Half Marathon – BEYOND DEFEAT

RACE REPORT: Manhattan Half Marathon – 1:28:21

Posted on January 27, 2015 by admin

Posted in All, Race Reports, Running Leave a comment

I normally don’t like to pay money to run around my backyard, but since my Aunt Marge (in charge), cousin Cat and Charla were coming in for the race, I was game.

They all converged on my apartment around 6:30AM. We had some coffee, formulated a game plan and were out the door by 7. They got to meet the Gotham City Runner crew, those that were racing anyway, at the start. The weather was great. During my warm up this gal screams “BAKER!” and nearly gave me a heart attack. It was my friend Rachel, also running the race. Right after that I ran into Abbe who was just running around the Park to get in her miles.

As I was stretching before heading to my corral, my old running friend Rowland popped up! We became friends because we run the exact same pace. Seriously people. During 3 of the 4 NYC Marathons I have run, around mile 3 I always look over and there he is, hitting the same numbers. This even happened randomly in Boston 2012.

He and one of his friends (I think he said his name was Doug) and I entered our extremely packed Blue Corral a few minutes from start time. I had run 8 miles the day before (and have been running 6 days a week) and wasn’t really sure how I wanted to handle this race. While chatting with Rowland he said, “I would be happy with anything under 1:30.” Hmmmm… I thought. “Yea me too.” And with that we were off. It took us 20-30 seconds just to hit the start mat, that’s how packed it was!

My legs felt pretty heavy, so I just kept a pace I liked. As we rounded the bottom of the Park things were still pretty congested. It wasn’t until we were up past Cat Hill that it opened a bit. I looked to my right and there was Rowland and Doug. For the rest of the race, the three of us acted as team, running in V Formation. We ramped our pace from 7:15 to around a 6:40 at times, passing people like F-15s.

At Engineer’s Gate I saw Uncle John cheering and gave him a shout.

Then, barreling down Harlem Hill we saw Abbe coming the other way and gave a shout. I looked over at the guys and said, “That’s the Mrs.” At the top of Harlem Hill we were kind of murmuring how we were disappointed we had to come back around and run it again.

We also saw Craig who was snapping photos for GCR!

I had no watch on, so I was just running to run. It was great. As we hit the 6 mile mark back at the start the clock read 40:xx.

By now my heavy legs no longer felt heavy. This whole running 6 days a week thing has been strange and exciting for me. I have only ever run 3 days a week with my highest mileage being in the 35 mile range. I would be at 45 miles this week after completing the Half and my legs have never felt better (overall, not in current race time). There hasn’t even been the slightest hint of pain or injury. Enough! Back to the race.

Miles 8, 9 and 10 happened to go by pretty quickly. The sun was out and it was a beautiful day! We were taking turns leading and following each other and by now aside from a cheer when we ascended a hill, there was zero talking. I was having a blast.

At the last mile we all fell apart a bit. I was feeling really good so I started pulling away. I had 7 or 8 minutes left to get in under 1:30 and my mind was spinning. By now we were catching up with the back of the race so there was a lot of ‘bobbin and weavin’ going on. I ended up finishing in 1:28 and change.

Sex/ Age	Bib	Overall Place	Age Place	Finish Time	Pace/ Mile	AG %
M36	122	130	17	1:28:21	6:45	67.86%

I found Craig, who was now at the finish taking pictures and hung with him before setting out to find my family. Uncle John, cousin Gillian, Dave and Lindsey were all cheering about 100 meters from the finish. Right as I found them Aunt Margie cruised by on her way to a sub 2 finish, followed by Cat! This was Cat’s first Half Marathon and I was very proud of her for not only completing the course, but also finishing in a very respectable time! Shortly after Dave’s wife Charla finished. That was our cue to head back to my place where Abbe was making a breakfast pizza. Whaaaat? Yes, pizza for breakfast, try it sometime.

After showering we all went down to Kinsale to celebrate. It was a great finish to the week. Congrats to all!

RACE REPORT: 096 Staten Island Half Marathon – 01:27:33

Posted on October 15, 2013 by admin

Posted in All, Race Reports, Running 2 Comments

I signed up for the Staten Island Half Marathon once I started running again. I had 6 weeks to go from zero miles to a marathon so this race fit right in. My friend Stephan was running it too and it would be his first Half Marathon. I knew we would be celebrating after.

I was worried on Thursday as my legs had not fully recovered from that Sunday’s Marathon. I even went out that morning with Abbe and took like 5 strides before going back inside. Luckily Friday was the magic day. My quads and calves were all healed and I executed a nice 4 miler.

The night before the race Abbe and I stayed in and rested. It had been a busy week AND we had to wake up at 5AM to catch the Staten Island Ferry. Ew.

We watched Ironman Kona LIVE and cheered on our peeps!

RACE DAY

When I woke up at 5AM I was well rested and ready to go. A little Cafe Bustelo and a Clif Bar for fuel. I also need to thank Amy Freeze (our local meteorologist/runner) who was out covering the race. Watching her report she noted that even though it was 55 degrees, it was very windy out there and chilly. Had I not seen that I wouldn’t have brought my windbreaker and would have been frozen!

We popped a cab down the FDR to the Staten Island Ferry and met Stephan and Amanda. The place was jumpin, but nothing like NYC Marathon race day. We piled on the 7:30AM ferry and made our way to the new world. Unlike the rainy forecast from earlier in the week, we had a beautiful sunrise casting some amazing light on Lady L.

I slammed down a bottle of Gen UCANN while on the ferry.

Stephan and I parted with the gals who were on cheer patrol and made our way to the corrals. It was very windy and very chilly. I knew that once I got running I would warm up, but until then I was happy to have my windbreaker (the same one from the Connemarathon).

I was right up front within the first 20 people or so. I placed myself to the left as I wanted people to be able to pass me if I couldn’t kick my initial speed up. After a brief delay we were off.

We were running fast as hell and I was able to hang on like my old self. We wound our way east before turning and heading west toward the Verrazano Narrows Bridge. At mile 1 I eased up on the throttle as if I were a plane that just hit 10,000 feet after takeoff. People passed me, but I just smiled and kept a good rhythm.

I was running without a Garmin and just feeling it all. My knee felt great and my engines were good. The sun was shining and I started heating up. I pulled off the windbreaker and bunched it into a bundle the size of a baseball. It’s an awesome jacket.

The first 3 miles ticked off quickly. I have no idea what my pace was. Maybe 7:30’s? At mile 4 I was feeling great and my old competitive side popped in and I decided to fire it a up a bit. Why not?

Miles 5-7 I was steadily passing people and getting comfortable with being uncomfortable. I could feel my quads and calves starting to burn, but I kinda liked it. You go so long without having that familiar running pain you almost welcome it when you can run again.

At this one aid station I heard the ladies yell to the gal right behind me, “You’re 1st female!” “Um, no she isn’t.” I thought. Why would they misinform her like that? I felt it my duty to fix the situation. I slowed down a bit and as she came up along side I said, “You’re in 3rd, the number 2 is just 20-30 seconds up and wearing all black!” She thanked me and proceeded forward. My work was done here. She would go on to take 2nd in the race.

Before the turnaround we saw the leaders come through. 2 guys were way out in front. Cassidy, a local guy (who is a pretty stand up guy) ended up winning it in 1:07. Nice work!

On the way back there was a headwind. Me and a bunch of the local racers (Whippets, Harriers, and North Brooklyn) were working together in a tight flying V. It helped out so much. The minute you tried to leave the pack it was like a blast of air slowing you down. We could also see everyone trailing us. In the mix I saw Erin and my friend Jim, hey guys!

Miles 5-9 are also very uneventful as far as a course goes. Its just a boring open highway. The only saving grace was this DJ under an overpass blasting some tunes. As I happen to be going by he was playing Kiss, ‘Back in the New York Groove’ and it felt really appropriate and made me smile.

By now the miles WERE NOT ticking off quickly. I was getting hot and had to dump some water on my head at an aid station. I had switched on my ipod at this point to try and get me through the final painful miles.

One thing that kept me entertained was the soon to be 3rd place female. Out of nowhere she comes blasting past me in red Newtons, almost like dancing to whatever was on her headphones. She was pretty awesome. The two of us overtook the 3rd place female, hence she became 3rd, and pretty much leapfrogged the last few miles.

The course itself is actually quite hilly, and the last mile or so is a doozy of an uphill. Thank god you then get a flat break followed by a downhill to the Finish. I blazed down the hill and made a left to the end when I noticed this dude trying to sprint ahead of me! Not today buddy. I kicked it up a bit more and blasted ahead, coming in at 1:27:33!

Sex/ Age	Bib	Overall Place	Age Place	Finish Time	Pace/ Mile	AG %
M35	123	144	21	1:27:33	6:40	68.16%

Filtering into the finish line festival I noticed this awesome band playing Bruce Springsteen (so well in fact) that I thought it might have been him. I looked for Abbe and Amanda, but I couldn’t find them. I grabbed a slice of pizza and checked out the band. They were playing a great selection of cover songs and were really good.

After 30 minutes or so I went to watch for Stephan to finish. I found and congratulated him and then we were spotted by the gals.

Back to NYC! We hopped on the ferry and had celebratory beers procured by the gals! Thanks!

Once we were back on the other island we hit one of our favorite spots, Fraunces Tavern, for some food. We spent the rest of the day out with friends all over the city celebrating since Stephan rocked his first Half Marathon!

Disclaimer: I should have been wearing my team gear ( Kompetitive Edge ) but I haven’t done laundry since last weekend’s Wineglass Marathon so my kit was dirty!

RACE REPORT: 057 NJ Half Marathon: 1:23:01

Posted on May 6, 2011 by admin

Posted in All, Race Reports, Running 4 Comments

Last year I ran the New Jersey Marathon. It was 90 degrees and it looked like a battlefield by the end, bodies strewn all over lawns, ambulances everywhere. This year I would opt for the Half Marathon.

—

Becoming a tradition, Ed, Jim and I would spend the night at Mike’s (and Kara’s) house in Red Bank the night before the race. The infamous ‘Dad Posse’ and I were ready for some redemption after last year’s inferno.

We arrived on Saturday night in time for dinner. Mike took us to a place called Brother’s Italian in Red Bank that’s been around since the 60’s! It was amazing. Family style, it had a huge ‘cafeteria-esque’ dining room with a bar at one end and the kitchen at the other. The tables were full of families dining and most of the kids had on soccer or baseball uniforms from the afternoon’s local games. The interior walls were covered in wood paneling and all things Italian… flags, paintings, photos. Waiters were moving massive amounts of food out of the kitchen with speed and precision.

Arriving at a white and red checkered 4-top, our 80 year old server (not even kidding) presented us with the laminated menus. She was really sweet and I wanted to help her carry our plates out when they were ready. Her sweet exterior masked a tough interior, probably hardened by years of dealing with Red Bank, as she quickly got our drink order and moved on.

I ordered the lasagna for my pre-race meal. Due to the giant mass of melty cheese involved with it, it maybe wasn’t the most logical choice, but it was delicious! Mike also insisted we get the ‘cheesy bread’ as an appetizer, therefore making it official, dinner, was sponsored by cheese.

Back at Mike’s, we all wound down and were in bed around 10:30 PM.

RACE DAY

I woke up naturally (unaided by an alarm clock) at 5:30-6:00AM and could smell coffee. I had a flashback to that 80’s Folgers commercial where the mom wakes up from the coffee smell then comes downstairs and her son is home for the holidays, back from the military. That did not transpire, instead I quietly sipped coffee in the kitchen waiting for the guys to wake up.

We all fueled in our own ways. A few of the guys had bagels, or cereal. Since I was stuffed from my cheese dinner I opted for a banana. Kara had offered to drive us to the start which was a 10 minute drive. We were geared up and out the door by 7:15, excited as the weather was perfect.

After our drop-off we had a short walk along the boardwalk to the start. We discussed our goals and what our training had been the last month. Personally, my goal was to gain redemption from my ‘stomach virus run,’ aka the NYC Half Marathon a month earlier. That would mean running a sub 1:28 and not puking my guts out before the race. I was already ahead of the game with a full and happy stomach at this point.

As far as training goes I felt very confident. Coach S has had me doing roughly 2 workouts a day, 6 days a week. I have also been skateboarding to work again, so… whatever that does. She also has me doing limited speed work, so I was very excited to put the pedal to the metal and feel some burn.

I separated from the guys and jumped into the corrals. SIDENOTE: The NJ Marathon and Half Marathon do not have pace based corrals. It’s one giant corral and can be a headache. I was pretty sure I was in the front 10% – 15% of the runners and wasn’t stressing. I’m always out for a PR, but I was anticipating bumping into the slower Marathon runners who had started 30 minutes before us, so was just out for some fun.

Waiting for the start, this gal in front of me turns around and is like “Baker!” It was Elyssa and Eissa! (aka Team E) I get so excited seeing The Runner Army! We chatted and had a few laughs before setting off on our runs.

The first mile was congested, but we were moving. As I took a turn at a corner I heard “Baker! Go man!” It was Amy! Cool, I didn’t even know she was going to be there. I ran a 6:26 and felt great, so I picked it up a bit. I had some shin splints for the first 3 miles which I attributed to not warming up my legs properly. (Sorry S!)

Miles 2-4 were great as the field really opened up and I was running with just a few others and was pushing my speed. Splits 2 – 4: 6:15, 6:27, 6:16.

As we entered the bridge (the only hill) for the out and back loop consisting of miles 4-8 I saw Amy again! I remembered this part of the course from last year and knew once I got back to the bridge it was over the halfway mark.

By now I had caught up to the slower marathoners. I was flanking them on the left and it was going just fine until we hit the bridge. At this point the slower half marathoners were coming across so it was jam packed with people all the way across. I basically ran down the center line of the road. It was a lot like running head first into traffic or something. Splits 5-8: 6:12, 6:12, 6:09, 6:10.

The second half of the course is roughly straightaways. I was busy on the left again trying to push forward. I felt really good at this point and started ‘tracking down’ half marathoners. By now I was starting to catch up to some people who passed me early on and were fading. The sun was high in the sky now and the heat was on. It was here that I realized that I think I run better in the heat as opposed to a nice 45 degree running day. Strange I know.

At mile 10 the crowds started to get thick and this one guy yelled to me “There are only 4 half marathoners in front of you! You can catch them, go, go, go!” Now, I always take this kind of chatter with a grain of salt. Had this guy just strolled up to the course a few minutes ago? Was he messing with me? Perhaps he is a bad counter like me? As I looked off in the distance I did only see one guy going my pace. I kept at it, trying to muster up some more speed, but I was cooking already for 10 miles out. Splits 9 – 11: 6:14, 6:14, 6:15. (I’m so consistent! A rarity in my case.)

It was at this point that I was doing some rough ‘Baker math’ in my head which is often wrong. Last week I told Coach S I swam a 300 YD Time Trial Swim in 5:98. That’s right, in my world it take 100 seconds to equal a minute. Anyway, I had hopes of possibly making a PR on this course. Since half mary PR is 1:20 and change, I would just have to shave some time off the last few minutes. Easier said than done.

Right after mile 11 the course splits and the marathoners take a right to start another loop, while the half marathoners head left toward the boardwalk. As I made that turn it got very quiet. There were 2 guys ¼ mile in front of me and I thought “There is no way I am gonna catch them in under 2 miles!” I made an attempt at another speed push but I was pretty tapped at my 6:15 pace. Also, now that we were on the beach the sun was beating down on us.

SIDENOTE: In my history of racing I have heard some really funny cheers from people. You racers know the ones we often hear. “You look great!” “Almost there!” (at Mile 2) “Great pace!” As I was cruising down the mile 12-13 stretch this older woman yelled to me, “Keep going!” I laughed a little and yelled back “I’m gonna!”

As I came down the final stretch I picked it up a little bit and finished feeling great! Splits 11 – 13: 6:15, 6:17, 6:21 and a 0.1 blast of 5:53.

My final time was 1:23:01, my second best half marathon time. I was very happy.

Sex/
Age

Bib

Overall

Place

Age
Place

Finish
Time

Pace/
Mile

AG %

M33

10721

01:23:01

6:15

71.39%

I immediately went down to the finish line and cheered on the rest of the runners, waiting for my gang to come through. I saw Elyssa and Eissa come through and yelled quite loudly, startling other spectators. Sorry, I was amped.

Jim, Mike, (who had a serious 20 minute PR! Congrats Mike!) and Ed all came in and we made a group decision to hit the outdoor bar at the finish. We rolled up to this packed bar and by some act of divine runner intervention a handful of seats opened up right in the front at the best spot!

We hung out celebrating in the warm weather cheering on everyone while feasting on what my Kung-Fu Master used to call ‘Magic Water’ aka Coronas. I saw Joe at one point and he came over for some high fives! Runner Army represent!

We ended the day back at Mike and Kara’s place for a backyard BBQ! Thanks again for hosting us!

Back in New York, Abbe insisted she take me out in celebration of my race. Celebrate? Me? Ok. We went to Cask and then to Penelope for some light salads. My appetite was really off after the race, but a salad was exactly what I needed!

RACE REPORT: 055 NYC Half Marathon

Posted on March 22, 2011 by admin

Posted in All, Race Reports, Running 15 Comments

The NYC Half Marathon is one of my favorite races. Home turf… good distance… and you get to run down the middle of Times Square without any tourists in your way! Last year I PR’d with a 1:20: 48 and this year I wanted to break that number (at least by a couple seconds).

—

Wednesday before the race was set off with me having a voracious bout of food poisoning or some sort of stomach flu. I staying home from work and tried not to die. I couldn’t drink water (and keep it down) until 7PM. I love water.

You have never felt more alive and happy than you do the day after food poisoning. I may as well have been in the NYC version of The Sound of Music while walking to work Thursday. Lookout Julie Andrews!

Thursday was also St. Patrick’s Day, which happens to be my favorite holiday ever. Our office sits on 5th Avenue so I get front row seats to the parade every year which delights me to no end. After work Abbe and I had planned to find a quiet bar to have a drink, then get some sushi. This is also her favorite holiday as well.

What say you?! No Irish Pub?!

NYC St. Patrick’s Day Explained: From noon until midnight my lovely town gets invaded by people from New Jersey (I’m from NJ so I can say that), Long Island and other strange places. These people disrespect my town and the holiday by being complete drunken morons, peeing on the streets and annoying me. It becomes impossible to enter ANY irish pub because they are packed. I spend a lot of my normal calendar year frequenting irish pubs anyway, so it doesn’t bother me to go experience a different food culture on this holiday.

Friday was 70 and sunny, strictly amazing. For lunch I wolfed down an entire fresh cut turkey sub (and a pickle) that upset my stomach big time! I wasn’t over my stomach flu from Wednesday and this set it off again.

That night I met Abbe and her parents for a drink before heading to my friend Colette’s birthday party. She had booked the entire roofdeck of the hotel ink48! It sits on the water and has fantastic views of the city. She totally lucked out with the weather! There were some 150 people dancing and socializing until 11PM, a great party. At 10, I left to meet Abbe and Erica Sara in Hell’s Kitchen to discuss the race game plan as far as cheering goes.

Saturday (per Coach Sonja’s instructions) I did ‘Race Pace Intervals’ around the Park to get my system rev-ed up for Sunday. It was a beautiful morning and I felt awesome. I had not eaten anything since Friday at lunch because my stomach was all wonky, but I was doing just fine.

Later, I biked down to meet my friend Brian at the East 6th Street Track and train his 10 year old daughter. She wants to make the track team, so we went over some basic stuff like form, and how to do quick bursts. I also taught her race strategy and the concept of ‘Running Through the Pain.’ I am really excited to see how she does.

That night me and Abbe, her parents, and friends Jason, Jordan and Katie (who is running the Half Mary too) met at Bar Baresco to have pre-race dinner. My tummy was feeling okay at this point so I had some pasta to get my carbo-load on. The food was actually quite fantastic. Seeing as how all of us were waking up early, whether it be to race or spectate, we took off at 10 to get some rest.

RACE DAY

Waking up at 6AM, I had severe indigestion and heartburn. Aimlessly wandering around my apartment I finally got some coffee going. Juts as it started to percolate and the aroma entered the air I got very nauseous and ran to the bathroom. I was very sick and (without going into to many details) I basically emptied my stomach… dinner, water, vitamins, a necklace I thought I had lost…

Afterword, I was really shaky and extremely worried about racing. As Abbe was sipping her Cafe Bustelo, I secretly wanted her to say, “No way mister, you aren’t racing now!” and then I would go back to bed and happily sleep until noon. Instead she said, “I bet a good run will knock that flu right out of you!” and with that we set off to the start.

We met Katie on 3rd and 83rd and walked north, my request was that we find me some bananas STAT!

At my baggage truck I finished eating my single banana and got ready, helping the gals with their pins and bibs. Just then, a woman came up and asked if we were ‘running the marathon’ today and before I could think of something witty to say my gaze went past her to the sealed up UPS baggage truck ready to take off! I booked over to the driver and begged him to wait! Running back and jamming all my crap into my bag then sprinting back I handed it to him thanking him dearly! I honestly have no idea what I would do being left with a full backpack? Cry?

I said goodbye to them and ran up to my corral as it was closing. Weaving into the crowd and moving towards the front it had the usual smell of Ben Gay and farts. Normally I run into some of the Runner Army, but today I saw no familiar faces. After a few words from the usual crew and the National Anthem we prepared for flight.

As we started the race it was pretty packed up front. It always amazes me at a race of this caliber how long it takes for the lead corral to thin out and get situated. In my head I knew I had to break a 6:11 pace in order to beat last years time. This would continue to haunt me all day.

SIDENOTE: When I start a run I know within the first mile or so if it’s going to be good or bad. Today was going to be bad and probably not my day to PR. I would love to hear a few other runner’s opinions on this.

The bottom half of the Park was lined with cheering spectators, making the pain ease up a little and my spirits soar.

Moving up the West Side I started having to deal with all the hills. The plus side, was that I only had to deal with them one time. I saw Erica Sara, Jess and Tavia cheering me on at 86th Street which rocked, especially because it was right before the mighty Harlem Hill.

Speaking of which, I moved up the first half of the hill rather smoothly, keeping my form in tact and anticipating a quick descent. We were all in single file by this point in the race so there was a lot of leapfrog passing going on. Using the downhill to my advantage I just let go (keeping control) and barreled forward. At the bottom I made my decision to have my first drink of the race. “Martini, dry please.” All they had was Gatorade neat. I took it anyway and chased it with a water.

Running up the second half of Harlem Hill wasn’t as pleasant (if you would call the first have pleasant?) at all. It was during these moments I started to have doubts about even finishing the run. This put a dreadful fear into my mind because I never think like this (ONE) and (TWO) I had like 9 more miles of this monkey business left. Mile splits thus far: 6:19, 6:01, 6:04, 6:20.

One thing that lifted my spirits was knowing that the hardest part of the course by far had just passed. That got me thinking about a song by GH and I thought to myself, as the pain in my legs, stomach and core were knocking around, ‘All things must pass…’

Somewhere around 86th Street on the East I heard (as I was passing some volunteers) “Goooooo Baker!” It was Kelly! Then, in the 60’s I saw Susan, who actually yelled at me, but I needed it. Go Runner Army! We are everywhere…

SIDENOTE: I had pulled down my calf sleeves as my legs were hot. I soon realized I looked like I was part of the cast from Flashdance and freaked out a little.

As I made the turn onto 7th Avenue and out of the Park I felt a huge sense of relief, knowing that I was ⅔’s of the way through the race. Miles 5-8 were as follows 6:07, 6:36, 6:34, 6:25… definitely slowing down.

My favorite part of this race is being able to run through Times Square, so I was trying to ignore my body’s signals that death was near, and really take it all in. These 2 miles are also downhill so I was trying to make up for lost time by crushing it. Perhaps not the best idea, but neither is puking before a half mary. As I turned right onto 42nd Street I was actually hungry and took that as a good sign! I hadn’t had an appetite for a few days! Woo hoo, it’s goo time! I bit into my ‘Espresso Love’ Gu and was far from in love with it. It did, however, fill up my stomach with some sort of synthetic nutrient that was going to propel me though the next 3 miles. Mile splits: 5:46, 6:02.

Turning onto the West Side Highway we were confronted with a bone chilling wind. I tried to stay to the right as the runners around me were passing. This would normally aggravate me, but I was not concerned with my time at this point, I was busy just pushing forward. These next 2 miles would be my worst with splits of 7:16 and 7:33.

I saw Lady Southpaw and her band somewhere along the road and she gave me a shout out which was awesome. Then, I saw Maura and Brian at their ‘High Five Station!’ Totally cool guys, seriously!

A few runners were encouraging me to push on (remember, all of us were familiar with one another from running in the same pack for so long.)

I don’t know what happened to me on the last mile but I decided I was going to pick it up and finish this thing. I straightened my posture, took a deep breath and quickened my pace.

Cruising into the finish I saw Eliz shouting at me and a few others! I crossed with a time of 1:27:35 which is actually my 3rd best time out of 6 half marys.

Sex/
Age

Bib

Overall

Place

Age
Place

Finish
Time

Pace/
Mile

AG %

M33

228

558

100

01:27:25

6:41

67.86 %

I got my medal and silver superhero cape and pressed forward to get my bag. I ran into my running pals Robert and Antonio who had fantastic races and both PR’d. Congrats fellas!

My next mission was coffee. With that in hand I stood and cheered at the finish waiting for Abbe and Katie. They both finished in just over 2 hours! Fantastic! After we all headed uptown and had a huge breakfast. That wasn’t the real party though…

After cleaning up, all of us went to watch the College Basketball games and have some beers and hearty food. There were 20 of us, including my little brother Jeff and his girlfriend (fiance) who had gotten engaged the night before! Congrats you two!

Although I was bummed out I didn’t PR my half mary time, I was happy to have finished after such a rough start. My stomach flu was totally kicked from my system too! Running cures everything!

PS= Thanks to EVERYONE who came out and cheered us on. I heard my name many times and if I didn’t shout you out here on the report it’s only because I was delirious when I saw you!

RACE REPORT: 054 The Goofy Challenge

Posted on January 14, 2011 by admin

Posted in All, Race Reports, Running 25 Comments

What are you made of?

SIDENOTE: This is a long story, grab a cup of coffee, a blanket and silence your cell phone.

I signed up for the Goofy Challenge (a Half Marathon Saturday followed by a Full Mary Sunday) with my girlfriend this summer. Since becoming single, (my girlfriend becoming another infamous ‘ex girlfriend’) the question I had pondered was whether to follow through with the race or bag it?

Enter my Mom…

In September my Mom (who lives in Tampa) started run/walking before work. She would cover roughly 1-2 miles. I was very proud of her for doing so and coached her on how to evolve to run without the walk part.

She bought a pair of Newtons and set out to improve her form and endurance. In less then a months time she could run 3 miles non-stop and was in love with her new sneakers. It was then she expressed interest in running the Half Marathon portion of the Goofy Challenge asking me “Chris, do you think I could do that?” I told that she most definitely could if she kept up with her running.

A month later she called and told me she was signing up! She would run the race in celebration of her being 20 years Cancer free! The Goofy Challenge was on!

FLASHBACK: When I was 13 my Mom was abruptly diagnosed with Colon Cancer. She hospitalized for over a month. My daily routine would be to go visit her after school in the hospital. It was a very scary time for me, my 2 brothers and my father. She just barely made it and now, she is a nurse because of her experience.

I arrived in Tampa on Thursday, and was picked up by my step dad Richard. The following day my mom and I ran errands and I made my ‘Race Burritos.’ She was a mess! She kept asking me if I thought she would finish? “What is the furthest distance you ran under my training program?” She looked worried and said, “Only 3 miles.” I was a bit worried hearing that but didn’t let it show. I mean, I had only ran 9 miles as my furthest run since November, so we were in the same boat and yes, we are related.

That afternoon we headed out to Orlando, checked into our condo and hit the expo.

At 6:30 we went to a restaurant called Fresco Italian Market. It rocks and my mom found it last year when I ran just the Marathon. It’s like the only non-chain restaurant in Orlando perhaps.

One of my best friends, Todd, who my readers might know as swim coach/partner, local swimmer, college buddy, drinking buddy etc. had his parents come meet us for dinner. They are like my second parents and are always the best hosts when I visit them in Boca. Todd’s dad Mike, who I call ‘Coach’ had asked a few months ago if he could sponsor one of my races, and that race would be the Goofy Challenge. Our agreement was that I would wear Boca Hoops branded gear while I ran, a basketball league he has run for the last 30 years.

…In the spring of 1989, in a kitchen in East Boca Raton, three men were brought together by a gentleman named Joe Murphy. Their purpose was to bring the game of “round ball” to the youth of Boca Raton. Their goal was a simple one, to teach the basics of basketball, while promoting sportsmanship and teamwork. Little did Bob Mullin, Mike Doyle, and Jody Forstot imagine that what would start as a league of 340 children in 1989,would grow to over 1350 children. That 34 teams would evolve into 136 teamsthose 18 gutsy girls would pave the way for over 440 girls and four coed divisions would become 5 boys divisions and 4 girls divisions…

bocahoops.com

The 5 of us had a fantastic meal… beer, wine and one of my staples Shrimp Fra Diavlo. At 9:30 we left, all of us knowing that we had to wake up at 3:30AM to get to the race on time. Insane! The Disney Marathon weekend has to be the earliest race starts in history. I even thought about staying up all night… but those of you who really know me understand how I can rarely stay up past midnight.

RACE DAY 1: Half Marathon (Saturday)

I was waking up every hour on the hour. I guess I was anxious, regardless I was glad because if I was to fall into a deeper sleep it would have been harder to pop out of bed.

3:30AM is early, so early in fact that I though of people in NYC getting ready to LEAVE the bars and head home for bed.

My mom and I geared up while her husband (my step-dad) helped out by making coffee and keeping us on schedule. We jumped in the car and headed toward Epcot where he dropped us off. It was 50 degrees and would shape up to be a perfect running day.

Coaching my mom, I instructed her to hit the porto-johns before we get into our corrals. There were a lot of people running (27,000) making the scene pretty chaotic. It took us 45 minutes to get to our corral in the sea of runners. While in the crowds we made some friends who liked that my mom and I had matching Newton sneakers on. I had been telling her all these months how cool runners are and she was experiencing it firsthand!

She was in Corral G and as we entered the guy was like “Hey man, what are you doing, you’re in the first Corral!” I smiled and put my arm around my mom and said “I’m running this thing with my mom, man.” Cool. As we stood there it started to fill in pretty quick. Then, Wave 1 set off and fireworks erupted! Every 6 minutes they let another Wave go and after 40 minutes it was finally our time.

We started slowly running and navigating through the throngs of walkers! I couldn’t believe how many people started the Half Mary by walking! I mean, I love anyone out there doing it, but I would save my walking for the end, right? Even my mom was getting annoyed and she started picking it up and bobbin’ ‘n weavin’! It was all quite amusing. We were holding down a steady 12 minute per mile pace and making good headway. We took turns leading.

At mile 3.5 we took a porto-john break. 50 minutes or so had elapsed. This was also the furthest my mom had ever run.

Pressing forward I shed a layer of clothing is the sun came out, heating us up. At the Aid Stations, it was really fun teaching my mom about how to grab the water cups and make a spigot so you don’t get water up your nose.

As we approached mile 5-6 the crowds started showing and cheering us on. Then, we hit the Magic Kingdom (which in my opinion is the highlight on both days). My mom was thrilled seeing all the Disney characters and getting to run through Cinderella’s Castle. I had to tell her “Mom, smile! We are being photographed all over the place!”

A little after mile 7 she asked if we could walk for a minute. Of course. I had told her that today was her race, anything she wanted to do was okay by me. She even asked a few times if I wanted to run ahead so my time wasn’t bad.

She would walk for maybe 100 meters then pick it up again, which I thought was outstanding! All-in-all we maybe walked ¾ of a mile the whole race!

There were lots of marching bands rocking out as we hit certain points. One of them was covering Cameo’s ‘Word Up’ and I couldn’t have been more excited. I looked at my mom and she was like “What? Why are you smiling?” I said, “Mom! That’s ‘Word Up’! You know, that guy with the funny voice who sings ‘Doin the Butt’?” as I attempted to sing the song. She just laughed.

Approaching the 10 mile mark we started hearing fire trucks and ambulances. As I looked back a fire truck was barreling down on us and hopped the median full speed, runners scattering like pigeons! It drove up the road and pulled over where someone was in dire need of medical attention. It was here my mom asked what time I thought we would finish? She assumed maybe 4 hours and was startled when I told her we were close to making 3 hours! She was really excited.

Ascending an overpass, this volunteer looked at me and said something. I looked to my left at my mom and she was smiling and said, “She was talking to me, not you! She likes my style!” My mom began explaining how her pink top matched her running capris because they had a pink stripe. Then, she noted that her bib matched her Newton sneakers. Yes mom, you were stylin.

Passing mile 12 I asked how she was doing. I got a thumbs up and so I said to her, “Lets do this! We’re gonna finish strong! Ready?” With that, I led us forward as we passed loads of runners. I knew my mom was hurting, but I also knew she could do this.

Finally rounding the corner, the finish in sight, we picked it up a little more! As we crossed the finish my mom and I threw our hands up! I looked at her and she smiled and said, “I did it!” I gave her a hug and congratulated her. She stopped me and said, “Chris, thank you for helping me through this. You were a great coach.” No prob mom… anytime.

Sex/
Age

Bib

Overall

Place

Age
Place

Finish
Time

Pace/
Mile

AG %

M32

20165

16623

1111

03:01:25

13.50

32.6 %

We got our Donald Duck medals and some water, then exited, meeting Richard. He gave my mom a big hug and then took some photos of us. My mom’s main concern was that she have a nice photo to put on facebook!

Richard cooked my mom and I a huge breakfast while we fielded phone calls and text messages from family and friends wishing to congratulate my mom.

I also gave my mom the necklace I had made by Erica Sara (www.ericasaradesigns.com). Aside from making really beautiful jewelry for everyday wear, she also makes ‘Race Bling’ which are cute pendants with inscriptions on them. I had mine say on the front: 13.1, Disney Half; and on the back: January 2011, 20 Years Cancer Free. My mom was so excited. She hasn’t taken it off since and will probably be buying lots more from Erica Sara Designs! Thanks Erica.

We showered and went to play some mini-golf, a favorite past-time of mine since I was 9. Afterwords we all took a power nap, then headed back out to Fresco Italian Market for dinner. It’s such a good place, why jeopardize pre-marathon dinner. I had linguine and white clams sauce. Awesome! We toasted to our success and celebrated mildly.

In bed by 10:30PM, alarm set for 3:30AM for the second day in a row. Pain.

RACE DAY 2: Full Marathon (Sunday)

I was really groggy and a total ‘space case’. It is rare to see me in this state and I encourage anyone witnessing it to tease me and savor the moment.

After a cup of coffee we were off. Richard met a nice lady named Karin the day before and offered her a ride so she joined our crew. My mom and Richard dropped us off at the start and I made my way to the corrals. I made some pals and our conversation revolved around… yes, running. We started talking about goals for the day and they asked me what I wanted to do? I looked up and just said “You know, I think Sub3 would be fantastic.” Moments later I thought, “Don’t write a check with your mouth that your ass can’t cash.”

The corral situation was night and day (or day-n-nite) compared with the Half. Instead of being in the very back, I was now toeing the start line.

As the national anthem came on I was transported to a moment in time, a memory. The president of our company, Mr. Allen Brill, was very patriotic and was always thrilled to hear of my running adventures. In fact, he is partly responsible for me even running in the first place.

He passed away on Thanksgiving weekend and shocked our entire company. He had been diagnosed 2 months earlier with stage 4 Lung Cancer. I had known him for 7 years which is a drop in the bucket compared so some of my fellow coworkers.

One of my last memories of him was being called to his office the Monday after the NYC Marathon. As I entered he looked weaker than normal and I knew he was sick. He was standing, smiling and shaking his head, “Three hours, one minute and fifty-nine seconds. Good god man! That’s outstanding!” We chatted some more before I left, happy, but worried about his health.

Another clear memory that popped into my head. The Friday before the NYC Marathon he called me as the day was coming to a close. “Mr. Baker, it’s Mr. Brill. I understand you will of course be running Sunday.” Yes, of course!” I cheered on. “Do me a favor. Run it for me.”

I didn’t run the NYC Marathon for him that Sunday. I ran it for me, but as I stood there in the cold night, in my bubble of thought, I looked up and said “For Allen. I will run THIS race for him, in his honor and for his love of sport.”

And with that, the gun went off and the race began.

The first mile was pretty uneventful. I was getting warmed up and summoning my energy, feeling my body… was it okay after a half mary the day prior.

I was speeding up and I knew it. Voices rattled in my head, “Negative splits.” “Don’t start too fast.” “Make your bed.” I felt great and was excited to be opening up my pace, passing loads of runners. Miles 2-5 were run at a 6:30 pace and as I thought about slowing down, being ‘logical’, I decided to run this race all heart. I thought, “If I’m running this for Allen, he is going to get a great race.”

The first 8 miles are super boring. Straight up highways where they have bands and clowns or whatever. It’s still boring. I got to see the same band that played ‘Word up’ which helped I guess. I also ate half of my ‘Race Burrito’ without slowing down so that kept me busy.

A few miles before the halfway point we entered the Magic Kingdom which is the highlight of the whole race. I saluted and waved to all the Disney Characters, especially Sleeping Beauty.

Of course, running through Cinderella’s Castle was sweet, especially because I was the only one in it for the Marathon. Exiting the Magic Kingdom was sad, because I knew that dark times were ahead. I was, however, looking forward to sunrise which was in the next 30 minutes.

During miles 15-16 this really cute blond gal and I were running together. The sun came up at this moment too and I tried to not get to overwhelmed at how beautiful it was because, well, I was racing. She was admittedly faster and just toying with me I think because at mile 16 she took off never to be seen again. I ran that mile in 6:22, I’m such a sucker.

Miles 16-18 are in the Animal Kingdom which sounds cool, but I never saw any animals. 19-21 are like th
e worst for this course and they were coming up, so I was frightened. M legs were on fire and hurting pretty bad. I thought, “Make it to mile 19 and then walk a bit.”

I ate a Honey Stinger and munched on my ‘Race Burrito’ some more. As 19 approached I slowed down and walked maybe 5 paces. Looking at my Garmin I realized at this moment that a Sub3 Marathon was within my grasp, but how? I was in so much pain, natural pain albeit. I thought about Allen and ran. I ran hard, tears being choked back as I thought not of him, but of my mom, and her battle with cancer and how proud of her I was.

I did something I have never done before in a race, although it’s such a simple principle. As I picked up my speed, legs burning, I said to myself, “This pain is temporary, it is only your brain telling you to stop running. You will be okay, you always are. Run to the finish,don’t stop, no matter what.” And I did.

The last few miles were excruciating (as all you runners know) and I kept busy by watching my Garmin. My mantra was to look at it and the yell, “Come on! Come on Baker!”

FUN ANECDOTE: At mile 23 you round a lake that is part of a Disney Resort, it’s very scenic. To my left was water and to my right, a grassy hill where something was moving towards me. It jumped into the middle of the sidewalk right in front of me as I dodged stepping on it. I simultaneously realized it was a fuzzy baby duck and yelled “CUTE!” I then looked back to see if my competition heard me say the ‘cute’ thing, worried about my street cred.

As the last mile was coming to a close, I realized that my ultimate goal of running a Sub3 Marathon was about to happen. I was thrilled. Crossing the finish I threw my hand up and yelled, “YEAH!” I was given my Mickey Marathon Medal, then walked over to the Goofy area where I got my 3rd Medal.

Sex/
Age

Bib

Overall

Place

Age
Place

Finish
Time

Pace/
Mile

AG %

M32

266

02:58:16

6:47

70.1 %

I saw my Mom and Richard who congratulated me, excited at my time. I had ran the Full Mary faster than the Half Mary, which in itself is bizarre, ironic, mysterious (if you don’t know the story) and straight up awesome.

We checked out of the hotel and headed to a Cracker Barrel at my request. We don’t have them in NYC and wow, I miss their breakfast.

That night we celebrated by having a fantastic steak dinner cooked by my Mom and Richard. I don’t often eat meat, but this was a celebration for my Mom as well as me. Many toasts were made as we reminisced about the races.

I left the next morning, returning to NYC with an overwhelming amount of joy.

“Battle Stations was called as we woke from sleep. The battle, it was real, and we came out of it triumphant.”

—

Triumphant does not even begin to describe the weekend. To see my Mom cross that finish line, with the look of a child who just discovered Christmas morning, is unforgettable. She beat Cancer, and now she achieved what she thought was unachievable. I am so proud of her. ‘There are only possibilities.’

Thanks to Boca Hoops Summer Camp for sponsoring me through this race.

Thanks to Richard, who put up with 2 crazy runners all week and was our unfaltering helper.

RACE REPORT: 044 Queens Half Marathon: 1:28:39

Posted on July 27, 2010 by admin

Posted in All, Race Reports, Running 7 Comments

Sex/
Age

Bib

Overall

Place

Age
Place

Finish
Time

Pace/
Mile

AG %

M32

119

1:28:39

6:46

66.8 %

In preparation for the Queens Half Marathon (and by preparation I mean ‘carb-o-loading’) Erika took me to her favorite Italian restaurant, Pisticci’s.

Upon arriving we were immediately greeted by a server who knew Erika. I was impressed. We were promptly seated and ordered our drinks, mine being a fancy beer and Erika opting for a fancy cocktail. The food was amazing. For my entree I had a goat cheese and red pepper stuffed ravioli, topped with a vodka sauce laced with shrimp. Perfection!

I’m not sure if any of you were out Friday night, but around 8:30PM all hell broke loose. The skies opened up and an intense thunderstorm ensued! It looked straight out of a movie and I blame the full moon.

I was once again impressed, when Erika insisted that we would have no problem getting a cab right across the street, and she was spot on. It was a great night and I was no doubt ready for the Queen’s Half the next morning.

RACE DAY

At 5AM it was already 80 degrees.

The Queen’s Half Marathon (most Royal of races…) takes place in Corona Park Queens, which is an easy subway ride. I always love pre-race subway rides to the course because at every stop groups of runners get on. Its like a real-life Nike commercial or something.

At baggage we met Erika’s friend Jen and then headed to our corrals.

Up in the front, as the announcements were being made ( “Don’t try and PR as it’s brutally hot” and “Be careful”) I was in my head and getting amped up for the run.

As the gun went off I held onto the lead pack (which was thick as thieves) for the first mile before it thinned out and the speedsters took off.

The first 6 miles were an out and back course along College Point Blvd. At mile 2’s water station I passed my buddy Lam and yelled out to him! It was right around this point when I thought to myself “Holy cow, it’s freakin’ hot already and the sun isn’t even blazing yet!”

At mile 3 there was a factory or something spewing some sort of smoke and for a moment I felt like we were running a Sci-Fi race in the not so distant industrial future. Think Blade Runner meets Mad Max.

On the return trip I saw my friend Elizabeth (or Ms. Ritz) and we yelled hi! Soon after I saw Erika and we yelled to each other as well. This lifted my spirits and kept my head high.

It’s pretty safe to say that at every aid station (there were 13) I dumped 2 cups of water on my head. In fact, I may have only drank a total of 4 to the 26 that ended up on me. I was also running THROUGH the big puddles left behind from the night’s thunderstorms to help cool my feet, which were now on fire.

At mile 9 something happened where I felt awesome and kind of kicked it up a notch. It was 8AM now and the sun was high in the sky projecting its rays with no mercy.

I’m not going to lie. Pretty much from the start of the race to the finish I wanted to stop running and call it a day. Looking back, I have no idea what kept me going, but I actually sped up as the miles decreased.

At mile 11 we were heading back to the finish area and I was pretty excited. Looking at the clock times, I thought I had a chance at staying sub 1:30. Why I chose that number I don’t know, but it kept me motivated! It was here I passed a guy whose outfit looked strangely familiar. I turned and looked at him and it was the guy who I finished the Rev 3 Half Ironman neck-and-neck with in June! I said hi quickly and then kept on pushing forward.

Mile 12 we got to run around the giant globe sculpture which was kinda cool, aside from the pain we were all experiencing at this point that is.

The crowds got thick and as the finish came into view I picked up and finished fast, but no sprint. I was pretty excited to be done AND that there was a fire hose just past the finish.

My time was 1:28:39 which is my worst Half Marathon time, but I was still happy to have just finished a battle like that in such extreme conditions.

I made my way to a good vantage point to see Erika come through the finish chute. I was walking around barefoot which never felt better.

I saw Jen come through and then Erika a little later. Both gals looked great and finished strong!

After the race, we had a fun subway ride back to Manhattan as we ran into Sharon and Maria.

A few hours later we would regroup with Sharon to have some beers with her to celebrate her birthday AND the fact that she ran an extra 5.5 miles to top her run out at 30K! Nice work.

A lot of my running friends ran in this race (some of which I didn’t get a chance to see). I know runners get down on themselves if they don’t PR, but they should all be proud of themselves for finishing such a tough Half Marathon!

RACE REPORT: 020 Grete’s Half Marathon: 1:25:00

Posted on October 3, 2009 by admin

Posted in All, Race Reports, Running 4 Comments

Sex/
Age

Bib

Overall

Place

Gender

Place

Age
Place

Finish
Time

Pace/
Mile

AG
Gender
Place

AG %

M31

1:25:00

6:29

154

69.6 %

Friday night was my friend Brian’s birthday party at Bowery Electric where he and his band were scheduled to play. I brought my friends Robin and Cathy, and as were casually hanging out at the bar a woman came up to us. She looked vaguely familiar. She looked at me and said “Hi. You swam under the Brooklyn Bridge didnt you?” “Um holy crap yes I did!” She was like “You’re the goggles guy.” Anyone who hasnt read my recap of the Brooklyn Bridge Swim should know this, she is the only person I talked to the while event took place, and the conversation took place treading water under the Brooklyn Bridge. So if I didnt have friends around me witnessing this coincidence I wouldnt bother telling anyone as it’s too freakin crazy!

I was home by 11, in bed by 11:30. My vegetarian diet is still in effect and I ate some rice and beans for dinner. So far so good.

RACE DAY

the next morning I had a healthy serving of Cafe Bustelo (as usual) and some irish oatmeal. My roommate Becky was doing the race as well so she hit the Bustelo too. Its addictive, just ask her.

I rode my bike up to Marissa’s apartment and we walked over together to meet Jim and Ed of my “Dad Posse”.

Today at the Half-Marathon many people were Beyond Defeat.

“Beyond Defeat represents the will and drive to never give up, no matter what challenges you face. It is the acceptance of the challenge. All of us are Beyond Defeat, we just need to rise to the occasion.”

Ed was going to do the 1.7 Mile run earlier, but decided he would be up to the challenge of a Half-Marathon (13.1 wholesome and tasty Miles). Ed has never run a a Half, in fact he may have only run 5 or 6 miles max in a race (Ed excuse me if I’m mistaken) so this was a big milestone, a milestone that earned him bragging rights.

Marissa had never run a Half either (aside from our early morning pre-work 14 miler in June) so this was a big race for her also. I think its funny that she told all her friends she would be finished in 3 hours as she runs like a 7:30-8 minute mile.

The beauty of a Half-Marathon (or one of the many at least) is that the next time you run a race that is, oh, lets say 3 Miles, it seems like nothing!

We all gave a fist pound and then made our way to our respective corrals.

Up in my area I found Robert, Antonio and Rick. We were chatting and got pumped about the race. Antonio had done a 7 Mile warm up! Insane! Once again, a fist pound and then the gun. We were off.

The first few miles are always hardest for me. I think Im just built for the distance or something, I dont get into the swing of things until the pain wears away. I kept thinking to myself, “Wow, I have to do this route 2 times. Seriously?”

As we hit mile 5 and were roughly back at the Start line I was in my groove feeling the enjoyment of the run. My mind was constantly on Ed and Marissa though, always wondering where on the course they might be and how they were doing.

I was now in a thin group of runners, most of them representing the various teams like The Harriers, Front Runners, Urban Athletics etc. It kept me wondering why our group doesnt form a team. One stand out I would like to give props to is a girl that blazed past me who was named Kate. She killed it and I could not keep up.

As we cruised over the finish line I thought to myself… “One more lap, that’s all.” I was also very happy once I was done my second round on the Harlem Hills at the top of Central Park. From that point on I knew there were no more crazy inclines to worry about.

When I hit Mile 11 I saw that the clock said 1:11! This excited me as it meant I was on target to hit my 1:25 finish time. Who knew? (SIDENOTE: that’s also a lot of elevens, good luck perhaps?) I had set this goal as my last Half (the Brooklyn Half) I completed in 1:28 and change.

It was right at this point that this gal who had been flanking me the last 3 miles blew past me. I tried my best to keep up, but she always had 30 yards on me… until the end. As we rounded Columbus Circle and started approaching the finish I mustered up my strength for a sprint. How? No idea as the last mile my legs were burning. Everything gets a bit blurry and surreal when I sprint, you almost forget you’re running. I managed to pass that gal and 2 others on my finish, clocking a 1:25 flat. I love the competition for some reason. I congratulated her with a “Nice run Speedy.” She returned the compliment, all of us being totally winded and red-faced.

I went to the finish and cheered on Robert, Antonio, Jim, Elizabeth (my new friend by way of Robert), Becky and Marissa. Lots of high-fives were exchanged.

Marissa, Jim and I stayed and waited for Ed. We watched as in the distance we saw his trademark orange running hat. His head was down and he was pounding out the last 200 yards of his 13.1 Mile run. We were pretty excited for him to say the least and as he cruised over the finish we made some serious noise! Ed, his head still down, turned at us with the funniest look, as if to say without words “This sucks!” After a drink of water and some cool down time his attitude turned to excitement at his accomplishment. I remember (or Ila can recount my similar attitude after my Marathon “I will never do this again!”) Fat chance.

We all parted ways and Marissa and I headed to her apartment. Once there Colette and Dan gave us a warm welcome. Colette made us some “life saving” pasta which was so refreshing. We hung out with young Grant for a little while as well but I had to leave as I had to get to Jason and Mary’s wedding by 3.

I stayed out dancing til maybe 11 when my mind and body told me it was system shut-down time. What an amazing wedding, Jason and Mary are quite the couple.

What a day. Like I said, a lot of people were beyond defeat today.

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

Posted on May 30, 2009 by admin

Posted in All, Race Reports, Running 1 Comment

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

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

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

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

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

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