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Category Archives: Fitness

The 2014 Whiskeython

Posted on January 22, 2014 by admin Posted in All, Fitness, Race Reports, Running 1 Comment

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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NYCM Training: Weeks 4 and 5

Posted on October 28, 2013 by admin Posted in All, Fitness, Running 1 Comment

My 6 week training program may be the most unusual and illogical plan I have ever done. I run when I feel good just to keep my fitness up from Wineglass. I have not run with a Garmin in months and I love it. I just use a timer.

WEEK 4

Wednesday: 5 Miles @ 6:45 pace

I spent the weekend in Portland, Oregon partying with my college buddies, so I didn’t really run. I consider that training for the party after we finish the run Sunday.

Week4

WEEK 5

Wednesday: 5 Miles @ 6:35 pace

Friday: 8 mile ‘barefoot beach run’ @ 8:45 pace

Week5

1 WEEK TO GO!

 

New York City Marathon NYCM training

NYCM Training: Week 2 and 3

Posted on October 14, 2013 by admin Posted in All, Fitness, Running Leave a comment

I have really been enjoying my ability to run again. It reminds me of my early days in 2008 when I first started. I have been running without a Garmin most of the time and just going by feel.

WEEK 2

Wednesday: 5 Miles @ 6:50 pace

Thursday: 4 Miles @ 7:00 pace

Friday: (I stayed home from work sick but wanted to get an easy run in as it was nice out.) 3 Miles @ 8:30 pace

Sunday: I was supposed to do 16 and if my knee hurt (as that would be the greatest distance run since April) stop. My knee didn’t hurt so I just finished the marathon.

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WEEK 3

Recovery is the name of the game. Dr. Levine loosened up my calves Tuesday.

Friday: 4 Miles @ 7:45 pace

Saturday: 5 Miles @ 7:45 pace (reverse taper? maybe.)

Sunday: Staten Island Half Marathon 13.1 Miles @ 6:40 pace. Once again, I was supposed to use this as training but got caught up and at Mile 4 decided to pick up the pace. NO KNEE PAIN!!!BD_NYCM_Training_week3

This style of training is seemingly ridiculous on paper, but it seems to be working.

Congratulations to all of my friends who raced KONA, Chicago and Mohawk Hudson this weekend!

 

 

Marathon NYCM

RACE REPORT: 095 Wineglass Marathon – 03:17:30

Posted on October 9, 2013 by admin Posted in All, Fitness, Race Reports, Running 5 Comments

The concept of ‘Mind over Body’ is nothing new to the Marathon and Ironman community. Runners commonly refer to a marathon as 10% physical, 90% mental.

For Week 2 of my NYC Marathon training plan I ran:

Wednesday: 5M Easy
Thursday: 4M MGP
Friday: 3M Easy

I had a discussion with Dr. Levine about the Wineglass Marathon and we decided it would be a great opportunity to get an aided training run in. I was to run around 16 miles, if it hurt at any point stop.

I stayed home from work on Friday because I caught what Abbe had the day before, this random sore throat thingy. After resting for most of the morning and drinking my magic ginger elixir I walked down to the drug store to get a flu shot. It later dawned on me that getting one 2 days prior to a race might not be smart as I could have gotten slightly sick.

That night I met Abs, Claire, and Bojana down at Naples 45 for happy hour and dinner. After stuffing our face with meatballs and pizza we shuffled onto a train heading to Claire’s folks (Kathy and Mike) house. I was feeling slightly better.

Mike picked us up and delivered us safely to the Walsh Lair where we had some tasty alcoholic beverages. I retired early to ensure that the germs would leave my body.

Then next morning, feeling great, the 3 of us went on a shake out run around Connecticut. We even passed Gene Wilder’s house. I am only mentioning that because I love him for all of his Charlie and the Chocolate Factoryness. My knee felt awesome.

Later on, as we prepared to leave crowds gathered, wishing us well on our journey into the wild. They brought us glad tidings and many gifts. I’m just kidding, but Kathy and Mike waved as we departed! Our 5 hour car adventure had begun with Claire ‘Booze Cruise Control’ Walsh behind the wheel.

After 2 hours on the road it was approaching feeding time. We all agreed that we were too snobby to stop at a fast food place and a mom-n-pop shop or a diner would be much more suitable. As we came over a rolling countryside hill a sign for ‘Last Licks Sub Shop’ caught our eye. We were very very excited and exited appropriately.

DISCLAIMER: If you have no interest in how great our food experience was, because I am going to elaborate, please skip to SECTION: 7759

Imagine if you will, a white one story house with an outdoor wooden patio nestled in a gravel parking lot surrounded by the tallest and most beautiful pine trees. Wood cut outs of kids and sandwiches in vibrant colors attached to the outside. If the Muppets (more specifically Dr. Teeth and the ELECTRIC MAYHEM) could have opened a sub shop, this was it!

"THE MUPPETS"..Ph: John E. Barrett..© 2011 Disney

We entered a small room, with an open ordering area to our right and were greeted by the owner. He was a man in his 50’s casually dressed who welcomed us with open arms. “Well hello there! Are you looking to use the bathroom, or are you hungry?” We smiled and informed him of our desire to gorge ourselves with sandwiches. “Well you have come to the right place. We can serve em up toasted, on rye, a sub roll or maybe you want a panini?” I am a sucker for a good turkey sandwich so that’s exactly what I ordered. Unlike NYC, he told us we could pay him AFTER we ate. “Go sit outside on the patio, I’ll bring these out to you when ready.” What? If only all humans could be as nice and hospitable as this man. SIDENOTE: If you could pay after you ate in NYC, you wouldn’t get paid.

Needless to say, the sandwiches were awesome. We sat out in the clean mountain air in peace, taking in mother nature and our much needed lunch.

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SECTION: 7759

Back on the road we started to notice just how beautiful it was out in the mountains. The trees were in full autumn color.

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Arriving in Corning and making our way to the Expo we immediately saw Kelly and Betsy on the street. Abbe hollered out at them and it kinda felt like some gang from New York was converging on this small town to take over. Actually, that IS what was happening!

We got our Bibs, shirts, etched wine glass, champagne and then made our way to the luxurious Ramada. Claire was hungry so we made the decision to go to the hotel bar. Oh, and c’mon, what else were we going to do, we had 4-5 hours to kill.

The hotel bar ‘It’s 5 o’clock Somewhere Lounge’ was certainly not a lounge and opened ironically at 5PM. It was more like your friend’s dad’s man cave, but with a bunch of 4 top tables. The whole place was carpeted like the hotel and in one corner was a pool table and a TV on a roll-y stand. The 10 seat bar had Quick Pick games playing on one TV and Nascar on another.

BD_WG2013_GamblingNumbers representing 26.2, Bib 63, Bib 1980 and Bib 1031.

The draft beers were $2.75 and I have to say I loved the place. I was really sad we had to run the next day and really couldn’t take advantage of our time here in the ‘It’s 5 o’clock Somewhere Lounge’. After a couple beers, potato skins and some french fries (yes, I know you are all shaking your heads) we headed off to the room. Abs had made us a homemade pasta dish which we nibbled on as we watched National Treasure. Claire had never seen it so Abs and I were trying to fill her in on why it was awesome. She will probably never watch it again. Abs fell asleep by 8, Claire and I watched Can’t Hardly Wait until 9 at which point we both decided it was time to go dark.

RACE DAY

I slept so damn well. The gals wanted to wake up at like 4:45AM and I was like “F that!” Even though I heard them giggling and prancing around I still managed to rest until a 5:30 or so. I grabbed some sub par hotel coffee and started waking up. I had zero race jitters, mainly because my future was unwritten. It felt so liberating. I didn’t give a damn. I even ate some shit bagel from the hotel restaurant that may have been made of sand. I have 2 rules… never eat pizza outside of New York and never eat Bagels outside of New York. I was living on the edge.

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Claire was rocking out to that song “All I do is win, win, win no matter what.” It would be rattling around in my head all day.

We drove to the center of town and hopped on a bus.Wineglass is a point to point (much like Boston) so we had 30 minutes to chill. The weather was nice, 60 degrees with a slight on-off drizzle. I had mixed up some Gen UCANN to eat. Ever since one of my Kompetitive Edge teammates told the team about the stuff 2 years ago I have been hooked. It sent me to my marathon PR in May of 2012 so I know it works. I had to Gu’s stuffed into my tri shorts for back-up as well.

SHOE TALK! In case anyone is curious, I had my trusty Newts on. I have been running in them since 2009 and they seem to work for me. The Kinvaras I had been testing were messing up my knee based on toe-to-heel profile last week so they were out.

We linked up with Kelly and Betsy soon after we arrived at the staging grounds. The sun was rising and I knew it was going to push the rain away. I wanted happy sunshine, even if it meant heat.

While drinking my Vanilla UCANN I convinced Betsy and Kelly that I was drinking milk and that was my secret. I enjoy pranks and this was no exception. “It’s actually Half-n-Half. It gets me going.” This lasted maybe 3 minutes.

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As we lined up for the start I placed myself with all the gals instead of down at the front. Remember, at this moment all I wanted to do was run 16 miles pain free. After a very strange rendition of the National Anthem the gun went of. It took us 2 minutes to hit the Start mat. SIDENOTE: New runners, always count in your head if you are in the back and don’t cross the start immediately.

I had neither a Garmin or headphones, I was running totally rogue.

We all started running together (obviously) and I just did my thing. It was a long downhill and we were all shifting and adjusting where we were. Everything felt pretty good, but I didn’t want to push it.

After a few miles I wanted to leave Abbe and Claire alone. Abbe had asked Claire to be her pacer and I know all too well what happens if there are other people around when that is happening so I pulled ahead by 5-10 feet.

At mile 4 I pulled over for a pee break. I even used a porta-pottie. Back on the road I immediately ran (ha) into Kelly. We chatted for a hot second then I took off. It was at this point I started to increase my speed ever so slightly. You see, I thought I saw the 3:15 pace group ahead so I was trying to pass them. In reality, I had just passed the 3:40 pace group so logic should have stepped in.

I was really excited to be running some crazy fast pace after being injured and then I realized that it was actually the 3:35 pace group! Baker you fool!

It was riiiiight around this point, mile 6, that things changed. My gears slowly started shifting. Everything felt great and the scenery was beautiful, so why not?! I had broken the course into four, 6 mile quadrants. Yes, I know that doesn’t add up to 26, but who cares. I had just passed quadrant 1 and was on a roll.

Just like my pre-injured days I started picking out human targets in the distance and hunting them down. My pace was increasing. The Old Baker was resurfacing.

I passed the 3:35 pacers, then the 3:30 pacers, then the 3:25 pacers… thinking, “Am I pushing it too much?”

I took half of a Gu at mile 10. Mile 10 was also fun because some guy looked at me and was like, “was that mile 10!?” “Yeah man! They are ticking off fast now!” we laughed and then I proceeded.

SIDENOTE: Aside from having no Garmin, there were no time clocks anywhere. I had no idea how fast I was going.

As I crossed the half I yelled to the gal, “What time is it?” She slowly responded that i was roughly 9:45. Was that good? Was it bad? I still didn’t care, I was having a blast just running to run. Try it sometime, I dare you.

The next couple miles were a blur of small towns and remote roads. Somewhere around mile 16 I was passing an aid station and some guy yelled “Go Lord Baker!” That is my twitter handle, and after a quick glance I had no idea who this was, but it made me happy! Thank you twitter friend for pushing me onward!

OVERDRIVE.

It was at this point I needed to analyze my knee situation. Situation? No pain. What to do? Well, I have come this far, why not just finish the marathon. We will, of course, need to pick up the pace a bit.

Smiling, I increased my pace and went off into the unknown.

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By now I had 1 full Gu in me. I had no energy loss what so ever but planned on eating my last Gu at mile 20 and 24 splitting it in half as I always do and washing it down with aid station water.

Mile 17 to 19 was rough as we were running along side a highway with a headwind. The weather never really bothered me as much as it did my lady friends, but I think it’s because I was just enthralled at the idea that I was running.

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At mile 20 I had a fun encounter. As I came upon, and intended to pass, this shirtless guy he says, “Well hello there!” I chuckled and said hello back, asking how he was. He was good. I replied, “I have to tell you, I am really enjoying myself and the weather is perfect!” Incorrectly thinking I was going to move forward he said, “Well friend, I have to disagree with you there. It has been favorable at times, but at other moments quite hot.” Not wanting to get into a debate about the government shutdown I agreed and explained that I had to push on.

There was no ‘wall’ for me. This has happened a few times and when it does the only thing that registers is knowing that miles 20-26 are going to be hell. Ha! Aren’t they always?!

Just keep moving is all I was telling myself. Waves of pain would overcome me followed by periods of bliss, where I was flying down the road. I had no idea what my pace was, all I knew was that if I held together I would finish a marathon that was removed from my race list months ago. The only reason I didn’t cancel entry then is that I wouldn’t get a refund, so I figured I could at least get a shirt or something.

Where as before, the miles ticked off fast, now 1 mile seemed like an eternity. I kept saying to myself, “Surely I must have overlooked that mile 22 marker?” Not the case. I always like to yell in Ironman races at mile 20 that “Things are about to get REAL!” and that’s exactly what was happening.

The true test of human willpower and might can happen anywhere in a marathon. It is the individuals race, and therefore the individual has different emotional experiences. These last 3 miles miles were very hard as I thought about actually finishing this marathon. Was it possible? With only 2 weeks of training under my belt, the longest distance I had run in 6 months being 12 miles just the weekend before, was it enough? Mind over body baby.

One of my silly mantra when racing is, “There is no pain, only glory.” The meaning behind this is that the human mind creates pain in order to get you to stop dong something, like running. If you can subdue that urge and override the pain setting, then anything is possible. I just kept running. In fact, I have walked aid stations in 7 of my 10 marathons (not counting Ironman) and I did not walk at all during this race. I wanted it bad. Just keep running, no matter what the pace.

Rounding the final turn, the finish line was off on the horizon, similar to Boston. I would never get there. And yet, I did, finishing in 3:17 and change. My very first marathon was a 3:15 and so I felt like I was back where I started.

Sex/
Age
Bib Overall Place Age
Place
Finish
Time
Pace/
Mile
AG %
M35 63 100 16 3:17:30 7:31 67%

It reminds me of one of my favorite quotes…

We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.

– TS Eliot

I did know the place for the first time and I knew, as I have always known, that this is what I live for. The sense of accomplishment, camaraderie and the painful yet acceptable feeling that I AM ALIVE, will always keep me coming back for more.

I grabbed an apple, water, and a gatorade followed by a slice of pizza and chicken noodle soup. I sat down on the curb and kind of took it all in. Sitting on the curb eating my soup, watching all my people come through. If I had to form an army, I would choose marathoners.

I made friends with this guy named Mike, then Kelly came through. We watched as Betsy broke 4 hours! Nice job soldier. I hung around for awhile before time started slipping away and wondering where Abbe and Claire may have been. I decided to check our meeting spot even though I hadn’t seen them come through the chute. There were there chillin out.

We hightailed it back to the hotel for a shower then took off toward NYC.

Ironically, Abbe’s Dad was in Binghampton so we stopped there (at Sharky’s) to have lunch. Aunt Peggy and Cousin John as well as a few other local family members came by as well. It was a blast AND we were ravenous.

—

I have to thank Dr. Levine big time. He has only been working with me for 6-8 weeks and my progress has obviously been dramatic! Big ups to Kompetitive Edge for all my amazing gear!

I think the reason I had such a great experience was that I did not give a damn about anything aside from running injury free. With no Garmin I had no timing. Not knowing if I would finish kept me from wanting to achieve a certain time. I recommend everyone try this at least once in their running. Its quite liberating.

The human body is much more than muscle and mass, it is heart and mind. Last Sunday, I truly felt Beyond Defeat.

Marathon Wineglass

NYCM Training: Week 1

Posted on September 29, 2013 by admin Posted in All, Fitness, Running 2 Comments

My ‘A Race’ this fall is now the NYC Marathon after bowing out of Wineglass Marathon and Beach2Battleship Full Iron. I had a great full week of training for my 6 week plan.   BD_NYCM2013_Week1

SUNDAY: 1 Mile @ 5:25 pace at the 5th Avenue Mile.

Then I saw Dr. Levine and he did his magic.

TUESDAY: 4 Miles @ 8:30 pace

THURSDAY: 6.5 Miles @ 6:55 pace.

Saw Dr. Levine again.
That night we went to The Met and in my favorite room (The Temple of Dendar), there was a party!

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SATURDAY: 12.5 miles @ 7:45 pace! My furthest distance in months!

I ran with Abbe and Bojana and then pulled away from them after 3 miles as I needed to get inside my head. After I finished I waited for them at Engineers Gate and had a moment of zen. Any local runner knows that Engineers is the center of the running universe as far as NYC is concerned, so it should be of no surprise to see friends. While I waited, Meggie and Gia rolled up, followed by Elizabeth! Hi runner pals!

We celebrated our runs by eating doughnuts from the new Dough Loco, it was amazing!

You will notice no cross training on my plan. Dr. L and I discovered that biking irritates my IT Band, pulling on my patella the wrong way. Until NYCM is over running, and swimming is the name of the game.

Guardian angel, or bus driver?

Posted on July 5, 2013 by admin Posted in All, Fitness, Training: Cycling Leave a comment

Today I opted for a bike ride instead of a run. Why? Because I wanted to go inspect my city and see what was shakin’ in all corners.

Riding through city streets means I take my track bike as its indestructible. My tri bike would be destroyed with a single door to the frame.

Down Fifth, through Times Square then over to the speedy Lexington. To Park and through Union Square cutting right into the West Village. Tribeca and on into SoHo before heading east to yes, the East Village. Waving to the shuttered Nino’s Pizza with respect as I cut north. Things were going great and I was thoroughly enjoying myself.

Making my way up Park Avenue to begin my return trip my chain popped as I was at 18th Street. To those of you unfamiliar with track bikes, when the chain pops you now have zero control over the bike. There are no brakes and no gears, it is a single drive train, purest form of the bicycle. My right foot jolted out of the clip when this happened and I teetered right then left. I purposefully brought myself own to the right, bracing my fall with my hands and swinging the bike with my still attached left foot to my front like a brake dance move.

I detached my left foot and picked up my bike, inspecting it. My right shin was on fire, I must have had part of the bike smash in it.

As I turned to face traffic there was a bus stopped right behind me. The driver was like, “Hey man, you cool? What happened?” “Yea man, the chain popped! Could have been worse right!?” He replied, “For sure. How’s the knee doing?” I told him my knee was fine and that my shin was what got banged up. “Thanks for looking out man!” I yelled as he continued up Park Avenue.

I pulled my chain back onto the drive train and made sure the bike was seaworthy. Since my shin was killing me I decided I’d ‘walk it off’ a bit.

At 24th Street I decided it was time to get moving again due to my thoughts of lunchtime. I cruised steady, but very easy making sure I had complete control of the bike. Since Grand Central as totally blocking me from continuing north on Park I busted a left and then a right onto Madison. On a normal day Madison is a death trap for bikers, but it was a quiet holiday.

As I approached Carnegie Hill I popped off at 92nd Street, 1 block from my apartment. I started walking when all of a sudden I heard a double tap beep behind me. I turned around and at the bus stop was my bus driver! What? He gave me a thumbs up sign like, “You good?” I laughed out loud at him and I threw up my arm with a thumbs up. He sped away and gave a fist pump into the air!

Hell yea New York City.

 

Bike

RACE REPORT: 092 Pride Run 5M – 31:04

Posted on July 1, 2013 by admin Posted in All, Fitness, Race Reports, Running 4 Comments

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Pride Week in NYC is always a bit crazy and fun. There is one factor that seems to remain the same every year… the heat!

My stupid knee was acting up all week since I thought it a good idea to skateboard to work Monday. After all my super sleuthing in trying to figure out where my knee tracking originated I think skateboarding is my final conclusion. Its a pretty jarring activity for the knee and leg in general. I guess I’m retired. Who wants a skateboard?!

My youngest brother Jeff decided to run the race as well. He made it into the NYCM lottery and so I advised him to get familiar with race protocol and run a few small races for the experience. We had an easy run over to 102nd street as I gave him a few pointers about positioning and some ‘do’s’ and ‘don’ts.’

We linked up with Erica, Robert and Antonio before entering the corrals. It was overcast and didn’t seem too hot, for the moment. The energy in the crowds was great. People really enjoy this race and you can totally tell.
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Baker Bros aint no joke!

We bid farewell and good luck to Jeff as we (Robert, Antonio and I) entered our corral. I think I have spent 75% of all race starts next to them. A little fist bump and then the gun went off.

We set it off at a pretty quick pace to start. We were easily pushing a 6 minute mile or quicker. Since my knee felt great right off the bat I just went with it. Making our way up the west side of Harlem Hill I had Robert flanking me to the left and Antonio pulling away up ahead. It was still pretty thick as thieves but beginning to thin out as Harlem Hill took its toll on some runners.

Water was all I really cared about. The sun had come out and it was blazing. I grabbed two cups at the first station, drinking one and pouring the other all over myself. I immediately felt better. Onward!

I had no idea of my pace as I was running ‘naked.’ I figured we were rocking along somewhere in the low 6’s. By now Robert was ahead of me by 1-2 seconds while Antonio was ahead of him by 1-2 seconds. I was hurting pretty bad. Not my legs, but my internal engine as I really haven’t been running that much, especially speed. Just hang on…

I have never been a fan of this particular course due to the left turns on 72nd Street. They are both like 45 degree turns and I feel as though I slow down tremendously taking them.

I finally caught up to Robert and joked with him, “What the hell did Antonio eat for breakfast, he’s cookin!” Along the Engineer’s Gate straightaway I saw Grace and Megan cheering. After saying hi to them they reprimanded me, “Stop talking Baker, you should be running!” Indeed. Next, I saw Abs who took this pic.

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I saw Erica 500 meters from the finish who was snapping some pictures. I hammed it up as usual.

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I finished in 31:04. It’s off my PR by 40 seconds or so. This makes me really happy. All season I have been healing my knee and doing 1/4th of the training I was doing last year due to it. To pull off some decent speedwork is a great sign AND I beat my 5M time from 2 weeks ago by like 16 seconds!

Sex/
Age
Bib Overall Place Age
Place
Finish
Time
Pace/
Mile
AG %
M35 662 96 14 31:04 6:13 70.16%

Jeff cruised in shortly after we did. He rocked a 7:14 pace which is impressive for his first race.

I was hanging with Robert and Antonio when this older runner came up and said, “Hey, I see you out here running all the time. You must do triathlons too? Figured I’d come say hi.” His name was Pat and we chatted about our races before he headed out. THIS is what makes our sport so great people. Don’t be shy out there. You know as well as I do that you run by the same people over and over again. We are all one giant Runner Army. Say hi.

5M Pride Run

#BostonStrongNYC

Posted on April 25, 2013 by admin Posted in All, Fitness, Running 1 Comment

On Monday, there was a memorial movement for those who suffered in Boston.

#BostonStrong

In respective cities across America, people organized large group runs with everyone wearing Boston colors, Boston themed signs… you name it, to show support for Boston. Pavement Runner began the movement and my friend Abbey organized the NYC group.

There were well over 300 runners and 2 or 3 news stations covering the event.

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Abbey, Abbe, Claire, Caroline, Elizabeth, Sharon, Jeremy, BoJo, Maura, Erin, Elyssa, Paddy, Allen, Josh, Erica, Lora, Jess, Jocelyn, and my new friend Michelle were just a handful of my runner peeps I got to see.

Sharon, Claire, Caroline and I were part of the ‘Walker Committee of Injured or Pregnant Representatives.’ We went once around the lower loop watching in awe as all of the many runners decked out in blue and yellow streamed around the Park. We ended at Tavern (which is where we started) to ‘Power Arches’ and loads of cheering.

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In the grand scheme of things the attack in Boston was an attack on the citizens of the United States of America, not runners. In the grand scheme of Baker, not only was my country attacked, but my community of amazing athletes that I have the honor of being friends with. People who raise money for charity by running. People who raise kids while training for a marathon. Speed demons who defy the laws of nature and best of all, senior citizens who own the right to call themselves ‘bad ass at 80.’

As marathon runners, no one cares what you do for a living. We don’t care how much money you make or how big your house is. We want to know how hard you pushed those last few miles, in agony and pain, to break 4 hours. You either get it or you don’t. I feel like my family was attacked and it really hurt, so getting out to run and show that we are strong as a community was just what we needed.

Thanks for organizing Abbey!

 

 

 

 

 

Boston Marathon

4th Annual City Bakery Run

Posted on February 5, 2013 by admin Posted in All, Fitness, Running Leave a comment

Do you like running? Do you also happen to like the most amazing hot chocolate ever created? Do you like arctic Winter weather? If you picked 2 out of 3 then the City Bakery Run is a must.

In true crazy runner spirit I planned on using the 5 mile City Bakery Run as the tail end of a longer run. My Marathon Sandwich starts in a few weeks and I would like to be a little bit ahead of the competition.
THE MARATHON SANDWICH:

February 24- Gasparilla Half Mary = BREAD
March 17 – NYC Half Mary = LETTUCE AND TOMATO
April 07 – ConneMarathon = FRESH TURKEY
April 20 – Blue Ridge Half Mary = PROVELONE CHEESE
May 05 – Long Branch Half Mary = BREAD

Guess what? It snowed the night before so it was awesome out.

My 7 miles pre-CBR went pretty smooth aside from rolling my ankle at mile 5 (I decided to try running on the pretty rocky trails) and almost took myself out for the season. I quickly jumped back onto solid pavement, the cold numbing my ankle. Did I mention it was cold? If a magic Genie had told me in 2008 that not only would I be running and doing triathlons, but that I would be running in 15 degree weather I’d have thought him ONE CRAZY GENIE! Genie you crazy, back in that bottle.

Where was I? Right, so I meet up with our gang promptly at 11AM. We had quite a group!

BD_CBR2013_1

Setting off for our 5 mile run I was not bone cold from hanging around sweaty waiting for people. Using my Bear Grylls instincts (as my fingers were on the edge of frostbite) I ran with my hands buried in my chest. It totally worked too.

I mostly ran with my friend Elizabeth chatting about running and life. It was a blast catching up. By the time we got close to City Bakery I was so hungry. Like, almost didn’t make it hungry which is ironic as I had been telling Eliz that I don’t need much nutrition during my races these days. Not today! All I could think about was bacon and eggs.

Our group of 4 (Me, Eliz, Joshie, and Robin) were first to arrive and we jumped in line, grabbing food and yes, the infamous hot chocolate. The rest of the group trickled in and we took over the upstairs of the establishment. It was really fantastic to see everyone AND get a serious workout in at the same time!

BD_CBR20132

Until next year…

 

City Bakery Run Hot Chocolate New York Rogue Runners

History with Baker: Vol. 1

Posted on January 19, 2013 by admin Posted in All, Fitness, Running 4 Comments

I love history, especially New York City history. I have studied it for 15 years, have countless books and vintage maps and should probably find a new hobby.

In today’s episode we are going to talk about The Central Park and running. (Did you know there is supposed to be a THE in front of it?)

The Central Park is a man made park designed by Olmstead and Vaux (who won a design competition) and opened in 1857. I often take the ‘man made’ part to heart especially when walking through places like The Mall with it’s giant American Oaks. Imagine it in 1857 when they were just saplings…

Not all of Central Park is man made. The part of the park I wish to discuss today is one very familiar with runners and cyclists. Today we call it Harlem Hill and (going clockwise) it starts with a downhill switchback. As it levels out it takes a westward turn and begins its uphill course. It’s a very challenging part of the Park’s oval course and is avoided by taking a sharp left at the 102 Transverse. That particular location is going to be our point of interest for today’s episode.
northeastParkdetail1875

The downhill switchback that begins Harlem Hill is not man made and actually dates back to colonial times, 1756 to be precise. It’s true name is ‘McGowan’s Pass’ named after a family that lived there at the time. They owned a tavern called The Black Horse located just before the 102 Transverse on the left. On the right just past 102, where Central Park Conservancy does composting, is where their house stood. Pretty amazing.
leggetts

During the Revolutionary War the area was used by troops as it was a high-ground position. In fact, George Washington (the man himself) most likely used McGowan’s Pass to enter the city. Think of that the next time you take a jog down Harlem Hill!

After the Revolutionary War a few forts were built n the area. Fort Clinton, Fort Fish and Nutter’s Battery kind of lined the north part of the Pass from East to West. The next time you run in the winter months, look up on top of the highest point when you start to ascend the west side of Harlem Hill. You will see Blockhouse No. 1, also built at that time!

The McGowan family, prominent in politics, kind of vanish from history in the late 1800’s. Their property was sold (for $6000!) and the St. Vincents Academy took over. It was a school and later a restaurant and tavern! The Park Commission finally closed it in 1915.

mtstvincenthotel

I find this so amazing. Could you imagine the old McGowan Family sitting on their front porch watching people running a in a local 10K? I kind of wish the McGowan Pass Tavern, or the Black Horse were still around so I could have a cold beer right after a run!

So the next time you go for a run around the north part of the Park just think about Revolutionary soldiers camped out or a rustic hotel and tavern sitting on the hill.

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This is to the right of the 102 Transverse!  Mt-St-Vincent-1863

How many times have you run down that hill (to the right is due north)! mtstvincent1861

 

 

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