Category Archives: Running

RACE REPORT: 141 Tough Love VCTC Valentines Relay

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One of the athletes I am coaching, Erin (who is also a coach), told me about this Valentines Day relay race in Van Cortlandt Park. Abbe and I immediately signed up with the team name ‘BakerBaker 2 by 4.’

RACE DAY

Abbe and I had also decided to run from our place on the Upper East Side to the race, which would be around 9-10 miles. Run your legs out before a race? Why not.

After discussing the course we were to take she set off. I was running 10 minute late and would have to catch her.

As I stepped outside I was like ‘Hey, it’s pretty nice out!’ It was a sunny morning hovering around 40 degrees, perfect running conditions. I stopped down at my local bodega and grabbed a banana to-go and then blasted off into The Central Park. I felt really good, very fluid. Knowing that Abbe had a 10 minute lead on me I booked it, hovering around a 7 minute pace.

At the top of the Park I saw two familiar faces coming my way. It was Rowland and D getting in their long run! We high-fived and went our ways. We are all running Boston in a few weeks and will most likely run together ‘Flying V’ style. I’m very excited.

I ran across 110th Street toward Riverside and couldn’t see Abbe. She had really put some ground between us. Therefore, instead of sticking to the plan (always stick to the plan) and enter at 108th street, I just went north anticipating a way to get into the park. It urns out that as you head north on Riverside Drive, you have very minimal and limited access points. After a quick phone call to Abbe I told her to keep going and I would find a way to get into the park further north. She was currently at 125th street.

Barreling ahead, I found a set of stairs that would take me down toward Dinosaur BBQ and the running path, perfect! I was at 125th Street, so Abbe must only be 3-5 minutes ahead of me now. I took off, my Mile 5 split was like a 6:25, I was clearly in the hunt. As I got nearer to The Little Red Lighthouse I started thinking to myself, ‘I should have definitely caught up to her by now. Oh snap, what is she is behind me and this whole time I had been putting more distance between us.’

That’s exactly what happened.

I stopped and ran back a bit and waited, finally she came around the corner. We gave each other a huge hug and then went along on our way. I also had breakfast (the banana I had been carrying).

At the end of Riverside, just past the Cloisters, we exited onto Dyckman Street and then made a left on Broadway. From here it would be a straight shot up to Van Cortlandt Park. We were bother tired and very thirsty.

We finally arrived at VCP’s Tortoise and Hare Statue which is where the bib pickup was. We saw Chris, Mary, Eric, Andrew, Chris, Bojana and Brian. We grabbed our bib and prepared, we had made it there with 10 minutes to spare… not bad.

Abbe was first and so she and the lead wave made their way to the start. The gun went off and some 35 people or so blasted off. It was pretty cool to look all the way across VC Park and see the little dots of runners making their way. The anchor wave was starting to get cold.

The first couple runners returning were crushing it! Abbe came through in maybe 10th position or so. She high-fived me and I took off.

Boy were my legs tired! Great idea, run 10 miles up to the start of a race…

As I rounded the first turn a familiar face was headed my way. It was my friend (and Battalion Teammate) Noah who just happened to be out for his morning run! He gave me a fist bump and then turned my way running along side of me. I explained what was going on and suggested he pace me since I was wiped. Not a problem…

Barreling through the mud we made our way onto the trails. We were about to go up Cemetery Hill, which evidently was supposed to be rough. Noah confirmed the roughness. It’s not that it’s a big hill really, it’s that the incline is very steep and winding and it’s on gravel. Our pace slowed by a minute per mile as we made our way to the top. My heart was racing and my legs were burning.

On the decent a runner in a red shirt flew past us! He was jamming and as we flattened out Noah said “We can take that guy.” And so we did, although I was fading fast.

We soon saw Abbe and Bojana cheering and taking pictures.

On the final straightaway to the finish I heard someone approaching… it was red shirt guy and he was blasting it. I tried really hard to fend him off and I can honestly say I gave everything I had, but it wasn’t enough. He caught me right at the finish line and beat me by a few meters!

As I came out of warp speed I high-fived red shirt runner as he passed going the other way. I also found some much needed water. As I was sipping it Noah came over as well as red shirt runner. He introduced himself as Shane and we chatted about the race fe or a second. He was a great guy and a very noble competitor. Abbe soon found us as well and joined in on the race talk.

We headed out shortly after that for some much needed food! It was one hell of a race and running day in general. Thanks to Noah for the supreme pacing.

 

Great seeing everyone too!

RACE REPORT: 139 Abbott Dash to the Finish 5k – 19:13

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Jeff Baker didn’t know it, but we signed him up for the Abbott Dash to the Finish 5K the morning before the marathon.

His wife, my sister-in-law, had planned a surprise trip up to NYC for them for his birthday weekend, which always falls on marathon weekend. Marathon weekend, for those not in the know, is the greatest weekend in New York City.

Friday night’s dinner was at Elio’s, a local neighborhood italian spot that we enjoy. I had some penne with broccoli rabe and italian sausage and it was perfection! Salman Rushdie was also in attendance at Elios.

RACE DAY

After some coffee, Abbe, Jeff and I set off for an easy warm up run to the start down Park Avenue. It was a cool and crisp 48 degrees out, perfect for running.

The start was bustling with runners, 10,000+ actually! We split up to enter our respective corrals. I ran into my neighbor Angus again in the A Corral! There was a huge international crowd present due to the marathon the following day and it made me really happy. As a New Yorker I always feel inclined to help tourists, so this presented tons of new opportunities.

The race was delayed by 15 minutes, during which my mind wandered around until it landed on the fact that I was thirsty. Wonderful. My mouth kept getting drier and drier and I swallowed, wishing for the first aid station.

Angus and I fist bumped and then the gun went off. I felt a bit sluggish, maybe because I was parched.

Barreling down 42nd Street was quite fun and the low light bounced off the buildings in a beautiful ‘fall morning’ kind of way. I hit Mile 1 in 5:19, which doesn’t seem accurate to me. There wasn’t an aid station either.

After taking a sharp right onto 6th Avenue I felt my pace equalize and settle in. I felt pretty good now and was enjoying all the international cheer squads positioned up the avenue. At the end of 6th we took a right onto 59th Street and had a really nice downhill going towards 5th.

Taking a left and entering The Park, Mile 2 clicked off as a 5:39 and there was finally some water!

I slowed a bit on the uphill towards the East Drive a bit, but was really just having a great time. As we rounded the bottom of the Park we entered the official marathon course. It was (as always) lined with al the flags of every nation represented in the marathon. This is my favorite part of the course (NYC Marathon as well) because it really shows you how broad the running community is. I also always get a bit choked up in a happy way when cruising by the flags.

I heard my name loud and clear right before I finished as the whole Gotham City Runners crew cheered me on!

Mile 3 was a 6:10 and my finishing time was a 19:13.

Sex/
Age		 Bib Overall Place Age
Place		 Finish
Time		 Pace/
Mile		 AG %
M39 8453 232 24 19:13 6:11 70.80%

I waited for Abbe and Jeff up by 72nd Street. Jeff said that what he misses most about leaving NYC is running around the Park. Once we all regrouped we finished the morning with a clockwise loop in glorious fall weather.

RACE REPORT: 138 The Chicago Marathon – 3:02:36

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Abbe has always wanted me to run the Chicago Marathon. She ran it the first year we dated, on her birthday, and she loved the course. One morning as we were looking at the race site we noticed that we had made the qualifying time to enter and avoid the lottery! We made a quick decision and registered. Game on.

We left so very early the Friday before the race. We caught a cab at 4:45AM and were at the gate in Laguardia by 5:15 for a 6:00 flight. The good news is that we were in Terminal A, or ‘Marine Terminal’, and I had never been to that one! It was a terminal used for people who commuted via airplane. Abbe and I played a fun game called spot the runners.

We arrived at our hotel in Chicago at 9:15AM and I needed coffee stat!

Next, we took Chicago’s ‘L’ to the expo. I would come to love the L as it was so efficient and reliable, unlike the state of our NYC Subway system these days.

The expo was Bonkertown and not my favorite place. The lines for bib pick up were a bit insane as they forgot to tell runners to check in at the kiosks before the secondary lines. I thought it would get better once I had my bib, I was wrong. As we made our way into the main part of the expo we had to go to the back to get our shirts, of course. Walk through all the race goodies so you might buy something, then you can leave. Abbe and I did look at possibly getting a Chicago tee shirt or hoodie, but the lines stretched out of the roped in areas our around the expo pathways. I had never seen anything like it, hundreds of people just waiting to buy stuff. I also wondered how these people had the patience for these shenanigans. My head was wrapped around how we were going to get lunch before I passed out.

Speaking of lunch, it was awesome! We went to Abbe’s favorite sandwich shop called Xoco (Choco). It’s one of chef Rick Bayless’s spots. I had this awesome pork sandwich that was served faced down in a spicy tomato broth.

Next up… we met one of Abbe’s coworkers Julian and his wife Denise at a new restaurant called Proxi in the West Loop. Look at me all ‘I know the names of the cool neighborhoods after just a few hours in town.’ The food was spectacular. We had tried some of everything being a bit indulgent as we still had one more night before the race.

On Saturday I went out for a solo shake out run. It was a 3 mile out and back to Navy Pier. It was a gorgeous morning, but getting hot quick.

Abbe had a work meeting with chef Noah Sandoval at his restaurant, Oriole. After that Bojana, Brian and Amanda picked us up. We were headed to Lincoln Park to a pizza spot Bojana knew (she grew up in Chicago). Abbe and I had thin crust while the rest of the group had deep dish.

The rest of the day was spent on a boat doing an architectural tour of the city along the rivers. It was quite fun and made a lot of sense as we were off our feet.

We all met Jason and Amber for dinner at Ostoria Langhe in Logan Square. The pasta was delicious and was definitely a good choice. Running fuel was consumed… and we were in bed by 9:30.

RACE DAY

We were up at 6 prepping and I was very excited to run this puppy. Weather looked pretty bad (hot and humid) but didn’t care. I was at the end of taper madness and was going to be set free into the streets of Chicago.

We left the hotel and walked the one mile to the start. It was actually kind of brisk and cool out… for now.

I kissed Abbe goodbye at Gate 2 as I had to go to Gate 5, which made no sense. I spent the next 15 minutes winding around navigating to the A Corral which was slightly nerve wrecking. I felt like a mouse in a maze, with no cheese reward.

In A Corral with 10 to spare I started looking for all my friends. I couldn’t find David, but I did find Rowland and Delgado, or ‘D’ as we call him. We chatted about pace strategy, all of us looking to be right in the 3 hour mark. If conditions were favorable, then we push to sub3. We fist bumped and D said “Stick together guys!”

The gun went off and were took off at an even 7 minute pace, settling in. It was a beautiful morning, 65 degrees with a cool breeze, for now.

We were running in the dark canyons of center city and it was way cool. The crowds were similar to the NYC Marathon, very loud and three deep along the course. Around Mile 3 we lost Rowland in the crowds after a bridge unfortunately. D and I had a quick chat that we should aim to hit 6:30s for the first half, knowing that the second would be bad and we would lose time. I was down.

The route up into Lincoln Park is great. It’s a really wide road with tons of crowd support. Slowly we ran up against the back of the 3:00 pace group and I thought to myself ‘What should we do?’ As if on queue D says “Baker what should we do, should we go?” I laughed and said “I was going to ask you the same thing!” “Then we go!” Yells D and we slowly pushed past them.

At mile 5 we hit our first ‘6:30’ spot on. I was psyched. D also taught me a new way of getting fluids while running with a group, the person closest to the aid station simply passes water to the guy on the outside, brilliant!

We were also running on the left in the shade which helped out a lot.

Miles 6-12 were 6:32, 6:28, 6:34, 6:32, 6:35, 6:25, 6:24… not bad pacing!

I felt great and so did D. We had quite a system we were rocking and we were overtaking lots of people. We saw Amber, Jason and Eric cheering right around Mile 12!

On everyone’s splits mile 14/15 is where things got strange. It says we were running a 5:38 pace, but we certainly were not.

Miles 15-17 were in the 6:40 range because I was struggling and told D I needed to ease up a bit. He was cool with this and let me control our timing. My stomach was a bit screwy as I had a super concentrated Gatorade around mile 14 that didn’t sit well. It was also heating up and things were getting tougher.

#friendship

We saw Bojana and Amanda cheering here!

I think it was right before Mile 17 that I told D to go ahead as I was going to slow him down. I could feel myself faltering in pace and energy and knew I couldn’t keep up the 6:40’s anymore. “Okay Baker, see you at the finish!”

Miles 18-22 I slowed down by 10 seconds per mile roughly. At Mile 22 I was running a 7:17 pace and my legs were on fire. This is pretty normal (beat up legs) for a marathon, I think we all just forget it’s going to happen until it happens.

I was just hanging on in the blistering sun and trying to get to the end. Since Mile 16 we had been in unobstructed sun and heat (75 degrees maybe?) and it was taking it’s toll.

Miles 23-26 were in the 8:00 minute range and I was struggling. I just kept plodding along mile to mile, aid station to aid station. I felt like I was in slow motion and that with every step my quads might explode, blood and muscle tissue splaying my friendly spectators. Gross, sorry.

I finally made it to the Mt. Everest of a highway overpass to make it to the final 200 meters. As I came across the finish D was waiting there with a high five. I finished in 3:02:36, which I will take any day.

Sex/
Age		 Bib Overall Place Age
Place		 Finish
Time		 Pace/
Mile		 AG %
M39 1049 1048 184 3:02:36 6:58 68.50%

We tried waiting for Rowland for awhile but a security guard made me walk to the end which sucked, but I get it.

I saw a couple friends finishing, including Grace. I tried to find D and Rowland and as time ran out I knew I had to make it to the Palmer Hotel where my friends (and wife) would find me. I wasn’t running with a phone so it was crucial I made it to the rendezvous point… or be lost forever.

I planted myself in the hotel lobby bar and proceeded to order the best chicken noodle soup i have ever had… with a beer of course! I also made friends with a lot of the folks at the bar. Once Abbe, Bojana and Amanda found me we headed out to get ready for the pig roast celebration that Nina and Momo (Bojo’s parents) were putting on for us. It was an absolute blast and I have never been more stuffed after a race.

This race was a blast, thanks Chicago. It was far from easy for sure, but the course and the crowd support and the amazing volunteers made it a fantastic experience. I achieved my goal of coming in right around the 3 hour mark and had fun doing so.

Thanks to Nina and Momo for the awesome after party!

Big ups to Rowland and D for the fantastic pacing. We were on fire for that first half kicking out solid 6:30s! Days like this really make me appreciate the running community.

 

 

RACE REPORT: 137 Grete’s Gallop 10K – 38:36

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Nelson convinced me to run the Grete’s Gallop 10K one week before my Chicago Marathon. Training-wise, it actually made sense, so I signed up.

The night before the race was my cousin Morgan’s 24th birthday, so old! Abbe and I went out to Brooklyn to hang with her and my other cousins and a few friends. We were very responsible runners though and were back home by 9ish.

RACE DAY

Abbe and I were up at 6AM and rolled out at 7:30 for an easy warm up to the start on 68th Street and the East Drive. I said goodbye to her as I jumped in A Corral.

A Corral was awesome. It contained all my friends! First off, I saw my neighbor Angus who was attempting his first race in like 8 years. Then, Elizabeth shows up and snaps a picture of me after she says “Do something!” Rowland popped up next and then Michael came and said hi. It was 55 degrees and you couldn’t ask for a more perfect run day.

I had no goals going into this aside from using it as a final speed session. Fire up the engines and let her rip!

The guns went off and I started running at a ‘fresh pace.’ Meaning, my legs felt fresh and pretty quick.

Having to ascend Cat Hill immediately is always a challenge. It’s like pedal to the metal then, whoa, engine trouble.

Miles 1-3 were 6:13, 6:09, 6:16 and I was excited to be running fast.

The West Side Rollers knocked some wind out of me though and Mile 4 was a 6:25.

For a second I thought I might be able to PR as I thought I had to go just under 38 minutes. My PR is actually a 37:02 so looking back on this moment in time I don’t know what I was thinking. So… I started to pick up the pace in the hopes of a PR.

Miles 5 and 6 were 6:04’s. I finished with a 38:36, no where near a PR, but I was still happy. It was such an awesome fall morning!

Sex/
Age		 Bib Overall Place Age
Place		 Finish
Time		 Pace/
Mile		 AG %
M39 3905 65 9 38:36 6:13 71.31%

After the race I ran into my friend Carlos who runs for North Brooklyn and hung with him for a second. Then, Angus pops in. He had crushed it on his first race back!

As I was leaving I saw Rowland and D, so I caught up with them. We were all running Chicago next week and kind of formulated a time and pace plan. Abbe found us soon after, she also had a great race.

Abbe and I finished the day by going to the Medieval Festival up in Fort Tryon Park that afternoon.

Days like today make me so happy to be part of the running community. To see all my friends out there really makes me realize where my place is. Thanks to all of you runners who make it so special.

 

RACE REPORT: 136 Reston Triathlon

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Ironman Chattanooga was called off by Dougie and I this year, leaving a hole in my triathlon calendar. I decided to fill it by racing the Reston Triathlon with my youngest brother in my hometown.

The Part About the Bike Box

I don’t have a car and therefore had a slight logistical problem. I needed to get my bike to Reston for the race. I love public transportation and so immediately ruled out renting a car. This would have been an expensive option as well. Train tickets were pretty reasonable, and seeing as how I love train travel I made this my chosen mode of race transportation.

To get your bike on the train (or a plane) you need a bike box. I was going to use the Evoc softcase, which is a pretty sweet setup. It is very lightweight and has reinforced edges and the bike frame itself locks into a separate metal piece. There are wheels as well, making it ideal for city travel.

I took the day off work and left to catch a noon train on the Friday before the race. Abbe and I got the bike down the stairs fairly easily. She wasn’t joining me on this one as she had other plans in the city she needed to be present for. As I said goodbye to her I then stood looking at this massive situation I had to maneuver through the NYC Subway. I said out loud to her that this seems like a bad idea. I had done a lot of research on getting the bike on the train and knew I had a 50/50 shot of being successful. “Screw it, I’m going for it.” and off I went.

I did pretty well getting it down into the Second Avenue Subway, two people even helped me get it through the emergency access gate. Everyone was quite curious about my luggage and asked lots of questions. People were very shocked to hear that you can just sign up for a triathlon and not ‘qualify’ to participate in them.

Going up the stairs is slightly more challenging. Thankfully, a woman helped me get it up the stairs at Herald Square. Go New York!

Arriving at the illustrious Penn Station I had an hour and 15 minutes until my train, enough time to deal with any other BS I might come across. I found a lovely conductor lady and quizzed her about my bike box, asking what the odds of me getting this puppy on the train were. “Pretty good if you pay the large luggage fee of $25. The line is empty, go ahead and get it taken care of.” You bet I will, as I ran over to the empty kiosk. The woman working the desk was not impressed with my chipper ‘I’m excited to get on a train’ attitude. “Hi! I need to get on a train with my oversized luggage.” “That isn’t making it on any train aside from the 3PM bike train.” she replied. “But, it’s just a big bag, not a bike.” Clearly I had a bike in there. The graphics on the side of the bag that said ‘Evoc Pro Bike Bag’ made it a dead give away. I asked and pleaded as to what I could do to get it on the train. She basically told me I was on my own and if I could convince the conductor trackside to take it on board then so be it. “That’s it, that’s all I can do?” “Yep.”

I knew that the trackside people would also be less than thrilled to see this bag, as my first conductor friend told me so. Emergency Action Baker has just gone into high speed mode. I was going to get a cab to my apartment, drop my bike off and cab it back to Penn in an hour to make my train. I would figure out the bike part of the race once in Reston, but for now I needed to make this train.

It was 11AM  and I was in a cab headed north on 8th Avenue, not a fast ride. It didn’t help that homeslice was watching movies on his phone at stoplights. I actually made it to my place by 11:30. Abbe ran down and helped me repack my luggage before I ran off towards Madison Avenue.

I made a game time decision that the subway was a better option to inject me into Penn. I took a cab across the Park to the A, C, E at 96th and jumped underground.  It was 11:42 when I boarded the C train.

At 11:54 the doors opened at Penn and I bolted out full speed. I had this.

I quickly made note of my track and bee lined it to the closest entry point. I sat down with 2 minutes to spare before the train doors closed. Mission complete. Bike bags suck. I was a sweaty mess.

I had a lovely train ride down and was glued to the book I was reading for book club, Underground Railroad. I highly recommend it.

My brother Phil, not the one doing the tri, picked me up and we headed from DC to Reston. We met Jeff, the one doing the tri, at our step brother’s restaurant Red’s Table for some happy hour action. The rest of the night was spent at Jeff’s barbecuing and playing with all of my nephews. It was a blast.

On Saturday Jeff and I went out for a shakeout run followed by a 20 minute bike ride. Oh right, what was my bike solution? My brother Phil lent me his road bike. Thanks Phil!

We went and checked into the race and then bounced around town with Ali and Dylan. That night we went to Phil and Naomi’s house for pasta dinner. We had shrimp scampi which was delicious.

Bedtime was at 10…

RACE DAY

I was up at 5-5:30AM and felt pretty good. Jeff and I watched the news while sipping coffee. Hurricane Irma was hitting Florida at the time so we were concerned for our Mom.

We rode over to set up T2 (Jeff lives across the street, quite literally, from the finish line and T2) making it super easy. It may have been the silliest T2 setup I have ever done. Since I had Phil’s bike, and he doesn’t have clips installed, I would be riding it in my running shoes and in my running gear basically. I looked at my T2 spot and just placed 1 Gel on the ground. The people around me looked at me like I was insane.

Next, we rode over to T1 on Lake Audubon. It was pretty chilly out with the air temperature being 50 and the water temperature 72. I enjoyed the fact that this is a very hometown race, where everyone knew everyone. There was also some serious competition present.

I was in Wave 2 and so I fist bumped Jeff and made my way to the lake. I waded out to the start buoy and hung out for a hot second. The water was pleasant but not warm by any means although I knew I would heat up once we started swimming.

The gun went off and I dug in. This was the second time I had swam this year, the first being the NYC Tri in July. It’s like riding a bike right?

I was thoroughly enjoying my morning swim. The sun was rising and it was looking like a beautiful day. The lake also brings back memories for me. I learned how to sail on it when I was 15, at a time when i was also scared of the water.

I did get blasted in the face once and had my goggles pop off.

I knew my swim was slow because I could feel a few waves pass over me. When I exited I saw Jeff, who had beat me out of the water. I yelled over to him “Jeff! Go!” I then scrambled out of my wetsuit, dried off and hopped on the bike. By now Jeff had a solid 2 minute lead on me, which is a pretty big gap on the bike.

The course was 3 loops on back roads. The first few miles it took me awhile to get into gear. Once I did I picked up the pace and started having some fun. I saw Phil, Naomi, Cayden, Owen, Ali and Dylan all cheering with signs at mile 5.

One of the things that started to happen to me was that I was getting major hip pain after mile 10. I would say that has to do with me riding a bike that isn’t fitted for me. I was also struggling with not being clipped into the pedals. It would be tough for me to catch up to my brother.

By the time I finished up my third loop the sun was beating down and turning up the heat. I dumped my bike, grabbed my lone, sad gel and took off.

The run was in the woods on paved trails, a staple of the Reston community. Luckily, it was also very shaded. Mile 1 clicked off at 7:11, the hunt for Jeff was on.

I saw him coming my way after the first out-n-back, roughly at mile 3. We high fived and I yelled that I was coming for him. I took my gel at mile 4 with my pace hovering in the 7:15 range.

I finally caught him after we went up this torturous half a mile hill. We ended up running the last mile or so together which was pretty fun. I also saw my friend Jenn run by! I had no idea she was racing. I later texted her and learned that all my buddies (Shag, Rick, Albers, etc.) were hanging out. Unfortunately, time was not on my side and I couldn’t go join them.

Finally, as we got to the finish he was like “Let’s go!” and we blasted across the line simultaneously!

Sex/
Age
Age
Place
Overall
Place
 Swim
1.5K		 T1 Bike
40K		 T2 Run
6M		 Total
Time
M39 37:49 1:26:02 43:46

The Reston Triathlon website is down, more stats to come later.

We grabbed some food and then found our family. Back at Jeff’s we started making breakfast sandwiches to refuel as it was early. I was close to being Code Red so when the food was finally ready I inhaled mine!

That afternoon was spent celebrating over at my Bonus Mom’s house with everyone. It was a hard earned medal and a fun race.

 

 

 

London Relocation

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I awoke abruptly to Abbe saying, “Honey we have to go now, pack your bags and get in the car! We have 3 hours to catch a flight out of Dublin to London. We have a new assignment… and time is not on our side.”

Driving south by southeast across the Irish countryside I was slipping in and out of consciousness. Our previous assignment had done me in. Abbe was behind the wheel, Eric was asleep (shocker) and Peter was alert and helping us stay awake.

We met Peter at the wedding. He is a good friend of Bojana and an Agent for the Serbian Government, Code Name ‘Hristos Vaskrse’. Part of our new assignment was to get him to Dublin safely.

Sundays are quiet in Ireland, so the roads were practically empty. It was very easy for us to make our projected time of 3 hours and at the airport we bid farewell to our new friend and ally Peter, Code Name ‘Hristos Vaskrse’.

Abbe, Eric and I breezed through security with our agency status and made it to the gate early.

A quick flight later and we were taking the Heathrow Express straight into London. It was 15 minutes from the airport to city center! Most of London made me a sad New Yorker as they seemed to have ironed out all the urban issues NYC struggles with.

It was hot in London, like 65 degrees and gorgeously sunny. We were staying in Convent Garden.

Our assignment… we were going to be contacted and asked to rendezvous with other Agents. The goal was to set up peace talks between agencies. We didn’t know what to expect.

That night we wandered around looking for some good local beer. We stumbled uponTemple Brew House which happened to have a trivia night going on! I may have spoiled one of the answers, but I thought everyone knew graphite was the material in pencils.

Next up was dinner at Red Cow. We were in search of Sunday Stew, a thing in London, but we missed it. The food we had was superb, a common theme in London starting tonight was dining where the locals dine, my favorite!

The next morning Abbe and I did a run tour of (west) London.

We saw St. James Park, Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, and most importantly and surprisingly the sister obelisk to Cleopatra’s Needle in Central Park. We also happened to see changing of the guard and changing of the horse guard!

Lunch was held at Noble Rot, where we met one of Abbe’s coworkers who is a highly respected wine reviewer, Neal Martin. We had a three hour lunch in which Neal picked out a fantastic White Bordeaux from 1990 for us to enjoy.

The food, of course, was also delicious. In a fun twist Dan, the owner, also happened to have signed the band Coldplay who are Abbe’s favorite band. Epic! Two of the band members are also part owners in Noble Rot as well.

Next up, the British Museum. I had flashbacks to art school the entire time. I was back in Joe Basile’s Egypt Class and then I was in Joe Basile’s Ancient Roman History Class, you catch my drift.

That night, after wandering the streets some more, we went to eat at Hoppers, a Sri Lankan restaurant recommended by Dan from Noble Rot. There was a two hour wait, which we were prepared for.

Just two secret agents, doing secret agent stuff.

We hung out at Dog and Duck Pub a block away and drank delicious pints outside on the street, Why can’t we do that in NYC?

Once our two hours were up and we were seated, the food and dining experience were top notch. Leo, our waiter, helped us pick out way too much food. So far on the London trip we were notorious for over ordering.

We started with Bone Marrow Varuval and Hot Butter Deviled Shrimps. The two couldn’t be more different, and yet they played into each other so nicely. The bone marrow smooth and mild while the shrimp had a zesty zing that hit you just as it was leaving the mouth.

Next we had the Lamb and Chicken Kari, comparable to curry but more flavorful in a complex way. All of the spices hit in waves, not all at once, like listening to a bands’ full album. Eric insisted we overeat and get the Ceylonese Split Chicken. It was peppery in texture and very good. I just wish we had room for it. Were I to redo the meal I would have ordered two of the Chicken Kari dishes.

We decided that we needed cocktails after dinner so we went to a place called Cahoots in an old tube station.

The drinks were great and so was the vibe. Imagine a post WWII vibe, with swing music and twists on traditional cocktails. Although slightly cheesy, you could only appreciate it.

The next morning Abbe and I went for another run, this time to the east towards Tower Bridge. The weather was even better than it was the previous day, 70-75 degrees without a cloud in the sky. Was this really London? We ran the Millennium Bridge, went into St. Paul’s Cathedral and saw a lot of the western part of town. Eric was at a coffee shop by the Seven Dials, so we set out to finish there.

This was my first time in the Seven Dials and I thought it was very cool, a great place to hide out. Tiny narrow streets that weaved through secret alleys that held interesting shops, one being 26 Grains, a very cool coffee shop. We found a very happy Eric there. I also met a triathlon family (due to my Garmin watch) from northern New Jersey, small world!

Hotel. Shower. Change. Deploy.

We met Dougie and Danika on the Tower Bridge span around noon. Before touring the bridge, I needed a snack, so we hit a local restaurant and sat outside munching on some chips. Soon enough we were in Tower Bridge engulfed in it’s history. For those not aware, one of the attractions is the glass floor on the east and west walkways. Imagine 20 feet of walkway, all reinforced glass, 120 feet over the roadway. My hands are getting sweaty just writing about this. Yes. I have issues with heights. I can ride a blazing fast track bike without brakes through Manhattan traffic, but a very safe glass floor, no way. What’s my deal?

After some persuading by Eric and Dougie I went onto the glass walkway. They even took a photo to prove it. I did trick the staff, which I am most proud of. As they were coercing me to walk I simply said, “So how many times has the glass broken?” Without missing a beat she said three times and smiled. A stranger across from me slowly left the glass walkway.

Lunch was calling so we hit the George Inn which was close to Borough Market. Our original goal was to eat at the market, but due to the recent attack it remained closed.

The Shard, being the tallest building in London, evidently had some terrific views. We needed to see it. As a New Yorker I can pick up on certain vibes when approaching places and this place screamed ‘high end dress code.’ I walked up to the bouncers (reminder that it is 4PM on a Tuesday) and they looked me up and down like I was a homeless bum. I felt a little violated, but I get it. “Hi, we want to have a drink at the roof bar. We are obviously tourists and I get the feeling that there is a strict dress code.” They told us we could take our chances there or at three restaurants on the other side of the building… way better odds if you ask me.

We were able to get into the first place we attempted entry into and had a cocktail and took in the view. Although it was amazing, it was a mere 35 or so floors up. In New York we have bars in buildings 100+ floors up, some so tall they are above the clouds.

It was at this point that we were contacted by the Agents we were here to meet. As it turns it out it was D, Matt and Christina from the Hoboken Operation that we met in Ireland! I wonder if they knew that they would be contacting us on the second part of their mission?

6:30 PM at Casita Andina, don’t be late.

Note: There are no photos on the second part of the write-up to help conceal the identity of the Hoboken Operation.

We had never heard of this place but after checking it out with our local intelligence it seemed safe and like every was on the up-and-up. We had a few hours before dinner so we deiced to hit he London Public Library. They had an exhibition o rare books, yes please!

We saw, among many artifacts, the Magna Carta, Handwritten Beatles songs, handwritten songs from Mozart and Handel, handwritten notes from Michelangelo and Da Vinci (what?!) and finally, the showstopper for me, an original Beowulf written in 1,000. Priceless? Yes.

We had a drink at the Lyric Bar close by to Casita Andina before dinner as well. How come in London you can take your drinks out on  the street but not in NYC, or America? Lame.

D, Matt and Christina rolled in and we were seated within 30 minutes. This was a neighborhood spot, tiny and crowded. The food, tapas, was great!

The 6 of us laughed and told stories of the irish wedding while eating great food and drinking delicious wine.

Our assignment was over quickly once it was agreed upon that we should merge forces and work together back in the States. Some days we would hang out in the ‘Boken, others in Manhattan. It was all too easy, but then again, solutions to global espionage are often simple. Abbe and I left early. Once we reported in that our mission was finalized headquarters put us on a 6:45AM flight out of Heathrow. Thank you? I was dreading going back to desk work, but I guess that’s the name of the game in international spy work.

Thanks London. Thanks Ireland. You were good to us.

End Transmission.

 

 

Escape from Ireland

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It seemed simple enough, our assignment that is. Escort and protect two Serbian Nationals across Ireland so they could rendezvous with a Serbian American and an Irishman. They were getting married in a few days and it was of utmost importance that the Serbian Nationals be there for it. Basically, the wedding wouldn’t take place without their presence.

I hardly slept on our flight over from JFK, making it very hard to stay sharp once we landed. ‘Abbe’ and I were posing as a married couple from New York, border control fell for it hook line and sinker. Agent E had flown with us and was on his own to get past the guards. His cover was that of an ‘overly American’ tourist.

Dublin has been infiltrated.

Our pick up point for the Serbians, let’s call them ‘Momo’ and ‘Nina’, was just inside the main terminal. We spotted them immediately and made contact.

The Agency had provided us with a nondescript rental car. We all hopped in and began our 3 hour trek across the country. We were headed to the north west of County Donegal to a town called Letterkenny. Our only concern was that we would be passing through Northern Ireland for an hour of the trip. If stopped in UK territory, it would be a tough situation that we might not be able to work our way out of.

We needed to recharge with some food, so we made the call to stop at Carrickmacross, a small town along the way where we wouldn’t draw too much attention. We ate at Markey’s, a quiet pub on the main road. I had one of the best chicken salads I have ever had there. Momo and I decided it best to try some of the local Smithwicks as well. It didn’t disappoint and he insisted we have a second round.

Two hours later and without incident, we arrived in Letterkenny and checked into our hotel. We had received word that the bride and groom (to be) were just down the road at a place called The Cottage. It was a very dark bar, like an old pub from long ago. I scanned the room and it looked safe, our contacts were in the back and quite happy to see that we made the trek safely. Momo and I had, yes you guessed it, a Smithwicks.

The Irishman, Brian, was from the area and had a lot of family around. We drove off together to his relatives restaurant for dinner and celebration. There were 20 or so people there. We had some cocktails and mingled. It was then that we made contact with another set of American Agents, their territory was Hoboken just across the Hudson River from us. We all got along instantly .

The next morning Abbe, Agent Eric and I made our way north to an old fort high upon the hillside. It was called Grianan of Alieach and it provided a 360 degree view of the surrounding countryside. It was very impressive. It was clear from this vantage that we had not been followed and our location wasn’t compromised. We had the green light to move to the final location.

With Momo and Nina safe, we made our way to the next rendezvous point and location of the wedding, Lough Eske to the south. Lough (lake) Eske is situated in a remote area 10 miles from Donegal Town and is quite a beautiful setting.

After checking in we had lunch at the bar with Eissa and Nick who were running point on the job. They had been at the castle well before us and gave us the ‘all clear.’

“Abs, we should check out the grounds.” I wanted to make sure everything checked out and there wasn’t anything suspicious going on that could interfere with the wedding.

The grounds were gorgeous. It had a very ‘magical’ vibe to it with dense, very lush forests unlike any I had ever seen. We explored a few remote pathways that lead deep into the forest and everything seemed well.

That afternoon it was like an American Reunion in the bar. Dougie, Danika, Eric, Eissa, Nick, Stephan, Amanda, Lisa, Alex, Chris, Kristin, Christina, Chris, (lots of Chris-like names), Jodi, Becky, Anders, Elena, Maura, Brian H., Sweendawg and of course Bojana. We decided that our best bet for food would be to hit up Donegal Town. We choose Olde Castle Bar as our destination and had a blast! The van driver into town was completely insane as drivers go and for a second I thought they might have been an enemy agent sent to take us out.

That night we stayed up until 1AM listening to the band at the hotel bar. I had heard of this secret graveyard and wanted to take everyone there on a mission late at night, but the rain came in… bedtime.

Showtime.

Dougie and I were on our own to patrol the castle grounds before the wedding as the girls all had to do hair and make up. We made our way to the far end of the property and eventually were able to discover the secret graveyard! It was epic and had a 12 foot Celtic cross. Had we found this the night before I think people would have lost their minds, especially in the dark. A true test of trust were they to have followed me.

Not satisfied with our initial sweep I recruited Eissa and Nick to go further out just in case. We thought running would help us cover more ground and we would be safely disguised as ‘jogging tourists’. The countryside was beautiful! With very few cars and narrow country roads one really felt at peace. With the eleventh hour fast approaching we ran back to the castle.

I took a quick shower, threw my suit on and headed down to have some lunch at the bar. I left my firearm in the room… I wouldn’t need to use it unless something unexpected happened.

Everything was going off perfectly. I had my sights on the groom and Momo and hopefully Abbe had Bojana and Nina covered. Eric was nowhere to be found and was hopefully doing something useful like a perimeter sweep.

Once my crew showed up we made our way outside to the pavilion where the ceremony was to take place. It was partly cloudy and 70 degrees out, unusual for Ireland. The crowds were filling in the seats and there was a vibrant buzz of excitement. We had a 5 minute rain scare, but then the weather cooperated.

Bojana’s brother Neb was the officiant and he did a wonderful job. He has a very stoic and noble way about him that reflected out into the crowds. I have to admit, my toughness broke up for a second during the ceremony and I got a little emotionally happy for Sweendawg and Bojo. Thank god I had my sunglasses on.

The time was 2:30PM. We had from now until 6PM for the Happy Hour. Eric grabbed me a beer and we all headed outside into the sun. It’s kind of hard to protect the bride, groom, Momo and Nina when they all disappear! I was told they were safe by Abbe, so I just continued to do what I do best, socialize.

For most of the Happy Hour(s) we all hung out on the outside patio where it was unusually sunny and absolutely gorgeous out. I think I even got sunburned… in Ireland!

Where’s Momo?

At 6 sharp the doors to the main room opened and we took our seats. There were a series of speeches that went until 7 and then we could eat. The food was delicious and the atmosphere was relaxed and fun. The wedding was to go all night, so what was the rush?

I checked in on Momo after dinner as he was outside having a smoke. Then, a number of us went to the secret Library I had accidentally found (when I got lost on the elevator) the day before. It was a nice respite from all the action.

Back down in the main room the band had set up and dancing had begun. We all got to it.

Around 11PM we took another break and a different group of us went up to the Library. I took it upon myself to entertain my friends with a reading from ‘And Berry Came too’ by the late Dornford Yates. A favorite of mine, especially during the holidays. Feeling refreshed we all decided it was time to really throw it down on the dance floor.

By now the band had stopped and a DJ was in its place. Perfect! The crowd was going fairly wild and having fun. The other half of the wedding was drinking on the patio or in the happy hour room.

I took a personal break at some point. Knowing that our mission was over, I wanted to say thanks to Momo. I bought he and I two whiskeys and we had a toast. This would be the last time I would see him for some time. October to be exact. A new assignment was in the works that would bring us back in touch.

Just as I was walking away something tremendous happened. The DJ started playing an all too familiar (but not at weddings) song. We all started looking around bewildered and then simultaneously bolted for the dance floor. ‘Footloose’ was playing. Never in my history of weddings have I seen a crowd go more bananas then this night, myself included. We were all Kevin Bacons on this night, at this moment, dancing uncontrollably. We danced so hard that the next day my legs felt as if I had run a Half Marathon.

Whitney Houston’s ‘I Wanna Dance with Somebody’ was next and that didn’t slow us down at all, my vocal chords paying the price on this one.

The finale… Frankie Boy’s ‘New York, New York,’ epic to say the least. It brought down the house and all of the New York crew really let the pipes burst.

At 1AM they stopped the music and informed us that the downstairs Oak Bar was open. “Sweet, a new area to explore.” A lot of us migrated down there to have some more fun. Abbe and I made it until 2AM before we headed off. Arm in arm as we went up the stairs we both smiled, looked at each other and said, ‘Mission Complete.’

8AM.

I awoke abruptly to Abbe saying, “Honey we have to go now, pack your bags and get in the car! We have 3 hours to catch a flight out of Dublin to London. We have a new assignment… and time is not on our side.”

…to be continued in London Relocation, the epic Part II.

 

 

 

 

 

 

RACE REPORT: 134 – Brooklyn Half Marathon: 1:24:16

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As you may have read on my previous post, next year is my 10 year running anniversary. What better way to celebrate it then to run the race that started it all, the New York City Marathon. The goal… run a sub 1:25 half marathon in Brooklyn to qualify.

I took the day off on Friday because we had friends coming into town for the weekend.

Abbe wanted to write a story on Wylie Dufresne’s new doughnut spot in Williamsburg, Du Nuts, so she was going to run there. I had a race the next day, so I decided to bike there and meet her. Our timing was perfection and so were the doughnuts! They were delicious as far as flavor goes, but a little dense for me. I like a fluffy doughnut, sorry Wylie.

We met Adam and Kristin, along with their daughters Madelyn and Savannah out by Laguardia and guided them into the city. We spent the afternoon in Central Park, mostly riding the carousel, before heading o dinner.

Adam had requested some serious NYC pizza so we decided to take their family to a NYC staple, Gino’s on 83rd Street. We sat outside and enjoyed the warm weather. I opted for some pasta as I had to race the next day and I have learned that pizza never works, mainly for it’s lack of nutrition. Our friend and teammate Kelly popped by with her new dog Peanut… Madelyn and Savannah went bonkers.

In bed by 10:30pm.

RACE DAY

We woke up at 5:00am to the sound of some Cafe Bustelo brewing, very similar to rising to a Mozart concerto.

We were in a cab and picked up Jenn and her boyfriend Lee by 6:05am, rocketing down the FDR towards Brooklyn. The weather was perfect, 60 degrees with a cool breeze.

With 15 minutes to spare and 5 blocks to the start we exited the cab. Jenn and I did a bit of a panicked warm up. We were on time, but not really. I said goodbye to her at B Corral and headed up to A Corral. As I entered with 5 minutes until the start I found my friends Elizabeth and Patrizia. Elizabeth was like, ‘Baker, what are you doing here, you should be up in the front!’ They had collapsed the corrals already and I was pretty far back from my normal placement. In my head I was kinda like, ‘Fuck it. Let’s just run for fun.’ But simultaneously another voice was like, ‘Keep the pace steady until Prospect Park and then drop the hammer. You have to give it a try.’ Angels and demons battling it out… we all have ’em.

The first 2 miles were painful. It was like being stuck in traffic. I tried to make progress by passing people but it was slow going. I was also being very courteous to my fellow runners and following protocol. I saw Kate and the GCR cheer squad which helped push me on. These miles were in the 6:50 range, 20-22 seconds per mile off my goal pace.

I saw Abbe and Lee at mile 3 and dropped off my belt which held my phone. I felt instantly lighter. I also saw my Seven Samurai (a group I coached to their first Ironman last year) cheering!

Right before we entered Prospect Park I heard a, ‘Hey Baker!’ It was Victor, also part of the Seven Samurai crew. We had a fun chat before I bid farewell. The streets were opening up and so I needed to make up time.

In Prospect Park I did a lot of bobbing and weaving. I was making steady progress and improving my overall pace, but I had to be careful. Prospect is only 3 miles in circumference, but is a series of rolling hills. It is very easy to blow up and lose your race here. I was running 6:15-6:20 range on these miles (3-6) through the park and was starting to feel confident in getting my mission completed.

Having run this 5 times I am pretty familiar with the course. As we approached mile 7 I started to pick it up, anticipating the straightaway that is Ocean Parkway.

Some think that Ocean Parkway is boring. It is. It is 6 miles on a flat highway with no shade. But… if conditions are right, you can use it to generate a PR. That’s what I was intending to do.

I dropped a 6:07 on mile 7 and tried to keep that momentum going.

Somewhere in the next mile or two I ran by my buddy Pat who yelled, ‘Great pace Baker, first beer is on you!’ We will come back to this later…

I was only taking water and gatorade every other aid station and my pace was hovering in the 6:20 range for miles 8-12. I felt fantastic! My legs were functioning perfectly, my heart rate was steady and nutrition was on point. I thought I had this thing in the bag.

Head down, feet plugging along I wondered if I would indeed achieve my goal. If I didn’t what would I do to get into NYCM? It was my introduction to running in 2008, I had to run it in 2018.

I decided, as the last mile approached, to check my time and see what I needed to pull this off. I thought I had been banking time and it would be easy street for the last mile. Wrong! I had just under 8 minutes to hit my goal and I was currently at a 6:20 pace. Too many variables were in play. I wanted this bad and was close so I just put my head down and dialed up everything I had.

I was watching the seconds tick by on my watch as I barrelled down Surf Avenue. As I hit the boardwalk I had 1 minute to go to keep it under 1:25 and my pace was a 6:09. It hurt bad.

Swinging my arms through the finish I knew I had it, but it was close. I finished in 1:24:16, just 44 seconds off my goal time.

Sex/
Age		 Bib Overall Place Age
Place		 Finish
Time		 Pace/
Mile		 AG %
M39 691 433 75 1:24:16 6:26 70.82%

As I made my way out of the finish chute and towards our after party I ran into my pal Allison. She had a great race as well. I also met her friend and another GCR teammate, Natalie. I left them in search of my Battalion crew.

In front of the Finish and Ruby’s Abbe, Lee, Dougie and Madison were cheering. I went into Ruby’s and secured us a table. I also noticed that the Flyers, another local team, were posting up behind us. I thought to myself, ‘Hey Pat is a Flyer!’ No sooner did I think that than he rolled in. We hung out for a hot second recapping our races before he joined his team. Man, I love the local running community.

One by one the Battalion crew rolled in! Some looked better than others, some had great races and some not so much. We had some drinks and some laughs before it was time to go.

I stayed in Coney with Abbe, Adam, Kristin, Madelyn and Savannah to hit the rides at Luna Park.

Mission 2 complete. Next year I will get to run NYCM, my 1st race ever. I ran it as a 30 year old in 2008 on a dare and I will run it as a celebration (and as a 40 year old) in 2018. Had I not run the 2008 marathon what would I be now? Please discuss.

RACE REPORT: 133 – NJ Marathon: 3:05:38

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I suppose it was during the afterparty of the NYC Half Marathon that it happened. There were beers involved. Friends agreed, I should run Boston on my 10th year of running. Even better, I will turn 40 years old in 2018, so it’s a dual milestone.

The problem – it was March and I had no qualifying time to register with. I’m signed up for the Chicago Marathon, but Boston will surely close by then. The solution – run a spring marathon with minimal training.

It was right around that time that Mike from the ‘Dad Posse’ emailed asking if we would be running the NJ Half Marathon this year, kind of a tradition between all of us. A light bulb went off in my head, ‘Bingo!’

I had 6 weeks until the NJ Marathon, and so I built a rather aggressive training plan that would jack my distance up fast. Game on.

On a positive side (wait training is positive right?) Due to my age I gain 5 minutes for my BQ. Instead of having to run faster than a 3:10, the time was now 3:15. Getting older can be fun!

Abbe, Jenn and I did a quick shakeout run on Saturday before Jim was to pick me up. I ran 2 miles and they continued on while I had a serious case of FoMO.

Jim and I were on the road by 12:30pm heading south to Mike’s place in Little Silver. We arrived at 2pm with no trouble.

Mike and I went to get our bibs while Jim went to visit his Grandma. After bibs we hit up Tommy’s Tavern for some beer and apps.

Dinner was at at Brothers Italian, a Red Bank staple. We ate here in 2011 before the race as well. Mike and I choose shells with meat sauce while Jim had meat lasagna with Cabernet. Jim was in a fancy mood.

We were in bed by 11pm.

RACE DAY

Up at 5:45am with coffee in hand 5 minutes later. We had loads of time. Mike’s wife Kara was going to drive us to the start at 7, which meant we would be n our corrals as 7:15. Perfecto. I ate one banana and took one to go.

As we were leaving I stepped outside into the overcast 50 degree weather. I held my arms out and looked up, Shawshank Redemption style, and said to the guys “The gods are with us today!” It was (almost) perfect running conditions.

After a slow warm up we parted ways to our respective corrals. Along the way I spotted my pal Ali chillin in the her corral. Photo op!

The clouds were moving fast as the sun shot out blindingly from a few open holes. It felt epic and I was definitely ready for Battle Stations.

The horn sounded and we took off. It felt great to just run, tapering was murder on me this go around.

The first few miles ticked off and I was the hitting 6:30-6:40 range. I felt fluid and this pace felt slow. Being notorious for banking time, I just went with it and enjoyed the run.

As we exited the neighborhoods and made our way into the downtown stretch of Long Branch, I knew that my friend Kate from GCR would be at mile post 9.5. This was a helpful driving force in my run. They had a solid team presence and gave me a great shout out, thanks GCR!

Up ahead I thought I recognized a female runner. ‘Is that my pal Allison (also from GCR)? Is that speedy Amy running next to her?’ Perhaps… perhaps.

As I approach I realized it was indeed them! Hello friends! I yelled, “Slow it down people!” We chatted for a hot second. They were running the Half and were soon to be finished while I, well, I had a few more miles to go. They bid me farewell and I proceeded into the darkness. The trouble with Half Marathon and Marathon dual races , if you are doing the marathon, is that you see the halfers head to the finish. Meanwhile, you have FoMO because you still have to double that distance. It’s such a bummer.

This may have been the first time in my history of marathons that I hit a truly bad place this early on. Mile 11 passed and the sun came out, increasing the temperature. We were on a straightaway and the turnaround was at mile 19, 8 miles down the road. That is a huge mindfuck!

I think the course Gatorade messed up my stomach as well because I didn’t feel too hot. I did a systems check on my body and everything was good aside from my stomach… and my mind. Major trouble.

They say a marathon is 10% fitness and 90% mental. Since my early days I have agreed with this statement and now my own mind and willpower was coming to test it.  ‘I should quit before I get too far down the course. Why did I think this was fun? Fuck the Sun God, it is so hot right now.” It was bad, like real bad. I thought my pace had slowed to 10 minute miles, but I was still hovering at a 7 minute pace.

‘As long as I am moving forward, I am winning.’

The wind was coming from the Northeast and at mile 13 we ran inland around this dumb lake, only to add on 1/2 a mile. I felt the wind on the return. It cooled my core down and I mentally calmed my breathing down. I pulled my form back together. My stomach was still a mess, but the rest of me was improving. At the next few aid stations I made an effort to slam water and only water, to flush my system.

As miles 15-17 passed my pace suffered to a 7:05 range. Keep in mind, I was putting unnecessary pressure on myself at this point. I needed to run a 3:13 to hit my goal and I was running a sub3 race up until now, because I am competitive and maybe, just maybe, stubborn.

At mile 19 the 3:00 hour pacers past me. I got slightly mad because the pacers were so chipper and encouraging to all of us. “C’mon guy, lookin’ great, keep it up!” I was very far from looking great. Look at the next photo, I look like shit with my frowny face.

We popped onto the boardwalk, now in Asbury Park, and had a very cold headwind. It may have slowed us, but I needed the cool air.

After a few Ironmans and Marathons I have learned that sometimes when I am at my worst, I do my best. ‘Never die.’

I wasn’t pushing my pace any faster, but my mind and body were back in sync as I ticking off the miles. I was hitting 7:30s by now, but was steadily moving, even through aid stations.

Speaking of which, at the mile 22 station Mike’s kids Kevin and Kelly were volunteering! Thanks for the water!

I soon saw Kate again who gave me a high five. Next I heard this angelic voice that couldn’t have been more timely say, “Go Chris Baker!” It was Abbe and wow what a sight for sore eyes she was. I stopped and kissed her as she yelled, “Keep going!” My battle wasn’t quite over.

By now the 3:05 pacers had passed. I had 3 miles to go and was pretty sure I could make my goal if I just held it together.

I was now on the boardwalk making my way to the finish. The course was very familiar now, I have run this course 4 times I think? I plugged away at the distance, my quads in particular were on fire. As I approached the finish I had many cheers from strangers, which was really awesome. Then, my pal Ali who had finished the half was on the sidelines yelling!

Driving my legs down the finish line I had one last motivational push. A handful of athletes that I coached to their first Ironman last year were on the sidelines waiting for me to finish. “Baker! Go Baker Go!”  I waved and punched it! Thanks Samurai for some helpful cheering.

3:05:38 was my final time which meant I had BQ’d with 7 or 8 minutes to spare. Mission complete. I have still not emotionally processed what has happened.

Sex/
Age		 Bib Overall Place Age
Place		 Finish
Time		 Pace/
Mile		 AG %
M39 2049 88 16 3:05:38 7:06 67.07%

Water in a milk carton is the jam. The photographer actually asked me to put the milk carton down… nope.

After grabbing my hardware I saw Jim and Mike at Rooney’s drinking beer. Jim was 3.5 beers in, which is a new handicap system we are working out. They gave me a huge cheer as I found my way to them.

I had a beer as we waited for Abbe to come off the battle field. Once she arrived she told us the story of a guy who tossed his phone to her at mile 22 and said “Please take this, it’s heavy. I’ll call you at the finish.” Sure enough he did. His name was Carlos and he runs for North Brooklyn as does my pal Evan who he knows. Small world! You know I love making friends.

This wasn’t an easy race. Training is everything and although I trained for 6 weeks, it wasn’t enough for it to be a walk in the park. I put everything I had on the course on that day at that time and I was no more. Sometimes when you want something really bad you throw it all out there. Pain is an idea your mind sells to you. Pain is temporary while glory is forever.

As Featured on ‘The Runner Diaries’

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I met Erin Kelly last year when I coached her through her first Ironman. We have since become friends and she asked me to participate in her project ‘The Runner Diaries.’

Inspired by Refinery29’s Money Diaries and The Cut’s Sex Diaries, welcome to The Runner Diaries, where we’re sharing a behind-the-scenes look into a week of training with runners of varying ages, paces and GPS coordinates.

This week, we have Christopher Baker of New York’s Upper East Side. Baker is an artist, endurance sport coach, and active member of running and triathlon community The Battalion. Below, he documents his training to achieve an aggressive goal of qualifying for the 2018 Boston Marathon (“BQ-ing”) in the upcoming New Jersey Marathon, and a trip to the northeast to spectate and cheer at the Boston Marathon on Marathon Monday.

Continue on to The Runner Diaries here fir the full story.