique rather than trying to be a speedster. The first few laps were difficult (seeing as how I haven’t swam in 6 months) but I slowly clicked into pace. I practiced keeping as aerodynamic as possible and having quick powerful strokes. I felt good about everything, even though I wasn’t flying along, I was doing well.

Half way through the mile my body was on fire. Seriously. I thought about getting out of teh pool and walking onto the roof deck and into the snow to ‘chill out’ for a hot second. But, I didn’t. My runner mind was fully active and I wanted accurate data upon finishing my swim.

Todd finished about 10 lengths ahead of me. As I wrapped up, he gave us our times.

31.08 = 1,6500 YDS (1 Earth Mile)

I was happy with that.

I quickly popped out of the pool and went to the roof deck. I stepped out into the snow and it felt awesome! Instantly, my body cooled down.

Back at Todd’s place Ila had made us some delicious Kale Chips! I’m including the next photo because it’s silly. Todd had leftover pasta and so ‘created’ a pasta sandwich for us to eat while we decided on what our ‘real’ food should be.

I love swimming. My favorite part is that (normally) I sleep like the dead that that night. Unfortunately, last night I woke up at 3AM.

—

SUPER UNRELATED SIDENOTE: Amy C. showed my this free app called ‘Instant Heart Rate’. It’s very cool!

I got a 42 BPM resting rate which I understand to be good, but I am told I need to eat less? I’m not a doctor.

Runnin’ on Ice

Posted on by Posted in All, Fitness, Training: Cycling, Training: Running 4 Comments

One of my favorite things to do in the entire world is ice skate. It’s fluid, fast and very soothing to my mind.

When I was age 14-18 I worked at our local ice rink. It was my time here, that I really fell in love with the sport. I also met a lot of very great people, some of whom I still keep in touch with.

During New York City’s frigid winter I get very distraught not being able to ride my bikes. Now, I know a lot of you hard core cyclists still ride, and I can dig it, personally I just hate wearing layers upon layers of clothes. In order to keep my dwindling sanity, I go ice skating in Central Park every weekend.

Look at that ice, glassy perfection just ripe for Mach 1.

I tend to go by myself for a few of reasons. These reasons do not apply to anyone in the Runner Army.

Most of my friends have a hard time waking up early and getting places.
Most of my friends can’t (or fear) ice skating.
Most of my friends hate children (no, I’m not referring to myself).

I try and get to Wollman Rink around 10AM which is when it opens. This is also optimal time because around 1PM the tourists attack the rink and it gets way to crowded to go fast. It is, without a doubt, the best rink in town. It’s 1 1/2 times bigger than a regulation sized hockey rink, it’s outdoors, and it doesn’t get obnoxiously crowded. Not to sound too sappy, but it’s also really very beautiful and scenic being surrounded by New York’s skyline as you bust your moves. I generally skate for an hour or two and then head for some hot chocolate. It’s a fantastic way to start a weekend, as well as a sick quad workout!


I still have my trusty hockey skates! Hot!

SIDENOTE: If anyone wants lessons (or just wants to skate), just hit me up!

RACE REPORT: 054 The Goofy Challenge

Posted on by Posted in All, Race Reports, Running 25 Comments

What are you made of?

SIDENOTE: This is a long story, grab a cup of coffee, a blanket and silence your cell phone.

I signed up for the Goofy Challenge (a Half Marathon Saturday followed by a Full Mary Sunday) with my girlfriend this summer. Since becoming single, (my girlfriend becoming another infamous ‘ex girlfriend’) the question I had pondered was whether to follow through with the race or bag it?

Enter my Mom…

In September my Mom (who lives in Tampa) started run/walking before work. She would cover roughly 1-2 miles. I was very proud of her for doing so and coached her on how to evolve to run without the walk part.

She bought a pair of Newtons and set out to improve her form and endurance. In less then a months time she could run 3 miles non-stop and was in love with her new sneakers. It was then she expressed interest in running the Half Marathon portion of the Goofy Challenge asking me “Chris, do you think I could do that?” I told that she most definitely could if she kept up with her running.

A month later she called and told me she was signing up! She would run the race in celebration of her being 20 years Cancer free! The Goofy Challenge was on!

FLASHBACK: When I was 13 my Mom was abruptly diagnosed with Colon Cancer. She hospitalized for over a month. My daily routine would be to go visit her after school in the hospital. It was a very scary time for me, my 2 brothers and my father. She just barely made it and now, she is a nurse because of her experience.

I arrived in Tampa on Thursday, and was picked up by my step dad Richard. The following day my mom and I ran errands and I made my ‘Race Burritos.’ She was a mess! She kept asking me if I thought she would finish? “What is the furthest distance you ran under my training program?” She looked worried and said, “Only 3 miles.” I was a bit worried hearing that but didn’t let it show. I mean, I had only ran 9 miles as my furthest run since November, so we were in the same boat and yes, we are related.

That afternoon we headed out to Orlando, checked into our condo and hit the expo.

At 6:30 we went to a restaurant called Fresco Italian Market. It rocks and my mom found it last year when I ran just the Marathon. It’s like the only non-chain restaurant in Orlando perhaps.

One of my best friends, Todd, who my readers might know as swim coach/partner, local swimmer, college buddy, drinking buddy etc. had his parents come meet us for dinner. They are like my second parents and are always the best hosts when I visit them in Boca. Todd’s dad Mike, who I call ‘Coach’ had asked a few months ago if he could sponsor one of my races, and that race would be the Goofy Challenge. Our agreement was that I would wear Boca Hoops branded gear while I ran, a basketball league he has run for the last 30 years.

…In the spring of 1989, in a kitchen in East Boca Raton, three men were brought together by a gentleman named Joe Murphy. Their purpose was to bring the game of “round ball” to the youth of Boca Raton. Their goal was a simple one, to teach the basics of basketball, while promoting sportsmanship and teamwork. Little did Bob Mullin, Mike Doyle, and Jody Forstot imagine that what would start as a league of 340 children in 1989,would grow to over 1350 children. That 34 teams would evolve into 136 teamsthose 18 gutsy girls would pave the way for over 440 girls and four coed divisions would become 5 boys divisions and 4 girls divisions…

bocahoops.com

The 5 of us had a fantastic meal… beer, wine and one of my staples Shrimp Fra Diavlo. At 9:30 we left, all of us knowing that we had to wake up at 3:30AM to get to the race on time. Insane! The Disney Marathon weekend has to be the earliest race starts in history. I even thought about staying up all night… but those of you who really know me understand how I can rarely stay up past midnight.

RACE DAY 1: Half Marathon (Saturday)

I was waking up every hour on the hour. I guess I was anxious, regardless I was glad because if I was to fall into a deeper sleep it would have been harder to pop out of bed.

3:30AM is early, so early in fact that I though of people in NYC getting ready to LEAVE the bars and head home for bed.

My mom and I geared up while her husband (my step-dad) helped out by making coffee and keeping us on schedule. We jumped in the car and headed toward Epcot where he dropped us off. It was 50 degrees and would shape up to be a perfect running day.

Coaching my mom, I instructed her to hit the porto-johns before we get into our corrals. There were a lot of people running (27,000) making the scene pretty chaotic. It took us 45 minutes to get to our corral in the sea of runners. While in the crowds we made some friends who liked that my mom and I had matching Newton sneakers on. I had been telling her all these months how cool runners are and she was experiencing it firsthand!

She was in Corral G and as we entered the guy was like “Hey man, what are you doing, you’re in the first Corral!” I smiled and put my arm around my mom and said “I’m running this thing with my mom, man.” Cool. As we stood there it started to fill in pretty quick. Then, Wave 1 set off and fireworks erupted! Every 6 minutes they let another Wave go and after 40 minutes it was finally our time.

We started slowly running and navigating through the throngs of walkers! I couldn’t believe how many people started the Half Mary by walking! I mean, I love anyone out there doing it, but I would save my walking for the end, right? Even my mom was getting annoyed and she started picking it up and bobbin’ ‘n weavin’! It was all quite amusing. We were holding down a steady 12 minute per mile pace and making good headway. We took turns leading.

At mile 3.5 we took a porto-john break. 50 minutes or so had elapsed. This was also the furthest my mom had ever run.

Pressing forward I shed a layer of clothing is the sun came out, heating us up. At the Aid Stations, it was really fun teaching my mom about how to grab the water cups and make a spigot so you don’t get water up your nose.

As we approached mile 5-6 the crowds started showing and cheering us on. Then, we hit the Magic Kingdom (which in my opinion is the highlight on both days). My mom was thrilled seeing all the Disney characters and getting to run through Cinderella’s Castle. I had to tell her “Mom, smile! We are being photographed all over the place!”

A little after mile 7 she asked if we could walk for a minute. Of course. I had told her that today was her race, anything she wanted to do was okay by me. She even asked a few times if I wanted to run ahead so my time wasn’t bad.

She would walk for maybe 100 meters then pick it up again, which I thought was outstanding! All-in-all we maybe walked ¾ of a mile the whole race!

There were lots of marching bands rocking out as we hit certain points. One of them was covering Cameo’s ‘Word Up’ and I couldn’t have been more excited. I looked at my mom and she was like “What? Why are you smiling?” I said, “Mom! That’s ‘Word Up’! You know, that guy with the funny voice who sings ‘Doin the Butt’?” as I attempted to sing the song. She just laughed.

Approaching the 10 mile mark we started hearing fire trucks and ambulances. As I looked back a fire truck was barreling down on us and hopped the median full speed, runners scattering like pigeons! It drove up the road and pulled over where someone was in dire need of medical attention. It was here my mom asked what time I thought we would finish? She assumed maybe 4 hours and was startled when I told her we were close to making 3 hours! She was really excited.

Ascending an overpass, this volunteer looked at me and said something. I looked to my left at my mom and she was smiling and said, “She was talking to me, not you! She likes my style!” My mom began explaining how her pink top matched her running capris because they had a pink stripe. Then, she noted that her bib matched her Newton sneakers. Yes mom, you were stylin.

Passing mile 12 I asked how she was doing. I got a thumbs up and so I said to her, “Lets do this! We’re gonna finish strong! Ready?” With that, I led us forward as we passed loads of runners. I knew my mom was hurting, but I also knew she could do this.

Finally rounding the corner, the finish in sight, we picked it up a little more! As we crossed the finish my mom and I threw our hands up! I looked at her and she smiled and said, “I did it!” I gave her a hug and congratulated her. She stopped me and said, “Chris, thank you for helping me through this. You were a great coach.” No prob mom… anytime.

Sex/
Age		 Bib Overall

Place

 Age
Place		 Finish
Time		 Pace/
Mile		 AG %
M32 20165 16623 1111 03:01:25 13.50 32.6 %

We got our Donald Duck medals and some water, then exited, meeting Richard. He gave my mom a big hug and then took some photos of us. My mom’s main concern was that she have a nice photo to put on facebook!

Richard cooked my mom and I a huge breakfast while we fielded phone calls and text messages from family and friends wishing to congratulate my mom.

I also gave my mom the necklace I had made by Erica Sara (www.ericasaradesigns.com). Aside from making really beautiful jewelry for everyday wear, she also makes ‘Race Bling’ which are cute pendants with inscriptions on them. I had mine say on the front: 13.1, Disney Half; and on the back: January 2011, 20 Years Cancer Free. My mom was so excited. She hasn’t taken it off since and will probably be buying lots more from Erica Sara Designs! Thanks Erica.

We showered and went to play some mini-golf, a favorite past-time of mine since I was 9. Afterwords we all took a power nap, then headed back out to Fresco Italian Market for dinner. It’s such a good place, why jeopardize pre-marathon dinner. I had linguine and white clams sauce. Awesome! We toasted to our success and celebrated mildly.

In bed by 10:30PM, alarm set for 3:30AM for the second day in a row. Pain.

RACE DAY 2: Full Marathon (Sunday)

I was really groggy and a total ‘space case’. It is rare to see me in this state and I encourage anyone witnessing it to tease me and savor the moment.

After a cup of coffee we were off. Richard met a nice lady named Karin the day before and offered her a ride so she joined our crew. My mom and Richard dropped us off at the start and I made my way to the corrals. I made some pals and our conversation revolved around… yes, running. We started talking about goals for the day and they asked me what I wanted to do? I looked up and just said “You know, I think Sub3 would be fantastic.” Moments later I thought, “Don’t write a check with your mouth that your ass can’t cash.”

The corral situation was night and day (or day-n-nite) compared with the Half. Instead of being in the very back, I was now toeing the start line.

As the national anthem came on I was transported to a moment in time, a memory. The president of our company, Mr. Allen Brill, was very patriotic and was always thrilled to hear of my running adventures. In fact, he is partly responsible for me even running in the first place.

He passed away on Thanksgiving weekend and shocked our entire company. He had been diagnosed 2 months earlier with stage 4 Lung Cancer. I had known him for 7 years which is a drop in the bucket compared so some of my fellow coworkers.

One of my last memories of him was being called to his office the Monday after the NYC Marathon. As I entered he looked weaker than normal and I knew he was sick. He was standing, smiling and shaking his head, “Three hours, one minute and fifty-nine seconds. Good god man! That’s outstanding!” We chatted some more before I left, happy, but worried about his health.

Another clear memory that popped into my head. The Friday before the NYC Marathon he called me as the day was coming to a close. “Mr. Baker, it’s Mr. Brill. I understand you will of course be running Sunday.” Yes, of course!” I cheered on. “Do me a favor. Run it for me.”

I didn’t run the NYC Marathon for him that Sunday. I ran it for me, but as I stood there in the cold night, in my bubble of thought, I looked up and said “For Allen. I will run THIS race for him, in his honor and for his love of sport.”

And with that, the gun went off and the race began.

The first mile was pretty uneventful. I was getting warmed up and summoning my energy, feeling my body… was it okay after a half mary the day prior.

I was speeding up and I knew it. Voices rattled in my head, “Negative splits.” “Don’t start too fast.” “Make your bed.” I felt great and was excited to be opening up my pace, passing loads of runners. Miles 2-5 were run at a 6:30 pace and as I thought about slowing down, being ‘logical’, I decided to run this race all heart. I thought, “If I’m running this for Allen, he is going to get a great race.”

The first 8 miles are super boring. Straight up highways where they have bands and clowns or whatever. It’s still boring. I got to see the same band that played ‘Word up’ which helped I guess. I also ate half of my ‘Race Burrito’ without slowing down so that kept me busy.

A few miles before the halfway point we entered the Magic Kingdom which is the highlight of the whole race. I saluted and waved to all the Disney Characters, especially Sleeping Beauty.

Of course, running through Cinderella’s Castle was sweet, especially because I was the only one in it for the Marathon. Exiting the Magic Kingdom was sad, because I knew that dark times were ahead. I was, however, looking forward to sunrise which was in the next 30 minutes.

During miles 15-16 this really cute blond gal and I were running together. The sun came up at this moment too and I tried to not get to overwhelmed at how beautiful it was because, well, I was racing. She was admittedly faster and just toying with me I think because at mile 16 she took off never to be seen again. I ran that mile in 6:22, I’m such a sucker.

Miles 16-18 are in the Animal Kingdom which sounds cool, but I never saw any animals. 19-21 are like th
e worst for this course and they were coming up, so I was frightened. M legs were on fire and hurting pretty bad. I thought, “Make it to mile 19 and then walk a bit.”

I ate a Honey Stinger and munched on my ‘Race Burrito’ some more. As 19 approached I slowed down and walked maybe 5 paces. Looking at my Garmin I realized at this moment that a Sub3 Marathon was within my grasp, but how? I was in so much pain, natural pain albeit. I thought about Allen and ran. I ran hard, tears being choked back as I thought not of him, but of my mom, and her battle with cancer and how proud of her I was.

I did something I have never done before in a race, although it’s such a simple principle. As I picked up my speed, legs burning, I said to myself, “This pain is temporary, it is only your brain telling you to stop running. You will be okay, you always are. Run to the finish,don’t stop, no matter what.” And I did.

The last few miles were excruciating (as all you runners know) and I kept busy by watching my Garmin. My mantra was to look at it and the yell, “Come on! Come on Baker!”

FUN ANECDOTE: At mile 23 you round a lake that is part of a Disney Resort, it’s very scenic. To my left was water and to my right, a grassy hill where something was moving towards me. It jumped into the middle of the sidewalk right in front of me as I dodged stepping on it. I simultaneously realized it was a fuzzy baby duck and yelled “CUTE!” I then looked back to see if my competition heard me say the ‘cute’ thing, worried about my street cred.

As the last mile was coming to a close, I realized that my ultimate goal of running a Sub3 Marathon was about to happen. I was thrilled. Crossing the finish I threw my hand up and yelled, “YEAH!” I was given my Mickey Marathon Medal, then walked over to the Goofy area where I got my 3rd Medal.

Sex/
Age		 Bib Overall

Place

 Age
Place		 Finish
Time		 Pace/
Mile		 AG %
M32 266 61 17 02:58:16 6:47 70.1 %

I saw my Mom and Richard who congratulated me, excited at my time. I had ran the Full Mary faster than the Half Mary, which in itself is bizarre, ironic, mysterious (if you don’t know the story) and straight up awesome.

We checked out of the hotel and headed to a Cracker Barrel at my request. We don’t have them in NYC and wow, I miss their breakfast.

That night we celebrated by having a fantastic steak dinner cooked by my Mom and Richard. I don’t often eat meat, but this was a celebration for my Mom as well as me. Many toasts were made as we reminisced about the races.

I left the next morning, returning to NYC with an overwhelming amount of joy.

“Battle Stations was called as we woke from sleep. The battle, it was real, and we came out of it triumphant.”

—

Triumphant does not even begin to describe the weekend. To see my Mom cross that finish line, with the look of a child who just discovered Christmas morning, is unforgettable. She beat Cancer, and now she achieved what she thought was unachievable. I am so proud of her. ‘There are only possibilities.’

Thanks to Boca Hoops Summer Camp for sponsoring me through this race.

Thanks to Richard, who put up with 2 crazy runners all week and was our unfaltering helper.

The Doughnut Run!

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To cap off the year I decided to join the crew for the 1st Annual Doughnut Run, organized by Elyssa!

Until the emails flying around about the run I had been spelling doughnut, donut… thank you very much Dunkin Donuts for making me dumb.


We me at the base of the Brooklyn Bridge at 10:30 AM which was just fine by me. All this early running stuff gets outta hand sometimes. Role Call: Elyssa, Eissa, Amy, Matt6, Steph, Samantha, Sharon, Maura, and Maria! The concept was, run a 6 mile loop over the Brooklyn Bridge, through Brooklyn to the Williamsburg Bridge and back over into Mighty Manhattan, ending at The Doughnut Plant!

We all took off over the Brooklyn Bridge, dodging the tourists that were starting to surface.


Looping around into Dumbo we encountered an unforeseen problem… un shoveled snow! We made the best of it climbing, jumping and navigating the streets, keeping our pace. It was more of an obstacle course workout than a run and my abs are actually killing me! (I hope that’s from the run and I don’t have an Alien ready to berth itself. Gross.)

One of the cool things about a group run like this is what I call ‘leapfrog effect’ and yes I just coined it. Meaning, during the run you move around so you can chat and catch up with everyone.

Before we arrived at the Williamsburg Bridge we had a snowball fight while we were running! It was very fun but very tiring.


Ending our 6 miler at The Doughnut Plant was funny. There were groups of regular pedestrians eating outside and we, The Runner Army (another new catch phrase I have coined) arrived with a bang and everyone was like “Whaaaaaaat?”

As we entered the store it smelled good, so I chimed in, “Smells good, doughnut?” Yes, I have a bit of Dad Humor instilled in me and I have been learning to cope with it. On Matt 6’s advice I chose the Creme Brule and Tres Leches doughnuts. They did not disappoint and might be some of the best doughnuts I have ever had. I mean, I’m still a sucker for a Krispy Kreme but…

We all said goodbye to each other and 2010, departing for our various subway lines. It was an awesome time and I wont miss it next year (or at the end of every month as Maura suggested.)

Happy New Year Runner Army!

Christmas on Ice. and Snow.

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This Christmas I was invited to go to New Jersey to stay with my Aunt Marge, Uncle John, cousin Gillian and cousin Cat. My father is waiting to get a bone marrow transplant and can’t have any visitors due to his immune system, so I accepted.

They live on Lake Shawnee in a small town called Jefferson out in NW Jersey. I always have a blast whenever I hang out with them.

Friday night was spent at a neighbors holiday party socializing and making Christmas cheer.

On Christmas Day we followed normal protocol… presents, silliness and coffee, lots of coffee. Something you athletic types out there might get a kick out of is that my Aunt and Uncle’s household is a running household. That’s right, the whole family is obsessive about running! What better place for me to stay right? 50% of teh gifts exchanged were running gear or running related. Very cool.

After a fantastic breakfast dished up by Uncle John, Gillian, Cat and I headed out to do some trail running. We went to a place called Saffons Park. It was great! Gravel paths with occasional ice patches. We even had to double back one time as some hikers told us there was a growling bear ahead on the path!

Both my cousins run track so we were all cookin. We started the 6.5 mile run with 9:30’s and sped up consistently, finishing at a 7:30 pace. What a great way to spend Christmas Day!

Back at the house we made sandwiches with the fresh bread I baked the day before, hit the showers and got dressed for Christmas: Stage 2.

I mentioned that they live on a lake? Did I mention it was frozen solid? We laced up our skates and headed out the back door, jumping on the lake ready to rock. SIDENOTE: I LOVE ice skating, always have. During the winter I often go first thing in the morning at Wollman in Central Park to beat the tourists.

As we began to skate I have to admit I was nervous for our safety. Laughing at their oldest cousin and assuring me, “We grew up here and this is totally safe.” We also brought their favorite beverages, 4 Locos, out on the ice to sip on. I had never had one and they insisted I try it, especially after all the controversy surrounding it. It tasted like liquid Smartees to be honest, and it kinda grew on me.

The lake is pretty big so we cruised around exploring the different coves. By this point I was warmed up and flying all over! There are no walls to hold you in so you can really blast off! We headed in as the sun was going down and dinner was approaching. Back at the house my cousin Cat got in trouble as she left an empty can on a dock out on the lake. To solve the issue I volunteered to skate back out and find it! Adventure! It was actually pretty scary as it was nighttime now. I think I may have been going like 20 MPH too.

After retrieving the can we sat down to an amazing dinner. Some neighbors came over after for dessert and to join us as we wrapped up the night with a movie.

Our huge family party that was supposed to happen Sunday was postponed until Tuesday because of the impending blizzard. I, therefore, headed out on a train for the Mighty Manhattan. I leave you with some images of the snow! Enjoy! (some are before/after shots)


The infamous Cat Hill!


Only in New York? I think so.


3rd Avenue looking South from 83rd.


The block I live on.


My head shot from when I tried out for Empire Strikes Back.

2010 in a nutshell…

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Around this time of year I think all of us like to look back on what our year entailed, then look to see what may be in store for the future.

SIDENOTE: This may be long winded, sorry. It’s more of an exercise in reflection for me, to see it written out.

THE PAST

2010 was set off with a bang for me with the Disney Marathon (my second) on January 10th. My time was 3:13:13 which was a PR by 2 minutes but I was in no way happy with this time. My mom got to watch me run a race for the first time which made for an exciting day.

February was kind of a wash as far as racing went. I did participate in the Run for Haiti charity event but set up in the back and just ran with friends.

As March rolled around I was ready for some action. The Coogan’s 5K up in Washington Heights was the start. I set a new NYRR 5K PR by running a 5:53 per mile race. This was important to me (and yet trivial) as I wanted my time under the NYRR umbrella to reflect a sub 6 mile average. Like I said, trivial, but it’s these little details that excite me at times. I ran the NYRR 8000 and the Colon Cancer Challenge as well.

The New York City Half Marathon was a milestone race as I was able to PR by 5 minutes at 1:20:48! I also qualified for the NYC Marathon with this time. More memorable then that was just how many of my new running friends I saw before, during and after the race! Such a great group of people.

In April I ran the Scotland 10K, Run for the Parks and the Lincoln Tunnel 5K.

May hit hard with the New Jersey Marathon starting it off. It was the hottest marathon I had run in with temps in the high 80’s. It was a battle field. My time of 3:15:27 was worse then Disney but I didn’t come down on myself too hard based on the crazy weather. I hate making excuses, but when people were strewn out on the sidelines like wounded soldiers I made an exception. For those of you who aren’t aware, I was and had been going for a Boston Qualifier this whole time and missing my mark by 3-5 minutes overtime.

PR’d the Healthy Kidney 10K with a 37:11 and swam the Great Hudson River 1.3 mile race. I did not PR in the swim, in fact I think I was almost last place as usual in swim events.

June was monumental as I raced my first ever Half Ironman! I got to race with all the pro triathletes I admire and even brushed elbows with a personal hero, Natascha Badmann.

I ran the Wall Street 3 Miler which is always fun in a ‘utter chaos’ kinda way. How could I forget the Lavaman Sprint Triathlon? Jim, Ed (from ‘Dad Posse’) and I stayed up till 2AM drinking beer, woke up at 5AM on 3 hours of sleep and raced. I even won 3rd in my age group so Hmmf to you ‘sleep’.

July brought us the Aquathlon Swim/Run event followed by the NYC Triathlon which was awesome! If I thought the NYC Tri was hot I was definitely not ready for the sauna that was the Queens Half Marathon! It was brutal!

In August I ran the fun, but also sweltering hot, Fire Island 5K and tried to uphold my 1st Place ranking. I failed and came in 2nd but still had a hell of a time! Then ‘Dad Posse’ and I raced in the Harriman Sprint Triathlon, always a fun event.


As Autumn arrived there was excitement in the air as marathon season was upon us! I ran the NYCM Tune-up 18 Miler and was able to maintain the marathon pace I had set. One goal I had set for myself all year was to run a Sub5 Mile in the 5th Avenue Mile race. I accomplished this by 1 second at 4:59. This was a big goal for me.

In October I ran a trifecta of 5K’s! The Montgomery River Run 5K where I took 1st Place overall, The Hoboken 5K where I PR’d at 17:37 and took 3rd overall and the Little Silver 5K where I took 11th overall.

My favorite race is and has been the NYC Marathon. This year I ran a 3:01:59 which qualifies me for Boston, another goal I had set!

The exclamation point on the year was running the Tough Mudder obstacle course with ‘Dad Posse’ and Ronny. It was hard, scary, grueling and totally awesome!

Looking back I’m very happy with my racing. Although I am very competitive, I’m still having fun out there.

What stands out most to me, as I evolve deeper into the sport, is all the friends have made! You all know who you are, from my Tuesday Night Speed Group, to the ‘Dad Posse’, random speedsters, competitors I have met during races, bikers on the road to Nyack and many others. This running/triathlon community continues to amazing me and I am very thankful to be a part of it.

THE FUTURE

Im registered for a number of races already, The Goofy Challenge, NYC Half Marathon, Alcatraz Shark Swim, NYC Tri, Rev3 Half Ironman South Carolina and Ironman Arizona. I really need to get my swimming up to par this year and try and get a bit faster. There is work to be done!

How was your year? What races will you race in 2011?