Marathon

RACE REPORT: 145 Eugene Marathon – 2:57:05

Posted on May 4, 2019 by admin

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Abbe and I grabbed a cab and headed to JFK on Thursday at 5:30AM. I was sleepy, but this getting up early for races thing has become the norm, so I wasn’t too out of sorts. I was teetering on that fine line of ‘Am I awake for good?’ or ‘Should I try and nap on the plane?’ I opted for the latter and passed on a coffee.

After a 60 minute snooze I felt fresh. I am reading three books for the first time since college and so I started bouncing between them. I am reading ‘Atonement’ for Book Club, ‘The King in Yellow’ which is super weird and I forgot why I even chose it and ‘Calypso,’ David Sedaris’s latest. (He is my favorite author).

Hello Portland!

A dear friend of mine from college days, Mikey, lives in Portland so we were very excited to spend some time with him. He picked us up and we set off for lunch.

Abbe’s friend Brad Farmerie (chef and owner of Saxon and Parole) had sent a very extensive list of places to eat. Since Abbe has a love of all things sandwiches we headed to Lardo. It did not disappoint! I might also note that it was gorgeous out… 75 and sunny, so sitting outside felt amazing.

We checked out Mikey’s place and chilled for a bit before headed to dinner at Xico. Susan and her brother Ryan joined us. After another amazing meal we jumped in the car and headed to Eugene.

Tracktown U.S.A.

As a runner, how could you not be excited to wake up in TrackTown USA? Bill Bowerman invented the waffle shoe here that would later become the sneaker that we now know and take for granted! He also cofounded Nike, you may have heard of them? And then there is the legendary PRE!

Anyway, we woke up and went for a walk to the stadium which was through Alton Baker Park across the street. As we exited and were on school grounds Abbe said, “Hey look, the track team!” It was a group of runners at first that then turned into a thousand. Then we realized, “Oh! It’s the 5K!” You chase two really fast runners wearing the Krusteaz Pancake outfits in the 5K and hope to beat them. Holy smokes it must be hot in those pancake suits while running a 5k, gross.

We eventually made our way down onto the field, like the actual football field, and were able to cheer on the finishers as they came in. Tomorrow we would be finishing the same, right on the 50 yard line!

Is this what it’s like to score a touchdown?

Did Someone Say Lunch?

We headed to the Tap and Growler for some some sandwiches to fuel up. My strategy the day of a race is to focus on proteins for lunch and carbs for dinner, so I had a pork burrito bowl. We were also taking it pretty light on beer and focusing on hydration.

Birds of Prey

Fun Fact: I love hawks and eagles and owls and anything that is a bad ass bird. Hummingbirds too. Did you know that Central Park’s Red Tailed Hawk population is booming? So I guess I’m a bird guy. We went to the Cascades Raptor Center to kill time and because, whoa, so many amazing creatures in one place!

It was on the side of a hill and had 25 small enclosures where the birds were kept. I at first got very sad seeing these majestic creatures penned up, but then upon further reading learned that all of them had been injured or basically could not survive in the wild. We even saw 3 Bald Eagles… what!?

Dinner was at Ciao Pizza Trattoria. We had planned it carefully weeks before after studying the menu. It was a family owned homemade pasta kinda spot. I opted for their version of linguine bolognese which has been my go-to pasta for the last few years. It didn’t disappoint one bit. Abbe, Susan and I were in bed by 9:30 with a 5AM wakeup call. Plenty of slumber time.

Strange Days

I had the wildest dreams I can remember in some time on this night. I only write this so I can reflect back. I was actually running a race of some distance, in and out of buildings, and kept getting sidetracked which for some reason didn’t stress me out. I was also talking to God, yes God, which is odd as I have spent 2 days in church ever. He (yes it was a he) was helping me dress and he was very relaxed. It was so weird and yet simultaneously cool, like hanging out with Prince. What does it all mean? Was it battle preparations for the next day?

Race Day!

We all woke around the same time. Getting older has one advantage, waking up early is getting easier. The temperature was 38 degrees and would climb to 50-55 at the end of the race. The ladies were wearing singlets but since I tend to run a bit cooler when I race I made a game time decision to switch to my long sleeve Battalion shirt. I had brought numerous options to choose from including rain gear because… always be prepared!

Our Lyft driver was great. She got us to where we needed to be and she was very calm about it all. Thank you. We scurried off in the cool morning air to hit baggage check and maybe a bathroom stop. Our timing could not have been more perfect. As we were exiting the stadium, goals accomplished, we had 5 minutes to game time. We said goodbye and popped into our respective corrals, ready to crush.

And so it begins…

The gun went off and we took off pretty quickly. I was right behind the 3 Hour pacer, which was perfect as my goal was to go just under 3, maintaining a 6:50ish pace as I had done in New York last Fall.

Sometimes you got it and sometimes you don’t. I tend to know within the first mile how my day is going to go. That doesn’t mean I won’t finish, it just means this thing is gonna be rough. Today I felt liquid, and I knew I had something in me. Mile 1 ticked off at a 6:56, which was a good warm up, but I needed slightly better if I was going to hit my goal.

As we entered Mile 2 I saw Mikey cheering on the right. We were running through the city, which consists of low lying buildings so the sun was just piercing the roadway. It was really pretty actually.

The next couple of miles were a series of straightaways through some fun neighborhoods. The crowds were very energetic and kept us moving. Miles 3-7 were under 6:50 by a few seconds.

We were now on an out-n-back section of straightaway that would conclude at Mile 10. It was really shady with shards of sunlight piercing through the trees to our left. Once we made the turnaround at Mile 7.5 we would be in full sunlight. I was plugging along pretty steadily.

The Decision

I was having a great race thus far and Mile 8 and 9 were a 6:38 and 6:39, which one would say is too fast for what I had been training for. When you train for a marathon, you are only as good as the conditions on race day allow you to be. You are at the mercy of the weather gods. Today, on this morning, the gods were with us. If there were any time to dial it up it would be when conditions were in your favor. I thought to myself, ‘You’re going a bit fast.’ and then looking around and taking it all in I thought, ‘Conditions this perfect only arise every few races, set it off.’ And so I did, all smiles. This is when I passed the 3 hour pace group.

At Mile 10 I saw, or rather heard Ryan yell “Go Chris!” I knew it was him as we had just met, and people I have just met call me by my first name only. Or, if it were a female voice it would have been my Mom.

The Halfway Point

On the Mile 12 straightaway I saw Mikey who gave me a solid high five AND shot this video. 6:41 pace. It was here I took my first gel.

I was very curious how the Half Marathon and Full Marathon breakaway point would look. Would I be all by myself? It’s hard to tell who is racing the Half versus the Full until you hit this moment.

At 13, we pulled hard left and some of the guys I had been racing with hung on. We had a solid 3-5 guys in race formation going hard as we entered this park/bike path area. It was my least favorite part of the course as it weaved along the river and offered no insight to who was overtaking you and it made footing a bit tedious. In times past when the 3 hour pacers pass me I tend to fail, so I was hyperconscious as to where they were and at Mile 14 they were on my ass!

I knew I had to keep my pace under 6:50 to avoid those punks, so I held to that, even though I was now in a bit of pain. My energy was great, but I was feeling it in my legs. 6:42, 6:47. 6:40 to the 17 Mile turnaround on the other side of the river.

I was looking across the river now, in case I saw Abbe. She never left me all day as I knew this was a bigger race for her as she has never qualified for the big show, Boston, and this was going to be her day for it. I didn’t see her, but conditions were favorable, so I was hopeful.

The Annoying Guy

From miles 10-19 I ran with this beefy annoying guy. When people would pass him he would look at them in anger, which is odd as a marathon is you versus you, unless you are an Olympian, which homeslice was not. He was doing this odd thing with me. Every time we hit an aid station my pace was consistent as I grabbed water and gatorade. He walked the aid stations to take in fluids. Then, 30 seconds later I heard this sporadic pitter patter of footfall as he caught up to me and then leveled off.

I knew he couldn’t keep these antics up, but I also didn’t care to ruin my own race. Until… this pack of young 20 somethings started cruising by in flying V formation and I decided to hang on. We clocked mile 19 at a 6:33 and it felt great. I never saw that guy again.

20 On…

Miles 20-22 were 6:45, 6:42 and 6:40. We were cruising in some shaded forest paths now and I knew I had this thing in the bag if I kept up and didn’t falter, which was of course possible in Miles 23-26. I didn’t see Mikey or Ryan and was wondering where Abbe was, hopeful she was having as good a day as I was.

Heatwave

Mile 23-24 was on the open field of Alton Baker Park and had no shade from the sun. I felt it immediately and my pace entered the 6:50-6:56 range, the slowest all day. I knew I had just a few miles to go and had created a solid buffer for my sub3 time, so i wasn’t very stressed. I thought about pouring water on my head at an aid station but was glad I didn’t as we finally reentered the shaded forest. I would have been chilled.

Right before Mile 25 I felt something odd. Fatigue in the way of energy, not leg power. I had one gel in my pocket and even though I had a mile to go I decided to take it. Did it help? Yes. A few moments later I had a slight sugar and salt energy surge, helping me push through.

Mile 26 was a 6:36 pace and I was reaching hard for that sub3, my mind was a mess. The clock said 2:51:xx and I had to get around the stupid stadium. It took forever! In reality it took 6 minutes.

The End

I turned and entered the stadium feeling like I was going to have a heart attack and saw the time, 2:57! I have in the past withheld emotion from my finishes, but have recently wanted to embrace it, and so I did.

As I crossed I threw up my arm and yelled “Hell Yea!” (not evident in the pictures) and then let forth a wave of excited screams. This was marathon number 20 and I had not only gone under 3, I had gone 2:57:05, my third best time ever at a 6:45 pace. After gathering my medal I stopped on the side of the field and looked around at it all and laughed a bit, tears in my eyes. You see, the glory of a marathon is fleeting and very personal. You must savor those seconds after it as they cannot be recreated, and so I did.

Abbe and Susan

I gathered my belongings from baggage and headed into the stadium where I soon found Mikey and Ryan on the 50 Yard line. I had a stream of texts coming in from the friends that were tracking me, thanks to you all! But where were Abbe and Susan?

Right on cue Susan showed at 3:32, nailing a BQ, followed by Abbe with a 3:34! I yelled my face off. I was so elated. Abbe has been chasing the Boston Qualifier for some time now and she had finally caught it. It was an epic day.

The five of us celebrated with beers once we all found each other. Basking in the warm sun, legs happy again, we had all achieved our very challenging goals and were all smiles.

After the Party it’s the Afterparty

We all went to lunch at the Bier Stein before heading back to Portland.

Dinner was at Pok Pok, the ultimate Thai restaurant. New Yorkers might know as we had a spot in Brooklyn that closed sadly. Not surprisingly, it was amazing… some of the best Thai food I have ever had without actually going to Thailand.

We hit Richmond Bar for one more drink before calling it.

After the Afterparty… it’s Monday

We had planned to have an entire day in Portland after the race. After sleeping in and like a thousand cups of coffee Abbe and I went to a Chinese Garden in the heart of Portland. It was really cool and very relaxing.

Once Susan joined us we went to Country Cat Kitchen for some heavy food to reload. I ordered the fried chicken because I love fried chicken and may even consider myself a slight connoisseur on the topic. I took a few bits of piece one (of two) and told Abbe it was a 9. I was in heaven. I was also taking my time so I could make sure this moment wouldn’t just slip by. By the time I had dialed into the second piece everything had settled and it was even better than the first. “Abbe, this is a 10.” Holy cow!

Next up we hit the Mississippi area for some bar hopping. Mikey and Susan’s friend Jason met us. We eventually arrived at Prost where another dear friend from college, Pete, was in wait! Man, it was good to have everyone back again telling old stories and laughing.

Reflection

We took a 6:20AM flight the next day. It was sad to see all that fun go by but it was time to return.

I (we) trained really hard on this one. I really enjoyed the ride and every one of those challenging runs. Especially the ‘Bridges’ long runs, and the feeling of getting one step closer to accomplishment after finishing them.

Marathon 20, you were awesome. You made me realize that age is just a number as I ran my 3rd best time ever at age 41. Running is hard if you let your mind get in the way.

Portland bitches, I love you! It’s great knowing we will always be friends.

And Abbe… YOU DID IT! XXOO

RACE REPORT: 144 NYC Marathon 2:59:16

Posted on November 7, 2018 by admin

Posted in All, Race Reports, Running Leave a comment

How do I even begin to explain the significance of this race?

10 years ago I was dared to run a marathon by the President of Rolex, Allen Brill (rest in peace). That single dare altered the course of my existence. I mean, I wasn’t stealing cars or on my way to prison, but this created new goals.

Running and triathlon have changed my life for the better. Thanks to running I have countless friends pushing their boundaries in the sport. I coach numerous athletes who continue to impress me. Running… who knew?

I’ve broken 3 hours three other times, but never in the four times I have ran the NYC Marathon.

Present Day…

Abbe’s folks arrived Thursday and so we did what any logical New Yorker would do, we went gallery hopping in Chelsea. It was great as usual although I didn’t run into any old college friends which was odd.

Friday after work we went to Reema’s birthday party in Cobble Hill at Black Forest. It was a great turn out finished with a pasta dinner (carb loading begins).

Saturday

It was cool and misty rainy day on Saturday. Good! Get it out of your system and let us run rain free please.

Abbe and I made our way to Grand Army Plaza (in Manhattan) to cheer on our friends running in the Dash to the Finish 5K. I saw all of my friends and even got a high five from Bojana. Next up… bib pick up at the Javitz.

This would be marathon 19 and so I think Marathon Expos have gotten played out by now. I enter them as if it’s a Supermarket Sweep… “Where’s my Bib? Okay, got it. Next, the tee-shirt. Cool, thanks lady. Now get me the hell out of here!”

We had lunch with Abbe’s folks plus special guest star Brian H. at Randolph Beer off the Bowery. It was solid fuel. The rest of the afternoon was spent off our feet relaxing at the apartment before our 5:30PM dinner down the block at Paola’s. I opted for the bolognese which has been my pre-race go-to for like 3 years now. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it. In bed by 10:30PM…

Race Day

Why can’t all major races coincide with an event that gives you an extra hour of sleep? Thanks Daylight Savings! So we woke up at 5AM but it was really 6AM to our bodies… piece-o-cake. Abbe and I jetted out of the apartment at 5:45, caught a cab, picked up Meredith and were at the Staten Island Ferry by 6:15. We linked up with Brian and his friend from Germany, Jimmy. We were shooting for the 6:30 ferry but the 6:15 was loading and we had an opportunity to jump on so we did.

I remember gazing out as the sun was coming up and thinking to myself, ‘The Gods are with us today.’

It was a beautiful morning in the mid 40’s and sunny. The day was designed for running and we all felt it as the rising sun blasted into the ferry windows warming us like a beacon of hope.

Entering Fort Wadsworth we said goodbye to Brian and Jimmy as they were Blue Camp and we were Orange. Abbe and I applied sunscreen and ate our pre-race fuel. Mine consisted of 1 banana and some GENUCANN drink mix. I was ready to roll…

After a hug and a kiss Abbe and I parted ways and entered our respective corrals. We had 30 minutes until showtime and I felt great. In my corral I was sipping my GENUCANN and having a fun time people watching. Then the guy next to me started asking questions about the race and you guessed it, we became friends. His name was also Chris. New York Chris meet London Chris.

We had a gorgeous rendition of the National Anthem, I even said to London Chris “Wow, she is good.” Next, Peter Ciacia did his usual race instructions. I’d like to give a special shout out to Peter. Ever since I started racing in New York Peter has been the voice of the NYRR. Every race be it a 5K or a Marathon has been announced by him… “Lead vehicle, do I have clearance on the roadway?” We’re all gonna miss you Peter, happy retirement.

The canon sounded and ‘New York, New York’ started pumping through the speakers. Showtime.

Wow, the Verrazano’s Narrows Bridge is long. Like, 2 miles long. I enjoy it though as all the early explorers like Hank Hudson came right under us through ‘The Narrows’ to discover mighty Manhattan. I tried to take it easy on the uphill and was doing a 7:04 pace, fine. Mile 2 on the other hand I was rocking a 6:12 which was kinda dumb.

I hit Mile 3 in 6:31 which was also a bit too fast, but it felt fine on the legs. I had to pee so bad and in the past that it has destroyed my time so my mind was all over the place as on what to do. So I stopped, but it was gonna be quick, real quick! I was even counting out loud in the porto john… “29, 30, 31, fuck this is now too long.” 40 seconds and I was back on the streets, minor delay.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Brooklyn brings a solid cheer game to the marathon. The bands were totally killing it! I was looking at the bands, grooving and nodding to them in appreciation.

After my bathroom stop my paces started falling into place. I started to hover in the 6:45-6:50 range, which was what I needed to hit for my sub 3 hour race. I normally go out way hard knowing that I will fade out anyway, but my amazing wife Abbe convinced me otherwise.

At Mile 6 I heard, “GO BAKER!!!!!” and as I look across 4th Ave I see Steph and Matt6 cheering! (Great to see you both.)

I was rotating between Gatorade and water every other aid station. I’ve done this many times and it reduces the possibility of getting cramps from ‘course Gatorade’ which can be too concentrated at times.

At Atlantic Avenue I was watching for a bunch of my cousins who live nearby, but that area is so chaotic I knew it might not happen. Blasting right onto Lafayette headed into Fort Greene I checked off ‘Sector One’ which to me is the 4th Avenue stretch.

Miles 8-13 are pretty tight as you wind from Fort Greene to Williamsburg to Greenpoint. I was still somehow holding onto my 6:45ish pace and feeling peppy. I was, however, starting to have those beginning doubts of making my sub3 time. I was having so much fun yelling at the cheering crowds that I told myself I would be okay with an over 3 hour finish, which was partially true.

To take my mind off things, like running, I waited until I saw a super lame quiet cheer squad and I would start this ‘underhand pitch’ move with my arms and yell, “BROOKLYN MAKE SOME NOISE!” After the initial reaction, which was fabulous, I started doing this a lot. In fact so much I was wondering if my fellow runners were getting annoyed with me. Like, ‘Who’s this guy, Mister Cheery McCheererson?’

The stupid Pulaski Bridge reared it’s ugly head at Mile 13. It’s so bland. I knew I had cheer squad in Long Island City though so I kept things moving. Up ahead I noticed a familiar shirtless figure… it was my buddy Rowland! For those new to my really long and drawn out race reports, Rowland is a friend and a training partner. We run the same pace and often find ourselves side by side during marathons.

I approached him and tried to be funny, just hanging to his left for a second, but he knew it was me. We chatted for a bit and he noted that he didn’t think he was going to break 3 at this point. In my head I was kind of thinking the same thing. My legs were starting to hurt (at Mile 13?) and I was doubting myself. I figured I would hang with Rowland and run with him, giving up on my sub3 attempt.

Then, Long Island City happened. As we hit 48th Avenue or Street or whatever, LIC is confusing still, I saw Stephan, Amanda, Vivian, Silas, Leonora and Brad! Amanda was holding out a Redbull which I had requested and so I sped up and grabbed it, sloppily popping it open and chugging a few ounces. As I was rounding the corner I saw Carlos and Heath cheering me on as well! With this added cheer support I lunged ahead and was back on track. Mentally I was like ‘F-Yea, if I’m gonna go for this, let’s push it.’ And so I did.

Miles 15 and 16 were a 7:01 and an 8:04 as it was the notorious Queensboro Bridge, which is a steady incline. This was not my first time dealing with this cold, gothic, lonely place… I knew exactly what to expect and how to deal with her. With my head looking into the distance I plugged along, slowing my heart-rate and pace so I didn’t blow up. I was amping myself up for the descent into mighty Manhattan, one of the pinnacle moments in the race. At the apex of the bridge I let out a yell of triumph, hoping to inspire some fellow runners, but all I received was silence. Was it something I said?

The sound of Manhattan hits you as you are on the bridge making your way down. It’s like the roar of a football stadium, the sound of deafening white noise just waiting for you to arrive. It’s something so epic I will take it with me to the grave.

Welcome to Manhattan.

You are in the center of 1st Avenue, the Mayor of your own Parade and you can lose the run right here in this moment. Get too caught up in all of the excitement and you blow up, leaving nothing for Miles 20-26. And yet… you really need to soak this in and enjoy it as it’s one of the coolest experiences. I took my time and reeled it in a bit (I’ve blown up here in the past). My pace was still holding steady, and it surprised me.

At 93rd Street I saw my Battalion cheer squad… Bobby C, Jill, Jon, Jenn, Kerryn, Cat, Morgan, Gillian, Phil, Bojana and Brian. Next, only a few blocks up I saw Kelly and Beth. Then, it was Bardy and Dana followed by Elizabeth and Juan! Go Upper East Side cheer squad! Great to see all of you.

I really only had half a mile until I hit the Bronx after my last cheer patrol, not bad. Entering I knew Noah would be stalking me somewhere in the hood. Sure enough I saw him at like Mile 21. He chased after me insisting that I break 3 hours. Another huge boost and I was still in the 6:50 pace range.

The day before the race Dougie Dee was texting me some positive vibes and he said something that stuck with me. ‘Coming back over the Madison Avenue Bridge I expect you to be on fire bro.’ Hell yea. I was on fire and I used my Brooklyn tactics to get Manhattan pumped. “Manhattan make some noise!” as I was bombing down the bridge. It felt great! 4 miles to go.

Rounding Marcus Garvey Park I got a huge salute from TMIRCE led by Chris Ho! Then, right after, I see the Gotham City Runners crew cheering me on as well! My pace was in check, but I was still uncertain about my final outcome.

As we neared The Park I knew I had the ever challenging 5th Ave to deal with. It’s a steady incline for around 1.5 miles, yeah it’s a delight. Just like the Queensboro the strategy is to slow down and keep it together. I was running on the far left ‘shaded’ side of 5th and everyone else was on the sunny side. Why?

As we were hitting the top of the hill I saw Uncle Billy, all my cousins, Bojana, Brian, Jenn and many more high fiving me! It pushed my energy as I hit 90th Street and made my way into The Central Park.

Entering The Park truly is like entering my backyard, I know every twist and turn, every landmark. It felt good is my point and I knew I had a few miles to go. As I rounded the turn by the Met hitting the Mile 24 marker with roughly 15 minutes to go I had a freak out moment. 6:50 pace doubled plus 0.2 miles (which is always annoying) would leave no room for error. I needed to dial it up.

I made the decision to drop the hammer and set the course on fire. The sun was blinding and there were people cheering me on, but I don’t remember who as I was so laser focused. Mile 25 was a 6:43, not amazing, but also not slower than my overall pace. Right around Mile 25 I saw my friend Paddy (a fellow runner and theater actor) who jumped out at me on the course making sure I saw him.

As I descended toward Central Park South I really pushed it. I’ve given a lot during a race before, but never at the end of a marathon, so this was new pain territory. I was on overdrive and passing runners left and right, I wanted this sub3, it was attainable, and I wasn’t going to let it slip away. I kept looking at my watch and as I crested 59th Street and turned into Central Park. I had just over 2 minutes to get to the Finish Line. I think the clock said 2:57:55… not a great time.

With the flags of every international runner surrounding me, pushing me on, inspiring me, I ran so hard. I mean, I turned on some kind of fire that I had never tapped into before. I was totally having an out of body experience too, if that makes any sense. My legs were in such pain but my head and heart were fine and I had an amazing amount of energy. As I turned the bend coming in towards Tavern on the Green I couldn’t make out the clock time. I was confused but didn’t care, I pushed harder and harder and as I neared the Finish and the clock read 2:59:16… I had done it, sub3 in NYC. My final mile’s pace was a 6:15 and I was holding back tears. I laughed, “Ha! Yes!” as I kind of looked through everything happening around me and into some blurred reality.

I walked on in a daze and then saw my other friends and training partners D and Brad! We took a few photos after high fiving and hugging, of course.

After the Party it’s the Afterparty

I walked the entire way back to The District on the Upper East. It’s a long story, my plan got sidetracked and I’ll tell you in person one day. I will say this though, I led a number of lost cheer squads over to the course to route on wives, moms and loved ones, so not all was lost.

As I entered The District I was met with a roar of applause from the restaurant, led by my crew already present. I was home. There were so many friends and family there I can’t begin to name them all!

I felt amazing, which isn’t always the case after a marathon. Trevor showed up followed by Abbe and Brian H. Then Brianna and Meredith arrived. Every time a runner entered we erupted in cheer! Man I love this day! Positivity gets injected into you from the time you wake up. We even have a few friends that are signing up to run the race for the first time… Mike! Christophe?

Epic doesn’t even begin to describe the day. All of my friends had amazing races. Abbe ran her second fastest marathon! I’m personally still wrapping my head around everything that transpired.

Thank you so much to all of my friends out there cheering. I relied on you this time and you came through like shining rays of light. This emphasizes what running is, we are one big family out to help push and support each other through our own goals and achievements. You make me proud.

And finally, on a personal note. I’ve been chasing the unobtainable sub3 in New York since I started running in 2008. I can tell you that I gave everything I had in this race, I wanted this so bad and pushed myself to pain thresholds I hadn’t experienced before. Our bodies can do so much more than we know, but our mind stops that from happening. Free your mind, make the impossible possible. I’ll be the first one on the sidelines cheering you on. – Baker out

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

Posted on May 25, 2017 by admin

Posted in All, Race Reports, Running 1 Comment

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

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

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

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

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

In bed by 10:30pm.

RACE DAY

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Posted on October 27, 2016 by admin

Posted in All, Race Reports, Running Leave a comment

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

DAY 1

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

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

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

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

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

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

DAY 2

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

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

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

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

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

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

Does Danika have her own bottle of wine?!

DAY 3

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Just saying hello to my fans…

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

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

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

Comin’ in way hot on that turn!

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

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

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

Not a bad location for a race.

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

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

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

DAY 4

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

Italy… to be continued…

RACE REPORT: 099 The Reston Marathon – 3:09:51 – 2nd Overall

Posted on April 1, 2014 by admin

Posted in All, Race Reports, Running 1 Comment

I always thought it would be cool, never participating in any athletics growing up, to one day return to my hometown and race. Kind of a strange twist… I left town an artist to return as an athlete.

We hopped the train to DC Friday afternoon bags filled with beer, wine and Clif Bars. Survival is key. Arriving at my Bonus-Mom’s house everyone was ready to start scarfing pizza (they had already started on beer). I didn’t grow up here, my step-brothers did, but have spent the last 10-12 years calling it home. Role call: Christine, Ryan, Maggie, Jeff, Phil, Naomi, Cayden, Owen, me and Abs. There was much race talk as it was Ryan’s first Half Marathon. I also got to see my nephew Cayden and Owens’ awesome cheer squad sign that they had made!

Taper madness – pulling Cayden up and down the halls.

The next day Ryan, Abbe and I did a shakeout run down to the High School to pick up our bibs. One of the beautiful things about this race was that it was less than a mile from the house. It was raining and 55 degrees. It actually felt really good out and we tried to be positive for our race the next day insisting Bruce would be up there looking out for us. Dad also had a sense of humor so maybe we should have foreseen what was in store…

We met some really cool people at bib pickup. We were informed that we could drive right up to the high school and park in the lots the next morning. Score! We also found out that 15 minutes before the race they would march us out to the Start. Basically, that meant we could hop in the car 20-25 minutes before gun time which in turn meant more sleeping and coffee time.

After a quick shower we hit the Old Brogue in Great Falls for some hearty grub.

That night everyone came back over (including cousins Kelly and Ben) while Abbe prepared a pasta feast for us. Sauteed red and green peppers, tomatoes and shrimp mixed into pasta in a most harmonious way. It was perfect. SIDENOTE: After a bit of trial and error I make sure that pasta and shrimp are in all of my pre-race meals for optimum performance.

We were all in bed by 10. Not bad.

RACE DAY

Having to wake up at 6AM for a race rocks as that’s when I naturally wake up daily. Abbe had her alarm set to the tune of ‘Happy’ which in turn made me happy. We rocked some coffee, prepared some oatmeal and discussed the looming storm we were about to race in. Basically, it was going to rain (it hadn’t stopped from the day before) and turn colder by say Noon. It was also closer to 35 degrees, much different from Saturday’s 55 degrees.

SIDENOTE: In 2010 I came down to race a local triathlon. My Father, then sick with Lymphoma, had never seen me race and I thought it would be a fun opportunity. On race day the weather was almost identical. He and I stood out in the garage looking out at the rain and I bailed. My Father would never get to see me race unfortunately.

Today, on this shitty day, I was going to race in my hometown and I was going to go hard.

We headed out, trying to stay positive. It was coming down pretty hard and I kept telling us that the worst is about to be over. Liar!

We arrived at the High School and within 2 minutes of being inside they lined Marathoners up to head to the Start. Perfect timing! We bid Ryan farewell and made our way.

I was wearing shorts, 2 thin layers plus my trusty windbreaker that got me through the Connemarathon last year. I was cold but knew once I got going my body would regulate itself. They had a guy sing the National Anthem and he had us sing along to stay warm. The wind was ripping through us and we all huddled together and tried our best. I was just wishing for that start gun so I could get going. I kissed Abbe goodbye as the gun went off. We were in the very back so I had some navigational work to do. (It was a 2 loop course, 1 loop for the Half Marathoners who were starting 30 minutes after us.)

As we got out onto the main road it widened a bit and I found a good pace. I was running naked (no Garmin) AND there were no clocks on the course so I was really going Jedi-style. The next left we took put us straight into the wind and it really sucked. I had a visor on which makes all the difference in a rain storm. I don’t know how far back I was to the leaders, I just pressed forward. If I had to guess I would say we were running 7’s. My legs definitely didn’t feel as great as they dd the day before but that could also be nerves getting to me.

Passing mile 3, we were in single file race formation. I seriously had no idea what my time was and I kind of liked it.

Right before mile 4 I saw the family cheering us on! I gave a wave and then made my way down onto one of the legs on paved trails. These would prove to make the course a lot more difficult than I had expected. They were in hilly ravines with small rivers (from the 36 hours of rain) flowing over them.

We popped out onto streets for the next few miles and I was relieved. Some guy also yelled to me that he thought I was in 6th Place. Overall? What? I was now running with 2 other guys (the only guys in sight) and would continue with them the next 20 miles, leapfrogging.

The aid stations were awesome. Every 2 miles you had water, Gatorade, Gu, oranges, bananas, cookies, pop-tarts and so forth. Essentially, you didn’t have to carry anything on you. Big ups to all the volunteers who were hanging out in the downpours all day too!

Mile 8 was a small out-and-back. As I hit the turn-around I realized one of the guys in our little 3 man run squad was Lam! He and I gave a wave to each other and continued on. We also got a glimpse of the leader and he was crushing it. No way any of us were catching this guy. He had a 3-4 minute lead (and gaining) at mile 8…

By now the temperature had dropped a bit and the wind was picking up. I was soaked (and had been since mile 1). My upper body was pretty warm but my hands and feet were pretty frozen. This was the first race I had zero knee pain though, so I was so happy to be out in the soup running! Thanks Dr. Levine!

We jumped back into some trails for the next few miles and all I could think of (since there were also markers for the second loop) was ‘Holy cow, are you kidding me! The final miles are up and down these brutal little hills?!’ My legs were already deteriorating and I could hardly imagine what they were going to be like the next time around. I did see a rather large deer staring at me at one point though which was kind of cool. He wasn’t manning an aid station or anything, just doing deer stuff.

I was now in 4th Place with Tall Guy, as we shall call him, and Lam trailing close. I knew that with 13 more miles to go any outcome was still possible. As we hit the halfway marker Tall Guy turned on the juice hard, very negative-split pre-meditated. I just chuckled to myself, not because he was doing it wrong, but because I could not follow.

Nearing mile 15 Lam started to pull up towards me. We chatted for a minute as I told him how I grew up here and my house was right up the street. This also made me wonder why I shouldn’t just run home and right onto the shower. Lam also alerted me that we were running 7 flats. Cool, I’ll take it. I was back in 5th Place now. I started to wonder how long I could keep this thing going.

Back on the first set of trails I pushed positive thoughts into my head. ‘One step at a time. One mile at a time. Just keep those legs running.’ Although the rain wasn’t quite a downpour anymore it was quickly getting colder.

As mile 18 approached my calf muscles felt like they were going to pop out of my legs and run away. Ew. Seriously, they hurt a lot. I just plugged along. I was on the heels of Tall Guy but Lam was slowly putting some distance between us. I was still waving and saying ‘hi’ to all the volunteers. They were pretty awesome.

At mile 20 as we dipped back down into the hard set of trails I started mentally psyching myself up. “Just one loop of Central Park is left, that’s all.” I was also thinking about ‘The Wall’ people hit and I decided it’s a bad way to describe it. I think it should be called, ‘When Everything Sucks and Will Continue to Suck Until you Stop Running.’

Somewhere around here I stepped in mud crossing onto a street and almost lost my shoe! Hot tamales!

At this point me and Tall Guy were leapfrogging quite a bit. I had no intention of trying to outrun him, our paces started to become erratic. I started to feel better at say mile 22. It was here that I had my first (and only) Gu. It was also at this point I passed Tall Guy and just kept going.

Up and down all these damn hills, left then right, through the woods. I wanted to walk so very bad. We were now lapping slower Half Marathoners. My mind wandered, thinking of my Dad and how were he alive how very excited he would be at this hometown race. He would be so jazzed to see not only me, but his step-son Ryan and daughter-to-be Abbe running this thing as a family. It helped put some power into my steps.

As I cleared the final hill and made my way up onto the road with 2 miles to go I set it the fuck off. “The pain you feel is only in your mind.”

I was so excited to be so close. I was also now in 4th Place and as long as I held off Tall Guy it was mine. I have never placed in a full marathon before so 4th sounded great. I passed mile 25 still flying as I noticed up ahead this fit guy in a green top and black pants. “Is that the 2nd Place guy?” (Now 3rd as Lam had passed him.) He was making attempts to run but stopped. I passed him, nodded and gave him a peace sign.

Entering the finish chute everyone kept yelling to me that I was 3rd Place! I was ecstatic, but needed to finish before I died. Just before I was to take a left onto the High School track I saw Lam running ‘at’ me. Totally confused I just waved at him and made my way onto the track ahead of him. The rain was really coming down now and there were very few cheerers towards the Finish. My family, however, was there in full effect. I could hear them before I could see them. My brother Phil was holding his son Cayden and ran down the fence line with me towards the end. I looked at the clock and with the seconds counting down to 3:10 (my Boston Qualifier) I sped up as to secure it.

Final Time: 3:09:51

After collecting my hardware I got some high fives from everyone and was then instructed that we need to go inside to the High School cafeteria because that’s where everyone was hanging out. My Bonus Mom also told me Abs DNF’d because of her IT Band and I got concerned.

It turns out the overall winner beat me by 25 minutes or so! He came in at 2:44:xx and was none other than ultrarunner Michael Wardian.

The cafeteria was great. They had pizza, sodas, coffee you name it! I found our table and gave Ryan a high five for finishing his first Half Marathon! Then, I hugged and chatted with Abbe making sure she was okay. We all hung out Family Style, taking pics and getting warm waiting for the awards ceremony. I chatted with Lam briefly and it he took a wrong turn towards the end, which is why I passed him. Once they did the overall marathoners we took off. We had an after party to go to at the house complete with burgers and dogs by Phil and potato and cucumber salad by Maggie.

My main man (nephew) Cayden, who assures me he will be faster than me one day. Dig it!

Ryan, Abs and I made it back first and Abs made us Manhattans. We had a bit of a sentimental toast, talking of Dad and what it meant for us to run this (without getting too teary eyed) and then hit the much needed showers.

Once everyone arrived the food and drinks came out. Our friends Amber and Jason also came by with their 1 year old son Erik. Erik and my nephew Owen were born 2 days apart so they kinda got along, in a no talking kinda way.

The afterparty sadly ended way too soon. Abs and I had a train to catch back to NYC and so we needed to head out.

As Jason and Amber drove us into DC at 2PM (thanks for the ride guys, seriously) it was snowing! Like, heavy stick to the ground snowing. We made our train and ended the weekend with a peaceful ride up to Gotham.

—

I would recommend this race to anyone looking for an amazing ‘home grown’ race with a challenging course. The organizers and volunteers rock and there is loads of pizza at the finish! C’mon!

Big ups to my step-brother Ryan who has proven he is ‘beyond defeat’ in running his first Half Marathon.

Abs, I will see you in Paris for your redemption race.

Spotty Training

Posted on March 28, 2014 by admin

Posted in All 1 Comment

It’s race week baby!

With a marathon looming 2 days in my future, one usually reflects on the training they have put in.

Winter training sucks, especially this winter, but I did manage a few 18 milers. I have also been cross training a lot, using my bike trainer. All of this has been spotty though due to a lot of vacations, most of which took us to snowy places where running long wasn’t possible.

Like any race, the question of being physically prepared is generally overshadowed by mental preparedness. I am mentally ready to run my first race being 100% injury free in over a year. I know I raced last year and was on the mend, but I always had some minor pain after or during. I am currently back to normal and I have been loving it.

Maybe it’s because I was in Montana shredding some serious mountain a few weeks ago?

Look at all that fresh stinky POWDER!

I will not be running with a Garmin. I will not be running with any expectations. I will just run fast.

Anyone want to guess my finish time?

RACE REPORT: 097 NYC Marathon – DNF

Posted on November 9, 2013 by admin

Posted in All, Race Reports, Running 2 Comments

The 2013 New York City Marathon would be my 11th marathon and my fourth on this course.

Having successfully run Wineglass Marathon 4 weeks earlier, I thought nothing could go wrong. (foreshadowing!)

Saturday morning I went for a shakeout run with my brother Jeff. He was running his first marathon and I had been coaching him through the training season. We chatted strategy,mostly ‘exit strategy’ on getting back to the east side once the finish line was crossed.

That night we had a big family dinner. Jeff and Ali, Abbe’s parents, Uncle John, Aunt Margie, cousins Gillian and Cat and finally Abbe and I.

Normally, I eat some kind of pasta with shrimp in it like Shrimp Scampi, for example. Tonight, the black ink linguine with mussels and clams looked tasty so for the first time in years I ate something different before a big race. THIS IS A CRUCIAL CLUE TO FUTURE EVENTS.

Abbe, Aunt Margie (who was volunteering at aid station 18 and sleeping over on the fold out) and I were all in bed by 10.

RACE DAY

All of us were up having some Cafe Bustelo by 5:30AM. I felt great, albeit very hungry. We made oatmeal to take with us to eat on the ferry since we have 4 hours until start time.

Abs and I met Ali on our corner and we busted down Park Avenue in a cab en route to pick up Jeff. Once we had him we flew down the FDR to the Staten Island Ferry to meet with the rest of the Army.

We found Bethaney, TJ and Mary Craig before we got on the 7AM ferry. Then, miraculously as we sat in the middle bar area of the ferry other friends started finding us! Bojana, Lisa, Elyssa, Maura and Una just appeared out of thin air! It was so much fun rolling deep with so many friends.

I ate my oatmeal and was very relaxed and excited. I had set no expectations and wasn’t even running with a watch. The name of the game was fun.

The buses after the ferry took twice as long due to security searches upon departure. It’s all a necessary precaution now based on current events I suppose.

Since we were running a bit behind I quickly said goodbye to everyone then jogged up to Camp Green. I found the Local Competitive area and was very impressed. We were sectioned off from everyone with our own tents and port-o-johns.

While waiting I bumped into David, Maura, Josh and Kelsey. All of us hung out and then made our way to the front of the Green Start to wait until gun time.

I sat and reminisced a bit being led out with my fast friends to the front of the line. Sitting there, looking around and seeing other friends of mine on the upper deck warming up and waving. It wasn’t too long ago I sat a few corrals back; my first race, all alone and nervous at what to expect. I am very honored to have come to know so many wonderfully talented athletes who I now call dear friends.
This year while waiting the 30 minutes or so to start, I decided to pee in the bushes. Many a man were doing it, and there were actually lines to get to a bush or tree.

We wished each other well, then the canon sounded and the games began.

As we began to run, I felt good, great actually. The minute we started ascending the bridge most runners flanked to the right as there was a very sharp and biting wind coming from our left. I did also not get peed on nor did I see any pee from above. (We were on the lower level.)

Barreling down the span I began to get excited about what lie in store. Fourth Avenue Brooklyn is one of my favorite parts of the course. It’s a straight shot for 8 miles covered in crowds who are practically out on the course with you high fiving and being supportive. Brooklyn also has some great bands, and I happened to see Erin and her band at Mile 4 which was a nice surprise! The other thing that’s nice about this part is that it’s the first 8 miles so you feel great!

I happen to see Juan hanging on the sidelines and got a few shots of me waving!

It was somewhere around here I ran into Joe’s (Cardiac Crusher) brother Mike! We were kicking the same pace and hung out for a second. It was at this point I realized I may not have been in the best running state, as I tried to maintain not only conversation but pace and I was slipping. My legs felt very heavy and so I left Mike so he could push ahead. SIDENOTE: Mike would go to run a 2:57 for his marathon debut! Congrats!

That’s Joe’s brother Mike in black.

At this point I had been pushing a 6:35 pace and would unknowingly hold it for the rest of the race. Unfortunately, I was starting to really struggle with my energy. My knee and legs in general felt fine, my engine was just sputtering.

I plodded on. Matt6 and Steph were going to be at the 10K mark so I started watching. Sure enough, I hear this, “Baaaaaker!” and as I look up Matt6 has his whole body leaned out on the course 500 meters up. I came in tight to the crowd and got barraged with high fives! My spirits soared. It wasn’t long after that I unexpectedly saw my friends Tess and Sascha with there new baby out cheering!

The 8 mile mark hit and we veered right into Fort Greene. This is always a really pretty part of the course as its all tree lined blocks. A sharp left onto Bedford and then we make our long haul towards Queens. Is it just me or does Bedford take FOREVER! I get so sick of it. On a positive note, I saw my old friend Mike Money on Bedford cheering me on! I screamed, “Money Fresh!” which is how we used to roll back in Baltimore, back in the day.

Somewhere around mile 10 I took a Gu. I also noticed here that my face was covered in dried salt, meaning I was secretly sweating it all out. I slammed down a few Gatorades at the next few aid stations and that seemed to put a little pep back in my step.

I cleared the halfway mark right around 1:26 and took another Gu. I slowly ascended the Pulaski Skyway as the wind ripped through us.

Over in Queens I saw Stephan, Amanda and Rich cheering us on! Soon after all of us were running through the more industrial part of the area, the Queensboro Bridge looming in the distance. My energy was far gone and I was thinking about walking parts of the bridge to try and get it together.

Heading up the bridge, we were once again confronted with a strong icy wind. Rather then walk, I just told myself to take it mile-by-mile. I had been in this place many times before, especially during the run of an Ironman or Half Ironman, where you just need to keep pushing. I did slow my pace down and it felt like time was just slipping by. It was here that I wished I had brought my headphones as back up.

Cruising down the tail end of the bridge I actually got a little choked up thinking about what was waiting for us on the Manhattan side. Slowly the white noise of the cheering squats got louder and louder and then, as we hooked that hard left it all erupted!

This is also the point where things got bad. Heading up 1st Avenue at say 65th Street I started to get light headed. I swerved and starting running up the right side of the avenue, less crowded then the left. I’m not sure who I saw as far as friends go, but the friends that saw e aid I looked the worst they had ever seen me. Evidently my head was bobbling around as I ran.

At 86th Street I got the chills and saw bright flashes and almost passed out or blacked out or something. I pulled over, very shaky, and decided that was it. Game over.

With crowds ablaze I walked off the course, and removed my bib. I had a talk with an older man I met named Noel about if I could finish or not.

I went to the first bodega I could find and got an egg and cheese with sausage on a bagel, a muscle milk and a gatorade and devoured all of them in around 5 minutes. I started to feel flush again and made my way home.

I quickly showered and then started tracking people. I noticed the Abbe had also dropped off the radar and got worried. Luckily Stephan and Amanda texted me that they had Abbe and that she dropped out due to an ankle injury but was otherwise okay.

I then rolled down the block to 93rd and 5th to watch for Jeff (and many other runner friends) who were killing it. I happened to bump into Micheal J. Fox (he’s pour neighbor!) who was cheering for his Team Fox runners.

I saw Jeff, Gia, Neal, Elizabeth, and Mary Craig to name just a few.

The rest of the day was spent celebrating at Kinsale Tavern. We had quite a crew of runners with us. It was a total blast!

—

Although sad that I didn’t finish the race, I got enjoy all of my favorite parts of it anyway. From the journey to the start, hanging out at the start, various points in Brooklyn and the mighty after party with all of my dear friends known as the Runner Army… it was still Christmas to me.

NYCM Training: Week 2 and 3

Posted on October 14, 2013 by admin

Posted in All, Fitness, Running Leave a comment

I have really been enjoying my ability to run again. It reminds me of my early days in 2008 when I first started. I have been running without a Garmin most of the time and just going by feel.

WEEK 2

Wednesday: 5 Miles @ 6:50 pace

Thursday: 4 Miles @ 7:00 pace

Friday: (I stayed home from work sick but wanted to get an easy run in as it was nice out.) 3 Miles @ 8:30 pace

Sunday: I was supposed to do 16 and if my knee hurt (as that would be the greatest distance run since April) stop. My knee didn’t hurt so I just finished the marathon.

WEEK 3

Recovery is the name of the game. Dr. Levine loosened up my calves Tuesday.

Friday: 4 Miles @ 7:45 pace

Saturday: 5 Miles @ 7:45 pace (reverse taper? maybe.)

Sunday: Staten Island Half Marathon 13.1 Miles @ 6:40 pace. Once again, I was supposed to use this as training but got caught up and at Mile 4 decided to pick up the pace. NO KNEE PAIN!!!

This style of training is seemingly ridiculous on paper, but it seems to be working.

Congratulations to all of my friends who raced KONA, Chicago and Mohawk Hudson this weekend!

RACE REPORT: 095 Wineglass Marathon – 03:17:30

Posted on October 9, 2013 by admin

Posted in All, Fitness, Race Reports, Running 5 Comments

The concept of ‘Mind over Body’ is nothing new to the Marathon and Ironman community. Runners commonly refer to a marathon as 10% physical, 90% mental.

For Week 2 of my NYC Marathon training plan I ran:

Wednesday: 5M Easy
Thursday: 4M MGP
Friday: 3M Easy

I had a discussion with Dr. Levine about the Wineglass Marathon and we decided it would be a great opportunity to get an aided training run in. I was to run around 16 miles, if it hurt at any point stop.

I stayed home from work on Friday because I caught what Abbe had the day before, this random sore throat thingy. After resting for most of the morning and drinking my magic ginger elixir I walked down to the drug store to get a flu shot. It later dawned on me that getting one 2 days prior to a race might not be smart as I could have gotten slightly sick.

That night I met Abs, Claire, and Bojana down at Naples 45 for happy hour and dinner. After stuffing our face with meatballs and pizza we shuffled onto a train heading to Claire’s folks (Kathy and Mike) house. I was feeling slightly better.

Mike picked us up and delivered us safely to the Walsh Lair where we had some tasty alcoholic beverages. I retired early to ensure that the germs would leave my body.

Then next morning, feeling great, the 3 of us went on a shake out run around Connecticut. We even passed Gene Wilder’s house. I am only mentioning that because I love him for all of his Charlie and the Chocolate Factoryness. My knee felt awesome.

Later on, as we prepared to leave crowds gathered, wishing us well on our journey into the wild. They brought us glad tidings and many gifts. I’m just kidding, but Kathy and Mike waved as we departed! Our 5 hour car adventure had begun with Claire ‘Booze Cruise Control’ Walsh behind the wheel.

After 2 hours on the road it was approaching feeding time. We all agreed that we were too snobby to stop at a fast food place and a mom-n-pop shop or a diner would be much more suitable. As we came over a rolling countryside hill a sign for ‘Last Licks Sub Shop’ caught our eye. We were very very excited and exited appropriately.

DISCLAIMER: If you have no interest in how great our food experience was, because I am going to elaborate, please skip to SECTION: 7759

Imagine if you will, a white one story house with an outdoor wooden patio nestled in a gravel parking lot surrounded by the tallest and most beautiful pine trees. Wood cut outs of kids and sandwiches in vibrant colors attached to the outside. If the Muppets (more specifically Dr. Teeth and the ELECTRIC MAYHEM) could have opened a sub shop, this was it!

We entered a small room, with an open ordering area to our right and were greeted by the owner. He was a man in his 50’s casually dressed who welcomed us with open arms. “Well hello there! Are you looking to use the bathroom, or are you hungry?” We smiled and informed him of our desire to gorge ourselves with sandwiches. “Well you have come to the right place. We can serve em up toasted, on rye, a sub roll or maybe you want a panini?” I am a sucker for a good turkey sandwich so that’s exactly what I ordered. Unlike NYC, he told us we could pay him AFTER we ate. “Go sit outside on the patio, I’ll bring these out to you when ready.” What? If only all humans could be as nice and hospitable as this man. SIDENOTE: If you could pay after you ate in NYC, you wouldn’t get paid.

Needless to say, the sandwiches were awesome. We sat out in the clean mountain air in peace, taking in mother nature and our much needed lunch.

SECTION: 7759

Back on the road we started to notice just how beautiful it was out in the mountains. The trees were in full autumn color.

Arriving in Corning and making our way to the Expo we immediately saw Kelly and Betsy on the street. Abbe hollered out at them and it kinda felt like some gang from New York was converging on this small town to take over. Actually, that IS what was happening!

We got our Bibs, shirts, etched wine glass, champagne and then made our way to the luxurious Ramada. Claire was hungry so we made the decision to go to the hotel bar. Oh, and c’mon, what else were we going to do, we had 4-5 hours to kill.

The hotel bar ‘It’s 5 o’clock Somewhere Lounge’ was certainly not a lounge and opened ironically at 5PM. It was more like your friend’s dad’s man cave, but with a bunch of 4 top tables. The whole place was carpeted like the hotel and in one corner was a pool table and a TV on a roll-y stand. The 10 seat bar had Quick Pick games playing on one TV and Nascar on another.

Numbers representing 26.2, Bib 63, Bib 1980 and Bib 1031.

The draft beers were $2.75 and I have to say I loved the place. I was really sad we had to run the next day and really couldn’t take advantage of our time here in the ‘It’s 5 o’clock Somewhere Lounge’. After a couple beers, potato skins and some french fries (yes, I know you are all shaking your heads) we headed off to the room. Abs had made us a homemade pasta dish which we nibbled on as we watched National Treasure. Claire had never seen it so Abs and I were trying to fill her in on why it was awesome. She will probably never watch it again. Abs fell asleep by 8, Claire and I watched Can’t Hardly Wait until 9 at which point we both decided it was time to go dark.

RACE DAY

I slept so damn well. The gals wanted to wake up at like 4:45AM and I was like “F that!” Even though I heard them giggling and prancing around I still managed to rest until a 5:30 or so. I grabbed some sub par hotel coffee and started waking up. I had zero race jitters, mainly because my future was unwritten. It felt so liberating. I didn’t give a damn. I even ate some shit bagel from the hotel restaurant that may have been made of sand. I have 2 rules… never eat pizza outside of New York and never eat Bagels outside of New York. I was living on the edge.

Claire was rocking out to that song “All I do is win, win, win no matter what.” It would be rattling around in my head all day.

We drove to the center of town and hopped on a bus.Wineglass is a point to point (much like Boston) so we had 30 minutes to chill. The weather was nice, 60 degrees with a slight on-off drizzle. I had mixed up some Gen UCANN to eat. Ever since one of my Kompetitive Edge teammates told the team about the stuff 2 years ago I have been hooked. It sent me to my marathon PR in May of 2012 so I know it works. I had to Gu’s stuffed into my tri shorts for back-up as well.

SHOE TALK! In case anyone is curious, I had my trusty Newts on. I have been running in them since 2009 and they seem to work for me. The Kinvaras I had been testing were messing up my knee based on toe-to-heel profile last week so they were out.

We linked up with Kelly and Betsy soon after we arrived at the staging grounds. The sun was rising and I knew it was going to push the rain away. I wanted happy sunshine, even if it meant heat.

While drinking my Vanilla UCANN I convinced Betsy and Kelly that I was drinking milk and that was my secret. I enjoy pranks and this was no exception. “It’s actually Half-n-Half. It gets me going.” This lasted maybe 3 minutes.

As we lined up for the start I placed myself with all the gals instead of down at the front. Remember, at this moment all I wanted to do was run 16 miles pain free. After a very strange rendition of the National Anthem the gun went of. It took us 2 minutes to hit the Start mat. SIDENOTE: New runners, always count in your head if you are in the back and don’t cross the start immediately.

I had neither a Garmin or headphones, I was running totally rogue.

We all started running together (obviously) and I just did my thing. It was a long downhill and we were all shifting and adjusting where we were. Everything felt pretty good, but I didn’t want to push it.

After a few miles I wanted to leave Abbe and Claire alone. Abbe had asked Claire to be her pacer and I know all too well what happens if there are other people around when that is happening so I pulled ahead by 5-10 feet.

At mile 4 I pulled over for a pee break. I even used a porta-pottie. Back on the road I immediately ran (ha) into Kelly. We chatted for a hot second then I took off. It was at this point I started to increase my speed ever so slightly. You see, I thought I saw the 3:15 pace group ahead so I was trying to pass them. In reality, I had just passed the 3:40 pace group so logic should have stepped in.

I was really excited to be running some crazy fast pace after being injured and then I realized that it was actually the 3:35 pace group! Baker you fool!

It was riiiiight around this point, mile 6, that things changed. My gears slowly started shifting. Everything felt great and the scenery was beautiful, so why not?! I had broken the course into four, 6 mile quadrants. Yes, I know that doesn’t add up to 26, but who cares. I had just passed quadrant 1 and was on a roll.

Just like my pre-injured days I started picking out human targets in the distance and hunting them down. My pace was increasing. The Old Baker was resurfacing.

I passed the 3:35 pacers, then the 3:30 pacers, then the 3:25 pacers… thinking, “Am I pushing it too much?”

I took half of a Gu at mile 10. Mile 10 was also fun because some guy looked at me and was like, “was that mile 10!?” “Yeah man! They are ticking off fast now!” we laughed and then I proceeded.

SIDENOTE: Aside from having no Garmin, there were no time clocks anywhere. I had no idea how fast I was going.

As I crossed the half I yelled to the gal, “What time is it?” She slowly responded that i was roughly 9:45. Was that good? Was it bad? I still didn’t care, I was having a blast just running to run. Try it sometime, I dare you.

The next couple miles were a blur of small towns and remote roads. Somewhere around mile 16 I was passing an aid station and some guy yelled “Go Lord Baker!” That is my twitter handle, and after a quick glance I had no idea who this was, but it made me happy! Thank you twitter friend for pushing me onward!

OVERDRIVE.

It was at this point I needed to analyze my knee situation. Situation? No pain. What to do? Well, I have come this far, why not just finish the marathon. We will, of course, need to pick up the pace a bit.

Smiling, I increased my pace and went off into the unknown.

By now I had 1 full Gu in me. I had no energy loss what so ever but planned on eating my last Gu at mile 20 and 24 splitting it in half as I always do and washing it down with aid station water.

Mile 17 to 19 was rough as we were running along side a highway with a headwind. The weather never really bothered me as much as it did my lady friends, but I think it’s because I was just enthralled at the idea that I was running.

At mile 20 I had a fun encounter. As I came upon, and intended to pass, this shirtless guy he says, “Well hello there!” I chuckled and said hello back, asking how he was. He was good. I replied, “I have to tell you, I am really enjoying myself and the weather is perfect!” Incorrectly thinking I was going to move forward he said, “Well friend, I have to disagree with you there. It has been favorable at times, but at other moments quite hot.” Not wanting to get into a debate about the government shutdown I agreed and explained that I had to push on.

There was no ‘wall’ for me. This has happened a few times and when it does the only thing that registers is knowing that miles 20-26 are going to be hell. Ha! Aren’t they always?!

Just keep moving is all I was telling myself. Waves of pain would overcome me followed by periods of bliss, where I was flying down the road. I had no idea what my pace was, all I knew was that if I held together I would finish a marathon that was removed from my race list months ago. The only reason I didn’t cancel entry then is that I wouldn’t get a refund, so I figured I could at least get a shirt or something.

Where as before, the miles ticked off fast, now 1 mile seemed like an eternity. I kept saying to myself, “Surely I must have overlooked that mile 22 marker?” Not the case. I always like to yell in Ironman races at mile 20 that “Things are about to get REAL!” and that’s exactly what was happening.

The true test of human willpower and might can happen anywhere in a marathon. It is the individuals race, and therefore the individual has different emotional experiences. These last 3 miles miles were very hard as I thought about actually finishing this marathon. Was it possible? With only 2 weeks of training under my belt, the longest distance I had run in 6 months being 12 miles just the weekend before, was it enough? Mind over body baby.

One of my silly mantra when racing is, “There is no pain, only glory.” The meaning behind this is that the human mind creates pain in order to get you to stop dong something, like running. If you can subdue that urge and override the pain setting, then anything is possible. I just kept running. In fact, I have walked aid stations in 7 of my 10 marathons (not counting Ironman) and I did not walk at all during this race. I wanted it bad. Just keep running, no matter what the pace.

Rounding the final turn, the finish line was off on the horizon, similar to Boston. I would never get there. And yet, I did, finishing in 3:17 and change. My very first marathon was a 3:15 and so I felt like I was back where I started.

Sex/ Age	Bib	Overall Place	Age Place	Finish Time	Pace/ Mile	AG %
M35	63	100	16	3:17:30	7:31	67%

It reminds me of one of my favorite quotes…

We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.

– TS Eliot

I did know the place for the first time and I knew, as I have always known, that this is what I live for. The sense of accomplishment, camaraderie and the painful yet acceptable feeling that I AM ALIVE, will always keep me coming back for more.

I grabbed an apple, water, and a gatorade followed by a slice of pizza and chicken noodle soup. I sat down on the curb and kind of took it all in. Sitting on the curb eating my soup, watching all my people come through. If I had to form an army, I would choose marathoners.

I made friends with this guy named Mike, then Kelly came through. We watched as Betsy broke 4 hours! Nice job soldier. I hung around for awhile before time started slipping away and wondering where Abbe and Claire may have been. I decided to check our meeting spot even though I hadn’t seen them come through the chute. There were there chillin out.

We hightailed it back to the hotel for a shower then took off toward NYC.

Ironically, Abbe’s Dad was in Binghampton so we stopped there (at Sharky’s) to have lunch. Aunt Peggy and Cousin John as well as a few other local family members came by as well. It was a blast AND we were ravenous.

—

I have to thank Dr. Levine big time. He has only been working with me for 6-8 weeks and my progress has obviously been dramatic! Big ups to Kompetitive Edge for all my amazing gear!

I think the reason I had such a great experience was that I did not give a damn about anything aside from running injury free. With no Garmin I had no timing. Not knowing if I would finish kept me from wanting to achieve a certain time. I recommend everyone try this at least once in their running. Its quite liberating.

The human body is much more than muscle and mass, it is heart and mind. Last Sunday, I truly felt Beyond Defeat.

RACE REPORT: 089 The Connemarathon – 3:33:00

Posted on April 19, 2013 by admin

Posted in All, Race Reports, Running 5 Comments

Due to the horrible tragedy that took place on Marathon Monday, I have been holding off on posting this as I felt it wasn’t appropriate. I wrote it before Boston. This has deeply affected me and I have been walking around in a daze for the last few days. The Marathon is test of human spirit and will power, it is what I live for and what now defines me. Hopefully, the meaning and beauty of the marathon is conveyed below.

—

So far, Ireland had been kind to us. Now we were about to face The Connemarathon, in one of the most beautiful, remote, and unforgiving races we had ever tackled.

RACE DAY

The whole time I had been in Ireland I was having really weird dreams. Race night of course, was no different. I tossed and turned from 4AM to 7 before deciding to wake.

The whole gang was downstairs having coffee and eating various things. I chose to not eat any breakfast as my race started at 10:30, a decision that would later haunt me. Instead I took down some delicious coffee and prayed to the weather gods. We all hugged Claire (who was racing the Ultra) as she set off.

SIDENOTE: 200 Ultra racers (Crazy ol Claire) caught a 7AM bus for a 9AM start. 500 Marathoners (Abs, Lisa, BoJo and myself) caught a 8AM bus for a 10:30AM start. 2,300 Half Marathoners (Maura, Chris, Aidan and Elyssa) caught a 9AM bus for an 11AM start.

All of us (minus Claire) piled into the Runner Army Elite Assault Vehicle at 7:45 and headed to church. We were late so we missed mass but made the buses.

Personally, I was excited, but I was also in my head thinking hard. What would happen out there? Am I healed? What if my knee gave out at mile 10 in the middle of nowhere? Why did I not eat breakfast?

Arriving out in ‘Da Schicks’ as Chris dubbed it, we saw the Ultra racers on their first 2 miles and actually saw Claire! She didn’t know it, but we were screaming to her.

We exited the bus on a curved section of road. One side led up a steep hill towards the beginning of a mountain, the other side into an icy dark lake. The wind was whipping around from the south and it was quite biting. All of the marathoners were huddled along a ditch where the mountain started trying to hide from the wind. The gals and I tried our best as well, but it was pretty hopeless. As beautiful the landscape might be, it was not very habitable.

I was able to put down 2 bananas while we waited which may have saved my life. I had 2 Gu’s with me for the rest of the race. On a normal day I need maybe 1 Gu but figured today might be different.

Lisa and I went and used the porto-lets one last time and as we returned there was a migration to the ‘Start’ line. All of a sudden the race was just on. The 4 of us started chugging along and guess what… my knee was healed. I kind of smiled at the gals and said I was going to flank everyone on the left and took off.

I started picking up the pace and never looked back. I can’t even tell you in words how excited I was to actually be running, and pain free at that! I had such a SEG on my face and was passing everyone. I wanted to be by myself on the open isolated course. Another thought that popped into my mind was that I hadn’t run further than 13.1 miles and that was 6 weeks ago. I never got a chance to train for the marathon as the doctors told me to stop running altogether. Do or die baby. The mind is more powerful than the body and it was time to prove it.

Miles 1 to 4 clicked of quickly. The aid stations were every 3 miles and only water. This would play a part in everyone’s race as well.

At this point during the race I felt awesome and had pulled away from the bulk of the group. We were now single file race formation 50 feet between runners.

I took a look up into the mountains and the sprawling landscape and thought about how tiny and insignificant we are. Here we are running along an ancient mountain range, a place where time has stood still. A place that will live on long after we die and our children’s children die. So rugged it could chew us up and spit us out, we, the toughest of tough marathoners. Then, I laughed out loud and thought, “If only my Dad could see me now… running a marathon through the mountains of old Ireland.” In my short list of life’s accomplishments (forget things like ‘job’, ‘kids’, or ‘nice house’), running marathons is at the top.

It was right around this moment when I was passing a fellow. He looked at me and in his Gaelic (or Irish language) language and said something. Obviously I had no idea what he told me, I just smiled and nodded my head. What a cool place to be running.

At mile 7 we took a sharp right and headed directly uphill and into the head winds which were clocked at some 40MPH. Things were about to get real. I also ate a delicious Gu, it’s whats for breakfast.

Miles 8 to 10 were this crazy steep downhill. I was now blasting forward all by myself. I looked up at the mountains and the harbor we seemed to be approaching and really took it all in. “This is exactly what I wanted.” I thought out loud. It was as if I was just running these roads by myself in peace and quiet. It was most likely not the best thing for my knee to be barreling down a steep decline, but I was lost in the moment of the marathon.

As the course leveled out around the harbor that we were now circumventing, the 40MPH headwinds made themselves known. From this point on, Mile 11, the race would be one of the most challenging I have ever faced, Ironman included.

Winding around the bend, I could see maybe 2 to 3 guys off in the distance. I wondered had I really got that close to the front of the leaders? I pushed on, not knowing that my energy and enthusiasm to chase would soon fade away.

One really cool aspect of this race was the large expanse of space. I knew the Half Marathoners were poised to start at any moment, so I trained my eyes across the harbor. It must have been 2 miles across, but I could see tiny masses of people moving onto the course. Up ahead right in front of me I saw this gal on a bike riding next to a runner. As I cruised up I realized this was lead female! She was absolutely killing it. I hadn’t seen another female since like mile 2! I gave her some props as I past.

Spectators acting sheepish. Thanks to Elyssa for all the great images!

At the 12 to 13 stage there were advertisements for breakfast for 9 Euro up ahead at an Inn. Guess who had 40 Euro on him? That’s right, me! It was really tempting to take a pit stop but I didn’t. That 40 Euro was also my beer money for the finish line so better spent there anyway.

The Half had started 5 minutes before I arrived so now, as I pushed up a very steep hill, I was at the back of the pack.

This hill was kicking my ass. I was bobbing and weaving through Half Marathoners and trying to hold onto some kind of decent pace. My knee still felt totally fine, but now, having zero training under my belt, it was starting to affect me. Towards the crest of the long hill I heard a motorcycle coming from behind. They had been going back and forth on the course and I had made buddies with one of them by nodding a lot. As it passed it was herding the runners to the left. There was a guy on back and he pointed to me and said, “Follow us!” Oh snap! Do I have enough energy? Sure did.

They cut a real nice path through all the chaos for me and a few other Full racers. Being that they were on a motorized vehicle, I couldn’t keep up for long but by this point things had opened up.

Around mile 16 I came across 4 runners I recognized. As I crept up I yelled in my best irish accent, “Hey you tree runners you, move out da way will ye!” Maura, Elyssa, Chris, and Aidan greeted me with a smile. I hung out with them for a few minutes before taking off.

Mile 18 is where the wheels came off. I ate my last Gu and had some of the water they were serving (only water mind you, no sports drink) and tried to press on. My pace was at it’s slowest here and my quads were on fire!

Mile 19 I was walking. I felt so weak and hungry, I wanted to curl up on the side of the road and sleep. People were passing me left and right and I was ready to throw in the towel. I thought about how far I had come to race in this foreign land. I thought about how lucky I was that my knee felt the best it’s felt in a month and I ‘could’ run. Then, outta nowhere thees young village kids showed up. “Haribo! Who needs em some Haribo?!” You bet your life I want some gummy bears! (bouncing here and there and everywhere.) I must have looked at them with bewilderment as well as looking like I might die because one kid said, “Go ahead now, take them all.”

Never have I shoveled candy into my mouth as fast I did at that moment. 1 huge handful of the most delightful, life saving energy food ever. I looked at the kids and said, “Thanks fellas, you just saved my life!” I mustered up a little willpower and started running. 10 minutes later I was back in action.

I felt pretty good, but not up to full speed of course, as I came into what must have been an aid station at Mile 20 or 21. They finally had some Gatorade-like substance here along with some crackers that I housed. I later found out from the rest of the group that there were no crackers, so either I imagined it or a civilian helped me.

I was just clicking off mile by mile, sending it home. I knew it wouldn’t be my best time, but dammit, I was going to finish.

Rounding a bend and turning back into the open merciless wind, the ‘Hell of the West’ (a notorious 2 mile incline miles 221-24) reared its head. It was actually quite a sight to take in, like the great migration or something. As far as you could see there were runners winding up and around the mountain range. Spectacular and yet wickedly sick all at once.

I began my assent into the clouds accepting of the challenge. I didn’t want to walk, and so I didn’t. Instead I picked up the pace and dug in. I started passing people slowly. There were a lot of walkers. About a mile up as we rounded the bend the hill just kept going. I noticed now that my knee was acting up. I knew it would at some point during the race, but with 2 miles to go I wasn’t about to stop.

At the top of the mountain you could literally see the finish line 2 miles away down in the valley. 2 miles never looked so far. I even thought out loud, “No way that’s only 2 miles, it looks like 5!”

I just held a slow, steady, even pace for the remainder. Coming into the finish with 3:33:00 (my 9th marathon, weird) on the clock. I’ll take it, thank you very much mystical land of Connemara.

Sex/ Age	Bib	Overall Place	Age Place	Finish Time	Pace/ Mile	AG %
M35	5236	63	n/a	3:33:00	8:07	58.21%

After collecting my hardware I made my way to the only physical structure for 5 miles, the hotel and bar.

I figured it would be packed, but it was far from it… for now. Entering the dark ‘hunting lodge-like’ room I at first thought it was closed. Then, to my left I noticed a blazing fire in the old stone fireplace. A young women then appeared from behind the bar, my savior.

“Oh hello. You just ran the race, congratulations. Would you like a glass of water?” I smiled and simply said, “I’ll have a Guinness.”

10 minutes later the room started to fill up and the first of my friends arrived, Maura, Chris, Aidan and Elyssa. We took over a big table and began chowing down and drinking, all very happy to have finished. Moments later Abbe, BoJo and Lisa arrived.

All of us, although happy to be done, were openly concerned about Claire as we had just run one of the hardest and most unforgiving courses. We all started telling our tales of turmoil followed by triumph, some teary eyed. This was no ordinary race, this was truly a battle on many levels.

3 drinks in I caught Claire at the entrance to the bar looking around. I stood up and pointed at her yelling, “WALSH!” She came over and was overwhelmed by all the hugs, bursting into tears. Being one of very few Ultra runners, it was as if a General had entered the bar. People stood and Claire received a big round of applause and cheer. I bought her a Guinness.

That night all of us went out in Galway, celebrating our achievements. I am honored, proud and happy to have such noble and inspirational friends.

I often hear “I could never do that.” in regards to my Marathons or Ironman races. It is my least favorite thing to hear, because I was once just an nonathletic artist, dared to run a marathon. With zero training and a bum knee I ran this race. I’m not trying to gloat, what I am telling non-believer is this, I ran the Connemarathon with my mind, not my body. So what are you waiting for, go pick a marathon.