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Tag Archives: NJ Marathon

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

Posted on May 6, 2011 by admin Posted in All, Race Reports, Running 4 Comments

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

—

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

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

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

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

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

RACE DAY

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sex/
Age
Bib Overall 

Place

Age
Place
Finish
Time
Pace/
Mile
AG %
M33 10721 17 4 01:23:01 6:15 71.39%

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

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

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

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

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

Dad Posse Half Marathon NJ Marathon

RACE REPORT: 036 NJ Marathon: 03:15:27

Posted on May 5, 2010 by admin Posted in All, Race Reports, Running 9 Comments

Sex/
Age
Bib Overall

Place

Gender

Place

Age
Place
Finish
Time
Pace/
Mile
AG %
M32 629 21 19 3 03:15:27
7:27
63.0 %

Monday started the week leading up to the NJ Marathon and I was quite excited for it! The weather report for Sunday looked ideal for a great day to go for a run.

On Tuesday, my left calf was still bothering me from the Lincoln Tunnel race the previous Sunday, but I still decided to rock out Speed Sessions with our group.

We did some sprint intervals followed by some core work which proved to be a lot of fun.

The rest of the week I biked sporadically and just enjoyed the weather.

On Saturday I ran for 20 minutes (to get my legs ready) up to Erika’s apartment. She had cooked french toast for me! What?! It was delicious… she’s quite the baker, no joke intended.

I went home and made rice and bean burritos for Sunday’s Marathon, then headed out to meet Ed.

It was a ‘Dad Posse’ plus family weekend. Ed (and family… Annalise, Jack, Isabelle and Ben) picked me up and we headed out to Mike’s house, which is 10 minutes from the race. Mike and his wife Kara offered to host us for the race similarly to the Little Silver 5K last R-october.

Once we arrived at Mike and Kara’s (plus Kelly and Kevin) we proceeded to have some beers and get ready for dinner out on the back deck. Jim and Lisa (plus Josephine and Elizabeth… and LOUIE) had beat us there and were already having fun. SIDENOTE: Who is Louie? Louie is Jim and Lisa’s 1 year old Boston Terrier. He’s adorable (in a tough way of course) and even purrs like a cat at times.

For dinner we had a spread of pastas and salads which was perfect for a pre-race meal. We also had a few Coronas, which only helped (in my opinion) the carb-o-loading.

We were in bed by 10:30-11 PM. Not bad at all…

RACE DAY

I slept like a baby and woke up unaided at 6:30AM. Mike was up getting coffee ready. I grabbed a cup plus a bagel and chilled out on the back deck with the gang as they woke up. We were slotted to leave at 7:30 for the shuttle bus which was plenty of time to get my head together for the run.

Sitting out in the open air in my PJ’s having coffee, birds chirping and sun shining, I thought “Wow, what a beautiful day for a run.” Little did I know what was in store…

In preparation for battle, I grabbed 2 of my burritos and lodged them in my waistband. If you are wondering why on earth anyone would eat burritos during a marathon, you can read either my Knickerbocker Race Report or Disney for a better understanding.

We took the shuttle buses and arrived with ample time to get to the start. As we approached I noticed zero signage instructing runners or spectators where to go. We ended up running right into the side of the corrals (which were also utter chaos). Think… cattle (wait… udder chaos?). We all just hopped into the madness. As the wave 1 start went off I looked around and realized I was in the 4:15 pace area, which was 1 hour behind my goal for the day at least. Whatever… I thought I’ll just bob and weave once the race starts. We came to a halt right before Wave 2 got set off and as I crossed the Start Mat I realized I was 7 1/2 minutes back.

The Full Marathon course was 2 loops of the Half Marathon loop (which all of my ‘smart’ friends were doing).

Jim was on my heels and we started up the right side, weaving through people. As soon as we turned inland a wave of heat hit us similar to opening an oven door. Wow!

It was really crowded as I flanked everyone pushing forward. I tried to be as cordial a runner as possible, avoiding bumping people. I also had to pee really bad so I was watching out for port-o-potties in my peripheral. I knew that I would have to wait a few miles to get ahead of the early bathroom breakers.

At Mile 4, I pulled over to a port-o-potty for a hot second and whoa, it was an oven inside. “And that’s all I have to say about that… “

Moving forward I realized just what we (all 10,000 runners) had gotten ourselves into. It was scorching hot out. Right about Mile 5 I decided to have some kids at a water aid station hose me down with a water hose. 10 seconds later I was running without any music as I realized they also hosed down my iPod. Hmmm… 21 Miles with no music? Sure, I can do it.

I was cooking at a pretty good pace at this point and had high spirits. There were a lot of aid stations and I took every opportunity to grab 2 waters… one to drink and one for my head.

Not much to report for Miles 7-10… it was just freaking HOT out. The sun was relentless.

At Mile 11 we were running in the downtown area, then made our way left toward the boardwalk. SIDENOTE: I really like looped courses in a marathon as you can plan when you will use your energy reserves. Therefore, I was visually marking the course as I ran it, planning my attack on the second loop.

Cruising along the boardwalk was great as the ocean breeze was a savior. I liken it to opening the fridge after coming in from the summer heat. I think I even thanked the ‘ocean gods’ at one point…

Back at the Start/Finish I ran through the ‘2 loopers’ gate. After passing through and beginning along the path I had started an hour and a half earlier things got a lot quieter. It was at this point I looked at my Garmin and realized that my goal of a Boston Qualifier or a Sub3 Marathon were definitely NOT going to happen. Whatever, it was 95 degrees and humid, I needed to stay alive! However, the show must go on, never give up.

I was in the habit now of dumping water on my head at every aid station and if they had a hose, well I may as well have been a human 5-alarm fire. I was also dry 300 meters later.

Mile 15 or 16 I started getting very hungry (we will recap this fatal error at the end of our lesson) and so I ate one of my burritos. It was ‘beyond awesome’.

Chugging along between Miles 16-20 was maybe the hardest part of the race. Most distance runners will tell you that, but this wasn’t my ‘so called’ wall. I was just hungry, like starving hungry, like runnin’ on empty. The second issue was that the scenery was sub-par. It was very ‘Mayberry’ for those Andy Griffith fans out there. I was just trying to keep my feet going and every time there was a patch of shade or a sprinkler I ran through it. Seriously, did I mention that it was hot?

Around Mile 18 is when an Angel in Disguise came onto the scene. I was trotting along (possibly drooling) and on this quiet neighborhood street with zero traffic an elderly woman came into the middle of the street. “I have water! I have water for anyone who wants it!” Wow. I bee-lined it over to her and tried to stop. She said “No! Take the water and run, Im only going to affect your time!” I poured half the water bottle over my head and THEN I did something I have never thought to do. My feet were burning! Really bad, like they were on fire. I stopped and poured the ice cold water directly into my sneakers. It felt so amazing! I smiled and ran on.


As I approached Mile 20 something totally weird happened. I was flooded with an enormous amount of energy. All the pain (or hunger) I had been feeling subsided. I looked up and just started trucking! Watching my Garmin I KNEW I had fallen off the wagon the last few miles… BUT what if could make up some lost time?

I was passing people and staying the course. I grabbed a cup of water at an aid station and I realized I was as hydrated as I needed to be. (They say not to drink more than you need to and I truly believe this). I kept going and was throwing up the Bullhorns plus Thumb ‘Love’ sign to anyone cheering me on.

Not to dwell on this strange phenomenon, but I have never had a surge of energy like this at the end of a distance run. I normally just want to die, duh.

At Mile 23 I had started catching up to the tail end of the Half Marathoners and was running around them cordially. I had programmed the course into my head and was anxiously awaiting the point when it turned left onto the beach… the home stretch… the Ocean.

Cruising along at maybe a 7 minute pace I made the left and once again was welcomed by the oceans cool breeze. It cooled my core by ten degrees without even exaggerating. I was now 2 miles out running along the crowded boardwalk dodging walkers and random people who weren’t aware of a race taking place.


As the final mile approached I got very excited. I knew Ed, Jim, Mike, Annelise and Lisa would be somewhere toward the end cheering me on, which would only fuel my finish. There was an arch ahead that said something like ‘Finish.’ I sprinted, but as I passed through I looked ahead and could see the real finish 300 meters ahead! (NJ Marathon people… NOT COOL). I summoned up some more strength and gunned it again! This time I heard my name to the left and I saw the gang cheering me on! Overdrive! I cruised through the finish, grabbed my medal and hat and went to find the crew. I felt pretty good even though I knew my goal hadn’t been achieved.

We met up, exchanged a few high fives and took a few photos before heading out.

We wrapped up the day at Mike and Kara’s with a BBQ and some more Coronas. Thanks to Mike and Kara for once again being great hosts!

Returning to mighty Manhattan, I was greeted with a sweet surprise… Erika! She insisted she take me out to celebrate the marathon! We had some BBQ and bourbon drinks (she’s from Texas.) It was a great way to end the weekend.

—

I learned a lot after this race, as usual. I need to eat my burritos BEFORE I get hungry. This way the energy transfers into my body without any down time.

Im also really excited for the whole crew! All of us killed it out there in really rough conditions. For a few of the gang, it was their first Half! Congrats to all of you, that is quite an achievement and obviously only preparing you for the next step… Full Marathons! Awesome.

On a personal note, I was kind of down on myself for not breaking any of my records and not qualifying for Boston by under 5 minutes again. I was kind of in a stupid daze, as if nothing marathon related had happened during the post run festivities. When Erika said she wanted to take me out to celebrate my race and how great I did, even though I didn’t think I had done well at all, I got really happy and snapped out of my funk.

A lot of runners get down on their performances. They aren’t happy with their times, or if they PR’d. We can be really hard on ourselves. What hit me as Erika and I were eating dinner (which is the feeling that soaked in after my first marathon) was “Hey, you just ran a marathon, jerk! That in itself is an accomplishment.” That’s when I understood once again why I run Marathons or why I race in Triathlons: to feel alive.

There are only possibilities.

chris baker hot New Jersey NJ Marathon
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