Running – Page 3 – BEYOND DEFEAT

RACE REPORT: 132 NYC Half Marathon – 1:26:22

Posted on March 24, 2017 by admin

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This will have been my 4th time running the fabled New York City Half Marathon. I love this course as half of it is in my backyard and the other have runs through the streets of the city. It is also a very fast course if played right.

Abbe and I headed down to pick our bibs up the day before the race. It was still remarkably crowded, but the process was smooth and seamless as usual. We grabbed lunch at Peter McManus Pub on the corner after. Please stop in to this family owned establishment. It is one of a few remaining old NYC bars with true character and a friendly staff.

Danika came over to spend the night, so the three of us played some Monopoly and stayed off our feet. Abbe cooked up a delicious pasta for dinner.

RACE DAY

Abbe and Danika woke up at 5:30am and I tried my best to get another 30 minutes of shut eye.

Everyone had been freaking out about the weather for the week leading up to the race. I think because at one point the forecast said 45-50 degrees and people got super excited only to be let down. It was 35 degrees out which is, and would turn out to be, great racing conditions. After slamming a banana and some coffee we all left for the start. It was 6:30 and we either had a 2 mile run to the start or a 5 minute cab ride. We opted for the cab.

I checked my bag and then cruised through the security checkpoint. I hung with Abbe and Danika at their corral for a little while before heading up to mine. I was in ‘AA’ which I was confused about. Why was there an ‘AA’? Just keep everyone up front in an ‘A’.

I was next to a guy who would become internet famous for wearing a full suit for the race. I was jealous of his warm clothes, but not of his heavy cotton fabric. I was wondering if he would be chaffed everywhere after this stunt. As it turns out the guy ran a sick time for having a suit on. I think he was in the 1:10-1:15 finish range.

The gun went off and we began our ascent of Cat Hill at a rather quick pace. I tried to not get carried away with all the excitement.

About half a mile in this guy to my right says, “Hey Chris, what’s up!” It was my friend Sebastien! He was a pacer for the 1:25 pace group. He and I met in 2009 while running the Knickerbocker 60K. We chatted for a bit before I explained that I was going to ‘Blast ahead’ to try and get close to a PR. This would not be the last time I would see Seb or the 1:25 pace group… foreshadowing!

Miles 1-3 were 6:30, 6:12, 6:21 so I was all over the place. I tackled Harlem Hill and set my sights on getting through the West Side Rollers.

On the West Side I saw a number of friends who yelled out “Go Baker!” One friend said “Good morning Mr. Baker.” It was right around this time I noticed my legs feeling unusually heavy and fatigued for this early in the race. This was also the moment I saw my friend Seb again and we both laughed. I was clearly having an off race.

Miles 4-6 were 6:35, 6:36 and 6:25.

I excited the Park and barreled my way down through the canyon of Times Square in a hazy fog. My mind was all over the place wondering if I was even going to finish this damn thing. ‘Just hang on’ I told myself. I even convinced myself that my legs would feel better later on in the race.

I saw Susan and Jocelyn cheering at mile 8 and delivered a high five. The wind coming up off the river was fierce and everyone was struggling. Luckily, as soon as we hit the west side it was behind us.Miles 7-9 were 6:16, 6:28, 6:43 or, a reverse progression run. A digression run?

I saw my pal Ali cheering with the November project crew. She gave me an awesome “Goooooo Baaaaakeeeeer!” I also saw Kate and the GCR squad which helped motivate me. I was visibly slowing down as other runners were now passing me. I felt as though I was walking but my splits for 10-12 were 6:41, 6:43, 6:35 so I was still progressing forward.

I finally made it to the tunnel and knew I was going to finish. Just one more mile, I can do that.

As we exited the tunnel the north wind that had been ‘pushing’ us was now in our face. My final mile was a 6:46 and my finish time a 1:26:22. I was disappointed with my time, but after analyzing my data I found that it was 6th best out of 19 Half Marathons.

Sex/ Age	Bib	Overall Place	Age Place	Finish Time	Pace/ Mile	AG %
M39	9631	601	106	1:26:22	6:36	69.09%

Walking over to get my medal I decided to take the left row as it was less crowded. I heard a “Chris!” My old friend from college Shayna (who is now also a runner) was volunteering and handing out medals! She gave me a huge hug and then my friend actually put the medal over my head! How cool is that! It made all the suffering worth it.

Seb found me too. I explained why I could not keep it together and we laughed.

The next order of business was the after party at Irish American! I grabbed my stuff and made my way in that direction.

As I could have predicted, the only one sitting at the bar when I walked in was my friend Frazer, who ran a 1:15. We ordered up some Guinness and gave our own play-by-play of each others respective races.

Next, Anders rolled in and informed us that he had just PR’d!

Hungry runners + food = pure joy.

It was a short matter of time before Abbe, Bojana, Brian, Aunt Margie, Charla, my cousins and various other friends and Battalion teammates arrived to celebrate.

It was a fantastic way to end the race.

What did we learn here today boys and girls? If you don’t train for a race, you’re gonna have a bad time.

NYC Marathon – 2016 Spectator Report

Posted on November 12, 2016 by admin

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Marathon Sunday in New York City is my favorite day in the city. It has been since 2008, when I ran my first race and fell in love with running. Most years I am running it, but I bowed out of 2016, mainly because I was running a marathon in Italy 3 weeks prior. That meant I was on super cheer squad duty!

Our cheer support started on Saturday night. Abbe and I had a dinner/sign making gathering at our place. We had quite a few people show up, including one Battalion member running the race the next day, Anders!

RACE DAY

Waking up on Marathon Sunday and not having anywhere to go is a strange feeling. It is both welcoming, calmly drinking coffee and catching up on the news, and a feeling of missing out or lack of purpose. Thinking about all of your friends and teammates lounging around Fort Wadsworth waiting to the the line on one of the greatest marathons on earth… well, it feels like you didn’t get invited to someone’s birthday party.

To combat that feeling we had a party of our own. Noah, Cat, Gillian, Tia, Phil, Eric, and Susan came over for bloody mary’s and breakfast. We had the TV tuned to the marathon and when the lead women came off the Queensboro Bridge we set out towards 1st Avenue.

Hi Susan!

The weather outside seemed perfect for cheering (and running for that matter). On 1st Avenue (Mile 18) we picked up a few more friends… Role Call: Neil, Alena, EK, Chris, Bobby, Jill, Bojana, Brian, Lisa and Dave. We had our signs and our trackers out ready for our peeps. First up, Sebastien!

Hi Alena and half of Sweendog’s face

He was on par for a 2:40 finish time, and so he was kind of off by himself running and easy to spot. I jumped out from the barricades and gave him a point, thumbs up cheer scenario.

Beth and her cheer squad showed up to add to our fun at this point. We saw Juan crushing it but he had his music up so loud he couldn’t hear our insane yelling! Shortly after Dani came flying by looking great!

Next up was Battalion teammate Anders who was killing his first marathon! Jenn, also running her first marathon came by looking like a speedster as well!

Another first timer was my cousin Tommy, who came by and gave us a solid thumbs up! Battalion teammate Kelly was right behind him. As she passed by she threw me her handheld water bottle in what was nothing short of a 4th down touchdown pass. It was perfect!

After watching a few more friends cruise by we needed to make our way back west to 5th Avenue which was Mile 23. We pit stopped at our apartment, Cheer Squad Base Station Alpha, to refill our bloody mary’s and use the bathroom first.

5th Avenue’s cheering was still light and we were able to get right up along the course. We missed Sebastien because, well he ran a 2:42 and change which for those of you not in the know, is fast. We did see Anders though who seemed to be having a great time even though it was mile 23!

We saw Juan and Jenn fly by followed by Tommy. I also saw Laura, who I coached to a Half Ironman earlier in the summer. It was her first marathon and she was also doing fantastic! We did miss a lot of our people as it got really crowded and overwhelming.

Once Tiki Barber (we’re Strava friends) came by we made our way to The Battalion after party at The District.

Already there waiting were Uncle Bob, Aunt Rosalie, Tommy’s wife Kelly and their adorable daughter Fiona as well as Ander’s wife Alena. We posted up to the bar and waited for our marathon champions to get there.

As Anders entered the crowded bar we started a round of applause and I yelled out “3:17!” It was a pretty sweet welcome with Alena passing him a beer to complete the ceremony.

Jenn had a similar experience. She ran a 3:24 for her first marathon which also earned her a coveted Boston Qualifier by 10 minutes! Go Jenn!

Tommy, who was a few minutes behind her posted a 3:29 for his first marathon! Way to go cuz, it’s in our blood!

All of us hung out partying, listening to each runner give their epic tale. It was great. Kelly (another Battalion teammate and friend) had gone home and showered as she always does after a race and showed up a little later. She was pumped with her 3:42!

As the night pressed on people came and went. Abbe and I eventually left to grab dinner before calling it a night.

Congratulations to all of my friends and teammates on this glory filled day! I hope someone was inspired to run just like I was when I cheered at my first New York City Marathon in 2007!

Thanks to everyone whose images I borrowed as well!

RACE REPORT: 130 Lake Garda Int’l Marathon – 3:05:15

Posted on October 27, 2016 by admin

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Our team, The Battalion, likes to travel for work. That is, we pick fun destination races. 2016 was the Lake Garda International Marathon in northern Italy. We picked it for it’s gorgeous scenery and well… the food.

DAY 1

The Emirates flight to Milan was a flawless victory for me. One Ambien and I was out for the whole 8 hours. We (Abbe, Dougie, Danika and Eric) landed at noon, rented a car, and set out into Italy’s northeastern lake region. The weather was overcast and would soon get worse, as the Hundred Years Storm was approaching.

Lake Garda is Italy’s largest lake. It is roughly 5 miles wide by 40 miles high. We entered the perimeter of the lake headed north just as the rain started. A few more miles and what many of the locals called The Hundred Years Storm opened up, dropping the craziest downpour I have ever seen on us. We slowed down and carefully made our way around the small windy roadway. At one point an apple fell onto our windshield and I really thought it was going to shatter. Go Fiat!

Finally at Hotel Castello in Malcesine, we ran inside and checked in. The place was fantastic and right next to the famous castle that Malcesine is known for. The Etruscans founded the town in 500BC so yea, it’s got history… my kind of place.

We were welcomed by Marco and Matteo at Hotel Castello and they would soon become our trusted friends and top notch hosts.

After dropping our bags off we met in the lobby for a few drinks before headed to dinner. I was beyond Code Red hungry so we had little time. We scouted a few places before landing at Ristorante Caminetto, which was a local pizza place owned by a guy named Mario who was running around taking orders. He spoke zero english. He was extremely welcoming to us and we immediately had pitchers of white and red wine (and a beer for Eric) on the table. Then, the power went out! Nobody in the place really made a peep, they just kept talking and eating. Then guy next to us even used his iPhone flashlight to see his meal and continue chowing down. I had a pizza diavola, one of my favorites. I even get it here in NYC at San Matteo. The food was absolutely amazing and being around the locals was a blast.

The rest of the night was spent at ‘Eric’s Place’. He opted for a suite with a sick balcony, so we partied there, obviously.

DAY 2

It was a bit overcast again and in the low 50’s. For breakfast, we ate downstairs in the hotel dining room with some Italians, Brits and Germans. It was a very wide variety of food and we (as Americans) were thrilled with all the options. A cheese and meat plate for breakfast? Grazie!

The rest of the day was spent exploring the old town of Malcesine. It was quite a cool place and felt like stepping back in time as we wandered through the tight cobble stone streets. We had lunch at Ristorante Aristotele which turned out to be a fantastic place. I had Bolognese as the first part of my carb-o-loading. (This would not be the last time I would have Bolognese.)

Next, we took the local bus ten minutes down the road to Torbole, another lake town. This was where registration was as well as the finish of the race. It was a slightly smaller town known for its windsurfing, so every bar and shop had a surf theme. Dougie and I found these sweet Torbole cycling jerseys that we picked up.

Bib pickup was a cinch. No one spoke english, so it was a ‘simple pass me this and I’ll pass you that’ scenario finished with a ‘ciao, grazie’.

We ended up heading to dinner at 8-8:30 that night. What’s so great about a 9:30AM marathon start two blocks from your hotel… the night is yours!

I forget the name of the place we had dinner, but it was superb. (Fun Fact: all of the meals in this story are going to be amazing aside from maybe one.) Dougie and I got this spicy seafood pasta that the server recommended. I know, I know… very risky the night before a marathon, but we had a good feeling about it. The feeling was spot on and it was delicioso. We finished our meal with some of the homemade grappa-like substance they had brewing and then hit one more bar for a night cap before bed.

Does Danika have her own bottle of wine?!

DAY 3

We casually woke up and hit the hotel restaurant breakfast. It was a beautiful day without a cloud in the sky. We would start the race with 50 degrees and end it at 70. I fueled up with some greek yogurt and fruits as well as an espresso. Back in the room as I geared up I had my usual (as of late) peanut butter on bread.

I was very excited to get this run on in such an amazing environment.

Dougie, Danika, Abbe and I set off for the start down the cobble stone streets and all thought, “Wow, it would be terrible to have to run on these.” We think Eric may have gone back to bed.

The Start was in the center of town and all 500 runners were milling about trying to stay warm, even though t was a mere 50 degrees. Dougie and I had Newtons on and people were staring at us as they had never seen them before. It was also very hard to figure out what was happening as everything was being broadcast in Italian. We just waited until people started lining up and we followed along. Then, just like that, we were all just running.

We all started in the back, so it was a little tight running through the streets of Malcesine, although very fun to see the locals cheering. I hit Mile 1 at 8:28 and decided I wanted to pick it up. I even thought how fun it would be do have negative splits on a marathon.

The scenery was just as I imagined it. We were running south on the out-n-back right along the banks of the lake with the Dolomite Mountains cutting into the sky, the sun projecting dramatic shadows across them. I think the local italian racers must have thought me crazy as I stared into the distance, shit eating grin across my face.

Miles 2-5 were in the high 6:50’s and I was feeling pretty peppy and really excited to be running. Tapering can be so hard sometimes. The turnaround took us quickly through a tiny italian town with very narrow streets. It was a very ‘Death Star Run’ situation and it felt like we were flying.

Back on the course heading north I passed Abbe and gave her a high five. A few moments later I saw Dougie and did the same, Battalion representin’ hard.

Miles 6-10 I started to drop into the 6:40’s feeling fluid and really enjoying myself. At mile 10 we passed the town we were staying in and there were a lot of locals out cheering yelling ‘Bravo, bravo!’ By now everyone running by me was in race formation and cutting the tangents very tight. Italians sure do know how to race!

As we started to make our way to Torbole, the fabled winds that rip over the Dolomites from the north hit us dead on. It was pretty rough and there were tiny packs of 2-3 runners here and there drafting each other. My pace for miles 11-15 dropped into the high 6:50’s.

Luckily, we started descending and bearing right a bit so we were shielded from the mighty north wind for the remainder of the run. The course got very twisty now and there were a series of very cool tunnels we went through that passed under the mountains. I was by myself and found that I was just staring out at the lake and mountains smiling. It was so beautiful. Torbole was in sight now, some 4 miles into the distance. You could see all of the wind surfers enjoying their Sunday on the lake zipping back and forth at very high speeds. Without exaggeration there were between 30 and 40 of them. Miles 16-18 were clocked at 6:38, 6:11, 6:36.

We leveled out as we entered Torbole and started to see the cheering crowds. Then, in the center of town we passed the finish line turn off for those running the 15K or 18 miler.

Just saying hello to my fans…

Marathoners had to keep going, which was tough mentally. We ran out along the waters edge and caught some really cool views of the side of the lake we had just come from.

Then, the most challenging part of the day approached. We had a 3 mile out-n-back along a flat sunny stretch of road. It was really hot by now and I was slowing down. The remainder of my pace would be in the 7:15-7:30 range. At mile 23 I was fading pretty bad and all by myself out there without anyone in sight. My mental game was collapsing. Then, I heard this pitter patter of speedy feet catching up to me. It was a woman I had passed and said hello to at mile 16. As she passed I said “Bravo! Great pace, go, go, go!” and she replied back to me, “You too, come on!” This was such a big help. I held her pace and for the rest of the race shadowed her from about 10 meters back.

The last 3 miles were on a small paved trail and at least offered some shade for us, which was very helpful. We hit the lake front again and took a left making our way to the finish. I was totally spent and very happy to cross. My time was a 3:05 and change which I was very happy with.

Comin’ in way hot on that turn!

It turns out Monica, who finished in front of me, was 3rd Place Female so there were loads of cheering! So much so that they didn’t even announce my finish.

Sex/ Age	Bib	Overall Place	Age Place	Finish Time	Pace/ Mile	AG %
M38	26	19	2	3:05:15	7:03	67.47%

After getting my medal I made my way to the food and drink tent. A banana and Gatorade set me straight and I started to regain normalcy. Our meet up spot was a restaurant called Winds on the main drag, so I headed there, ordered a beer and waited for my crew. Shortly after, Danika followed by Abbe and Eric and then Dougie all showed up.

Not a bad location for a race.

We left Wings Restaurant and headed down to the shore to bask in the glorious sunshine. After a few drinks and some food we headed back to Malcesine for showering.

That night we headed back to Ristorante Aristotle where I had a really hearty and tasty pasta dish. We finished up the night at Eric’s Place, obviously.

Thank you Lake Garda, for providing me with a truly epic setting to run a marathon. I was overwhelmed with the beauty that surrounded me countless times.

DAY 4

The next day we headed out to the Ferrari Factory in Maranello to test drive Ferraris!

Italy… to be continued…

RACE REPORT: 128 Fire Island 5k – 19:59

Posted on August 19, 2016 by admin

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On Friday, I left work to meet up with everyone (Abbe, Bojana, Brian and Maura) at Penn Station. It was steamy and I broke out into a sweat immediately on the subway platform, just a precursor of what was to come.

It seemed that my crew had boarded the train, so I did the same. Once we all found each other drinks popped open and a ‘Here’s to a vacation weekend’ toast ensued. Fun, had begun.

One of my favorite parts of the journey to Fire Island is the final 30 minute ferry ride across the Great South Bay. It’s such a gorgeous experience (if you have weather cooperating). The wind in your hair, the sun setting and the smell of ocean water marinating in a boat full of happy beach goers.

Another one of my favorite parts is that there are no cars on the island! Bikes and walking everywhere, it’s so cool!

We arrived at Ed’s place, the Fire Island Hotel, checked in and hit Hurricanes for the notorious Rocket Fuels. A Rocket Fuel is a like a Pina Colada on steroids, and yes, they are delicious. From 7 to Midnight we sat there drinking and eating (the fish tacos are superb) carrying on. Ed (from Dad Posse) eventually joined us around 9 and joined in on the mayhem.

The following day Jim and Mike (also from Dad Posse) joined up. We went to Jim’s place which is a few blocks down from the hotel and has a more than solid beach day. Jim and I surfed and caught some real nice rides. The tides shifted after lunch though and I changed it up with a boogie board. Those were some of the best boogie board conditions I have seen since I was a kid, you could catch anything!

That night we had a cookout at Jim’s. We made everything you could think of… chicken, corn on the cob, green beans, baked beans, ribs, salad and I think there was cheese. Something in that mix had to stick and help in the race the following day right?

Did I mention that John C. Reilly was having a cookout at the house next door?

RACE DAY

I woke up at 6:45 and said goodbye to a sleeping Abbe. Jim and I had morning surfing to attend to.

Coffee in hand I strolled down a very serene pathway to Jim’s, no one was awake yet and the peacefulness was exactly what I needed.

Jim and Mike were awake having coffee on the front porch, I joined them. Soon after the three of us walked up to the beach and jumped into the soup. It was brisk, but refreshing. Mike stayed behind to swim in the surf and Jim and I headed out past the breakers. We were the only ones out there and it was super cool. Not cool if the sharks are hungry as they have limited options, me and Jim.

I caught 2 really nice rides that took me almost all the way into shore. It’s a really great feeling riding a wave, the Beach Boys said it best… ‘Catch a wave and you’re sittin on top of the world.’

We bailed after awhile as we had a 5k to race in an hour. Energy conservation right?

I met Abbe and split a bagel before gearing up. Her, Maura and I did a slow warm up, linked up with Ed, Mike and Jim and headed to the start. Bojo and Brian were going to spectate due to unforeseen injury. We did a pre-race team photo knowing that the post race team photo was going to be ugly. It was 85-90 degrees already.

I jumped in the front corral with 10 others and wandered around in the sun for ten minutes. Anthony, Sal and John Gigangi, race organizers and friends of mine, gave a few speeches before show time. It’s amazing how far the Rose Digangi Foundation has come in helping people and family’s cope with brain cancer.

The gun went off and it was on. 5 people went out blazing fast and I just, well, I just ran right on the threshold of it being really sucky. On the out part of the race we had a headwind, which kept us ‘kind’ of cool. I dumped water on my head any chance I got though.

I ran the entire race with Tara, who always wins 1st Female. We were holding a 6:30 pace steady. I had no interest in pushing it any further. AT Mile 1.5 one of the teenagers that blasted ahead in the beginning was on the side puking. I yelled, “Hey man, you okay!?” He was.

On the way back we had a tailwind. In most circumstances this would be a welcome condition in a race, not today. It was as if someone turned off the fan in a really hot courtroom. Just keep running.

As Tara and I were nearing the finish I realized they had the tape across for her (1st Place Female) so I hung back a bit and let her hit the tape before crossing. I then poured no less than three bottles of ice water on my head and retreated to a shady area by the finish.

I finished in 19:58, over 1 minute slower than the other 4 times I have run this race.

Sex/ Age	Bib	Overall Place	Age Place	Finish Time	Pace/ Mile	AG %
M38	1	7	2	19:58	6:26	69.60%

One by one the rest of The Battalion came through the finish looking for water. We all got really cool finisher medals that had a bottle opener on it!

Once we had the gang together we made our way into Schooners for the after party, which is quite a fun after party. We hung out, laughed, talked to other runners and hydrated with beer. I got a 2nd Place AG award but more importantly Maura got 3rd AG! Baker… why is that more important?

Maura has been injured for god knows how long and is back on track. This was her first race since November (I think) and she got an AG award! Well done Maura.

We all headed to Flynn’s for a big lunch. Abbe and I caught a ate afternoon ferry home, bidding our friends and Fire Island farewell… for now.

RACE REPORT: 127 NYRR Team Championships – 32:33

Posted on August 16, 2016 by admin

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The NYRR Team Championships is a really fun day in the Park. All the teams come out and cheer in massive crowds. In order to race you need to be part of a NYRR sanctioned team.

A lot of the team went up to Inwood after work on Friday to a free event The Met was putting on. Dinner was held at Indian Road Cafe, a very cute and unique neighborhood hangout. I opted for the linguine as the server said it was added to the menu that night. It was a home run. I haven’t had homemade linguine that good in some time.

RACE DAY

We originally had 10-12 Battalion teammates signed up for the race, but a few didn’t make it for various reasons. Abbe, Kelly, Susan, Jenn, Noah and I linked up 30 minutes before the race started. Everyone was feeling pretty good although it was getting hotter by the minute.

Noah and I went over to the west side in the high 90s and waited for the first pack of ladies to come by. They were flying! You could also tell that they were suffering from the heat. As soon as all of The Battalion came by we ran over to the east side to cheer.

Over there we linked up with Gotham City Runners for some joint cheering. One by one our crew came through, everyone looking good, but hot. We linked up with all of our females by the finish, some even had bags of ice!

Noah and I did a warm up and then jumped in A Corral. It was hot and it was going to be challenging. The vibe in the corral was way chill though with all the teams socializing. The gun went off and the group surged forward.

I felt okay, but I didn’t have fleet feet. We barreled down the east side of Harlem Hill and it got slightly easier to maneuver going up the west side of Harlem Hill. I hit a 6:20 pace here.

I saw the female Battalion squad cheering at mile 1.5 where Noah and I had been.

The rest of the race was spent just hanging on to the 6:30ish average pace I was running and pouring water on my head. It was pretty quiet down on the lower end of the Park, obviously as the action is in the North.

As I headed into my final mile I picked it up due to the intense cheering. I rocked a solid 6:18 pace here. I finished up in 32:33 which is far from a PR, but I was happy just to be out running Team Champs.

Thanks for the pic GCR!

Sex/ Age	Bib	Overall Place	Age Place	Finish Time	Pace/ Mile	AG %
M38	1013	297	52	32:33	6:31	67.40%

After the race we all went to a crepes place on the Upper East. The food was amazing and it was a blast hanging with the crew!

RACE REPORT: 126 NYC TRI – 2:27:37

Posted on August 1, 2016 by admin

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The NYC Triathlon is my favorite race hands down. Home field advantage, great course, all my friends race or spectate and we have a fun after party (of course). This year was my fifth attempt.

RACE DAY

I was up at 5:30-6ish as Abbe had a long run she needed to hit and she wanted to beat the heat. We had some coffee and then we each set out on our way. My heat was set to roughly go off at 7:30 so my plan was to take a cab to the swim start at 6:50. I was there by 7, peanut butter sandwich in hand walking through the crowds of triathletes. This is the 4th year I did not go to transition at 5AM to check on my gear. Luckily though, Dougie had to head down there early so he checked on my gear for me. Thanks friend!

I lined up in my corral and watched the mighty North River pass by as I waited to get into the soup. Abbe surprised me by stopping through during her long run to say hi and wish me well.

I made friends with a guy from Ireland (but lives here) named Derrick. It was his first triathlon ever so I tried to be helpful by giving him tips and easing his nerves. I told him that this was the cleanest I had ever seen the river, which was actually true.

As we lined up to jump in the water everyone but me sat down to slide in. F-that, I’m jumping in over all of y’all.

The North River was salty, way salty as we hadn’t had any rain in a few weeks. I didn’t mind as I automatically pair ‘healthy’ up with ‘salt water.’ This was the first time I had swam since Ironman Louisville and I was excited. I dug in and enjoyed my morning swim, basking in the sunlight. Every now and again I would catch some feet or someone would tickle mine, and so I adjusted position.

With 200 meters to go something happened that has never occurred in Baker-race world before. As I was taking a breath on my right side someone (on my right side) was driving their left hand down for a stroke. That had caught me square in the side of the head, kind of by my eye. My goggles flew off and I was ‘stunned’ for a hot second as if I were in a boxing match and just catch a right hook. I composed myself, put my goggles back on, accidentally touched the bottom of the river and got back into the groove. I secretly wished to come across my assailant so I could vanquish him, alas it never happened. Swim caps tend to make everyone a bit anonymous.

Out of the water and into transition we go. Always, always, always my wetsuit never comes off as quick as I want it to. I almost asked the guy next to me to rip it off. I could have offered him copious amounts of 50 SPF sunscreen. Speaking of which, I coated my wet body with the stuff before heading out on my mighty steed.

Out on the parkway I kept it cool until I could analyze my surroundings. The bike course on this puppy is way intense due to volume, speed, and lack of space. One wrong move and you’re toast.

Up in the Bronx I really took advantage the hills and flew. It was awesome.

Time to run.

I threw on a visor, more SPF 50, and got going. I stopped to say hi to this older woman who works at NYRR I know. She is like my alternative Grandma. Clearly, I always forget her name.

Did I mention that it was hot out?

I hugged the shade as we cruised across 72nd Street. I saw Abbe and the cheer squad and I gave them all high fives. Further down I saw Thomas cheering. He and his wife Claire (willrunforbeer) were going to/ had a baby the next day so I yelled to him,”Good luck tomorrow!” which only confused him. Claire later explained what I meant. Congrats Gallaghers! I can’t wait to meet Molly! (Can I call her Meg though, that is her initials.)

I hope that guy behind me is okay.

Back to the race…

I entered The Central Park and was so thankful of the shade on the west side. I felt great and dialed it up, passing who ever I could. Running is my jam, and you are in my backyard, so double trouble.

On the east side I saw my friend Sal, who was out for a run in the opposite direction, he wished me well. Then, out of nowhere some chick blasted me with a fire hose! She was at an aide station and I welcomed it, but I mean she destroyed me! I was soaked and now slogging along making funny squishy sounds.

I rounded Cherry Hill before launching into the finish chute. I saw Abbe, Susan, and Eric cheering and waved. I finished in 2:27:37, 10 minutes from a PR, but it was certainly a good time.

Comin in hot!

The Battalion all grouped up before heading to Amsterdam Ale House where we celebrated with food and drink. It was a hell of a day.

Sex/ Age	Age Place	Overall Place	Swim 1.5K	T1	Bike 40K	T2	Run 8K	Total Time
M38	67	538	25:04	7:15	1:14:48	2:55	37:37	2:27:37

NYRR Mini 10k – Spectator Report

Posted on June 17, 2016 by admin

Posted in All, Race Reports, Running Leave a comment

The NYRR Mini 10K is a women’s only race that has been held since 1972. It is of significant importance in women’s running history. Just three weeks after its inaugural running Title IX was signed.

The Battalion had 8 females racing, so the men were going to go cheer!

I crashed at Dougie’s as a lot of the gals were having a sleepover at my place. We ended up leaving at 6:30AM to report to cheer squad. Cooper lives close to Doug so we scooped her up. The weather was good, not perfect, but better than years past.

I have to say it is a strange feeling to not be racing. Part of you is like ‘Oh I feel left out, I wish I could race’. Then, as I sipped my giant cup of Starbucks I thought, ‘No, this is lovely, what a day to watch people run. I am a good clapper.’

First up was Maddie, our youngest team member. She was racing the kids race in the 7-10 bracket. As we were getting her into corrals Erica and Robert rolled up with their son Emmit!

At 72nd Street we met up with Maura who briefly joined our cheer squad. Eric (elite cheer squad) showed up to hang as well. My buddy Pat from the Reservoir Dogs was hanging out for a bit too. She crushed it. What other 10 year old has a Battalion race singlet?

Next up were the masses of women. It was pretty packed at mile .25, luckily our team shirts are red and very easy to spot in a crowd. Abbe, Susan, Amy, and Danika rolled by in a squad looking good. We then saw Bojana, who seemed to be having a lot of fun and was all smiles. Once the main pack left we hustled over to the Boathouse which was mile 5.

We saw all the gals, this time we spotted Kelly. They had broken up into smaller groups and drifted apart, but they all looked strong.

Douige, Maddie, Eric and I hustled over to the finish line where we met everyone. There was just one person missing… Amanda. She was in wave 2 and was about to cross the finish. We gave her a serious cheer as she cruised through the chute.

There were of course many team pictures to be taken. Once that was done there was one final plan, meet up to celebrate at the Boat Basin at high noon. We did an all hands in the middle of the circle cheer ‘BATTALION!’ and then split.

THE AFTER PARTY

Then after the run it’s the after party. We rendezvoused at noon as planned and scored a giant table right in the middle of all the action. There were roughly 12-14 of us in attendance. We had a blast and were there for most of the day… I mean, it was gorgeous out. Towards the end of the afternoon I noticed that randomly my friend Beth was there with another group of 6-8 runners, cool! We hung for a bit before it was time for dinner and Abbe and I parted ways.

Congratulations to all the female Battalion members who killed it and congrats to all my female friends on other teams who killed it!

RACE REPORT: 124 The Boston Marathon – 3:18:17

Posted on April 23, 2016 by admin

Posted in All, Race Reports, Running 3 Comments

After running Boston in the historically horrible heat of 2012 I was very reluctant to come back. A few years later though, I was enticed. I had forgotten how hard the course was and was excited by the buzz and possibility to run again in the most noble of running races. I trained my face off and BQ’d in Paris last year, which gained me entry.

Abbe and I, along with Dougie and Danika, arrived Saturday at lunchtime via the train. Cousin’s Matt and Shannon (who were up from North Carolina to watch the race) joined us.

Our next order of business was the Expo. The weather was perfectly Spring like, 50 to 55 degrees and sunny. It was very well organized and I was at my bib pick-up counter easily. A funny conversation took place while getting my bib though. The girl who was looking over my credentials (Runner Passport and ID) looked at my very seriously and said, “Is your license expired?” I kind of had a panic moment and said, “Um… no?” She handed it back to me along with my bib. I then looked at my license, in red at the bottom it said ‘Expires in 2022.’ Why you gotta mess with my head lady?

We ran into my friend Beth and she told me to watch for her by the Citgo sign on Monday.

Then, I went and purchased my 2016 Celebration Jacket, a fun tradition. I tucked it away in a bag after, only to be worn after I finish the race.

We had dinner at Union Oyster House that night. It was awesome. We had on non-race bibs.

Sunday felt very anti-climactic due to the fact that I had my bib and everything I needed for Monday. It could just be a ‘fun’ day to do whatever. We started off with a shakeout run. I parted with Abbe, Danika and Dougie at Boston Common once I hit 2-3 miles. They continued on for another 8.

We went to Barking Crab for lunch where Matt, Shannon and Greg joined us! I love Barking Crab and find it necessary to visit it every time I go to Boston. It was gorgeous out, so we wandered around Boston harbor before deciding to go to the Boston Tea Party museum and re-enactment. It was highly entertaining. So much so that we ended up going to a pub, Mr. Dooleys, for some traditional irish music. The guys in the band at one point asked who in the crowd is running. I raised my hand and in an irish brogue he laughed and said, “Ya, you look like a runner.” This befuddled me, as I really don’t think I look like a runner.

Dinner was to be had at Scampo, an amazing italian (obviously) place built in an old jail. I choose lasagna as my meal of choice. Abbe and I took off right after dinner due to the whole ‘race’ thing the next day. I was so mad though, because Dougie and Danika went to the bar next door and Commissioner Bratton and the Chief of Police… for NYC, were hanging out!

RACE DAY

Look how dumb and happy I am on race day. I thought the temperature was going to be fine!

I grabbed a coffee and set off on my 30 minute walk to the buses. It was so peaceful.

I got to sit in the front seat of the bus, which was fun. I felt like the Battalion Commander of a bus full of troops ready for battle. Once in base camp I was immediately spotted by my friends Rowland and D. We laughed a bit at how it was going to hit 70-75 degrees. A PR today would be challenging. We camped out on some boxes and chatted for an hour before making our way to Wave 1 start corrals.

By now it was hot and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. For those not familiar with the Boston’s challenging course, one aspect is that there is no shade the entire way. A sunny day means it is on you the whole 26.2.

At 9:50 two Blackhawk choppers cruised us, which was pretty sick. Then… the start gun.

We blasted off at a 6:15 pace, which I slowed down to a 6:30. We were in a tight pack, typical for Boston.

As we hit the 5K mark I was feeling good. When we hit the 10K mark I was not. The heat was really settling in and the sun was annoying me. Some crazy bad vibes started running through my head. I wanted to quit.

15K mark… “Why am I doing this. This is so rough. Everything hurts and my body is on fire.”

Then, I thought about how my cousin Libby and my Aunt Jen were in Wellesley cheering and I got excited to see them. They live in Boston. I was in Boston, that’s right, that’s where I was. This wasn’t some race I signed up for on a whim, I trained my ass of last Spring, harder then I ever had in a running race, to get here. I had no intention of PR’ing, this was supposed to be about the moment.

‘Dial it down Baker.’ I thought. I dropped my pace to the 7:30 range, splashed two cups of water into my face and looked ahead.

Once we hit Mile 10, I remembered this time to move to the far left of the street so that when we passed the Wellesely girls my ears didn’t explode. It is seriously so loud that your ears rattle. It’s the loudest thing I have ever experienced. Even as I passed them this year on the far left it was painful. A few of us looked at each other and kind of laughed, pushing forward.

The town of Wellesely is pretty big and the streets were packed. I was chugging along with blurred vision. Off in the distance on the right though I saw someone jumping and waving. It was Libby! I ran right at her to give her a high five, but she was coming in for a hug! I warned her, “Libby I am crazy sweaty!” She didn’t care. We laughed and I high fived Aunt Jen as they told me to get moving again!

I had 10 mile to go before I would see any friends again.

At this point I noticed a strange and annoying phenomenon taking place. As we would enter the aid stations a few guys right in front of me would come to a dead stop go get and then drink their water. Buddy, this ain’t your first marathon so what’s your deal? This started happening at every aid stop! I made a new plan to enter them towards the back for safety as a few times I almost destroyed a few guys.

We hit the hills at mile 18, which really aren’t that bad, it’s just where they are on the course that sucks. After the second hill a guy, pretty beat up looking, said to me “Was that Heartbreak?” “No man, sorry, Heartbreak is closer to mile 21.”

I really enjoyed the cheering from Boston College this year. They were loud, but also very supportive in their cheering, if that makes any sense.

I was excited to see Heartbreak Hill as my quads were basically destroyed from all the downhills. My legs could use a break on a nice steady uphill. My pace for the last 5 miles was fluctuating in the 7:30-8 range.

Knowing that now the course would level out I put my head down and picked up my pace a bit, each step more painful as I went along. I don’t remember being in more pain in another marathon than I was now. Of course, if I go back and read some old race reports I am sure I will see that last line repeated a few times.

I could now see the Citgo sign in the distance. I hopeful reminder of all my friends that told me “I’ll be under the Citgo sign at mile 25!”

As I approached I saw Abbe, Danika, Dougie, Greg, Matt and Shannon all screaming! I stopped and gave some high fives.

Pressing on I then saw Elizabeth who was cheering like crazy!

Next up, the GCR Cheer squad in full effect, who captured this image.

The right turn, followed by the left was more epic then I remembered.

With the finish line off in the distance, I got emotional. I had done it. I had made it to this moment in time. “Thank you Boston, it is an honor and a privilege.”

Running down the center of the street with crowds roaring I though about the Boston Marathon as this epic beast, one of the toughest in all the lands. Today it had won, as I was all used up as I crossed the finish line.

Sex/ Age	Bib	Overall Place	Age Place	Finish Time	Pace/ Mile	AG %
M38	1685	4552	2345	3:18:17	7:34	66%

I really felt like I earned the medal on this day.

After finding Abbe we all made our way back to Mr. Dooleys Pub (I really liked it). Guess who happened to be working just up the street? Our dear friend Maura! She popped in for a cider and to celebrate. I was very unlike my usual post race self. It took me a good hour to get my act together. Like I said, I got my ass kicked and it showed.

We checked in on our other Battalion teammate Kelly, who had finished. Congrats Kel!

We hopped a 5:30 train back to the city, where we did some more celebrating of course.

–

Boston is to me the pinnacle of the marathon. It took me four years to get to my first, and my second was no easier. The challenge of getting to Boston itself is what makes the experience so rewarding. Everyone you see running fought that very hard battle to get where they are. They earned a spot in the show of shows, the Boston Marathon.

Boston inspires others. At certain points during the weekend both Abbe and Dougie said “2018. In 2 years I will be back here, this time running it.”

I believe in them. See you in 2018 Boston.

RACE REPORT: 123 NYC Half Marathon – 1:27:06

Posted on March 26, 2016 by admin

Posted in All, Race Reports, Running Leave a comment

Danika, and Abbe set off to run to the start about 5 minutes ahead of me. Booked it down Fifth Avenue in the dark I was peering way ahead to see if they were coming into sight. On the corner of 88th Street an older man was hailing a cab that didn’t exist. As I approached he asked if he could run with me to the start. “Of course!”

He was hoping to break 2 hours in the race. I would like to think that our little warm up down Fifth helped him o achieve that.

I finally found the girls at the security entrance and we made our way to the corrals.There we hung with Josh and Brianna, hopping around trying to stay warm. I saw a Battalion shirt headed my way and it happened to be Kelly. I ran with her, fist bumped goodbye and then made my way to my corral.

The gun went off and we jolted forward, immediately pushing a 6:30 pace. Although it was cold, I felt fine and was enjoying myself.

Harlem Hill kicked my ass. I did perk up though on the descent when I saw my friend Juan cheering. I ran over and gave him a high five.

The West Side Rollers were their usual challenging self.

I was excited to be nearing the exit of the Park. Don’t get me wrong, The Central Park is my backyard and I love it dearly, but it is the most challenging part of this particular race.

We hopped out onto 7th Ave and into what I call… The Canyons. Running straight down into Times Square (a place I normally loathe) is quite a cool experience. I saw my friend Beth cheering and just as I was approaching some gal in an Oiselle Team shirt ran by and she and cheer buddies went nuts, missing me. Oh well.

Take a sharp right onto 42nd Street and head towards the mighty North River. Up on the right, Battalion Cheer Squad Commander Eric was on the scene! A quick high five and I was off, barreling semi controlled downhill.

Luckily for us runners, as we hit the West Side Highway the wind was at our backs. The miles started to tick off quick. I saw Helen, who I also gave a high five to followed by the whole Gotham City Runners cheer squad! Some Aussie running next to me asked how I knew everybody.

Running through the Battery Tunnel is cool, until you have to exit it on an uphill at mile 12.5 with the wind in your face.

I finished in 1:27:06, not my best and not my worst, I was happy. I returned to the finish line just in time to see Abbe, Danika and Kelly all finish within seconds of each other! Abbe had a 2 minute PR!

Sex/ Age	Bib	Overall Place	Age Place	Finish Time	Pace/ Mile	AG %
M38	554	615	103	1:27:06	6:35	68%

We headed over to our after party at Irish American (that’s me!) and I proceeded to order a Smithwicks and a full irish breakfast. Delish.

Battalion members slowly trickled in until there were 15-20 of us eating and drinking, discussing our races. It was one hell of a day! Congrats to all!

RACE REPORT: 122 Ted Corbitt 15K – 1:00:31

Posted on December 28, 2015 by admin

Posted in All, Race Reports, Running Leave a comment

We, The Battalion, assembled for the first time ever to run the Ted Corbitt 15K.

There were 10 of us running the race and we assembled on 96th and the West Drive. It was easily 55-60 degrees out, shocking considering this race is normally arctic conditions. We all set off to our respective corrals after a little pep talk.

Up in my corral it was stinky as usual, the smell of Icy Hot and BO lingering in the morning air. I had no idea what to expect as far as my run was concerned. I had only just started running again after some time off from Ironman and NYC Marathon. I was just going to have fun and push it a bit.

Ted Corbitt’s son was there and spoke a bit, very cool. Any runner who doesn’t know Ted’s story should read his bio. The guy was running 200 mile weeks at his peak.

The gun went off and it took at least 2 miles until the congestion had dissipated. I was firing off 6:20-6:30 miles the entire race which I was happy about. I knew a PR would be a tall order (59:23) but I still wanted to push my speed.

I got to see my friend Laura (who was volunteering) at 72nd Street twice. I also saw fellow enlisted Battalion teammates Danika and Maddie cheering at the 102. GCR had a nice crew out giving us cheers as well!

I finished up and headed over to the 102 to see the team come in.