Monthly Archives: August 2014

Abbe, Maura and I arrived off the Fire Island Ferry around 5 PM on Friday like any avid Happy Hour goer would do.

After a quick check-in at the Fire Island Hotel & Resort (thanks Pat!) we headed to Hurricanes. Hurricanes is the Fire Island Hotel & Resort’s bar and restaurant. A win-win on any day would be a ‘Rocket Fuel’ and the Fish Tacos.

While there we ran into Mike (from Dad Posse) who stopped over for a drink. Bojana got off 2 ferry stops to soon so her and Brian were running a bit late. We talked race strategy a bit as well. Maura had said she wasn’t going to race it to which I talked about how I think a race is a race and she should just crush it. It might have sunk in.

The next morning Abbe did beach yoga (on a very peaceful and empty beach) while I went open water swimming. It blows my mind that just a few years ago I had a fear of open water and swimming in general. Now, without much of any concern, I ran straight into the ocean, swam 100 meters out and then started swimming the coastline. I was loving every minute of it too. It’s so peaceful being out there early in the morning before anyone is out, it’s like having the whole ocean to yourself!

After some breakfast I headed over to Ed’s as we were supposed to go for an open water swim. Ha, but wait Baker you just did that? Correct, but not in the bay. So, now, Ed, Jack (his son), Mike, Kevin (his son) and I rode bikes down to the docks for our swim. Jim was running late so we had to go ahead without him, breaking tradition.

It was exciting swimming with the younger guys, ages 12 and 14, and giving them some leadership. I swam point with Kevin trailing behind. Kevin can clearly smoke me in the water being that he is on the swim team and quite talented, but he let me guide.

I think I got in like 1.5-2 miles of swimming that morning!

I found Abbe, Bojana and Brian by the pool as I returned. Maura was showering as she had just done a long run of 17 miles… insane. Most of us had fish tacos for lunch, and Rocket Fuels. So many Rocket Fuels. We spent the rest of the afternoon basking in the sun.

We walked over to Ocean Beach, a neighboring town, that night for dinner and ate at Bocce Beach. I had the catch of the day and not pasta but, to Abbe’s point, it was just a 5K the next day.

On the way home we popped into Ed’s house where all of the Dad Posse plus wives and kids plus some extended family plus 2 dogs were hanging.

We had Rocket Fuel nightcaps at Hurricane’s after that before heading to bed. Maybe Rocket Fuels are magical drinks that have vitamins and nutrients mixed in with carbohydrates and ginger that make you run fast in hot hellish conditions?

RACE DAY

Abbe and I woke up and found Maura, so we got coffee and headed to the beach. I went for another open water swim while they walked along side the beach in the same direction, like guides maybe? I actually think they were making sure I wasn’t eaten by a shark.

The race starts at 10:30AM so to early risers you can practically do anything you want beforehand.

Once Bojana and Brian were up we all did a 1 mile warm up run over to the start. I saw the DiGangi’s and Sal plus a few other friends. We jumped into the corrals (2 waves of 300 people) and had 10-15 minutes to kill. I saw the whole Dad Posse crew come through and we had some shout outs. Most of their kids (ages 9-14) were running and I was really excited to see how they were going to do.

The gun goes off and my legs feel like lead. I mean, we were moving, but I did not feel like a gazelle. “Whatever.” I thought and kept the legs going. After the first straightaway and into he right turn I was in second. For just a moment I thought this could be a repeat of 2009’s win for me, then Meehan and some other guy popped up next to me as we tracked the lead guy. Were I having a better day we could have hunted together, but the heat and sun already had me.

Halfway to mile one I was in 4th Place, Meehan and the other guy had overtaken our lead man and were pressing forward at a sick pace.

Meanwhile, I had some kid running next to me who sounded like he was having an asthma attack. I hate that. Most seasoned runners have fine tuned their engines so that they don’t sound like freight trains coming by. It also throws off my rhythm, because I know I need to keep it steady and focused.

He wouldn’t let me pass and I didn’t give up. I finally used it as fuel at mile 1.5 to push forward past him. Then, I am hanging with this other  kid who has the same breathing problem!

He was very young and had issues every time I pushed past him. He would surge ahead in alarming anger, retaking 3rd Place. This is a recipe for disaster so I just kept at it. Personally, I was fading fast. I have been training for Half Ironmans all season and my specific training was not helping in the ol 5K. Just hang on Baker…

I pushed past my teenage friend and tried to maintain some sort of semblance of form, but the 10:45AM sun was beating me down like a hot pillow.

At the 200M mark I could hear the loud and clumsy footsteps of my young competitor, he was going to overtake me. There was nothing I could do as he did, I was wiped. As I finished in 4th Place I high fived DiGangi and immediately looked for water and shade. Although beaten at my own game, I knew I had given it all, spilled blood and earned the honor of a not-so-easy finish.

I said congrats to the young foe who beat me, “Nice push at the end man!” To which he replied with a smile, “Yeah thanks, sorry I stripped you of that 3rd Place win.” Get a job! Wait, no, finish High School, then get a job!

I wandered to the finish line and watched my crew come through. All my ‘adult’ friends passed by no problem, but I was most proud of my younger friends, ages 9 to 14. Jack, Kevin, Elizabeth, Kelly, Isabelle and finally Ben, as far as I am concerned you re all Ironmen!

We finished up the day in true Fire Island 5K fashion at Schooners. We found out that Maura and I got AG awards! Go Gotham City Runners! Nothing like coming home with some hardware after a long weekend of partying and racing.

Sometimes you need to break rules. Sometimes pasta for dinner is boring. The memories you make leading up a race are sometimes all you need to fuel you through it.

I tried to just relax Saturday after Team Championships but… instead I met my brother, sister-in-law, and friends Stephan and Amanda (Abs was there too of course) for drinks and dinner.

On a positive, more intelligent note I made us go to an italian restaurant for dinner. I had a lovely pasta with grilled scallops!

I was in bed by 10:30PM or so, pretty late for those people actually planning on going to transition before their triathlon the next day.

RACE DAY

I woke up per usual at 6, 15 minutes after transition had closed. This was planned by the way. One of the problems with the NYC Tri is that with all of the wave starts you need to be in transition from like 415AM to 5:45 AM… LAME! My solution? Leave all your sh%t in transition the day before when you drop off your bike. I’ve done it a few times and it has never failed me. I even got to watch the start of the race on the local news!

After having a cup of coffee and watching the news I decided I had better get over to the swim start. I jumped in a cab at 7AM and was putting on my wetsuit by 7:10. Did I mention that it was raining?

Something I often talk about with fellow triathletes is the concept of ‘experience’ as training. Today it was playing a huge role. I have swam the mighty Hudson river 10 or more times and rough open water swims even more. I was in no way nervous like a lot of the guys surrounding me were. I tried to calm them with jokes and silly one liners but they seemed to think I was BSing them. My point is, new triathletes, get out in the ocean or a lake for your training swims.

Into the soup we went. The current was moving really fast as it usually does. Now, some people argue that this is unfair. My argument is that everyone gets the fast current, equalizing the race.  The Pros were swimming some obscene times and so were the rookies!

The water on a scale of 1-to-Gross was like an 8 today. I tried my best to just keep it out of my mouth. My swim overall was pretty great. I may not be the fastest, but my confidence and sighting abilities keep me competitive. I even passed a few people in my heat!

As I hit T1 I was happy to see everything just as I had left it!

I popped on my ride and hit the Henry Hudson Parkway making my way north in the rain.

The bike course on a sunny day is treacherous with its harsh pavement conditions and tight lane configurations, throw in a steady rain and it becomes really harrowing! In the beginning I just slowly increased my pace and shook out the ol legs. I had some EFS that I was taking in every so often as well.

I think 8 to 10 miles in the rain let up a bit. I was starting to feel very good and very aggressive so I began to crank it, passing many people.

Once we hit the turn around point up in the Bronx I really turned up the heat. In my head I basically said, “This is a race, lets blast it! The run will get done one way or another.” And just like that I was having the time of my life. I was riding a space ship where the controls were set to light speed. No one passed me from this point forward.

Towards mile 20 I passed Joe who yelled to me. I replied, “Jooooe! How you feeling brother?” To which he replied, “I feel great!” I threw up a fist and carried on. I later passed my friend Digangi too who was also crushing it on the bike!

Cruising through T2 I hit 72nd Street to begin the run. My legs were heavy but not dead. ‘Give it 1 mile.’ I thought. I heard my name being screamed something fierce out on 72nd and realized i was Claire, TG and Abbe! Then, I passed my teammate Suzette and finally Elizabeth before heading into my backyard… aka The Central Park.

As I hit aid station one Matt6 was in his usual spot. “Baker!” We gave each other an elbow bump before I moved onward. Soon after I saw my friend David running in opposite directions cheering me on. I hit mile one in 7:01. Not bad.

Then, mile two at 6:48… whaaaaat? I was actually speeding up, strange indeed.

Mile three (6:26) came pretty fast too. My legs didn’t hurt, my heart felt good, wild. Carry on.

At mile five I passed a 75 year old man running barefoot. I saluted him. I want to be him in 40 years.

I decided to pick up for the last mile, especially knowing that there was just one slight hill at the end. I pushed it to a 6:16 pace, now things were burning.

As I finished up I saw my friend Juan working an aid station. He cheered like crazy, which helped to push me to the finish line. I had a 2 minute PR with a finish of 2:15:31!

I found Abbe, Neil and Amy (also PR’d)  after who all had fantastic races. We tried to find Joe (who had a 15 minute PR, whaaaaaat) but he had already left.

It was a hell of a day and an even bigger weekend for me. I love racing so much and to get to do it 2 weekend days in a row is so satisfying! Congrats to all my friends and athletes who raced and killed it.

The tricky part about being both a runner and a triathlete is that sometimes races line up back-to-back. This weekend was both the NYRR Team Championships AND the NYC Triathlon (one of my favorite races of all time).

Friday night we had Bojana and Brian over for some pre race carbo loading. Abs made some pasta with calamari, shrimp and white beans. It was perfection.

RACE DAY

I awoke at 6AM (my usual wake up time) to a gloomy, rainy Saturday morning. Josh wanted us to meet at 7:30AM for team pictures and to hand out bibs. SIDENOTE: the men’s race starts at 9:30AM, Josh you owe me 2 hours of sleep!

I love our team, so I was not concerned at all with the rain. In fact, I love running n the rain. I even said to everyone, “At least it’s raining today and not tomorrow during the triathlon, that would suck!” JINX. JINX. JINX.

The men went to cheer on East 97th Street while the women teed up the Start line.

20-25 minutes later there they were flying past us! Our women’s team is pretty sick. They can rock some serious paces and are not to be trifled with.

By now the rain had let up and it was getting nice and humid. My hair was a mess.

Us men did a warm up, hit the porto johns and then jumped into our corrals.

As I stood there in my corral I pondered the race and the triathlon. I originally decided to ‘take it easy’ and save my legs for the next day but that idea was starting to sound lame. A race is a race.

The gun went off and the pack went flying. Remember, this is Team Champs so everyone is a pretty serious runner. My legs felt absolutely fantastic and Abbe’s pasta from the night before was sitting pretty in the fuel cells.

We hit mile one at 6:03 or something. I was okay with that considering we still had 4 miles to go. I wondered if I could hang on.

Evan, one of my friends and teammates passed me right around this point. He was looking good and crushing.

Miles two and three came by quickly and I think I was still on the 6 minute per mile pace. I had no watch on so I was going by feeling.

There was a crazy headwind at mile 4 four but it acted more like a coolant than something that hindered.

I look a bit weathered here.

At the fifth mile my legs and engine (although kicking) still felt fine. I ramped it up a bit at this point, knowing the end was near. With 500 meters go to I passed our cheer squad and gave them a wave.

I finished in 29:58 which at the time I didn’t think was that great, but it is actually a 33 second PR! Who knew?!

I waited for everyone to finish then we found the gals and rolled over to Fetch for some post race food! It was a great morning and so fun to both cheer on the team AND race. Go Gotham City Runners! (San Dimas High School Football Rules!)

The Guys of Gotham