Running – Page 4 – BEYOND DEFEAT

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

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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

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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

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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

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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.

Sex/ Age	Bib	Overall Place	Age Place	Finish Time	Pace/ Mile	AG %
M37	5901	178	158	1:00:31	6:30	69.78%

Jeff, followed by Kelly, Dougie, Abbe, Bojana, Brian, Amy, Nelson, and Amanda. Big ups to Amanda who ran her furthest distance to date!

RACE REPORT: 121 NYC Marathon – 3:12:40

Posted on November 7, 2015 by admin

Posted in All, Race Reports, Running 1 Comment

I don’t really know what kind of logic was pulsing through my brain when I signed up to run the New York City Marathon 3 weeks after Ironman Louisville.

I was trained for an Ironman, but not for a marathon. “Baker, I am confused. Don’t you run a marathon in an Ironman?” Correct. I was trained for an Ironman marathon, slow and steady. My legs had not hit my preferred running speeds for months, so I had no idea what to expect. I was just going to run this race for fun and enjoy my town, my friends, and the epic block party it throws.

Our friends Katie and Jordan were in town along with Abbe’s parents Dave and Linda. The days leading up to the race were filled with fun food related events! The night before the race we chose to eat at Felice 83, a spot Abbe and I love.

RACE DAY

We got an extra hour of sleep and it felt so good! Abbe, Katie, Dougie and I caught a cab and headed to 79th and 1st. There, we picked up Jeff (my brother) and Jim (from Dad Posse) and broke into two cabs, barreling down the FDR enroute to the ferry. I ran (ha) into Meghan and Stephanie in the massive crowds waiting to board the ship.

The ferry to the bus to the staging grounds was executed flawlessly. Jeff and I said goodbye to our friends as they were in the Blue Corrals and we were in Green.

The waiting around that occurs before the NYCM was not terrible at all this year as the weather was great. It was 60 degrees… so maybe not so great for running as that is pushing the hot threshold.

I jumped into the front corral and said goodbye to Jeff who was only 3 corrals back from me. Surprisingly, in a massive international field, I was able to find a friend. My pal Evan was chilling out in the same corral! As we waited to enter we saw a bunch of the GCR crew rollin as well. I also ran into Patricia and then finally my buddy Rowland. Such a small world this running community is!

The cannon went off and then, with much applause, we started our run.

With no watch and no goal other than to ‘have fun’ my race was relaxed. Evan decided to hang with me and we pretty much hammed it up for the first half of the race. We were singing songs to each other and yelling things like “Don’t you ever leave me!” when we lost each other at aid stations.

I am going to try and name off everyone who yelled my name cheering. If I missed you feel free to chime in, it was a blur out there!

Betsy was up first, screaming at us like a pro! Then we saw Sam who caught some great pics of Evan and I. Noah was somewhere around Mile 6 I think.

The bands were amazing this year! I was really digging the tunes an jamming out when I could.

My legs felt good but not fresh by any means. As Evan and I ran we chatted about what he wanted to run on his second marathon. He had run a 3:27 in NJ earlier in the year and just wanted to PR. I asked him what his BQ time would be and he said a 3:05. I nodded my head, “What pace are we hitting?” He laughed as we had just hit a 6:55. We needed to dial it down a bit so I slowed up. I knew I didn’t have a sub3 in me and I didn’t want Even to blow up and ruin his race.

As we entered the Fort Greene section of the race we had reigned our pace in to a 7:15 average which was perfect. The next couple miles were a blur as we were barraged with cheering spectators. Amy was there with her friend Tara cheering away! I also caught Jess in there somewhere too as she yelled out a “Go Baker!”

I think at Mile 11 or 12 the 3:05 pace group was right around us and Even looked at me with this huge smile on his face, “Baker, I think I can hang with the 3:05 group! Should I do it?!” He was totally capable at this point and I yelled “Yea man! Do it, go go go!” And with that Evan and the 3:05 group slowly moved out of sight.

We hit the nasty Pulaski Bridge, the halfway mark, and the clocks said 1:32. My quads were really hurting bad, the kind of bad that should happen at mile 20. As we made the left into Queens I saw Stephan, Amanda and Vivian cheering followed by Danika, Eric and his brother and finally Brianna! The mighty Queensboro Bridge was fast approaching, a breaking point for many including me.

As we turned into the darkness I became overwhelmed with emotion. I was headed home.

I had no Garmin to keep track of my pace (which is a total game changer) so I just plodded along with my head down taking in the skyline every so often. There were people walking and stretching at the apex. As we approached the bottom of the bridge, just like years past, you could hear the roar of the crowds below like deafening white noise. I once again got choked up, excited for my fellow runners next to me, most of them from other countries. I looked around at all of us while smiling, probably appearing a bit insane, thinking aloud ‘Welcome to mighty Manhattan.’

The guy in front of me from Sweden really got the crowds going as he ran by, pumping his hands in the air. I just smiled and ran. First Avenue was a madhouse as usual with crowds 5 deep on either side cheering their faces off. I took a Gel here and a big gulp of water and from streets 70-80 I wasn’t feeling too hot and my race finish got questionable. I just kept going, thinking about Ironman Louisville’s course which was an out-n-back and comparing it to this course. ‘We just have an out-n-back. Make it to the Bronx, turn around and come right down Manhattan’s backbone to the finish. Do it.’

I saw Dave, Linda, Jordan, Ali, Rachel, Josh, Morgan and many others. It is always hard to keep count on First Avenue. As I approached 96th Street still not feeling great I saw Maura! She was fighting with crowds to get visible. She was holding a banana and screaming “Baker! Do you want a banana?! Take the banana Baker!!!” And so I did, and it saved my race perhaps. I had a few bites and it immediately soothed my stomach and gave me a nice boost. I carried it and ate it all the way through Mile 24. Thanks Maura. I would later find out she was carrying around like 25 bananas, so I am sure she was thrilled when I took one off of her!

For the first time in the 5 times I have run this race the Bronx rocked. The DJs were killing it with old school Rap and R&B (a personal favorite). There was also a group banging on these giant drums. It was way cool. We hit the last bridge back into Manhattan and I was feeling pretty good. My legs were on fire, but my head was in the game.

At aid stations 22 and 23 I stopped to stretch out my legs for a few seconds, which added some pep to my step. I saw Farrah, Brian and a whole crew of GCR crew cheering along the final miles! Just get to the Park, get to your backyard and bring it on home.

Making that turn at Engineer’s Gate was such a happy moment. I was now on home turf with 2 miles to go. The Park has never been so beautiful during the NYCM in my opinion. It radiated gold and red from all the trees changing colors. I gave the Cat on top of Cat Hill a little kiss and wave as I passed by, paying my respects.

When you make the right turn on to Central Park South, you have like 3/4s of a mile to go, but that stretch always seems to take forever! It is also a slight uphill which certainly doesn’t help. As we approached Columbus Circle, ready to turn back into the Park for the home stretch I saw Rowland. He was in real bad shape and told me he was cramping bad. I asked if he was okay or needed help and he said no, telling me to go ahead and finish. “I will see you at the Finish.” I yelled, barreling forward.

Rowland and I having a chat.

I tried to get the crowds in the grandstands going as I approached, waving my hands, but it was very calm. I finished in 3:12:40, not my fastest and not my slowest… right in the middle. After getting my medal and bag-o-food I caught up with Rowland and some of the guys I know. Rowland was smiling now, not happy with his race but physically okay. We all talked about how hot it was out there.

Sex/ Age	Bib	Overall Place	Age Place	Finish Time	Pace/ Mile	AG %
M37	3025	1700	299	3:12:40	7:21	68%

It had turned into a beautiful day. After grabbing my NYCM Poncho I headed north to the 86th Street crosstown bus so it could whisk me through the Park and over to our after party on the east side. I was the only runner on the bus as we sat and waited for the light to turn, then another marathoner entered. It was my brother Jeff! What are the odds? He had a run a 3 minute PR of 3:23! Nice work bro.

At The District these two gals were finishing lunch in our reserved section. “No biggie at all,” Jeff and I told our bartender. Then, one of the gals pops up and gives me a big hug! It was my friend Danielle who used to bar tend at Hurricanes on Fire Island (now she tends at Schooners)! Her boyfriend happened to be running the race as well.

Slowly our runners and friends started to trickle in. Ali, Rachel, Josh, Morgan and a few others were already there. Then, my neighbor Karen, Dougie, Danika, Dave, Linda, Abbe… Susan and Eric, Kelly, Claire, Thomas, Maura… Farrah, Brian, Justine, Mike… Jim (who had Citibiked from the Finish to The District!)… Cat, Gillian, John, Alamar… Katie, Jordan… and finally Bojana and Brian who had just gotten engaged! I feel like I am forgetting about a dozen people.

The night ended with some epic tacos at El Paso.

—

Running isn’t always about making a great time or a huge PR. Running is a unique opportunity to bring people from all over the world, from different occupations and varying ages and abilities together.

This race closes out the 2015 race season for me. It was one hell of a year, thanks to all of my running and triathlon friends who helped me along the way, making it epic.

Big ups to Evan who did in fact run a 3:05 with the pace group! Another high five goes to my youngest brother Jeff who rocked a surprising PR of 3:23 out there in his second marathon. Jeff, ‘one and done?’

See you in Boston. Battle Stations!

RACE REPORT: 115 Brooklyn Half Marathon – 1:22:04

Posted on May 20, 2015 by admin

Posted in All, Race Reports, Running 1 Comment

The title of my story shall be “It’s a Family Affair” for a number of reasons, mainly that 7 of my family members were running the race. There were also countless others running, not related to my blood line, that I would consider family.

The night before the race was quiet and calculated. Abbe made a delicious pasta that incorporated shrimp, a key requisite for my pre race fueling.

RACE DAY

Abbe woke up at 4:30, but I opted for another 30 minutes of slumber. I only needed 30 minutes flat to drink some coffee, dress and depart. We left at 5:30, caught a cab and picked up my brother Jeff a few minutes away before heading to the borough known as Brooklyn, or as I often think ‘Breuckelen’ the original town in the Netherlands it is named for. We were right on time.

We arrived at Grand Army Plaza around 6:10 and had 30 minutes to get to our corrals, piece of cake.

Security was a breeze and we soon met up with Dougie and Danika followed by Josh, Allison, Randi and Amy of Gotham City Runner fame. We all soon departed for corrals as the start time neared.

Josh, Leslie, Sam, Evan, Riley and I were all kind of intermingling and waiting for the gun to go off. We would all finish the race within a few minutes of each other, something I hadn’t experienced in a race before.

As the gun went off the six of us (plus many more runners) took off with Evan in the lead. We had a little bit of fun banter the first mile or two, but it soon tapered off as we all individually began to focus.

I had broken the course up into three parts…

Sector I: 5K straightaways at the start

Sector II: 5K Prospect Park (hilly)

Sector III: 10K Ocean Parkway straightaway to Coney

I hit the first part in 6:12, 6:09 and 5:57.

As we entered Sector II, Prospect Park as some would call it, we were more or less in single file race formation hitting the tangents. I still felt great but felt as if I could have pushed it more. I think being specifically trained for a marathon and not a half marathon slowed me down ever so slightly. Evan was out of sight by now and Josh was 20 seconds in the distance plugging along at a similar pace. As a team we looked pretty legit, especially with our new singlets.

Leslie and I in step, synchronized running is a thing.

The miles in Prospect Park were run in 6:17, 6:26, 6:23, 5:58. Now it was time for the ever boring Ocean Parkway straightaway.

As we exited the park I saw Aunt Margie cruising into the park and we gave a shout to each other. What are the odds of that happening!?

Thanks Ben Ko for the photos!

Still feeling good I knew that I had to hold it together for the last 10K and keep the pace steady. I grabbed a Gu at mile 8 and unfortunately got some kind of bullshit Orange flavor. I like Gu’s flavored like candy… Espresso Love, Vanilla Bean, Salted Caramel, Chocolate anything, not fruit flavors. I guess it helped.

Leslie was passing me now and I yelled over, “Go get Josh!” to which she responded, “Yea it’s been pissing me off, I’m going to catch him dammit.” Josh and Leslie are husband and wife for those of you curious about the household rivalry.

8, 9 and 10 were hit at 6:12, 6:20 and 6:21. I wasn’t on pace to PR, but it was looking like a good race in general.

At Mile 11 I saw Josh stretching and yelled if he was okay. He was having some glute issues but jumped back in behind me, determined. I thought I could help, “I will pull Josh along to the finish.” Whether that’s what he was thinking I have no idea, but we were making steady ground together and were passing many people. I felt like we were two fighter planes.

Josh and I headed to victory.

I saw my coworker Melissa at mile 12 cheering (her brother was running) and she snapped a few good pics of us.

GCR bitches. Move over.

We powered into the finish where I saw my sister-in-law Ali cheering, and finished in a 1:22:04.

Sex/ Age	Bib	Overall Place	Age Place	Finish Time	Pace/ Mile	AG %
M37	202	237	27	1:22:04	6:16	73.49%

Evan, Josh and I all met up right at the end and had finished in a two minute span, Evan taking the team win. The skies looked ominous so I headed right to Peggy O’Neils, the after party location, to take shelter. Once there I grabbed one of the few picnic tables available and waited for the gang to roll in.

The Brooklyn Half may be a boring course, but it makes up for it with the best after party in NYC. At Peggy O’Neils all of the local teams gather and start drinking immediately. There are open barbeque pits and a live band, not to mention the local NYC running family holding it down. I saw all of my friends there and we all melded into one giant running community no matter what team affiliation.

You know how we do.

One-by-one my family members and my team members streamed in, needing beer and in some rare cases water. My Aunt Margie, Charla, cousins Tommy, Phyllis, Gillian, and Cat, brother Jeff and my wife Abbe (friends Dougie and Danika) all finished in pretty amazing times! The Gotham City Runner crew also all finished with some pretty sick times. What else can you do after that but celebrate your accomplishments.

As the day wore on we got very hungry. There is this place Dougie and I go to down on Brighton Beach after open water swims (my athletes take note) where we get awesome Russian food. We decided to head there. After some solid nourishment our camp deiced it best to head back to mighty Manhattan.

—

It really makes me proud to say that a large number of my family ran this race. I have been bragging about all of them to anyone that asks me about the Brooklyn Half. I respect each and every one of you for your accomplishment. I wouldn’t choose any other family but ours if I had a choice.

Speaking of family, I am also so proud to be a part of the Gotham City Runners AND the larger NYC running community. I have so many friends on so many teams and you are all ridiculously great. The Runner Army is real.

To my athletes who ran this race (you know who you are), you killed it. You are all limitless.

RACE REPORT: 114 NJ Half Marathon – 1:43:25

Posted on May 17, 2015 by admin

Posted in All, Race Reports, Running Leave a comment

Why run a Half Marathon 2 weeks after Paris? Because the ‘Dad Posse’ and I do it as a tradition, that’s why. Spoiler alert: Ed couldn’t make it.

Jim and I set off from mighty Manhattan on Saturday afternoon. The weather was perfect.

We met Mike (and his son Kevin, who is also quite an athlete) at the Expo before heading to Val’s in Rumson for some post race nutrients. This place was awesome. Old school family restaurant… you know, the kind of place where you get a starter salad automatically with your main entreé.

The rest of the night was spent in Mike’s backyard drinking a few beers in front of the fire pit. Perfection.

RACE DAY

Mike’s wife Kara dropped us off a few blocks from the start. It was a bit chilly, but would warm up during the race no doubt.

I met Abbe and my cousin Gillian at the start (they were spectating) to say hello. Then, I ran into Aunt Margie, Charla, and Lindsey who were all running. Aunt Margie was doing the full, so she had her game face on.

In my corral I of course ran into my teammates. We were all chatting about goal times when someone asked me mine. “I have no goal, just here to run.” Hearing that, my friend Hannah asked if I would pace her. She was running the full and needed to hold 8’s. I told her no problem.

The gun went off and the team surged.

We saw Abbe and Gillian at Mile 2 and they looked very puzzled as they had no idea I was pacing Hannah.

We were nailing our splits. 7:55’s to 8 flat the whole time. I was having a good time pushing Hannah and helping her where I could. I was trying to hit the tangents as precisely as possible so I was instructing her as to when to move left or right.

At mile 11 we picked up Kate who would pace Hannah the rest of the way through her full marathon. I hung with them until the half marathon turn off, wishing them well.

Sex/ Age	Bib	Overall Place	Age Place	Finish Time	Pace/ Mile	AG %
M37	4451	327	38	1:43:25	8:01	61.00%

After the finish we headed over to a tiki bar that was 200M before the finish line. It was a perfect place to watch all our friends come through. There were a number of Gotham City Runners hanging with us as well.

Mike and Kara had us over for a quick bbq before we all headed back towards the city. It was a great weekend! Thanks to the Farley’s for hosting!

Big ups to my Aunt Margie who rocked a 4:19 marathon!

Training for Paris

Posted on April 29, 2015 by admin

Posted in All, Running 3 Comments

No, this post is not about how to eat enough cheese and foie gras to prepare you for a trip to France.

People have been asking me about my training going into Paris, so this is a brief overview of what I focused on. Before we do that though, I think it is important to discuss what I did for training in the past because I made some dramatic changes.

For the past 11 marathons (not triathlons) my training was as follows:

Tuesday: Speedwork
Thursday: Tempo run
Sunday: Long run

Did it work? Yes. I love the science aspect of sports though and thought it would be interesting to freak it and do something radically different.

I decided to run 6 days a week and focus on volume. I would stop swimming and biking altogether and become a focused ‘runner.’ The schedule I built was a modified Higdon plan.

Monday: 4 Miles
Tuesday: 5-6 Miles
Wednesday: 4 Miles
Thursday: 4 Miles

The Monday through Thursday miles increase every 4 weeks peaking at 6 and 10 miles.

Friday: Off

Saturday: 6 miles at race pace (6:25 per mile)
Sunday: 14 miles

The weekend runs increase to 13 race pace miles and 20 miles on Sunday. These runs were crucial and very challenging. At times my long runs felt grueling right from mile one, but that is the purpose. ‘Running on tired legs’ simulates the feeling one has at miles 18-26 of the marathon.

My weekly mileage peaked at say 50-55 miles per week, which was 5 lower than my goal. I had to hit 3 twenty mile runs but was only able to make it to 18 on all of them. Previously, my weekly training mileage peaked at say 25 miles, so it was a big difference.

I was also very consistent. There were days in which it was -10 degrees or raining, but I still got out there and followed the plan.

Another thing I stopped doing was weight training. I wanted to strip down and embrace the body type of a runner. What does that mean? By focusing on one sport entirely, I wanted my body to adapt and evolve into a runners body naturally. I lost maybe 4-5 pounds, but became more streamlined.

My nutrition stayed more or less the same. I eat pretty healthy year round, so I didn’t have to make too many changes. I drink a veggie shake every morning and eat a high carb meal before heavy training days or races.

Staying injury free is very important as well. Something I try and instill in my athletes is to foam roll and stretch after workouts and every morning if possible. I paid a few visits to the good Dr. Levine as well for ART and Graston sessions.

That pretty much sums up my strategy for the Paris Marathon. I wanted a new PR and so I pushed myself further than I ever had in training. Will I use the same training techniques for New York this year? Certainly.

If anyone has any further questions feel free to email me.

RACE REPORT: 113 Paris Marathon – 2:51:37

Posted on April 19, 2015 by admin

Posted in All, Race Reports, Running 8 Comments

Our adventure begins on a jet plane headed to France. Abbe had always wanted to run the Paris Marathon and I had never been to France (of course I like to run as well) so we entered the lottery and both got in. I’d like to tell you ‘I know a guy’ and that’s how we both got in, but it was just fate.

I really enjoy overnight flights as I imagine myself living back when air travel was glamorous. I savor my meal, drink my red wine and wonder what adventures lay in store. Once the meal is over I take a sleeping pill and voila, minutes later I awake at my destination. People often misread the warning label on modern sleeping pills. It says don’t drink wine while taking them, but what it really means is don’t drink ‘too much’ wine.

We arrived at our hotel on Avenue Marceau the next morning at 10. We dropped our bags off and then hit the streets.

Spring in Paris is pretty magical. Avenue Marceau is lined with beautiful trees blossoming with white flowers. We picked a place just down the block on the corner to sit outside and have some lunch. Abbe’s folks Linda and Dave joined us, they were staying just down the block and were part of our cheer squad.

After eating Abbe and I ventured into the Paris Metro in search of the marathon expo. I was immediately impressed by the Metro. Keep in mind, as a 15 year resident of New York City, I question everything that is not New York City. Trains were coming every 2 minutes, were not crowded and it was clean and calm. What was this strange land? We even transferred 3 times flawlessly. I felt at home, immersed in the Paris infrastructure.

The race expo rivaled that of the New York City Marathon. It was massive and it seemed every running company was representing. As I got my bib the older man handing it to me said in an accent, “You came all the way from America to run!? Bon Chance!” I nodded with a smile and realized I was mirroring the experience I normally have in New York as I marvel at all the out of town runners.

Abbe and I secretly hoped we would run into one of our Runner Army friends at the expo but alas, we were far from home and saw no one familiar. We headed out and back into the metro, embracing the 70 degree weather we were experiencing.

Once we showered and unpacked we made our way to the hotel lobby we had a drink and waited for Maura. That’s right, Maura from NYC (and Ireland), Gotham City Runner and a dear friend was popping over from her stay in Ireland to cheer us on. She arrived just past 5 and was ready to go have some fun in Paris.

We set out towards Georges V (or as I like to say Jorge Sank) and landed at this fantastic pizza place. It wasn’t NYC pizza (of course, who would even hope to find that outside of the city) but a brick oven version that rocked. After dinner we kind of bar hopped around the neighborhood (we were by the Arc de Triomphe).

SIDENOTE: One of the things I picked up on and love about Paris over NYC is that all of the outdoor seating faces outward. Imagine an entire corner bar with seats and tables looking out, as if the streets themselves were putting on a show.

The next morning Abbe, Maura and I set off down the Seine for our 2 mile shakeout run.

It was a blast and we saw many runners doing the same. My legs felt pretty good but they didn’t feel fast by any means. My mind wandered and wondered if I could pull off this PR attempt. We popped into a cafe for a quick breakfast… double espresso and a croissant, something I would repeat every day from here on out. Something I would come to love dearly. So simple, so delicious and so perfect.

Our goal for the day was to stay off our feet if possible. We met the Lewis’s and hit the Metro, making our way toward Ile de la Cité (City Island). We ate at another fantastic place that was definitely not suited for the vegetarian crowd. There were giant spits of chicken and pig in the front, and yet there was a clean and modern ascetic to the place. Bravo.

Walking along the Seine and into City Island was breathtaking. It really is a beautiful city. Not sure if any of you know this, but I went to Art School? I was an Art History minor and seeing Notre Dame in person was horrifying (as I relived all the papers and tests) and superb, looking up at the many facets and sculptures adorning it.

Big ups to Professor Joe Basile. Throughout this trip I thought of your wisdom and how it still resonated. From all of the architecture to basically everything in the Louvre information and historic facts poured through my head and I thought… “JOE!” Thanks for being a great professor and friend.

We hopped on one of the Seine boat tours soon after so we could get off our feet. We toured the many bridges that crossed the Seine, each one quite different in design and time period. Pont Alexandre (a crowd favorite) is probably mine as well. We also cruised past the shining star of Paris, the Eiffel Tower. Did you know that until it was built in 1889 the Great Pyramids were the tallest human made structure in the world?

After our tour we needed a refreshment. We saw in the distance one of at the few irish pubs that Paris houses ironically named ‘Galway Irish Pub.’

You see, Maura is from Galway specifically and knows everyone who lives or lived there. Seriously, we went there with her in 2013 to run the Connemarathon and she’s like the Mayor. Unfortunately, the person who founded this pub passed away many years ago so we didn’t get a name. It was indeed a great pub though!

As dinner approached we headed back in the direction of our hotel. We needed some carbs and the restaurant across from Dave and Linda’s place, Cafe Ceasar had been around forever. It was jam packed with runners fueling up for the night! We had to come back in an hour so… we had a drink across the street. I am a sucker for a European Heineken on draft, it’s so much better. When we returned we all had a fantastic meal. I chose the penne with bolognese sauce and was thoroughly full and quite happy.

We three went back to our hotel to rest up. My mind was at ease. Everything I had done up to this point was a perfect execution of my plan. 3-4 months of solid 6 days a week running. No triathlon cross training. Don’t do anything stupid; i.e.: rollerblading, random soccer game, break dancing on a whim. Eat tons of carbs the two weeks leading into the race. Get good sleep. All I had to do was race the race and unleash my legs, which were dying for some speed. Sweet dreams my dear runner friends…

RACE DAY

We awoke to a beautiful sunny 45 degree Spring morning. I felt great and had some oatmeal and an espresso. My start was at 8:47, two minutes after the Pros. At 8 sharp I gave Abs a kiss, said goodbye to Maura and did a quick warm up over to the start, which was strategically a few blocks away.

Exiting the hotel into the streets of Paris, I was emotionally overwhelmed for the first time in a long time before the start of a race. The gorgeously perfect weather, amazing architecture and more importantly everything I had been so focused and deliberate on the last 4 months was coming to a climax. The marathon (or an Ironman for that matter) is like going into battle. You never know what lay in store for you on the battlefield, all you can do is prepare, and I was prepared.

It was so well organized and very easy to find and enter my corral. I saw from the bibs that I was a long way from home, no USA tags to be found and yet, these were my people… runners. Looking around at everyone we all had the same look in our eyes, nodding quietly saying in whatever language was spoken, “Good luck out there, kill it.”

The sun was poking it’s head up over the buildings and I thought, ‘This thing is gonna get hot.’

My wave went off without a hitch and we set of barreling down the Champs Elysees. The sun was reflecting off the pavement and the obelisk of the Place de la Concorde cut through the morning sky off in the distance, guiding us like a compass. My legs felt free, hitting a 6:15 pace effortlessly.

My goal pace was a 6:25 – putting me across the finish line in 2:50. “Baker, but you seem to be going too fast?” True, but everyone is different. I normally fall to pieces during miles 21-24 no matter what kind of pacing I attempt. Therefore, I ‘bank time’ in the beginning. Most runners are opposed to the banking time strategy, but it works for me.

Back to the show! And a show it was as I knew my friend and fellow athlete Dougie was tracking me in NYC at 4AM while he was on his trainer ride. I thought to myself, ‘Dougie is tracking me so let’s give him a good race to watch.’ This also helped keep me motivated, knowing that Dougie would most likely start yelling at his laptop were my pace to falter.

Running along side of the Louvre was way cool. It was a long dark passageway. We were on the Rue de Rivoli, a street with a lot of shopping, which also had lots of cheer squads. As the miles ticked off easily I was hitting 6:17, 6:21 and 6:17. I saw Dave in the crowds as it’s very easy to hear your English speaking cheerers amongst a sea of Frenchmen. One of the words I would hear one thousand times during the race was ‘Allez’ which means ‘Go’ in French.

On Cheering: It was surreal and refreshing to not understand most of what people were screaming at you during the race. All you knew was that people were in the act of cheering and not saying things that might upset you like, “You look great.” “Last uphill.” “Come on you can do it.” “Almost there.” which are most likely false statements. Here in France I just zoned out and pretended they were saying anything I wanted them too. To me ‘Allez’ became ‘Tacos.’

I broke the race up into 4 parts… we were now going from Part 1 (city to Park A) to Part 2 (Park A) and were at mile 6. I was excited to see what these big parks flanking Paris were all about. My pace was still right around 6:17 or so. Perfect. I was also trying to have some fun and enjoy my surroundings, something that many of my friends told me to do. The Park, Boise du Vienesse, was very pretty but I really didn’t get to spend too much time seeing all of it. All I knew is that we went from city streets to wooded streets.

At mile 7.5 I saw this beacon of neon orange. It was Maura, exactly where she said she would be in her 2014 Boston Marathon jacket. I ran over and gave her a high five. It rocked to see her.

The next few miles were uneventful as I just held on to my pace, running through sunlit park streets. It was hot now, approaching 10 o’clock and I knew as we exited back into the city it would get rough. Section 2 of 4 was now complete. Section 3 was all city, then entering the final Section 4 which was the Park on the opposite end of town. Allez!

Something happened at mile 11-12 that almost ended my day. I was running hard in flying V formation with 3 guys, I was in draft position in back. We were running down hill and I couldn’t see the street too well. Just then a speed bump came along and I jammed my front leg into it stumbling forward and causing a lot of panic amongst my fellow runners. I corrected my form and everyone nodded, knowing we had just missed a ‘domino effect’ disaster. I admittedly dialed it down a touch right there as my heart was racing.

I hit the half at 1:22 and smiled knowing that I was having the race of my life (thus far) but that dark moments certainly lay ahead.

We cruised around a crazy crowded Bastille before making our way onto and along the Seine. At this point someone yelled in a french accent “Yea, go Gotham City, go Batman!” I threw my hand up in typical fashion laughing at the same time. Batman… Gotham City has so many other notable landmarks and cultural institutions but I guess ‘Go Metropolitan Museum of Art sounds dumb.’

On music: The bands in the Paris Marathon trumped the NYC Marathon ten-fold. No contest in fact. Every mile there were these pseudo marching bands playing rock songs with heavy, heavy tribal drums. No band lacked a good horn section either. It was very inspiring and the volume was at the perfect level as well. Sometimes in NYC it’s so freaking loud it knocks you around.

Miles 12-18 are run along the southern edge of the Seine and there is no shade aside from some car tunnels you run through. We were passing all the notable landmarks and it was quite breathtaking. I tried to enjoy it, although the now piecing pain in my quads made it tough. Paris, I now realized, was not a flat course and had some major downhills that I was now feeling. I was still holding a 6:20 pace but didn’t think so at the time.

At mile 19 we started making our way into Boise de Boulogne, the final Section of the course, which would also be most challenging. My legs were on complete fire now and my mind started wandering into dark places, wanting me to quit or stop running. I knew this moment would come, the real battle of the race, and did my best to fight on. My Dad’s birthday was the next day and I knew he was watching me from where ever he might be. I used him as inspiration and kept my feet going. ‘There is no pain, only glory.’ I welcomed uphills at every turn!

Mile by mile was how I was going to get this thing done. Miles 19-21 were 6:34, 6:41, 6:35… I was slowing up and fighting to stay with it, especially with the heat. I lost 2 minutes at Miles 22 and 23 as I stopped to stretch my quads. It helped a lot doing so, and got me from mile to mile. I also knew at this point that my 2:50 goal was out the window and started getting pretty down on myself. I even thought about walking the rest of the race.

I was having problems with reading my watch, trying to figure out what my time was when a race clock came by. It said 2:40:xx and I had just over 2 miles to go. “What?” I thought. I could do this. I could pull it together and get this shit done and maybe, just maybe get close.

I picked it up even though my legs were in crazy pain (good pain, not someone injured tweaked pain) calves feeling like they were going to pop out of my body. I hit a sub 7 for mile 25. One to go.

The blinding hot sun was beating down on me. I was pouring water all over my body and directly onto my calves to numb them, which had been working!

7 flat for mile 26.

I turned a corner to finish, the Arc dead ahead, and was ecstatic to see a 2:53 on the clock (I started 2 minutes after keep in mind so that meant 2:51 for me.) I had PR’d by 3 minutes and was just shy of my 2:50 goal! I started laughing out loud and let out a “Fuck.” Paris almost killed me.

Sex/ Age	Bib	Overall Place	Age Place	Finish Time	Pace/ Mile	AG %
M37	3263	432	254	2:51:37	6:32	72.00%

I wandered toward the Arc and our hotel. I few of the locals congratulated me. The sun was out and I was walking barefoot in a park just next to the finish, it felt fantastic.

I found Linda and Dave back at the hotel. We had become friendly with all the staff and my friend Camille came over to congratulate me. “Fantastic Chris! Sit down, do you want something?” “Thanks Camille, yes a beer and a sandwich please.”

We sat outside as I relayed the race info to my in-laws. We became concerned though as Dave saw Abbe at the Half and she wasn’t having a good time. Evidently it can be a very crowed race (54,000 runners) the further back you start.

Thankfully though, we found her. She had PR’d as well and broken 4 hours! It was time to celebrate.

Dave, Linda, Abbe Maura and I went out on the town. First to a cute spot right down the block (Le Grand Corona) where we sat outside having booze. Then, we had a fantastic french meal at Chez Andre. We finished the night at the hotel bar, happy as clams.

—

Big ups to all the runners who ran Paris, it was a tough day out there. Congrats to my wife who nailed a sub 4 with a huge PR! Congrats to my fellow teammate Hannah who also PR’d.

Thanks to Maura, Linda and Dave who were our super star Cheer Squad!

This race is evidence to me that if you are dedicated, focus on the training without making excuses (like, this winter was crazy rough) you can pull off an epic race. Someone who inspired me to train hard and stick with it no matter what is my friend Claire. She trained her ass of this Fall and wrecked the Chicago Marathon with a huge PR and a BQ. Thanks for the push my friend.

Running the streets of Paris was something I won’t soon forget. Thanks Paris.

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