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Spotty Training

Posted on March 28, 2014 by admin

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It’s race week baby!

With a marathon looming 2 days in my future, one usually reflects on the training they have put in.

Winter training sucks, especially this winter, but I did manage a few 18 milers. I have also been cross training a lot, using my bike trainer. All of this has been spotty though due to a lot of vacations, most of which took us to snowy places where running long wasn’t possible.

Like any race, the question of being physically prepared is generally overshadowed by mental preparedness. I am mentally ready to run my first race being 100% injury free in over a year. I know I raced last year and was on the mend, but I always had some minor pain after or during. I am currently back to normal and I have been loving it.

Maybe it’s because I was in Montana shredding some serious mountain a few weeks ago?

Look at all that fresh stinky POWDER!

I will not be running with a Garmin. I will not be running with any expectations. I will just run fast.

Anyone want to guess my finish time?

Save the Heidelberg

Posted on February 27, 2014 by admin

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The 2nd Avenue Subway line has been under construction (in modern times) for the last 4 years now. Any of you who have wandered 2nd Avenue or live up there as I do, know it has crippled or closed many businesses from 96th Street to 63rd Street. Unfortunately, there is not much we can do about the construction and we have to endure it another 2-4 years. What we can do however, is support some of the businesses, (and I don’t mean 16 Handles.)

Photo Credit: Kevin Walsh

Save the Heidelberg!

Most of you know I am a huge follower of history, especially New York City history. Mix that with my love of the ‘Mom and Pop’ shop or small businesses that New York is known for and I can get fired up.

The Upper East Side area of Yorkville was a huge German enclave, and therefore many German businesses and restaurants flourished. The Heidelberg is one of the last remaining remnants of this German past. It has been around since 1936 and serves traditional German fare along with a great selection of German beers.

Jeremiah Moss (who has a historic blog I follow) has some excerpts on his site:

“Business has been down 40% since the construction started,” said a waiter. “If we didn’t own the building, we’d be gone by now. People drive by and they can’t see us. They call all the time and ask if we’re closed. We just have to hold out a few more years. I hope we can make it.”

Heidelberg is really special. I will be heading there every Sunday for some of there amazing Camembert (along with a few Warsteiners or Dinkelacker). The atmosphere is really fun and the staff could not be more welcoming.

So please Upper East Siders, New Yorkers and out-of-towners, go to the Heidelberg. Save the Heidelberg, all it takes is a few of us with some hungry appetites.

The 2014 New York City Hot Dog Challenge

Posted on February 21, 2014 by admin

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How do you celebrate your birthday? I like to have a bunch of my crazy friends run 3 miles while eating hot dogs.

I started my day with an 18 mile run withe the team (Gotham City Runners). It was cold, but manageable. We had a pretty good turn out, most of whom were just in for a 10-12 mile jaunt. I needed to get some more miles in due to my upcoming early spring marathon.

Coming up the west side and entering the Park, snow started to fall. It was actually quite beautiful and I happen to love running while it’s snowing out as long as I’m not trudging through 2 feet of the stuff. Guess who we passed a few times? Ryan Hall.

I finished my 18 miles then booked it over to the apartment to get cleaned up for the New York Hot Dog Challenge.

Abbe went to do recon on the hot dog carts as we were worried the snow was going to deter a few from coming out. She called me later on as I was enroute, and just like snails after a rain storm, all the hot dog carts had come out to play! Game on.

We had a small turnout this year based on weather, but there was still $360 bucks to be won.

I explained the rules to a few newcomers and then the ‘start dog’ was saluted and they began eating.

First done and off running was Neal! Kevin, Juan and Matt6 followed shortly after. Cat, the only female competitor to show, had all the time in the world so she relished the moment. Ha, get it.

As I chased after the leaders ( I was to be lead ref) I realized that running 18 miles then chasing seasoned runners and Ironmen at breakneck pace was maybe a bad idea.

AT cart 2, on 59th and 5th Avenue it was anyone’s game. Juan finished slightly ahead and took off to cart 3, a block away. I was with him. As soon as he got his dog KB and Matt6 sprinted up, ordering their dogs. Juan seemed to know that this was his moment to make a move and he did.

He finished as they were maybe half way through and took off at a sub 6 pace down 5th. It looked like something out of a crime movie with the 2 of us running after each other, especially since I was wearing jeans and a black jacket.

At cart 4 Elizabeth caught up to us. She then sped ahead to the next area, ‘Dead Man’s Corner’ notorious for stopping competitors. As Juan and I followed I saw no sign of the others.

While at cart 5 and 6, it was amazing to watch Juan in action. He wasn’t talking and very focused. He also had a very interesting technique, which I will not share as that would be giving away trade secrets.

Once again, as we took off I saw no sign of any competitors.

Down at 6th Avenue and 46th Street he was about to enter ‘The Gauntlet.’ It was a straight shot to the finish from 6th Ave to 8th Ave that included 4 hot dogs, no easy feat.

When we hit 7th Ave (cart 8) Abbe caught up and so did Matt6! I got really excited at the thought of a photo finish, a first in New York Hot Dog Challenge races.

Juan wasn’t having it though and he set off to cart 9 with a fury. All the competitors were slowing down now.

Just as Juan was finishing dog 9 Matt6 came running up. It was going to depend on that 10th dog for sure. We took off to the final cart.

Once again, as Juan was finishing Matt6 arrived and began to eat.

Juan finished and we blasted down 46th Street towards Rudy’s.

As we arrived Juan high-fived the pig and felt the sting of Hot Dog Challenger glory. Matt6 came up around 2 minutes behind taking second place. Both had course PR’s with Juan’s breaking the course record by 3 minutes! KB came up shortly after noting that he had DNFd at dog 5.

We hung out for awhile outside, then poured into Rudy’s to celebrate and await Neal and Cat.

Neal, with his blue wig and Hawaiian shirt popped in about ten minutes or so after we had been in the bar. We were now following Cat’s progress and she had just finished the 10th dog and was on the homestretch. We went out to power arch her, but she came in and said in dismay, “I puked!” She still gets an A in my book, but rules are rules and she did not qualify for the female finisher prize, meaning Juan took home all $360!

Juan, being the good sportsman he is, did give Cat an undisclosed amount of the prize money.

We all stayed at Rudy’s until 5PM celebrating as the snow came down.

Thanks for everyone who came out to compete AND our volunteer refs AND all of our sponsors, especially Gotham City Runners! This is no easy race.

Why Aren’t You Training

Posted on January 30, 2014 by admin

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Sometimes it’s really hard to wake up and get a training session in. Sometimes it’s really hard to get a training session in at night. Just to clarify, if you run, bike or swim to race (singularly or in triathlon) you are not working out, you are training. You are part of a militia, a ‘Runner Army’ or a breed of killer athletes setting the streets on fire. This is your life.

Any of you who know me or follow me know that I had the worst season (since my start in 2008) I have ever had last year due to a mysterious knee problem. Granted, I ran a few marathons and had a triathlon now and again but I did not complete my 3rd Ironman as I could not start it. Mentally, it took me down.

After seeing the amazing Dr. Levine and months of trial and error on what caused my knee issue I have finally been cured. It is as if I have been reborn. I now bound up stairs two at a time as I used to. I love when crosswalks are going to change and I can run across the street pain free. To quote the not-so-with-it band of the late 80’s ‘Cinderella’… ‘You don’t Know What You Got til it’s Gone.’

So tomorrow, when you wake up, or get out of work and are like “Man, I don’t really want to train. I’ll be fine. There is always tomorrow.” imagine if you couldn’t run. Imagine if something you took so matter-of-factly was gone.

Go. Be. Do what you love to do, even though it might be arctic outside. Embrace the pain, love the sweat and feed the hunger. No matter what speed you run, or what caliber athlete you think you are, you are one of us. Go out there and kill it, because you can.

* This post is dedicated to all my peeps (you know who you are) who can’t train due to more serious issues. I know you’ll be back, and so do you. Battle Stations.

Thursday Night at the Races

Posted on January 30, 2014 by admin

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NYRR hosts track meets during the winter months here in NYC. I went up to run with the Team (Gotham City Runners) this past Thursday, fearing for my life as I haven’t done track work since… oh maybe September?

We had a great turnout, especially since it was so cold it was actually chilly in the Armory, something I have never experienced. It’s normally steamy hot in there, and kinda stinky.

The night’s line-up was as follows…

– 1 Mile Mens- 1 Mile Womens
– 800 M Mens
– 800 M Womens
– 1 Mile 2 Person Relay

I signed up for the 800 M and the 1 Mile Relay with my friend Doug as partner.

It was a long night, but very fun. Generally speaking there were 8-9 heats per men’s race and 4 heats per women’s race so there was a lot to watch! Gotham City Runners were doing great! Lesley, Lauren, Alina, Kate, Alexandra, and Maura were holdin it down! In the men’s races we had Josh, Daniel, Stark, Doug and myself puttin down some speed as well.

While watching everyone race I spent time taking pics and hanging with Lily and Dexter.

Everyone kept telling me that the air was dry and wonky in the Armory. I didn’t know what they were talking about until I hit my 800 M. Doug and I set it off taking the lead. I felt great on lap 1 and 2, then I started fading. The fade wasn’t leg pain, it was my lungs in blistering pain. Doug took lead and I just hung on. As we rounded lap 4 some guy came outta nowhere running Mach 2 and blasted past me! There was nothing I could do, but Doug held onto 1st Place. Nice.

As partners on the 1 Mile Mens’ Relay we decided to break it up into 400s. Doug set it off pretty hard. After the hand off I blasted into the circuit following a Front Runner pretty tight. Doug’s second lap was fast but he looked like he was in pain and therefore I was about to experience said pain. I grabbed the baton and my legs were like ‘Whaaaaaaaa…t?’ I tried to maintain some semblance of pace but I may have looked like a baby giraffe just learning to walk. We finished in 04:46.88.

After the show we hit Coogan’s (of course, that’s what you do when at the Armory) and had a few celebratory brews.

Great night Team!

The 2014 Whiskeython

Posted on January 22, 2014 by admin

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The 2014 Whiskeython took place last Sunday. “Whiskeython? Whoa, what’s that?!” Put simply… 2 laps of the lower loop in which the winner takes home a bottle of booze. For all you non-runners, 2 laps of the lower loop is just over 3 miles.

The race is put on by the infamous New York Rogue Runners. These folks put on crazy races throughout the NYC area (normally on the ‘off season’ so more runners attend). The races are free and they welcome anyone and everyone to attend, regardless of athletic ability.

Abbe and I showed up at the 72nd Street Transverse with about 30 minutes to spare. It was quite cold out and I was jealous that I had decided not to run as it would clearly be a warmer option then cheering.

Soon, people started approaching and putting on the specially made bibs, sans timing chip. The group of (now 30 plus) were very excited. A lot of my good friends popped out to run the race too (Doug, Danika and Eissa to name a few). Some race announcements were made regarding the course and a few future races like the New York Hot Dog Challenge and Galway Bay Gallop. The New York Rogue Runners also thanked TimeoutNY and Blood, Sweat and Cheers for featuring the race in their publications. Our friend Claire had volunteered to help guide runners at the bottom of the loop so she set off for that location. Everyone lined up and then set it off, it was anyone’s game as far as I was concerned.

As lap one came to a close it was a guy named Eric followed 30 seconds by Doug and Ryan. The women’s race was very exciting as Mia was followed by Eissa by a were 5 paces! All other contestants were gunning it, running their own races and doing very well.

As lap two ended Eric had pulled ahead of teh guys by a minute or two, securing his win. Doug, followed by Ryan trailed behind him. They were running between 6 to 7 minute miles and hauling.

As the women came around Mia was in front of Eissa in almost the exact same position as the first lap! Both women are experienced runners and both women had punched it in the end, cancelling out a reversal.

Once all our runners had come in there was an awards ceremony in which the male (Eric) was awarded a bottle of Dewar’s and the female (Mia) was awarded a bottle of Copper Fox.

After the awards we all headed to Dive 75 on the Upper West where we celebrated the race. It was great seeing a bunch of strangers all come together, mingling and chatting about the race. Mia even opened her prized whiskey and was pouring people samples! I made quite a few new friends who I’m sure I will see at future New York Rogue Runner events.

2014 Triathlon Coaching

Posted on December 23, 2013 by admin

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I’m excited to announce that I will be joining the Gotham City Runners as their triathlon coach!

I have known Josh, aka Speedy Sasquatch, aka the Head Coach for about 4 years now and it will be a really fun time joining forces with him. We will have group coaching as well as private coaching available.

So c’mon out and join us!

RACE REPORT: 098 Join the Voices 5 Miler – 30:31

Posted on November 18, 2013 by admin

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This weekend was chock full of races! The NY 60K, Philly Marathon, Brooklyn Marathon, Ironman Arizona and the wee bitty 5 mile race I did, Join the Voices.

On Saturday I really dug into New York City. I started the day with ice skating around Wollman Rink (something I do almost every weekend in the winter months). It was a blast, especially due to the warm weather we were having.

After skating I walked home up the east side of the Park watching for Juan who was well underway in his 60K run. I didnt see him, so popped into the apartment to change into running gear and drop off my skates. Back on the scene, running north, I got a cheer from Ali! I pulled over and cheered everyone on along side her. We saw a few friends and then finally Juan came by. I ran with him for a bit chit chatting about whatever. I was trying to take his mind of the pain. I left him at Engineers Gate and hung out with Elizabeth cheering some more.

I grabbed my race bib for Sunday’s race and then wandered around the ol MET. I try to pop in there once every 2 weeks or so you know, because, it’s only priceless artifacts from around the world. I was playing a game (with only me, no other patrons participated) called ‘Find the Oldest Thing.’ The Egyptians always win. It blows my mind looking at pristine specimens of writing and jewelry created 4,000 years ago!

I later met up w Jeff, Alison and Cat for drinks. I convinced them to go to San Mateo for dinner which was maybe the highlight of my weekend. Their pizza is pretty spot on.

RACE DAY

Waking up to race on a grey fall day can be difficult, but knowing that the temperature was in the 50’s got me motivated.

A lil Cafe Bustelo and then a light jog over to the start which was by Tavern. I ‘ran’ into Jess on the way, she too was warming up. I also ran by Claire who yelled out a friendly, “Hey Bakes!”

I jumped in my corral and noticed everyone being shy and staying in the back. Not feeling particularly social as my nerves were a bit edgy, I walked right up to the start mat and hung out. Soon, others followed.

The gun went off and we were all flying down the lower loop. I once again had no watch and was relying on how I felt. At this moment, I felt good so I just hung with the leaders (for a hot second). I had absolutely no pain in my knee even at a speedy rate and so I kept pushing it.

We hit mile 1 around 5:45 and I kind of laughed out loud thinking to myself, “Ha, this pace isn’t going to last.” And it didn’t.

I saw Beth cheering from 72nd Street and yelled out a “Hi!” to her before heading up Cat Hill. It was here that my pace slowed and I thought I was going to have a heart attack. I haven’t run a short distance race in awhile so my internal systems were on overdrive.

I hit mile 2 at a 6:10 pace. By now we had really thinned out and I just tried to hold it together.

I noticed someone coming up on my right. It was a speedy female who had a cyclist tracking her. She happened to be the second place woman and was hell-o-fast. We paced each other for miles 3-4 before she took off. It was very helpful having her around.

The West Side Rollers took a lot out of me. They never end!

I came through the finish at 30:31, ten seconds from a PR. I ended up getting a 3rd Place Age Group Award! Sweet!

Sex/ Age	Bib	Overall Place	Age Place	Finish Time	Pace/ Mile	AG %
M35	12	19	3	30:31	6:07	72.42%

As soon as I was 10 feet across the finish my friend Antonio came blasting up! He had been right behind me chasing me the whole time! We caught up on life and then did a cool down jog up the east side towards our neighborhoods. I say Beth again and she gave me a high five! We also ran by a volunteer who yelled to us, “Mile 2 coming up guys, looking good!” We had a bit of a laugh at that.

It was a great day for a race and I am happy to say that there was, and is still, no knee pain. I am officially back in business.

—

On a separate note there are a few congratulations in order.

– Big ups to Juan (already an Ironman) who became an Ultramarathoner!

– My friend Doug (who I casually coach) knocked 25 minutes off his marathon time in Philly with a 3:26! Nice!

– My former coach, friend and teammate Sonja rocked a 9:35 at Ironman Arizona earning her a 1st AG Award and her annual ticket to Kona! Awesome!

RACE REPORT: 097 NYC Marathon – DNF

Posted on November 9, 2013 by admin

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The 2013 New York City Marathon would be my 11th marathon and my fourth on this course.

Having successfully run Wineglass Marathon 4 weeks earlier, I thought nothing could go wrong. (foreshadowing!)

Saturday morning I went for a shakeout run with my brother Jeff. He was running his first marathon and I had been coaching him through the training season. We chatted strategy,mostly ‘exit strategy’ on getting back to the east side once the finish line was crossed.

That night we had a big family dinner. Jeff and Ali, Abbe’s parents, Uncle John, Aunt Margie, cousins Gillian and Cat and finally Abbe and I.

Normally, I eat some kind of pasta with shrimp in it like Shrimp Scampi, for example. Tonight, the black ink linguine with mussels and clams looked tasty so for the first time in years I ate something different before a big race. THIS IS A CRUCIAL CLUE TO FUTURE EVENTS.

Abbe, Aunt Margie (who was volunteering at aid station 18 and sleeping over on the fold out) and I were all in bed by 10.

RACE DAY

All of us were up having some Cafe Bustelo by 5:30AM. I felt great, albeit very hungry. We made oatmeal to take with us to eat on the ferry since we have 4 hours until start time.

Abs and I met Ali on our corner and we busted down Park Avenue in a cab en route to pick up Jeff. Once we had him we flew down the FDR to the Staten Island Ferry to meet with the rest of the Army.

We found Bethaney, TJ and Mary Craig before we got on the 7AM ferry. Then, miraculously as we sat in the middle bar area of the ferry other friends started finding us! Bojana, Lisa, Elyssa, Maura and Una just appeared out of thin air! It was so much fun rolling deep with so many friends.

I ate my oatmeal and was very relaxed and excited. I had set no expectations and wasn’t even running with a watch. The name of the game was fun.

The buses after the ferry took twice as long due to security searches upon departure. It’s all a necessary precaution now based on current events I suppose.

Since we were running a bit behind I quickly said goodbye to everyone then jogged up to Camp Green. I found the Local Competitive area and was very impressed. We were sectioned off from everyone with our own tents and port-o-johns.

While waiting I bumped into David, Maura, Josh and Kelsey. All of us hung out and then made our way to the front of the Green Start to wait until gun time.

I sat and reminisced a bit being led out with my fast friends to the front of the line. Sitting there, looking around and seeing other friends of mine on the upper deck warming up and waving. It wasn’t too long ago I sat a few corrals back; my first race, all alone and nervous at what to expect. I am very honored to have come to know so many wonderfully talented athletes who I now call dear friends.
This year while waiting the 30 minutes or so to start, I decided to pee in the bushes. Many a man were doing it, and there were actually lines to get to a bush or tree.

We wished each other well, then the canon sounded and the games began.

As we began to run, I felt good, great actually. The minute we started ascending the bridge most runners flanked to the right as there was a very sharp and biting wind coming from our left. I did also not get peed on nor did I see any pee from above. (We were on the lower level.)

Barreling down the span I began to get excited about what lie in store. Fourth Avenue Brooklyn is one of my favorite parts of the course. It’s a straight shot for 8 miles covered in crowds who are practically out on the course with you high fiving and being supportive. Brooklyn also has some great bands, and I happened to see Erin and her band at Mile 4 which was a nice surprise! The other thing that’s nice about this part is that it’s the first 8 miles so you feel great!

I happen to see Juan hanging on the sidelines and got a few shots of me waving!

It was somewhere around here I ran into Joe’s (Cardiac Crusher) brother Mike! We were kicking the same pace and hung out for a second. It was at this point I realized I may not have been in the best running state, as I tried to maintain not only conversation but pace and I was slipping. My legs felt very heavy and so I left Mike so he could push ahead. SIDENOTE: Mike would go to run a 2:57 for his marathon debut! Congrats!

That’s Joe’s brother Mike in black.

At this point I had been pushing a 6:35 pace and would unknowingly hold it for the rest of the race. Unfortunately, I was starting to really struggle with my energy. My knee and legs in general felt fine, my engine was just sputtering.

I plodded on. Matt6 and Steph were going to be at the 10K mark so I started watching. Sure enough, I hear this, “Baaaaaker!” and as I look up Matt6 has his whole body leaned out on the course 500 meters up. I came in tight to the crowd and got barraged with high fives! My spirits soared. It wasn’t long after that I unexpectedly saw my friends Tess and Sascha with there new baby out cheering!

The 8 mile mark hit and we veered right into Fort Greene. This is always a really pretty part of the course as its all tree lined blocks. A sharp left onto Bedford and then we make our long haul towards Queens. Is it just me or does Bedford take FOREVER! I get so sick of it. On a positive note, I saw my old friend Mike Money on Bedford cheering me on! I screamed, “Money Fresh!” which is how we used to roll back in Baltimore, back in the day.

Somewhere around mile 10 I took a Gu. I also noticed here that my face was covered in dried salt, meaning I was secretly sweating it all out. I slammed down a few Gatorades at the next few aid stations and that seemed to put a little pep back in my step.

I cleared the halfway mark right around 1:26 and took another Gu. I slowly ascended the Pulaski Skyway as the wind ripped through us.

Over in Queens I saw Stephan, Amanda and Rich cheering us on! Soon after all of us were running through the more industrial part of the area, the Queensboro Bridge looming in the distance. My energy was far gone and I was thinking about walking parts of the bridge to try and get it together.

Heading up the bridge, we were once again confronted with a strong icy wind. Rather then walk, I just told myself to take it mile-by-mile. I had been in this place many times before, especially during the run of an Ironman or Half Ironman, where you just need to keep pushing. I did slow my pace down and it felt like time was just slipping by. It was here that I wished I had brought my headphones as back up.

Cruising down the tail end of the bridge I actually got a little choked up thinking about what was waiting for us on the Manhattan side. Slowly the white noise of the cheering squats got louder and louder and then, as we hooked that hard left it all erupted!

This is also the point where things got bad. Heading up 1st Avenue at say 65th Street I started to get light headed. I swerved and starting running up the right side of the avenue, less crowded then the left. I’m not sure who I saw as far as friends go, but the friends that saw e aid I looked the worst they had ever seen me. Evidently my head was bobbling around as I ran.

At 86th Street I got the chills and saw bright flashes and almost passed out or blacked out or something. I pulled over, very shaky, and decided that was it. Game over.

With crowds ablaze I walked off the course, and removed my bib. I had a talk with an older man I met named Noel about if I could finish or not.

I went to the first bodega I could find and got an egg and cheese with sausage on a bagel, a muscle milk and a gatorade and devoured all of them in around 5 minutes. I started to feel flush again and made my way home.

I quickly showered and then started tracking people. I noticed the Abbe had also dropped off the radar and got worried. Luckily Stephan and Amanda texted me that they had Abbe and that she dropped out due to an ankle injury but was otherwise okay.

I then rolled down the block to 93rd and 5th to watch for Jeff (and many other runner friends) who were killing it. I happened to bump into Micheal J. Fox (he’s pour neighbor!) who was cheering for his Team Fox runners.

I saw Jeff, Gia, Neal, Elizabeth, and Mary Craig to name just a few.

The rest of the day was spent celebrating at Kinsale Tavern. We had quite a crew of runners with us. It was a total blast!

—

Although sad that I didn’t finish the race, I got enjoy all of my favorite parts of it anyway. From the journey to the start, hanging out at the start, various points in Brooklyn and the mighty after party with all of my dear friends known as the Runner Army… it was still Christmas to me.

NYC Marathon is here

Posted on November 2, 2013 by admin

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The New York City Marathon is my version of Christmas. It is my favorite day of the year and since I discovered it (and the marathon) in 2008 I have only missed 1. Good triumphs over evil and the city rejoices with celebration.

If you wish to track me I am in the first wave, BIB 729.

If you wish to join me and the Runner Army at our after party you can find us at Kinsale Tavern on 3rd Avenue and 94th Street! I will be headed there as soon as I finish and intend to be with beer-in-hand by 1PM.

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