Category Archives: Race Reports

New York New York!

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It’s a good day to be a runner.

In the wake of hurricane Sandy, New York and it’s neighbors were left hungry, cold and some without homes. In the days following a horrible debate came to play, to go on with the NYC Marathon or to not. Bloomberg kept the show on until Friday, a mere 2 days from the race. Runners, not our Mayor, were being threatened and attacked by people who thought it a bad idea. Shame on them for attacking people who run to raise thousands of dollars to help others.

My personal opinion was that the race should have been cancelled Tuesday. I was not going to run it anyway.

Before continuing on to more positive things, I need to say this… if you were one of those people with an opinion, you better have been out there PHYSICALLY helping, otherwise you just added to the problem.

Runners, and especially the ones I am honored to call my friends, are noble and amazing people.

On the morning of the NYC Mary thousands of runners (wearing their orange race shirts) banded together and went to Staten Island, bringing much needed supplies and to help in any way they could. My friend Eissa organized our own event. At 9:30AM today a few dozen of us runners compiled loads of donated items to bring to Brooklyn and Staten Island.

At our donation drop off point I finally got to meet Ron, who is also coached by Sonja! Speaking of Sonja, her friend Gaye was there to join in! What a small world! The rest of the Runner Army was there in force too.

We packed Eissa’s car to the brim! It was so funny to see! Today she will drop off all of these goods to people in need affected by Sandy.

Next, we took off toward The Central Park for a loop. As we entered we were totally amazed at all the positive energy there! Thousands of runners, decked out in their marathon gear, were doing loops of the Park! There were people all over cheering with signs and cowbells, some handing out water. Every few miles there were groups with donation drop-off areas, collecting more goods to bring.

We made the best of it and really took it all in. It really made me happy and renewed my faith in humanity.

“I love this town!”

 

RACE REPORT: 085 Grete’s Gallop 1/2 Mary – 1:20:53

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The mighty Grete Waitz (for those of you that don’t know) was a rock star of a woman, winning the NYC Mary 9 times. Whaaaaa?! She is also from Norway and based on a recent DNA test I found out I am primarily Norwegian. Perhaps a distant relative? One could only wish for a relative like her. I digress… this Half Mary is in her honor and takes place in The Central Park.

Since completing Ironman in August a huge weight was lifted in my training both physically and mentally. My ‘A’ races (Boston as well) for the season are over. I’m racing NYC Marathon, but I always do that simply because it’s so much fun! Therefore, I’m not stressin’.

That brings us up to speed on our discussion on Grete’s Gallop. To race, or just run, THAT is the question. Abbe told me to race it and seeing how the Mary is 3 weeks out thats more than enough time to recover for it. Also, I secretly can never just ‘run’ a race no matter what I tell myself beforehand.

Now I was nervous. I started thinking about my latest Marathon PR and how I achieved it. Perhaps I could use that same strategy? This strategy (used in the Kentucky Derby Marathon) was simply to throw all pacing rules out the window and run as fast as I could the whole time.

The day before the race was actually quite relaxing. Abbe and I went to the Met (I now live a stones throw from it) and checked out the Warhol exhibit. We hit the Member’s Lounge for a few drinks and then headed back to the apartment for a nice home cooked race meal. In bed by 11! “Baker, good god man why so late?” The race started at 10:30, who ever heard of that?

RACE DAY

I had a strange dream about my father during the night that was really vivid. He ‘visited me’ and brought me a keepsake. It kind of affected m a lot and I decided to hone in on it while racing.

Had some coffee and really just counted down the hours until I had to leave! Abbe left earlier as she was volunteering. You can read all about her wild experience here.

A quick 10 minute jog got me over to the Start Corrals. I saw Erica Sara finishing up her 20 miler and ran with her for a hot second.

Up in my corral I didn’t see (for the first time in awhile) any of my Blue Corral buds. I later found out Antonio was hiding in it somewhere.

The usual suspects spoke… National Anthem… race route instructions… THE GUN.

I never know how a race is going to go until I start running (or swimming if we are referring to a Tri.) Immediately I felt as if I ran hard the day before. My legs, although moving at a good pace now, felt exhausted.

We hit Mile 1 at 5:45. What did I tell you my plan was? That’s right, run hellfire speed the whole time and I seemed to be holding up to it. In my mind thought I was like, “Man, this hurts bad. Maybe this isn’t such a great idea. Remember that easy long run we did last weekend at a 7 minute pace, let’s do that!”

Unfortunately, my legs didn’t listen. They can be stubborn. I was already tired by the time we hit Tavern on the Green (the Finish) and was like, “OH, now we have only 2 laps to do.” I kinda wanted to come up with a reason to DNF since my heart was on fire and I was super hot, and yet, I just kept running.

Oh, I forgot to tell you. I intentionally did not wear a Garmin. I wanted to try and get in tune with my heart and not just numbers.

I saw my friend Elizabeth at Mile 4ish who’s cheering gave me a boost.

By the time Harlem Hill was approaching we had formed a single line of runners, spaced out 10 meters each. A few of us started leapfrogging, but we were all holding the same pace so no one gained. It was at this point I started running ‘boy, girl, boy (me), girl’ with a few legit competitors. We would run the entire rest of the race together! That’s 9 miles of us all in formation, each of us taking turns leading.

Harlem Hill kicked my ass. Oh, and we had to run it one more time, awesome!

Climbing the east side of it I saw Jim from ‘Dad Posse’ who gave me a good cheer!

As our line barreled down the East Side we played the tangents. Well, we played them until I saw Course Marshall Abbe at which point I veered over to give her a high five. I tried to think of something more entertaining to do, like tackle her into the bushes, but I was exhausted.

Then, we saw Ed from ‘Dad Posse’ who gave me a cheer. I wondered if they both knew each other were in the Park running?

After we crossed the Start area I switched on some much needed music. Based on my calculations we were running right around a 6 minute pace. I was happy with this but knew we would slow down, this being the half way point in the race.

Right around Mile 8 or 9 I noticed that I felt pretty good! So weird. I was still tired, but I was running happy and knew I would finish.

I saw Sebastien cheering on the sidelines who gave me a boost.

Our pace team, led by a tall brunette with a grey sports bra, a CPTC guy, me, and a brunette in a pink hat and shades, were now attacking Harlem Hill for the second time. We hit it pretty hard and showed no mercy. I was happy to hit the apex. (ohhh good word.) Barreling down the descent I saw Josh on my left cheering us on. I yelled, “Josh baby, what’s popping?!” I seemed to be in a cheerful mood, maybe because I had 3 miles to go.

By now we had started lapping other runners and it was no longer possible to hit the tangents, having to run wide left. We would no longer be able to get to the aid stations unless willing to risk serious time loss.

Passing Abbe again I gave her yet another high five. Then I saw Sebastien again (who had crossed the Park). I love seeing all the Runner Army out there support each other. Times like this make me happy to be a part of the local running community.

I hit Mile 11 at roughly 1:06 and change. I tacked 14 conservative minutes onto that and calculated that, yes, I might PR. I ‘thought’ my PR was 1:20:21, so that was the time I aimed for.

It got real crowded the last 2 miles and I was just trying to make it around the other runners without slamming into them. I was really excited to PR and was trying to keep pace up.

As the last mile hit I came upon and Urban Athletics runner going my pace. “Hey Chris!” he said. I evidently knew this person but had a hard time putting a face to a name until someone yelled out, “Go KB!” Beganics, of course! We chatted briefly before reeling in the last 400 Meters. The clock said 1:20 flat and knowing I could never PR at that rate I didn’t punch it. In reality, my PR was 1:20:48 and I probably should have blasted ahead. Way to do your pre race homework Baker.

Truly exhausted.

I finished in 1:20:53 and you know what, I’m so happy with the time! I raced without a Garmin and was a few seconds from a Half Mary PR, one that I set in 2010 in fact!

Sex/
Age		 Bib Overall Place Age
Place		 Finish
Time		 Pace/
Mile		 AG %
M34 132 83 17 1:20:53 6:10 73.5%

 I have no idea what I was doing at the end… waving at the crowd? 

 

RACE REPORT: 084 5th Avenue Mile – 4:57

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1 Mile, from 80th Street to 60th Street, down 5th Avenue. No turns, just a straight shot of blistering speed right to the lungs. It hurts but is over just as fast as it began.

This was my 3rd time running it and I was a bit nervous. I was chatting to some of my runner friends about this last night. I wasn’t nervous about finishing the race, or running it close to what I might be capable of. What was on my mind, and many others, was would I be able to beat my previous mile time of 4:59?

After a quick jog over to the Start I left Abbe at her corral (Wave starts based on gender and age) and I ran down to the Finish. (It was only 1 mile away.) I ran into Erica and Lora and we had some quick runner talk before wishing each other well and setting off.

As the Women (aged 19-29) came blasting down I watched for Abbe but lost her in the masses. I did, however, see Robin blazing a path! Nice work.

I found Abbe at the Finish and she had accomplished her goal of breaking 7 minutes with 6:38!

She took my position cheering and I ran up to the Start. (It was only 1 mile away.)

It was quite humid out so I grabbed some water before running into Josh, Elyssa and Bojana. We high fived, of course. Josh and I left the gals to their corrals we did some sprints while chatting. We took our place behind the gals as soon as they set off.

Josh and I were probably 50 people back from the Start mats. As the gun went off I counted down how long I had to cross the mat (to subtract it from my clock finish) but I was so amped I kept counting while running and messed up the plan.

I cut hard left and took off, passing a large chunk of the masses. The corrals are not based on speed so it’s always a mixed bag. Moving ahead I passed this guy, then he hung on maintaining pace. Not to judge or tease, because I am happy for anyone who wants to exercise, but home slice had on basketball shorts and may have been wearing high tops. He inspired me to speed up because his foot falls sounded like he was trying to break the concrete. It was like a ‘foot belly flop’ every time he hit the ground. Quite annoying, so I sped up.

The uphill at the halfway point definitely took some spunk out of my game. I tried to just maintain whatever pace I had, which I was unsure of since I wasn’t wearing a watch.

At the crest of the hill I tried getting my heart rate to cool it. I think it worked as I blasted down the decline with ease. It was here that I heard my name being cheered on a few times! Turns out it was my friend Robert. Thanks for the pics man!

As I approached the final 3/4’s of the mile I felt great and got fired up. I also saw Abbe, Elyssa, Erica and Lora off to the side screaming my name which helped tremendously. Just like previous times, even though you can see the Finish and it seems like you’re cruising, it takes an eternity to reach it. All the while watching the clock tick off those precious seconds… 4:50, 4:51, 4:52.

I crossed the Finish at 5:02 but knew I had some sort of buffer based on my start. Later that day when the times were posted I learned that I had a 2 second PR with a time of 4:57!

Sex/
Age		 Bib Overall Place Age
Place		 Finish
Time		 Pace/
Mile		 AG %
M34 369 117 27 4:57 4:57 76.3%

So now next year will be extra stressful trying to top that. It’s funny how just one second can be such a big deal in a small race like this.

Congrats goes out to all my friends who ran today! It was pretty glorious for everyone. Oh and double ups to the winner, Matt, who beat out Bernard by .2 seconds with a 03:52.4. That, is fast.

 Post race lunch with a friend.

RACE REPORT: 083 Harriman Sprint Tri – DNF

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This year’s Harriman Sprint Triathlon marked my 3rd year in the sport, 4th year in running. It is a really fun local race and would be my (triathlon) season closer.

I was rolling up to Harriman with the ‘Dad Posse’ (Jim, Ed and Mike) and we were going to camp there the night before. We got a late start out of ol’ Manhattan Friday night after work and didn’t arrive until maybe 9:30PM. It was a fun drive though as we rode the Ironman NY course and got to reminisce.

Mike had beat us up there and had scouted out a place for us to eat, Rhodes Tavern on Route 17. As we pulled in I noticed an awful lot of motorcycles. Were we going to get in a brawl? Who knew?

We grabbed a table in the dining area and were greeted by cheerful and friendly staff. With a live cover band blasting the likes of Led Zeppelin and Aerosmith, mixed with our tasty beers we were a happy gang. I ordered the steamed clams and shrimp, not a recommended pre race meal but I have an iron stomach and Harriman was to be a fun race for me. Ed, on the other hand, had a French Onion Soup and french fries… perhaps his smartest race meal yet.

Back at the camp site by 11PM I was determined to have a fire. You simply cannot say you went camping without a fire! From 11-3AM we sat around the camp fire drinking beers and having a blast! You would never know from the looks of it that we had a triathlon in 4 hours!

Mike woke us at 6AM and it hurt. I was in charge of coffee and I got right to it using my Bucaletti, it was fantastic. After we drank our java and had some bagels we hopped in the car for the 5 minute drive to Welch Lake. It’s very ‘Friday the 13th’ in case you were wondering. The temperature was 60 degrees or so but quickly warming with every passing minute as the sun rose.

Doug and his girlfriend met us at the lake. This was his first triathlon and I have been kind of coaching him through emails so I was excited to see what he was gonna do!

We eventually lined up on the beach and prepared for attack. I was very excited and felt feisty.

The gun went off and I plunged into the soup. no longer do I hold back and wait for the masses to clear. Bring the noise.

My swim went well. My form was not as tight as it could be and I floundered once or twice but overall held a nice pace. The water was crystal clear and felt amazing.

I exited the water and Mike and Ed were right with me!

Up in T1 I got my act together fast. I was excited to get my bike on.

Out on the course I felt pretty strong. Since it was a 15 miler I was pushing all I had. The course is pretty hilly, but manageable. We had some wind and unfortunately is was never at our backs!

Blazing down a straightaway, I wasn’t paying attention to the terrain, head down, and hit a rock. It made that characteristic ‘ding’ noise we know so well. “Damn!” I yelled, thinking maybe it would be okay. It was not. 500 more yards and I was flat.

I pulled over, half thinking I was close enough to the finish I could run my bike in. “Officer!” I yelled to a nearby volunteer cop. “How many miles to the finish?” He told me I had 7 to go, no way am I running it. I got to work changing my tire as streams of bikers passed me.

Ed and Doug rode by at the same time and both yelled, “Baker? No!” I think it took me 20 minutes to change the tire due to the last bead being such a pain to get over the rim. I was pretty proud of myself for actually changing a race wheel.

FUN FACT: In my 3 years of triathlon I have never had a flat during a race.

I kept a positive attitude knowing that this was just a fun race for me. Finally, I was ready to go after using my C02 and assembling my bike again. I took it easy knowing that my front tire was most likely not at the proper pressure it needed to be.

Up ahead there was a rider in distress on the side of the road. As I approached I saw that it was Mike! He looked at me and said, “Baker?” Where did you come from?” I quickly explained my situation as he told me his back wheel had fallen off and he was about to throw in the towel. This was Mike’s second triathlon so I thought we had better get him back on the road. I threw my ride in the grass and jumped over to help. The wheel and chain were in a jumble. We straightened the chain, tweaked the rear derailleur and attempted to set the wheel. It wouldn’t set so I grabbed the front tire and pulled while I had Mike pull the rear wheel. It moved correctly and then with a quick punch on the tire it locked into place.

Mike was pretty psyched. We started riding again and he told me to go so I did. I was jazzed up too so I forgot that I was riding on a bunk wheel. 1-2 Miles further I was in aero crushing it on a rough patch of downhill when I heard a fizz and then my wheel totally flatted again! I maintained control and pulled off to the side of the road.

A few minutes later Mike pulled up in disbelief, “Again!?” I told him I was done. He had said he had called the SAG Wagon to pick him up before I had arrived, so I was expecting a ride soon. He took off and in a few minutes an ambulance came up behind me. “You the guy that called for a ride?” “No, but I’ll take one!”

We took up the rear of the race for the next 5 miles following the last racers.

Back at T2 they were already doing the awards! Jim and Ed both got 3rd AG Awards! Nice work guys! I saw Doug too, who was ecstatic for completing his first triathlon! Congrats Doug!

We wrapped up the day with lunch at Rhodes!

It’s a funny feeling not finishing a race. I wasn’t sore or tired and I had this sense of un fulfillment. I wasn’t disappointed in me, I was just sad that I didn’t get to rocket through a run and cross that Finish. There are always more Battles right around the corner…

RACE REPORT: 082 Percy Sutton 5k – 18:03

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I love 5K’s. Straight up pedal to the metal maximum overdrive with a smile. A breakfast full of pain that ends as quickly as it started.

The Percy Sutton 5K is one of maybe two NYRR races of this distance and just as I predicted, all the speedsters came to play.

Kelly met Abbe and I in front of my apartment (we no longer live next door so she had to hoof it up the 10 blocks) and we set off to the start. It was a 3.5 mile warm up that I definitely wanted. Running a 5K without a warm up isn’t smart. Imagine starting up your car and immediately slamming down the gas pedal.

We had a lovely run through Harlem and up to the start of the race. I saw Antonio and Sebastien before getting corralled up. Speaking of corrals, Abbe got to be in Blue with me for the first time ever! Hey there speedster, nice to meet ya! After a few words from Mary and a very cool trumpet performance of the National Anthem we were off.

It took me 14 seconds to get to the Start mat and begin.

I would like to take this moment to go on a rant. I noticed that there were a lot of people sneaking into the Blue Corral. Not just people in Red from the next fastest corral right behind us, but people who were in Orange and Yellow too. This defeats the whole purpose of having a corral system. If you think you deserve to be in a faster corral, then earn it like the rest of us.

As soon as I was in the mix that little button in my mind ‘clicked on’ and I was on the hunt. Originally, I was just going to get it done and run a nice manageable pace. Maybe next time. I was bobbing and weaving through all of the runners trying to get up to maximum speed. By the first 1/2 of a mile I had broken free and was in a group where we were running roughly the she pace.

Just after this point we starting going up a huge hill! I had thought this was a mostly flat course but was totally wrong! We were running up into the Heights! It hurt bad but I held my pace and made it up to the top of the long ascent.

Right past the first mile I started picking it up a little more. As I was passing some people I saw this guy with his shirt draped over his back with an ORANGE BIB! How did he get so far up? Oh I know, he snuck into the very front of the Blue Corral. As I passed him he hung onto my pace and followed me. Then, as we were taking a sharp left he came around to my right and tried to box me out! My adrenaline spiked and I broke hard right knocking past him with my shoulder and firing my afterburners, leaving him behind. Peace out cheater.

Fun fact: The only sport I ever played growing up was Ice Hockey.

We were now in the Heights running along the top of the park. My legs were tired but actually felt pretty good. I pressed forward.

Past Mile 2 we started heading downhill. You can really wipe out going downhill at 5K speed so I tried to maintain some control and not over do it.

We broke hard left again and were in the finishing straight away. I made a few more passes but was fading out. At the last 100 meters this guy came barreling past me like a bat out of hell! Props to you speedy stranger!

Sex/
Age		 Bib Overall Place Age
Place		 Finish
Time		 Pace/
Mile		 AG %
M34 133 109 23 18:03 5:50 72.7%

I finished in 18:03. Not a PR, but it did knock my NYRR ‘on file’ pace from a 5:52 to a 5:50.

After I dumped some water on my head and slammed 2 cups I found Sebastien and we chatted for a bit. I also saw Antonio and got to meet David. They all had fantastic races.

This moment right here is what I love most about the local racing scene. Hanging out with friends, chatting about our times, having a few laughs. There really isn’t a feeling of competitiveness at all. Each of us complimenting us on one anothers different strengths, whether it be speed or distance.

I found Abbe, Kelly and Amanda after the race. We headed back to my place for eggs, bacon and coffee! Woooo. All before 9:30AM.

RACE REPORT: 081 Ironman NY: 10:27:47

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I signed up for the Ironman U.S. Championship not really taking into account that it was in the summer. I was more excited to be racing on home turf and didn’t really add up this equation: NYC + August + Ironman = (please fill in the blank).

This being my second Ironman distance I was not stressed out at all and my nerves were pretty good.

The day before the race (a work day for me) was when we needed to check our bikes in. I think I was the only guy in a suit and tie in transition. It was pretty funny looking I think. I also had a bit of a laugh when one of the volunteers checking my run bag gave me some advice. He looked in my Run Bag and saw my sneakers and a hat, nothing else because that’s all I need. He said, “Have you thought about nutrition? You know it’s an important part of the race.” Shut up! You mean, I should be eating things on the run? I immediately called Coach Sonja and scolded her for leaving out this important piece of knowledge. Seriously though, I told him I will be just fine and tied my bag shut.

That night Abbe and Claire came over for our Ironman sleepover party. We started off with some fine cheeses and some exotic beer Claire brought. Abbe then made my new favorite pre-race meal of Cacio e Pepe pasta with a tomato mozzarella salad. While making dinner the gals helped me get my gear bags in check. The whole night was really fun and you would never know I had to do an Ironman the next day! Off to bed by 10:30PM…

RACE DAY!

I woke up at 4:30AM Folgers Style. “Baker, what’s Folgers Style?” I’m so glad you asked, let me explain. You know those Folgers Commercials where people just wake up to the sound and smell of brewing coffee? My new coffee maker has a timer on it (I know, not new technology) and so I could hear and smell it brewing. I love coffee.

The three of us rolled out to grab a cab at 5AM. I had until 6 to get into transition. Did I need to? Not really, but it’s always safe to make sure your bike still has wheels.

Our first cab driver was whack. Put the scene together… we are on a quiet street off Park Avenue at 5 in the morning. Birds are starting to stir, the air is still. I get in the cab and he tells me it’s going to be $50 to go over the GW to the start. I yelled, “What? Turn on your f&^ckin meter man! I’m not paying that much to go over the bridge.” He, in turn, told me to watch my language. I called him an asshole and stormed out of the cab. He mumbled some profanity and then Abbe yelled at him, “Hey, YOU watch YOUR language!” He responded with “No, you watch YOUR language!” Since Abbe hadn’t cursed she clearly had the upper hand.

As I got in a new cab the driver calmly explained that to go to New Jersey there is a flat rate of $50. I looked at the girls and we started laughing. Why didn’t the other driver just tell us that?

We arrived at the entrance to the start at 5:30AM. The girls were not allowed in so they staked out some good cheering locations.

As I started the 2 mile walk down into transition I decided I probably needed to run in order to make it on time. I was cruising down the road when all of a sudden this car rolled up along side of me. How are cars allowed in here I thought? The driver said, “Are you running because you want to run, or do you want a lift to transition?” Hello angel in disguise! I hopped in and he told me he was a volunteer and was running late. We passed like 100 other racers going to the start, why choose me? Where ever you are Warren, thanks for helping out!

Now, with oodles of time to spare in transition I watched an episode of the office on my iPad to kill the time.

After dropping off my various gear bags I wandered over to the ferry line. I started eating my oatmeal and bananas and finished my coffee. In line I bumped into my friend Jim! We chatted for awhile about the race and our goals. (Congrats Jim!) Then, I found Neal. He was really excited and we got all jazzed up talking about the swim. We boarded the 4th (out of 6) ferries and got a seat on the upper deck. It was a sticky morning but the view on the Hudson of the swim course was beautiful.

The way the swim worked was, as a boat docked at the barge racers just filed off. When you reached the lower barge your timing chip activated and you just jumped in and tarted swimming. Imagine penguins just filing one by one into the soup, that’s what it looked like.

As we docked 20 minutes had already passed by. We walked down and after a quick fist bump to Neal my second Ironman race began.

I have never been more excited to start a triathlon swim. My training in the water has been amazing the last 2 months since joining a new pool by my office. I swim at lunch almost every day and because of that I knocked 4 minutes off my mile time! (Jim from ‘Dad Posse’ also taught me a new technique which was instrumental) I started the swim nice and easy. The water was probably the cleanest I have ever experienced in the Hudson.

I got bumped a bit here and there but didn’t get too beat up. One thing that was different about this swim for me was that I drafted off a few fast swimmers. I have never been able to do that before, but with my faster stroke I held on! For me, the swim is the calm before the storm, so I try and enjoy the serenity of the water. On every ‘left breath’ I watched the sun start to rise over Manhattan.

As we neared the end of the swim portion I could feel my heart rate increasing as my excitement grew. My bike was calling my name…

Up on dry land I ran to the wetsuit strippers and skipped over a bunch until I found Susan and Jocelyn! I said hi and they were like, “Lay down Baker, lay down!” Duh. They had me stripped lickety split and I was off. Just then, I heard my name yelled and it was my friend Gio spectating!

Over in T1 I found Neal. He had a fantastic swim! Coincidentally, we both ended up at the bike starting line together too!

SWIM TIME: 54:49 (2.4 Miles)
PLACE: 1584

As we made the ascent out of Palisades Park I tried to stay steady. When we made the turn to go up towards the bridge the crowds got thick and I saw Abbe, Claire and Maria screaming at me! It was awesome. Their cheers helped me manage the steep hill that led out onto the highway.

Once I was on the open course I smiled and yelled, “Wind it up!” I dropped into aero and started increasing my speed. I felt awesome.

The bike course was a double, ‘out and back’ so I basically broke it into 4 (28 Mile) sections. The first ‘out’ portion was fantastic. I even hit 44 MPH on one of the downhills! We were screaming down the hill and it’s really too bad there wasn’t a photographer there because I must have looked like a bat outta hell, all smiles.

The first turn around took FOREVER to appear. It was really a lot farther than I was mentally gauging. Up in the northern part of the course the streets were in pretty poor condition too. I even lost my Clif Bar after I took the first bite because I hit a bump and it went flying!

Remember that crazy fast downhill? Well, we had to go back up it on the return trip, not fun. I was playing the numbers game with my Garmin and I had just hit the 21 MPH Average speed for the course when this hill appeared and knocked me back to 20.4 MPH… not cool. I was diligently drinking my EFS and my UCANN. (they were in separate bottles. Could you imagine how gross that would be to mix them? Vomit City.) I also had my first of many pee ma pants moments. I am very courteous when I pee ma pants and make sure other bikers are a good distance behind so they don’t get sprayed. To anyone unfamiliar, this is a pretty common practice in triathlon. If you stopped on your bike to pee you would easily lose 10 minutes per stop.

Right before the second turnaround (back by the Start) was Special Needs. I screeched to an abrupt stop right in front of my helper. It feels funny going from 3 hours on a bike at 20MPH to a sudden stop.  It’s like coming out of warp speed. My bike almost fell over but he was a great volunteer who supported me. I grabbed my fresh EFS bottles and my back-up Clif Bar and was off riding again!

As the 3rd leg of the bike course began the clouds dissipated and the sun was out blasting us. It got real hot real quick. You could feel the heat radiating off of the asphalt and it was kind of slowing me down. I knew things were about to get real and the pain was to start. I had that huge downhill to look forward to and devised a new strategy. To conserve my energy I was going to quickly max out my speed on downhills then coast, resting my legs. I also ate a bit of my Clif Bar which boosted my spirits. It was, after all, past noon and therefore lunchtime.

I peed again to kill the time.

Then, out of nowhere this guy rolls up on me and says, “Hey KE! Good luck. I’m with Runner’s Roost!” I yelled something back and then it dawned on me, he must be from Colorado, the home of Kompetitive Edge, and must be a local racer. I am the NYC faction of KE so I rarely have a moment like this and I was quite excited.

I was not excited when I saw 2 brutal bike crashes. These guys were laid out and in bad shape. I hope they were okay in the end.

A few miles later we finally hit the turnaround point. I yelled out, “Bring it on home boys!” (homage to Led Zeppelin) and got some wind behind me. I knew these last 27 miles were gonna be hard, so I tried to be goofy any way I could. I even did my ‘Scotty from Star Trek’ voice a few times yelling, “Captain, were not going fast enough to make warp speed, give her some more power!” Whatever works right?

It was blazing hot and at the next aid station I grabbed a water on my drive by. I sprayed it all over me and instantly felt great. Duh Baker, your overheating, that’s why you felt crappy. I also peed ma pants again.

For the remainder of the bike my crotch and neck hurt, my legs were sick of riding and ironically, I wanted to run really bad! I cruised into T2 and the spectators were out in force!

BIKE TIME: 5:43:17 (112 Miles)
PLACE: 402

T2 went pretty smooth. I hit up the sunscreen gals (of course) since it was an inferno out there. We had to immediately run up a steep hill to get to the course. It was painful and I tried to keep my heart rate as steady as possible.

Out in the park I made my way towards Mile 1. There wasn’t an aid station there which disappointed me because I was in need of water and potato chips bad. I think it was more like the 1.4 mile mark when it showed up. I poured 4 cups of water on my head, drank 1, ate chips, drank more water, grabbed a cold sponge, stuffed it down my short and kept going. I would repeat that process basically at every aid station in order to stay hydrated, cool, and sane.

The first portion was a 2 loop out and back totaling 14 miles, little did I know it would be hell on Earth.

There is this notorious hill in Palisades Park that bikers know. It is a 1 mile ascent that is grueling on the legs even in the lowest gear. As we rounded the corner I saw that we got to run up it, twice in fact. I said out loud to someone, “You have got to be kidding me!” I slowly ran up, not wanting to waste any leg power as this was only Mile 2. The only good thing about these first miles was that there were periods of shade. The air was still and humid though, like an oven. I was dry by the time I got to each aid station and I tried to just take the race one mile at a time.

At Mile 3.5 we turned around. I tried to be positive but these rolling hills were beating me up bad. I was still doing my ‘systems check’ and trying to figure out what my body needed. I had eaten a ton of chips and pretzels, now I was onto orange slices to try and get my mind in the game since I was starting to  wonder if I was going to make it to the end.

I tried to make up time lost going up the big hill by cruising down it at break neck speed. Mission accomplished. I was running at an 8-8:30 pace the first half and wasn’t happy about it.

Back at the turn around by the start I was walking through the aid station hosing myself down and eating more pretzels when I heard someone yell, “Baker, what are you doing walking! Get your ass moving!” It was Gio who was joined by Gallagher! I chuckled and ran over to get some high fives replying, “Guys, it’s a freaking inferno out here!” “We know!” they said as I started up again. Always good to see buddies on the course and this was just the beginning!

Lap two felt a little better, especially since I had the aid stations and the course mapped out in my head.

I saw something slightly disturbing (I wonder if people are writing that about me) on the final return lap. I started to feel really good and strong and was passing people. As I was passing this gal I noticed some wires flopping around. She was listening to an iPod! Totally illegal but I was secretly jealous.

As I was finishing up my second lap of the double out and back I saw my buddy Jim who gave me a high five, then Neal showed up looking great who also hit me with a fiver! Way to go fellas!

Passing the start area and moving onto the final 12 miles felt great. (Sounds silly to get excited to only have 12 miles to run.) The course cleared out a bit and got quiet which was very peaceful. I was listening to the wind in the trees and the birds, knowing that mighty Manhattan would surely bring the noise. 2 factors knocked my mile pace way down right here at mile 14-15. One of them was the monster hill heading up toward the GW Bridge. I know this hill well because I bomb down it on my bike all the time thinking, “Wow, it would suck to have to ride ‘up’ this.” Then, as we entered the North side of the GW we were confronted with maybe 5-10 sets of staircases leading to the pedestrian walkway. Not cool IM Corporation.

As I ran across the flat GW Bridge I looked to the south at my beautiful city and got fired up. My pace increased and I was once again passing people. As I exited the bridge and started moving through the streets I saw Michelle and Tavia right at mile 17 screaming at me! Awesome! Through out the next 9 miles I would see countless friends, so please excuse me if I missed you on my shout outs!

Miles 17-21 happened in a heart beat. Along the flat path I saw Lam at an aid station. I also ran up along side of my Runner’s Roost buddy. I introduced myself and told him that I was part of the East Coast faction of the Kompetitive Edge Team. We had a few chuckles before I took off wishing him a good race.

Next, I caught up with my friend James (the Iron Cowboy) who is attempting to break the world record for most Ironmans raced in a year. I think this was his 15th or something!

I was moving at a sub 8 pace now, but I was exhausted. We were now right next to the river on the running path and I was praying that the cloud cover we had would remain. Then, off to my left across the West Side Highway was this group of super loud spectators making quite a scene. As soon as I saw Claire’s giant foam finger I was like, “Hey, its my crew making all the noise!”

I wound around the course and started heading up towards them. I saw my friend Julianne here who wished me luck! Then, as I approached my gang I saw Abbe, Claire, Erica, Gillian, Kelly, Susan, Bojana, Elyssa, Maria, and Maura! They made a Power Arch and I blasted through it high fiving as I went by! Go Runner Army!

Right after them I entered this out and back zig zag part of the course that was a total mental killer BUT it was great for spectators. I saw my friend Jason here and gave him a sweaty high five.

As I rounded back I was now higher up in the park on a beautiful paved walkway. The whole crew ran up there and was now joined by a second gang of friends… Jeff, Billy, Ali, Todd, Ila, Keenan, Asher, Ilka, and Adelaide! This was a serious cheer force. I was so tired but the support really fired me forward. On the return I passed them one more time (Mile 24 or so) and headed into my final 2 miles. I saw my triathlete friends Michelle (Trilife) and Amanda (Terrier Tri) here who cheered me on.

They made us go up one more hill right at the end. It hurt bad.

As I cruised into the long finishers chute with no one else around me I decided I was going to celebrate a bit on the way down. I slowed up to almost a walk and threw out my arms, big smile on my face! As soon as I crossed the finish my friend Elizabeth was in the Press area (she works for TNT) and she gave me a huge shout out!

RUN TIME: 3:42:13
PLACE: 137

OVERALL TIME: 10:27:47 (a 50 minute PR!)
DIVISION PLACE: 30

Look! There’s my friend Elizabeth taking my picture to the right!

Right after I finished my 2 handlers (as I like to call them) started asking me questions like, “What’s your name? Where do you live? Let me see your eyes, please take off your sunglasses.” Once they saw I was fine they asked what I needed. “Pizza. I saw someone with pizza so just point me in the right direction.” Right before I could make it into the pizza tent the whole crew caught up with me. Abbe gave me a sweaty hug even after I warned her!

The true New Yorker in me came out when I was at the pizza table too as I asked them what restaurant the pizza was from, as if I was going to not eat it.

After my pizza, Abbe, Claire, Maura and I caught a cab over to my place so I could shower. We then went to Brother Jimmy’s and had a few quick pints with Jeff, Ali and Gillian before hightailing it over to watch Neal finish. We caught him right at the end as he was coming through! Awesome work Neal!

Finally, Erica hosted us at her place for beer and pizza for the final celebration. Whew!

—

This, my second Ironman, was an amazing experience. What I learned was that the mind truly IS more powerful then the body. Having done one of these before I mentally knew I could complete it, even with minimal food sources, making it that much more easy. It doesn’t matter how physically fit you are, what matters is that you believe in yourself. If you can do that, then your legs will do the rest.

Thanks to Kompetitive Edge, my sponsor, who provides me with the support needed to accomplish such a race!

Thanks to Sonja, who has trained me in such a way that all of this keeps getting easier!

Thanks to my cheer squad up and down the course, especially Abbe and Claire who hiked around NJ for 3 hours before the race!

Big ups to Neal. You sir, are an Ironman!

 

…and remember to always have some fun out there no matter how difficult things get.

 

 

 

 

 

 

RACE REPORT: 080 NYC Triathlon: 2:18:49

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I wasnt going to race the NYC Triathlon this year because I forgot to sign up in time, but then the lead sponsor Aquaphor offered me a chance to partner with them. I have a hard time resisting a good race.

The night before the race we (Jeff, Ali, Cat, Abbe and I) headed to New Jersey to a huge family party put on by my Uncle’s girlfriend Cassandra. (Great party Cassandra!) My Uncle Bill was retiring to go back to school to get his Ph.D. and this was in celebration of both events. I am really proud of my Uncle Bill for making this decision, it’s very inspiring and so of course, Tri or no, I wasn’t missing the party.

As if that wasn’t good enough, my Grandma was a surprise guest!

So really, going to a party where you have no idea what food you will be eating and how late you will be out is risky business the night before an Olympic Triathlon, but hey, mix it up a little right? Also, family is really important to me.

I was asleep by 11PM. Not bad.

RACE DAY

I woke up at 6-6:30 and had some coffee and checked twitter to see where they where in the ‘heats.’ SIDENOTE: The NYC TRI has like 60 heats and it takes 2 hours for all of them to go. I estimated that I would be going off at 7:30-7:45 AM a full 2 hours after the Pros had started. 

Some of you are saying, “Wait, Baker what about transition! How are you going to get your bike shoes in there?” Excellent question. My biggest complaint about the NYC TRI is how transition closes at 5:45AM and you end up waiting around for 2 hours. 2 precious hours where you could be sleeping! There is no way around this. Try sending off 3,000 swimmers down the Hudson at once and it would spell disaster. My solution? When I dropped off my bike the day before I just set up my bike/run gear then! Boom!A few friends were like, “Baker it’s going to rain tonight, your shoes will get wet.” Listen honey, after racing the entire Rev 3 Quassy Olympic in a cold downpour I have become immune to rain. I’m actually really happy about that because I used to be a baby about in-climate weather.

Back to the race.

I took a cab up to 96th Street at 7AM and had oodles of time. While sidelined waiting to go I hung out with my friend Ben. He was doing the race after breaking his toe a few months earlier. Props Ben!

It was now that I ate 2 bananas. These would be the only nutrition I would have aside from half a water bottle full of EFS on the bike. Less is more? I have no idea but it worked.

Soon it was time to line up for the plunge. It was hot out and I was looking forward to a dip in the mighty Hudson. The current was flowing something fierce and I wanted to get in before it reversed. FUN FACT: The Hudson River is not a river, it is a tidal estuary the ebbs and floods daily. Meaning, the current changes direction from North to South daily and vica versa depending on the tides.

As we neared the Start pier I got excited. It’s funny how just 2 years ago I was terrified, and now it’s second nature. In my head I like to say, “The Hudson… she calls…”

As I stood on the edge my group of racers was kind of blah. I looked up and down the line up and yelled, “Come on fellas! Lets have a great race out there!” at which point everyone erupted in cheer. Bravo.

The gun went off and we took the plunge. I started digging in immediately. My goal was to blast through the swim. It did not happen.

I started with great form. My sighting was on point. There weren’t too many people around me but my arms felt like dead weight. Immediately I thought about how much swimming I had been doing the last week and perhaps this was a side product. None the less, the show must go on. I pressed forward and just got it done.

Other setbacks? I have swum the Hudson like 15 times. Never ever have I swam it when it was so dirty. My hand kept hitting drifting trash like styrofoam cups and wood pieces. At one point I ducked underwater and swam under the garbage slick.

There was also this dude that was zig-zaging in from of me and I could NOT get around him. It was like an open water traffic jam. I think I even popped my head up and gave him a, ‘Seriously man?’ Look as we were side by side.

As you exit the swim there is a 400 meter dash to transition. Some people complain but to me, it gets your legs loosened up for the bike. I saw Erica and Lora and gave em a big “Heeeeey!”

As you run along they have this section of shower things along the straightaway you can run through to wash off. This one guy was taking his wetsuit off IN the shower area so people couldn’t pass through. I wanted to pass him a bar of soap or something.

As I approached my bike I had no idea what to expect. Remember, I hadnt been in transition since the day before. Arriving at ‘The Morrighan’ everything looked perfect. Tires full, shoes in tact. Let’s roll!

Speeding out of T1 I saw the gang again and gave them a funny face. Once out on the highway, it was go time. It was kind of congested so I took my time carefully passing people. It wasn’t until about Mile 3 when my legs were in check that I dropped the hammer and started plowing past people.

Thanks Erica for the great shots!

I was riding with 2 guys and we were leap frogging. I was really starting to have fun. One of the guys would pass a group of people and get like 200 meters in from me, then when an opportune time presented itself I would plunge ahead passing him and so forth. We weren’t drafting each other, just kind of flanking each other barreling up the highway. Dig it.

The course is an out and back with some long rollers. As we got up into the Bronx, Riverdale to be exact, I heard, “Yea Baker!!!” It was Sharon cheering everybody! Right on!

It was just past here I got very pissed off. I was on a tear now and in my highest gear, not concerned with saving anything for the run. On a downhill I was coming up on 2 riders and announced, “On your left!” As soon as I said that, and I was going way faster than him, he merged hard left blocking me and I had to slam on my breaks. Not cool at all. I let him go ahead as my heart rate cooled. The minute I warmed up again I jammed past him at top speed, furious.

The second half was even more fun. I don’t know how, but I got Scotty from Star Trek in my head. Every time I was in my fastest gear I would say (out loud mind you, in my own version of a Scottish accent) “Captain, we’ve got to to faster to break warp speed!” This seemed to push me faster in fact. Whatever works right. SO for the remainder of the trip I imagined having a conversation with Scotty and how we were trying to always break warp speed.

Heading back into transition I knew the run was going to be brutal. It was already really hot out and the sun was climbing high.

I immediately set off at a hard pace. I just didn’t care. I also had no Garmin on so I had no idea what speed I was hitting. This is a neat way to race. Not really conducive if you are trying to PR, but it makes the race about feeling, not numbers.

What a ham.

As we ran across 72 Street towards Central Park I was moving quick, but my legs were still wonky. It wasnt until we enter the Park that everything started coming together. I was taking smaller strides at a faster rate and passing a lot of people. To keep myself motivated I was hunting people in my age group.

At the Mile 1 aid station Matt6 was volunteering. I ran up to him yelling, “Bakeeeeeer! I made you the best Cytomax drink ever” We had a laugh before i pressed on. I also met a guy here who knew me from the Fire Island 5K races! Small world!

I think I was happy to have found shade.

Harlem Hill sucked, both of them. When you run Harlem Hill clockwise there are 2 uphills. No fun! Something interesting happened on the way down one of them. I was passing this big meat-heady dude and he said, “No fair, I’m like twice the size of you!” I was so annoyed that he was allowed into the race that I didn’t even know what to say. I felt like shoving him into the bushes… but I didn’t.

Things were real hot on the East Side of the Park. There was zero shade. At Engineers Gate I saw two familiar faces cheering me on, Eissa and Elyssa!

With 1 mile to go I was excited to be done. I had no idea what my pace was, I just kept chasing people. Up along Bethesda Fountain I heard Dani cheering me o then saw my brother Jeff and his fiance Ali! I gave them all high-fives, sweaty high fives! Then, I saw Abbe in the Finish chute!

Sex/
Age
Age
Place
Overall
Place
 Swim
0.9M		 T1 Bike
24.8M		 T2 Run
6.2M		 Total
Time
M34 16 158 24:40 4:03 1:08:28 1:34 40:07 2:18:49

I finished in 2:18 which is 1 minute shy of a PR. Had it not been for my swim I would have bested it, but there will be other battles.

After a few group shots Jeff and Ali departed leaving Abbe, Erica and myself to go get some ice coffee and muffins. What a fun start to the day!

—

Big ups to my sponsor Kompetitive Edge who represent some of the best gear out there (TYR, Quintana Roo, Newton, Oakley) and support me with it! Also big thanks to the race sponsor Aquaphor for giving me the opportunity to race!

RACE REPORT: 079 Front Runner’s Pride Run 5M – 30:55

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The Front Runners New York Gay and Lesbian Pride Run (woo that’s one hell of a long title) is part of New York’s Pride Week. It’s a blast. People tend to not take the race so seriously and come out to support Gay Pride, dress up, and act crazy in general.

I started my morning with a 2 hour bike ride (150 HR Tempo) so I was pretty warmed up by the time I got to the start. I also had a 4 hour ride queued up for the following day so ‘Jello Legs’ would be the theme of my Monday morning.

I was just chill in out in my corral in a cute little shady spot when I saw Abbe. She has gotten way fast so now she is either in the Red or Blue Corrals. This time she was in the Red, so I went to the back of the Blue and we talked. It was something out of a movie, but replace the red tape with the Berlin Wall or something a bit more dramatic. “When will I see you again my dear?” “At the end of the race in about 30 minutes.” “Farewell!”

Back towards the front of the Blue Corral a lot of the Front Runners were assembling. I was watching for my pal Kevin, but saw him nowhere. Then, I saw Josh, who came over and chatted. I told him how I was tired and he said to just have fun.

SIDENOTE: Josh has started doing triathlons with plenty of time before he peaks out. Like 10 years. (Triathletes be afraid as he is a sick swimmer and even faster runner.) Josh, let me coach you on the bike, we may have a shot at getting you an Ironman win! I’m not even kidding here, I have on my serious face.

Back to the present. The gun went off and I just started running. My legs felt a bit heavy so I just ran as best I could. I didn’t have a watch on so I had no idea of my pace. Sometimes that’s a fun way to roll.

Mile 1 was AFTER Harlem Hill. Thankfully the hardest part of the race was over by then. I hit the mark running a 6:12 and was like, “Oh, okay I guess my legs aren’t that heavy.” I decided to try and maintain or go faster at this point.

Between Miles 2 and 4 I was running in a race pack of 3 with a Central Park Track Team member and a WSX runner. We were jockeying for position back and forth and it was quite fun. Sometimes I would lead, sometimes them.

Rounding the bend from the 72nd Street transverse to Park Drive East I heard my name from a mile away. “Baaaaaaaakeeeeer! Goooooooo!” It was Elizabeth cheering on with a few of her Dashing Whippets teammates. As I passed by, full of new found energy she sent me off with a, “Baker go win this thing! GO!”

I blasted forward making my way up Cat Hill thinking… “Win this thing… hmmm, well I know for sure Josh and his boys are up ahead killing it with sub 6 paces so that’s not gonna happen.” At the top of Cat Hill Maura was cheering too!

As I come past mile 5 we got where all the speakers and the ‘party’ was from the start. I was doing great until I heard them blasting “We fell in love in a hopeless place.” by Rhianna. I was thinking a few different things:

– Where is the DJ, I’m going to tackle him.
– If this gets stuck in my head after the race I’m going to find the DJ and tackle him.
– If I hear that song 1 more freaking time I am going to tackle who ever is responsible for playing it.
– Where is this ‘hopeless place’ you fell in love? Is it scary like a dungeon or more like a desert island?

I cranked through the finish with a 30:55. I was really sweaty and it was burning my eyes something fierce.
After saying good race to my fellow competitors and asking Josh if he won I went to cheer on the gals. (Abbe, Elyssa, Bojana, Erica, Sharon, and Jess)

Sex/
Age		 Bib Overall Place Age
Place		 Finish
Time		 Pace/
Mile		 AG %
M34 136 45 13 30:55 6:11 70.13%

We had color coordinated so that we had a rainbow spectrum. After the race we invaded my new neighborhood and ate at a diner as a stinky group of runners.

Congrats to everyone who raced this weekend! (You know who you are!) There were some big races and a lot of my peeps crushed it!

RACE REPORT: 078 Lava Love Sprint – 1:16:24

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The Lava Love Triathlon (formerly known as Lavaman) would mark my 3rd triathlon in just over a week. It is one of my favorite races and I was really looking forward to it, especially since the weather looked optimum, unlike last weeks Rev 3 flooding!

How do you prepare for a Sprint Triathlon? A 3-legged race of course! That was Thursday night, the following morning at 4:45AM Jim, Ed (of the ‘Dad Posse’) and I left to pick up Mike (also of ‘Dad Posse’ fame) to go fishing. It was going to be another double header weekend but this time we subbed out a Tri with fishing.

Our boat left out of teh Red Bank area and we spent a gorgeous morning fishing off of Sandy Hook. We caught maybe 4 fluke, but for me, just being out on the water was relaxing. I kept thinking to myself, “If we capsized, I could totally swim over to there. Or there, or even over to there.”

I am also kind of living out of a bag the last few weeks since my apartment is being renovated so I forgot sneakers to wear on the boat. My Newton MV2 racing flats actually worked out great!

Back at Mike’s we had a few beers before setting off for Lavalette, NJ. Since we hadn’t caught any fish, we were on a mission for seafood. Were does one get their seafood fix down on the Jersey Shore? KLEINS!

Kleins rules. It sits out on the waterway where all the boats go in and out fishing so it’s a blast to watch. They also have everything you could imagine to eat, from the ocean of course. We wanted clams so we started with 2 dozen steamed cherry stones and 1 dozen cherry stones on the half shell. These were like the biggest clams I have ever seen. Almost too big. For my unnecessary main entree, I chose the blackened Mahi sandwich and it was spectacular!

Back on the road Ed suggested we stop for ice cream. Hoffman’s is a legendary home made ice cream shop a few minutes from Jim’s Grandma’s house so we simply had to go. I was now beyond stuffed.

At Granny’s, we unpacked all 4 of our bikes, geeked out on them for a little while, riding them up and down the dark neighborhood streets, had a beer and went to bed.

RACE DAY

We were all up between 4:30 and 5:30AM bright and bushy eyed. There sure are a hell of a lotta birds that love to get up early in Lavalette! Waking up multiple days in a row before 5AM has now started not to faze me which is frightening.

Granny’s house is literally on the bike course! We hopped on our rides and took the 5 minute ride over to transition. We were like a bad ass Tri-gang rolling 4 deep.

After setting up my area which took all of 3 minutes I went over to assist Mike. This was his FIRST EVER triathlon (Jim just signed him up and sent him the registration confirm) so I wanted to make sure he was good. I still remember my first tri and how my buddy Cenk walked me through all the steps. I tried to pay it back.

Down at the water we found Gio who was also racing. Together, all 5 of us entered the choppy bay and started wading out to the start buoys. The water was really nice and I was enjoying the rough waves.

The gun went off and it was total chaos. The only other worse chaotic swim has been Ironman for me. I don’t know why, maybe the mass start or the chop? It was pretty nuts though for a sprint. I have done enough of these now that getting kicked in the face or having my head dunked doesn’t really upset me. In fact, I kind of enjoy the survival aspect of it.  I did get kind of freaked out though after a quick kick when I thought to myself, “Hey, wouldn’t it be crazy if I got kicked so hard I got knocked out?” I quickly started thinking about rainbows and beer.

My swim went well. I was sighting on point and my form seemed fluid.

As I ran out of the water I was so excited to get on my bike. This is a fast course and I was ready to drop the pedal to the metal. This being the 3rd Tri in 2 weekends, my new QR Illicito is pretty broken in and I am comfortable maxing out my speed.

As usual, the first mile my legs were on fire! I started analyzing it a bit and then came up with this. In a sprint tri, when you get on the bike its similar to the start of a 5K running race, all or nothing. Hence the pain.

After passing a few folks I equalized with most of the pack and started churning the cranks building my pace. I was now having a blast! The course is 3 loops on an oval course with 2 180 degree turns. You can see who is ahead of you coming the other way which is very handy. The lead bikers were 3-5 minutes ahead of me which was a huge lead, especially since they were probably clocking 21-23 MPH. Still, I pressed on grinding those gears pushing forward, passing people here and there.

On the 3rd and final loop I passed Ed, then Mike and then saw Jim who was coming the other direction as he was ahead of me. We all did some yelling and cheering to each other, like we always do. I asked Mike how he was doing (this being his first triathlon) and responded with, “This is so awesome!”

Seeing the guys broke my train of thought and I wasn’t sure if I was on my last loop or the second loop anymore. I am REALLY glad that I opted for last loop (because it was correct) and also because otherwise I would have maybe com in last place.

This weekend I was running with my Newton MV2 racing flats (I love me some racing flats) instead of their Distancias like last weekend. These suckers are fast man let me tell you. It’s like running in slippers.

Out on the course with the bikers, I didn’t want to red line it just yet so I just shook out my legs. I didn’t have a Garmin with me as I have been trying to get in tune with my speed on my own. I have no idea if it’s working so I basically just run as fast as I can. After Mile 1 I was ready and dropped the hammer. I was steadily passing a lot of people and enjoying myself. I remember thinking how it didn’t hurt nearly as much as it did last year. Maybe I am evolving as an athlete?

I had some fun chats with people as I passed. One guy yelled, “Hey, you passed me last year! Whats up?” “Nothing. How ya been?” “Good!” “Cool, have a nice race!”

One guy was really pumped for me and was screaming for me to go get after it. Yessir, I was trying.

At Mile 2.5 I finally caught up to Jim. He told me to try and catch Gio who was up ahead. A daunting task but why not?

Pressing forward I saw him just before the turnaround which meant he was 1/4 mile ahead of me. I was running 6:20’s but there was no way I was catching him.

Finishing up I felt great and cruised through at 1:16:24. Gio high fived me then we waited for Jim, Mike and Ed to come through.

Sex/
Age
Age
Place
Overall
Place
 Swim
0.4M		 T1 Bike
12.5M		 T2 Run
3.8M		 Total
Time
M34 3 28 12:58 1:37 36:34 1:02 24:11 1:16:24

We were trying to figure out if any of us had gotten podium and really could decide. It looked like maybe I was 6th or something. Before the awards, Jim and I biked off to get some coffee for the gang. Just as we returned and were passing out drinks I heard over the loudspeaker, “Christopher Baker!” I was like , “What? What did I do?” I had gotten 3rd in my age group and won a pint glass with the race name! SIDENOTE: I collect pint glasses with race names and have Ironman Arizona, Boston Marathon, and The Boilermaker to name a few. I could not have been more thrilled at this particular award!

It turns out Gio also got an award too! How cool!

After the awards we went to Granny’s and packed up, heading north to ol Manhattan once more.

It was another awesome weekend!!! Mike, congrats and welcome to the addiction known as triathlon.

 

 

 

RACE REPORT: 077 Great South Bay Triathlon – 1:11:28

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…continued from Rev3 Quassy Olympic Triathlon.

Somewhere deep in what is known as Connecticut, we find our protagonists speeding along a dark and stormy highway in a white Mercedes Benz drinking coffee. Little did they knew what lay in store for them just 30 miles ahead…

Sunshine. Lots and lots of sunshine. It was as if there was some evil curse over Quassy spewing cold rain and wind all day. Not cool.

On our way to the second triathlon of the weekend, The Great South Bay Triathlon in Islip, Long Island we stopped in a town called Croton Falls searching for food. We ended up at a place called Primavera which was a pretty high class place! Good thing we were able to shower at the hotel after the race or we might not have been admitted. Primavera (Zagat rated in fact) made some of the best spinach ravioli. Jim and I quickly feasted before moving on.

In around 2 hours we were on the southern shore of Long Island checking into the tri. This race was a bit more home grown. The funniest part was when they went to body mark me and didn’t know what to do since I had my Rev3 tattoos still on! SIDENOTE: Dear Rev3, what is in those body marking tattoos? I was using a wash cloth (with soap) and they weren’t even fading! The women thought it was really cool that we did a triathlon that morning. “Jill, look at this guy, he already has body markings!” They put my new number under my Rev3 number. It was messy, but I’m not gonna lie, I felt pretty bad ass with 2 different tri markings on me. I already had my age practically tattooed on my calm so they didn’t have to worry about that.

We met Ed at his boat slip (Yes, Ed has a boat) and while waiting for him attempted to dry off our wet everything. Seriously, everything in our bags was wet from the race.

I dubbed this moment ‘Triathlete Refugee Camp.’

As we blasted across the sound Ed had noted that there were white caps. They were no joke! If you weren’t holding onto something, you were in the soup. Did I mention we were drinking beers on the boat?

Arriving in Ocean Bay Park a mere 20 minutes after setting sail, we checked into our rooms at the Fire Island Hotel. Ed owns it so he didn’t check in. He was launching the new website that night (fireislandhotel.com) along with a series of new renovations and a music series so there was a party going on. Live music and a wine tasting from Barefoot Wines along with some sensational apps. It was pretty awesome!

Not to promo Ed’s place too much, but any of you city folk that haven’t gone out to the Fire Island Hotel for a weekend are missing out. It has a Margaritaville vibe, with a classy new look. From Manhattan you could be there using only public transportation in and hour and a half.

We had a really nice dinner at the Hotel’s restaurant. We all basically had these amazing fish tacos. Thank god all of us were exhausted because it meant we could sleep early! I think we went to bed at 9:45 which was desperately needed after the full day of racing and traveling.

RACE DAY

Once again I woke up at 3AM and was tossing and turning until 5. Maybe I had too much sleep? Probably not.

The Hotel was quiet and peaceful. Jim and I met Ed at his house and then set off towards the boat. Aside from getting to drive by the swim course on a boat (way cool) we also go to see the sunrise across the sound.

Arriving at Transition I felt very sleepy. I was yawning and basically non-energetic. I was BIB 15 so my spot was right up front which was a first. I made friends with my neighbor Tosin (also a New Yorker who works in my hood actually) and we went down to the water together.

It was hot, it was sunny, the water was gorgeous. I loved all of it. It was like waking out of some triathlon nightmare. That nightmare was cold and rainy Quassy the day before! This was like a big fluffy triathlon cloud. If only the people complaining about the chilly ocean water knew what we endured. Maybe they did because I had a hug SEG on my face and was splashing around like a penguin.

I was in Wave 1 and we set off right on time. Unlike yesterday, I just put my head down and dug in hard. I was actually swimming over people for once! It was a triangular course and my sighting was dead on, until the end.

Everything was going so great, I was making smooth progress, hitting the buoys, and having a lot of fun. Then as we rounded the last buoy to head to shore I had nothing to aim at but the beach. I overshot the pier boundary and found myself making friends with kayakers telling me to, “Swim left!” Not nearly as scarey as the Alcatraz miscalculating, but still annoying since I lost some time.

On dry land once again I bolted to T1 with a fury. I bounded onto ‘The Morrighan’ and took off. Now that the back wheel was no longer rubbing against the frame it sliced silently through the course!

To give you a not so Apple-to-Apples example of how the wheel affected me… Rev3 = 16 MPH, GSB = 22 MPH

The course was really winding and very fun. My strategy was to ride as hard as I could. I didn’t get passed too much at all on the bike. In the beginning 2 guys in the most serious bike outfits for a local race overtook me. Like, it may as well have been Kona, disc wheels and all. For the bulk of the ride I rode neck and neck with is guy going my pace. Every time I went to pass him he sped up. That was until out of nowhere, Jim comes flying by yelling, “Heeeeey Baker!” I laughed out loud and yelled, “Wait up!” I shot my gears down and really cranked it, quads burning. We only had 1-2 miles to go so I figured I could hang onto Jim as he’s a pretty fast rider.

T2 was a blur. I threw on my Newtons and took off. One thing I noticed… Pre-race I was eating these Gu Chomps because I was a little hungry. When setting up Transition I left the bag in my shoe in case I needed them on the run. Guess what was stuck onto my big toe? Correct, a GU Chomp. In my mind I was like, “F-it, it’s only 3 miles.” Maybe I would need it at Mile 2 or something? Eeeeeeew.

I saw Tosin up ahead and he instructed me to chase down the 19 year old that had passed him. Aye aye.

I was running pretty hard but was feeling the fatigue from yesterday’s Olympic set in. Finally, at like Mile 2.5 I passed the 19 year old. Do you know what he said as I ran by? “I will let you go since you aren’t in my age group.” Oh to be young.

I saw DiGangi and his cousin Sal, then as I was finishing I saw Ed coming in on the bike!

I finished in 1:11:28 which is actually a PR by 2 minutes or something. I’ll take it.

Sex/
Age
Age
Place
Overall
Place
 Swim
750M		 T1 Bike
11M		 T2 Run
3.1M		 Total
Time
M34 6 54 19:52 1:12 30:17 0:55 19:12 1:11:28

After Jim finished, we went up to cheer Ed on. Turns out we are standing right next to Boomer Esiason! Small world.

Ed came in shortly after then we departed to have a victory breakfast! It was there Ed informed us of how some speedster took a turn too hot and T-boned him! Ed was bruised and cut, but the attacker went to the hospital in an ambulance.

—

What a weekend! ‘Tri Hopping!’ Even though these weren’t my best times and I didn’t place, I spent the weekend doing what I love most, racing. Sometimes you cant get too caught up in the big picture, you just need to enjoy where you are at that particular moment.