Monthly Archives: July 2010

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

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Sex/
Age		 Bib Overall

Place

 Age
Place		 Finish
Time		 Pace/
Mile		 AG %
M32 119 56 18 1:28:39 6:46 66.8 %

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

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

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

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

RACE DAY

At 5AM it was already 80 degrees.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

RACE REPORT: 043 NYC Triathlon

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Sex/

Age

Age

Place

Overall

Place

 Swim

0.9M

 T1 Bike

24.8M

 T2 Run

6.2M

 Total

Time
M32 23
66
 18:23 4:18 1:11:25 1:29 41:44 2:17:17

The NYC Triathlon would be my 4th triathlon completed and the 1st attempt at an Olympic Distance.

Swim: 1.5K
Bike: 40K
Run: 10K

Gotta love those even numbers…

The day before the race, Erika and I volunteered at the Run for Central Park. We were bike marshals and got to ride in front of the race clearing the path for the leaders. It was very cool and totally fun!

That night I dropped my bike off into transition. That’s a mandatory rule. No way can you roll in with your bike the next day, think of the chaos! SIDENOTE: I have never been to a triathlon with this many racers. There were like 3,000 bikes!

Erika and I had a really nice dinner, mine consisting of pasta and shellfish of course! I think I was asleep by 10:30PM which was great because I needed some rest.

RACE DAY

My alarm went off at 5AM and wow was I ever ready to get this day going! I was so excited, mainly because the most stressful part of any race for me is the night before and that had passed. It was game time.

I met Brandon down in transition and after a quick setup we headed off to watch the Pros come in.

There would be something like 20 waves of people, starting at 6AM with the Pros and finishing at 8AM. Since he and I were at the tail end, we had 2 hours to kill.

We stationed ourselves right where the swimmers come out and run to T1. It was awesome! The Pros make it look so easy and they are also nasty fast right out of the soup!

Once that excitement was over we walked up towards the swim start and met up with Daniel, Alex and Alex’s wife. We hung out watching the swimmers go by. I had a rice and bean burrito for breakfast followed by a banana.

One of the things I enjoyed about this race (and hated it at the same time for different reasons) is that with so many wave starts it makes for great race viewing, like watching 20 separate races!

As it got closer to the 7:39-7:45 start times we all made our way into the age corrals. I made a few friends there by being silly trying to convince them of the existence of the notorious ‘Hudson River Shark’ to which they replied “So you’re saying we’re gonna need a bigger boat?” Good people at the triathlons.

As our wave came up we walked out onto the pier and waited. I stood on the pier while there was a line of guys in the water floating. The current was moving with us at maybe 1-1.5 knots! As the gun sounded I waited a hot second for the first line to go then I lunged in and started plowing through the water!

I have swam the Hudson 6 times or so and have lost all fears of swimming in it. I do however have a fear of getting elbowed in the face. So of course, 100 meters out it was still pretty chaotic and I got elbowed in the side of my head. Not much you can really do as it’s all part of the game, so I just kept pushing forward. It was a really enjoyable swim thanks to the speedy current. I also probably only drank 1 gallon of it this time which, um, either helped or hindered my race, not sure. Does the Hudson count as electrolytes?

Coming out of the water in 18:23 I quickly made my way to T1. As I was passing a water station I heard “Hi Chris.” It was my co-worker Kathy from Rolex volunteering at the water station! I dumped a cup on my head and said “Kathy! Hi! Later!”

My wetsuit slipped off, I donned my crappy bike shoes, clipped on my aero helmet, grabbed my nautical star wristband and bike, and took off running towards the exit.

There were a few narrow turns getting onto the West Side Highway, but once there I dropped to my low gears and started cranking!

It felt great to be out riding, especially since I have really started getting comfortable on my new bike. I have to thank my friend Allen who let me borrow his race wheels! They are really sweet and increased my aerodynamics a lot!

I was trying to ride “smart” but at the same time, I wanted to give it my all since it was a race. So I thought to myself “Time to go into the pain box.” Which is a quote from a female triathlete I follow.

Little did I know… there were some serious bomb drop hills on the course! I had no idea! It was awesome! I tucked in and flew, spinning out my top gears!

I was passing lots of people and just trying to make up for any time I lost on my swim, which is a common theme in my triathlon world. For Christmas this year I’m asking for faster swim times.

I was yelled at a few times by riders when I didn’t announce I was “Passing on your left!” Whatever guys.

For hydration, I was drinking this new (secret) race formula I mixed up and it was very effective! Hint: It has a packet of Emergen-C in it among other easy to find household ingredients.

The mythical toll booths up in the north were not as bumpy as I had heard. We all cruised over them with no problems. I hit the turnaround point in what I thought was a great time. SIDENOTE: I’m really bad with Garmins. Mine was going, but had gotten locked into ‘Compass Mode”.

Barreling back down the highway I was really excited and pushing hard. It was at this point I got in my head. “You have been looking forward to this race for a few weeks now. Don’t just race through it, enjoy it!” I did just that. I was still rocketing down the highway, but I was now a little more relaxed and smiling.

At T2 I ripped off my bike shoes and laced up my racing flats, taking off, almost forgetting to remove my aero helmet. That would have been hilarious, BUT would it have helped my time being that aerodynamic… perhaps?

Crossing 72nd Street was a little bit like the NYC Marathon. People were out in bulk, cheering and yelling, cowbells, music, etc. It was awesome. I focused my sites on the tree line in the distance.

As I entered the Park there was a huge contingency of cheerers as well! I made the left and started on the all-too-familiar trek around the northern tip of Central Park. Once again I found myself thinking, “Baker, you once ran 9 loops around the Park. If you can do that, this should be no problem.” True, but it was now 100 degrees and I kinda wanted to turn around and go swim the Hudson again.

The aid stations had hoses which dramatically helped. At every one, I ran through, and/or had someone hose me down. Puzzling to me, were the numerous people who opted OUT of the sprinkler fun.

At Mile 2 I looked at my Garmin and YES, I was heading N, NE. Wonderful. I yelled to a volunteer “What time is it?” so I could properly gauge my time. “9:35!” she yelled. Hmmm, my finish goal of 2:15 was slowly slipping away. I better speed up.

The last mile or 2 were great as I know the terrain well and the infamous Harlem Hill was behind me.

Rounding the turn to the homestretch on 72nd street and heading uphill I caught Erika and Michelle cheering! They took photos and Erika made me this sign! It helped out a lot and as you can see from the pictures I was in good spirits.

I rounded Cherry Hill and entered the finish chute, picking up my pace and getting overly excited! I blasted through and was immediately handed a water and an ice cold towel.

My time was 2:17:17 (what’s up with my strange finish times?). It wasn’t 2:15, but I was happy with the results.

I got my medal and then wandered off into the chaos looking for a way out. Then I heard “Hello Baker…”
It was Erika. She was hanging out on the fence line waving at me. She gave me a congratulatory kiss and then told me where to meet her.

We watched the finishers for another 10-15 minutes hoping to see some of the gang come through to no avail. I needed food and a shower so we made our way back to transition to collect my bike.

What a fantastic race! Props to all my friends who raced. Everyone did so well!

—

Erika and I met our friend Allen for brunch at 44 1/2 (after I showered of course). We then headed over to see A Little Night Music with the new cast, featuring Elaine Stritch and Bernadette Peters. It was amazing and a perfect end to the weekend.

RACE REPORT: 042 Aquathlon Stars and Stripes

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Sex/
Age
Overall
Place
Swim
Place
 Run
Place		 Swim
1.5K		 Run
5K		 Total
Time
M32 63
130
 4 35:40 20:40 56:21

Right now, if I had one wish it would be ‘Speedy Swimmer.’ Thank you.

The ‘Aquathlon Stars and Stripes’ is a 1.5K swim followed by a 5K run and is put on by NYC Swim, the same people who organize races like The Great Hudson River Swim. It is one week before the NYC Triathlon and is marketed as a training race. Since I’m doing the Tri (and I actually enjoy swimming the mighty Hudson) I figured I would give it a go.

Erika was racing the NYRR Dash and Splash 10K at the same time so I prepared us a race-worthy dinner the night before. I whipped up some homemade tomato sauce over linguine… easy, simple, delicious, and totally energizing.

RACE DAY

Woke up at 7AM sharp and got the Cafe Bustelo going. Jim from ‘Dad Posse’ met me in front of my apartment at 8 and we biked down to 56th street and the West Side. Todd met us in line and we all got checked in and organized our respective run transition areas. Transition is like 1000 times easier without bikes to maneuver around.

Once we were all situated we started the walk up to 72nd Street which is where the swim begins.

We chilled in the grass for awhile then lined up in race order to take the plunge into the river. One by one we filed into the water. Once NYC Swim had everyone in a herd before the first buoy, they would sound the horn.

I adjusted my goggles and was bobbing around on my back when the countdown started… 3. 2. 1. GO!

Mayhem. As anyone who has ever done an open water race will tell you, it’s mayhem. After doing quite a bunch of these and now knowing what to expect it really doesn’t phase me. Its kinda like being stuck in a weird traffic jam, you know, there is a merge up ahead and everyone is cutting in.

Once we hit the first buoy and took a left heading south, it opened up and I got into my rhythm. Last Wednesday my friend Brandon (who is a very good swimmer) gave me a number of useful tips about my form. This was my first attempt at using this knowledge. Did it help? I sure think so, I felt like I was pushing through the water faster and a lot more steady. Would I win the swim portion of the race or even get close? No way Jose.

One of the things I AM good at in the swim is ‘spotting.’ I never really get off course and am always heading in a straight line.

It’s funny, in my head I’m all calm doing my swim UNTIL I get close to the end. At that point I might as well already be on he run because that’s where my mind is. I do like a once over on my body.

Energy level = check.
Legs (and I kick extra wide and bend knees) = check.
Mind = (Baker you’re in the middle of the Hudson) = um… check.

I left the water and booked it up to my T1 area. Or just T area, because there is only 1 I suppose. Got changed and was running full blast out onto the run stage.

Out on the West Side bike path heading north I made it my mission to pass as many people as I could. It hurt bad but after the 1st mile everything fell into place.

I passed Todd and cheered him on, then saw Jim coming at me from the turn around. We high fived.

As I hit the turn around point I passed this tall guy (right, Baker, everyone is tall to you) ANYWAY, he hung onto my heels shortly after and was tracking me. Sure enough he made his move 1 Mile to go. I held onto his heels the rest of the race. As we got close to the end I passed Jim and yelled out, then we all booked it. I couldn’t catch the guy because the finish was on a half circle! How are you supposed to spring on a turn like that!

After the race he (tall fast guy) came up and thanked me for passing him as it got him fired up. No problem, “nice pace!” I said. His name was Ran (pronounced Ron) ironically, nice guy, great competitor.

I bumped into Regina who participated in the swim portion of the race. We both agreed that it was a hard swim, especially at the end when the rollers came in. She is also doing the NYC Tri next Sunday. Good luck Regina, see you out there.

I also saw Anthony DiGangi, who organizes the Fire Island 5K and was also racing the Aquathlon.

Finally, I ran into my friend Katherine who also just did the swim because “She doesn’t run.” Someday we will get you out there Katherine! It’s fun, trust me.

Jim, Todd and I got packed up. Jim and I then rode our bikes back to the Upper East side while Todd headed south. Once again, a great race.

—

The following day a big group of us rode to Nyack! It was a blast. What a weekend!