Biathlon – BEYOND DEFEAT

New York I Love You

Posted on May 16, 2012 by admin

Posted in All, Biathlon, Fitness, Race Reports, Running, Swimming, Triathlon 5 Comments

I am going to start doing a series of posts on my experiences here in New York City and this is numero one. Dig it.

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One of the things that makes New York great is the ability to do anything. Do you like to sew? There are classes and talks on sewing. Maybe you like to collect butterflies. Yes, there is a butterfly collector meet-up.

When my friend Elizabeth asked if I wanted to go see Chrissie Wellington speak this week I thought, “Oh man, Triathlon Nerd Meet-up.” “Hell yes I want to go!” For those of you who have no idea who Chrissie Wellington is, I’m going to slap you. Seriously though, the gal won the Ironman World Championships 4 times.

What would I wear? A running outfit? Perhaps a Rev 3 visor? My wetsuit minus the goggles and pee? (people were actually wearing these things by the way.)

I get out of work at 5 and the event started at 7… what to do, what to do?

Abbe invited me to be her guest at a wine tasting downtown that started at 5:30. Perfect!

I arrived at the very dark and sleek venue and met some of her colleagues before getting started on my Vouvray wine experience. We started with the drier wines, moving down the spectrum to some sweeter ones One of them literally tasted like you were biting into a crisp green apple. Amazing.

All of this was happening while we were being served some spectacular hors d’oeuvres. My favorite were the lamb tacos, which were no taco at all mind you. It was more like spicy lamb wrapped in puff pastry heaven.

At 6:30 I left the gals and headed uptown to see Chrissie. I blasted north on the Subway, arriving promptly at 7. Timing is everything.

As I was entering I saw my friend Josh! Josh is a speedy runner (Homeslice just ran a 2:38 in the Dirty Jersey Marathon coming in 3rd overall) who runs for the Front Runners team. Shorty after that I found Elizabeth and we took our seats.

John Korff, the man who’s company puts on the NYC Tri and Ironman NY was our MC.

Chrissie was really fun to listen to. She gave a lot of great pieces of advice, most of which I have heard over the years from others, including my Coach. What was so captivating about her though was how she used Ironman as a vehicle to a larger world stage. Now that she is known for her athletic achievements she can pick and choose her charities and foundations, raising awareness and money.

The other thing that resonated was, she said she always wanted to run a race and give it all physically and emotionally. It resonated because I think I actually did that for the first time a few weeks ago at the Kentucky Derby Marathon.

Everyone stuck around to get their books signed, but I departed, mainly because the line was insane and I was starving!

Walking home in the cool spring air after a talk like that made me want to run.

Where else can you go from a fancy wine tasting to an Ironman talk?! I love you New York!

RACE REPORT: 042 Aquathlon Stars and Stripes

Posted on July 13, 2010 by admin

Posted in All, Biathlon, Race Reports 3 Comments

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

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

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

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

RACE DAY

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

RACE REPORT: 016 Central Park Biathlon: 1:05:15

Posted on September 6, 2009 by admin

Posted in All, Biathlon, Race Reports 3 Comments

Sex/ Age	Age Place	Overall Place	Run 2M	T1	Bike 12M	T2	Run 2M	Total Time
M31	3	16	13:18	1:03	35:38	0:51	14:23	1:05:15

The Central Park Biathlon is Run 2 miles, Bike 12, then Run another 2… seemingly easy right? It is more difficult (in my mind) than a straight up Triathlon.

Saturday before the race was a busy day. On my morning bike ride around Central Park a bee flew into my shirt and stung me on the chest as I was flying down the back hill. I haven’t been stung by a bee in like 20 years so I wasn’t sure if I was going to have an allergic reaction as I rode up the hill on the other side.

Benny had a roof party all day which was fantastic… Bocce Ball… Beers… Friends…
I left at 6 to get my race packet, clean up, and head to Amanda’s birthday party.

She chose to have her party at the Boat Basin on 79th and the River, always a good choice. It was a real fun time. I even found out that a few gals I know grew up on the same lake that my 2 cousins Gillian and Cat live on. Small world. I didn’t get to eat my standard ‘night before’ race food so I settled for a burger. I left around 11 or so and was in bed at midnight.

RACE DAY

I woke at the super freakin early time of 6AM. Had some Cafe Bustelo and made my way up to CP. (the race Transitions and Start/Finish were at the Boathouse)

As I may have mentioned before, everyone was cool as hell. People of all ages were chatting and there was a totally good vibe pumping through the air.

My transition spot was totally filled by the time I got there. I had to rack my gear on some random spot. Lesson 1: Get to a race early. My friend Cenk said, “Its good to get there early to get your spot set up” I knew this from our last race and totally showed up late, losing my Transition spot.

We all moved to the start line and I was up with the ‘fasties’. These guys looked very serious. We had a small 5 minute window then they sounded the gun!

Lesson 2. DO NOT run heavy duty sprint intervals 2 days prior to a race. This will turn your calves into baseballs. As we started running I totally felt tight and realized the mistake I had made. Must continue though…

The lead guy was a freakin animal and was easily running a 5:20 mile. I was in the lead 10 guys but this character was way ahead of the main pack. I got a look at him at the turn around and he was like 38-40 years old. props.

At T1 I was mildly quick getting on my bike and starting the 2 lap course in decent time. Lesson 3: get a new freakin bike! I was passed by at least 5 people on the bike course (2 of whom were riding the bike I am looking to buy, the Cervelo P2) hint, hint, right? It was a brutal ride as the Autumn winds were in full force. My legs were on fire too. I’m not used to running, then riding. Its normally the reverse.

Coming into T2 I was quicker to get my running shoes back on and head out onto the track for the final 2 mile run. I didn’t get my full speed until maybe a mile had gone by. It takes some time for the legs to adjust after a bike ride. As I got my act together I started picking people off. I might have only passed 3 guys before closing in on the finish line. About 50 yards to the end I saw a guy ahead of me that gave me a reason to rock out my new traditional ‘sprint like a maniac’ through the finish. I beat him by like 2 seconds or something. Marissa was there waiting for me. High fives to her for waking up at 7:30AM on a Saturday to come cheer me on! She is also responsible for all the awesome photos. We sat in the sunny grass and watched the rest of the racers come in, cheering them on.

I finished in 16th overall and got another plaque for third in my age group. Once my body calmed down I felt amazing. SIDENOTE: the guy I sprinted past at the end was in my age group. Had I not sprinted at the end I would not have gotten an award! crazy right?

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I don’t know why right now I feel the need to hit people up with thanks and high fives, but why not. I don’t have any real ‘coaches’ per se, but I consider anyone who has given me advice or trained with me a ‘coach.’ These are the people that push us to do better.

SHOUT OUTS GO TO…

SWIM COACHES: Todd ‘Swim Coach’ Doyle, and Carla Uzel

BIKERS: only one… Jae ‘the Hardy Boy’ Hardy for telling me to buy a track bike 9 years ago.

RUN TEAM: Robert, Sarah and Antonio… some of the speediest Ive ever run with. Kevin Masse. My ‘Dad Posse’ Mike, Ed and Jim!

TRI: Cenk Uzel, for showing me the ropes!

STRENGTH: Asher Hoffman for those early years of prep.

MOTIVATIONAL: Ila Doyle, Marissa Bennett