4 Miles – BEYOND DEFEAT

RACE REPORT: 063 Run for Central Park 4M: 23:39

Posted on July 20, 2011 by admin

Posted in All, Fitness, Race Reports, Running 2 Comments

The Central Park Conservancy Run for Central Park is a 4 Mile race that supports and raises money Central Park. Seeing as how Central Park is my backyard I felt like I had to run it.

The Friday night before the race Abbe, Jackie and I went to see Harry Potter. I’m not a die hard fan, but it was still pretty awesome. Jackie and Abbe made this mint, goat cheese pasta before hand which was so amazing! With that and the salty popcorn I would consume in the theater I would be sufficiently carbo-loaded for the next day’s race.

RACE DAY

Up at 6AM, fueled with some Bustelo and out the door by 7:30 to jog over to the start. I stopped and grabbed a banana to eat on the way.

My goal for this race was to PR since last Saturdays 10K was very far from that. My 4 Mile PR is 23:28 and I was really gunning to break 23 flat. That would be a tall order considering I would have to run at a 5:45 pace the whole time.

Hitting my corral and waiting for the start I noticed a ton of team shirts. Of course! It was points race for the local teams so all the speedsters were out in force. This would be good for me since I could run on the tails of these folks. Another thing of note, the temperature in the sun. It was HOT.

As the gun went off I hung to the right and sped forward. I heard “Go Baker!” and I looked over to see Kelly and Ali were sidelined cheering us on! Thanks!

We were all cooking pretty fast and Cat Hill came up like a heart attack. Not wanting to blow up and also knowing I had to keep my pace up I found a nice middle ground and attacked. It hurt.

At the top and as the course leveled out I thought “The hardest part is over.” True? Maybe. I mean, we didn’t have to run Harlem Hill so… Did I mention yet how I love this course?

We hit Mile 1 at 5:45. Right on target but deep down in my head I knew it would take a lot to hold this pace. My chest was burning, I pushed forward. Mile 2 arrived at 11:30, right on target. I grabbed some water and celebrated by dumping it on my head which I thought was on fire.

I chose to wear my Garmin for this race and I could see that between Mile 2 and 3 I was slowing ever so slightly to a 5:50 pace. I kept smiling, kept moving my legs and adjusted my breathing so I didn’t explode. I had forgotten about the West Side Rollers, a series of hills that one might not assume daunting. Daunting they are when blasting through the tail end of a 4 Mile race.

Trying to hold it together for the last mile was tough in that heat. I saw Lam and cheered him on. It’s always nice to see fellow runners in the race, even if conversation is limited! I also saw Erica Sara yelling and taking pics, cheering me along.

Thanks to my friend Mary for snapping this shot of the finish!

Cruising into the finish I was so happy to be done and to get my hands on some freaking water! After a quick high five to Lam I grabbed two cups, one for my mouth and one for my head.

My time was 23:40, 12 seconds off from a PR but still a solid race in my mind.

Sex/ Age	Bib	Overall Place	Age Place	Finish Time	Pace/ Mile	AG %
M33	137	181	41	23:40	5:55	72.03%

After the finish I met up with Erica Sara a couple yards in front of the finish to cheer on the rest of the runners. A few minutes later Abbe met us (she was starting a long run).

RECOVERY RIDE

Per the Doctor’s (Coach S) orders, I went out Sunday morning for a long bike ride up to Nyack again. 4 ½ hours and 67 miles later I returned home to go watch the Women’s World Cup with my brother, Ali and Abbe. It was a great weekend.

RACE REPORT: 034 Run for the Parks 4M: 23:34

Posted on April 23, 2010 by admin

Posted in All, Race Reports, Running 4 Comments

Sex/
Age

Bib

Overall

Place

Gender

Place

Age
Place

Finish
Time

Pace/
Mile

AG %

M32

563

23:34

5:53

72.0 %

First off, good job to all my friends who ran the Boston Marathon! I’m so proud of all of you, what an accomplishment! I was following your progress with the web tracking system (not the email one that we all know failed!)

Instead of Boston, I will be running the ‘prestigious’ NJ Marathon in 2 weeks. I think I’m ready. Ive been running, biking and swimming like crazy, but 17 miles has been my greatest distance in the last few months. Is that enough? Probably not, therefore you might see me out blazing a 20 miler in the next week. Taper?

Our Tuesday speed group led by ‘SS’ or Josh was a blast this week. He had us (Erika, Amy and I) doing some crazy hill workouts in Central Park. I picked up a few new techniques that actually prepared and helped me a lot on Sunday’s run. Thanks Josh!

Saturday night Erika and I made a pre-race meal of pasta with a side of hummus salad. In honor of running we watched Forrest Gump. I hadn’t seen it in quite some time and forgot that it’s actually a pretty inspiring movie!

RACE DAY

I met Erika on her new bike on the west side of the park for a leisurely ride to the race. SIDENOTE: Saturday we scoured the East Village and finally found her a beautifully restored 1982 Peugeot! She named him Blue Steel. It is a really beautiful bike, they don’t make (lugged) frames quite the same anymore.

We arrived at the band shell and locked up right next to Ed from ‘Dad Posse’. We geared up and then split off to our respective corrals.

The gun went off and I crossed over the timing mat like 10 seconds later. We were not really going that fast for being in the first corral so I hit the right side of the crowd and started cruising up the side of the runners.

Thanks to my hill workout Tuesday I was able to speed right up Cat Hill!

We hit Mile 1 just under 6:00 which I wasn’t too happy about as I wanted to really push it this race and maybe PR again. Right around this time the field opened up and we were running single file and really cooking. It was also at this point I had to get out of my head and say “Baker, chill out, this is fun!” I smiled and loosened up a bit continuing on.

Mile 2: 11:40, still having fun. As we started heading south toward Mile 3 I noticed that I felt great. It was one of those days where I felt no pain or cramps and just kept moving my feet as fast as I could.

The 3rd Mile came up fast – I then mustered up some strength for the final Mile. I could see some of the lead guys 100 yards in front of me, but knew I would never catch them at this rate. I rounded the 72nd street final stretch and busted into a sprint. The Finish clock said 23:40 but my actual time turned out to be 23:32.

No PR for me today! I would have needed to shave 4 seconds off that time. It was, however, a great day for a run with perfect conditions.

I hung out with Joe (joeonetime) for a bit and was interviewed by a film maker.

Here is a link to what he made, which is really great!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJVMYQI49KA

After a quick race recap, Erika and I rode our bikes up to a Starbucks to refuel with some sweets!

RACE REPORT: 027 Run for Haiti 4M: 29:45

Posted on February 21, 2010 by admin

Posted in All, Race Reports, Running 2 Comments

6921

Sex/
Age

Bib

Overall

Place

Gender

Place

Age
Place

Finish
Time

Pace/
Mile

AG %

M32

6921

840

743

156

29:45

7:26

57.0 %

There wasn’t supposed to be a race on February 20th, 2010. It was supposed to be an ordinary day in Central Park, nothing special… until the devastating earthquake that destroyed Haiti last month.

NYRR came up with an idea to raise money for Haiti by way of a 4 mile race in central park where regular race entry would be $40.00 instead of the usual $15-20. They also noted that this race would count as a double qualifier for the 2011 NYC Marathon. Needless to say, everyone came out for this one.

—

My Friday night was actually quite fun.

Before I went out I made (from scratch) some Shrimp Fra Dialvo. Those of you who keep up with my posts know that this is a staple for me before a race introduced by my friend Ahern last summer. It turned out awesome. I wolfed it down and hit the subways.

My piano teacher (and good friend) Sugar has been producing this show called the Nouveau Classical Project (nouveauclassical.org). The concept is… classical music is dead. Young people are uninspired to listen to or understand what it is. Sugar’s idea is to merge cutting edge fashion designers and fine artists with a series of classical pieces and have a show. I have been to almost all of them (one of my paintings was even in the first!) and have never been disappointed.

This NCP took place in Tribeca and featured 5 performances of which my friends Amanda, Walter, Kiersten, Nolan, and of course Sugar played in. It was sold out. It rocked. Everyone was amazing and I will never be unimpressed by any of their performances.

After the reception I joined a group of the musicians at an italian restaurant for a few beers and pasta… carbo loading. I left at 12 and crashed (bedtime) shortly after.

RACE DAY

I awoke at 630AM and began fueling with Cafe Bustelo. Based on my 2 pasta dinners I had the night before I wasn’t hungry. Grabbed two bananas anyway, and headed out.

Rolled into Central Park at 830 and headed to the bandshell to meet the ‘dad posse’ minus Mike, plus Annelise and Lisa. I had wolfed down the bananas by the time I arrived. One of my coworkers often calls me a monkey for my affinity toward this divine fruit. I don’t mind.

We headed out to the corrals realizing there actually were no corrals that it was indeed as I dubbed it a ‘Sh&t Show.’ We made our way to the back of the line which turned out to be the 11 minute milers. I stood there with the gang thinking… ‘well, you just gotta pick your battles and i guess today isn’t that day. lets just have some fun.’

The gun went off and it seriously took 10 minutes before we had moved. I made friends with this really sweet girl named Stephanie next to us and we started the run together. She told me she didn’t make NYC Marathon 2010 because she did all of her 9 races and forgot to volunteer so they denied her entry! Anyone able to pull any strings? After running with her for a little while we lost each other at which point I decided to start barreling down the right side.

I crossed Mile 1 at 23:15 or something which was a total PR.

It was actually a lot of fun running with the group. Once you accept the fact that it isnt going to be a banner day in the personal record books it turns into a pure love of the sport.

At Mile 2.5 we were rounding CP and starting to head south. It was then that I decided I needed (just for me) to turn up the heat. I started sprinting up the hills (like we did a few Tuesdays ago with SS in the Hill Diggers night!) and what do you know, it worked!

I was really cookin now and really having a great time. As we turned toward the finish I picked up the pace and was doing well until out of nowhere super-tall-lanky-guy cuts right in front of me without looking! I slammed on the brakes (all Top Gun style) and may have actually burned rubber as he sped by. Not cool buddy. You just messed with the wrong guy. Hahaha, I’m kidding, or am I?

So of course my mission now was to beat him, duh.

I bolted left and started (carefully) bobbing and weaving gaining speed. Right before the finish I cut right and jumped in front of him boxing him out and beating him. C’mon, it’s the little things in life that matter people! Anyway, I guess I’m competitive after all and maybe a touch obsessive.

Never have I been to a race in Central Park so ridiculously crowded (9421 runners). It didn’t matter though, as it was for Haiti. I think the race raised over $400K which for one morning in CP is amazing.

I waited for ‘Dad Posse’ + wives and anyone else I might find (Erika, TK) finishing the run. Based on my starting right before the walkers corral I figured Erika and TK were done already.

As I sat watching the runners, who comes by but my new friend Stephanie! We high fived and said a few words as she took off for water. Seconds later Ed came in followed by Lisa and Annelise. Jim had already finished and was waiting for us by baggage.

What a beautiful day. Sometimes you have to put aside your competitive drive and just be a part of the collective, working together for one concept. I like that. Runners get it. (I’m a triathlete too so I gotta give shouts to them to as they are a part of this as well)

It takes heart to get up early and do a 4 mile race, and I’m not even talking to you my runner compadres as we do this crap every morning. I’m talking about the rookies out there today, props to you folks for coming out and killing it. I hope you all get the running bug and come join us in the Park every weekend, it will change your life.

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

Posted on July 18, 2009 by admin

Posted in All, Race Reports, Running 1 Comment

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

RACE REPORT: 004 Run as One – 4 Miles: 24:39

Posted on April 20, 2009 by admin

Posted in All, Race Reports, Running Leave a comment

Sex/ Age	Bib	Overall Place	Gender Place	Age Place	Finish Time	Pace/ Mile	AG Time	AG Gender Place	AG %
M31	27	115	108	20	24:47	6:11	24:39	218	68.3 %

This race would mark my third 4 miler in a row. I was very concerned at this point about beating my following time.

Enter Jessica. Ive known her since we were 11 years old, a long time friend in good standing. She was visiting me this particular weekend and I had told her about the race at 9 AM on Sunday morning. She assured me that we would be home Saturday night no later than 11 so I would be good for the race. Fast forward to 1:30 AM Saturday night (or Sunday morning however you want to look at it) and we are in a club trashed off of champagne. We had been out since 8 or so and I had just taken a moment to look at my watch. “Jessica! Its 1:30! We need to get outta here!”

The next morning both of us were a hot mess. We did manage to meet up with Mike, Jim and Ed at the bandshell for our pre-race pep talk. Jess went off to find the finish line and we went to out marks.

The gun sounded and we started the race. I followed this one guy for awhile who was really cruising. Then, around mile 2.5 or so I thought I was going to have a heart attack and thought about stopping. But I couldn’t, I had to make good time, although I was pretty sure at this point that I was running very slow. As we neared the finish line I actually had some juice left and sprinted the last 100 yards out. This was painful of course and I have never been more excited to finish a race (besides the marathon).

Amazingly enough I broke another personal record and finished in 24:39! Jess came around and high fived me. The other guys finished and we all went our separate ways. After Jess and I had a very quiet brunch we both decided it was nap time.

RACE REPORT: 003 Run for the Parks – 4 Miles: 24:55

Posted on April 7, 2009 by admin

Posted in All, Race Reports, Running Leave a comment

Sex/ Age	Bib	Overall Place	Gender Place	Age Place	Finish Time	Pace/ Mile	AG Time	AG Gender Place	AG %
M31	453	108	106	23	25:03	6:15	24:55	219	67.5 %

The morning of Run for the Parks it was still the fringe of winter and spring and quite chilly. I met Mike, Jim and Ed at our spot and we got ready. I was in the Blue (or lead corral) for the first time and was a little intimidated. I wasn’t sure if I could hold my own.

The gun went off and I started picking off runners. It was a difficult run for me and I didn’t think I was going to do too hot. The last mile or so I started slowing down a little. I finished in 24:55 which was a new record for me.

RACE REPORT: 002 Colon Cancer Run – 4 Miles: 26:12

Posted on March 23, 2009 by admin

Posted in All, Race Reports, Running Leave a comment

Sex/ Age	Bib	Overall Place	Gender Place	Age Place	Finish Time	Pace/ Mile	AG Time	AG Gender Place	AG %
M31	1044	69	62	9	26:20	6:35	26:12	123	64.2 %

The Colon Cancer Challenge marks my first competitive race since the Marathon. Actually, its my second competitive race ever. I had learned that someone I work with (outside of work) Mike, was running it with 2 of his friends. We agreed to meet prior to the race at the bandshell in Central Park.

I was very tired in the morning as the night before was the Explorers Club Annual Dinner where I normally eat tarantulas and scorpions, washed down with some champagne. Not really the best pre-run food, but I made do. I met Mike, Jim and Ed at the bandshell and we geared up for the run. We all went to our respective pens and waited for the gun.

The run was good. It was brisk out- perfect for running. I finished in 26:12 which I think is pretty good.

After the race we all met up. Their wives and children had been cheering us on which was really cool. We grabbed some coffee and hung out for a little bit, conspiring on which race we would attack next.