Monthly Archives: September 2012

RACE REPORT: 084 5th Avenue Mile – 4:57

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1 Mile, from 80th Street to 60th Street, down 5th Avenue. No turns, just a straight shot of blistering speed right to the lungs. It hurts but is over just as fast as it began.

This was my 3rd time running it and I was a bit nervous. I was chatting to some of my runner friends about this last night. I wasn’t nervous about finishing the race, or running it close to what I might be capable of. What was on my mind, and many others, was would I be able to beat my previous mile time of 4:59?

After a quick jog over to the Start I left Abbe at her corral (Wave starts based on gender and age) and I ran down to the Finish. (It was only 1 mile away.) I ran into Erica and Lora and we had some quick runner talk before wishing each other well and setting off.

As the Women (aged 19-29) came blasting down I watched for Abbe but lost her in the masses. I did, however, see Robin blazing a path! Nice work.

I found Abbe at the Finish and she had accomplished her goal of breaking 7 minutes with 6:38!

She took my position cheering and I ran up to the Start. (It was only 1 mile away.)

It was quite humid out so I grabbed some water before running into Josh, Elyssa and Bojana. We high fived, of course. Josh and I left the gals to their corrals we did some sprints while chatting. We took our place behind the gals as soon as they set off.

Josh and I were probably 50 people back from the Start mats. As the gun went off I counted down how long I had to cross the mat (to subtract it from my clock finish) but I was so amped I kept counting while running and messed up the plan.

I cut hard left and took off, passing a large chunk of the masses. The corrals are not based on speed so it’s always a mixed bag. Moving ahead I passed this guy, then he hung on maintaining pace. Not to judge or tease, because I am happy for anyone who wants to exercise, but home slice had on basketball shorts and may have been wearing high tops. He inspired me to speed up because his foot falls sounded like he was trying to break the concrete. It was like a ‘foot belly flop’ every time he hit the ground. Quite annoying, so I sped up.

The uphill at the halfway point definitely took some spunk out of my game. I tried to just maintain whatever pace I had, which I was unsure of since I wasn’t wearing a watch.

At the crest of the hill I tried getting my heart rate to cool it. I think it worked as I blasted down the decline with ease. It was here that I heard my name being cheered on a few times! Turns out it was my friend Robert. Thanks for the pics man!

As I approached the final 3/4’s of the mile I felt great and got fired up. I also saw Abbe, Elyssa, Erica and Lora off to the side screaming my name which helped tremendously. Just like previous times, even though you can see the Finish and it seems like you’re cruising, it takes an eternity to reach it. All the while watching the clock tick off those precious seconds… 4:50, 4:51, 4:52.

I crossed the Finish at 5:02 but knew I had some sort of buffer based on my start. Later that day when the times were posted I learned that I had a 2 second PR with a time of 4:57!

Sex/
Age		 Bib Overall Place Age
Place		 Finish
Time		 Pace/
Mile		 AG %
M34 369 117 27 4:57 4:57 76.3%

So now next year will be extra stressful trying to top that. It’s funny how just one second can be such a big deal in a small race like this.

Congrats goes out to all my friends who ran today! It was pretty glorious for everyone. Oh and double ups to the winner, Matt, who beat out Bernard by .2 seconds with a 03:52.4. That, is fast.

 Post race lunch with a friend.

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: 083 Harriman Sprint Tri – DNF

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This year’s Harriman Sprint Triathlon marked my 3rd year in the sport, 4th year in running. It is a really fun local race and would be my (triathlon) season closer.

I was rolling up to Harriman with the ‘Dad Posse’ (Jim, Ed and Mike) and we were going to camp there the night before. We got a late start out of ol’ Manhattan Friday night after work and didn’t arrive until maybe 9:30PM. It was a fun drive though as we rode the Ironman NY course and got to reminisce.

Mike had beat us up there and had scouted out a place for us to eat, Rhodes Tavern on Route 17. As we pulled in I noticed an awful lot of motorcycles. Were we going to get in a brawl? Who knew?

We grabbed a table in the dining area and were greeted by cheerful and friendly staff. With a live cover band blasting the likes of Led Zeppelin and Aerosmith, mixed with our tasty beers we were a happy gang. I ordered the steamed clams and shrimp, not a recommended pre race meal but I have an iron stomach and Harriman was to be a fun race for me. Ed, on the other hand, had a French Onion Soup and french fries… perhaps his smartest race meal yet.

Back at the camp site by 11PM I was determined to have a fire. You simply cannot say you went camping without a fire! From 11-3AM we sat around the camp fire drinking beers and having a blast! You would never know from the looks of it that we had a triathlon in 4 hours!

Mike woke us at 6AM and it hurt. I was in charge of coffee and I got right to it using my Bucaletti, it was fantastic. After we drank our java and had some bagels we hopped in the car for the 5 minute drive to Welch Lake. It’s very ‘Friday the 13th’ in case you were wondering. The temperature was 60 degrees or so but quickly warming with every passing minute as the sun rose.

Doug and his girlfriend met us at the lake. This was his first triathlon and I have been kind of coaching him through emails so I was excited to see what he was gonna do!

We eventually lined up on the beach and prepared for attack. I was very excited and felt feisty.

The gun went off and I plunged into the soup. no longer do I hold back and wait for the masses to clear. Bring the noise.

My swim went well. My form was not as tight as it could be and I floundered once or twice but overall held a nice pace. The water was crystal clear and felt amazing.

I exited the water and Mike and Ed were right with me!

Up in T1 I got my act together fast. I was excited to get my bike on.

Out on the course I felt pretty strong. Since it was a 15 miler I was pushing all I had. The course is pretty hilly, but manageable. We had some wind and unfortunately is was never at our backs!

Blazing down a straightaway, I wasn’t paying attention to the terrain, head down, and hit a rock. It made that characteristic ‘ding’ noise we know so well. “Damn!” I yelled, thinking maybe it would be okay. It was not. 500 more yards and I was flat.

I pulled over, half thinking I was close enough to the finish I could run my bike in. “Officer!” I yelled to a nearby volunteer cop. “How many miles to the finish?” He told me I had 7 to go, no way am I running it. I got to work changing my tire as streams of bikers passed me.

Ed and Doug rode by at the same time and both yelled, “Baker? No!” I think it took me 20 minutes to change the tire due to the last bead being such a pain to get over the rim. I was pretty proud of myself for actually changing a race wheel.

FUN FACT: In my 3 years of triathlon I have never had a flat during a race.

I kept a positive attitude knowing that this was just a fun race for me. Finally, I was ready to go after using my C02 and assembling my bike again. I took it easy knowing that my front tire was most likely not at the proper pressure it needed to be.

Up ahead there was a rider in distress on the side of the road. As I approached I saw that it was Mike! He looked at me and said, “Baker?” Where did you come from?” I quickly explained my situation as he told me his back wheel had fallen off and he was about to throw in the towel. This was Mike’s second triathlon so I thought we had better get him back on the road. I threw my ride in the grass and jumped over to help. The wheel and chain were in a jumble. We straightened the chain, tweaked the rear derailleur and attempted to set the wheel. It wouldn’t set so I grabbed the front tire and pulled while I had Mike pull the rear wheel. It moved correctly and then with a quick punch on the tire it locked into place.

Mike was pretty psyched. We started riding again and he told me to go so I did. I was jazzed up too so I forgot that I was riding on a bunk wheel. 1-2 Miles further I was in aero crushing it on a rough patch of downhill when I heard a fizz and then my wheel totally flatted again! I maintained control and pulled off to the side of the road.

A few minutes later Mike pulled up in disbelief, “Again!?” I told him I was done. He had said he had called the SAG Wagon to pick him up before I had arrived, so I was expecting a ride soon. He took off and in a few minutes an ambulance came up behind me. “You the guy that called for a ride?” “No, but I’ll take one!”

We took up the rear of the race for the next 5 miles following the last racers.

Back at T2 they were already doing the awards! Jim and Ed both got 3rd AG Awards! Nice work guys! I saw Doug too, who was ecstatic for completing his first triathlon! Congrats Doug!

We wrapped up the day with lunch at Rhodes!

It’s a funny feeling not finishing a race. I wasn’t sore or tired and I had this sense of un fulfillment. I wasn’t disappointed in me, I was just sad that I didn’t get to rocket through a run and cross that Finish. There are always more Battles right around the corner…

‘Death Day’ Commentary

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Today, as I was walking up Park Avenue running errands I saw a woman riding her bike with one hand, on the phone and helmet-less. Never mind the fact that she was in a dress, which both irritates me due to safety and makes me stare in wonder at the fabulous fashion statement.

It reminded me of a time in my life that I rode recklessly. There was one day in particular where I should not have lived to see another. I call this day ‘Death Day’ in a sort of humorous way to remember the experience.

—

July 21, 2007

I awoke to an incessant ringing at 7 in the morning. It was my cell phone and I was not pleased. I had been out the night before and my head was very foggy. I had not yet started down the path of running or triathlon, my lifestyle was different and this was considered early.

It was a friend who convinced me to go bike riding with him even though I tried to resist. He was going through a rough patch and so I said “What the hell.” I did, after all, love biking.

I jumped into some track pants and a white tank top after slamming a cup of Bustelo. I grabbed Athena, my trusty track bike (the same one I ride today in fact) and blasted out the door. Remember, she has no brakes and due to it being a fixed gear, it cannot coast. It is the oldest and purest form of bike riding.

Crushing it down 9th Avenue while the Drum-n-Bass was blasting in my iPod, I had not a care in the world and my hangover was quickly dissipating.

I banged a left on Houston and was probably riding 25MPH. As I neared the intersection of 1st Avenue and Essex Street a few minutes later a car in the opposite bound lane made a left turn in front of me, cutting me off. This is a common occurrence in NYC and my mind quickly went over the 2 options I had… skid stop or veer behind the car continuing on. I chose the latter.

In a left, then hard right evasive maneuver I swung around the car but to my surprise they were being tailgated by a white Ford Expedition and they intended to make the light as well. I hit the SUV head on, flew onto the windshield and rolled off the back of the car.

When I awoke seconds later everything was quiet. I jumped up and a girl who had come to my aid told me to sit back down. I said, “Where is my iPod and sunglasses?” She returned them to me after collecting them off the ground. The entire flow of traffic was halted East to West and North to South in ‘the Nexus of the Universe.’ The white Suv was stopped and I heard someone get on the phone to call an ambulance. Seconds later I literally heard the siren click on a few blocks away.

Once the ambulance arrived two young, very New York, EMT’s came over. “Hey buddy, how we doing.” “I’m okay.” I replied as I jumped up. “Whoa, whoa, seriously, are you hurt?” I touched my face and head, my ribs, my legs… everything was there. I hadn’t realized the magnitude of the situation. “We want to check you out in the ambulance okay?”

Walking around now, I saw that there were police questioning the driver and maintaining order. As I climbed into the back they were kinda chuckling at me. “Okay, where do you live? What’s your social? How many fingers am I holding up?” were just a few of the Twenty Questions that occurred. I had a question of my own. “Hey, where is my bike!” “Don’t worry, it’s fine, it’s leaning against the ambulance.” Whew!

“You, my friend are quite lucky to be unscathed. What would you like to do?” “Well, I’m a bit shook up, can you guys give me a ride home?” In a roar of laughter they said, “No sorry man, we don’t do drop off service. How about you come to Bellevue Hospital and get checked by a Doctor just to be safe?” I agreed and they pulled my bike into the back. It wasn’t even dented. Tires were fine. Strange indeed.

They were whispering to each other and then turned to me and said, “Come here, before we go we want you to see something.” They walked me out to the front of the white SUV. “Damn!” I gasped. The entire front windshield was collapsed and shattered. There was a baseball sized hole in the passenger side of the windshield. I said, “My handlebars, right!” One of the EMTs touched my right cheekbone and it hurt. “Your face. It was your face that punctured the windshield buddy. Like I said, you’re lucky.”

Back in the ambulance they told me that I had to be strapped down. Whatever. I asked for my cellphone so I could take a picture. They got a kick out of this as well.

One drawback was that technically, since I was okay and it wasn’t an emergency they wouldn’t put the sirens on for me. Lame.

As I was wheeled into Bellevue on the gurney, my bike was being wheeled in as well. We stopped at one point and I could hear the nearby Doctors talking about my bike and how gorgeous the frame was. Damn straight, it’s vintage!

They put me in a giant square room with many other patients waiting on beds, each of us in our own nook facing each other. Soon, a Doctor came over and gave me the riot act about not wearing a helmet. Then, he poked and prodded all over. He pushed his hands into my lung cavities and pushed my head this way and that, you know, Doctor stuff. He shuffled off.

Soon after, he returned with another Doctor. He explained to the other Doctor that he could find nothing wrong with me and wanted a second opinion. This new chap did a lot of what the other did and also had a few new tricks up his sleeve. As long as there weren’t needles involved I was game.

Finally, they told me I was free to go. “Do you want anything for the subtle pain you might have where your cheek hit the window?” “Certainly!” He then wrote me a prescription for extra strength Aleve and walked away. I felt lame because I had just been prescribed high powered aspirin.

I grabbed Athena and walked out of Bellevue. In doing so numerous police yelled at me and each time I had to explain that I was hit by a car.

Out on the streets again, I looked up 1st Avenue, jumped on my bike and rode home. I celebrated my survival with a few beers on my roof that afternoon.

—

I now wear a helmet every time I bike, even though only my cheek bone was bruised.

I also never take life for granted. Go out and live.