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Monthly Archives: November 2013

RACE REPORT: 098 Join the Voices 5 Miler – 30:31

Posted on November 18, 2013 by admin Posted in All, Race Reports, Running 1 Comment

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This weekend was chock full of races! The NY 60K, Philly Marathon, Brooklyn Marathon, Ironman Arizona and the wee bitty 5 mile race I did, Join the Voices.

On Saturday I really dug into New York City. I started the day with ice skating around Wollman Rink (something I do almost every weekend in the winter months). It was a blast, especially due to the warm weather we were having.

After skating I walked home up the east side of the Park watching for Juan who was well underway in his 60K run. I didnt see him, so popped into the apartment to change into running gear and drop off my skates. Back on the scene, running north, I got a cheer from Ali! I pulled over and cheered everyone on along side her. We saw a few friends and then finally Juan came by. I ran with him for a bit chit chatting about whatever. I was trying to take his mind of the pain. I left him at Engineers Gate and hung out with Elizabeth cheering some more.

I grabbed my race bib for Sunday’s race and then wandered around the ol MET. I try to pop in there once every 2 weeks or so you know, because, it’s only priceless artifacts from around the world. I was playing a game (with only me, no other patrons participated) called ‘Find the Oldest Thing.’ The Egyptians always win. It blows my mind looking at pristine specimens of writing and jewelry created 4,000 years ago!

I later met up w Jeff, Alison and Cat for drinks. I convinced them to go to San Mateo for dinner which was maybe the highlight of my weekend. Their pizza is pretty spot on.

RACE DAY

Waking up to race on a grey fall day can be difficult, but knowing that the temperature was in the 50’s got me motivated.

A lil Cafe Bustelo and then a light jog over to the start which was by Tavern. I ‘ran’ into Jess on the way, she too was warming up. I also ran by Claire who yelled out a friendly, “Hey Bakes!”

I jumped in my corral and noticed everyone being shy and staying in the back. Not feeling particularly social as my nerves were a bit edgy, I walked right up to the start mat and hung out. Soon, others followed.

The gun went off and we were all flying down the lower loop. I once again had no watch and was relying on how I felt. At this moment, I felt good so I just hung with the leaders (for a hot second). I had absolutely no pain in my knee even at a speedy rate and so I kept pushing it.

We hit mile 1 around 5:45 and I kind of laughed out loud thinking to myself, “Ha, this pace isn’t going to last.” And it didn’t.

I saw Beth cheering from 72nd Street and yelled out a “Hi!” to her before heading up Cat Hill. It was here that my pace slowed and I thought I was going to have a heart attack. I haven’t run a short distance race in awhile so my internal systems were on overdrive.

I hit mile 2 at a 6:10 pace. By now we had really thinned out and I just tried to hold it together.

I noticed someone coming up on my right. It was a speedy female who had a cyclist tracking her. She happened to be the second place woman and was hell-o-fast. We paced each other for miles 3-4 before she took off. It was very helpful having her around.

The West Side Rollers took a lot out of me. They never end!

I came through the finish at 30:31, ten seconds from a PR. I ended up getting a 3rd Place Age Group Award! Sweet!

Sex/
Age
Bib Overall Place Age
Place
Finish
Time
Pace/
Mile
AG %
M35 12 19 3 30:31 6:07 72.42%

As soon as I was 10 feet across the finish my friend Antonio came blasting up! He had been right behind me chasing me the whole time! We caught up on life and then did a cool down jog up the east side towards our neighborhoods. I say Beth again and she gave me a high five! We also ran by a volunteer who yelled to us, “Mile 2 coming up guys, looking good!” We had a bit of a laugh at that.

It was a great day for a race and I am happy to say that there was, and is still, no knee pain. I am officially back in business.

—

On a separate note there are a few congratulations in order.

– Big ups to Juan (already an Ironman) who became an Ultramarathoner!

– My friend Doug (who I casually coach) knocked 25 minutes off his marathon time in Philly with a 3:26! Nice!

– My former coach, friend and teammate Sonja rocked a 9:35 at Ironman Arizona earning her a 1st AG Award and her annual ticket to Kona! Awesome!

5 Miles

RACE REPORT: 097 NYC Marathon – DNF

Posted on November 9, 2013 by admin Posted in All, Race Reports, Running 2 Comments

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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.

BD_NYCM2013_FerryI 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.

BD_NYCM2013_Start

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!

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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!

BD_NYCM2013_03That’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.

 

26.2 Marathon NYCM

NYC Marathon is here

Posted on November 2, 2013 by admin Posted in All, Running Leave a comment

The New York City Marathon is my version of Christmas. It is my favorite day of the year and since I discovered it (and the marathon) in 2008 I have only missed 1. Good triumphs over evil and the city rejoices with celebration.

If you wish to track me I am in the first wave, BIB 729.

If you wish to join me and the Runner Army at our after party you can find us at Kinsale Tavern on 3rd Avenue and 94th Street! I will be headed there as soon as I finish and intend to be with beer-in-hand by 1PM.

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NYCM
  • RACE REPORT: NYC Marathon – 3:09:25
  • RACE REPORT: 158 NYC Marathon – 2:58:30
  • RACE REPORT: 157 The Boston Marathon – 3:00:00
  • VIRTUAL RACE REPORT: 156 #TCSNYCMarathon – 3:13:44
  • VIRTUAL RACE REPORT: 155 NYC Duathlon – 2:06:13
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