Category Archives: Fitness

‘Professional Athlete Simulator’ day

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

—

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

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

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

ONE (2 Hours)

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

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

TWO (1.5 Hours)

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

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

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

THREE (2.4 Hours)

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

FOUR (1 Hour)

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

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

—

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

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

Fall Races – Pep Rally

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

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

—

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

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

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

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

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

—

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

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

Bike Adventures with Baker

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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


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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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


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


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

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

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

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

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

It was a glorious adventure.

I’m going to Boston!

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

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

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

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

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

Reporting LIVE from the U.S. Open!

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

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


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

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


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

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


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

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

In other news…

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

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

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

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

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

Much ado about running

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1PM – 4PM: Read, write, chill, eat.

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


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

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

Look how beautiful the sunset was.

Bike Talk

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To truly know me, is to know bikes and how much I love them.

Bikes are awesome. Anyone that thinks otherwise should be locked up. Seriously, watch out once I become Mayor cause you’re going to jail naysayer!

In the last year I have slowly been building up my TT Bike (Time Trial Bike or ‘Triathlon Bike’) to get it up to Ironman worthy status. (Ironman Arizona is fast approaching) A new cassette, a new saddle, adjusting things after rides, new shoes, handlebar streamers, and finally my rear water bottle cage.

I hate excess, but unfortunately in any distance race you need to be prepared for flats as well as have ample nutrition. My solution was the Profile Design RMC (in white of course to match my saddle). I installed it last night and can’t tell you how thrilled I am with it.


It sits under your saddle and back a bit, creating this like ‘bucket’ area to put things! Inside I have my Co2’s and tire levers, and underneath my spare tube! Oh, and you also have to water bottle cages for nutrition. Its perfect! Now I can load up the front of my bike with snacks (like my Race Burritos!)

Reporting LIVE from the Queens Half Mary!

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I chose to not race this year’s Queens Half Marathon based on my experience last year. Basically, it was hot as hell.

This race happened to fit perfectly into Abbe’s Chicago Marathon training plan so she signed up. (I did warn her of the heat though…)

The night before we went out for her to carbo-load. I carbo-loaded cause that’s just what I do. Especially since Coach Sonja has me training 24/7 these days. It’s a really strange feeling knowing you will be going to a race, but not running it. It’s very… how should I put it… ‘peaceful.’ I was stress free and could go to bed at any time!

RACE DAY!

The next morning I woke up like 45 minutes after Abbe, cause I could! There were no D-tags. No pinning a bib onto my shirt or making sure I had a hearty breakfast. It was amazing!

We took a cab out there since the 7 Train wasn’t running and I got her to the corrals right on time. After saying goodbye and wishing her luck (I was also supposed to pace her in the last 3 miles) I set off and changed into my spectator clothes.

In my mind I smiled and said, “This is Chris Baker reporting LIVE at the Queens Half! Say tuned people!” I sought out the best place to watch the start and found my perch right in front of the giant globe fountain thing-a-ma-bob. The runners would be coming right at me before veering ti the right and there was no way Abbe would miss seeing my cheers.



After a slight delay the runners were off! I saw Susan who would go on to have a spectacular race but somehow didn’t see Abbe in the sea of heads.

After all the runners passed it got kinda quiet and weird. I was like ‘Whoa, this is spooky.”

I looked at the map and made my way over to Mile 10 which was like a 15 minute walk. Actually, while I was walking I thought to myself, “You know, if I just ran to Mile 10 it would be so much faster then walking.” But seeing as how it wasn’t a race day I decided to stroll. I also wasn’t expecting Abbe over there until 9AM and it was 7:45.

Out in no man’s land I was like the only human around. I made a call to my Mom and basically enjoyed the quiet morning.

I got very excited when the leaders started coming through! I had no idea what to say though because I know sometimes when I’m on Mile 10 of a Half Mary and people are yelling dumb stuff at me like “Lookin good!” or “Almost there!” I’m like shut up people! I look like crap, am probably sunburned and 3 miles is a long ways to go! Instead, I took pics and tweeted a lot.

I had no idea there would be so many of my friends running! Lets do a quick cast in order of appearance. Kevin! Lam! Susan! Michael! Dana and Bardy! Dori! and of course Abbe! There may have been more but I took off pacing Abbe. I was pretty excited to get moving but quickly realized that it was very hot out. I missed my cute shady spot at Mile 10.


Look! I’m running!

I felt very rebellious running in the race. I didn’t even get any water at the aid stations because I thought someone would go, “Hey man! Where’s your bib! Security!”

After pacing Abbe 2 Miles she told me she had the last Mile on her own so I dipped off to the right. I still kept her in eye shot in case she needed anything.

While waiting for her at the finish I saw this local woman peddling a cart around with some goodies on it. I was hungry. I approached her and was like, “Oh my god is that fresh mango slices!” “Si.” A whole bag of like 12 slices for 2 bucks! I then realized I must turn my attention back to the finish so as to not miss Abbe.

There she was, looking great and finishing with a PR! Congrats Abbe!

I had a real fun time reporting the race and being a spectator but deep down, I wanted to RUN!

On Fear

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What are you afraid of?

I have spent a lot of time thinking about fear these past few months, especially after watching my father pass away right in front of me with nothing I could do to stop it. Was I afraid of dying? Was he? Surely he had thought about it, knowing that it was a possible outcome of his Cancer.

Fear is a very powerful emotion. It can stop us from achieving our true potential.

I was afraid of the water.

Since taking on the sport of Triathlon I have learned this. The realization came to me a few weeks ago when swimming the Alcatraz Sharkfest Swim. Without hesitation or fear, I jumped into the icy cold San Francisco Harbor with a smile and started making my way to the shore, anticipating a hot cup of coffee at the finish and hopefully a big breakfast.

2 years ago I would have never attempted such a feat. For all of my life (until now) I have been scared of the water, be it the deep end of a pool or a lake. If I couldn’t touch the bottom, I wasn’t into it.

Why? Was I traumatized as a kid? My parents were awesome, they had me in swim lessons at a young age so it’s not like I couldn’t tread water.

Looking back, I think my height played a big role in my fear. I hung around really tall swimmers who would venture into the deep and play water football. Knowing I couldn’t touch the bottom I would watch from the sidelines. These were my summers growing up and after awhile I had no interest in even going to the local pool.

Ironically, late in High School I used to love going to a place called Difficult Run and cliff diving into the rapids or riding the waterfalls. We also went to an abandoned bridge called ‘Party Bridge’ and jumped off its 40 foot ledge often. These activities might not be considered ’swimming’ though.

In 2008 when I took up running, it wasn’t long before I had friends saying “Baker, you should do a triathlon, you are good at running and biking, you just need to get swimming!” I wanted very badly to do a triathlon, but I feared swimming.

Luckily, one of my best friends is really stubborn and pretty much ordered me into his buildings pool one night after work, telling me he would re-teach me how to swim. Todd went over the mechanics of swimming and taught me freestyle. At first I would swim 2 laps, then rest before setting off for 2 more. 2 weeks later I could do 10 laps before resting, and so forth. Progress was being made.
Then, he told me we were swimming a 1.6 Mile race down the Hudson River in May. Things got real and I felt my fear rise again.


We conquered that race and many more after it. Swimming in the Hudson doesn’t even get me nervous at all anymore. Soon after that race I completed my first triathlon and never looked back.

My first triathlon!
I now look forward to swimming and the smell of chlorine gets me excited.

My fear turned to love.

So I ask you readers, what are you afraid of? What are you going to do about it?    

RACE REPORT: 063 Run for Central Park 4M: 23:39

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The Central Park Conservancy Run for Central Park is a 4 Mile race that supports and raises money Central Park. Seeing as how Central Park is my backyard I felt like I had to run it.

The Friday night before the race Abbe, Jackie and I went to see Harry Potter. I’m not a die hard fan, but it was still pretty awesome. Jackie and Abbe made this mint, goat cheese pasta before hand which was so amazing! With that and the salty popcorn I would consume in the theater I would be sufficiently carbo-loaded for the next day’s race.

RACE DAY

Up at 6AM, fueled with some Bustelo and out the door by 7:30 to jog over to the start. I stopped and grabbed a banana to eat on the way.

My goal for this race was to PR since last Saturdays 10K was very far from that. My 4 Mile PR is 23:28 and I was really gunning to break 23 flat. That would be a tall order considering I would have to run at a 5:45 pace the whole time.

Hitting my corral and waiting for the start I noticed a ton of team shirts. Of course! It was points race for the local teams so all the speedsters were out in force. This would be good for me since I could run on the tails of these folks. Another thing of note, the temperature in the sun. It was HOT.

As the gun went off I hung to the right and sped forward. I heard “Go Baker!” and I looked over to see Kelly and Ali were sidelined cheering us on! Thanks!

We were all cooking pretty fast and Cat Hill came up like a heart attack. Not wanting to blow up and also knowing I had to keep my pace up I found a nice middle ground and attacked. It hurt.

At the top and as the course leveled out I thought “The hardest part is over.” True? Maybe. I mean, we didn’t have to run Harlem Hill so… Did I mention yet how I love this course?

We hit Mile 1 at 5:45. Right on target but deep down in my head I knew it would take a lot to hold this pace. My chest was burning, I pushed forward. Mile 2 arrived at 11:30, right on target. I grabbed some water and celebrated by dumping it on my head which I thought was on fire.

I chose to wear my Garmin for this race and I could see that between Mile 2 and 3 I was slowing ever so slightly to a 5:50 pace. I kept smiling, kept moving my legs and adjusted my breathing so I didn’t explode. I had forgotten about the West Side Rollers, a series of hills that one might not assume daunting. Daunting they are when blasting through the tail end of a 4 Mile race.

Trying to hold it together for the last mile was tough in that heat. I saw Lam and cheered him on. It’s always nice to see fellow runners in the race, even if conversation is limited! I also saw Erica Sara yelling and taking pics, cheering me along.

Thanks to my friend Mary for snapping this shot of the finish!

Cruising into the finish I was so happy to be done and to get my hands on some freaking water! After a quick high five to Lam I grabbed two cups, one for my mouth and one for my head.

My time was 23:40, 12 seconds off from a PR but still a solid race in my mind.

Sex/
Age		 Bib Overall Place Age
Place		 Finish
Time		 Pace/
Mile		 AG %
M33 137 181 41 23:40 5:55 72.03%

After the finish I met up with Erica Sara a couple yards in front of the finish to cheer on the rest of the runners. A few minutes later Abbe met us (she was starting a long run).

RECOVERY RIDE

Per the Doctor’s (Coach S) orders, I went out Sunday morning for a long bike ride up to Nyack again. 4 ½ hours and 67 miles later I returned home to go watch the Women’s World Cup with my brother, Ali and Abbe. It was a great weekend.