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Monthly Archives: August 2016

RACE REPORT: 128 Fire Island 5k – 19:59

Posted on August 19, 2016 by admin Posted in All, Race Reports, Running Leave a comment

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On Friday, I left work to meet up with everyone (Abbe, Bojana, Brian and Maura) at Penn Station. It was steamy and I broke out into a sweat immediately on the subway platform, just a precursor of what was to come.

It seemed that my crew had boarded the train, so I did the same. Once we all found each other drinks popped open and a ‘Here’s to a vacation weekend’ toast ensued. Fun, had begun.

One of my favorite parts of the journey to Fire Island is the final 30 minute ferry ride across the Great South Bay. It’s such a gorgeous experience (if you have weather cooperating). The wind in your hair, the sun setting and the smell of ocean water marinating in a boat full of happy beach goers.

Another one of my favorite parts is that there are no cars on the island! Bikes and walking everywhere, it’s so cool!

We arrived at Ed’s place, the Fire Island Hotel, checked in and hit Hurricanes for the notorious Rocket Fuels. A Rocket Fuel is a like a Pina Colada on steroids, and yes, they are delicious. From 7 to Midnight we sat there drinking and eating (the fish tacos are superb) carrying on. Ed (from Dad Posse) eventually joined us around 9 and joined in on the mayhem.

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The following day Jim and Mike (also from Dad Posse) joined up. We went to Jim’s place which is a few blocks down from the hotel and has a more than solid beach day. Jim and I surfed and caught some real nice rides. The tides shifted after lunch though and I changed it up with a boogie board. Those were some of the best boogie board conditions I have seen since I was a kid, you could catch anything!

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That night we had a cookout at Jim’s. We made everything you could think of… chicken, corn on the cob, green beans, baked beans, ribs, salad and I think there was cheese. Something in that mix had to stick and help in the race the following day right?

Did I mention that John C. Reilly was having a cookout at the house next door?

RACE DAY

I woke up at 6:45 and said goodbye to a sleeping Abbe. Jim and I had morning surfing to attend to.

Coffee in hand I strolled down a very serene pathway to Jim’s, no one was awake yet and the peacefulness was exactly what I needed.

Jim and Mike were awake having coffee on the front porch, I joined them. Soon after the three of us walked up to the beach and jumped into the soup. It was brisk, but refreshing. Mike stayed behind to swim in the surf and Jim and I headed out past the breakers. We were the only ones out there and it was super cool. Not cool if the sharks are hungry as they have limited options, me and Jim.

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I caught 2 really nice rides that took me almost all the way into shore. It’s a really great feeling riding a wave, the Beach Boys said it best… ‘Catch a wave and you’re sittin on top of the world.’

We bailed after awhile as we had a 5k to race in an hour. Energy conservation right?

I met Abbe and split a bagel before gearing up. Her, Maura and I did a slow warm up, linked up with Ed, Mike and Jim and headed to the start. Bojo and Brian were going to spectate due to unforeseen injury. We did a pre-race team photo knowing that the post race team photo was going to be ugly. It was 85-90 degrees already.

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I jumped in the front corral with 10 others and wandered around in the sun for ten minutes. Anthony, Sal and John Gigangi, race organizers and friends of mine, gave a few speeches before show time. It’s amazing how far the Rose Digangi Foundation has come in helping people and family’s cope with brain cancer.

The gun went off and it was on. 5 people went out blazing fast and I just, well, I just ran right on the threshold of it being really sucky. On the out part of the race we had a headwind, which kept us ‘kind’ of cool. I dumped water on my head any chance I got though.

I ran the entire race with Tara, who always wins 1st Female. We were holding a 6:30 pace steady. I had no interest in pushing it any further. AT Mile 1.5 one of the teenagers that blasted ahead in the beginning was on the side puking. I yelled, “Hey man, you okay!?” He was.

On the way back we had a tailwind. In most circumstances this would be a welcome condition in a race, not today. It was as if someone turned off the fan in a really hot courtroom. Just keep running.

As Tara and I were nearing the finish I realized they had the tape across for her (1st Place Female) so I hung back a bit and let her hit the tape before crossing. I then poured no less than three bottles of ice water on my head and retreated to a shady area by the finish.

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I finished in 19:58, over 1 minute slower than the other 4 times I have run this race.

Sex/
Age
Bib Overall Place Age
Place
Finish
Time
Pace/
Mile
AG %
M38 1 7 2 19:58 6:26 69.60%

One by one the rest of The Battalion came through the finish looking for water. We all got really cool finisher medals that had a bottle opener on it!

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Once we had the gang together we made our way into Schooners for the after party, which is quite a fun after party. We hung out, laughed, talked to other runners and hydrated with beer. I got a 2nd Place AG award but more importantly Maura got 3rd AG! Baker… why is that more important?

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Maura has been injured for god knows how long and is back on track. This was her first race since November (I think) and she got an AG award! Well done Maura.

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We all headed to Flynn’s for a big lunch. Abbe and I caught a ate afternoon ferry home, bidding our friends and Fire Island farewell… for now.

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RACE REPORT: 127 NYRR Team Championships – 32:33

Posted on August 16, 2016 by admin Posted in All, Race Reports, Running Leave a comment

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The NYRR Team Championships is a really fun day in the Park. All the teams come out and cheer in massive crowds. In order to race you need to be part of a NYRR sanctioned team.

A lot of the team went up to Inwood after work on Friday to a free event The Met was putting on. Dinner was held at Indian Road Cafe, a very cute and unique neighborhood hangout. I opted for the linguine as the server said it was added to the menu that night. It was a home run. I haven’t had homemade linguine that good in some time.

RACE DAY

We originally had 10-12 Battalion teammates signed up for the race, but a few didn’t make it for various reasons. Abbe, Kelly, Susan, Jenn, Noah and I linked up 30 minutes before the race started. Everyone was feeling pretty good although it was getting hotter by the minute.

Noah and I went over to the west side in the high 90s and waited for the first pack of ladies to come by. They were flying! You could also tell that they were suffering from the heat. As soon as all of The Battalion came by we ran over to the east side to cheer.

Over there we linked up with Gotham City Runners for some joint cheering. One by one our crew came through, everyone looking good, but hot. We linked up with all of our females by the finish, some even had bags of ice!

Noah and I did a warm up and then jumped in A Corral. It was hot and it was going to be challenging. The vibe in the corral was way chill though with all the teams socializing. The gun went off and the group surged forward.

I felt okay, but I didn’t have fleet feet. We barreled down the east side of Harlem Hill and it got slightly easier to maneuver going up the west side of Harlem Hill. I hit a 6:20 pace here.

I saw the female Battalion squad cheering at mile 1.5 where Noah and I had been.

The rest of the race was spent just hanging on to the 6:30ish average pace I was running and pouring water on my head. It was pretty quiet down on the lower end of the Park, obviously as the action is in the North.

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As I headed into my final mile I picked it up due to the intense cheering. I rocked a solid 6:18 pace here. I finished up in 32:33 which is far from a PR, but I was happy just to be out running Team Champs.

Beyond_Defeat_TC2016_3Thanks for the pic GCR!

Sex/
Age
Bib Overall Place Age
Place
Finish
Time
Pace/
Mile
AG %
M38 1013 297 52 32:33 6:31 67.40%

After the race we all went to a crepes place on the Upper East. The food was amazing and it was a blast hanging with the crew!

 

RACE REPORT: 126 NYC TRI – 2:27:37

Posted on August 1, 2016 by admin Posted in All, Race Reports, Running Leave a comment

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The NYC Triathlon is my favorite race hands down. Home field advantage, great course, all my friends race or spectate and we have a fun after party (of course).  This year was my fifth attempt.

RACE DAY

I was up at 5:30-6ish as Abbe had a long run she needed to hit and she wanted to beat the heat. We had some coffee and then we each set out on our way. My heat was set to roughly go off at 7:30 so my plan was to take a cab to the swim start at 6:50. I was there by 7, peanut butter sandwich in hand walking through the crowds of triathletes. This is the 4th year I did not go to transition at 5AM to check on my gear. Luckily though, Dougie had to head down there early so he checked on my gear for me. Thanks friend!

I lined up in my corral and watched the mighty North River pass by as I waited to get into the soup. Abbe surprised me by stopping through during her long run to say hi and wish me well.

I made friends with a guy from Ireland (but lives here) named Derrick. It was his first triathlon ever so I tried to be helpful by giving him tips and easing his nerves. I told him that this was the cleanest I had ever seen the river, which was actually true.

As we lined up to jump in the water everyone but me sat down to slide in. F-that, I’m jumping in over all of y’all.

The North River was salty, way salty as we hadn’t had any rain in a few weeks. I didn’t mind as I automatically pair ‘healthy’ up with ‘salt water.’ This was the first time I had swam since Ironman Louisville and I was excited. I dug in and enjoyed my morning swim, basking in the sunlight. Every now and again I would catch some feet or someone would tickle mine, and so I adjusted position.

With 200 meters to go something happened that has never occurred in Baker-race world before. As I was taking a breath on my right side someone (on my right side) was driving their left hand down for a stroke. That had caught me square in the side of the head, kind of by my eye. My goggles flew off and I was ‘stunned’ for a hot second as if I were in a boxing match and just catch a right hook. I composed myself, put my goggles back on, accidentally touched the bottom of the river and got back into the groove. I secretly wished to come across my assailant so I could vanquish him, alas it never happened. Swim caps tend to make everyone a bit anonymous.

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Out of the water and into transition we go. Always, always, always my wetsuit never comes off as quick as I want it to. I almost asked the guy next to me to rip it off. I could have offered him copious amounts of 50 SPF sunscreen. Speaking of which, I coated my wet body with the stuff before heading out on my mighty steed.

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Out on the parkway I kept it cool until I could analyze my surroundings. The bike course on this puppy is way intense due to volume, speed, and lack of space. One wrong move and you’re toast.

Up in the Bronx I really took advantage the hills and flew. It was awesome.

Time to run.

I threw on a visor, more SPF 50, and got going. I stopped to say hi to this older woman who works at NYRR I know. She is like my alternative Grandma. Clearly, I always forget her name.

Did I mention that it was hot out?

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I hugged the shade as we cruised across 72nd Street. I saw Abbe and the cheer squad and I gave them all high fives. Further down I saw Thomas cheering. He and his wife Claire (willrunforbeer) were going to/ had a baby the next day so I yelled to him,”Good luck tomorrow!” which only confused him. Claire later explained what I meant. Congrats Gallaghers! I can’t wait to meet Molly! (Can I call her Meg though, that is her initials.)

IMG_4910I hope that guy behind me is okay.

Back to the race…

I entered The Central Park and was so thankful of the shade on the west side. I felt great and dialed it up, passing who ever I could. Running is my jam, and you are in my backyard, so double trouble.

On the east side I saw my friend Sal, who was out for a run in the opposite direction, he wished me well. Then, out of nowhere some chick blasted me with a fire hose! She was at an aide station and I welcomed it, but I mean she destroyed me! I was soaked and now slogging along making funny squishy sounds.

I rounded Cherry Hill before launching into the finish chute. I saw Abbe, Susan, and Eric cheering and waved. I finished in 2:27:37, 10 minutes from a PR, but it was certainly a good time.

IMG_4911Comin in hot!

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The Battalion all grouped up before heading to Amsterdam Ale House where we celebrated with food and drink. It was a hell of a day.

Sex/
Age
Age
Place
Overall
Place
Swim
1.5K
T1 Bike
40K
T2 Run
8K
Total
Time
M38 67 538 25:04 7:15 1:14:48 2:55 37:37 2:27:37
NYC TRI
  • 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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