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NYRR Mini 10k – Spectator Report

Posted on June 17, 2016 by admin

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The NYRR Mini 10K is a women’s only race that has been held since 1972. It is of significant importance in women’s running history. Just three weeks after its inaugural running Title IX was signed.

The Battalion had 8 females racing, so the men were going to go cheer!

I crashed at Dougie’s as a lot of the gals were having a sleepover at my place. We ended up leaving at 6:30AM to report to cheer squad. Cooper lives close to Doug so we scooped her up. The weather was good, not perfect, but better than years past.

I have to say it is a strange feeling to not be racing. Part of you is like ‘Oh I feel left out, I wish I could race’. Then, as I sipped my giant cup of Starbucks I thought, ‘No, this is lovely, what a day to watch people run. I am a good clapper.’

First up was Maddie, our youngest team member. She was racing the kids race in the 7-10 bracket. As we were getting her into corrals Erica and Robert rolled up with their son Emmit!

At 72nd Street we met up with Maura who briefly joined our cheer squad. Eric (elite cheer squad) showed up to hang as well. My buddy Pat from the Reservoir Dogs was hanging out for a bit too. She crushed it. What other 10 year old has a Battalion race singlet?

Next up were the masses of women. It was pretty packed at mile .25, luckily our team shirts are red and very easy to spot in a crowd. Abbe, Susan, Amy, and Danika rolled by in a squad looking good. We then saw Bojana, who seemed to be having a lot of fun and was all smiles. Once the main pack left we hustled over to the Boathouse which was mile 5.

We saw all the gals, this time we spotted Kelly. They had broken up into smaller groups and drifted apart, but they all looked strong.

Douige, Maddie, Eric and I hustled over to the finish line where we met everyone. There was just one person missing… Amanda. She was in wave 2 and was about to cross the finish. We gave her a serious cheer as she cruised through the chute.

There were of course many team pictures to be taken. Once that was done there was one final plan, meet up to celebrate at the Boat Basin at high noon. We did an all hands in the middle of the circle cheer ‘BATTALION!’ and then split.

THE AFTER PARTY

Then after the run it’s the after party. We rendezvoused at noon as planned and scored a giant table right in the middle of all the action. There were roughly 12-14 of us in attendance. We had a blast and were there for most of the day… I mean, it was gorgeous out. Towards the end of the afternoon I noticed that randomly my friend Beth was there with another group of 6-8 runners, cool! We hung for a bit before it was time for dinner and Abbe and I parted ways.

Congratulations to all the female Battalion members who killed it and congrats to all my female friends on other teams who killed it!

RACE REPORT: 125 Brooklyn Half Marathon – 1:23:41

Posted on May 26, 2016 by admin

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Why do I like the Brooklyn Half? Because I break the course up into three distinct sections.

Section 1 (Miles 1-3): Straightaways with acute angle turns.

Section 2 (Miles 4-7): The rolling hills of Prospect Park.

Section 3 (Miles 8-13.1): The flat, straight shot, direct injection into the beach.

Dougie, Danika and Maddie met Abbe and I at our place and the 5 of us jumped a cab to Brooklyn. Once there we found Battalion teammate Jenn, who was rarin’ to go. The others were already corralled up. Up in Corral A as usual I ran into my friend Evan and rocked a high five.

A very strange rendition of the National Anthem took place. I had no expectations except to just being present in the moment and running hard. It was overcast, maybe 55 degrees and slightly humid. It was also the 5 year anniversary of my father’s passing to the day. We all had some remembrance toasts to make and we were already late to Coney Island.

The gun went off and within seconds I was across the mat and cooking down the street. Section 1 had begun and I immediately became parched. I saw Maura and Kate from GCR at Mile 1.5 cheering like banshee queens. Then, at Mile 3 I saw Abbe, Danika and Maddie. I veered over hard left for some high five action. Mile splits were 6:17, 6:18, and 6:14 and I felt great… I guess just keep doing what you’re doing Baker.

It was great hitting Prospect Park as things opened up a bit. I was now with a solid group of 3-4 people in race formation playing leapfrog. One of them happened to have a yellow GCR shirt on. I yelled. “Hey GCR! Right on man!” He laughed and said that he had thought we had met. His name was Pablo and I would see him later at the after party.

That’s Brad in the blue, he and I became friends at the afterparty.

We hit the big hill on the east side and I knew my pace would suffer, it’s a doozy. At the top was Maura and Kate again!

Dropping back into the lower part of Prospect I knew we were about to exit Section 2 and I was excited. It was also the halfway mark and I still felt great! Mile splits were 6:19, 6:29, 6:32 and 6:10.

Exiting onto Ocean Parkway I ran right towards Elyssa waving! She is a Whippet and so probably wasn’t expecting me. I love the artsy shot.

On the highway I was thankful that the clouds had stayed in place as there is no shade. I slowly passed Grace from CPTC and had a quick ‘hello how ya doin.’ (Grace is way fast!)

Miles 8, 9 and 10 started to click off faster than I actually wanted them to. I was having such a good time I wanted to really enjoy it. Somewhere around Mile 8 I saw Bojana, who didn’t run because she BQ’d last weekend and her feet hurt. She looked so fresh in her civilian clothes! I ran over and high fived her before pushing ahead.

It was also somewhere around this point that I heard from behind a loud distant scream. It sounded like “Go Chris Baker!” I later found out that it was Abbe who had gotten to the cheer point just after I had passed.

I saw Dani from CPTC at Mile 11 (also looking fresh) cheering as I went by. Right around now is when Grace caught back up to me. Her and I along with a few others held together and brought home the final miles. It was tough, but very epic at the same time. Those final 800 meters seem to last forever on this course and you really have to fight to hold on.

I cruised down the boardwalk and finished in 1:23:41, not a PR, but my 4th best half marathon (out of 18) finish.

Sex/ Age	Bib	Overall Place	Age Place	Finish Time	Pace/ Mile	AG %
M38	7667	324	44	1:23:41	6:23	70.93%

I headed right to Peggy O’Neils to begin the after party. I saw Sam and met Brad and Pablo. Josh, Alex and the rest of the GCR crew started rolling in right before the Battalion arrived. Battalion had a different location to get to though so I said my goodbyes and headed to Ruby’s by the finish.

Cat, Gillian and Tia had secured a big table for us so Abbe, Danika, Dougie, Maddie, Aunt Margie, Jenn, Brianna, Charla, Nikki, Lindsey, Bojo, and Brian (along with a few other new friends) had a good home base.

All of us gave a big toast to my Dad, Bruce, and I was hit with a serious wave of emotion.

Then, out of nowhere my name gets yelled it it turns out to be Elizabeth and Juan! Fun times!

Speaking of fun, our youngest Battalion member Maddie (Dougie and Danika’s 10 year old) was running the kid’s mile race. We all went out to the boardwalk to cheer her on. She did fantastic coming in with an 8:01 mile pace, impressive!

We continued the day at a few more places before ending it with our traditional Cyclone ride followed by dinner at El Paso… my favorite and I think one of Beyonce’s as well.

It was an epic double header PR weekend for The Battalion.

Poconos:
Bojana – 15 minute PR + BQ
Abbe – 15 minute PR
Noah – 1 minute PR
Cat – 2 minute PR

Brooklyn:
Jenn – 3 minute PR
Brianna – 2 minute PR

We should all be very proud at what was accomplished in such a short period of time. Well done Battalion.

I look forward to calling Battle Stations and seeing what you all will throw down next.

RACE REPORT: 124 The Boston Marathon – 3:18:17

Posted on April 23, 2016 by admin

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After running Boston in the historically horrible heat of 2012 I was very reluctant to come back. A few years later though, I was enticed. I had forgotten how hard the course was and was excited by the buzz and possibility to run again in the most noble of running races. I trained my face off and BQ’d in Paris last year, which gained me entry.

Abbe and I, along with Dougie and Danika, arrived Saturday at lunchtime via the train. Cousin’s Matt and Shannon (who were up from North Carolina to watch the race) joined us.

Our next order of business was the Expo. The weather was perfectly Spring like, 50 to 55 degrees and sunny. It was very well organized and I was at my bib pick-up counter easily. A funny conversation took place while getting my bib though. The girl who was looking over my credentials (Runner Passport and ID) looked at my very seriously and said, “Is your license expired?” I kind of had a panic moment and said, “Um… no?” She handed it back to me along with my bib. I then looked at my license, in red at the bottom it said ‘Expires in 2022.’ Why you gotta mess with my head lady?

We ran into my friend Beth and she told me to watch for her by the Citgo sign on Monday.

Then, I went and purchased my 2016 Celebration Jacket, a fun tradition. I tucked it away in a bag after, only to be worn after I finish the race.

We had dinner at Union Oyster House that night. It was awesome. We had on non-race bibs.

Sunday felt very anti-climactic due to the fact that I had my bib and everything I needed for Monday. It could just be a ‘fun’ day to do whatever. We started off with a shakeout run. I parted with Abbe, Danika and Dougie at Boston Common once I hit 2-3 miles. They continued on for another 8.

We went to Barking Crab for lunch where Matt, Shannon and Greg joined us! I love Barking Crab and find it necessary to visit it every time I go to Boston. It was gorgeous out, so we wandered around Boston harbor before deciding to go to the Boston Tea Party museum and re-enactment. It was highly entertaining. So much so that we ended up going to a pub, Mr. Dooleys, for some traditional irish music. The guys in the band at one point asked who in the crowd is running. I raised my hand and in an irish brogue he laughed and said, “Ya, you look like a runner.” This befuddled me, as I really don’t think I look like a runner.

Dinner was to be had at Scampo, an amazing italian (obviously) place built in an old jail. I choose lasagna as my meal of choice. Abbe and I took off right after dinner due to the whole ‘race’ thing the next day. I was so mad though, because Dougie and Danika went to the bar next door and Commissioner Bratton and the Chief of Police… for NYC, were hanging out!

RACE DAY

Look how dumb and happy I am on race day. I thought the temperature was going to be fine!

I grabbed a coffee and set off on my 30 minute walk to the buses. It was so peaceful.

I got to sit in the front seat of the bus, which was fun. I felt like the Battalion Commander of a bus full of troops ready for battle. Once in base camp I was immediately spotted by my friends Rowland and D. We laughed a bit at how it was going to hit 70-75 degrees. A PR today would be challenging. We camped out on some boxes and chatted for an hour before making our way to Wave 1 start corrals.

By now it was hot and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. For those not familiar with the Boston’s challenging course, one aspect is that there is no shade the entire way. A sunny day means it is on you the whole 26.2.

At 9:50 two Blackhawk choppers cruised us, which was pretty sick. Then… the start gun.

We blasted off at a 6:15 pace, which I slowed down to a 6:30. We were in a tight pack, typical for Boston.

As we hit the 5K mark I was feeling good. When we hit the 10K mark I was not. The heat was really settling in and the sun was annoying me. Some crazy bad vibes started running through my head. I wanted to quit.

15K mark… “Why am I doing this. This is so rough. Everything hurts and my body is on fire.”

Then, I thought about how my cousin Libby and my Aunt Jen were in Wellesley cheering and I got excited to see them. They live in Boston. I was in Boston, that’s right, that’s where I was. This wasn’t some race I signed up for on a whim, I trained my ass of last Spring, harder then I ever had in a running race, to get here. I had no intention of PR’ing, this was supposed to be about the moment.

‘Dial it down Baker.’ I thought. I dropped my pace to the 7:30 range, splashed two cups of water into my face and looked ahead.

Once we hit Mile 10, I remembered this time to move to the far left of the street so that when we passed the Wellesely girls my ears didn’t explode. It is seriously so loud that your ears rattle. It’s the loudest thing I have ever experienced. Even as I passed them this year on the far left it was painful. A few of us looked at each other and kind of laughed, pushing forward.

The town of Wellesely is pretty big and the streets were packed. I was chugging along with blurred vision. Off in the distance on the right though I saw someone jumping and waving. It was Libby! I ran right at her to give her a high five, but she was coming in for a hug! I warned her, “Libby I am crazy sweaty!” She didn’t care. We laughed and I high fived Aunt Jen as they told me to get moving again!

I had 10 mile to go before I would see any friends again.

At this point I noticed a strange and annoying phenomenon taking place. As we would enter the aid stations a few guys right in front of me would come to a dead stop go get and then drink their water. Buddy, this ain’t your first marathon so what’s your deal? This started happening at every aid stop! I made a new plan to enter them towards the back for safety as a few times I almost destroyed a few guys.

We hit the hills at mile 18, which really aren’t that bad, it’s just where they are on the course that sucks. After the second hill a guy, pretty beat up looking, said to me “Was that Heartbreak?” “No man, sorry, Heartbreak is closer to mile 21.”

I really enjoyed the cheering from Boston College this year. They were loud, but also very supportive in their cheering, if that makes any sense.

I was excited to see Heartbreak Hill as my quads were basically destroyed from all the downhills. My legs could use a break on a nice steady uphill. My pace for the last 5 miles was fluctuating in the 7:30-8 range.

Knowing that now the course would level out I put my head down and picked up my pace a bit, each step more painful as I went along. I don’t remember being in more pain in another marathon than I was now. Of course, if I go back and read some old race reports I am sure I will see that last line repeated a few times.

I could now see the Citgo sign in the distance. I hopeful reminder of all my friends that told me “I’ll be under the Citgo sign at mile 25!”

As I approached I saw Abbe, Danika, Dougie, Greg, Matt and Shannon all screaming! I stopped and gave some high fives.

Pressing on I then saw Elizabeth who was cheering like crazy!

Next up, the GCR Cheer squad in full effect, who captured this image.

The right turn, followed by the left was more epic then I remembered.

With the finish line off in the distance, I got emotional. I had done it. I had made it to this moment in time. “Thank you Boston, it is an honor and a privilege.”

Running down the center of the street with crowds roaring I though about the Boston Marathon as this epic beast, one of the toughest in all the lands. Today it had won, as I was all used up as I crossed the finish line.

Sex/ Age	Bib	Overall Place	Age Place	Finish Time	Pace/ Mile	AG %
M38	1685	4552	2345	3:18:17	7:34	66%

I really felt like I earned the medal on this day.

After finding Abbe we all made our way back to Mr. Dooleys Pub (I really liked it). Guess who happened to be working just up the street? Our dear friend Maura! She popped in for a cider and to celebrate. I was very unlike my usual post race self. It took me a good hour to get my act together. Like I said, I got my ass kicked and it showed.

We checked in on our other Battalion teammate Kelly, who had finished. Congrats Kel!

We hopped a 5:30 train back to the city, where we did some more celebrating of course.

–

Boston is to me the pinnacle of the marathon. It took me four years to get to my first, and my second was no easier. The challenge of getting to Boston itself is what makes the experience so rewarding. Everyone you see running fought that very hard battle to get where they are. They earned a spot in the show of shows, the Boston Marathon.

Boston inspires others. At certain points during the weekend both Abbe and Dougie said “2018. In 2 years I will be back here, this time running it.”

I believe in them. See you in 2018 Boston.

RACE REPORT: 123 NYC Half Marathon – 1:27:06

Posted on March 26, 2016 by admin

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Danika, and Abbe set off to run to the start about 5 minutes ahead of me. Booked it down Fifth Avenue in the dark I was peering way ahead to see if they were coming into sight. On the corner of 88th Street an older man was hailing a cab that didn’t exist. As I approached he asked if he could run with me to the start. “Of course!”

He was hoping to break 2 hours in the race. I would like to think that our little warm up down Fifth helped him o achieve that.

I finally found the girls at the security entrance and we made our way to the corrals.There we hung with Josh and Brianna, hopping around trying to stay warm. I saw a Battalion shirt headed my way and it happened to be Kelly. I ran with her, fist bumped goodbye and then made my way to my corral.

The gun went off and we jolted forward, immediately pushing a 6:30 pace. Although it was cold, I felt fine and was enjoying myself.

Harlem Hill kicked my ass. I did perk up though on the descent when I saw my friend Juan cheering. I ran over and gave him a high five.

The West Side Rollers were their usual challenging self.

I was excited to be nearing the exit of the Park. Don’t get me wrong, The Central Park is my backyard and I love it dearly, but it is the most challenging part of this particular race.

We hopped out onto 7th Ave and into what I call… The Canyons. Running straight down into Times Square (a place I normally loathe) is quite a cool experience. I saw my friend Beth cheering and just as I was approaching some gal in an Oiselle Team shirt ran by and she and cheer buddies went nuts, missing me. Oh well.

Take a sharp right onto 42nd Street and head towards the mighty North River. Up on the right, Battalion Cheer Squad Commander Eric was on the scene! A quick high five and I was off, barreling semi controlled downhill.

Luckily for us runners, as we hit the West Side Highway the wind was at our backs. The miles started to tick off quick. I saw Helen, who I also gave a high five to followed by the whole Gotham City Runners cheer squad! Some Aussie running next to me asked how I knew everybody.

Running through the Battery Tunnel is cool, until you have to exit it on an uphill at mile 12.5 with the wind in your face.

I finished in 1:27:06, not my best and not my worst, I was happy. I returned to the finish line just in time to see Abbe, Danika and Kelly all finish within seconds of each other! Abbe had a 2 minute PR!

Sex/ Age	Bib	Overall Place	Age Place	Finish Time	Pace/ Mile	AG %
M38	554	615	103	1:27:06	6:35	68%

We headed over to our after party at Irish American (that’s me!) and I proceeded to order a Smithwicks and a full irish breakfast. Delish.

Battalion members slowly trickled in until there were 15-20 of us eating and drinking, discussing our races. It was one hell of a day! Congrats to all!

New York; Entry One

Posted on January 18, 2016 by admin

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Every so often, if you are watching for it, you have one of those perfect days.

I awoke well rested after a solid night of sleep ready to tackle the day. Boston Marathon training is in full swing and I had 6 miles of easy running to do. First things first… some Cafe Bustelo.

As I set off from Engineers Gate I noted how great the weather was for running. Sunny, zero wind, with a temperature of 40-45 degrees. Perfection. Coming at me from a distance was a familiar face. It was my old friend Sebastian, cruising by with a shout out and a wave. Then up ahead I was passing another runner who then said, “Hey Baker!” It was my friend Juan! We ran together for a few miles discussing all things triathlon. I think I may have even convinced him to join The Battalion secretly! It was great catching up with him. I said goodbye to him at the bottom of Harlem Hill and not ten paces later the next runner I was passing says, “Baker!” It was Nelson, one of my athletes (also Battalion member). He and I ran together catching up. My friend Elizabeth happened to run by us shouting a familiar, “Heeeeey Baker!” I said goodbye to Nelson and pressed on, wondering who else I might run into.

Next up for fun activities was ice skating.

I cleaned myself up with a shower then jumped on a Citibike to meet Dougie and 2 of his kids, Haley and Madison, for skating at Wollman Rink in Central Park. I love going to Wollman Rink. So much so that sometimes I just go by myself and skate for an hour.

Conditions were also perfect for ice skating and it wasn’t too crowded. The four of us were having quite a fun time. I have to apologize to Maddie though, every time I skated by and yelled out to her she became distracted and fell. Twenty minutes into skating I was coming around a turn and I see my old friend Colette skating with one of her sons, Edward! I gave her a big hug, what are the odds? It was so fun catching up with her. Strangely enough, the last time her and I were ice skating together was in the same location during my ‘Ice Skate Birthday Party’ in 2008!

Please excuse my strange expression, it was bright out.

Abbe picked me up just after noon and we headed to the Upper West Side for some lunch at Cafe Tallulah. I needed to recharge after my mini triathlon… run, bike, ice skate.

After lunch we headed to the Museum of Natural History where a new exhibit was on display. TITANOSAUR! It is the largest dinosaur ever discovered and we were super excited to get a look at it. Susan, a fellow Battalion teammate and friend, was equally interested so she linked up with us. The Natural History Museum on a Saturday at 2PM is no easy place to navigate. I know the layout pretty well though and was able to quickly navigate us up to the main attraction.

The Titanosaurus was pretty cool. It is a massive sauropod weighing in at 70 tons (12 elephants). As we stood there gazing and taking pictures in the midst of the hundreds of museum-goers, my best friends Todd and Ila (along with one of their kids, Keenan) pop up out of nowhere! We were all crazy excited to see each other and also totally baffled on the odds of this happening! They were in the city for the night to go to my brother Jeff’s going away party. They were going to surprise us at the actual event later that night. Seriously! What are the odds?! After showing the Keen-bean around a little longer we all made our way out to go freshen up for the night. Susan, Abbe and I had a glass of wine and then traversed across the Park.

Jeff and Ali’s going away party started with dinner at Maya. Here is what made that fun… aside from guacamole. Our table happened to be Me, Abbe, Susan, Brian, Phyllis, Todd, Ila and Keenan, a very fun crowd. I had heard that my extended family was also there, so I crept through the restaurant before stumbling upon Uncle Bill, Morgan, Uncle John, Aunt Margie, Cat and Gillian! Our friends Josh and Rachel and Ahern and Lauren were there as well, what a crew!

At Pony Bar, where the party was happening, it got even better. I don’t know if I can name all the guests as there were so many… it was great seeing everyone. We took over a better part of the whole bar and sent off Jeff and Allison in true NY style.

I fell asleep with happy dreams of the team long run that was to take place in the morning…

And that, was one of those perfect days.

Warmest Regards, Twenty-Fifteen

Posted on January 3, 2016 by admin

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2015 was great, but it was not without a few challenges. Those challenges were outside of the Running and Triathlon world though and I guess that’s called ‘life.’ The challenges faced in the Running and Tri world were brought on myself, because I signed up for a boatload of big races with big expectations.

Abbe and I signed up for the Paris Marathon and both of us got in. I then decided that I wanted to PR the race with a time of 2:50, shaving 4 minutes off my previous PR. I changed my training strategy completely and worked harder than I ever had. I ran heavy volumes day and night and in all conditions, something any of you runners reading are all to familiar with. On race day I ran a 2:51 and change which I was very happy with. The hard work paid off and my training strategy was on point.

The next challenge of 2015 was to race my third full Ironman distance down in Louisville with my friend Dougie. The goal here was to train smart and finish strong. We trained our asses off every weekend. So much so that we had to move long runs (18-20 milers) to Tuesdays! Saturdays were long bike rides (80-100 miles) followed immediately by 1-2 hour runs. We had Super Secret Tri Training camp out in New Jersey at my Aunt Margie and Uncle Johns house where we were doing 2-3 mile open water swims every Sunday. The race went according to plan and we both had fun. Mission complete.

We had a few other races mixed in as you can see from my helpful diagram.

I also made the decision to leave the Gotham City Runners and form my own team, The Battalion. I will miss the friends I made on GCR, but it was just time for me to do my own thing.

I was injury free thanks to intelligent training and visits to see Dr. Levine for ‘tune ups.’

2015 wouldn’t be what it was without all the friendships and camaraderie. Thanks to all of you who were a part of making my 2015 great.

RACE REPORT: 122 Ted Corbitt 15K – 1:00:31

Posted on December 28, 2015 by admin

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We, The Battalion, assembled for the first time ever to run the Ted Corbitt 15K.

There were 10 of us running the race and we assembled on 96th and the West Drive. It was easily 55-60 degrees out, shocking considering this race is normally arctic conditions. We all set off to our respective corrals after a little pep talk.

Up in my corral it was stinky as usual, the smell of Icy Hot and BO lingering in the morning air. I had no idea what to expect as far as my run was concerned. I had only just started running again after some time off from Ironman and NYC Marathon. I was just going to have fun and push it a bit.

Ted Corbitt’s son was there and spoke a bit, very cool. Any runner who doesn’t know Ted’s story should read his bio. The guy was running 200 mile weeks at his peak.

The gun went off and it took at least 2 miles until the congestion had dissipated. I was firing off 6:20-6:30 miles the entire race which I was happy about. I knew a PR would be a tall order (59:23) but I still wanted to push my speed.

I got to see my friend Laura (who was volunteering) at 72nd Street twice. I also saw fellow enlisted Battalion teammates Danika and Maddie cheering at the 102. GCR had a nice crew out giving us cheers as well!

I finished up and headed over to the 102 to see the team come in.

Sex/ Age	Bib	Overall Place	Age Place	Finish Time	Pace/ Mile	AG %
M37	5901	178	158	1:00:31	6:30	69.78%

Jeff, followed by Kelly, Dougie, Abbe, Bojana, Brian, Amy, Nelson, and Amanda. Big ups to Amanda who ran her furthest distance to date!

RACE REPORT: 121 NYC Marathon – 3:12:40

Posted on November 7, 2015 by admin

Posted in All, Race Reports, Running 1 Comment

I don’t really know what kind of logic was pulsing through my brain when I signed up to run the New York City Marathon 3 weeks after Ironman Louisville.

I was trained for an Ironman, but not for a marathon. “Baker, I am confused. Don’t you run a marathon in an Ironman?” Correct. I was trained for an Ironman marathon, slow and steady. My legs had not hit my preferred running speeds for months, so I had no idea what to expect. I was just going to run this race for fun and enjoy my town, my friends, and the epic block party it throws.

Our friends Katie and Jordan were in town along with Abbe’s parents Dave and Linda. The days leading up to the race were filled with fun food related events! The night before the race we chose to eat at Felice 83, a spot Abbe and I love.

RACE DAY

We got an extra hour of sleep and it felt so good! Abbe, Katie, Dougie and I caught a cab and headed to 79th and 1st. There, we picked up Jeff (my brother) and Jim (from Dad Posse) and broke into two cabs, barreling down the FDR enroute to the ferry. I ran (ha) into Meghan and Stephanie in the massive crowds waiting to board the ship.

The ferry to the bus to the staging grounds was executed flawlessly. Jeff and I said goodbye to our friends as they were in the Blue Corrals and we were in Green.

The waiting around that occurs before the NYCM was not terrible at all this year as the weather was great. It was 60 degrees… so maybe not so great for running as that is pushing the hot threshold.

I jumped into the front corral and said goodbye to Jeff who was only 3 corrals back from me. Surprisingly, in a massive international field, I was able to find a friend. My pal Evan was chilling out in the same corral! As we waited to enter we saw a bunch of the GCR crew rollin as well. I also ran into Patricia and then finally my buddy Rowland. Such a small world this running community is!

The cannon went off and then, with much applause, we started our run.

With no watch and no goal other than to ‘have fun’ my race was relaxed. Evan decided to hang with me and we pretty much hammed it up for the first half of the race. We were singing songs to each other and yelling things like “Don’t you ever leave me!” when we lost each other at aid stations.

I am going to try and name off everyone who yelled my name cheering. If I missed you feel free to chime in, it was a blur out there!

Betsy was up first, screaming at us like a pro! Then we saw Sam who caught some great pics of Evan and I. Noah was somewhere around Mile 6 I think.

The bands were amazing this year! I was really digging the tunes an jamming out when I could.

My legs felt good but not fresh by any means. As Evan and I ran we chatted about what he wanted to run on his second marathon. He had run a 3:27 in NJ earlier in the year and just wanted to PR. I asked him what his BQ time would be and he said a 3:05. I nodded my head, “What pace are we hitting?” He laughed as we had just hit a 6:55. We needed to dial it down a bit so I slowed up. I knew I didn’t have a sub3 in me and I didn’t want Even to blow up and ruin his race.

As we entered the Fort Greene section of the race we had reigned our pace in to a 7:15 average which was perfect. The next couple miles were a blur as we were barraged with cheering spectators. Amy was there with her friend Tara cheering away! I also caught Jess in there somewhere too as she yelled out a “Go Baker!”

I think at Mile 11 or 12 the 3:05 pace group was right around us and Even looked at me with this huge smile on his face, “Baker, I think I can hang with the 3:05 group! Should I do it?!” He was totally capable at this point and I yelled “Yea man! Do it, go go go!” And with that Evan and the 3:05 group slowly moved out of sight.

We hit the nasty Pulaski Bridge, the halfway mark, and the clocks said 1:32. My quads were really hurting bad, the kind of bad that should happen at mile 20. As we made the left into Queens I saw Stephan, Amanda and Vivian cheering followed by Danika, Eric and his brother and finally Brianna! The mighty Queensboro Bridge was fast approaching, a breaking point for many including me.

As we turned into the darkness I became overwhelmed with emotion. I was headed home.

I had no Garmin to keep track of my pace (which is a total game changer) so I just plodded along with my head down taking in the skyline every so often. There were people walking and stretching at the apex. As we approached the bottom of the bridge, just like years past, you could hear the roar of the crowds below like deafening white noise. I once again got choked up, excited for my fellow runners next to me, most of them from other countries. I looked around at all of us while smiling, probably appearing a bit insane, thinking aloud ‘Welcome to mighty Manhattan.’

The guy in front of me from Sweden really got the crowds going as he ran by, pumping his hands in the air. I just smiled and ran. First Avenue was a madhouse as usual with crowds 5 deep on either side cheering their faces off. I took a Gel here and a big gulp of water and from streets 70-80 I wasn’t feeling too hot and my race finish got questionable. I just kept going, thinking about Ironman Louisville’s course which was an out-n-back and comparing it to this course. ‘We just have an out-n-back. Make it to the Bronx, turn around and come right down Manhattan’s backbone to the finish. Do it.’

I saw Dave, Linda, Jordan, Ali, Rachel, Josh, Morgan and many others. It is always hard to keep count on First Avenue. As I approached 96th Street still not feeling great I saw Maura! She was fighting with crowds to get visible. She was holding a banana and screaming “Baker! Do you want a banana?! Take the banana Baker!!!” And so I did, and it saved my race perhaps. I had a few bites and it immediately soothed my stomach and gave me a nice boost. I carried it and ate it all the way through Mile 24. Thanks Maura. I would later find out she was carrying around like 25 bananas, so I am sure she was thrilled when I took one off of her!

For the first time in the 5 times I have run this race the Bronx rocked. The DJs were killing it with old school Rap and R&B (a personal favorite). There was also a group banging on these giant drums. It was way cool. We hit the last bridge back into Manhattan and I was feeling pretty good. My legs were on fire, but my head was in the game.

At aid stations 22 and 23 I stopped to stretch out my legs for a few seconds, which added some pep to my step. I saw Farrah, Brian and a whole crew of GCR crew cheering along the final miles! Just get to the Park, get to your backyard and bring it on home.

Making that turn at Engineer’s Gate was such a happy moment. I was now on home turf with 2 miles to go. The Park has never been so beautiful during the NYCM in my opinion. It radiated gold and red from all the trees changing colors. I gave the Cat on top of Cat Hill a little kiss and wave as I passed by, paying my respects.

When you make the right turn on to Central Park South, you have like 3/4s of a mile to go, but that stretch always seems to take forever! It is also a slight uphill which certainly doesn’t help. As we approached Columbus Circle, ready to turn back into the Park for the home stretch I saw Rowland. He was in real bad shape and told me he was cramping bad. I asked if he was okay or needed help and he said no, telling me to go ahead and finish. “I will see you at the Finish.” I yelled, barreling forward.

Rowland and I having a chat.

I tried to get the crowds in the grandstands going as I approached, waving my hands, but it was very calm. I finished in 3:12:40, not my fastest and not my slowest… right in the middle. After getting my medal and bag-o-food I caught up with Rowland and some of the guys I know. Rowland was smiling now, not happy with his race but physically okay. We all talked about how hot it was out there.

Sex/ Age	Bib	Overall Place	Age Place	Finish Time	Pace/ Mile	AG %
M37	3025	1700	299	3:12:40	7:21	68%

It had turned into a beautiful day. After grabbing my NYCM Poncho I headed north to the 86th Street crosstown bus so it could whisk me through the Park and over to our after party on the east side. I was the only runner on the bus as we sat and waited for the light to turn, then another marathoner entered. It was my brother Jeff! What are the odds? He had a run a 3 minute PR of 3:23! Nice work bro.

At The District these two gals were finishing lunch in our reserved section. “No biggie at all,” Jeff and I told our bartender. Then, one of the gals pops up and gives me a big hug! It was my friend Danielle who used to bar tend at Hurricanes on Fire Island (now she tends at Schooners)! Her boyfriend happened to be running the race as well.

Slowly our runners and friends started to trickle in. Ali, Rachel, Josh, Morgan and a few others were already there. Then, my neighbor Karen, Dougie, Danika, Dave, Linda, Abbe… Susan and Eric, Kelly, Claire, Thomas, Maura… Farrah, Brian, Justine, Mike… Jim (who had Citibiked from the Finish to The District!)… Cat, Gillian, John, Alamar… Katie, Jordan… and finally Bojana and Brian who had just gotten engaged! I feel like I am forgetting about a dozen people.

The night ended with some epic tacos at El Paso.

—

Running isn’t always about making a great time or a huge PR. Running is a unique opportunity to bring people from all over the world, from different occupations and varying ages and abilities together.

This race closes out the 2015 race season for me. It was one hell of a year, thanks to all of my running and triathlon friends who helped me along the way, making it epic.

Big ups to Evan who did in fact run a 3:05 with the pace group! Another high five goes to my youngest brother Jeff who rocked a surprising PR of 3:23 out there in his second marathon. Jeff, ‘one and done?’

See you in Boston. Battle Stations!

RACE REPORT: 120 Ironman Louisville – 11:27:49

Posted on October 18, 2015 by admin

Posted in All, Race Reports, Triathlon 5 Comments

Last year Dougie and I were chatting after a 70.3 and he had said he wanted to attempt his first Ironman. After some research we landed on Louisville.

I set us up with a rigorous training program for the summer. It was grueling and very time consuming. (Big shout out to our wives Abbe and Danika for putting up with our 10-12 hour training days.) We executed it to a tee and now it was time to race.

—

Doug and I had the car packed and were rocketing across Manhattan by 4PM on Thursday. The wives were flying out to meet us the next day.

2 hours in we stopped in rural PA for coffee and some snacks. At the Starbucks this kid practically yells at me, “I love that shirt! Where did you get it?” He was referring to my Brooklyn Brewery shirt, I too love this shirt. I was bewildered at this question in this day and age of the mighty internet. I told him you can get them at the brewery. This puzzled him further. “Where is that?” “The Brooklyn Brewery is in Brooklyn.”

10 minutes later in a drive through line a few young kids working saw the bikes and said, “Do you guys do racing, or do you do triathlons?” Dougie and I smiled and looked back at them replying, “A little bit of both.” This was all happening as spooky church bells were ringing in the distance.

We made it out to a place just south of Pittsburgh that night. We checked in and then hit the local Smoky Bones BBQ to have some beers and apps.

The following day we had another 5 hours on the road. Sipping on coffee and chatting we had just passed from PA to West Virginia on into Ohio, when we saw a State Trooper pop out onto the road. At the same time a guy on a motorcycle zipped by. He wasn’t going too much faster than us, but enough to draw attention. We were like, “I bet he pulls him over.” And just like that the lights come on! But guess what Mr. Speedster did? He sped up and tried to outrun the cops!!! I have never seen a high speed chase before so I was like, “Dougie, try and keep up!” No dice. They must have been doing a buck fifty. 5 miles down the road we saw them and luckily no one was hurt. The officer was getting out as the perp was laying face down on the street hands out. Busted. Thanks you Ohio for making our morning memorable.

My father used to make this stuff when we were kids during football called Cincinnati Chili. It was basically a red bean and ground beef base chili served over pasta with grated cheese. Since we were coming up to Cincinnati, Doug and I had an idea to go get some Cincinnati Chili IN Cincinnati! (I can now officially spell Cincinnati.)

We stopped at Camp Washington Chili, in operation since 1940. It was some of the best I have ever had. Red beans, ground beef, diced onions, cheddar cheese and franks red hot served over a bed of spaghetti. A perfect blend of carbs and protein! The staff was extremely friendly. We even made friends with a few locals once they heard we were from NYC. This older guy (he had just turned 80) who was busing some tables came up and asked how we liked it. “Fantastic! Thanks!” Our server later informed us that he was the owner!

Off to Louisville! It was at this moment when they announced that the swim wouldn’t be cancelled due to the algae blooms! It would in fact be a full Ironman. Game on.

We met the gals (who had arrived just after noon) at a local spot down the block from the hotel. After a quick hello we went to check in as time was fading on us.

Dougie and I are All World Athletes as we were in the top 2 percent of finisher last year. It came with promises of special check in lines and other fun things, but I have to say I was let down by the whole program. None of what was promised existed aside from our ‘Black Swim Cap’ which was pointless. It actually seems less attractive when you think about if you needed to be rescued in the water, no one would spot a black swim cap.

The rest of the day was spent gallivanting around town trying whiskey flights and eating amazing food. It was Abbe’s birthday so we planned a special dinner at Proof on Main. Delicious!

Saturday morning was the practice swim. The outside temperature was 48 degrees but the water temperature was 71… refreshing! The gals watched us from afar before taking off for their run. Abbe is running the NYCM and Danika the Philly Half.

The rest of the morning was spent packing up our 5 bags, Morning Clothes, Bike Transition, Bike Special Needs, Run Transition, and Run Special Needs. It’s tedious business.

Once we dropped the bags and the bikes at transition it was like a huge weight had been lifted. All the anxiety, all the training, it was all locked into firing position.

We had a lovely outdoor lunch with the wives and just took it easy the rest of the day. That night we took a cab to an Italian spot called Volare. It was perfect.

I had some red wine that night to relax and it totally worked. My body and mind were so exhausted that I fell asleep at close to 9PM. That is a record for me! In fact, sleeping before a big race is a challenge in itself.

RACE DAY

Up at 5AM and ready to rock. I was not nervous, the training was there, it was just time to execute and put everything together like a puzzle.

Battle Stations!

It was pitch dark out when we left the hotel to walk the 10 minutes to transition. The air was 46 degrees with a predicted high of 70 later in the day.

We spent a hot second in transition. Everything was queued up and ready to launch. We then walked the mile, mile and a half to the swim start… march of the penguins.

It was crazy at the swim start. There is a rolling start to Louisville where everyone lines up and then proceeds into the soup. People had been camping out in the cold to hold front line positions! We walked and walked until we were at the end. We were maybe 2/3rds back in line, no biggie. We made friends with all the people around us, laughing it up.I munched on my peanut butter sandwich and sipped on water.

The sun had started to rise and it was a beautiful sight, as if an old friend had showed up to cheer.

The canon fired and we all cheered! It would be another 30 minutes until we made it up to the docks, but it happened fast. I put my ear plugs in and filled up my morning bag before handing it off to the volunteer. I fits bumped Dougie and we hit the water.

I loved the swim. You set off down this narrow channel (maybe 800M) around an island before headed back towards the city. We were told that there would be current against us until we hit the return point but I think it was the opposite. It was easy shooting down the channel and we were really cooking! It was foggy right on top of the water, that mixed with the red orange sunrise made for quite a sight.

I struggled at the turn buoy past the island. It just felt like churning waters and I couldn’t get a solid rhythm down.

Once I was midway down the second half of the island I was able to start making steady progress again. We were about to go under 2 sets of bridges. Right before I came upon what I thought was a dead body and got super freaked out. It was this older guy floating on his back with his arms out stretched and eyes closed. I was like, “Holy guacamole, I need to flag down help.” Just then he opened his eyes like and rolled over starting to swim again. Whew!

Swimming under this bridge that was being constructed I could see a giant gap in the roadway that hadn’t been completed yet. It was way cool but I kept envisioning a runaway truck careening off the gap and into the swim course.

Approaching the swim exit one thing I noted was how great I felt. I could have done another mile I think.

I popped out and got my wetsuit stripped. Then, as I was running off I heard and saw Abbe and Danika cheering! They had a great position right by the exit.

I hauled ass (it was cold) and made it into T1. As I was going into the men’s tent I saw Dougie! I made my way deep into the crowded tent and found a seat in the middle. I changed into a full bike kit and had a long sleeve jersey on due to the temps.

I jumped on my QR and shot off into the bike course feeling great. It was noticeably cold and I was happy to have long sleeves and gloves on.

It took me a few miles before I got into the groove. I was watching my heart rate and not my MPH. I noted that I immediately had a splitting headache. I was pissed as this was a new obstacle I had never faced.

Miles 16-24 are this wicked out-and-back with some monster hills. There were caution signs everywhere as we bombed down the big ones. These roads were narrower so it was really intense. One wrong move and you were head on with a pack of bikers. On the way out there was a biker down and emergency people tending to him. We had to slow and move in a single line to pass. A guy three riders behind me was like, “C’mon guys, speed it up!” And I was like, ‘Who the F is this ass behind me?’ I am sorry, when someone is hurt, possibly very badly, ‘racing’ takes a back seat. We can all live to race another day. I slowed up and let him ride by me a few miles up. As he passed he nodded to me to which I responded with a death stare.

My head was pounding at this point. I had been pushing my helmet around to see if that would help to no avail. Then, I reached back and released the tightener and instantly I felt great! I had been squeezing my brain!

We hit the first loop (of two loops) and I was still feeling great and making steady progress. The course was starting to get gorgeous now, with us passing horse farms everywhere. They were majestic horses too, the kind that might race in say Churchill Downs, which was on the run course.

The best place to cheer on the bike is this small town called La Grange. The streets narrow and they are lined with spectators. There is even a DJ. I liked this part because imagine a pack of bikers in aero coming in hot at say 20 MPH and everything gets tight around you. I immediately think, ‘Death Star Run!’ and channel Luke Skywalker and R2.

As we hit the 60 mile mark I started to feel this headwind that everyone was talking about in the swim start line. It was nasty. Luckily (or not so luckily) I was about to turn into the second loop. By this time I was feeling slightly less peppy but soon got my energy back. We pit stopped at the Special Needs and I swapped out my water bottles. I slammed a coconut water as well. My helper laughed as he produced a giant bag of gummy bears. “Gummy bears?” he smiled as I just waved for him to give them my way.

Back on the road I snagged a few, all of which were lemon. Really? No red? C’mon!

Miles 80-90 were a bit of a struggle as my back was getting tight and every time you stretch the headwind catches you. Aero is the only way to deal with the wind.

I finished the bike feeling great, ready to get to this run. Ready to get into my strongest suit and do some work.

In T2 I changed into running shorts and a running shirt. I felt so fresh! I slammed a coconut water here too.

As I hit mile 2 Abbe, Danika and a surprise guest, my Aunt Dee Dee! I stopped and gave everyone hugs and kisses. Abbe ran along side of me, I wasn’t fully in ‘run mode’ just yet so I was a bit untalkative.

I knew I had executed a good swim and a good bike, but not my best. I decided that I was going to drop the hammer and give em a show on the run. I pretended this was no different from any other marathon and tried to block out the earlier part of the day.

Out to mile 7, back to mile 14, out to mile 21 and then back home. 4 segments.

I was just drinking water and Gatorade, flying through the aid stations. I saw my friend Jen (who would go on to win her AG) flying by here and gave a shout, “Jen! Go!” As we hit the first turnaround it all clicked in. No more post bike wonky-ness, just running.

I kept my aid station visits quick and tried to keep my momentum up. As I was making my way back to down I passed Dougie and we high fived as I yelled “Doradooooo!” Then I ran past our crew and Abbe ran with me once more. She said “Honey, you are throwing down a 7:30 pace!” I had no idea, I was just running to run.

I grabbed a Gu from an aid station at mile 17 which helped a bit. I was also alternating between coke and chicken broth at every other aid station which seemed to work. I was so excited at the last turnaround. I was now on segment 4!

I was getting a lot of great crowd support out there now. People were chanting, “Great pace! Keep it up!” I was fired up. The sun was going down so my shades came off. My quads were now burning like crazy so I just took it mile by mile. I saw Dougie again at my mile 24 and gave anther high five.

I took a left, then a right and saw the Ironman finish. I slowed my pace a bit to let the woman in front of me have the finish line to herself. I crossed with a 11:27:49! Not my best Ironman time, but one that I am happy with. I ran a 3:26 marathon, which is my fastest in an Ironman.

Sex/ Age	Age Place	Overall Place	Swim 2.4M	T1	Bike 112M	T2	Run 26.2M	Total Time
M37	73	341	1:24:50	10:18	6:16:21	9:22	3:26:58	11:27:49

Abbe, Danika and Aunt Dee Dee came and grabbed me after I passed through the chute. They asked what I wanted to do? “Sit down.” was my response.

We made our way the half a block to our hotel lobby bar and posted up. Aunt Dee Dee bought me a beer and I had a giant plate of french fries. People always wonder why you are not immediately hungry after an Iron (or Half Iron)? When you train your body to run on liquid nutrition all day it takes a little while for you to crave solids again. I asked how Dougie was doing. He was to finish at 9:30 so I went up and took a quick shower.

That shower was amazing!

I found the gals out on the course in front of the finish and we anxiously awaited Doug to arrive. 15 minutes later there he was. We cheered our faces off as he crossed the finish. ‘Doug Dorado YOU are an Ironman!’

We grabbed Dougie and went back to the hotel bar where we had more beers. I ordered a huge plate of fried chicken (as I was now hungry after burning 10,000 calories). Jen and Mark came by to hang as well. She won her AG and her third Kona ticket!

We then went out to watch the midnight finishers. What an epic and emotional time. For those of you not familiar, midnight is the cutoff time for the race. You need to cross by then to get your medal and IM status.

Imagine, out of the distant darkness a figure moving toward. Everyone starts drumming on the sides of the finish chute and as the runner approaches it gets louder and louder until we all erupt into cheering! Epic, simply epic.

We said goodbye to Jen and Mark and then hit a bar. I was up the latest I had been up (1:30AM) in a long time, which is ironic as I should be sleepy. We all turned in after that. It felt great to have my head hit that pillow.

—

This was my third (and far from last) Ironman distance. It made me realize why I love the sport of triathlon once more.

Big ups to Dougie D for nailing his first Ironman! I put us through hell in the training season to get us in shape for this thing and he survived. Congrats bro!

Super big ups to Abbe and Danika who have put up with us while we trained the long hours and only talked Ironman talk 24/7.

Thanks Louisville, you put on a top notch race.

Training Weekend: 108.5

Posted on September 7, 2015 by admin

Posted in All, Training: Cycling, Training: Running, Training: Swimming, Triathlon Leave a comment

Ironman Louisville fast approaches and training has been spot on. My 2 previous Ironmans had decent training, but nothing like what I have designed for Doug and I this time around.

Last weekend we rode 75 miles and then ran 4 off the bike followed by a 2 mile open water swim on Sunday. Then, Tuesday we ran 18 miles to shake out the legs (I’m kidding, it was an intentional long run). Exhausting stuff. I have been so so hungry. Please feed me.

As I sit here writing I am still hungry. Yesterday we embarked on a 100 mile ride out to Ramapo State Park and Harriman State Park.

We would our way through fun back roads in towns like Ho-Ho-Kus (it’s really a town name!) Saddle Brook and Franklin Lakes before getting to the heavy stuff.

Taking a left onto Skyline Drive, we started one of the most challenging climbs I have ever tackled. I tried to maintain some sort of level heart rate, but as we got further into the climb and I was out of the saddle, sweat starting to trickle into my eyes, all hope was lost. It was through the roof. Really, the only thing on my mind though was not quitting to walk my bike, so with my quads burning bad we made the ascent. I waited for Dougie at the top and we had a laugh at the mayhem.

We rode through some beautiful parkland and had many more climbs. Our total elevation gain was 6,660 feet.

Riding through Tuxedo Park we passed a porcupine! Seriously, I did not even know they existed that close to me.

Then, as if a porcupine wasn’t ‘wild animal’ enough, I had to stop my bike to let 15 turkeys cross the road! See you guys in a few months…

The whole ride took us around 6:20 to execute including pit stops. By the time we arrived back at the car it was 2PM and we were not excited to run in the mid day sun. We did at least, make the best of it by running over the George Washington Bridge and back. It was such a beautiful day and great to see the city in such clear conditions.

We pulled the 6 mile run off with an 8:20 pace which is right on track with training.

We hit the showers, grabbed a sandwich and a beer and then (along with Danika) headed up to the Doyle’s for Keenan’s 4th birthday celebration. We were in remarkably good shape after our activities, we even managed to throw a football around.

The following day we headed out to Super Secret Tri Training camp. (Thanks Aunt Margie and Uncle John!) We were pretty trashed from Saturday, but knew the swim would help.

We executed a 2.5 mile swim in our wet suits and I feel like I could have kept going. Transformations and ‘body evolution’ are happening.

108.5 miles done and I am so excited for my off day tomorrow!

—

Big shouts to a bunch of the battalion. Amy, Rachel, Tess, Patty and Victor all raced the Lake George triathlon series this weekend and they all crushed it! We even have a few first time Half Ironmans in that mix! Congrats to all!

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