Running – Page 15 – BEYOND DEFEAT

RACE REPORT: 019 5th Avenue Mile – 1 Mile: 5:01

Posted on September 26, 2009 by admin

Posted in All, Race Reports, Running 4 Comments

Sex/ Age	Bib	Overall Place	Gender Place	Age Place	Net Time	Finish Time	Pace/ Mile
M31	263	113	112	21	0:05:01	0:05:01	05:01

This weekend was to mark another double-header. Saturday was the 5th Avenue Mile followed by Sunday’s 18 Mile Marathon Tune-up.

Friday after work I met Robin, Benny, Tess and some of Tess’s German friends who were visiting at Bravest Bar for happy hour. We had a great time catching up and throwing back some beers… I decided to take off around 8 to have dinner at home. I have been on a vegetarian diet now for 4 days (based on the diet of one of my hero’s, Scott Jurek, 7-time winner of the Western States 100 Ultra-marathon) and had made an amazing 3 bean salad I was looking forward to eating. In bed by 11:30, up at 7.

RACE DAY

The 5th Avenue Mile is a legendary race that starts on 5th and 80th and goes south to finish at 60th. I wanted to finish in under 6 minutes. That would make me happy I told myself. They were to set off heats based on age groups, mine being at 10:15. I had plenty of time to spare and had some Bustelo and Irish Oatmeal to fuel up. Seeing an opportunity to bike ride before the race (as it was a beautiful day) I packed my race gear and headed out, planning to end my bike ride at the start of the race.

It all started so perfectly…

Then, at 6th Avenue and Spring Street (following one of my normal street routes) the chain on my track bike popped off. Those of you who understand the logistics behind track bikes know this is a rare occurrence as there are no gears and the chain is tightly secured around only one sprocket. The other issue when dealing with this is that, now, I have zero control over the bike aside from steering. The drive train is inoperable and there are no brakes. What to do? In an instant I am reminded of Fred Flintstone – I lean over and slam my left sneaker down on the pavement, eventually screeching to a stop. This drew the attention of a few early morning dog walkers, one of whom attempted to help me. As I popped the chain back on I missed the back cog and now the chain was jammed, making it so the tire wont turn. Great. It’s 9:35, I have 40 minutes to gun time. I remembered that Bicycle Habitat was around the corner so I picked up my bike and started running. Luckily, they were open and I immediately expressed my need to fix the chain. The owner handed my a wrench and I went at it BUT the bolts were too tight. As I asked for more assistance the owner said that maybe I should leave it for service instead, implying I pay for their services. I told everyone I had a race to get to and then things changed. A real cool tech helped me out and in 5 I was on my way, everyone in the store wishing me luck in the race!

I was definitely riding too fast up to Central Park, but I was in a tight spot. I made it from soHo to 80th Street and 5th Ave in 10 minutes and had 15 to spare! I geared up and jumped into the crowd. I caught a glimpse of my pals Robert and Sarah who had just ran in their heat.

The gun fired and we were off.

I happened to be way back in my heat so I started picking off people and blazing down the right side of 5th. What was remarkable about this race was how quickly it was over. Next thing I know Im crossing the half way mark and Im really getting into the groove. Soon after, myself and a few others were pacing each other and really cooking down 5th. I had a lot of steam in me but wasn’t sure if I was going to run short at the end.

200 Yards to go mark, still flying. Then I see it- the finish clock… it says 4:45! What!? Was I really going that fast? Something must be wrong ith the clock? All of a sudden I was in the position to finish in a sub-5 category which is unreal! I fired up the legs and really pushed hard those last few hundred yards. I think I crossed at 5:04 with a huge SEG on my face! (Shit-Eating-Grin) My actual time was 5:01 and next year Im going sub-5!

I grabbed some water, my ‘commemorative metal water bottle’ that I will never use and headed up toward my bike maybe hoping to run into Sarah and Robert. Once I was home I grabbed some food and thought ‘Wow, tomorrow I have to run 18 miles. yikes.’

RACE REPORT: 018 Run for the Cure – 5K

Posted on September 13, 2009 by admin

Posted in All, Race Reports, Running 1 Comment

On Friday at work, as I pondered the upcoming Brooklyn Bridge Swim, I saw an Ad in the POST for a Breast Cancer charity run taking place on Sunday, the day after the swim. AND, the registration was a block away at the Hyatt on 6th Avenue. Destiny? Perhaps.

Sunday was a beautiful day, especially compared to Saturday’s rainy mess.

I ran up 7th Avenue and into Columbus Circle to get to the start of the race. It was a charity run so it wouldn’t be timed. Normally this would deter me, but it was a great cause and I had raced enough this season to keep me satisfied.

Everyone was in pink and getting pepped up. SIDENOTE: to any single males, 95% of the runners were female!

I had mentally prepared myself earlier for a crowded ‘mayhem’ of a scene and knew getting to the start line would be borderline impossible.

As I made my way through the crowd I heard “Baker!” It was Anna Silva! I stopped and said hi to the gals.

When the start gun went off it wasn’t as bad as expected. We were headed up CP West which is very wide. As soon as it opened up I picked up my pace and started blazing up the left side of the crowd. It was very fun. My headphones are busted so I was running Sans-music.

Once we entered Central Park the crowd had thinned and everyone was moving at a good speed. I kept telling myself, “Charity, this is for charity, not to win.” It was a beautiful morning for a run so I was taking in the beautiful Central Park morning scenery.

I sprinted through the finish and kept going on to the water stations. I felt great (which is the whole purpose of all of this anyway). I hit a Starbuckers, grabbed a regular coffee and walked home, enjoying the quiet Manhattan morning.

RACE REPORT: 014 Fire Island 5K: 18:21 – 1st Place

Posted on August 9, 2009 by admin

Posted in All, Race Reports, Running 3 Comments

Sex/ Age	Bib	City	State	Overall Place	Gender Place	Age Place	Finish Time	Pace/ Mile
M31	37	NEW YORK	NY	1	1	1	18:21	5:55

New record. Old record 18:35 by Andrew Tourney in 2008

A few month ago as Mike, Ed, Jim and I were wrapping up a race in Central Park, Ed suggested that we all come out to Fire Island to run the annual Fire Island 5K. How could I resist a race on the beach? I was allowed to bring someone with me and Marissa accepted my request. Unfortunately, Mike and Jim were unable to make it this time.

Co-incidentally, Marissa’s step-mom and my good friend Colette happened to be going to the island as well, staying a few towns over! She offered to give us a ride with her awesome toddler Grant. He is just over 1 years old and like the cutest kid ever.

After splitting at the separate ferries with Colette, Marissa and I arrived just after 1 on Ocean Bay Park. SIDENOTE: there are no cars on Fire Island, only bikes. Its very cool and very laid back. All the streets are narrow sidewalks with a little sand overlapping.

Ed and his brother Don own and operate The Fire Island Hotel, which is a really cool place for anyone interested in visiting Fire Island. We stayed there for the first night and it was such a pleasure. I liken it to Margarita-ville. Imagine a few small buildings surrounding a pool and a tiki bar (pumping classic rock) flanked by the beach.

Marissa and I immediately hit the beach. At around 4 we decided to grab some food and then take a run on the beach. I convinced her for the first time that a Pina Colada pre-run would not affect her. I was right. We cruised down the beach and later learned that we ran around 5 miles, although it didnt seem that long. Running on the beach at sundown is maybe the greatest thing ever.

We met up with Ed right after and he advised us on some spots to hit for dinner.
I was happy as I got to eat my beach staple… Lobster, corn on the cob, and steamed clams. We hit up Ed’s tiki bar for some drinks and made a few new friends, one of which took Marissa and I down to a place called Schooners. We were out pretty late that night, it was really a fun time. We also walked home on the beach and there was this fantastic full moon!

The next morning we moved over to Ed’s house (which is two doors up) and then hit the beach with he and his family… Annelise, Jack (9), Isabella (7) and Ben (4). We spent the day boogie boarding and making sand castles with them. They are really a great group. Marissa some how managed to conjure up some pina coladas for lunch which was total brownie points. Colette and Grant rolled up on us at like 5PM to say hi as well.

That night we met Colette, Grant, Ed, Jenn, Rick, Amy and Abigail in Ocean Park for dinner at the Mermaid. I juiced up on some Frutti Di Mare and Red Wine.

RACE DAY:

The following morning The Eschmann’s, Marissa and I geared up for the race. Ed, Annelise, Jack, Ed’s brother Don and I were running. After I did a few interval sprints with Marissa I jumped in place at the front of the pack of 400 or so runners.

As the final countdown was in place a guy asked anyone who thought they could run a 6 or better mile to step forward. I decided NOT to step forward and be stealth. The 4 guys who did step forward were in their 20’s and like 3 feet taller than me. As the gun went off the four of them shot into a V formation with me tailing them at high speed.

The first mile was nice and we were probably cruising at a 6:20 pace. As we took a turn I noticed we had developed a big gap between the other runners at which point I knew we were the lead 4 in the race. Around Mile 2 the 3rd place man dropped back and I was now in his place. We had picked up the pace and were going very fast. So fast in fact that I was a little worried about maintaining my speed.

At Mile 2.5 the number 2 man was slowing so I thought it was a good opportunity to pass him and trail the leader (who was the defending champion from last years race).

As we rounded the final turn coming up to Mile 3 I looked back and realized it was just me and the number 1 man in contention. I was very excited.

As we cruised forward I knew we had a right turn, a quick left and then a 100 yard straight away to the end. lots of things were going through my mind. I was worried that this guy had saved up a little fight for the end, as I sure had. When would I pass him? Could I win this?

As soon as we took the last left and the finish was in sight I moved to his left and did what I had been practicing out on the West Side Highway all week- a super fast interval sprint. when this begins I normally throw my hand down in a hip-hop gesture (see photo). As I passed him he said “Oh S%^T!” I was blazing and was focused on the banner in front of the line. As I hit the finish I may have been moving as fast as I ever have just out of sheer excitement! It was really cool to hear my name announced as the new winner. I waited for the second place man and congratulated him on a great run.

After getting some water I found Marissa and gave her a sweaty hug. We were totally excited about the whole thing. We waited for Ed and his family to come through the finish, which was a very cool sight to see I must say! Jack was so excited to be running across the finish with his Dad!

At the after party festival we all met up (The Eschmann’s, Colette, Grant, Ed, Jenn, Amy etc) and we had some beers (Heineken sponsored event).

An hour or so after the race they did the awards ceremony and I got to go up and get a medal and some prizes. It was really awesome. Jack got an award for number 1 in the 12-15 age bracket too, so he got a medal! Not bad- 2 of our crew got awards! Jack and I took a photo together to celebrate our win.

Yes, I am excited. Look how tall my competitors are!

Jack (Ed’s son who won the first place in his age group) and I thought we needed a Team Eschmann-Baker photo! I see a definite running future for Jack, the guy’s fast!

After hanging out for a little while Marissa and I decided to hit the road and make our way back to Manhattan as we were exhausted.
It was a weekend I will not soon forget.

RACE REPORT: 013 Run for Central Park 4 Miles: 24:15

Posted on July 18, 2009 by admin

Posted in All, Race Reports, Running 1 Comment

Sex/ Age	Bib	Overall Place	Gender Place	Age Place	Finish Time	Pace/ Mile	AG Time	AG %
M31	33	167	151	22	24:15	6:03	24:08	69.8 %

The day before the Run for Central Park 4 miler was our annual Rolex Fishing Trip in Pt. Pleasant, NJ. I took Ahern as my guest. It was a great day, although we could have maybe caught more fish. Ahern and I, dedicated to seafood, decided we would ‘buy’ our catch at a local market on 1st Avenue and still have a feast.

Robin was taking a nap when we got back and by the time she woke up we had steamed clam, peel-and-eat shrimp, blue fish, salmon and some wine. Ahern took a nap while Robin and I watched the DVD I bought at a 7-Eleven on the way home, ‘Horton Hears a Who’ which I think is hilarious.

The only reason this relates to my run by the way is that I like to keep track of my meals the night before a race. This, in my mind, was a great way to charge up before a run.

I awoke in a great mood, it was a sunny beautiful morning. As I went to my laundromat to get my stuff I came across a huge metal gate. The laundromat was closed and wouldnt open until 9, the exact time of the race! ahhh! My running shorts were in there! My back-up plan was to wear track pants.

Arriving at my corral 10 minutes prior to the race who did i run into? Kevin Masse of course! After saying hi he simply said “Um, what’s with the pants? Its like 80 degrees?” I was now worried that this would affect my time.

Gun goes off and its on. My goal was to run as hard as I could the entire 4 miles to break 24:00.

It was all going presumably well. I was picking off people and at mile 1 and had broken free of the main bulk of the crowd. At Mile 2 it felt like the bottom part of my body was chillin in a hot tub! I was on fire. At water stations I was dumping cups on my head.

At Mile 3 I was really burning up and considered stopping and rolling up my pants all 8th Grade style but knew that would be a losing battle. I just kept going. Then, I see Kevin cruise by me! I yelled “Go Kev Go!” to which he gave the thumbs up wave. I couldnt keep up and pace him so instead I found a gal who was cooking right around my speed and trailed her. It helps to do this as you dont reduce your speed.

I actually finished and broke my own personal record clocking 24:15 which I was happy about even though I was 15 seconds behind my set goal of the day. This brings my mile average time down to 6:03. I found Kev and congratulated him, then made my way to the water area and chugged 3-4 cups. Now I remember why they do less races in July and August.

RACE REPORT: 012 The Boilermaker 15K: 59:23

Posted on July 12, 2009 by admin

Posted in All, Race Reports, Running 1 Comment

Sex/ Age	Bib	State	Overall Place	Gender Place	Age Place	Finish Time	Pace/ Mile	AG %
M31	816	NY	355/10584	329	33	59:23	6:23	69.4 %

Where do I begin?

This weekend was to mark my second running of the fabled Boilermaker 15K in Utica, New York.

Danny, Anna, her Aunt Essie and I rode up Saturday morning making few stops and getting to Utica in nearly 4 hours. Anna’s Mom’s side of the family is from here and that night there was a decoy party for her Grandma Ruth. Sunday after the race the siblings had arranged a large surprise party at a local restaurant so we had to convince her that this night was her actual birthday party.

We were staying at the Hotel Utica which is quite a cool place. It reminds me of prohibition era NYC. (i say that like I lived that era… i did not, but I am a history buff). After checking in we had a few drinks with Uncle Josh, his wife Katherine, Sasha and Max. SIDENOTE: Anna’s family is awesome and I know a lot of them quite well. They welcome all people into their homes and it is always a pleasure spending time with them. Next, we went to Grandma Ruth’s house for a delicious meal orchestrated by Uncle Josh. As a gift I had brought Grandma Ruth Champagne Truffles from Teuscher Chocolates which I believe are the best things in the world. I think she liked them. If you ever need to bribe me for anything these would do the trick.

The following morning Anna, Danny and I awoke at roughly 6:30AM to gear up for the race. I brought my own Cafe Bustelo to brew in the room which I did. Its really the best coffee ever and a race ritual.

We all parted ways at the start and made our ways to our respective corrals. I happened to be in the orange corral. With 15 minutes to spare I was fidgeting with my ipod when all of a sudden my friend Kevin Masse appeared! We were both totally shocked that we A, were running the same race outside of NYC and B, standing next to each other in a crowd of 11,000 people. Earth gets smaller and smaller it seems. We gave each other a little fist pound as the gun sounded and we were off.

Boilermaker is a really fun time even though there are some grueling hills. The entire town comes out and they have bands and all kinds of craziness. Aside from all the chaos, there is just a totally positive vibe coursing through the air. Its awesome. I like positivity they say.

Miles 1, 2 and 3 happened rather easily. As we made our way up ‘Heartbreak Hill’ (which is a winding path up a golf coarse) I had a little acid indigestion. I attributed this to me not eating my standard banana or two pre race. Stupid Baker, very stupid. So! I started hitting the water stations like crazy. This alleviated the issue and by mile 7 I was cooking. Along the way I saw… Role Call! Uncle David, Gibby, Dave, Anna, Grandma Ruth, Bev, Uncle Stevie and a few others. My friend Raina was there at mile 8 cheering her other friends but I didnt see her.

I got in the habit, starting at mile 7 or so, of clapping at the crowd and yelling and then they would all cheer back. It really fuels you and totally rules out the possibility of me stopping to take a walk break. As we came close to the 9 mile mark I saw that I was still in contention for breaking a 60 minute 15K so I started really pushing myself. As we came down the final stretch I was flying but was in total overload. I crossed at 59:40 but would later learn my chip time was 59:23. I had done it! I broke the 60 minute mark. I had also shaved 11 minutes off my time of 1:10 from last year.

When you finish the race they corral you in to the backyard of the Saranac Brewery. What does that even mean?! It means free beer all day. Questions? Yes, we had beer starting at 9AM. Yes, it goes down easy. Yes, its hydrating. I was actually drinking a gatorade when I found Kevin. We did some high five action and then he said ‘um where is your beer?!’ Peer pressure, I tell you. After having a beer with Kevin we split to find our respective friends.

Danny and Anna came in and met me and we all did some more high fives, then got more beer. and more beer. and more beer. There are bands playing so we watched them and then found a spot on the lawn to sit. They did and F15 fly over which totally kicked ass Top Gun style. ‘Maverick!… You can be my wingman anytime.’

At around 11 we made our way to the Hotel Utica to change for Grandma Ruth’s party.

It was a fantastic surprise. There were 80-100 of her friends and family at a classy Italian restaurant. A few of the siblings made speeches and we ate some amazing italian food. It was basically a flawless good time. We all left at 4 and caught a nap back the hotel. It was so needed. We then headed over to Aunt Tracy and Quinn’s house… aka… the afterparty.

They have a litter of 5 week old boxer puppies! (if anyone wants one they have 4-5 left for sale) and they are so cute!

We stayed there til 11 or so and then went to bed as we had to drive back the following morning.

We had a quaint breakfast with Dave and Gibby at our board meeting oak table basked in morning light and then made our way back to my Rome. We will be back next year and for many years to come Im sure. Thanks to all the great hospitality we received while visiting!

RACE REPORT: 011 Father’s Day 5 Miler: 30:54

Posted on June 21, 2009 by admin

Posted in All, Race Reports, Running 1 Comment

Sex/ Age	Bib	State	Overall Place	Gender Place	Age Place	Finish Time	Pace/ Mile	AG Time	AG Gender Place	AG %
M31	43	NY	149	147	30	30:54	6:10	30:45	278	69.3 %

As many New Yorkers will testify, this weekends theme was rain. Therefore my Saturday night ritual of a big meal with friends was squashed as no one wanted to go out. Instead, I made some fresh salsa and grilled up some swordfish. It was amazing and in my head I thought it would be a fantastic energy boosting meal.

The following morning I had a weird dream that I was running the race and at some point I took a wrong turn and backtracked 2 miles. I was then confronted with the option of pseudo-cheating but cutting through the fields or to re-run the 2 miles. I chose the re-run option and was very upset as my time was horrible. I woke up startled and looked outside, it was a light drizzle but looked generally okay for running. I decided I had to run based on my dream. After emailing Mike, Jim and Patrick (whom I was meeting prior to the race) that I was in, I noticed on the NYRR website that the race was at 8:30 and not 9 as I had planned! I was now late.

After a quick cup of Cafe Bustelo I headed out and decided I had to run to the race in order to make it on time. I sprinted up 9th Avenue and made it in good time. Upon seeing the fellas Mike told me that baggage check was a good distance away, so off I went again to drop off my stuff, just barely making it to my corral in time.

I queued up some tunes just as the gun sounded. We were off.

The first mile was fun, we were still in a relatively tight pack, but moving fast. I hit mile 2 at 12:20 and was dead on pace, by now we were thinning out and it was getting harder. I was picking off people and then around mile 4 I recognized my friend Kevin Masse cruising at a speedy pace. I ran along side and we both said hello. We paced each other for the rest of the race which was really fun and mentally helped a lot. I finished in 30:54 which I was happy with, although I had set my goal to be 30 flat.

Kevin and I went to the finish line to cheer on our fellow runners and catch up. Jim, Mike, then Patrick all finished with great personal times.

Mike, Jim and Patrick are all fathers and had received word after the race (via very cool flyers in manilla envelopes made by Mike’s wife) that they were free to do as they wished for the first part of the day. Stop one was Starbucks. It was there that we decided to reconvene at Brother Jimmy’s a few hours later for beer and food as it was still a little early to have a pint.

12:30: Brother Jimmy’s

We were all seated up at the bar having a few as we discussed the days race. We also made the perfect decision to get the rib special, very suiting for our race finish and it being Father’s Day. Jonboy and CJ made a quick appearance but then had to jet out to other plans.

Mike, Jim, Patrick and I split ways around 5 and I made my way downtown to meet up with an old college friend who was in town for the Bike Film Festival. It was a solid Sunday.

Certificate of Freedom001.jpg

RACE REPORT: 009 CP Dash – 10K: 39:02

Posted on June 13, 2009 by admin

Posted in All, Race Reports, Running 2 Comments

Sex/ Age	Bib	State	Overall Place	Gender Place	Age Place	Finish Time	Pace/ Mile	AG Time	AG Gender Place	AG %
M31	663	NY	38	36	9	39:02	6:17	38:50	96	69.1 %

This Weekend was set to be a brutal double header with the Dash 10K Saturday and the Park to Park 2 Mile Hudson River Swim Sunday.

Friday, I went to Robin’s house and hung out with the Ahern’s for a bit. Mike’s Dad is a Marathon runner so we swapped some stories. They headed out and Robin and Jess (Mike’s sister and soon to be resident of NYC) and I ordered some take out. We were drinking Rum and Ginger Ales and listening to some music. I headed out around 11-1130 to get some rest.

The next morning shaped up to be very nice, especially for a run. I Vespa’d up to 103rd Street and 5th Avenue and waited for Jim. Antonio bumped into me and we wished each other good luck as he pressed on. Jim didnt show and I figured it was probably his knee acting up so I headed in to the corrals.

I got caught way behind my normal start and spent much of the first mile bobbin ‘n weavin to get up to speed. I hit mile 1 at 6:45 which is not good for me. I started cruising and actually really enjoying myself. This was a great run and for the first time, this 10K went by effortlessly, which is weird. It was getting hot and sunny towards mile 5 so I started to pick up the pace. Once I saw the 6th mile marker I blazed full speed, I had a lot of energy left evidently. For the first time ever too the announcer said my name as I crossed and it was definitely not as exciting as I expected.

After the race I sat at the finish line and cheered my fellow runners in for 15 minutes and then headed back to my apt. I will certainly do this race again next year.

RACE REPORT: 008 BK Half Marathon: 1:28:15

Posted on May 30, 2009 by admin

Posted in All, Race Reports, Running 1 Comment

Sex/ Age	Bib	Overall Place	Gender Place	Age Place	Finish Time	Pace/ Mile	AG Time	AG %
M31	50	291	276	71	1:28:15	6:44	1:28:15	67.1 %

The Brooklyn Half Marathon was to take place on a Saturday morning. My ritual, the night prior to any race, is to meet with some friends and have a big meal and a few drinks. I met Ila, Nancy, and Rachel at a bar in Hells Kitchen and we played iphone trivial pursuit, drank beers, ate some food and had a pretty good time. I was home and in bed by 11:30 or so.

Saturday morning I had my Cafe Bustelo and set off on the F Train to hit Prospect Park. It was so thrilling to see the subway packed with runners in their bibs ready to go!

I was late and so when I got tot the front corral it was packed, but thanks to some friendly guys they suggested I just hop over the gates as I had proper bib credentials!

The race began at 8 AM and it was already getting hot. We did 2 1/2 laps around prospect park (which I quite enjoyed as it was ever changing scenery). at mile 7 they threw us out onto Ocean Parkway heading south. It was a straight away of 6 miles into Coney Island. I was doing great running 6:20 miles until that straight away. It was out on the highway and so freakin boring. Miles 10-13 were of course brutal and I was grabbing water at every possible station. It was here, at mile 12, that my old running partner and friend from last summer Robert ran by, yelling “Hey Baker!!! How are you?” I was like “Im dying out here man!” and his reply was “Hang in there, one more to go!” This actually helped fuel me so thanks Robert! Running down the final stretch of the Coney Island boardwalk was memorable and scenic for sure, but I was winded and fighting to keep up my pace. I finished in 1:28:15 which is a personal record, but I had hoped to do better.

After the race I met up with Robert and then what do you know, Antonio (another running partner) rolls up beside us! We all decided to go have a few beers and watch the race finish out on the boardwalk. It was great! We had some laughs about our times and performance, caught up and relaxed in the sun.

RACE REPORT: 006 Wall Street Run – 3 Miles: 18:22

Posted on May 19, 2009 by admin

Posted in All, Race Reports, Running Leave a comment

Sex/ Age	Bib	Overall Place	Gender Place	Age Place	Finish Time	Pace/ Mile
M31	85	68	68	14	18:22	6:07

Jim, Ed and I signed up to the American Heart Association Wall Street Run after work on e Tuesday Mike missed the deadline so he would cheer us on at the finish.

The race was mayhem as there were no corrals at the start, oly packs of people varying in speed. We all agreed to just enjoy ourselves.

At the start I was basically bobbin and weavin in and out of the crowds trying to get up to an enjoyable pace. I eventually did. It was a really fun run because we would through the financial district like mice! At John Street Todd and his team from Expand the Room came out and cheered me on which was a goo booster!

I met up with Mike at the finish and we cheered on Jim and Ed as they finished. This marked the first race we had run together where we could actually go get beers after. We made our way up to Broome Street Ale house in SoHo and did just that. It was a great end to the night.

RACE REPORT: 005 Healthy Kidney – 10K: 37:55

Posted on May 16, 2009 by admin

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Sex/ Age	Bib	Overall Place	Gender Place	Age Place	Split Time	Pace/ Mile	AG Time	AG Gender Place	AG %
M31	37	202	181	40	0:18:44	6:08	37:55	350	70.8 %

The Healthy Kidney was my first 10K in quite some time. I spent the night before in Brooklyn at my friend Stephanie’s house warming party with the intentions of getting home by 11. Try 1:30 AM.

SIDENOTE: After much taunting from Mike, Jim and Ed about how I wear track pants to run, I decided to get some shorts. This was my first race with them and I did feel the difference.

I was tired the next day, but in good shape for the run. It was overcast and looked like rain.

I arrived at the front corral and it was very empty. I had been told that there were Olympians running in this race so therefore overlooked any chance I might have had at placing. The people around me in the front pack were indeed hard core. You can normally tell when their legs come up to your head.

The gun went off and we all bolted. This was the first race I had been in where I literally crossed the Start a second or two after gun time. I was up to pace in no time and ran my first mile in 5:54. Not bad but I needed to slow it down. At the top of Central Park it started to downpour. My headphones came out and wouldn’t stay in so I ran n the rain. It was actually very serene and peaceful, the sound of the rain and the footsteps. Mile 5 and 6 I got to run next to some Olympic fellow named ‘Alex’. I know this because everyone kept cheering for him and I was like “What about me? I need some pep too!” I gunned it through the finish line and thought my heart was going to explode. I wanted to finish in under 38 minutes and I had just made my mark!

Out of nowhere I hear “Yeah, go Baker” from the sidelines! I look over and its my friend of 12 years Melissa sitting sideline! It turns out her boyfriend (another good friend of mine -I matched them up years ago) was running the race as well. I came around and waited with her to see Joey D finish. We cheered him on then met up and grabbed some snacks catching up on life.

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