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RACE REPORT: 048 5th Avenue Mile – 1 Mile: 4:59

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This weekend would mark my second time running the famed 5th Avenue Mile. To my surprise, last year I ran a 5:01, and this year, I wanted more than anything to go sub 5. Putting this goal in my head would stress me out and haunt my thoughts all week, right up to the race.

—

Saturday morning I went for a 20 mile bike ride on my track bike to get my quads in gear. Since the bike can’t coast nor are there any brakes, you rely on your legs to slow down and stop, making it an ideal pre-sprinting workout.

Later that night Erika and I met at a German restaurant to have some beer and snacks (it’s almost Oktober after all) and then head over to see the play ‘Brief Encounter’. I would recommend the play as it’s a short 90 minute trip to 1938 with a few great musical numbers, although it’s not going to be winning any Tony Awards.

RACE DAY

Since my heat was to start at 10:15AM I didn’t even set my alarm! What a refreshing difference it is to wake up for a race when the sun has already risen!

I ate some Irish Steel Cut Oats and had some Cafe Bustelo before heading out the door. I walked Erika to her start (she was to go off at 9:30) before heading down to 72nd street to cheer.

What an exciting day for spectating! Only second to the NYC Marathon itself. Every 15 minutes a wave of speedy runners comes zipping by! I got to see Steph, then Erika cruising down 5th, me yelling at them to pick it up!

On my way up to my heat I ran into Erin and then Elizabeth (who took this silly pic of me at the start).

Pre-race I did a quick run up to 84th and back down again where I ran into my friend Sebastian. He’s a really fast runner. We became friends last year during the Knickerbocker 60K when we ran the first 3 or 4 laps of Central Park together.

Getting into the corral I was far left and maybe 4 guys back. It was right where I wanted to be.

SIDENOTE: It’s funny what happens on game day. All week I had been questioning myself… could I really run a sub 5 mile? Last year I was 2 seconds off, but had I trained well? Did I eat a good breakfast? Were my legs and heart ready to go in overdrive? It would all be over so fast, and then there would be 1 year to think about the outcome.

The gun sounded and we all took off. I crossed the start mat about a second off from the gun time, which would play into my results later.

As we cleared the start, the Avenue opened up and I shot far left, passing a handful of people before settling in. As we hit the 1/4 Mile marker at 1:10 I was thrilled, but focused and kept pushing forward feeling great.

Between 1/4 Mile mark and the 1/2 Mile mark is a gradual uphill which you would think isn’t that big of a deal, but trust me, it is. Anything that slows you down by even 10 seconds in a 1 Mile race is a huge factor. Swinging my arms like a mad man, I hit the apex and the 1/2 way mark at just about 2:25. Once again, I was happy, but knew it was only going to get harder.

The group of 30 or so runners I was in was now spread out like a flock of geese and I was on the far left wing holding on. I could barely see the leader of this flock as by now my vision was blurred and I was red lining in overdrive. The triangle started to tighten up as the 3/4 mark hit. I still thought I had this sub 5 thing locked.

400 Meters to go may not seem far, but it is an eternity in this race! The crowds were now thick and cheering us on, although I barely took notice. It’s as though all of my life support functions and senses rerouted everything to my legs, lungs, and heart as my hearing and vision were totally out of whack. Slow motion would be a good description… everything was moving in slow motion.

As I hit the 200 Meter mark I looked ahead to the finish and my heart sunk. The clock read 4:50! How had I lost those precious seconds I thought I had captured in the beginning? My dismay turned to quick anger at the thought of not fulfilling my goal and I got pretty fired up.

With 10 seconds to go, I threw down the clutch again into some unknown gear and blasted forward, my eyes on the clock the whole time! 4:52, 4:53, 4:54 and my heart was on fire, lungs burning. As the clock went from 4:59 to 5:00 I took my last step and bolted across the finish, unsure of my exact time. I was excited, but not quite ready to celebrate without knowing my time.

Sex/
Age		 Bib Overall

Place

 Age
Place		 Finish
Time		 Pace/
Mile		 AG %
M32 274 131 30 4:59 4:59 75 %

The walk home was rough, my lungs burning the whole time. Many of my runner friends experienced this as well. I think it was the cooler weather compounded by high speed racing.

Later that day I was hanging out at Dorrian’s Bar with my brother, his girlfriend Allison, and few others as the final times came in. Scrolling down the listing there it was, 4:59 on the dot! I threw my hands up and yelled out, a big smile on my face. Everyone at the table thought something related to football had occurred, until I explained my crazy runner excitement! Relief rushed over me. I had accomplished my goal.

I left and met Erika at Dinosaur BBQ to celebrate. She also ran the race and did great with a 6:26 pace! It was the perfect ending to a triumphant weekend.

—

This race to me, represents the concept of ‘goals’. It’s the perfect race for it, as it’s a mile. All of my friends who were out there racing today, from fast to slow, all set a goal that they wanted to achieve. It really makes me proud to be friends with such a dedicated group of people who all take time to go all out and give it their best! Just watching the twitter feed all day was enough to motivate and inspire anyone! Congrats to everyone who raced this weekend whether it was the 5th Avenue Mile, the Newport Liberty Half Mary, or a 100K Ultra!

RACE REPORT: 047 NYC Marathon Tune up 18M: 2:01:32

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Sex/
Age		 Bib Overall

Place

 Age
Place		 Finish
Time		 Pace/
Mile		 AG %
M32 818 60 11 02:01:32 6:46 66.8 %

On Friday, if you had asked me what I was going to do Sunday morning, an 18 Mile race would not have been on the agenda. But, I can succumb to peer pressure quite easily under the right circumstances.

—

Saturday morning at 7:45 I met Jim of ‘Dad Posse’, Gio, and Anne Marie for a 50 mile bike ride up to Nyack. It was a little chilly but once we got cooking our body temperatures got regulated. We were cruising at 18-20 MPH for the majority of the trip. A highlight for me was clocking 39.6 MPH on the big state line hill. I was spinning out my top gear and just had to tuck into aero position to try and max out my speed. What a rush!

We stopped at Runsible Spoon for refreshments (of course). I can’t resist their Banana Chocolate Chip muffins. They are like ‘Muffin Crack’ to me.

During the ride home Jim notified me that he was running the 18 Mile Tune-up in the morning. I was going to do a long run on my own anyway so I wasn’t really interested. That is… until he told me it was an actual ‘race’ with bibs, timing chips, national anthems and all! SOLD.

We rode over to NYRR on the route home and I signed up half thinking “This is a bad idea. I really want to sleep in tomorrow, especially since I’m going to a concert tonight.”

In the late afternoon I made 3 ‘Race Burritos’ then met up with Ahern, Robin, Billy, and Jess to have some pizza before the show. We then headed up to Central Park for the Broken Social Scene concert! I love Broken Social Scene and this would mark my 4th time seeing them. If you like concerts, they never disappoint! On 3 occasions they played for 4 hours straight!

Robin and I were really excited when we saw that the Summer Stage had beer tents! Score! I also told her, shaking my head “I will be back at this spot in less than 10 hours to run 18 miles.”


Another surprise was that the opening band was The Sea and Cake! I’ve never had the opportunity to see them live and they are also a favorite.

To sum up BSS, they rocked as usual! As the show was closing I led us out a back gate to avoid the crowds. Countless races ending at the Bandshell will definitely improve your Central Park navigation skills!

We ended the night at a pub eating hot dogs and drinking beer. Not ideal pre-race food, but we were having fun.

In bed by midnight…

RACE DAY

Woke up feeling pretty good, but a little malnutritioned. I had some Cafe Bustelo and popped out front to meet Jim at 6:30 and we biked over to the start.

It’s always so cool to see the thousands of people migrating to the start of the races. It’s something I always embrace, thinking about the millions of people sleeping at that moment who have no idea this is even happening.

At the baggage check I ran into my friend Dani who has been running with Team in Training. This would be her longest run ever and she would do great! Heading to the corrals (and chowing down on a ‘Race Burrito’) we saw Josh, Joe, and Sharon gearing up!

As I entered the blue corral, I immediately saw Daniel hanging out in the center so I made my way up to say hi. A weird thing we noticed… no national anthem! My goal for the race was to finish in 2 hours which I knew would be a long shot.

As the gun went off we kicked it up and took off. We were chatting about various running/triathlon related things before we parted ways at Harlem Hill. We had different goals and pace times for the race so it wouldn’t have done either of us any good to stick together aside from the camaraderie and jokes!

Happily hitting the apex on Harlem Hill I thought to myself, “I have to do that 2 more times before the day is up. Yikes Scooby.”

Coming into miles 2 and 3 I was on target with my pace of 6:30’s. SIDENOTE: I’m like the worst pace keeper ever. I just like to run as fast as I can all the time which tends to mess me up during marathons. Duh.

Trucking along the west side heading south by the Sheep’s Meadow I was trailing a few really fast runners, one of whom was easily 60 years old. We were playing leap frog for the next 5 miles until we started our second loop. This guy would then jump ahead of me and finish a good 2-3 minutes before me. I kept thinking “Wow! This guy is amazing. If I see him at the finish I would like to shake his hand.”

Ascending Harlem Hill for my second time I did a once over, aka: Systems Check. Legs, knees, heart… was I hungry or thirsty? Everything felt good so I held my pace. It was right about here that I saw fellow runner and twitter friend ‘experiri’ cheering me on. He was volunteering so I would see him a few more times. Thanks for the encouragement along the course. it really helps!

One thing that always kills me on multi-loop races in the park is when there are overlapping mile signs. For instance, I was on mile 9, but right next to it was mile 15 for when I came around again, thus reminding me that this thing was far from over!

By now I started to use some visualization to get through the remainder of the race. I would speed through the course in my head, as if I were on my bike, preparing for what was ahead. It gave me moments and markers to look forward to, making the course seem smaller than it actually was.

By now I had started catching up and lapping the slower paced runners. It got crazy crowded, but I really liked it because I enjoy having lots of other runners around, all of us on the same mission.

I had planned to eat my ‘Race Burrito’ (that I had been carrying this whole time) at mile 10, but I decided to wait until the final Harlem Hill approach which would be mile 13. It was delicious as usual! The trick, in case anyone ever attempts this, is to eat it one half mile before an aid station so you can wash it down with your choice of Gatorade or water. It was here that I saw Matt6 and Steph (who were volunteering). They gave me a huge shout out which lifted my spirits and sent me flying down the street.

Making my way down the west side again, the pain in my calves was really kicking in. I tried to ignore it and do some more visualizing. Once the energy from the ‘Race Burrito’ processed, I started feeling better. Crossing mile 15 I also said to myself, “3 miles, Baker. You got this!”

By this point, coming up the east side, the sun was blinding and I tried hard not to run into other runners or random people crossing our path.

With 2 miles to go I realized I might obtain my goal of finishing in 2 hours, but, I would have to run both miles at a 6:30 pace on the dot and my legs were burning bad. Mile 16-17 might have been the hardest and that 6:30 mile didn’t happen by any means. But, for some strange reason, the last mile I felt really great and kicked it up. Maybe it was the finisher chute? Maybe because I knew I could stop running? Maybe it was that box of tasty bananas they always have waiting for us?

I came through the finish at 2:01:32 and got to high five Matt6 and Steph as I crossed! Awesome!

I immediately chugged two cups of Gatorade and one water. As my body slowed everything down, I started to feel great. I hung out at the finish for another 30 minutes cheering people on as they came through. Daniel popped in, then, to my surprise Josh gave me a sweaty Speedy Sasquatch hug as he crossed.

It was a great day for a run and all of us had success. I always get a little teary eyed when I look back on races this distance or greater, thinking about everyone and our accomplishments as runners. It’s truly amazing.

—

Later that night Erika and I joined a few fellow runners to welcome our friend Sarah Stanley to the big apple! She has been biking all week from D.C. and stopping along the way to teach young kids about childhood obesity. Congratulations Sarah!

RACE REPORT: 046 Harriman Sprint Triathlon: 1:25:40

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Sex/
Age
Age
Place
Overall
Place
 Swim
0.5M		 T1 Bike
16M		 T2 Run
5K		 Total
Time
M32
4
23
 18:16 1:09 47:37 0:56 17:41 1:25:40

I was really looking forward to this weekend… a lot.

Friday after work my boss (and friend) Brian, of the Brian Goss band, was playing at the Bitter End. Erika and I were joined by the happily engaged Joey D and Melissa, along with Todd. My ‘music’ friends were there too. I used to take piano lessons and became friends with my piano teacher’s friends who are all these super talented concert musicians. Walter, Daniella and Amanda (who sings in Brian’s band) to name a few. It was a great time! We all met up with Asher and Ilka after to have some dinner which then concluded our night.

Saturday, Erika and I rode down Summer Streets (the city closes off Park Avenue top to bottom so people can run and bike). I had to muster up all of my patience while riding, as its a really chaotic scene. I’m used to riding in traffic, which may seem dangerous but is actually way more organized! Erika was right about it being very cool to see everyone out taking advantage of the event.

That afternoon, I played some tag football with Todd and Cottom as Ila watched on. Soon after I met Erika for dinner on the Upper West Side. Her friends Jen and Josh joined us at La Vela, which is a great little Italian spot. Erika and Jen were running the Bronx Half Marathon the next morning so all of us needed carbo-loading. 2 bottles of white wine was evidently a part of that race strategy.

After saying goodbye to everyone, I walked over to my friend Annie’s roof party. She had gotten engaged the night before so I wanted to pop in and say congrats! I was quite responsible and only stayed for 1 beer. I was back home and asleep by 11. However, the secret irresponsible side to that is the fact that I rode my skateboard home through Central Park at high speeds in the dark. It seems I have not yet mastered this new device.

RACE DAY

I was up at 5AM and had some Cafe Bustelo in hand by 5:05.

I rode a few blocks over to meet Ed and Jim from ‘Dad Posse’ so we could drive to the race. SIDENOTE: Ed, Jim and I all live on 83rd street just a few blocks down from each other. It’s pretty cool. After we geared up Ed’s SUV with the bikes, we took off. High fives to Ed for packing a thermos of ‘Rocket Fuel’ coffee for the 1 hour car trip! All of us were zingin’ when we got to Harriman State Park!

Walking through the parking lot we ran into my friends Cenk and Carla, who were with Nisso and Jamie. We were all super excited to be there and to race! Harriman really has a great vibe and I would recommend it to anyone.

At check-in it dawned on me (as some of the volunteers were going “Hey Lucky number 7!”) that I had a GREAT bib number! Perhaps this would help me out in the race? Or maybe I should have just bought a lottery ticket while wearing my bib number?

Ed was right next to me in transition, and as we were setting up, Amy came over to hang out! It was fun having so many friends around during the race, it was like a party.

10 minutes before the start Ed and I jumped in Lake Sebago to do some practice swimming. It’s always such a ‘refreshing’ change to swim in something other than the Hudson River. I also helped zip up the wetsuit of a 70 year old man. I looked at Ed and we both smiled and were like “Thats bad ass.” He would later win an award for his age group, of course.

Wave 1 (me) lined up on the beach and prepared for the attack. I was going to try a new approach. Since I’m a slow swimmer, the longer I can ‘run’ into the water the better off I will be. As soon as the gun sounded, I took off, running like a crazy baboon through knee deep water. Finesse, it was not.

Diving in and beginning my swim I was immediately reminded of the kelp that rises from the bottom eerily. If you didn’t already know this about me, I love horror movies, therefore I had visions of Jason Vorhees popping out of the kelp and pulling me under during the entire swim. It may have helped my time.

The course was an out-and-back 1/2 mile, and as we rounded the buoy to return to shore, I got into the zone. It was a great feeling, one I wished I had felt from the start of the swim.

Nearing the shore my heart-rate began to spike as I got excited to jump on my bike. Ever since I rode to meet the guys earlier I had been jonesing for some bike-time. Running out of the water, and nearly falling on my face because my legs were in ‘swim mode’ , I noticed all my friends were around me! You couldn’t plan it if you tried! Jim, Amy and I all popped out of the water together and ran into transition teasing each other, it was awesome!



You can see Jim and I were laughing about something, Amy is in the background in blue.

Transition always feels like an eternity to me, even though I’m pretty good about getting in and out in about a minute.

Jumping onto ‘Andraste’ and taking off, I would soon come to remember just how difficult this bike course is.

The first few miles are basically uphill. It’s really hard combination (swim-to-uphill-biking) because all you want to do is push, but your legs aren’t warmed up yet.

The easiest part of the course is the big bomb drop hill in the beginning. You seriously spin out your lowest gear for 10 minutes while tucked in aero. People were clocking 40+ MPH. Then, you get to the bottom. This is when the pain starts.

Confronted with a 180 degree turn around, you are forced to slow down to a crawl. Now you have to go back up that wonderful downhill you were so happy to bomb through. It’s not the same track, so you don’t see oncoming bikers, but it runs parallel.

It reminded me a lot of the Rev 3 Quassy bike course, just in a smaller scale. It’s a very technical ride with lots of ups and downs, along with wild turns. There were a few moments I jumped out of aero in fear as I was careening around a bend, not knowing what lay ahead. This is, of course, also what I look forward to anytime I ride a bike.

I was playing leapfrog with 2 or 3 really strong riders. It was killing me to keep up with them, but I did my best to trail them until the end.


Carla took all of the photos, thanks!!! Even though this one is blurry I still think it’s really cool.

Cruising down into transition, I could see a few runners out on the course already which pissed me off. Throwing my bike onto the rack and putting my flats on (no socks) I shot out of transition in a fury. SIDENOTE: I will never wear socks again! It was amazing running without them.

Once again, the first 1/2 mile is all uphill and my calves were ON FIRE! I thought they were going to pop out of my legs. Gross.

Once we got onto level ground they cooled off and I started increasing my pace big time. I picked off the 2 guys I was biking with earlier, and then set my sights on a guy 200 meters in front of me. This is my favorite part of any triathlon… the chase!

As I hit the turnaround, I could see that guy, plus one more that were in my range. We smiled at each other and saluted.

It was at this moment I realized that I felt amazing. It was one of those running moments where it all just clicked in and came together. I smiled big and kicked it up a notch.

1 mile to go I saw Jim coming the other way! Go Jim!

Coming down the home stretch I passed my targeted guy (saying hello and nodding) making my way towards the next fellow. As I passed him, I could start to see the finish come into sight and was half excited and half disappointed that it would be over. I looked to try and catch one more guy but he was too far ahead for me to bridge the gap.

Blazing through the finish I saw that my time was 1:25 and change. I was happy because I knew I had bested my previous time by a good 4 minutes.

I walked over to get some water and congratulated a few of the first guys in. They were all super cool, each of us trading pieces of our race.

Not wanting to miss any action, I hightailed it over to the finish line to wait for my friends to come through! It was then I saw Ed coming off the bike course. He didn’t see me, so I ran over to transition and gave him a shout.

At that moment Jim came bounding down the run course cruising through the finish! He also ran over to Ed, pacing him onto the run course.

Amy came in shortly after and I cheered her on, urging her to sprint it out, in which she did. Then came Cenk, followed by Ed and then finally Nisso.


We had a great cheering section and it was so fun being right at the finish chute. We all had a few laughs and watched the awards before taking off.

Once again Ed gets props. Getting to his car he pulls out a mini cooler with 3 ice cold beers inside! We cracked ’em and had a toast to our great races!

—

This race marks my 1 year anniversary of triathlons! It’s funny to look back at last year’s race to compare and contrast. I’ve improved in many areas, BUT, I’m still slow as molasses in the water!

RACE REPORT: 045 Fire Island 5K: 17:54 – 2nd Place

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Sex/
Age		 Bib Overall

Place

 Age
Place		 Finish
Time		 Pace/
Mile		 AG %
M32 2 2 1 17:54 5:46 72.2 %

The “Battle for Fire Island” is what I’m calling this weekend’s race. Why? I had won this race randomly last year which was great, but the amount of pressure I felt coming back to defend my title was ridiculous!

Erika and I left Friday afternoon, set to arrive around 7PM. It’s really quite fun getting out to Fire Island, especially the ferry ride. This is a picture of some guy sleeping on the van ride that reminded me of ‘Weekend at Bernie’s.’

It was a “Dad Posse” weekend if you will. Ed has a hotel out there (insert plug)… The Fire Island Hotel, which is the hub of the race every year. It’s also a really fun laid back hotel right on the beach complete with a tiki bar.

The gang for the weekend was ROLE CALL: Ed and Annelise (Jack, Isabelle, and Ben); Jim and Lisa (Josephine and Elizabeth); Mike and Kara (Kelly and Kevin); and finally Todd and Ila. (AND Louie and Bella… see photo)

After checking into our room, Erika and I hit the tiki bar ‘Hurricanes’ and had some pina coladas and apps before heading over to Ed’s house which is right next to the hotel. At ‘Hurricanes’ a big group of gals came in… a bachelorette party. While they were contemplating what shots to take I realized that I recognized one of the girls. I looked over and simultaneously we both said each others names laughing. It was Amanda, Ed’s niece who I had run a few races with over the winter. Erika and I spent the rest of the night over at Ed’s socializing and catching up.

Saturday morning Erika took off for a 4 mile run (she wouldn’t be racing Sunday) and Ed, Mike, Jim and I went over to the bay for a 1/2 mile open water swim. Wow! Amazing and I really needed it. As Ed was saying, there is something very natural about swimming in open water. We also needed the training as the Harriman Sprint Triathlon is the following weekend.

The rest of the day we all congregated on the beach. It was a beautiful day. Frankie showed up to hang for a little while followed by Todd. Ila had to bail on the trip as she was sick unfortunately. We built giant sandcastles, played football in the ocean, and body surfed. It was awesome. I was in some serious need of beach time and this was doing the trick.

We had a huge feast at Ed and Annelise’s house that night in preparation for the race. We carbo-loaded on beers and had birthday cake and cookies in celebration of a few of the youngsters’ birthdays. We all crashed between 11:30 and midnight I think.

RACE DAY

We were all up around 9AM Sunday. The race didn’t start ’til 10:30 AM which is cool on the sleep tip, but very scary on the heat factor.

Ed’s house is basically right in front of the start line. It’s so cool because you can literally hang out there having coffee and bananas (which is what I was doing in fact) up until like 5 minutes to gun time, then you just walk out his front door.

There were 2 waves this year as the race has almost doubled in size! It’s put on by Anthony and John DiGangi who I have become friends with over the last year as they do a lot of the local NYRR races and triathlons. The 5K’s purpose is to raise money and awareness for the American Brain Tumor Association.

“In 2006, Rose DiGangi was diagnosed with a Glioblastoma, a malignant Brain Tumor. After a courageous battle, Rose passed away on October 20th, 2007. In her memory, the DiGangi Family will continue to raise awareness and support for Brain Tumor Research.”

A few minutes to 10:30AM those of us in wave 1 walked out to the start line. I said hi to some of the guys from last year. It’s a pretty friendly race.

SIDENOTE: 30 seconds to the start the clouds dissipated and the sun blazed high and strong. Wonderful. It was now 85 degrees and climbing.


Just like last year, I hung one row back, trying to be discreet. The gun went off and it was a mad dash to take lead. I was boxed in right away but we weren’t going too fast so I just pushed through the crowd and took off. I was half thinking that this technique will either benefit me or cost me a good race time.

Half a mile into the race I was like “Wow, this is hard being in the lead and not knowing whats going on behind me!” Most of you runners out there will agree, chasing people down and passing them in a race is very fulfilling and gives you something to focus on. Here I was just running as hard as I could with no end in sight! At certain points where there were crowds I yelled “How far back is #2?”

1.5 – 2 miles in is where it started to really get hard. My legs got heavy and I was overheating. It’s a 5K so it’s not like there are aid stations around every corner, but when I did see one, i grabbed water dumped it straight on my head. It was so hot and I was so delirious I was teetering on walking and/or calling it quits.

At this point I could feel someone catching me. He slowly approached and we joked around for a bit, me asking him “Hey man isn’t the race over yet?” His response was “No way man, 1 mile to go.” We ran together for a little while but as we neared the 3/4 mile to go area he picked up the pace and I’m pretty sure I slowed mine down. I kept him in my sights but I couldn’t muster up any more effort. For the first time ever I thought about running straight to the medical tent!

I rounded the corner to the finish line and just tried to hold onto the pace I was working with and try and muster up a smile! Erika was there and gave me a big kiss! I quickly left her heading straight for the water area. I took a big bottle of water and dumped it straight onto my head. As I looked up I saw Kevin and Isabelle laughing at me as I did this. Trying to explain a near death run in a lava field to 7 year-olds is difficult.

I walked over to the shaded tent where all the early runners were convening. I found the number one guy and congratulated him. His name was Sebastian and he was an 18 year old track runner from Bay Shore. He starts college at Albany in the Fall and has a good future in running if you ask me!

Jim came in shortly after followed by Mike, Todd, and then Ed and Jack. We were all exhausted and the general consensus across the board was that it was brutally hot!

The gals came and joined us in the shade once all of our runners were in.

The fundraiser after party is really fun. Heineken beer, hamburgers, silent auctions, a band… We all hung around re-carbing with some beers (all the money spent went to the ABTA so we weren’t drinking in vain.)

Around noon, we all gathered around as the DiGangi’s started the awards ceremony. It was really inspiring as there were runners as young as 13 clocking times like 25:14 and guys in their 60’s matching it.



Of our group 3 of us got medals! Jack came in 2nd in the 12-14 age group, Jim 3rd in the 40-49 age group, and me for second overall. Go Team!

We hung around the after party for awhile then headed to the pool. Erika, Todd, and I left on a 2:50 ferry back to the mainland as we were all so tired.

It was a great weekend and we all killed it out there under those rough weather conditions!

Big ‘ups’ to the Eschmann’s for once again being fantastic hosts. Thanks!

RACE REPORT: 044 Queens Half Marathon: 1:28:39

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Sex/
Age		 Bib Overall

Place

 Age
Place		 Finish
Time		 Pace/
Mile		 AG %
M32 119 56 18 1:28:39 6:46 66.8 %

In preparation for the Queens Half Marathon (and by preparation I mean ‘carb-o-loading’) Erika took me to her favorite Italian restaurant, Pisticci’s.

Upon arriving we were immediately greeted by a server who knew Erika. I was impressed. We were promptly seated and ordered our drinks, mine being a fancy beer and Erika opting for a fancy cocktail. The food was amazing. For my entree I had a goat cheese and red pepper stuffed ravioli, topped with a vodka sauce laced with shrimp. Perfection!

I’m not sure if any of you were out Friday night, but around 8:30PM all hell broke loose. The skies opened up and an intense thunderstorm ensued! It looked straight out of a movie and I blame the full moon.

I was once again impressed, when Erika insisted that we would have no problem getting a cab right across the street, and she was spot on. It was a great night and I was no doubt ready for the Queen’s Half the next morning.

RACE DAY

At 5AM it was already 80 degrees.

The Queen’s Half Marathon (most Royal of races…) takes place in Corona Park Queens, which is an easy subway ride. I always love pre-race subway rides to the course because at every stop groups of runners get on. Its like a real-life Nike commercial or something.

At baggage we met Erika’s friend Jen and then headed to our corrals.

Up in the front, as the announcements were being made ( “Don’t try and PR as it’s brutally hot” and “Be careful”) I was in my head and getting amped up for the run.

As the gun went off I held onto the lead pack (which was thick as thieves) for the first mile before it thinned out and the speedsters took off.

The first 6 miles were an out and back course along College Point Blvd. At mile 2’s water station I passed my buddy Lam and yelled out to him! It was right around this point when I thought to myself “Holy cow, it’s freakin’ hot already and the sun isn’t even blazing yet!”

At mile 3 there was a factory or something spewing some sort of smoke and for a moment I felt like we were running a Sci-Fi race in the not so distant industrial future. Think Blade Runner meets Mad Max.

On the return trip I saw my friend Elizabeth (or Ms. Ritz) and we yelled hi! Soon after I saw Erika and we yelled to each other as well. This lifted my spirits and kept my head high.

It’s pretty safe to say that at every aid station (there were 13) I dumped 2 cups of water on my head. In fact, I may have only drank a total of 4 to the 26 that ended up on me. I was also running THROUGH the big puddles left behind from the night’s thunderstorms to help cool my feet, which were now on fire.

At mile 9 something happened where I felt awesome and kind of kicked it up a notch. It was 8AM now and the sun was high in the sky projecting its rays with no mercy.

I’m not going to lie. Pretty much from the start of the race to the finish I wanted to stop running and call it a day. Looking back, I have no idea what kept me going, but I actually sped up as the miles decreased.

At mile 11 we were heading back to the finish area and I was pretty excited. Looking at the clock times, I thought I had a chance at staying sub 1:30. Why I chose that number I don’t know, but it kept me motivated! It was here I passed a guy whose outfit looked strangely familiar. I turned and looked at him and it was the guy who I finished the Rev 3 Half Ironman neck-and-neck with in June! I said hi quickly and then kept on pushing forward.

Mile 12 we got to run around the giant globe sculpture which was kinda cool, aside from the pain we were all experiencing at this point that is.

The crowds got thick and as the finish came into view I picked up and finished fast, but no sprint. I was pretty excited to be done AND that there was a fire hose just past the finish.


My time was 1:28:39 which is my worst Half Marathon time, but I was still happy to have just finished a battle like that in such extreme conditions.

I made my way to a good vantage point to see Erika come through the finish chute. I was walking around barefoot which never felt better.

I saw Jen come through and then Erika a little later. Both gals looked great and finished strong!

After the race, we had a fun subway ride back to Manhattan as we ran into Sharon and Maria.

A few hours later we would regroup with Sharon to have some beers with her to celebrate her birthday AND the fact that she ran an extra 5.5 miles to top her run out at 30K! Nice work.

A lot of my running friends ran in this race (some of which I didn’t get a chance to see). I know runners get down on themselves if they don’t PR, but they should all be proud of themselves for finishing such a tough Half Marathon!

RACE REPORT: 043 NYC Triathlon

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Sex/

Age

Age

Place

Overall

Place

 Swim

0.9M

 T1 Bike

24.8M

 T2 Run

6.2M

 Total

Time
M32 23
66
 18:23 4:18 1:11:25 1:29 41:44 2:17:17

The NYC Triathlon would be my 4th triathlon completed and the 1st attempt at an Olympic Distance.

Swim: 1.5K
Bike: 40K
Run: 10K

Gotta love those even numbers…

The day before the race, Erika and I volunteered at the Run for Central Park. We were bike marshals and got to ride in front of the race clearing the path for the leaders. It was very cool and totally fun!

That night I dropped my bike off into transition. That’s a mandatory rule. No way can you roll in with your bike the next day, think of the chaos! SIDENOTE: I have never been to a triathlon with this many racers. There were like 3,000 bikes!

Erika and I had a really nice dinner, mine consisting of pasta and shellfish of course! I think I was asleep by 10:30PM which was great because I needed some rest.

RACE DAY

My alarm went off at 5AM and wow was I ever ready to get this day going! I was so excited, mainly because the most stressful part of any race for me is the night before and that had passed. It was game time.

I met Brandon down in transition and after a quick setup we headed off to watch the Pros come in.

There would be something like 20 waves of people, starting at 6AM with the Pros and finishing at 8AM. Since he and I were at the tail end, we had 2 hours to kill.

We stationed ourselves right where the swimmers come out and run to T1. It was awesome! The Pros make it look so easy and they are also nasty fast right out of the soup!

Once that excitement was over we walked up towards the swim start and met up with Daniel, Alex and Alex’s wife. We hung out watching the swimmers go by. I had a rice and bean burrito for breakfast followed by a banana.

One of the things I enjoyed about this race (and hated it at the same time for different reasons) is that with so many wave starts it makes for great race viewing, like watching 20 separate races!

As it got closer to the 7:39-7:45 start times we all made our way into the age corrals. I made a few friends there by being silly trying to convince them of the existence of the notorious ‘Hudson River Shark’ to which they replied “So you’re saying we’re gonna need a bigger boat?” Good people at the triathlons.

As our wave came up we walked out onto the pier and waited. I stood on the pier while there was a line of guys in the water floating. The current was moving with us at maybe 1-1.5 knots! As the gun sounded I waited a hot second for the first line to go then I lunged in and started plowing through the water!

I have swam the Hudson 6 times or so and have lost all fears of swimming in it. I do however have a fear of getting elbowed in the face. So of course, 100 meters out it was still pretty chaotic and I got elbowed in the side of my head. Not much you can really do as it’s all part of the game, so I just kept pushing forward. It was a really enjoyable swim thanks to the speedy current. I also probably only drank 1 gallon of it this time which, um, either helped or hindered my race, not sure. Does the Hudson count as electrolytes?

Coming out of the water in 18:23 I quickly made my way to T1. As I was passing a water station I heard “Hi Chris.” It was my co-worker Kathy from Rolex volunteering at the water station! I dumped a cup on my head and said “Kathy! Hi! Later!”

My wetsuit slipped off, I donned my crappy bike shoes, clipped on my aero helmet, grabbed my nautical star wristband and bike, and took off running towards the exit.

There were a few narrow turns getting onto the West Side Highway, but once there I dropped to my low gears and started cranking!

It felt great to be out riding, especially since I have really started getting comfortable on my new bike. I have to thank my friend Allen who let me borrow his race wheels! They are really sweet and increased my aerodynamics a lot!

I was trying to ride “smart” but at the same time, I wanted to give it my all since it was a race. So I thought to myself “Time to go into the pain box.” Which is a quote from a female triathlete I follow.

Little did I know… there were some serious bomb drop hills on the course! I had no idea! It was awesome! I tucked in and flew, spinning out my top gears!

I was passing lots of people and just trying to make up for any time I lost on my swim, which is a common theme in my triathlon world. For Christmas this year I’m asking for faster swim times.

I was yelled at a few times by riders when I didn’t announce I was “Passing on your left!” Whatever guys.

For hydration, I was drinking this new (secret) race formula I mixed up and it was very effective! Hint: It has a packet of Emergen-C in it among other easy to find household ingredients.

The mythical toll booths up in the north were not as bumpy as I had heard. We all cruised over them with no problems. I hit the turnaround point in what I thought was a great time. SIDENOTE: I’m really bad with Garmins. Mine was going, but had gotten locked into ‘Compass Mode”.

Barreling back down the highway I was really excited and pushing hard. It was at this point I got in my head. “You have been looking forward to this race for a few weeks now. Don’t just race through it, enjoy it!” I did just that. I was still rocketing down the highway, but I was now a little more relaxed and smiling.

At T2 I ripped off my bike shoes and laced up my racing flats, taking off, almost forgetting to remove my aero helmet. That would have been hilarious, BUT would it have helped my time being that aerodynamic… perhaps?

Crossing 72nd Street was a little bit like the NYC Marathon. People were out in bulk, cheering and yelling, cowbells, music, etc. It was awesome. I focused my sites on the tree line in the distance.

As I entered the Park there was a huge contingency of cheerers as well! I made the left and started on the all-too-familiar trek around the northern tip of Central Park. Once again I found myself thinking, “Baker, you once ran 9 loops around the Park. If you can do that, this should be no problem.” True, but it was now 100 degrees and I kinda wanted to turn around and go swim the Hudson again.

The aid stations had hoses which dramatically helped. At every one, I ran through, and/or had someone hose me down. Puzzling to me, were the numerous people who opted OUT of the sprinkler fun.

At Mile 2 I looked at my Garmin and YES, I was heading N, NE. Wonderful. I yelled to a volunteer “What time is it?” so I could properly gauge my time. “9:35!” she yelled. Hmmm, my finish goal of 2:15 was slowly slipping away. I better speed up.

The last mile or 2 were great as I know the terrain well and the infamous Harlem Hill was behind me.

Rounding the turn to the homestretch on 72nd street and heading uphill I caught Erika and Michelle cheering! They took photos and Erika made me this sign! It helped out a lot and as you can see from the pictures I was in good spirits.

I rounded Cherry Hill and entered the finish chute, picking up my pace and getting overly excited! I blasted through and was immediately handed a water and an ice cold towel.

My time was 2:17:17 (what’s up with my strange finish times?). It wasn’t 2:15, but I was happy with the results.

I got my medal and then wandered off into the chaos looking for a way out. Then I heard “Hello Baker…”
It was Erika. She was hanging out on the fence line waving at me. She gave me a congratulatory kiss and then told me where to meet her.

We watched the finishers for another 10-15 minutes hoping to see some of the gang come through to no avail. I needed food and a shower so we made our way back to transition to collect my bike.

What a fantastic race! Props to all my friends who raced. Everyone did so well!

—

Erika and I met our friend Allen for brunch at 44 1/2 (after I showered of course). We then headed over to see A Little Night Music with the new cast, featuring Elaine Stritch and Bernadette Peters. It was amazing and a perfect end to the weekend.

RACE REPORT: 042 Aquathlon Stars and Stripes

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Sex/
Age
Overall
Place
Swim
Place
 Run
Place		 Swim
1.5K		 Run
5K		 Total
Time
M32 63
130
 4 35:40 20:40 56:21

Right now, if I had one wish it would be ‘Speedy Swimmer.’ Thank you.

The ‘Aquathlon Stars and Stripes’ is a 1.5K swim followed by a 5K run and is put on by NYC Swim, the same people who organize races like The Great Hudson River Swim. It is one week before the NYC Triathlon and is marketed as a training race. Since I’m doing the Tri (and I actually enjoy swimming the mighty Hudson) I figured I would give it a go.

Erika was racing the NYRR Dash and Splash 10K at the same time so I prepared us a race-worthy dinner the night before. I whipped up some homemade tomato sauce over linguine… easy, simple, delicious, and totally energizing.

RACE DAY

Woke up at 7AM sharp and got the Cafe Bustelo going. Jim from ‘Dad Posse’ met me in front of my apartment at 8 and we biked down to 56th street and the West Side. Todd met us in line and we all got checked in and organized our respective run transition areas. Transition is like 1000 times easier without bikes to maneuver around.

Once we were all situated we started the walk up to 72nd Street which is where the swim begins.

We chilled in the grass for awhile then lined up in race order to take the plunge into the river. One by one we filed into the water. Once NYC Swim had everyone in a herd before the first buoy, they would sound the horn.

I adjusted my goggles and was bobbing around on my back when the countdown started… 3. 2. 1. GO!

Mayhem. As anyone who has ever done an open water race will tell you, it’s mayhem. After doing quite a bunch of these and now knowing what to expect it really doesn’t phase me. Its kinda like being stuck in a weird traffic jam, you know, there is a merge up ahead and everyone is cutting in.

Once we hit the first buoy and took a left heading south, it opened up and I got into my rhythm. Last Wednesday my friend Brandon (who is a very good swimmer) gave me a number of useful tips about my form. This was my first attempt at using this knowledge. Did it help? I sure think so, I felt like I was pushing through the water faster and a lot more steady. Would I win the swim portion of the race or even get close? No way Jose.

One of the things I AM good at in the swim is ‘spotting.’ I never really get off course and am always heading in a straight line.

It’s funny, in my head I’m all calm doing my swim UNTIL I get close to the end. At that point I might as well already be on he run because that’s where my mind is. I do like a once over on my body.

Energy level = check.
Legs (and I kick extra wide and bend knees) = check.
Mind = (Baker you’re in the middle of the Hudson) = um… check.

I left the water and booked it up to my T1 area. Or just T area, because there is only 1 I suppose. Got changed and was running full blast out onto the run stage.

Out on the West Side bike path heading north I made it my mission to pass as many people as I could. It hurt bad but after the 1st mile everything fell into place.

I passed Todd and cheered him on, then saw Jim coming at me from the turn around. We high fived.

As I hit the turn around point I passed this tall guy (right, Baker, everyone is tall to you) ANYWAY, he hung onto my heels shortly after and was tracking me. Sure enough he made his move 1 Mile to go. I held onto his heels the rest of the race. As we got close to the end I passed Jim and yelled out, then we all booked it. I couldn’t catch the guy because the finish was on a half circle! How are you supposed to spring on a turn like that!

After the race he (tall fast guy) came up and thanked me for passing him as it got him fired up. No problem, “nice pace!” I said. His name was Ran (pronounced Ron) ironically, nice guy, great competitor.

I bumped into Regina who participated in the swim portion of the race. We both agreed that it was a hard swim, especially at the end when the rollers came in. She is also doing the NYC Tri next Sunday. Good luck Regina, see you out there.

I also saw Anthony DiGangi, who organizes the Fire Island 5K and was also racing the Aquathlon.

Finally, I ran into my friend Katherine who also just did the swim because “She doesn’t run.” Someday we will get you out there Katherine! It’s fun, trust me.

Jim, Todd and I got packed up. Jim and I then rode our bikes back to the Upper East side while Todd headed south. Once again, a great race.

—

The following day a big group of us rode to Nyack! It was a blast. What a weekend!


RACE REPORT: 041 Wall Street Run – 3 Miles: 19:25?

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The AHA Wall Street Run takes place in lower Manhattan’s Financial District and is pretty much organized chaos. The 3 Mile course runs a maze-like route through all the narrow roadways, finally ending at the ever-so-familiar Battery Marina. No I don,t have a yacht, it’s where a lot of the open water swims happen to end.

Erika asked me to pick up her number at the NY Road Runners, no problem. The problem, it seemed, was that I had not registered for the race!

Half disappointed and half excited, I left the Road Runners and sent some emails explaining my dilemma. Ed from ‘Dad Posse’ solved the problem. He couldn’t run the race so I could use his bib! Fantastic!

At work the day of the race I sat and thought about what I was about to do…
I was going to wear Ed’s bib in a 3 mile run.
SIDENOTE: Ed is in the 50-54 age group. (Sorry Ed for revealing your age)
I would surely take home an age group award for him, which would be kind of strange at the awards ceremony.

I decided to run without the official timing chip for 2 reasons. 1: Ed is running to gain entry into the NYC Marathon and however funny WE thought him knocking 3 minutes off his mile average in a weeks time was, the NYRR might penalize him. 2: Not fair to the 50-54 age group.

I met Mike and Patrick (also from ‘Dad Posse’) before the race then we set out to line up for the start. This is a general mess of a start with no seeded corrals and a total bottle neck right in the beginning. It’s a charity fun-run, not something where you’re going to be setting any records so I always tell people to just enjoy themselves.

In the start corral I ended up bumping into Anthony DiGangi who I met at the Fire Island 5K last year. He and his brother organize the run and I highly recommend it. I’m already signed up for this year’s race (fi5k.org).

The gun went off and it took me 2 minutes or more to cross the start. After getting through we were truckin’ at an 8 minute pace, people were hopping on the sidewalks and it was actually kind of dangerous from a sprained ankle perspective. This is why Erika opted to not run. She hurt her ankle in a bike fall Tuesday and didn’t want to risk injuring it further.

On Church Street there was a moment where the course widened so I sped up and cruised down the left side.

Back into the narrow streets it got really hot. It was already 93 degrees, but it seemed to escalate in those tight quarters.

I’m a huge NYC history buff and in my head I was thinking “Man, I would love to teleport an early Manhattan Dutch settler to this moment see what he thought of our little 5K.” At least he would know how far a kilometer was right? Ha.

Water Street widened the track again and I picked up my pace. We were running directly into the setting sun and it got HOT!

The final stretch runs right along the water. The group I was with all started sprinting and yelling, why not.

The clock said 19:25 when I finished but I have no idea how accurate that was without a timing chip and how far back I started. It just felt good to get the blood going and race with a big group.

I grabbed a bottled water and poured the whole thing on my head. Problem solved.

Then I heard “Hey Baker!” It was Daniel (or Dnorton). He and I chatted about the run, along with another fast guy who introduced himself to us.

I grabbed my baggage and was gearing down when I saw Mattsix, followed by Joeonetime! (using Twitter names make me imagine we are all super heroes)

I left them to meet up with Mike and Patrick. The 3 of us ended up going to Nancy Whiskey Pub which I have been wanting to go to for 10 years! It was awesome! A classic NYC dirty irish pub with loud rock-n-roll and cheap drinks. I shall return.

Good luck to Eissa, Ron and Sonja who race the Ironman Coeur d’Alene on Sunday! (I’m secretly jealous)

RACE REPORT: 040 Lavaman Triathlon

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Sex/
Age
Age
Place
Overall
Place
 Swim
0.3M		 T1 Bike
13.7M		 T2 Run
4M		 Total
Time
M32 3
19
 9:49 1:33 36:53 1:33 25:39 1:15:29

Jim (from ‘Dad Posse’) had us sign up for the Lavaman Sprint Triathlon for 2 reasons. 1: triathlons are awesome 2: the course went by his Grandma’s house so we had a place to stay and easy access to the start!

The plan was as follows…

Saturday afternoon Jim and I drive down to Granny’s. Ed (also racing) would be either driving down to meet us later that night or leave at 4AM the next morning to arrive in time for the start. Mike and Gio would show up once the race had started to cheer us on.

Saturday morning I took a 4 mile run in the sun then hopped on my bike to meet Erika and Marie downtown to go to an art festival in Brooklyn. I parked my bike in Union Square then we took the L Train to the center of the hipster world. Any of you who know me know I despise hipsters and if I had my way I would hunt them. Full beard in the 90 degree summer sun = retarded.

We got back to Union square just after 1PM and seeing as I had til 4PM to play, I rode my bike out to Fort Greene to see Jasika and Claire who were having an impromptu gathering. Jasika made us Pear Sangria which was out of this world refreshing! After catching up with them I took off to head back to the Upper East Side. It took 40 minutes on my bike – not bad.

Jim picked me up and we were on the road around 6PM headed to Lavalette, New Jersey!

We arrived at the Jersey Shore around 8PM and after quickly saying hello to Granny we went out to get some food. We stopped at Mia’s and had some pasta. It was a cool and windy night and we were hoping the wind would ease up for tomorrow.

Back at the house we hung out in the garage drinking beers and working on our bikes, preparing them for the morning’s battle. Around 10:30 we were winding down for bed (we had to wake up at 5AM) when we got a text that Ed had just left Manhattan en-route to us! It’s easily a 90 minute drive. Jim and I had a quick conference and decided that in all fairness to Ed, we couldn’t go to sleep until he arrived. That would have given us the unfair advantage of 2 hours more sleep than him on race day, duh. Therefore, we continued drinking beers on the roof deck.

Ed showed up around 1 in the morning! In fairness to us, Ed insisted he have a beer! We rolled into bed at 2AM!

RACE DAY

No sooner did we lie down, we have to pick our heavy heads off the pillow. It actually hurts my mind and body right now just thinking back to how I felt!

Jim dug around the pantry for awhile and found some American Lite coffee which may have been from the late 70s. It was beyond horrible and yet… I still drank all of it!

My head cleared a little once we hopped on our bikes to ride to transition.

I set up my transition pretty quick then made my way over to Jim and Ed to see how they were doing. For such a small and local race there were some very hard core bikes floating around. Some to the tune of $10,000! There was also this total jerk in front of Jim who made me upset. He thought he was away “too cool for school.” In these kinds of events, 99 percent of the racers are awesome, totally down to earth, and fun to talk to. This guy was part of the remaining 1 percent. During the bike course he would become my target.

Before the start, we had time to jump into the Bay. It was really shallow, but the water was nice. I got stung by a jellyfish. He would not be the only jellyfish I encountered during this race. Mike had showed up and was taking pictures from the shore.

6:50 was my start and I waded into the water to wait for the gun. I wasn’t nervous at all and thought, finally, all the open water swims and triathlons had eased my mind. The gun went off and I dove in, digging hard.

After a hundred yards or so I slowed up my pace and caught my rhythm. I attempted a new technique I was working on last Wednesday in the pool and thought it was speeding me up. I finished the .38 mile swim in 109th position which was a slight improvement since the Rev3, but still wasn’t up to my standards.

Running out of the water I ran by Gio who was yelling something like “Hustle Baker!!!”

Made it through T1 in good time and jumped on the bike, taking off in hot pursuit of the leaders. (Did you notice that my T1 and T2 times are identical? Strange indeed.)

The bike course was a 3 loop, out and back, so you could always see whoever was in front of you coming back in the opposite direction. This is great because you can figure out how many spots behind you are. It also sucks, because you’re like “Seriously? How is that guy biking so fast! I have to catch him?”

The first lap was tough, but as I came around into my second lap, I saw that jerk from transition up ahead and really let my legs burn. I passed him a few minutes later and never looked back. I just stayed in aero position and let the pain start, never coasting.

I saw Ed and Jim a few times on the coarse and we yelled to each other! I also saw Mike and Gio at transition numerous times, taking pictures and yelling for us to kill it!

As I pulled into T2 to ditch my bike, I saw that there were runners already out and I knew I had some work to do.

Bolting onto the road my legs were not ready at all! It’s not that they hurt, I just can’t get up to full speed, like being stuck in the mud in a car. I passed a few guys and then around mile 1 we hit an aid station where I poured water on my head and took off! My legs were warmed up and in full swing.

SIDENOTE: Erika and I participated in a running clinic hosted by Danny Abshire, Ian Adamson, and Ian Anderson from Newton Running on Tuesday that taught me a lot about form. At a few moments in this run, I used what I had learned and it definitely helped me increase my pace and stay focused. Thanks guys!

At this point I was cruising at a 6:15-6:20 pace and steadily gaining on people. I felt good, but the sun was out and heating things up real fast. I wanted this to be done. Coming around the corner I could see the yellow of the finish in sight and sped forward.


I finished in 1:15:29 which I was happy with.

I found Mike and we cheered on Jim and Ed as they came through the finish at their respective times.

We grabbed food and watched the awards. I ended up getting a trophy for 3rd in my age group which was cool!

We rode back to Granny’s where we eventually took off to head back. Jim dropped me off at my cousin Cat’s grad party in North Jersey where we rocked until 4PM or so. Was I deliriously tired? Yes. Was all the pain and sleep deprivation worth it? Indeed!


—

I leave you (anyone who has ever considered doing a triathlon) with this…
This was Ed’s second triathlon (his first being the week before!) and he has only been training for 9 months or so. As he sat eating his bagel after the race looking somewhat serious, somewhat pissed, kinda staring off, I said “Hey Ed, what’s up, you good?” He chewed for a second then stopped and said, “That was Awesome!!!”

RACE REPORT: 039 Rev3 Quassy Half Ironman

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Sex/
Age
Age
Place
Overall
Place
 Swim
1.2M		 T1 Bike
56M		 T2 Run
13.1M		 Total
Time
M32 26
133
 45:26 2:18 2:55:16 1:39 1:39:56 5:24:36

Swim. Bike. Run. Seems easy enough right?

My first triathlon of 2010 (second triathlon ever) was the Rev3 Quassy Half Ironman in Connecticut this past weekend.

As far as training went, my philosophy has always been to just do as much of the 3 disciplines as possible. I really hate regimented workouts as it takes the enjoyment out of it for me. Mentally, I tell myself  ‘Okay, you need to do a speed run this week, 4 bike rides, a swim and maybe a distance run.’ but nothing is written out. I also like to sign up for a ton of races which keeps me on my toes and can be considered ‘training’.

Jim from “Dad Posse” had us sign up for this race months ago when I wasn’t even sure I could handle such a distance. Sometimes you just need a little push, you know. It takes place in Connecticut just west of Hartford, in some beautiful countryside.

Saturday morning I went on a quick bike ride, then proceeded to make 4 ‘Race Burritos’. SIDENOTE: Erika thinks I should market them, so this is the name I will be using for now. I also prepared some shrimp scampi to take with me for Saturday night’s dinner in the hotel. I didn’t want to go out and as all of us racers know… we have our rituals and this is one of mine. I packed all of the goodies up in a big blue cooler. It’s funny, when I was at the grocery store buying the cooler the gal at the register was like “Alright! Looks like a BBQ and some Sunday beers!” Not quite… try ‘first aid kit’ or ‘survival kit’. Evidently, her 5 year old son also likes to run.

It’s also very hard packing for a triathlon. So many components that I ALMOST forgot my running shoes! What a disaster that would be. I guess I could have experimented with barefoot running right?

Jim showed up at 2:30 to drop off his wheels. He had to bail on the race last minute but was kind enough to let me borrow his car. Thanks Jim! I took off, headed into the northern territories.

I arrived at 4:30 and headed over to race check-in. It was very organized. While dropping off my bike into transition for the night I ran into Bill, a fellow NYC Triathlete and runner! He was right across from me in transition.

SIDENOTE: This was a high caliber, therefore all the Pros came out. What does this mean? Remember, this is my first Half Ironman so I was already nervous, now enter people like Matty Reed (last year’s winner) who is like 6 ‘5 and has the sickest bike.

Back at the hotel I mixed up my water bottles with half Red Bull-half Gatorade. It looked a little bit like a mad scientist’s laboratory. I ate my shrimp scampi while watching some bad hotel TV and was asleep by 10PM.

RACE DAY

I had the strangest dream. I had woken up and went to the race and was and hour or two late. I was very upset and the race director was like, “you can go ahead and start with a 2 hour deficit if you like?” Right. I was freaking out and just then my REAL alarm went of. It was 5AM in reality and I was right on schedule. Drank a cup of coffee, had a banana and some granola and I was off.

Arriving at transition at 6AM (it closes at 6:30) I quickly set up. I made friends with these two fellas across from me who saw me taping 2 burritos to the top tube of my bike. “Hey man, what’s that, a PB&J?” “Nope, those are rice and bean burritos!” They laughed and upon hearing about how I had already tested this fuel in an Ultra and a Marathon they were firm believers.


Notice me contemplating where to tape my second burrito…

After laying out my bike and run gear I grabbed my wetsuit and headed down to the beach to get ready.

Wetsuit on, I waded into the lake to get acclimated. It was then that Gallacher came over and introduced himself. He is a good friend of Jim’s I had been communicating with on email. We had a few laughs and watched the Pro’s line up. Craig Alexander was among them who took Ironman Kona last year. He is basically a beast and would end up winning it. After the male Pro’s took off into the water there was a 3 minute gap, then the female Pro’s entered. My heart almost stopped when Natascha Badmann was 5 feet from me! She is a personal idol of mine and I never thought I would be IN the same race as her! Kinda felt like I was right where I was supposed to be in life… The women were off and then it was time for my age group to line up.

Before we get underway with race details first lets clarify some things for anyone not familiar with Triathlons.

Generally speaking there are 4 triathlon distances, Sprint, Olympic, Half Ironman and Ironman. They always go in the swim, bike, run order. Today’s race was a Half Ironman distance, my furthest and most challenging race to date, even harder than my Ultra. I think this has to do with the fact that your entire body is in pain because you use all muscle groups.

Swim: 1.2 Miles
Bike: 56 Miles
Run: 13.1 Miles

A battle.

We lined up and within the 3 minutes the gun went off!!!

It was chaos. I was trying to stay in the lead but seriously, its like a piranha attack (I have never been attacked by piranhas). As space opened a little, I got my life in order and was steadily swimming, sighting every third stroke. I’m not the best swimmer due to my lack of speed. It’s really bizarre as I don’t get tired, I just can’t move quickly through the water. This race is maybe a sign that I should take a master’s swim class.

It was a beautiful swim through a crystal clear lake, very different from the choppy and toxic Hudson River swim from the following weekend. I could feel 2 different waves of swimmers pass me, which was frustrating, but I just kept telling myself to finish, I will chase them down later.

Cruising up onto the beach 43 minutes later I ran into transition, ripping off my wetsuit. I made the good choice to throw on some socks before putting on bike shoes. A choice that may have cost me 30 seconds, but in the end I avoided some serious blisters.


Hopping onto Andraste (my Cervelo P2) I quickly got into rhythm. Immediately, I ripped open one of my ‘Race Burritos’ and began having breakfast… ‘Breakfast Race Burritos’? I like the sound of that.

In the beginning to middle of the bike portion of the race, I was playing leapfrog with this one gal who was part of the Trakkers Team. She had this really cool bike made by Isaac? I have never heard of this brand, perhaps custom? She was a really amazing biker and in the second half of the course she blasted past me and I never caught up. Props!

What gorgeous scenery. I caught myself gazing off across the rolling hills a few times before snapping out of it going “Baker, Hello! This is a race, not a nature show.” As many people have reported, this was an extremely difficult bike course. Hills, hills and more hills. Just when your legs were recovering and you were settling into a rhythm, around the bend comes another behemoth of an uphill battle. It was kind of funny in the beginning… but my humor had faded by Mile 40.

At one point while riding by a few guys, one of them yelled… “Hey man! IS THAT A BURRITO?!” I smiled and said of course it is, duh. He yelled back “Can I trade you a Lemon Gu for your burrito?” No way man, that was my lunch and high noon was fast approaching. I did however, let him know that I had an extra one back in transition he could have.

Never have I wanted to get off a bike and run more than I did at this point. Please, anything to use a different muscle group!

Throughout the entire bike course there were constant ‘bomb drop’ descents where we might have been going 50 MPH spinning out our top gears! It was insane! The best description I could think of was that of a roller coaster… the feeling right as you start to go down the first drop, in the pit of your stomach, where you are teetering between ‘This rocks!’ and ‘Am I going to die?’ SIDENOTE: When tucked into Aero position on a TT Bike the brakes are on the outside handlebars. Try going for those while bulleting down a monster hill.

The plan was to eat my second ‘Race Burrito’ during the last 10 miles of the bike in order to have a solid block of energy for the run. Why the last 10 miles you ask? During the (dirty) Jersey Marathon I learned an important lesson with my burritos. They process into energy 5 running miles, or 30 minutes, after consumption.

As soon as mile 46 hit you better believe I was hungry and I wolfed it down. My next invention is going to be ‘Race side-order of Guacamole.’

SIDENOTE: My joke the second half of the ride was, upon passing another rider who looked friendly and not too crabby, say “Hey! Someone told me we have to run a Half Marathon after this! Is that true?!” It normally got a few laughs.

Cruising into T2 I hopped off the bike and booked it over to my slot, racking my bike and tossing my helmet aside. I quickly donned my racing flats and put on my Nautical Star wristband, then bolted for the run course. It was a sharp left turn out of T2 and I was going too fast without my legs properly adjusted to walking again, almost flying over the side rails!

Miles 1 and 2 were downhill, and we were going against the flow of the bike riders coming off their last few miles. Gallacher passed me and yelled “Go Baker go!” It was right around this point that the sun made an appearance for the rest of the race, increasing the temperature to boiling!

Turing sharp right into Miles 3 and 4 we were confronted with a brutal series of gravel uphills! It was very hard on the calves and yet… very peaceful and quiet running in the woods.

Miles 5 and 6 took us down a neighborhood road to a turn-around and then back out onto the main roads. It was here that my energy soared and all pain from the bike had subsided. I’m not sure if I picked up my pace, but my spirits certainly spiked and I was running with a smile.

I have never really spent a lot of time in Connecticut, but I had my preconceived notions. Today altered my perceptions forever, in a positive light. I grew up in the suburbs of DC, Virginia to be exact, and if you went 20 miles due west you hit horse country. Miles 7-9 felt like I was back home! It was very rustic, with man-made rock walls, huge oak trees and elegantly designed farm houses. The only difference is that Virginia has this thick, musky, floral vibe to it and up here in the North the air was a little lighter. Whatever, it’s my story, I can talk about smells.

The last few miles were hard, but the thought of being done with this mayhem was what kept me going. The final mile was a gradual uphill through the woods.

A strange thing happened at this moment. I was by myself just trucking along when out of nowhere this huge monarch butterfly started flying alongside of me! It was to my right, pacing me, fluttering up and down right around chest level. It stayed with me for 100 feet before veering of into the forest.

Rounding the final turn into the ‘Finish Chute’ I sprinted. It may have looked like demons were chasing me, and yet, I was smiling.

Crossing the finish line at a high speed and then slamming on the brakes is a funny feeling. Think… Millennium Falcon coming out of light-speed… everything slows back down and your brain catches up to your body.

Time: 5:24:36 (Real Time clock pictured is incorrect based on our wave starts)

This Stats chart shows just how bad I did on the swim and how much ‘catching up’ I had to do. (I love statistical data!)

I got my finisher medal, then went for some snacks. I wasn’t thirsty or hungry as I had been very efficient in fuel intake the whole race! One thing I did do (as I looked around at everyone else who finished and took their lead) was remove my sneakers and socks to walk barefoot on the grass. It felt SO good.

I had finished right on time to see the Pro’s get their awards. They announced the women first and Natascha Badmann had came in 7th place. It’s so surreal being so close to the athletes you admire. Craig Alexander won the men’s race and even set a new course record. Nice work Craig!

Knowing that I would be fading in the next few hours, I hightailed it out of there and headed back to New York City.

SIDENOTE: I left my Garmin on the entire time I drove back to NYC… there goes THAT statistical data! Rookie move.

Driving down the Interstate with the windows down, sun pouring in and the Who’s ‘Teenage Wasteland’ blasting I put on a huge smile and thought simply, “Hell yeah.”