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Music to Live by

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Music plays a huge part in my life, and I am always surprised to meet people who are ‘indifferent’ about it. Anyone close to me knows I am very picky and critical of music. If someone doesn’t like, or know of Led Zeppelin for instance, I might make a sour face and perhaps never take them seriously again, possibly even un-friending them.

Just kidding… or am I?

Although my tastes run the gamut, when it comes to running I only have one genre I stick with. Drum n Bass (or Jungle as it was called years ago) happens to be my favorite for running. I used to go to D n B shows when I was in college and even threw a few ‘Rave-like’ warehouse parties showcasing DJ friends of mine. Being the old geezer I am now, I can’t stay up late. Wait, maybe it’s because I run now? Basically, now I get my Drum n Bass fix in the daytime, out on the streets.

It has a high-paced aggressive nature that seems to fit right into my run pace.

People have often asked ‘Who’ I listen to? From DJ Hype to A-Sides, (and many more) really depending on their latest mixes. Lately though, I have been listening to a guy named Komatic. He is one of the Bassdrive DJ’s and has a 2 hour show that is download-able. These mixes have gotten me through probably the last 3 or 4 of my marathons.

I was inspired to write about this today because he just released his November 2011 Studio Mix and it is amazing! Below is the link.

http://soundcloud.com/komatic/komatic-november-studio-mix

What do you listen to when you swim-bike-run?

RACE REPORT: 067 NYC Marathon – 3:00:48

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The New york City Marathon is the single greatest marathon on Earth. I tell you this having only run 6 marathons total, 3 of them in New York.

2 million people come out to spectate along the course and the only time there aren’t any crazed fans screaming or banging away on cowbells is while going over the Queensboro Bridge.

—

Since April I have been training for Ironman Arizona, which happens to take place 2 weeks after the NYCM. As the race approached, Coach Sonja decided that the NYCM would be raced, instead of used as a training run! This both excited and terrified me as I would be held accountable for my performance rather than just take it easy.

Saturday night Abbe made an amazing dinner of Shrimp Fra Diavlo, one of my pre-race staples. Her friends Bradley and Chrisitin were in town for the weekend so they joined us as well as my brother Jeff and my soon-to-be sister-in-law Ali. I think I was in bed by 10, which was really 9 due to the time change that would take place in the middle of the night.

Thank god I slept well Friday night because I certainly did not Saturday. I woke up every hour on the hour. This was due more to shear excitement rather than nervousness. I love NYCM more than Christmas, so the faster it arrives the better. Instead of presents, you get pain! Super.

I met my neighbor Kelly at 5:45AM out front and we popped a cab to pick up Meggie. It was the most desolate I have ever seen 2nd Avenue.

We boarded the Ferry at 6:15 and soon found out Susan, Betsy and Megan also were on board. We linked up and formed an Army, a Runner Army.

Once we were at Fort Wadsworth I said goodbye to my friends as I was in the Orange Camp while they were in the Green.

I sat down in a sunny spot and proceeded to eat my steel cut oats, basking in the warm morning air. Previous NYCM’s were a bit cold and windy, or maybe, just maybe I’m getting tougher! Naw. You crazy Baker.

Having 45 minutes until Corrals opened I just kinda walked around aimlessly, saying hi to a handful of runners I knew, and using the port-o-potties when I passed them. At 8:20 they announced the opening of Corrals and since I was pretty much full of oatmeal and bored to tears I thought it appropriate to move into new scenery.

Arriving at my start Corral, there were maybe 100 people stretching and sitting around. Since I am anti-stretching, I just walked up to the front and started chatting with the race volunteers who were actually organizers and in charge of ‘stuff.’ Time passed and then they instructed us front guys that we were going to lead the Orange Corral out to the Start. “Whaaaaa?” “Are we the lead Corral for Orange?” She informed me that yes we were and she needed us to lock arms to prevent others front running past to try and get a better position. This was really cool.

Right before we walked out I heard them announce (in the distance at the Start) the Footlocker 5-Boro Challenge runners and my friend Elizabeth! I smiled and clapped and looked around wanting to tell someone, “Hey, that’s my friend Eliz! How cool!” until I realized all my neighbors spoke terrible English being from France or Italy or Ohio. Ha I’m kidding, just wanted to throw a dig at Ohio.

Slowly walking out to the bridge, of course there were some schmucks (from Italy) who ran around to get in front of us. They were yelled at by the organizers. I mean really guys? You are already like 4 rows from toeing the Start. I was right on the Start mats in the sun with 30 minutes to go. It was awesome. What was not awesome was all the dudes peeing on the right side. I don’t really care about seeing that, hell puke if you want to, I just don’t want to think about HAVING to pee.

The gun went off and in a hot second we were bookin’ it up the bridge. Knowing that even though I may be fast, I am no 2:45 marathoner like many of the guys behind me, so I moved far right. It was so cool having no one in front of me as I was crossing the Verrazanos. I will never forget it.

I will also never forget this: As we approached the apex of the bridge, to my right a few TV crew cars were passing, filming something behind me. Well duh, they were filming the Professionals coming up from the rear! SIDENOTE: Pros start in Blue and are situated like 500 yards behind Orange based on course turns. All of us running were freaking out. As the Pro group came up on our right we all started cheering for Meb. Lots of guys were yelling stuff about being on TV but I hardly think we were more interesting then the fellas cookin it at a 4:30 Per Mile Pace.

I flew down the bridge taking advantage of the downhill.

Mile 1: 6:26
Mile 2: 5:42

Sure enough as we hit Bayside and started making our way North I had to pee. Thanks a lot to the guys in my Corral peeing all over the place. I pulled over and jumped into a port-o-pottie, losing an easy 2-3 minutes JUST LIKE LAST YEAR. SIDENOTE: Last year I ran NY in 3:02:00 and attribute my pee break to not breaking 3 hours.

Today I wasn’t concerned with breaking 3. I broke 3 in January and that has satisfied my speed needs for now. I wanted to run a great race with what I have learned this year. Mainly, nutrition and how I can use it more efficiently. I was told by Sonja that eating ‘Race Burritos’ was out of the question. Instead I was going to go mind over matter and use a few Gu’s.
Onward! Picking up the pace and kicking it up I switched my Garmin to only show me my heart rate. I was maintaining a 173 and felt that it was a good rate.

Mile 3 – 6:09
Mile 4 – 7:15 (pee break)
Mile 5 – 6:12

Running up 4th Avenue I was very strategic on liquids, listening to my body very carefully to see if I needed Gatorade or not. I probably hit every other aid station.

Up ahead I saw a familiar form. This guy running topless, completely jacked, my height and on even pace with me. I had not only run along side of him in 2 other NYC Marathons, but had seen him at many local races. We both nod at each other (think Darth and Obe Wan before Darth kills Obe Wan) but in a friendly way. As I rolled up along side of him we fist bumped and say hi. We had a brief chat about pace in which he stated he want to go Sub3. Looking at my Garmin our pace was well beyond that and I assured him we were doing well.

We ran quietly side by side, overtaking many a runner, for the next 10 miles. We were a force to be reckoned with.

At Mile 6 I said, “Yo, names Baker, never caught yours in all these years of running.” “Names Rowland. Cool to finally meet you Baker.” It’s really fantastic to run with an experienced runner because you both know to shut the hell up and just run, chatting only when needed.

Mile 6 – 6:21
Mile 7 – 6:27
Mile 8 – 6:29

Cruising past Atlantic Terminal and onto Lafayette (and into Fort Greene) I mentally told myself Sector 1 was over, 3 more Sectors to go. (I break up races mentally by course logistics) I was still feeling really good, but knowing that Williamsburg and Greenpoint lay ahead (2 of my least favorite parts of the course) was bringing me down.

I’ll tell you what helped adjust my attitude! Bryan’s ‘High Five Station!’ SIDENOTE: Bryan and Deeds used to live in NYC, recently moving to Boston.  They invented the ‘High Five Station’ during a local race where I got to actually cheer and participate ringing the cow bell and high fiving runners It’s awesome. Well, just as I round a corner is Bryan with the ‘High Five Station’ set in place. I was on the opposite side of the street so I just waved as he yelled my name. Then, something inside me said, “No way. That just aint right.” I stopped and ran against the flow for a couple yards, almost hitting a German guy dead on. I jumped up and gave Bryan a sick high five, screamed, then went on my merry way. If you aren’t having fun out there then why the hell run in the first place right? Right?

Mile 9 –   6:30
Mile 10 – 6:25
Mile 11 – 6:35
Mile 12 – 6:19

I really hate the Pulaski Skyway too. It sucks. It’s hot, a crazy incline and a pre-cursor to the Queensboro Bridge which is just a mile away. Rowland told me we were hitting the halfway point at 1:25:00. I’ll take it.

Mile 13 – 6:32
Mile 14 – 6:40

Entering Long Island City I saw 2 familiar faces, Amanda and Stephan Walker, cheering me on! Soon after I ate the 1st of 2 Gu’s I would eat all day. I washed it down with some delicious water. Then, the Queensboro reared it’s mighty head and for the first time all day we were in darkness, ascending in pain. I felt like walking, but I held on. Many people passed me as I slowed my pace to a 7:45.

Descending toward mighty Manhattan the sound of the crowds ever so slightly grew until the noise emulated that of a football game. My pace quickened and as I rounded the corner onto 1st Avenue as I was overwhelmed with energy, the crowds 5-10 deep. I tried to not let it affect my speed, maintaining some sort of logical pace as I still had 10 miles to go. For those that have never experienced this moment in the race, it really is an overwhelmingly proud time to be a New Yorker, having your entire city route for you.

I had broken the final 10 miles into 2 Sectors, miles 16-21 up 1st Avenue into da Bronx and 21-26 down into Manhattan for the finish.

My crew (Abbe, Mad Dog, Stryker, Jeff, Ali, Phyllis, Jon, Billy, Shamin, and a few more) were waiting for me at 83rd Street. My heart rate monitor happened to be annoying me to I took it off and tossed it over to Abbe.  I also saw my super, Charlie, who was cheering people on as well! He yelled to me in his 80 year old Italian accent, “Chris! Go get em!” Rowland was gone since there was no reason for him to say hi to my friends, so I was off running on my own again.

Mile 15 – 7:16
Mile 16 – 7:57 (Bridge alert)
Mile 17 – 7:17

Getting up 1st Avenue takes forever. I was trudging along, trying to keep my pace in check, but knowing that I had lost some steam. My quads were on fire, which is not normal. It’s always my calves that seem to hurt during a distance race.

It got me thinking… what DOESN’T hurt during a marathon? There are no excuses. Pain, fatigue, upset stomachs and mental anguish are all foreseen factors. The question is, will you stop or will you dig deep and push forward knowing you have trained properly and have the courage to face the task at hand?

Mile 18 – 6:50
Mile 19 – 7:20
Mile 20 – 7:34

The Bronx wasnt as bad as I remember it the last 2 times. You’re only there for like a mile anyway. Mile 21 was like an angel greeting me back onto my island, sending me home.

Pushing through Harlem the blinding Autumn sun is right in your face. I saw Stu, Claire, Heather and Anna cheering me on right around Mile 22. Oh, and Marcus Garvey Park showed up right in the middle of Fifth Avenue as usual. I hate going around this park, such a time killer. When I’m Mayor I’m moving it between Avenues, a more logical setting. I ate my second and last Gu at this point, wishing for some speed.

Mile 21 – 7:46
Mile 22 – 7:29
Mile 23 – 7:42

The absolute worst part of the course is Mile 22 ½ to Mile 24. Its a steady uphill during the end of a marathon, not cool. I saw Amy here yelling at me to, “Go Baker go!” I tried. I did manage to hold a steady pace and as I neared the entrance to the Park where the incline leveled out I looked at the time. I had 15 minutes to travel 2 miles in order to break 3 hours. It was like some twisted math problem, and I hate math.

I thought to myself, “Hmmm, should I make an attempt? It is my backyard after all, I know the rest of the course like the back of my hand. I only have to go DOWN Cat Hill!” Sure, lets try and break 3 with 2 miles to go. I threw in the clutch and punched it.

I saw Erica and Jess followed by Annie and Moses, sending me good cheering vibes. I was passing people and any pain I was feeling was masked by rushing adrenaline. Could I run this hard for the last 4 Miles? No, but 2 miles, yeah I got this.

Mile 24: 7:30

Mile 25 was breached and I had 7 minutes to go! I kicked it up again, lungs burning. As I turned onto 59th Street it looked like an infinite distance to Columbus Circle. I was timing the distance between the Avenues, trying to make the numbers work.

Up ahead I passed a gal who yelled, “Hey! Baker!” As I turned I saw Elizabeth from the Foot Locker Challenge! Unable to speak, I simply waved 3 fingers in the air and pointed forward, knowing that she, a seasoned runner understood. We could chat later.

Mile 25 – 7:01
Mile 26 – 6:29

Passing Mile 26 the clock said 2:59:19. I had 41 seconds to run 400 meters, seemingly impossible and still I pushed it. (We always underestimate that 0.2 of the 26.2, it’s pretty far!) I passed many people, but time seemed to speed up as my running slowed down. I cleared the Finish with 3:00:48 on the clock! I felt great (aside from my quads being literally on fire) and was very happy with my time.

Sex/
Age		 Bib Overall Place Age
Place		 Finish
Time		 Pace/
Mile		 AG %
M33 2332 1202 241 3:00:48 6:55 70.1%

I had given it all I got that day and that was good enough for me. It was a 2 minute course PR.

In the finish chute I met up with Rowland who achieved his 2:59 goal. We walked and chatted about our races before splitting off. I jumped in the 86th Street crosstown and headed back to my neighborhood. The rest of the afternoon was spent with friends celebrating the run. That night Abbe cooked me a celebration meal and I was in bed by 8! I was pretty exhausted this time around (compared to previous marathons) and I think it had to do with my lack of sleep the night before.

Thanks to anyone I might not have mentioned that was out there cheering me on. It’s so great seeing all my friends out there supporting one of the greatest marathons! Thanks to Coach Sonja too for helping me through all this and getting me more fit! Now it’s time for Ironman!

‘Professional Athlete Simulator’ day

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Training for your first Ironman is anything but easy, especially when your Coach is dedicated to making you the best athlete they can. The last few months have been 10-15 hour training weeks, which have hopefully resulted in improving my endurance.

—

Seeing as how NYC Marathon and Ironman Arizona were coming up fast, Coach asked that I take a day off work to get in a solid all-day training session. “No prob! Sounds fun!”

I have always dreamed (or at least the last 3 years) of being a professional triathlete or runner, my 9-to-5 job being to exercise. What fun to wake up and swim, bike and run all day! You can wear tri shorts and a sweaty tee, eat healthy, and get faster all day! The grass is always greener isn’t it.

My Wednesday morning started off with a coffee and a bagel. I then got my trainer ready, jumped into some gear and started workout 1 of 4.

ONE (2 Hours)

(I’m going to keep the details kind of vague since it is Coach’s secret formula)

A trainer ride starting with a series of ‘spin-ups’ getting my heart rate elevated. I had my iPod on and was rockin’ out having fun, for now. Next was 1 hour of increasing heart rate drills, the max being 155 and very intense. Next I did a series of single leg drills, which at the end my legs were jello. I think that was the goal. I was a sweaty mess.

TWO (1.5 Hours)

Walked over to Asphalt Green while eating a banana and drinking Gatorade, trying not to look like a wierdo since I was already sweaty and red.

In the pool I executed 3500 Yards in a series of different drills. I made friends with a lot of old ladies (remember it is 11AM on Wednesday). This was quite refreshing as there is normally a lot of jerk faces floating around the pool at night training for the 40+ Age Group Olympics.

Back at my apartment I wolfed down a huge plate of shrimp scampi I had made. Seriously, I was starving. I also had just enough time to run out and get my Halloween costume.

THREE (2.4 Hours)

It’s now 3PM and I am half way done my ‘training day.’ Back on the bike trainer, thinking I was unstoppable, I soon found out that my legs were not in a good mood. I was warned that this workout would be PAIN but I had no idea. Heart rate drills were followed by ‘grinding-climbing’ repeats, lots of them. I was seeing stars at a few points. Never in my life have a sweat so much. Luckily, the workout was over before I lost consciousness.

FOUR (1 Hour)

I met Abbe in the Park for an easy run. The legs felt pretty good but were in no shape for speed! Abbe said to me a few times, “You an take off at a faster pace if you want?” In my tough guy voice I was like, “No, no this is fun. Let’s just run together and talk about stuff.”

We ended our run at MXCO for some guacamole. I also had a burrito because my stomach and body needed some serious calories after my fiasco of a day.

—

What did I learn from my ‘Professional Athlete Simulator’ day? Respect. Respect for what the Pro’s do day-in and day-out. Even though it’s a cool career and is glamorous, it’s a lot of hard work and dedication.

I think I am ready for Ironman Arizona. Coach also said I can ‘race’ the New York City Marathon (which is 2 weeks prior to IMAZ) instead of taking it easy. This is terribly exciting as my legs have been itching for a good running race!

RACE REPORT: 066 Rev 3 SC Half Ironman

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Revolution 3, South Carolina would be the second Half Ironman I have ever attempted. It fit perfectly into my full Ironman training and also be a nice gauge to see where I was mentally and physically.

—

Jim (from Dad Posse) drove the bikes down Thursday and visited family while Ed (also from Dad Posse) and I took a plane the next day. Our flight was 20 minutes late getting off the ground and we had a connecting flight in Charlotte 30 minutes after we were supposed to land. This wasn’t a good start.

I’m no aviation expert… but it seemed like our pilot gunned it the whole time as we almost made up for the lost time. Ed and I looked at each other, knowing we had less than 15 minutes to get to our plane once we hit the ground, and said “We can do this.” Ed got on his sneakers and I looked at the airport map. As we left the gate there was some old guy in a suit who was going to E33 as well, “E33? C’mon! Follow us!” as Ed and I full sprinted down the terminal. We all made the flight, but my man in the suit just walked it. Running is lame.

We took a propeller plane! too cool!

Jim and his brother Brice (also doing Rev3) picked us up and took us to a bar called Carolina Ale House in Greenville for dinner.

The next morning we all went to one of the 5,000 Waffle Houses in the area. It was to be my best meal in South Carolina. I ate so much food, knowing we would be doing test runs of the course shortly after.

We checked in at the civic center and spent some time in the expo buying things. Gotta hand it to the Rev 3 folks, its always so easy and such a pleasure to check-in.

Woo hoo, got a new Rev 3 hoodie! (Ray Bans sold separately.)

Next, we headed over to the swim course for a practice swim. It was on Lake Hartwell, a huge lake that was picture perfect. I threw on my new wetsuit (a TYR Hurricane Cat5) and jumped in. We all swam to the first buoy in kind of like a flying V formation. Brice’s friends Dave and Doug were now with us. The sun was out, we had Waffle House in our bellies, and the water was fantastic. I felt great in the water and the new suit was amazing. The only thing it was missing was an outboard engine.

Did I mention that Brice has a Ford F150 filled with bikes? Ed sat in the back and guarded them on the way to drop them at transition.

 

Back at the cars, we jumped on our bikes to make sure everything was working properly. We rode a few miles of the course before heading down to Transition to leave the bikes for the night. We then did an easy run to get our legs loosened.

Since we were all starving by now, we made our way to Logan’s Roadhouse for lunch and to watch the Clemson game. Sidenote: Clemson is 5 miles from the Rev 3 course and Jim is an Alumni. I was also following Kona very closely, especially since Coach S was racing! She did very well by the way finishing with a 10:08!

We left Logan’s and hit the local Publix food store to get some gear for the morning. Cafe Bustelo, Oatmeal, bananas, beer, and to-go cups were on the list.

After a quick rest back at the hotel we set out for our ‘pre-race’ meal… pasta! The first place we saw was an Olive Garden to which Ed, Jim and I all exclaimed ‘Noooooo!’ Passing countess steakhouses with names often ending in…’Roadhouse’ we came across a seafood place. Shrimp Scampi? Linguine White Clam Sauce? These were valid ‘pre-race’ meals. We sat down (our silverware wrapped in plastic) and saw that everything was fried! No pasta at all! Back on the road we were coming to the end of the strip, hope seeming to fade. Up ahead was ‘Tony and Charlee’s Southern Italian!’’ Jackpot! As we pulled up there was only one car in the parking lot. Perhaps the chef? Every other restaurant in town had a wait, and this place was empty, sweet!

I was elected to ‘check it out.’ As I entered, I approached the woman at the front desk and asked if they served pasta. She simply pushed a menu my way, as if pasta was some made up food group. The menu consisted of all meat dishes most of them fried. It also had Buffalo Wings! Don’t get me wrong, I love Buffalo Wings, but on an Italian menu I think not mon frere. I simply smiled at her and said, “Can I go check with my friends before sitting?” practically running out the door.

Guess where we ate dinner? Olive Garden and it was good! People were even smoking in the restaurant and I didn’t mind!

Sidenote: I am convinced people in South Carolina don’t like Italian food.

We were back at the hotel and asleep by 10PM.

RACE DAY

I naturally woke up at 5AM (cause I am weird) and queued up the Bustelo, made the guys oatmeal and put on my race numbers. I felt well rested and not nervous at all, ready to set it off.

We arrived at T1 40 minutes before my age group was to start. In T1 I ran into my friend Daniel who moved to Charlotte from NYC this year. We caught up and I introduced him to the fellas. The sun was starting to rise and the race coordinators told us we needed to get to the water.

We watched the Pros go then took our place on the beach. As the gun went off, I let a row of fast swimmers take lead. I jumped into the froth and started digging in, remembering not to overdo it at the start and get all worked up. I have done this enough times that fears of drowning are far from my thoughts. Falling into a nice rhythm and focusing on my form I made my way to the first buoy. I felt very fluid.

Moving at a steady rate, I took notice of the beautiful sunrise happening every 6 strokes. I was really enjoying myself out there and maybe should have had faster arm turnover. Even though I may not be the fastest fish in the pond, I am damn good at sighting and was precise with all my buoy turns. At one point someone was on my feet, which is normal, but this guy started climbing my body. Here I am just mindin’ my own business and this speedster is just gonna swim OVER me when there is plenty of water to swim around? Not on my watch. As his arms started pushing down on the back of my knees I gave a swift ninja kick to his chest. I wasn’t groped for the rest of the swim.

Exiting the water I was full of energy and my legs seemed to be functioning properly. I jumped into T1 (was caught by Ed who was racing the OLY) and made my way onto the bike course. Jim was right behind me and Ed snapped him in ‘speedy transition pose.’ (he was standing still, that’s why its funny.)

My legs were out of whack for like the first 10 miles. My quads were burning something fierce. Fierce! The scenery was nice and I kept wishing for the sun to come out. It did.

Once warmed up I tried to pass as many bikers as I could. By the end of it I would overtake 70 or so, but it was a slow and steady game. This is kind of my M.O. for triathlons since my swimming is slow.

There were so many cows and horses out there on the course. Well, not ‘on’ the course but in the fields around us. I kept imitating the cows (blank puzzled stares on their faces) as I passed them. “Bessy, look at them fellers. I heard about such a thing yars ago… I think theys call ‘em BI sickles.” There were also quiet a few dogs that went bat shit crazy when we rode by.

Somewhere around mile 15-20 I caught up with Daniel. We rode together for awhile before I pressed on. We both noted how windy it was! There were 30 MPH wind gusts all day. At times it felt like you weren’t moving at all.

The last 10 miles were tough. My only goal for this entire race was to ride the bike in under 3 hours so I pushed hard on the ending hills. I started thinking about Abbe and where she was in the Chicago Marathon. It was her first Marathon (and her birthday!) and I was really hoping she was having fun.

By now we were mixed in with the Olympic riders who started a few hours behind us. This helped my legs as I stopped picking people off due to not knowing which race they were in. I came in off the bike at 2:50 and was very happy.

Slapped on my sneaks and bolted out of T2. My legs were Jell-o.

Experience plays such a big role in the triathlon world. I was running 8 minute miles for the first 15 minutes, my legs burning and wonky like baby giraffe, but I knew they were reset any minute. We were running these windy switch backs, runners from both the Olympic and Half Iron all over. I like to have fun out there so I tease the volunteers asking them if I can take short cuts. Most of them, new to triathlons, assured me it was probably a bad idea and I would get in trouble. Agreed.

At mile 4 the Half Iron runners veered off to a new section of course, an out-and-back. It was here that I got my legs in full swing. I was decreasing my pace and would end up holding a steady 7 minute mile for this portion of the run. I felt good all of a sudden. I started picking off runners one at a time. We were running down a highway for this section and t was pretty dull. As mile 7 passed I kept wondering, “Where the hell is the turn around?” It soon came just past mile 8. My stomach took a turn for the worse right about now as well. I have never had stomach issues in any race. I eat burritos during marathons for god’s sake, so why now is it freaking out? Was I pregnant?

Looking back, I think I may have had way too much ‘course Gatorade.‘ As mile 10 approached I pulled over, sacrificing my pace, and started slamming water. As I walked forward, the sharp pain in my stomach slowly dissipating, I jogged. Slowly my pace picked up. Soon I was facing runners coming the other way, a few of them screaming, “Where is the turn around?” at me. I feel your pain. Then, I see Jim coming down the highway and he runs into my lane and gives me a high five while yelling, “Rocket Fuel!” This gave me a huge burst of energy and I sped forward. The last few miles would be sub7.

Sidenote: At the Fire Island Hotel they make a drink called Rocket Fuel. It’s a pina colada topped with 151. We love them, especially Jim.

At mile 11 the Halfers get mixed back in with the Oly runners. Up ahead I was like, “Is that Ed?” I yelled out to him, “Ed! You better hustle!” He laughed and turned giving me a slap on the arm, “Go Bakes!”

After a few more twists and turns I crossed the finish. My final time was 5:12, a 13 minute PR.

Sex/
Age
Age
Place
Overall
Place
 Swim
1.2M		 T1 Bike
56M		 T2 Run
13.1M		 Total
Time
M33 9
94
 43:51 2:46 2:49:33 1:34 1:35:14 5:12:58

I waited for Ed to cross, then he and I waited for Jim and then Brice. We were all successful in our own races, celebrating with a delicious ice cold beer in the warm sun.

That night we all celebrated with a big dinner followed quickly by bedtime. The next morning Jim, Ed, and I set off on our 13 hour drive back up to NYC. (we had breakfast at Waffle House again it was awesome again!)

—

Am I ready for my first full Ironman? Yes. (Coach S still has me on a steady training regimen.) Is it going to hurt? Yes.

Fall Races – Pep Rally

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Isn’t life funny? We get so wrapped up at times in what ‘we cant do’ or what we ‘don’t have.’

I sit here writing this on the eve of the Rev3 Half Ironman in South Carolina, with Ironman Arizona a month after feeling down on myself because I can’t seem to get my swim speeds up to a competitive level.

—

A few years back I was leaving work headed home, very wrapped up mentally in some financial trouble I had gotten myself into. I felt like I was going to either have a brain aneurysm or start crying or both. My mind was racked with how I would deal with this situation and that’s all I could think of.

As I stood in my sardine packed subway car heading uptown to my warm apartment in my suit, listening to my iPod, a strange noise was making itself known at the other end of the subway car. Slowly, ‘Clang! Scrape. Clang! Scrape.’ as it got closer, everyone looking at each other as if we were in some horror movie and didn’t know what strange thing was approaching.

You could see people start to clear a path as the ‘Clang! Scrape. Clang! Scrape’ got near to the center of the car. Everyone was looking down at the floor.

As the people parted, and my eyes were able to fixate on what was headed towards us my heart sank. It was the torso of a man, a paraplegic, moving along by swinging his lower body while his arms supported him. He was blind, and in front of him he pushed a big tin pail collecting money. The subway car was so eerily quiet I could have heard a pin drop. The only sound was of coins and bills going into his tin to help.

Sometimes life isn’t funny. Sometimes we don’t realize that no matter how significant we think our problems are, someone else out there has much bigger problems.

—

Sometimes it’s easy to focus on your own weakness, even when that weakness may be so insignificant in the grand scheme of life.

Most of my friends these days are athletes, impressive athletes no matter what caliber, with a drive, focus and intense determination. I say good luck to all of you in these Fall races you have chosen to compete in. Race hard. Feel that burning sense of being alive, and race for others that aren’t able to.

Bike Adventures with Baker

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The 5th Avenue Mile is one of my favorite races. Last year I completed a dream, which was to run a sub 5 minute mile at the race and since then its always had a place in my heart.

Unfortunately running 1 Mile as fast as you can has NOTHING to do with Ironman training.

I was set to run the 5th Avenue Mile, then tack on anther hour and a half of medium paced running. Sunday was to be my long ride, a very important component to IM training.

As Abbe and I sat having coffee looking at the weather Saturday morning she said, “You know, it’s not supposed to rain today. Tomorrow is the big rain forecast.” Biking in the rain, aside from being dangerous, plain sucks. Running in the rain I can deal with. The decision was made then and there to skip my race and hit the road for my 5 hour long ride.

I set out, geared up with 2 water bottles of ‘fuel’ and a Clif Bar, headed towards the George Washington Bridge. My goal was to make it to Bear Mountain. I had never been and was really curious what all the fuss was about.

As I neared the GW I noticed a heavy amount of what appeared to be novice riders. Using my super sleuth skills I deducted that, yes, there must be some sort of group ride.

Once on the oh so familiar 9W I set controls to autopilot at around 20-22 MPH and just took in the scenery, sipping on my ‘fuel’ cocktail every so often. I felt great, perhaps due to Abbe’s Truffle Pasta from the night before compounded with my Irish Oatmeal.


I always find it funny when you pass the Welcome to NY sign because… that’s where I was coming from! Did I just time travel, or maybe pass into an alternate dimension, or maybe the state is just shaped funny?


Hitch hikers? Really? Yes, I must have time traveled to 1972 when everything was safe! I started looking to see if cars had seat belts right after and realized I was still in the present.

I hit Nyack 1:30 into the ride and blasted forward, marking uncharted territory for me. An adventure… yes, lets have an adventure!

I went through a series of small towns and occasionally hit a stoplight. In my head I was marking off places where I could either pee or get more food or both.

I passed Rockland Lake State Park which was really beautiful. There were swans out on the lake and it was really peaceful. Soon after we hit a ‘T’ in the road and I instantly flashed back to my first Century Ride from 2002! We passed through this very spot heading in the same direction!


I passed these crazy cliffs and took a picture because they seemed very Lord of the Rings-ish and I pictured Frodo and Sam climbing them all starved cause they are out of Lambas Bread.
We went through a few more towns, Stony Point being quite quaint.

It was right around here I said to myself, “Where the hell is this goddamn mountain?”

I entered what appeared to be a wilderness area, or rather, a place where humans dared to live. The hills became fierce and I knew I was close to my destination. It was also at this point I realized that one of my water bottles full of ‘fuel’ jumped ship! This worried me slightly as I needed that energy to make it back home.

I took a left into Bear Mountain State Park and started going up Hell-o-Hill. Seriously, I rode for 30-40 minutes in my lowest gear, knees bleeding, straight up the mountain. For what it’s worth, the park is gorgeous. I was all by myself in dense forest with streams, brooks and all kinds of nature-y things around me. I was moving at 7 MPH the whole time and I was dying to see what was at the top of this thing. It had better be awesome.

It was. Clear views of the Hudson for as far as the eye could see. Pretty amazing. I think it’s so cool to live in Manhatty, in the heart of the urban jungle, and yet I can ride my bike over to a mountain!


After taking a breather, I hit the road. It took me 8 minutes to descend the mountain and you better believe I had my hands on the breaks the whole time and was still going 30-35 MPH! It was wet and I didn’t want to slide off the side of the cliffs to my doom.


The second part of the ride seemed easier for some reason. Maybe it’s because I knew the terrain now, or perhaps I was just warmed up. I don’t know?

I had been riding without music on the way there, but on my return blasted some Drum n Bass to keep me company. It gets lonely out there on the open road…

Close to Nyack there is a Toga Bikes. I popped in and got a new water bottle and grabbed some snacks for the road.

As I neared the GW and was coming up on 90 miles I started to feel a little winded, but then I realized my ass was just sore.

My total distance was 97.7 Miles at 5 hours, 45 minutes.

It was a glorious adventure.

I’m going to Boston!

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After 3 years of hard work and 5 Marathons I have finally gotten into the Boston Marathon!

In November of 2008 I ran my first race (NYCM) after starting to run that summer. I missed Boston by 5 minutes, my qualifying time being 3:10. In 2010 I set out to attain a Boston entry and finally got my times up to par after a few near missed that really got me down.

It’s amazing what a little hard work, pain and dedication can do.

November 2008 =     3:15:51
2009 =                         Where’s the Marathons?
January 2010 =          3:13:13
May 2010 =                 3:15:27
November 2010 =      3:01:59
January 2011 =           2:58:16

“All of us are beyond defeat, we just need to rise to the occasion.“   

RACE REPORT: 065 9-11 Heroes Run 5K: 18:11 – 2nd Place

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I love me a good 5k…
Who doesn’t? It’s a race where you get to run as fast as you can, pedal to the metal, for 3 quick miles!

Erica Sara convinced me to run in the 911 Heroes Run on the morning of the anniversary of the attacks. It seemed like a worthy way to pay tribute.

RACE DAY

Saturday morning was spent riding my Tri Bike 60 miles, so my legs were a lil tight Sunday morning. I actually didn’t even feel like running.

Abbe and I met Erica on 1st Avenue and we caught a cab over to Randall’s (who’s Randall anyway?) Island. We got to Icahn Stadium like an hour and change before the race start. Just then 2 choppers flew overhead heading downtown and I said, “Hey, look its the President.” A few minutes later announcers confirmed that yes, it was our Commander in Chief flying overhead. Cool!


For such a small race as far as numbers go, this was heavily sponsored. Chevrolet was there and they had like 5 cars on display. I actually thought we might be able to win a car and embarrassed myself by asking the Chevy guys.

After getting my bib we found the course map.

Soon after runners were instructed to line up at the Start while the opening ceremonies took place. These were some of the most touching and inspirational speeches I have ever heard before a race. We were reminded by Ryan Manion (of the Travis Manion Foundation) that there were thousands of others running the Heroes Run simultaneously! The singing of the Star Spangled Banner was one of the best I have ever heard at a race before as well.

As the gun went off I hugged the inside of the track and bolted. I thought of how Jesse Owens qualified for the Berlin Olympics and of Usain Bolt breaking the 100m record  on this very track we were on.

Exiting the Stadium we went out into the parking lot and onto some pedestrian paths. It wasn’t long before I could hear footfalls behind me and was consequently passed, moving into second place. If I was running 5:50’s he was clocking 5:30’s, and I knew chasing him down would be near impossible.

I kept my pace, and held him in my sights, moving toward the turn around point. I was really starting to slow and fade and tried to keep it together. As I came around I saw the guy chasing me was only 20-30 seconds back and knew if I faltered he would surely overtake me. I swung my arms, moved my feet and constantly inspected and adjusted my form. I also kept thinking how cool it would be to win a Chevy (were they actually giving away cars as prizes). I mean, they had 4 cars, so 2nd place would surely get a car right?

The last mile was on a gravel path which certainly didn’t help my pace. As I turned back into the Stadium I had a 100m straightaway to the finish which I DID NOT sprint. I was so spent, that Finish line never looked so good.

Time: 18:11 with a 5:52 pace and 2nd Place overall.

Abbe and Erica were there cheering me on at the finish! After I gave Abbe a sweaty kiss, Erica (who told me that if I didn’t win the race she wouldn’t be my friend anymore) assured me that 2nd Place was cool enough to still be friends. Whew!

This is me, spent.

Erica’s friends Grace (CPTC) came blasting in to take 1st Female, followed by Glenn who took 3rd in his age group, followed by Dani who also took her age group! What a day!


After I returned home Coach S. had me go back out for another 8-12 miles to do HR intervals! Whoa that was grueling. Thank god I ate a bagel after the 5K.

Reporting LIVE from the U.S. Open!

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My brother Jeff and I (he has been asking me to take him for the last 7 years) set off on the 7 Train around 6:15PM. We were pretty excited because we would get to see the #1 ranked men’s and women’s players.

Arriving right on time we fought our way through the slow moving crowds, grabbed some beers and found our seats. We were 5 rows behind the ref, right on the center line.


Wozniacki versus Rus started right on time. Rus looking quite young, Wozniacki could have been her coach or something. Rus held her ground for most of the first set, but then the endurance part of the game took over and Wozniacki started crushing it. She won 6-2, 6-0 graciously.

At this point the crowds started setting in and the Arthur Ashe Stadium was full. Just before the men’s match we had some celebrity sightings. Tony Bennett and Martina Navratilova were sitting up to our right. Who is the bigger star? My preference is Tony Bennett as I am a huge Sinatra fan. Crooners.


Djokovic came out looking pretty bad ass, I’m not gonna lie. He definitely looked like a force to be reckoned with. Berlocq on the other hand, did not. His plaid bathing suit bottoms and white ball cap didn’t really look very threatening.

It was at this point we realized Adrian Grenier was sitting in our section. I felt bad for him because all night, non-stop, people were taking pictures with him. He was very friendly and cordial about it though. Jeff and I were just excited that we had better seats than him.


Back to the tennis! Djokovic set it off with a fury! This guy is totally amazing to watch. He may even be a runner as his speed on the court was off the charts. Poor Berlocq got dished a 6-0, 6-0 for sets 1 and 2. The crowd was really pulling for him though and every time he did something good, we cheered.

During the last set Berlocq managed to squeeze in 2 points before Djokovic finally finished him off. It was the shortest match I had ever been too.

In other news…

I woke up to run a loop in the Park today. As I was running around there was this insane bike race going on, the World Police and Fire Games. The different pelotons kept passing me over and over again, maybe 5 or 6 times. It was really exciting.

So then, as I am rounding the south and coming up on Summer Stage I hear familiar music… it was Mary J. Blige singing ‘Just Fine’ for the Good Morning America Summer Concert Series! I got to hear some Mary J. at the end of my run, it was so cool.

Then, I am finishing up my loop right behind the Met when I come running into all these crowds and people start yelling at me, “The race is finishing, here they come!”

I pull over and look back to see a lead motorcycle whiz by followed by the lead guy who had 20 seconds on the peloton. The exciting part was the 2,3, and 4 positions full-on sprinting it out to take 2nd place! They were going so fast and I really thought a crash was inevitable, but they were no joke.

What timing I had today! Such a fantastic way to start a Friday.

Much ado about running

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The calm before the storm isn’t nearly as rewarding as the picture perfect running day after.

Our offices were closed Monday due to all the trains being down. Waking up with a crisp ‘Autumn-like’ breeze coming in through my sunlight bedroom window one thing came to mind… running. I talked to Coach S. (as swimming is my normal Monday routine) and told her I felt like ‘running my face off’. After a green light from her, I took off, not knowing where I was going to end up exactly.

I had eaten some steel cut oats and had a cup of coffee prior to leaving and anticipated this fuel getting me through my run.

As I entered Central Park I became really excited. 60 degrees, breezy, not a cloud in the sky and my energy was on point, what more could a runner as for?

I made my way counter-clockwise around the Park, taking note of any storm damage. If there was any, it looked minor. There were occasional trees that had fallen and small pieces of debris on the path, but it was nothing compared to that crazy storm that ripped up all the trees last year.

I was maintaining a 7 minute pace as I approached Columbus Circle. It was here that I thought, “All of my friends are at work, I have nothing on my schedule…” and I bee-lined it out of the Park and over to the West Side Path heading South.

The sun was really blasting me now that I was out in the open and I stopped quickly once or twice to drink some water.

As I entered Battery Park, the point in which I thought I might turn around and head back, I just decided to keep going. Queue up Forrest Gump jokes anytime if you haven’t already. Down by Lady Liberty I noticed how crystal clear the sky was.

I rounded the tip of the island and headed up the East Side Path, still feeling good. I haven’t run more than 13 miles in quite some time (January in fact) so I was wondering how I would fare.

At Houston Street I moved inland and blazed up Second Avenue, heading straight toward 83rd Street which was my starting point. It was during this stretch I started to feel fatigued, overheated and overly excited for lunch.

Finishing up just over the 17 mile mark I grabbed a Gatorade and drank it in record time. I finished in 2 hours with a  7:05 pace and a 155 average Heart Rate.

1PM – 4PM: Read, write, chill, eat.

Abbe and I had planned a ‘run-to-dinner’ date for that night (something we really love to do) so I met her at her place to start at 4:30PM. Setting off across 35th Street my legs felt like lead. This was a fun challenge for me, how do I get my legs to get back in run mode. It really only took a mile or so before I was warmed up and everything was running as planned.


We chatted a bit and ended up down at Battery Park (second time for me that day) to have a really relaxing dinner. They even let us in with our running gear on!

We ran just over 5 Miles bringing my daily tally to 22 Miles.

Look how beautiful the sunset was.