Tag Archives: Triathlon

RACE REPORT: 136 Reston Triathlon

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Ironman Chattanooga was called off by Dougie and I this year, leaving a hole in my triathlon calendar. I decided to fill it by racing the Reston Triathlon with my youngest brother in my hometown.

The Part About the Bike Box

I don’t have a car and therefore had a slight logistical problem. I needed to get my bike to Reston for the race. I love public transportation and so immediately ruled out renting a car. This would have been an expensive option as well. Train tickets were pretty reasonable, and seeing as how I love train travel I made this my chosen mode of race transportation.

To get your bike on the train (or a plane) you need a bike box. I was going to use the Evoc softcase, which is a pretty sweet setup. It is very lightweight and has reinforced edges and the bike frame itself locks into a separate metal piece. There are wheels as well, making it ideal for city travel.

I took the day off work and left to catch a noon train on the Friday before the race. Abbe and I got the bike down the stairs fairly easily. She wasn’t joining me on this one as she had other plans in the city she needed to be present for. As I said goodbye to her I then stood looking at this massive situation I had to maneuver through the NYC Subway. I said out loud to her that this seems like a bad idea. I had done a lot of research on getting the bike on the train and knew I had a 50/50 shot of being successful. “Screw it, I’m going for it.” and off I went.

I did pretty well getting it down into the Second Avenue Subway, two people even helped me get it through the emergency access gate. Everyone was quite curious about my luggage and asked lots of questions. People were very shocked to hear that you can just sign up for a triathlon and not ‘qualify’ to participate in them.

Going up the stairs is slightly more challenging. Thankfully, a woman helped me get it up the stairs at Herald Square. Go New York!

Arriving at the illustrious Penn Station I had an hour and 15 minutes until my train, enough time to deal with any other BS I might come across. I found a lovely conductor lady and quizzed her about my bike box, asking what the odds of me getting this puppy on the train were. “Pretty good if you pay the large luggage fee of $25. The line is empty, go ahead and get it taken care of.” You bet I will, as I ran over to the empty kiosk. The woman working the desk was not impressed with my chipper ‘I’m excited to get on a train’ attitude. “Hi! I need to get on a train with my oversized luggage.” “That isn’t making it on any train aside from the 3PM bike train.” she replied. “But, it’s just a big bag, not a bike.” Clearly I had a bike in there. The graphics on the side of the bag that said ‘Evoc Pro Bike Bag’ made it a dead give away. I asked and pleaded as to what I could do to get it on the train. She basically told me I was on my own and if I could convince the conductor trackside to take it on board then so be it. “That’s it, that’s all I can do?” “Yep.”

I knew that the trackside people would also be less than thrilled to see this bag, as my first conductor friend told me so. Emergency Action Baker has just gone into high speed mode. I was going to get a cab to my apartment, drop my bike off and cab it back to Penn in an hour to make my train. I would figure out the bike part of the race once in Reston, but for now I needed to make this train.

It was 11AM  and I was in a cab headed north on 8th Avenue, not a fast ride. It didn’t help that homeslice was watching movies on his phone at stoplights. I actually made it to my place by 11:30. Abbe ran down and helped me repack my luggage before I ran off towards Madison Avenue.

I made a game time decision that the subway was a better option to inject me into Penn. I took a cab across the Park to the A, C, E at 96th and jumped underground.  It was 11:42 when I boarded the C train.

At 11:54 the doors opened at Penn and I bolted out full speed. I had this.

I quickly made note of my track and bee lined it to the closest entry point. I sat down with 2 minutes to spare before the train doors closed. Mission complete. Bike bags suck. I was a sweaty mess.

I had a lovely train ride down and was glued to the book I was reading for book club, Underground Railroad. I highly recommend it.

My brother Phil, not the one doing the tri, picked me up and we headed from DC to Reston. We met Jeff, the one doing the tri, at our step brother’s restaurant Red’s Table for some happy hour action. The rest of the night was spent at Jeff’s barbecuing and playing with all of my nephews. It was a blast.

On Saturday Jeff and I went out for a shakeout run followed by a 20 minute bike ride. Oh right, what was my bike solution? My brother Phil lent me his road bike. Thanks Phil!

We went and checked into the race and then bounced around town with Ali and Dylan. That night we went to Phil and Naomi’s house for pasta dinner. We had shrimp scampi which was delicious.

Bedtime was at 10…

RACE DAY

I was up at 5-5:30AM and felt pretty good. Jeff and I watched the news while sipping coffee. Hurricane Irma was hitting Florida at the time so we were concerned for our Mom.

We rode over to set up T2 (Jeff lives across the street, quite literally, from the finish line and T2) making it super easy. It may have been the silliest T2 setup I have ever done. Since I had Phil’s bike, and he doesn’t have clips installed, I would be riding it in my running shoes and in my running gear basically. I looked at my T2 spot and just placed 1 Gel on the ground. The people around me looked at me like I was insane.

Next, we rode over to T1 on Lake Audubon. It was pretty chilly out with the air temperature being 50 and the water temperature 72. I enjoyed the fact that this is a very hometown race, where everyone knew everyone. There was also some serious competition present.

I was in Wave 2 and so I fist bumped Jeff and made my way to the lake. I waded out to the start buoy and hung out for a hot second. The water was pleasant but not warm by any means although I knew I would heat up once we started swimming.

The gun went off and I dug in. This was the second time I had swam this year, the first being the NYC Tri in July. It’s like riding a bike right?

I was thoroughly enjoying my morning swim. The sun was rising and it was looking like a beautiful day. The lake also brings back memories for me. I learned how to sail on it when I was 15, at a time when i was also scared of the water.

I did get blasted in the face once and had my goggles pop off.

I knew my swim was slow because I could feel a few waves pass over me. When I exited I saw Jeff, who had beat me out of the water. I yelled over to him “Jeff! Go!” I then scrambled out of my wetsuit, dried off and hopped on the bike. By now Jeff had a solid 2 minute lead on me, which is a pretty big gap on the bike.

The course was 3 loops on back roads. The first few miles it took me awhile to get into gear. Once I did I picked up the pace and started having some fun. I saw Phil, Naomi, Cayden, Owen, Ali and Dylan all cheering with signs at mile 5.

One of the things that started to happen to me was that I was getting major hip pain after mile 10. I would say that has to do with me riding a bike that isn’t fitted for me. I was also struggling with not being clipped into the pedals. It would be tough for me to catch up to my brother.

By the time I finished up my third loop the sun was beating down and turning up the heat. I dumped my bike, grabbed my lone, sad gel and took off.

The run was in the woods on paved trails, a staple of the Reston community. Luckily, it was also very shaded. Mile 1 clicked off at 7:11, the hunt for Jeff was on.

I saw him coming my way after the first out-n-back, roughly at mile 3. We high fived and I yelled that I was coming for him. I took my gel at mile 4 with my pace hovering in the 7:15 range.

I finally caught him after we went up this torturous half a mile hill. We ended up running the last mile or so together which was pretty fun. I also saw my friend Jenn run by! I had no idea she was racing. I later texted her and learned that all my buddies (Shag, Rick, Albers, etc.) were hanging out. Unfortunately, time was not on my side and I couldn’t go join them.

Finally, as we got to the finish he was like “Let’s go!” and we blasted across the line simultaneously!

Sex/
Age
Age
Place
Overall
Place
 Swim
1.5K		 T1 Bike
40K		 T2 Run
6M		 Total
Time
M39 37:49 1:26:02 43:46

The Reston Triathlon website is down, more stats to come later.

We grabbed some food and then found our family. Back at Jeff’s we started making breakfast sandwiches to refuel as it was early. I was close to being Code Red so when the food was finally ready I inhaled mine!

That afternoon was spent celebrating over at my Bonus Mom’s house with everyone. It was a hard earned medal and a fun race.

 

 

 

On Ironman NY’s cancellation

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The WTC recently announced that it would not continue with Ironman NYC due to various issues and feedback. A few friends asked my opinion on this and so I felt compelled to do a quick write up.

“Producing an event in a large urban market is complex and challenging. The combination of the ferries, transition in Palisades Interstate Park, and the difficulty for our spectators to watch much of the inaugural race all combined to create an experience that needed substantial improvement.  Also, the inability to have amplified sound in Riverside Park after 10 p.m. does not allow us to offer the IRONMAN finish line experience our athletes love.”

Originally from: http://ironman.com/mediacenter/ironman-discontinues-aquadraat-sports-ironman-u.s.-championship#ixzz278CYB0VF

I think that the above statement clearly explains why Ironman can’t take place in the NYC area. I have lived here for a long time and am just amazed they were even able to pull off the 2012 race!

The Expo: It was located on the West Side, a quick skateboard ride from work got me there. It had quite a lot of venders and I enjoyed it. I never go to the opening night dinners at these things as I would rather find my own food sources so I have no opinion on that.

Transition: Was Transition hard to get to? Perhaps. I feel that being a local I have a different perspective on this. I know Pallisades Park very well as it’s where I train. Rather than take the 3AM ferry to transition, I simply hopped in a cab at 5AM having the driver drop me off at the park entrance. I had 2 extra hours of sleep under my belt! That also meant the night before Abbe, Claire and I could have that many more beers.

On Spectating: This was a disaster. $50 per person to get into Pallisades Park top cheer? C’mon. The Manhattan side of things was just the opposite though and anyone could stand along the course and at times people were ON the course and didn’t even know it.

Race Fees: This race was $850 instead of $600. It was even raised to $1200 for the anticipated 2013 event causing an uproar. Once again, I am a bit jaded here as I live in New York. I look at it like this… Last year I raced Ironman Arizona. I paid for Race Fee, Hotel, Airfare, Food, Bike Transport and vacation days from work. All of theses things might have tripled the $850 IMNY fee. Therefore, being that it was a local race for me all I paid for was the entry.

Why wasn’t the race in NYC the whole time: To shut down city streets for upwards of 17 hours is insane. Especially in a race consisting of 2500 people where you might not see a runner for a few minutes, compared to the NYC Marathon and it’s steady stream of 40,000 runners.

A lot of people complained about the course as well and how hard the run was. It’s an Ironman, it’s supposed to be challenging otherwise everyone would do it!

Overall I think it was a great race. The organizers had to tackle some serious urban style obstacles and I think they did a fantastic job. I am sad that there won’t be another IMNY, but am honored to have been able to race in the historic event.

 

RACE REPORT: 077 Great South Bay Triathlon – 1:11:28

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…continued from Rev3 Quassy Olympic Triathlon.

Somewhere deep in what is known as Connecticut, we find our protagonists speeding along a dark and stormy highway in a white Mercedes Benz drinking coffee. Little did they knew what lay in store for them just 30 miles ahead…

Sunshine. Lots and lots of sunshine. It was as if there was some evil curse over Quassy spewing cold rain and wind all day. Not cool.

On our way to the second triathlon of the weekend, The Great South Bay Triathlon in Islip, Long Island we stopped in a town called Croton Falls searching for food. We ended up at a place called Primavera which was a pretty high class place! Good thing we were able to shower at the hotel after the race or we might not have been admitted. Primavera (Zagat rated in fact) made some of the best spinach ravioli. Jim and I quickly feasted before moving on.

In around 2 hours we were on the southern shore of Long Island checking into the tri. This race was a bit more home grown. The funniest part was when they went to body mark me and didn’t know what to do since I had my Rev3 tattoos still on! SIDENOTE: Dear Rev3, what is in those body marking tattoos? I was using a wash cloth (with soap) and they weren’t even fading! The women thought it was really cool that we did a triathlon that morning. “Jill, look at this guy, he already has body markings!” They put my new number under my Rev3 number. It was messy, but I’m not gonna lie, I felt pretty bad ass with 2 different tri markings on me. I already had my age practically tattooed on my calm so they didn’t have to worry about that.

We met Ed at his boat slip (Yes, Ed has a boat) and while waiting for him attempted to dry off our wet everything. Seriously, everything in our bags was wet from the race.

I dubbed this moment ‘Triathlete Refugee Camp.’

As we blasted across the sound Ed had noted that there were white caps. They were no joke! If you weren’t holding onto something, you were in the soup. Did I mention we were drinking beers on the boat?

Arriving in Ocean Bay Park a mere 20 minutes after setting sail, we checked into our rooms at the Fire Island Hotel. Ed owns it so he didn’t check in. He was launching the new website that night (fireislandhotel.com) along with a series of new renovations and a music series so there was a party going on. Live music and a wine tasting from Barefoot Wines along with some sensational apps. It was pretty awesome!

Not to promo Ed’s place too much, but any of you city folk that haven’t gone out to the Fire Island Hotel for a weekend are missing out. It has a Margaritaville vibe, with a classy new look. From Manhattan you could be there using only public transportation in and hour and a half.

We had a really nice dinner at the Hotel’s restaurant. We all basically had these amazing fish tacos. Thank god all of us were exhausted because it meant we could sleep early! I think we went to bed at 9:45 which was desperately needed after the full day of racing and traveling.

RACE DAY

Once again I woke up at 3AM and was tossing and turning until 5. Maybe I had too much sleep? Probably not.

The Hotel was quiet and peaceful. Jim and I met Ed at his house and then set off towards the boat. Aside from getting to drive by the swim course on a boat (way cool) we also go to see the sunrise across the sound.

Arriving at Transition I felt very sleepy. I was yawning and basically non-energetic. I was BIB 15 so my spot was right up front which was a first. I made friends with my neighbor Tosin (also a New Yorker who works in my hood actually) and we went down to the water together.

It was hot, it was sunny, the water was gorgeous. I loved all of it. It was like waking out of some triathlon nightmare. That nightmare was cold and rainy Quassy the day before! This was like a big fluffy triathlon cloud. If only the people complaining about the chilly ocean water knew what we endured. Maybe they did because I had a hug SEG on my face and was splashing around like a penguin.

I was in Wave 1 and we set off right on time. Unlike yesterday, I just put my head down and dug in hard. I was actually swimming over people for once! It was a triangular course and my sighting was dead on, until the end.

Everything was going so great, I was making smooth progress, hitting the buoys, and having a lot of fun. Then as we rounded the last buoy to head to shore I had nothing to aim at but the beach. I overshot the pier boundary and found myself making friends with kayakers telling me to, “Swim left!” Not nearly as scarey as the Alcatraz miscalculating, but still annoying since I lost some time.

On dry land once again I bolted to T1 with a fury. I bounded onto ‘The Morrighan’ and took off. Now that the back wheel was no longer rubbing against the frame it sliced silently through the course!

To give you a not so Apple-to-Apples example of how the wheel affected me… Rev3 = 16 MPH, GSB = 22 MPH

The course was really winding and very fun. My strategy was to ride as hard as I could. I didn’t get passed too much at all on the bike. In the beginning 2 guys in the most serious bike outfits for a local race overtook me. Like, it may as well have been Kona, disc wheels and all. For the bulk of the ride I rode neck and neck with is guy going my pace. Every time I went to pass him he sped up. That was until out of nowhere, Jim comes flying by yelling, “Heeeeey Baker!” I laughed out loud and yelled, “Wait up!” I shot my gears down and really cranked it, quads burning. We only had 1-2 miles to go so I figured I could hang onto Jim as he’s a pretty fast rider.

T2 was a blur. I threw on my Newtons and took off. One thing I noticed… Pre-race I was eating these Gu Chomps because I was a little hungry. When setting up Transition I left the bag in my shoe in case I needed them on the run. Guess what was stuck onto my big toe? Correct, a GU Chomp. In my mind I was like, “F-it, it’s only 3 miles.” Maybe I would need it at Mile 2 or something? Eeeeeeew.

I saw Tosin up ahead and he instructed me to chase down the 19 year old that had passed him. Aye aye.

I was running pretty hard but was feeling the fatigue from yesterday’s Olympic set in. Finally, at like Mile 2.5 I passed the 19 year old. Do you know what he said as I ran by? “I will let you go since you aren’t in my age group.” Oh to be young.

I saw DiGangi and his cousin Sal, then as I was finishing I saw Ed coming in on the bike!

I finished in 1:11:28 which is actually a PR by 2 minutes or something. I’ll take it.

Sex/
Age
Age
Place
Overall
Place
 Swim
750M		 T1 Bike
11M		 T2 Run
3.1M		 Total
Time
M34 6 54 19:52 1:12 30:17 0:55 19:12 1:11:28

After Jim finished, we went up to cheer Ed on. Turns out we are standing right next to Boomer Esiason! Small world.

Ed came in shortly after then we departed to have a victory breakfast! It was there Ed informed us of how some speedster took a turn too hot and T-boned him! Ed was bruised and cut, but the attacker went to the hospital in an ambulance.

—

What a weekend! ‘Tri Hopping!’ Even though these weren’t my best times and I didn’t place, I spent the weekend doing what I love most, racing. Sometimes you cant get too caught up in the big picture, you just need to enjoy where you are at that particular moment.

RACE REPORT: 015 Harriman Sprint Triathlon: 1:28:50

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Sex/
Age
Age
Place
Overall
Place
 Swim
0.5M		 T1 Bike
16M		 T2 Run
5K		 Total
Time
M31
3
31
 18:27 2:47 48:29 1:14 17:51 1:28:50

Why did I start swimming? Triathlons… someone suggested I get into
them as I could already bike and run. As you can see from previous
entries, I have completed 2 open water competitions. On this race, my
first Tri, I got to put all the elements together.

My friend Cenk, who has completed a number of Tri’s, signed us up for
the Harriman State Park Sprint Triathlon. This was great because I like
having a guide the first time I attempt anything of this caliber.

Cenk and Carla picked me up Saturday afternoon and we headed into
Jersey. They took me to one of their local restaurants which was really
good. Cenk and I decided to fuel up on pasta and steak. It seemed to do
the trick… I added beer into my pre-race diet as usual.

Later that night at their house Cenk gave me the run down of how the
race works, with transitions etc. It was very helpful and I would have
been lost on race day without this important knowledge. I went to bed
at 11 or so anticipating a solid 6 hours of sleep.

RACE DAY:

5AM… Im awake but so sleepy. I think it was a rare treat for Carla (her and I work together 9-5) to see me docile, quiet and spaced out. We packed up our gear and headed out to Harriman State Park which would take us 50 minutes.

The park was beautiful! rolling hills and still lakes surrounded by thick cliff covered forest.

Arriving at the transition area, there were already a lot of people gearing up. We grabbed our bike number, running number, timing chip, swim caps etc. Its funny to me because Im used to only getting one of the 3 or 4 elements. Now, I had all of them at once to piece together. We went to our transition areas and I set mine up like Cenk had instructed me the night before.

Cenk and I then (since we were ready ahead of time per his instruction) went to the lake to take a pre race dip. It was a great idea especially since I hadnt taken a swim in over 2 months so it eased my anxiety. My wetsuit is two pieces and my pants might be a size too small so i have to constantly hike them up. It was at one of these moments that a few members of Team Lipstick (an all female group of 10) started teasing me. They were a real cool group and very bad ass. One gal thought I was starting a new trend with my ‘low-rise wetsuit bottoms’. Funny.

2 minutes to start we were all lined up on the beach.

The gun went off and we all ran into the water and began our swim portion. What a sight to see! It was a relatively easy 0.5 Mile swim out to a buoy and back. A few people swam over me but nothing to stressful. I was actually working on some new techniques this time that I think might have helped me out. I finished in 18 minutes in change and as I turned around I realized I was in maybe the top 50 out of 400 swimmers which was way better than I expected. I made my way up the beach undoing my suit and high-fiving Carla who was watching and cheering. Mad props to Carla for taking al the great photos as well! Looking back on it, I should have been hustling a bit more to get to my bike, but hello, have you ever tried running in a wetsuit? Its hard.

At T1 I dried my feet and chest and put on my bike shoes and my tank top. I also put on my ceremonial Nautical Star wristband (which can be seen on me throughout past races). I grabbed my bike and headed to the road taking off in a hurry. I did take quite some time in T1 and my friend Jim (who has done an Ironman) asked if I was cooking burgers on the grill while getting ready for the biking!

In my mind the hardest part was over. Now I had to play catch up with the fast swimmers and overtake them.

Wow was I wrong. I had just started the hardest part. The hills were mild at first and I was pushing hard, passing riders. About 3 Miles in I caught up to Cenk who was really flying! As I got next to him I planned on hanging out for a minute but he yelled at me and pointed “Go get them!” Adrenaline! I booked. These guys had some sick bikes too. I was rocking a 1975 vintage Mercian with the shifters on the down tube! She a worthy ship though. SIDENOTE: get a new bike. Next thing I know we are going down a huge decline so fast I couldn’t pedal anymore. Id say 45 MPH at least. My fingers were on my brakes ready for any sudden emergency. At roughly Mile 6 we hit this crazy U-turn. You had to slow from 45 MPH to almost a standstill so as not to slide out. Then, the pain began.

As we came out of the U-turn with no propulsion we were confronted with a 3 Mile incline. It was brutal. The next 5 Miles would continue like this with ups and downs through the woods. I took a few moments here and there to take in the scenery which was beautiful. I also made a few friends along the way with some fellow bike riders. Mostly we talked about how bad the hills sucked. I have never looked forward to getting off a bike to start a run so much in my life.

I cruised into the transition area fast and saw lots of runners ahead of me leaving. I just kept thinking to myself, “I will chase them down.” I popped off my bike and slipped into my running shoes. I was off again.

It was a bit difficult to just start running after blazing the hills on a bike. Id say at Mile 0.5 I was in full range of speed. Not to sound cocky, but the run was very easy compared to the last 2 events. I was picking off runners and trying to figure out how far from the lead I was. (I would later find out that the winner was finished the run at the time I was starting. He was an animal, putting a gap of 10 minutes between him and the 2nd place person). Cenk and I crossed paths as I was ending my run and we cheered each other on, very exciting. The finish was a downhill and I saved up some sprint energy for the end. I blazed in at full speed crossing the line at 1:28: 50. To be honest I was just excited to finish my first Tri.

I grabbed some water and found Carla. We waited for Cenk and cheered him on as he crossed the line!

All 3 of us were quite excited and the vibe in the air was all positive! Triathletes are a little different from singular athletes I found. They are competitive, but very supportive of one another. I made friends with a 65 year old guy who had been doing Tri’s for like 20 years. He was inspirational.

We took a few pics, packed up our gear and hung around the finish to see if the times would be released. They started giving out the awards and they were doing age groups when I heard 3rd Place for the 29-34 Group goes to Chris Baker! Carla practically punched me in the shoulder out of excitement! I went up and got my plaque. It was very cool! I had no idea I would get a prize.

Afterward we went to the Coach Diner in Jersey for a big meal. We were all really starving.

It was a great experience and Im very grateful that Cenk helped me through this first one. Im very addicted to this as he predicted and just signed up for my first Half-Ironman next June.

 I am officially a Triathlete now, cool.