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RACE REPORT: 052 – NYC Marathon: 3:01:59

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This year’s New York City Marathon was a milestone as well as a day of reflection. 2 years ago, the 2008 NYCM marked my introduction into the world of running and later on, triathlons. At that time, my only intention was to run a marathon, little did I know it would change my life forever.

In the weeks prior to the marathon I kept being asked an interesting question. “How long have you been training for this?” Well, any of you who keep up with my blog know that I like to race every weekend if possible, therefore, I am in training year round. The only difference is that I up my weekend mileage 2 months before a marathon.

Friday after work Erika and I headed over to the Expo to get our numbers and meet up with some fellow runners to have dinner. Upon arrival we met up with Ronny, Hernan and Walter to get our race numbers. As always with NYRR, it was smooth sailing and I had everything in check within 10 minutes.

Wandering the Expo I made my way to the Zensah booth where Michelle, Mary, Jen, and Eva were already hanging. They initiated me into the Zensah Mafia and I walked away with both calf sleeves and arm sleeves. We were all slotted to have dinner together so we departed for 44th and 10th to eat.

On the way out I spotted Danny Abshire at the Newton booth and got caught up chatting with him. I had bought a pair of Distancias after doing a natural running clinic with him and now my mom is a Newton owner so we had a lot to discuss. I would be running the marathon in Newtons as well.

Dinner was great, all of us talking shop and getting excited for Sunday.

Saturday morning I went for a quick 4 mile run. I followed the course of the finish for Sunday but DID NOT go through the finish line. I’m superstitious and didn’t want to jinx myself.



Mid-day was spent making race preparations. I made 6 ‘Race Burritos’ and made a lethal Gatorade/Redbull/Emergen-C/Rock Salt blend (I cant believe I’m giving away all my secret formulas!) Pictured is the burrito process since so many people have expressed interest.

I spent the afternoon briefing my friend Ahern’s father Steve on the course and other FAQ’s he had. Although it wasn’t Steve’s first marathon by far, he wanted the scoop on NYCM since I had raced it before. I would have done the same if I were in his shoes.

For dinner Erika and I went up to Harlem to eat at her favorite Italian restaurant, Pisticci’s. It’s pretty amazing. I kept my beer consumption pretty low at 2 total. We watched a movie and were asleep by 10:30.

RACE DAY

Up at 5:30AM (that’s 8 hours of sleep with the time change people, aka PLENTY) and got some Irish oatmeal going. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from all these running adventures, its to eat a hearty breakfast! I also made a to go cup of oatmeal (which would come in handy later) and had a to go cup of Cafe Bustelo. Oh yeah, where’s my coffee sponsorship?

Jim met Erika and I in front of my building and we all split a cab down to the SI Ferry. We met Ronny, Hernan and Walter there as well and all of us jumped on the 6:45 to fulfill our destiny.

Ferry to the bus to the fort… it was pretty painless. I did have to pee like a race horse all morning though for some weird reason. I think I was over hydrated. Thank you Brooklyn Lager.

At the Blue area, or ‘Club Blue’ as I had dubbed it (Daniel and Alex, didn’t see you guys at the hot tub area?), I ate my second big cup of oatmeal and a banana. I was ready. One more pee stop then off to my corrals.

I was wearing my running shorts, a blue sleeveless race top, Zensah sleeves, Rudy Project ‘Gozen’ sunglasses, gloves and a winter hat. It was perfect and so were the conditions, sunny and 45 degrees.

In my corral everyone was totally amped and I made friends with a few of the guys around me. A few speeches, announcement of the leaders, national anthem (which was horrible this year) and then the cannon! Sinatra’s ‘New York New York’ was blasting as we began our assent onto the Verrazanos Bridge!

For starting in the top 1000-2000 people I kept running (literally) into slow runners with high bib numbers. Had they cheated their way to the front? Did they hop a fence? It was causing quite a bit of traffic problems as the swarms of faster runners would overtake them. This was of course forgotten by the time we were making our descent and everyone was peeing off the side of the bridge! I ran my first mile in 8:40.

At the bottom of the bridge I ran into (or next to) my friend Robert! We used to train together 2 years ago. We chatted a bit and would be running within a few minutes of each other all race, which I thought was awesome! He would overtake me towards the end though as he is a machine when it comes to the marathon distance.

The first 2-8 miles are pretty much a straight shot up 4th Avenue in Brooklyn and, in my opinion, it is the most fun part of the race. The cheering in non-stop, with all walks of life joining in! I was feeling pretty good and should have slowed down. I ran a 5:40 for mile 2 to which is just plain stupid, but I think I got too excited and lost myself. I also pulled over to the first rest area to pee again. I don’t know what was going on – I never have to go that many times before a race.

At mile 4 one of the guys I was chatting with in the corrals earlier came up along side of me. He had arm sleeve tattoos, was from Great Britain, and this was his first time in New York City! “Wow.” I told him “You are going to see every part of town and have a blast!” His name was Kev and he was pretty cool. He got a big kick out of my ‘Race Burritos.’ I invited him and his girlfriend back to our after party before loosing him in the masses.

As we hit downtown Brooklyn ( mile 8 ) we veered right into Fort Green. In my head I had broken up the course into ‘Sectors’ and we had just cleared ‘Sector 1.’ Sweet! Fort Green might get the best cheer zone award. I mean, REALLY! It was like Tour De France (no I have never raced the TdF) with all the people out in the streets yelling! Strictly amazing!

Worst cheering goes to Williamsburg this year (and not just because I hate hipsters so much I made a shirt expressing it) but because there was a lull in the energy.

At mile 11 I said aloud “It’s lunchtime.” I proceeded to chomp away at the ‘Race Burrito’ I was carrying. Some of my friends wanted me to get some photos while I ate, so I waited till I saw the Brightroom gang and made some funny faces. In the photo above you can see me prepping to eat it.

As mile 13 came around I saw the Pulaski Bridge (separating Brooklyn and Queens) and thought, “Holy cow, when did that get so steep?” Fighting over it I thought ‘Sector 2, clear.’

Cruising through Queens I was excited as I knew I had a few sets of friends cheering people on. First up was TK on the right! 100 Meters down the road on the left were Josh and Susan (plus a few more I couldn’t make out). It lifted my spirits which was exactly what I needed because the dreaded Queensboro Bridge lay directly ahead. (Cue Darth Vader theme from Star Wars please.)

2 years ago the Queensboro kicked my ass. I walked a bit and may have even cried. This year, this race, things were going to be different. I steadied my pace and started pumping my arms in rhythm, leaning into the hill. I was taking quick, small strides and if I felt myself slowing, I would pick up my turnover rate. Looking into the distance I kept wondering when we would hit the apex. I managed to get in a 8:05 mile for the ‘painful’ part of the bridge. As we hit the descent I felt like a kid running down a hill, all my weight behind me, legs and arms relaxed, it was awesome!

Nearing the end of the bridge, I knew what lay in store from last time and was getting choked up and energized at the same time. I cued up ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ (Erika’s idea) and picked up my pace as I turned down the off ramp. Deafening crowds 8 deep all along the bridge exit greeted us! I threw my hands up and egged the crowd on, their volume increasing! Looping under the bridge and coming out onto 1st Avenue is overwhelming. Crowds that would rival any parade line the avenue as far as the eye can see and the noise is so great that even a runner’s headphones are drowned out. This is the time to soak it all in, this is the time to celebrate, because in a few more miles things get rough.

Running by 83rd Street (my street) I saw Ed (from ‘Dad Posse’) and his son Ben cheering me on. Ed yelling, “Kick ass Baker! Go!” Approaching 87th Street I started to put on the brakes and look for my pit crew. I saw Robin, Jeff and Allison among many others and stopped for a few high fives and for my Gatorade High Octane Blend. Off again, I tried to keep my spirits up and my pace steady. I had just under an hour to run 8 miles.

At the Mile 18 Aid Station I heard “Hi Chris Baker!” It was Jess! I was past the station by the time I realized who it was and didn’t have a chance to stop and say hello.

Nearing the Bronx, I noticed a guy to my right who people were cheering on as ‘Paddy.’ Then I saw his shirt ‘Paddy Runs for Haiti’ and I thought “Hey, Ila has a cousin that runs for that team! We are friends on Facebook!” I approached and said “Hey! You run for Team Paddy!” to which he responded “It’s not a team, I AM Paddy.” Too wild! As I was explaining that I knew Ila he stopped me and said “Wait, you’re Baker! No way!” We had a pretty good laugh about the whole thing. He and I had never met but were planning on meeting to talk shop at happy hour one night, but what are the odds of meeting during a 45,000 person marathon?! We ran together for awhile before loosing each other in the mayhem that is miles 20-23 aka PAIN.

The Bronx wasn’t nearly as bad as I remembered it, as far as crowd support goes. I knew we were only there for a hot second so I tried to take in as much of the course as I could. Looping around to the 5th Avenue bridge we were now back on the island and entering my least favorite part of the course.

Miles 21-23 follow 5th Avenue from the north all the way south to 90th Street, where we enter the Park. At this point in the day, the sun reflects off the street and all of the people cheering are silhouettes. It’s pretty weird and very ‘dreamlike.’

Marcus Garvey Park is straight up annoying because its like someone just dropped a plot of land right on top of 5th, blocking you so you have to run around it. Hello? I just lost 3 minutes Mr. Garvey.

Once I rounded Garvey’s ‘in-the-way’ park, I was confronted with the mighty uphill stretch leading to the Park. It’s a pretty heavy incline and at mile 23 it’s not exactly something you’re looking forward to. I looked at the ground and dug in. I also reached into my pocket and ate my last Honey Stinger. It was so good. I felt a little bit like a bear. I’m not going to lie, I wanted to quit on that hill. Throw in the towel, call it a day, hit the showers. Looking at my Garmin I was filled with a bit of hope as I saw my time, 2:45.
I had 15 minutes and just about 2 1/2 miles to cover. On any given day PRIOR to running 23 1/2 miles of a marathon I would have no problem pulling this off, but could I do it now while my calves burned like the devil?

Entering the Park was like stepping into my backyard. In the last 10 years I have run, biked and walked this Park thousands of times and knew its intricacies well. I picked up my pace and started feeling really good, all of my pain washing away as I knew the end lay near.

At Mile 24 I saw Sam and Erica and WOW did they ever give me a loud cheer! Cruising down ‘Cat Hill’ I was grateful we weren’t having to run up it. I was clocking 6:50 miles now and was on target for my goal, but it was going to be close, like Death Star close.

Right after that cheer squad I heard my name again, and up on an outcropping of rocks was Annie and Moses with their awesome dog Guapo. They might have had the best seats in the house. It was getting hard to cheer back at people by this point, but I made the best effort I could.


Mile 25 hit and I heard (yet again!) “Baker! Yea man!” It was Robin’s brother Nick B. and his crew! I saluted and barreled forward. One factor I didn’t calculate was that we didn’t go around the bottom of the Park, we went out onto 59th Street to cut across. Making the westward turn I was once again surprised at the incline we were climbing. It hurt bad and slowed me down tremendously.

As we turned into the Park at Columbus Circle I had 1 minute to get to the Finish Line. I knew this couldn’t be obtained but was still excited at being so close.

For me the Finish Line at NYC Marathon is always the most non-memorable part. I think it’s because all other parts of the course are run on legitimate city streets, neighborhoods where people had just walked out their door to cheer. Here, in the Park, was a fabricated gate system and banner that (although very cool) is very unremarkable looking back at the race as a whole.

Sex/
Age		 Bib Overall

Place

 Age
Place		 Finish
Time		 Pace/
Mile		 AG %
M32 4321 1050 198 03:01:59 6:57 68.64 %

I crossed at 3:01:59 with a 12 minute PR and my first ever Boston Qualifier!

Walking to get my baggage I ran into Antonio and Robert. We chatted about the race and had a few laughs before parting ways.

At 86th Street I took the X86 across the Park with no problem. Well, when I was getting on the bus I said to the driver “Hi! I get to ride free right because I ran the marathon!” She casually glanced up at me and said “Um, no you don’t.” Feeling like a child who was just told Christmas was canceled I paid my fare and sat down. A few of the riders said congratulations to me.

I exited the bus and was walking down 87th Street heading to the bar where all of my friends and family were hanging. It was now 1:00 PM, I cued up “Babba Riley” by the Who while walking and kinda had a ‘moment.’ For the first time all day I felt proud of my accomplishment and my new PR. A few spectators here and there saluted me and were thrilled about my time, lifting my spirits even more.

Entering the insanely crowded bar, I made my way straight back to the tables. I heard a loud cheer from my brother Jeff and was then bombarded with high fives from the whole gang. A few in attendance were… ROLE CALL: Jeff, Allison, Robin, Stephanie, Billy, Shamin, Peate, Cousin Phyllis, John, Cousin Cat, Jonboy, and many more. We stayed till 3 or so before heading out to Stag’s Head Tavern on 51st Street.

We had the entire outside area to ourselves. What a great time it was. Erika showed up after rocking a 4:28 finish. Some other marathon finisher friends showed up too like, Mr. Ahern, Sharon and Ilka! It was a glorious day for all! Stag’s Head ROLE CALL: Allen, Casey, Nick, Rayna, Eric, Asher, Todd, Ila, Andy, Michael, Tim, The Ahern Family, and probably a lot more I missed. We stayed there till 8PM before finally calling the night.

I finally get to race in Boston.

RACE REPORT: 051 Little Silver 5k: 17:38 – 11th Place

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After Saturday’s 5K I headed back to my apartment to pack for the Little Silver 5K I was racing on Sunday. Jim, Ed (from ‘Dad Posse’) and Jack (Ed’s son) and I left around 2:30 to head to Mike and Kara’s house in the Red Bank area.

After a lovely jaunt down the ever-scenic New Jersey Turnpike we arrived at our destination. The sun was setting and Fall was in the air, so we caught up over a few beers in the backyard. The rest of the wives (minus Erika 1- because she was running the Staten Island Half Mary in the morning and 2 – she’s not my wife!) were arriving the next day for post-race festivities, so the guys were let loose to roam Red Bank.

Jim, Ed, Mike and I set off to The Globe Bar to grab some food and more beer. It was supposedly a ‘Dive’ but all 4 of us have spent many years in ‘Dives’ in NYC and this was way off. It did have a cigarette vending machine though! They had great food, especially the wings. We spent a few hours there before setting off to Dublin House.

The Dublin House is a very respectable irish pub. Unfortunately, all 4 of us were wiped so we headed back to Mike’s house to ride out the night after just one Guinness.

Once there we got the fire pit going and all sat around continuing our conversation. Kara joined along with the neighbors, Jim and Amy. I ducked out around 11PM because I was really feeling tired from the day’s events. I was also worried… how would my legs feel tomorrow for the next 5k?

RACE DAY

When I woke up at 7:45 I could definitely tell I needed more rest. Mentally substituting Santa Claus for coffee, I tip-toed downstairs to see what might be waiting for me.

After a cup of coffee and a banana we were off to the race. It really couldn’t have been more perfect as far as weather goes. 55 degrees, not a cloud in the sky.

As we prepared to line up at the start there were a bunch of college track runners warming up. Jim told me not to worry, but looking at them I thought “These dudes look fast! Yikes!”

The gun went off and I hung back. Not wanting to be the rabbit this time around, I let 3 guys lead us. We hung together in a 2 and 2 formation (envision us sitting in a car) and were blazing. We ran our first mile in 5:20.

Soon after Mile 1 the 3 underage speedsters I was running with separated from me. A few minutes later, another fast underage group overtook took me. I held onto these guys for the remainder of the race though.

SIDENOTE: How did my legs feel after racing a 5K the day before? Like crap. Imagine starting a 5K with that feeling you have at about Mile 8 of a Half Mary.

Mile 2 was hit at 5:40, and I was struggling.

Not much to report for the last mile aside from me just hanging onto the back of the heels of this college track runner named Alec. Rounding the corner and entering the high school track where we were to finish, I tried to punch it and take him, to no avail.

Sex/
Age		 Bib Overall

Place

 Age
Place		 Finish
Time		 Pace/
Mile		 AG %
M32 11 11 1 17:38 5:40 73.80 %

I crossed the finish at 17:38 and a 5:40 pace. Only one second slower than the Hoboken 5k the day before… science where are you when I need you?! This makes no sense at all but I’ll take it.

Jim came in followed by Mike and Ed. We all had goals set (without going into them as people’s race times can be personal) and all of us accomplished them! We hung around for the awards presentation as I won 1st in my age group (11th overall which is weird as my bib number was 11) and Jim got 3rd in his!

We went back to Mike’s where we had a fantastic BBQ. The rest of the wives and kids showed up as well. I helped all 7 of the kids paint pumpkins for Halloween which was awesome as I’m an artist at my core (even went to Art College) and got to be creative.

The weekend was fantastic for racing in general. I would like to say ‘hi fives’ to all my friends and acquaintances who raced this weekend whether it be Chicago Marathon, IM KONA World Championships (so jealous), Staten Island Half Mary, or the Hartford Marathon. Big thanks to the Farley’s for hosting us crazy runners!

—

In conclusion, Racing a 5K on both Saturday and Sunday is very strenuous, especially when it involves social activity, not movies and sleep. But, my times for both were just 1 second apart. It’s very strange and I can’t come up with any logical explanation as I should have been more tired the following day. Is there a doctor in the house? Please explain!

Also, in analyzing my almost exact race times from both days and how I placed (3rd and 11th), it just goes to show… you never know who is going to show up on race day.

RACE REPORT: 050 Hoboken UMC 5K: 17:37 – 3rd Place

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This weekend I would attempt a double header 5K. Meaning… the first 5K on Saturday morning and the second on Sunday. I was very curious (scientifically) as to the outcome of both. Would I be faster on the first race, or would that race simply warm me up for Sunday? Stay tuned.

—

Erika and I left Manhattan on the Hoboken Ferry (it’s really the best way to get there, the Path is crap) Friday night after work. Our plan was to meet up with Jenn and Josh, drink our face off, wake up and blaze the Hoboken UMC 5K.

Erika, Josh, and I started at a cute Mexican restaurant and began the night with a few margaritas. Shortly after we met Jenn at their place to relax on their back patio. After a few more drinks we decided that a Nintendo Wii contest was in order.

1:30AM, Wii-ed out (is that a new term perhaps?) and intoxicated, we all went to bed.

RACE DAY

We woke up at 7:45AM after Mike and Meryl arrived to join us for the race. All of us feeling a bit groggy, we made our way out to the start of the race.

It was beautiful out and couldn’t be more perfect for a run.

Jenn (who is pretty fast) and I lined up right in front. I wasn’t sure what I felt like doing as far as the run was concerned, but I knew once we were moving I would figure it out.

The gun went off and the group lunged forward. I held down the left flank and in 30 seconds found myself leading the group. I hate being in this position. It’s called ‘being the rabbit’ and personally I would rather chase the rabbit. (Not to be confused with chasing the dragon.)

Sure enough 3 guys overtook me in at mile 1. It was there that my cousin Phyllis and her boyfriend John made an appearance on the sidelines, cheering me on! Family rules.

It was an out and back course and as the 3 leaders looped around I smiled and pointed at them as if to say “I’m coming for ya!” but they didn’t respond. I was very disappointed as I love fun sportsmen that get my humor. In reality, I would not be coming for them as they were cooking.

At mile 2 I felt good but was really pushing and starting to notice bits a fatigue setting in. I remembered what Danny Abshire from Newton told me during a running workshop in Central Park, “Shake it off, loosen up, then regain your form. It’s what Craig Alexander does.” I did this and it helped a lot. I un-kinked some things and kept along.

I saw Erika and we cheered at each other!

Coming down the finishing stretch there was no way I was going to overtake the lead guys, but on the other hand no one was behind me closing in.

Sex/
Age		 Bib Overall

Place

 Age
Place		 Finish
Time		 Pace/
Mile		 AG %
M32 306 3 1 17:37 5:40 73.80 %

I finished in 17:37 and in 3rd place overall! One of the guys running in the pack ahead wasn’t registered but just want to run it. And I, and I thought I was nuts!

Jenn came in 3rd female overall, then Erika came in 1st in her age group! The 6 of us walked away with 3 trophies!

Erika and I couldn’t stay for brunch so we took the ferry back home.

Later on, Erika’s trophy planted a kiss on mine.

RACE REPORT: 049 Montgomery River Run 5K: 18:24 – 1st Place

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A dear friend of mine, Mike Bowman (or ‘Bowman’) was getting married in the Chicago suburbs October 1st. In preparation for the trip I said to myself, “I should run a race out there since I have never been.” After some difficult research I signed up for the Montgomery River Run 5K Oktoberfest celebration. It was at 9AM the morning after the wedding. Crazy indeed.

SIDENOTE: This is a long post.

I left at 5:30AM Thursday morning to catch my flight. It was relatively painless, although I was up so early I felt like I should be running a Half Marathon or something. “Runner Brain.”

I landed at O’Hare roughly around 9:30AM and had until 4PM to get out to Aurora (a suburb 60 miles west of Chicago) and so I decided to have an ‘Adventure.’ Rather than take the $100 cab directly to Aurora, I took the subway into downtown Chicago to check it out, since I had never visited.

Here is a note to all you Chicago Marathon runners, they are ready for you! Unlike NYCM, there were huge ads and billboards canvassing the city to let everyone know what was coming.

Chicago is great. It’s very clean, has a pretty skyline, and the subway is efficient. I walked around for awhile and then had lunch at a pub.

I took another train out to Aurora and then checked into my hotel. Since all my friends were busy I went for an 8 mile run to explore town and pick up my race number.

That night was the rehearsal dinner and I got to see a lot of good friends.

ROLE CALL!!! Brendan and Stacy, Jeremy, Grant, Leigh, Kevin and Joan, Matt and Kate, Katie, and of course the wedding couple Bowman and Kim. I also made friends with some new people, Eric and Phe, Jay and Snake.

After dinner Kim’s brother Kevin took us all to a ‘speak easy’ of sorts. It was called The Phoenix Club, located in a town hall. You had to be a member to get in and there was a key card swipe to access the bar. This was not the speakeasy that Al Capone frequented. Bright lights, and lots of wood paneling… think truck stop meets Midwest bar. None the less, it was fun. They had the local beer for 75 cents per beer. It was called Old Style and if I knew now what it would do to my head the next day I would have spent the extra 25 cents for a mainstream beer.

We stayed out till 2AM or so and had a blast. All of us as a group haven’t been together in at least 10 years!

The next morning it felt like a squirrel was eating my brain, thank you Old Style.

Jeremy, Eric and I explored the town some more and ended up at a casino for awhile. Nothing like a little roulette at 2PM on a Friday…

The wedding was at 4:30PM so after a shower and getting ‘suited’ up we all made our way to the ceremony. It was really beautiful, set on a gazebo-like structure. The reception immediately followed and everyone jumped into party mode.

At midnight, after a thorough amount of drinking and dancing, I called it a night. The rest of the gang stayed out till 3 or 4 in the morning. A few of them woke me up at 5AM upon their return to the hotel room to give me all the details of what I had missed. After a little coaxing I convinced them to let me sleep as I had to be up at 8:30AM to race.

RACE DAY

In an email dated September 14th to the bride and groom, this was my response to the 5K, “I’m gonna sign up for the race and win it the day after your wedding in honor of you kats.” This was my intention all along, but I was worried about pulling it off. SIDENOTE: I sometimes call people ‘kats’ as in ‘Cool Cats’.

I grabbed a cup of coffee, then Jeremy and I headed out. He was my ride to the race and I am really thankful for him agreeing to do that, otherwise I might have had to run to the run. Ha.

Arriving at the race start, which was the local fire station and town hall, we found Eric waiting for us! He wanted to see this thing go down too. It was sunny and 50 degrees, running perfection and the epitome of Fall.

Everyone knew each other and were kinda milling about. Eric and Jeremy were smiling and they walked over and were like “Baker, you got this man, you can do it!” As I responded with, “Guys! Don’t jinx me!”

The start line was a crosswalk. Yes, it was a small town race. Around 9:15 people decided we could maybe start the race so all 144 of us were huddled in the street. There were a few serious looking runners there geared out and jumping around. A man standing in the lift of the fire truck called the start and then fired the gun.

Taking off in the front 5 runners or so I made the quick decision 50 meters out to just go for it ad I blasted ahead.

There was an ATV leading us down the town roads. It was a pretty simple course in a rectangle. At Mile 1 there was a volunteer and I yelled (as a joke) “How many miles is this thing?” Looking worried she yelled back, “It’s a 3 mile race and you just ran mile 1 in 5:45! Keep going!” I guess my race humor can be a little much at times.

I don’t like to ‘look back’ during races, but if there are turns I do glance back. I did this at one of the turns and didn’t see any runners. I found this odd and had I not been following the leader ATV I might have thought I took a wrong turn.

I felt good and was cooking, but I didn’t feel like I was pushing that hard. Rounding the final turn to the last 1/2 stretch I got pretty excited at the prospect of winning. The finish is a down hill and there were about 10 people (including Jeremy and Eric) cheering us on. Jeremy and Eric were really excited and totally making a cheering ruckus! As I crossed I threw a hand up and yelled “For Bowman and Kim!”

Sex/
Age		 Bib Overall

Place

 Age
Place		 Finish
Time		 Pace/
Mile		 AG %
M32 658 1 1 18:24 5:56 70 %

I got high fives from the fellas and then we cheered on the rest of the runners as they came through. My time was 18:24 which I was happy with even though it wasn’t Sub 17 which is my new 5K goal. Second place came in 50 seconds later followed quickly by the third place guy who was close to overtaking him.

I won a plaque for first place. We couldn’t stick around to watch all the awards as we had to get to the Wedding Brunch which would be ending in the next 30 minutes.

SIDENOTE: the first place female was 54 years old! Totally bad ass!

Arriving at the wedding brunch there were looks of disbelief, then loud cheering! Everyone wanted to hear how the race went down. Some people wondered why on earth I would want to run a race the morning after a wedding? I have no logical answer for this question accept that if you know me, then you know why.

I gave my trophy top Bowman and Kim as a wedding keepsake.

Most of us said goodbye shortly after. A group of us decided to go into Chicago for lunch to kill time before our 7PM flights. I got to be a tourist in a big city for once, instead of being the tour guide. It was actually pretty fun. After lunch we all went to the Willis Tower (formerly known as the Sears Tower).

It was awesome! They have these clear glass boxes you can stand in and you are literally 1200 feet above the streets. I wont lie, I was scared.

At sundown we headed to the airport to leave the windy city. It was an amazing trip that once again made me realize how great it is to see friends you haven’t seen in ages, and everything is still the same as it always was.

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

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

—

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

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

RACE DAY

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sex/
Age		 Bib Overall

Place

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

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

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

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

—

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

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

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Sex/
Age		 Bib Overall

Place

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

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

—

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

In bed by midnight…

RACE DAY

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

—

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

RACE DAY

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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



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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

—

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

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

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Sex/
Age		 Bib Overall

Place

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

RACE DAY

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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



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

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

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

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

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

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Sex/
Age		 Bib Overall

Place

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

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

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

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

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

RACE DAY

At 5AM it was already 80 degrees.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

RACE REPORT: 043 NYC Triathlon

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Sex/

Age

Age

Place

Overall

Place

 Swim

0.9M

 T1 Bike

24.8M

 T2 Run

6.2M

 Total

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

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

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

Gotta love those even numbers…

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

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

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

RACE DAY

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

—

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