All – Page 2 – BEYOND DEFEAT

RACE REPORT: 137 Grete’s Gallop 10K – 38:36

Posted on October 12, 2017 by admin

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Nelson convinced me to run the Grete’s Gallop 10K one week before my Chicago Marathon. Training-wise, it actually made sense, so I signed up.

The night before the race was my cousin Morgan’s 24th birthday, so old! Abbe and I went out to Brooklyn to hang with her and my other cousins and a few friends. We were very responsible runners though and were back home by 9ish.

RACE DAY

Abbe and I were up at 6AM and rolled out at 7:30 for an easy warm up to the start on 68th Street and the East Drive. I said goodbye to her as I jumped in A Corral.

A Corral was awesome. It contained all my friends! First off, I saw my neighbor Angus who was attempting his first race in like 8 years. Then, Elizabeth shows up and snaps a picture of me after she says “Do something!” Rowland popped up next and then Michael came and said hi. It was 55 degrees and you couldn’t ask for a more perfect run day.

I had no goals going into this aside from using it as a final speed session. Fire up the engines and let her rip!

The guns went off and I started running at a ‘fresh pace.’ Meaning, my legs felt fresh and pretty quick.

Having to ascend Cat Hill immediately is always a challenge. It’s like pedal to the metal then, whoa, engine trouble.

Miles 1-3 were 6:13, 6:09, 6:16 and I was excited to be running fast.

The West Side Rollers knocked some wind out of me though and Mile 4 was a 6:25.

For a second I thought I might be able to PR as I thought I had to go just under 38 minutes. My PR is actually a 37:02 so looking back on this moment in time I don’t know what I was thinking. So… I started to pick up the pace in the hopes of a PR.

Miles 5 and 6 were 6:04’s. I finished with a 38:36, no where near a PR, but I was still happy. It was such an awesome fall morning!

Sex/ Age	Bib	Overall Place	Age Place	Finish Time	Pace/ Mile	AG %
M39	3905	65	9	38:36	6:13	71.31%

After the race I ran into my friend Carlos who runs for North Brooklyn and hung with him for a second. Then, Angus pops in. He had crushed it on his first race back!

As I was leaving I saw Rowland and D, so I caught up with them. We were all running Chicago next week and kind of formulated a time and pace plan. Abbe found us soon after, she also had a great race.

Abbe and I finished the day by going to the Medieval Festival up in Fort Tryon Park that afternoon.

Days like today make me so happy to be part of the running community. To see all my friends out there really makes me realize where my place is. Thanks to all of you runners who make it so special.

RACE REPORT: 136 Reston Triathlon

Posted on October 4, 2017 by admin

Posted in All, Race Reports, Running, Triathlon Leave a comment

Ironman Chattanooga was called off by Dougie and I this year, leaving a hole in my triathlon calendar. I decided to fill it by racing the Reston Triathlon with my youngest brother in my hometown.

The Part About the Bike Box

I don’t have a car and therefore had a slight logistical problem. I needed to get my bike to Reston for the race. I love public transportation and so immediately ruled out renting a car. This would have been an expensive option as well. Train tickets were pretty reasonable, and seeing as how I love train travel I made this my chosen mode of race transportation.

To get your bike on the train (or a plane) you need a bike box. I was going to use the Evoc softcase, which is a pretty sweet setup. It is very lightweight and has reinforced edges and the bike frame itself locks into a separate metal piece. There are wheels as well, making it ideal for city travel.

I took the day off work and left to catch a noon train on the Friday before the race. Abbe and I got the bike down the stairs fairly easily. She wasn’t joining me on this one as she had other plans in the city she needed to be present for. As I said goodbye to her I then stood looking at this massive situation I had to maneuver through the NYC Subway. I said out loud to her that this seems like a bad idea. I had done a lot of research on getting the bike on the train and knew I had a 50/50 shot of being successful. “Screw it, I’m going for it.” and off I went.

I did pretty well getting it down into the Second Avenue Subway, two people even helped me get it through the emergency access gate. Everyone was quite curious about my luggage and asked lots of questions. People were very shocked to hear that you can just sign up for a triathlon and not ‘qualify’ to participate in them.

Going up the stairs is slightly more challenging. Thankfully, a woman helped me get it up the stairs at Herald Square. Go New York!

Arriving at the illustrious Penn Station I had an hour and 15 minutes until my train, enough time to deal with any other BS I might come across. I found a lovely conductor lady and quizzed her about my bike box, asking what the odds of me getting this puppy on the train were. “Pretty good if you pay the large luggage fee of $25. The line is empty, go ahead and get it taken care of.” You bet I will, as I ran over to the empty kiosk. The woman working the desk was not impressed with my chipper ‘I’m excited to get on a train’ attitude. “Hi! I need to get on a train with my oversized luggage.” “That isn’t making it on any train aside from the 3PM bike train.” she replied. “But, it’s just a big bag, not a bike.” Clearly I had a bike in there. The graphics on the side of the bag that said ‘Evoc Pro Bike Bag’ made it a dead give away. I asked and pleaded as to what I could do to get it on the train. She basically told me I was on my own and if I could convince the conductor trackside to take it on board then so be it. “That’s it, that’s all I can do?” “Yep.”

I knew that the trackside people would also be less than thrilled to see this bag, as my first conductor friend told me so. Emergency Action Baker has just gone into high speed mode. I was going to get a cab to my apartment, drop my bike off and cab it back to Penn in an hour to make my train. I would figure out the bike part of the race once in Reston, but for now I needed to make this train.

It was 11AM and I was in a cab headed north on 8th Avenue, not a fast ride. It didn’t help that homeslice was watching movies on his phone at stoplights. I actually made it to my place by 11:30. Abbe ran down and helped me repack my luggage before I ran off towards Madison Avenue.

I made a game time decision that the subway was a better option to inject me into Penn. I took a cab across the Park to the A, C, E at 96th and jumped underground. It was 11:42 when I boarded the C train.

At 11:54 the doors opened at Penn and I bolted out full speed. I had this.

I quickly made note of my track and bee lined it to the closest entry point. I sat down with 2 minutes to spare before the train doors closed. Mission complete. Bike bags suck. I was a sweaty mess.

I had a lovely train ride down and was glued to the book I was reading for book club, Underground Railroad. I highly recommend it.

My brother Phil, not the one doing the tri, picked me up and we headed from DC to Reston. We met Jeff, the one doing the tri, at our step brother’s restaurant Red’s Table for some happy hour action. The rest of the night was spent at Jeff’s barbecuing and playing with all of my nephews. It was a blast.

On Saturday Jeff and I went out for a shakeout run followed by a 20 minute bike ride. Oh right, what was my bike solution? My brother Phil lent me his road bike. Thanks Phil!

We went and checked into the race and then bounced around town with Ali and Dylan. That night we went to Phil and Naomi’s house for pasta dinner. We had shrimp scampi which was delicious.

Bedtime was at 10…

RACE DAY

I was up at 5-5:30AM and felt pretty good. Jeff and I watched the news while sipping coffee. Hurricane Irma was hitting Florida at the time so we were concerned for our Mom.

We rode over to set up T2 (Jeff lives across the street, quite literally, from the finish line and T2) making it super easy. It may have been the silliest T2 setup I have ever done. Since I had Phil’s bike, and he doesn’t have clips installed, I would be riding it in my running shoes and in my running gear basically. I looked at my T2 spot and just placed 1 Gel on the ground. The people around me looked at me like I was insane.

Next, we rode over to T1 on Lake Audubon. It was pretty chilly out with the air temperature being 50 and the water temperature 72. I enjoyed the fact that this is a very hometown race, where everyone knew everyone. There was also some serious competition present.

I was in Wave 2 and so I fist bumped Jeff and made my way to the lake. I waded out to the start buoy and hung out for a hot second. The water was pleasant but not warm by any means although I knew I would heat up once we started swimming.

The gun went off and I dug in. This was the second time I had swam this year, the first being the NYC Tri in July. It’s like riding a bike right?

I was thoroughly enjoying my morning swim. The sun was rising and it was looking like a beautiful day. The lake also brings back memories for me. I learned how to sail on it when I was 15, at a time when i was also scared of the water.

I did get blasted in the face once and had my goggles pop off.

I knew my swim was slow because I could feel a few waves pass over me. When I exited I saw Jeff, who had beat me out of the water. I yelled over to him “Jeff! Go!” I then scrambled out of my wetsuit, dried off and hopped on the bike. By now Jeff had a solid 2 minute lead on me, which is a pretty big gap on the bike.

The course was 3 loops on back roads. The first few miles it took me awhile to get into gear. Once I did I picked up the pace and started having some fun. I saw Phil, Naomi, Cayden, Owen, Ali and Dylan all cheering with signs at mile 5.

One of the things that started to happen to me was that I was getting major hip pain after mile 10. I would say that has to do with me riding a bike that isn’t fitted for me. I was also struggling with not being clipped into the pedals. It would be tough for me to catch up to my brother.

By the time I finished up my third loop the sun was beating down and turning up the heat. I dumped my bike, grabbed my lone, sad gel and took off.

The run was in the woods on paved trails, a staple of the Reston community. Luckily, it was also very shaded. Mile 1 clicked off at 7:11, the hunt for Jeff was on.

I saw him coming my way after the first out-n-back, roughly at mile 3. We high fived and I yelled that I was coming for him. I took my gel at mile 4 with my pace hovering in the 7:15 range.

I finally caught him after we went up this torturous half a mile hill. We ended up running the last mile or so together which was pretty fun. I also saw my friend Jenn run by! I had no idea she was racing. I later texted her and learned that all my buddies (Shag, Rick, Albers, etc.) were hanging out. Unfortunately, time was not on my side and I couldn’t go join them.

Finally, as we got to the finish he was like “Let’s go!” and we blasted across the line simultaneously!

Sex/ Age	Age Place	Overall Place	Swim 1.5K	T1	Bike 40K	T2	Run 6M	Total Time
M39			37:49		1:26:02		43:46

The Reston Triathlon website is down, more stats to come later.

We grabbed some food and then found our family. Back at Jeff’s we started making breakfast sandwiches to refuel as it was early. I was close to being Code Red so when the food was finally ready I inhaled mine!

That afternoon was spent celebrating over at my Bonus Mom’s house with everyone. It was a hard earned medal and a fun race.

London Relocation

Posted on July 11, 2017 by admin

Posted in All, Running 1 Comment

I awoke abruptly to Abbe saying, “Honey we have to go now, pack your bags and get in the car! We have 3 hours to catch a flight out of Dublin to London. We have a new assignment… and time is not on our side.”

Driving south by southeast across the Irish countryside I was slipping in and out of consciousness. Our previous assignment had done me in. Abbe was behind the wheel, Eric was asleep (shocker) and Peter was alert and helping us stay awake.

We met Peter at the wedding. He is a good friend of Bojana and an Agent for the Serbian Government, Code Name ‘Hristos Vaskrse’. Part of our new assignment was to get him to Dublin safely.

Sundays are quiet in Ireland, so the roads were practically empty. It was very easy for us to make our projected time of 3 hours and at the airport we bid farewell to our new friend and ally Peter, Code Name ‘Hristos Vaskrse’.

Abbe, Eric and I breezed through security with our agency status and made it to the gate early.

A quick flight later and we were taking the Heathrow Express straight into London. It was 15 minutes from the airport to city center! Most of London made me a sad New Yorker as they seemed to have ironed out all the urban issues NYC struggles with.

It was hot in London, like 65 degrees and gorgeously sunny. We were staying in Convent Garden.

Our assignment… we were going to be contacted and asked to rendezvous with other Agents. The goal was to set up peace talks between agencies. We didn’t know what to expect.

That night we wandered around looking for some good local beer. We stumbled uponTemple Brew House which happened to have a trivia night going on! I may have spoiled one of the answers, but I thought everyone knew graphite was the material in pencils.

Next up was dinner at Red Cow. We were in search of Sunday Stew, a thing in London, but we missed it. The food we had was superb, a common theme in London starting tonight was dining where the locals dine, my favorite!

The next morning Abbe and I did a run tour of (west) London.

We saw St. James Park, Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, and most importantly and surprisingly the sister obelisk to Cleopatra’s Needle in Central Park. We also happened to see changing of the guard and changing of the horse guard!

Lunch was held at Noble Rot, where we met one of Abbe’s coworkers who is a highly respected wine reviewer, Neal Martin. We had a three hour lunch in which Neal picked out a fantastic White Bordeaux from 1990 for us to enjoy.

The food, of course, was also delicious. In a fun twist Dan, the owner, also happened to have signed the band Coldplay who are Abbe’s favorite band. Epic! Two of the band members are also part owners in Noble Rot as well.

Next up, the British Museum. I had flashbacks to art school the entire time. I was back in Joe Basile’s Egypt Class and then I was in Joe Basile’s Ancient Roman History Class, you catch my drift.

That night, after wandering the streets some more, we went to eat at Hoppers, a Sri Lankan restaurant recommended by Dan from Noble Rot. There was a two hour wait, which we were prepared for.

Just two secret agents, doing secret agent stuff.

We hung out at Dog and Duck Pub a block away and drank delicious pints outside on the street, Why can’t we do that in NYC?

Once our two hours were up and we were seated, the food and dining experience were top notch. Leo, our waiter, helped us pick out way too much food. So far on the London trip we were notorious for over ordering.

We started with Bone Marrow Varuval and Hot Butter Deviled Shrimps. The two couldn’t be more different, and yet they played into each other so nicely. The bone marrow smooth and mild while the shrimp had a zesty zing that hit you just as it was leaving the mouth.

Next we had the Lamb and Chicken Kari, comparable to curry but more flavorful in a complex way. All of the spices hit in waves, not all at once, like listening to a bands’ full album. Eric insisted we overeat and get the Ceylonese Split Chicken. It was peppery in texture and very good. I just wish we had room for it. Were I to redo the meal I would have ordered two of the Chicken Kari dishes.

We decided that we needed cocktails after dinner so we went to a place called Cahoots in an old tube station.

The drinks were great and so was the vibe. Imagine a post WWII vibe, with swing music and twists on traditional cocktails. Although slightly cheesy, you could only appreciate it.

The next morning Abbe and I went for another run, this time to the east towards Tower Bridge. The weather was even better than it was the previous day, 70-75 degrees without a cloud in the sky. Was this really London? We ran the Millennium Bridge, went into St. Paul’s Cathedral and saw a lot of the western part of town. Eric was at a coffee shop by the Seven Dials, so we set out to finish there.

This was my first time in the Seven Dials and I thought it was very cool, a great place to hide out. Tiny narrow streets that weaved through secret alleys that held interesting shops, one being 26 Grains, a very cool coffee shop. We found a very happy Eric there. I also met a triathlon family (due to my Garmin watch) from northern New Jersey, small world!

Hotel. Shower. Change. Deploy.

We met Dougie and Danika on the Tower Bridge span around noon. Before touring the bridge, I needed a snack, so we hit a local restaurant and sat outside munching on some chips. Soon enough we were in Tower Bridge engulfed in it’s history. For those not aware, one of the attractions is the glass floor on the east and west walkways. Imagine 20 feet of walkway, all reinforced glass, 120 feet over the roadway. My hands are getting sweaty just writing about this. Yes. I have issues with heights. I can ride a blazing fast track bike without brakes through Manhattan traffic, but a very safe glass floor, no way. What’s my deal?

After some persuading by Eric and Dougie I went onto the glass walkway. They even took a photo to prove it. I did trick the staff, which I am most proud of. As they were coercing me to walk I simply said, “So how many times has the glass broken?” Without missing a beat she said three times and smiled. A stranger across from me slowly left the glass walkway.

Lunch was calling so we hit the George Inn which was close to Borough Market. Our original goal was to eat at the market, but due to the recent attack it remained closed.

The Shard, being the tallest building in London, evidently had some terrific views. We needed to see it. As a New Yorker I can pick up on certain vibes when approaching places and this place screamed ‘high end dress code.’ I walked up to the bouncers (reminder that it is 4PM on a Tuesday) and they looked me up and down like I was a homeless bum. I felt a little violated, but I get it. “Hi, we want to have a drink at the roof bar. We are obviously tourists and I get the feeling that there is a strict dress code.” They told us we could take our chances there or at three restaurants on the other side of the building… way better odds if you ask me.

We were able to get into the first place we attempted entry into and had a cocktail and took in the view. Although it was amazing, it was a mere 35 or so floors up. In New York we have bars in buildings 100+ floors up, some so tall they are above the clouds.

It was at this point that we were contacted by the Agents we were here to meet. As it turns it out it was D, Matt and Christina from the Hoboken Operation that we met in Ireland! I wonder if they knew that they would be contacting us on the second part of their mission?

6:30 PM at Casita Andina, don’t be late.

Note: There are no photos on the second part of the write-up to help conceal the identity of the Hoboken Operation.

We had never heard of this place but after checking it out with our local intelligence it seemed safe and like every was on the up-and-up. We had a few hours before dinner so we deiced to hit he London Public Library. They had an exhibition o rare books, yes please!

We saw, among many artifacts, the Magna Carta, Handwritten Beatles songs, handwritten songs from Mozart and Handel, handwritten notes from Michelangelo and Da Vinci (what?!) and finally, the showstopper for me, an original Beowulf written in 1,000. Priceless? Yes.

We had a drink at the Lyric Bar close by to Casita Andina before dinner as well. How come in London you can take your drinks out on the street but not in NYC, or America? Lame.

D, Matt and Christina rolled in and we were seated within 30 minutes. This was a neighborhood spot, tiny and crowded. The food, tapas, was great!

The 6 of us laughed and told stories of the irish wedding while eating great food and drinking delicious wine.

Our assignment was over quickly once it was agreed upon that we should merge forces and work together back in the States. Some days we would hang out in the ‘Boken, others in Manhattan. It was all too easy, but then again, solutions to global espionage are often simple. Abbe and I left early. Once we reported in that our mission was finalized headquarters put us on a 6:45AM flight out of Heathrow. Thank you? I was dreading going back to desk work, but I guess that’s the name of the game in international spy work.

Thanks London. Thanks Ireland. You were good to us.

End Transmission.

Escape from Ireland

Posted on June 22, 2017 by admin

Posted in All, Running 2 Comments

It seemed simple enough, our assignment that is. Escort and protect two Serbian Nationals across Ireland so they could rendezvous with a Serbian American and an Irishman. They were getting married in a few days and it was of utmost importance that the Serbian Nationals be there for it. Basically, the wedding wouldn’t take place without their presence.

I hardly slept on our flight over from JFK, making it very hard to stay sharp once we landed. ‘Abbe’ and I were posing as a married couple from New York, border control fell for it hook line and sinker. Agent E had flown with us and was on his own to get past the guards. His cover was that of an ‘overly American’ tourist.

Dublin has been infiltrated.

Our pick up point for the Serbians, let’s call them ‘Momo’ and ‘Nina’, was just inside the main terminal. We spotted them immediately and made contact.

The Agency had provided us with a nondescript rental car. We all hopped in and began our 3 hour trek across the country. We were headed to the north west of County Donegal to a town called Letterkenny. Our only concern was that we would be passing through Northern Ireland for an hour of the trip. If stopped in UK territory, it would be a tough situation that we might not be able to work our way out of.

We needed to recharge with some food, so we made the call to stop at Carrickmacross, a small town along the way where we wouldn’t draw too much attention. We ate at Markey’s, a quiet pub on the main road. I had one of the best chicken salads I have ever had there. Momo and I decided it best to try some of the local Smithwicks as well. It didn’t disappoint and he insisted we have a second round.

Two hours later and without incident, we arrived in Letterkenny and checked into our hotel. We had received word that the bride and groom (to be) were just down the road at a place called The Cottage. It was a very dark bar, like an old pub from long ago. I scanned the room and it looked safe, our contacts were in the back and quite happy to see that we made the trek safely. Momo and I had, yes you guessed it, a Smithwicks.

The Irishman, Brian, was from the area and had a lot of family around. We drove off together to his relatives restaurant for dinner and celebration. There were 20 or so people there. We had some cocktails and mingled. It was then that we made contact with another set of American Agents, their territory was Hoboken just across the Hudson River from us. We all got along instantly .

The next morning Abbe, Agent Eric and I made our way north to an old fort high upon the hillside. It was called Grianan of Alieach and it provided a 360 degree view of the surrounding countryside. It was very impressive. It was clear from this vantage that we had not been followed and our location wasn’t compromised. We had the green light to move to the final location.

With Momo and Nina safe, we made our way to the next rendezvous point and location of the wedding, Lough Eske to the south. Lough (lake) Eske is situated in a remote area 10 miles from Donegal Town and is quite a beautiful setting.

After checking in we had lunch at the bar with Eissa and Nick who were running point on the job. They had been at the castle well before us and gave us the ‘all clear.’

“Abs, we should check out the grounds.” I wanted to make sure everything checked out and there wasn’t anything suspicious going on that could interfere with the wedding.

The grounds were gorgeous. It had a very ‘magical’ vibe to it with dense, very lush forests unlike any I had ever seen. We explored a few remote pathways that lead deep into the forest and everything seemed well.

That afternoon it was like an American Reunion in the bar. Dougie, Danika, Eric, Eissa, Nick, Stephan, Amanda, Lisa, Alex, Chris, Kristin, Christina, Chris, (lots of Chris-like names), Jodi, Becky, Anders, Elena, Maura, Brian H., Sweendawg and of course Bojana. We decided that our best bet for food would be to hit up Donegal Town. We choose Olde Castle Bar as our destination and had a blast! The van driver into town was completely insane as drivers go and for a second I thought they might have been an enemy agent sent to take us out.

That night we stayed up until 1AM listening to the band at the hotel bar. I had heard of this secret graveyard and wanted to take everyone there on a mission late at night, but the rain came in… bedtime.

Showtime.

Dougie and I were on our own to patrol the castle grounds before the wedding as the girls all had to do hair and make up. We made our way to the far end of the property and eventually were able to discover the secret graveyard! It was epic and had a 12 foot Celtic cross. Had we found this the night before I think people would have lost their minds, especially in the dark. A true test of trust were they to have followed me.

Not satisfied with our initial sweep I recruited Eissa and Nick to go further out just in case. We thought running would help us cover more ground and we would be safely disguised as ‘jogging tourists’. The countryside was beautiful! With very few cars and narrow country roads one really felt at peace. With the eleventh hour fast approaching we ran back to the castle.

I took a quick shower, threw my suit on and headed down to have some lunch at the bar. I left my firearm in the room… I wouldn’t need to use it unless something unexpected happened.

Everything was going off perfectly. I had my sights on the groom and Momo and hopefully Abbe had Bojana and Nina covered. Eric was nowhere to be found and was hopefully doing something useful like a perimeter sweep.

Once my crew showed up we made our way outside to the pavilion where the ceremony was to take place. It was partly cloudy and 70 degrees out, unusual for Ireland. The crowds were filling in the seats and there was a vibrant buzz of excitement. We had a 5 minute rain scare, but then the weather cooperated.

Bojana’s brother Neb was the officiant and he did a wonderful job. He has a very stoic and noble way about him that reflected out into the crowds. I have to admit, my toughness broke up for a second during the ceremony and I got a little emotionally happy for Sweendawg and Bojo. Thank god I had my sunglasses on.

The time was 2:30PM. We had from now until 6PM for the Happy Hour. Eric grabbed me a beer and we all headed outside into the sun. It’s kind of hard to protect the bride, groom, Momo and Nina when they all disappear! I was told they were safe by Abbe, so I just continued to do what I do best, socialize.

For most of the Happy Hour(s) we all hung out on the outside patio where it was unusually sunny and absolutely gorgeous out. I think I even got sunburned… in Ireland!

Where’s Momo?

At 6 sharp the doors to the main room opened and we took our seats. There were a series of speeches that went until 7 and then we could eat. The food was delicious and the atmosphere was relaxed and fun. The wedding was to go all night, so what was the rush?

I checked in on Momo after dinner as he was outside having a smoke. Then, a number of us went to the secret Library I had accidentally found (when I got lost on the elevator) the day before. It was a nice respite from all the action.

Back down in the main room the band had set up and dancing had begun. We all got to it.

Around 11PM we took another break and a different group of us went up to the Library. I took it upon myself to entertain my friends with a reading from ‘And Berry Came too’ by the late Dornford Yates. A favorite of mine, especially during the holidays. Feeling refreshed we all decided it was time to really throw it down on the dance floor.

By now the band had stopped and a DJ was in its place. Perfect! The crowd was going fairly wild and having fun. The other half of the wedding was drinking on the patio or in the happy hour room.

I took a personal break at some point. Knowing that our mission was over, I wanted to say thanks to Momo. I bought he and I two whiskeys and we had a toast. This would be the last time I would see him for some time. October to be exact. A new assignment was in the works that would bring us back in touch.

Just as I was walking away something tremendous happened. The DJ started playing an all too familiar (but not at weddings) song. We all started looking around bewildered and then simultaneously bolted for the dance floor. ‘Footloose’ was playing. Never in my history of weddings have I seen a crowd go more bananas then this night, myself included. We were all Kevin Bacons on this night, at this moment, dancing uncontrollably. We danced so hard that the next day my legs felt as if I had run a Half Marathon.

Whitney Houston’s ‘I Wanna Dance with Somebody’ was next and that didn’t slow us down at all, my vocal chords paying the price on this one.

The finale… Frankie Boy’s ‘New York, New York,’ epic to say the least. It brought down the house and all of the New York crew really let the pipes burst.

At 1AM they stopped the music and informed us that the downstairs Oak Bar was open. “Sweet, a new area to explore.” A lot of us migrated down there to have some more fun. Abbe and I made it until 2AM before we headed off. Arm in arm as we went up the stairs we both smiled, looked at each other and said, ‘Mission Complete.’

8AM.

…to be continued in London Relocation, the epic Part II.

RACE REPORT: 134 – Brooklyn Half Marathon: 1:24:16

Posted on May 25, 2017 by admin

Posted in All, Race Reports, Running 1 Comment

As you may have read on my previous post, next year is my 10 year running anniversary. What better way to celebrate it then to run the race that started it all, the New York City Marathon. The goal… run a sub 1:25 half marathon in Brooklyn to qualify.

I took the day off on Friday because we had friends coming into town for the weekend.

Abbe wanted to write a story on Wylie Dufresne’s new doughnut spot in Williamsburg, Du Nuts, so she was going to run there. I had a race the next day, so I decided to bike there and meet her. Our timing was perfection and so were the doughnuts! They were delicious as far as flavor goes, but a little dense for me. I like a fluffy doughnut, sorry Wylie.

We met Adam and Kristin, along with their daughters Madelyn and Savannah out by Laguardia and guided them into the city. We spent the afternoon in Central Park, mostly riding the carousel, before heading o dinner.

Adam had requested some serious NYC pizza so we decided to take their family to a NYC staple, Gino’s on 83rd Street. We sat outside and enjoyed the warm weather. I opted for some pasta as I had to race the next day and I have learned that pizza never works, mainly for it’s lack of nutrition. Our friend and teammate Kelly popped by with her new dog Peanut… Madelyn and Savannah went bonkers.

In bed by 10:30pm.

RACE DAY

We woke up at 5:00am to the sound of some Cafe Bustelo brewing, very similar to rising to a Mozart concerto.

We were in a cab and picked up Jenn and her boyfriend Lee by 6:05am, rocketing down the FDR towards Brooklyn. The weather was perfect, 60 degrees with a cool breeze.

With 15 minutes to spare and 5 blocks to the start we exited the cab. Jenn and I did a bit of a panicked warm up. We were on time, but not really. I said goodbye to her at B Corral and headed up to A Corral. As I entered with 5 minutes until the start I found my friends Elizabeth and Patrizia. Elizabeth was like, ‘Baker, what are you doing here, you should be up in the front!’ They had collapsed the corrals already and I was pretty far back from my normal placement. In my head I was kinda like, ‘Fuck it. Let’s just run for fun.’ But simultaneously another voice was like, ‘Keep the pace steady until Prospect Park and then drop the hammer. You have to give it a try.’ Angels and demons battling it out… we all have ’em.

The first 2 miles were painful. It was like being stuck in traffic. I tried to make progress by passing people but it was slow going. I was also being very courteous to my fellow runners and following protocol. I saw Kate and the GCR cheer squad which helped push me on. These miles were in the 6:50 range, 20-22 seconds per mile off my goal pace.

I saw Abbe and Lee at mile 3 and dropped off my belt which held my phone. I felt instantly lighter. I also saw my Seven Samurai (a group I coached to their first Ironman last year) cheering!

Right before we entered Prospect Park I heard a, ‘Hey Baker!’ It was Victor, also part of the Seven Samurai crew. We had a fun chat before I bid farewell. The streets were opening up and so I needed to make up time.

In Prospect Park I did a lot of bobbing and weaving. I was making steady progress and improving my overall pace, but I had to be careful. Prospect is only 3 miles in circumference, but is a series of rolling hills. It is very easy to blow up and lose your race here. I was running 6:15-6:20 range on these miles (3-6) through the park and was starting to feel confident in getting my mission completed.

Having run this 5 times I am pretty familiar with the course. As we approached mile 7 I started to pick it up, anticipating the straightaway that is Ocean Parkway.

Some think that Ocean Parkway is boring. It is. It is 6 miles on a flat highway with no shade. But… if conditions are right, you can use it to generate a PR. That’s what I was intending to do.

I dropped a 6:07 on mile 7 and tried to keep that momentum going.

Somewhere in the next mile or two I ran by my buddy Pat who yelled, ‘Great pace Baker, first beer is on you!’ We will come back to this later…

I was only taking water and gatorade every other aid station and my pace was hovering in the 6:20 range for miles 8-12. I felt fantastic! My legs were functioning perfectly, my heart rate was steady and nutrition was on point. I thought I had this thing in the bag.

Head down, feet plugging along I wondered if I would indeed achieve my goal. If I didn’t what would I do to get into NYCM? It was my introduction to running in 2008, I had to run it in 2018.

I decided, as the last mile approached, to check my time and see what I needed to pull this off. I thought I had been banking time and it would be easy street for the last mile. Wrong! I had just under 8 minutes to hit my goal and I was currently at a 6:20 pace. Too many variables were in play. I wanted this bad and was close so I just put my head down and dialed up everything I had.

I was watching the seconds tick by on my watch as I barrelled down Surf Avenue. As I hit the boardwalk I had 1 minute to go to keep it under 1:25 and my pace was a 6:09. It hurt bad.

Swinging my arms through the finish I knew I had it, but it was close. I finished in 1:24:16, just 44 seconds off my goal time.

Sex/ Age	Bib	Overall Place	Age Place	Finish Time	Pace/ Mile	AG %
M39	691	433	75	1:24:16	6:26	70.82%

As I made my way out of the finish chute and towards our after party I ran into my pal Allison. She had a great race as well. I also met her friend and another GCR teammate, Natalie. I left them in search of my Battalion crew.

In front of the Finish and Ruby’s Abbe, Lee, Dougie and Madison were cheering. I went into Ruby’s and secured us a table. I also noticed that the Flyers, another local team, were posting up behind us. I thought to myself, ‘Hey Pat is a Flyer!’ No sooner did I think that than he rolled in. We hung out for a hot second recapping our races before he joined his team. Man, I love the local running community.

One by one the Battalion crew rolled in! Some looked better than others, some had great races and some not so much. We had some drinks and some laughs before it was time to go.

I stayed in Coney with Abbe, Adam, Kristin, Madelyn and Savannah to hit the rides at Luna Park.

Mission 2 complete. Next year I will get to run NYCM, my 1st race ever. I ran it as a 30 year old in 2008 on a dare and I will run it as a celebration (and as a 40 year old) in 2018. Had I not run the 2008 marathon what would I be now? Please discuss.

RACE REPORT: 133 – NJ Marathon: 3:05:38

Posted on May 3, 2017 by admin

Posted in All, Race Reports, Running 3 Comments

I suppose it was during the afterparty of the NYC Half Marathon that it happened. There were beers involved. Friends agreed, I should run Boston on my 10th year of running. Even better, I will turn 40 years old in 2018, so it’s a dual milestone.

The problem – it was March and I had no qualifying time to register with. I’m signed up for the Chicago Marathon, but Boston will surely close by then. The solution – run a spring marathon with minimal training.

It was right around that time that Mike from the ‘Dad Posse’ emailed asking if we would be running the NJ Half Marathon this year, kind of a tradition between all of us. A light bulb went off in my head, ‘Bingo!’

I had 6 weeks until the NJ Marathon, and so I built a rather aggressive training plan that would jack my distance up fast. Game on.

On a positive side (wait training is positive right?) Due to my age I gain 5 minutes for my BQ. Instead of having to run faster than a 3:10, the time was now 3:15. Getting older can be fun!

Abbe, Jenn and I did a quick shakeout run on Saturday before Jim was to pick me up. I ran 2 miles and they continued on while I had a serious case of FoMO.

Jim and I were on the road by 12:30pm heading south to Mike’s place in Little Silver. We arrived at 2pm with no trouble.

Mike and I went to get our bibs while Jim went to visit his Grandma. After bibs we hit up Tommy’s Tavern for some beer and apps.

Dinner was at at Brothers Italian, a Red Bank staple. We ate here in 2011 before the race as well. Mike and I choose shells with meat sauce while Jim had meat lasagna with Cabernet. Jim was in a fancy mood.

We were in bed by 11pm.

RACE DAY

Up at 5:45am with coffee in hand 5 minutes later. We had loads of time. Mike’s wife Kara was going to drive us to the start at 7, which meant we would be n our corrals as 7:15. Perfecto. I ate one banana and took one to go.

As we were leaving I stepped outside into the overcast 50 degree weather. I held my arms out and looked up, Shawshank Redemption style, and said to the guys “The gods are with us today!” It was (almost) perfect running conditions.

After a slow warm up we parted ways to our respective corrals. Along the way I spotted my pal Ali chillin in the her corral. Photo op!

The clouds were moving fast as the sun shot out blindingly from a few open holes. It felt epic and I was definitely ready for Battle Stations.

The horn sounded and we took off. It felt great to just run, tapering was murder on me this go around.

The first few miles ticked off and I was the hitting 6:30-6:40 range. I felt fluid and this pace felt slow. Being notorious for banking time, I just went with it and enjoyed the run.

As we exited the neighborhoods and made our way into the downtown stretch of Long Branch, I knew that my friend Kate from GCR would be at mile post 9.5. This was a helpful driving force in my run. They had a solid team presence and gave me a great shout out, thanks GCR!

Up ahead I thought I recognized a female runner. ‘Is that my pal Allison (also from GCR)? Is that speedy Amy running next to her?’ Perhaps… perhaps.

As I approach I realized it was indeed them! Hello friends! I yelled, “Slow it down people!” We chatted for a hot second. They were running the Half and were soon to be finished while I, well, I had a few more miles to go. They bid me farewell and I proceeded into the darkness. The trouble with Half Marathon and Marathon dual races , if you are doing the marathon, is that you see the halfers head to the finish. Meanwhile, you have FoMO because you still have to double that distance. It’s such a bummer.

This may have been the first time in my history of marathons that I hit a truly bad place this early on. Mile 11 passed and the sun came out, increasing the temperature. We were on a straightaway and the turnaround was at mile 19, 8 miles down the road. That is a huge mindfuck!

I think the course Gatorade messed up my stomach as well because I didn’t feel too hot. I did a systems check on my body and everything was good aside from my stomach… and my mind. Major trouble.

They say a marathon is 10% fitness and 90% mental. Since my early days I have agreed with this statement and now my own mind and willpower was coming to test it. ‘I should quit before I get too far down the course. Why did I think this was fun? Fuck the Sun God, it is so hot right now.” It was bad, like real bad. I thought my pace had slowed to 10 minute miles, but I was still hovering at a 7 minute pace.

‘As long as I am moving forward, I am winning.’

The wind was coming from the Northeast and at mile 13 we ran inland around this dumb lake, only to add on 1/2 a mile. I felt the wind on the return. It cooled my core down and I mentally calmed my breathing down. I pulled my form back together. My stomach was still a mess, but the rest of me was improving. At the next few aid stations I made an effort to slam water and only water, to flush my system.

As miles 15-17 passed my pace suffered to a 7:05 range. Keep in mind, I was putting unnecessary pressure on myself at this point. I needed to run a 3:13 to hit my goal and I was running a sub3 race up until now, because I am competitive and maybe, just maybe, stubborn.

At mile 19 the 3:00 hour pacers past me. I got slightly mad because the pacers were so chipper and encouraging to all of us. “C’mon guy, lookin’ great, keep it up!” I was very far from looking great. Look at the next photo, I look like shit with my frowny face.

We popped onto the boardwalk, now in Asbury Park, and had a very cold headwind. It may have slowed us, but I needed the cool air.

After a few Ironmans and Marathons I have learned that sometimes when I am at my worst, I do my best. ‘Never die.’

I wasn’t pushing my pace any faster, but my mind and body were back in sync as I ticking off the miles. I was hitting 7:30s by now, but was steadily moving, even through aid stations.

Speaking of which, at the mile 22 station Mike’s kids Kevin and Kelly were volunteering! Thanks for the water!

I soon saw Kate again who gave me a high five. Next I heard this angelic voice that couldn’t have been more timely say, “Go Chris Baker!” It was Abbe and wow what a sight for sore eyes she was. I stopped and kissed her as she yelled, “Keep going!” My battle wasn’t quite over.

By now the 3:05 pacers had passed. I had 3 miles to go and was pretty sure I could make my goal if I just held it together.

I was now on the boardwalk making my way to the finish. The course was very familiar now, I have run this course 4 times I think? I plugged away at the distance, my quads in particular were on fire. As I approached the finish I had many cheers from strangers, which was really awesome. Then, my pal Ali who had finished the half was on the sidelines yelling!

Driving my legs down the finish line I had one last motivational push. A handful of athletes that I coached to their first Ironman last year were on the sidelines waiting for me to finish. “Baker! Go Baker Go!” I waved and punched it! Thanks Samurai for some helpful cheering.

3:05:38 was my final time which meant I had BQ’d with 7 or 8 minutes to spare. Mission complete. I have still not emotionally processed what has happened.

Sex/ Age	Bib	Overall Place	Age Place	Finish Time	Pace/ Mile	AG %
M39	2049	88	16	3:05:38	7:06	67.07%

Water in a milk carton is the jam. The photographer actually asked me to put the milk carton down… nope.

After grabbing my hardware I saw Jim and Mike at Rooney’s drinking beer. Jim was 3.5 beers in, which is a new handicap system we are working out. They gave me a huge cheer as I found my way to them.

I had a beer as we waited for Abbe to come off the battle field. Once she arrived she told us the story of a guy who tossed his phone to her at mile 22 and said “Please take this, it’s heavy. I’ll call you at the finish.” Sure enough he did. His name was Carlos and he runs for North Brooklyn as does my pal Evan who he knows. Small world! You know I love making friends.

This wasn’t an easy race. Training is everything and although I trained for 6 weeks, it wasn’t enough for it to be a walk in the park. I put everything I had on the course on that day at that time and I was no more. Sometimes when you want something really bad you throw it all out there. Pain is an idea your mind sells to you. Pain is temporary while glory is forever.

As Featured on ‘The Runner Diaries’

Posted on May 2, 2017 by admin

Posted in All, Running, Training: Running Leave a comment

I met Erin Kelly last year when I coached her through her first Ironman. We have since become friends and she asked me to participate in her project ‘The Runner Diaries.’

Inspired by Refinery29’s Money Diaries and The Cut’s Sex Diaries, welcome to The Runner Diaries, where we’re sharing a behind-the-scenes look into a week of training with runners of varying ages, paces and GPS coordinates.

This week, we have Christopher Baker of New York’s Upper East Side. Baker is an artist, endurance sport coach, and active member of running and triathlon community The Battalion. Below, he documents his training to achieve an aggressive goal of qualifying for the 2018 Boston Marathon (“BQ-ing”) in the upcoming New Jersey Marathon, and a trip to the northeast to spectate and cheer at the Boston Marathon on Marathon Monday.

Continue on to The Runner Diaries here fir the full story.

RACE REPORT: 132 NYC Half Marathon – 1:26:22

Posted on March 24, 2017 by admin

Posted in All, Race Reports, Running Leave a comment

This will have been my 4th time running the fabled New York City Half Marathon. I love this course as half of it is in my backyard and the other have runs through the streets of the city. It is also a very fast course if played right.

Abbe and I headed down to pick our bibs up the day before the race. It was still remarkably crowded, but the process was smooth and seamless as usual. We grabbed lunch at Peter McManus Pub on the corner after. Please stop in to this family owned establishment. It is one of a few remaining old NYC bars with true character and a friendly staff.

Danika came over to spend the night, so the three of us played some Monopoly and stayed off our feet. Abbe cooked up a delicious pasta for dinner.

RACE DAY

Abbe and Danika woke up at 5:30am and I tried my best to get another 30 minutes of shut eye.

Everyone had been freaking out about the weather for the week leading up to the race. I think because at one point the forecast said 45-50 degrees and people got super excited only to be let down. It was 35 degrees out which is, and would turn out to be, great racing conditions. After slamming a banana and some coffee we all left for the start. It was 6:30 and we either had a 2 mile run to the start or a 5 minute cab ride. We opted for the cab.

I checked my bag and then cruised through the security checkpoint. I hung with Abbe and Danika at their corral for a little while before heading up to mine. I was in ‘AA’ which I was confused about. Why was there an ‘AA’? Just keep everyone up front in an ‘A’.

I was next to a guy who would become internet famous for wearing a full suit for the race. I was jealous of his warm clothes, but not of his heavy cotton fabric. I was wondering if he would be chaffed everywhere after this stunt. As it turns out the guy ran a sick time for having a suit on. I think he was in the 1:10-1:15 finish range.

The gun went off and we began our ascent of Cat Hill at a rather quick pace. I tried to not get carried away with all the excitement.

About half a mile in this guy to my right says, “Hey Chris, what’s up!” It was my friend Sebastien! He was a pacer for the 1:25 pace group. He and I met in 2009 while running the Knickerbocker 60K. We chatted for a bit before I explained that I was going to ‘Blast ahead’ to try and get close to a PR. This would not be the last time I would see Seb or the 1:25 pace group… foreshadowing!

Miles 1-3 were 6:30, 6:12, 6:21 so I was all over the place. I tackled Harlem Hill and set my sights on getting through the West Side Rollers.

On the West Side I saw a number of friends who yelled out “Go Baker!” One friend said “Good morning Mr. Baker.” It was right around this time I noticed my legs feeling unusually heavy and fatigued for this early in the race. This was also the moment I saw my friend Seb again and we both laughed. I was clearly having an off race.

Miles 4-6 were 6:35, 6:36 and 6:25.

I excited the Park and barreled my way down through the canyon of Times Square in a hazy fog. My mind was all over the place wondering if I was even going to finish this damn thing. ‘Just hang on’ I told myself. I even convinced myself that my legs would feel better later on in the race.

I saw Susan and Jocelyn cheering at mile 8 and delivered a high five. The wind coming up off the river was fierce and everyone was struggling. Luckily, as soon as we hit the west side it was behind us.Miles 7-9 were 6:16, 6:28, 6:43 or, a reverse progression run. A digression run?

I saw my pal Ali cheering with the November project crew. She gave me an awesome “Goooooo Baaaaakeeeeer!” I also saw Kate and the GCR squad which helped motivate me. I was visibly slowing down as other runners were now passing me. I felt as though I was walking but my splits for 10-12 were 6:41, 6:43, 6:35 so I was still progressing forward.

I finally made it to the tunnel and knew I was going to finish. Just one more mile, I can do that.

As we exited the tunnel the north wind that had been ‘pushing’ us was now in our face. My final mile was a 6:46 and my finish time a 1:26:22. I was disappointed with my time, but after analyzing my data I found that it was 6th best out of 19 Half Marathons.

Sex/ Age	Bib	Overall Place	Age Place	Finish Time	Pace/ Mile	AG %
M39	9631	601	106	1:26:22	6:36	69.09%

Walking over to get my medal I decided to take the left row as it was less crowded. I heard a “Chris!” My old friend from college Shayna (who is now also a runner) was volunteering and handing out medals! She gave me a huge hug and then my friend actually put the medal over my head! How cool is that! It made all the suffering worth it.

Seb found me too. I explained why I could not keep it together and we laughed.

The next order of business was the after party at Irish American! I grabbed my stuff and made my way in that direction.

As I could have predicted, the only one sitting at the bar when I walked in was my friend Frazer, who ran a 1:15. We ordered up some Guinness and gave our own play-by-play of each others respective races.

Next, Anders rolled in and informed us that he had just PR’d!

Hungry runners + food = pure joy.

It was a short matter of time before Abbe, Bojana, Brian, Aunt Margie, Charla, my cousins and various other friends and Battalion teammates arrived to celebrate.

It was a fantastic way to end the race.

What did we learn here today boys and girls? If you don’t train for a race, you’re gonna have a bad time.

NYC Marathon – 2016 Spectator Report

Posted on November 12, 2016 by admin

Posted in All, Race Reports, Running Leave a comment

Marathon Sunday in New York City is my favorite day in the city. It has been since 2008, when I ran my first race and fell in love with running. Most years I am running it, but I bowed out of 2016, mainly because I was running a marathon in Italy 3 weeks prior. That meant I was on super cheer squad duty!

Our cheer support started on Saturday night. Abbe and I had a dinner/sign making gathering at our place. We had quite a few people show up, including one Battalion member running the race the next day, Anders!

RACE DAY

Waking up on Marathon Sunday and not having anywhere to go is a strange feeling. It is both welcoming, calmly drinking coffee and catching up on the news, and a feeling of missing out or lack of purpose. Thinking about all of your friends and teammates lounging around Fort Wadsworth waiting to the the line on one of the greatest marathons on earth… well, it feels like you didn’t get invited to someone’s birthday party.

To combat that feeling we had a party of our own. Noah, Cat, Gillian, Tia, Phil, Eric, and Susan came over for bloody mary’s and breakfast. We had the TV tuned to the marathon and when the lead women came off the Queensboro Bridge we set out towards 1st Avenue.

Hi Susan!

The weather outside seemed perfect for cheering (and running for that matter). On 1st Avenue (Mile 18) we picked up a few more friends… Role Call: Neil, Alena, EK, Chris, Bobby, Jill, Bojana, Brian, Lisa and Dave. We had our signs and our trackers out ready for our peeps. First up, Sebastien!

Hi Alena and half of Sweendog’s face

He was on par for a 2:40 finish time, and so he was kind of off by himself running and easy to spot. I jumped out from the barricades and gave him a point, thumbs up cheer scenario.

Beth and her cheer squad showed up to add to our fun at this point. We saw Juan crushing it but he had his music up so loud he couldn’t hear our insane yelling! Shortly after Dani came flying by looking great!

Next up was Battalion teammate Anders who was killing his first marathon! Jenn, also running her first marathon came by looking like a speedster as well!

Another first timer was my cousin Tommy, who came by and gave us a solid thumbs up! Battalion teammate Kelly was right behind him. As she passed by she threw me her handheld water bottle in what was nothing short of a 4th down touchdown pass. It was perfect!

After watching a few more friends cruise by we needed to make our way back west to 5th Avenue which was Mile 23. We pit stopped at our apartment, Cheer Squad Base Station Alpha, to refill our bloody mary’s and use the bathroom first.

5th Avenue’s cheering was still light and we were able to get right up along the course. We missed Sebastien because, well he ran a 2:42 and change which for those of you not in the know, is fast. We did see Anders though who seemed to be having a great time even though it was mile 23!

We saw Juan and Jenn fly by followed by Tommy. I also saw Laura, who I coached to a Half Ironman earlier in the summer. It was her first marathon and she was also doing fantastic! We did miss a lot of our people as it got really crowded and overwhelming.

Once Tiki Barber (we’re Strava friends) came by we made our way to The Battalion after party at The District.

Already there waiting were Uncle Bob, Aunt Rosalie, Tommy’s wife Kelly and their adorable daughter Fiona as well as Ander’s wife Alena. We posted up to the bar and waited for our marathon champions to get there.

As Anders entered the crowded bar we started a round of applause and I yelled out “3:17!” It was a pretty sweet welcome with Alena passing him a beer to complete the ceremony.

Jenn had a similar experience. She ran a 3:24 for her first marathon which also earned her a coveted Boston Qualifier by 10 minutes! Go Jenn!

Tommy, who was a few minutes behind her posted a 3:29 for his first marathon! Way to go cuz, it’s in our blood!

All of us hung out partying, listening to each runner give their epic tale. It was great. Kelly (another Battalion teammate and friend) had gone home and showered as she always does after a race and showed up a little later. She was pumped with her 3:42!

As the night pressed on people came and went. Abbe and I eventually left to grab dinner before calling it a night.

Congratulations to all of my friends and teammates on this glory filled day! I hope someone was inspired to run just like I was when I cheered at my first New York City Marathon in 2007!

Thanks to everyone whose images I borrowed as well!

RACE REPORT: 130 Lake Garda Int’l Marathon – 3:05:15

Posted on October 27, 2016 by admin

Posted in All, Race Reports, Running Leave a comment

Our team, The Battalion, likes to travel for work. That is, we pick fun destination races. 2016 was the Lake Garda International Marathon in northern Italy. We picked it for it’s gorgeous scenery and well… the food.

DAY 1

The Emirates flight to Milan was a flawless victory for me. One Ambien and I was out for the whole 8 hours. We (Abbe, Dougie, Danika and Eric) landed at noon, rented a car, and set out into Italy’s northeastern lake region. The weather was overcast and would soon get worse, as the Hundred Years Storm was approaching.

Lake Garda is Italy’s largest lake. It is roughly 5 miles wide by 40 miles high. We entered the perimeter of the lake headed north just as the rain started. A few more miles and what many of the locals called The Hundred Years Storm opened up, dropping the craziest downpour I have ever seen on us. We slowed down and carefully made our way around the small windy roadway. At one point an apple fell onto our windshield and I really thought it was going to shatter. Go Fiat!

Finally at Hotel Castello in Malcesine, we ran inside and checked in. The place was fantastic and right next to the famous castle that Malcesine is known for. The Etruscans founded the town in 500BC so yea, it’s got history… my kind of place.

We were welcomed by Marco and Matteo at Hotel Castello and they would soon become our trusted friends and top notch hosts.

After dropping our bags off we met in the lobby for a few drinks before headed to dinner. I was beyond Code Red hungry so we had little time. We scouted a few places before landing at Ristorante Caminetto, which was a local pizza place owned by a guy named Mario who was running around taking orders. He spoke zero english. He was extremely welcoming to us and we immediately had pitchers of white and red wine (and a beer for Eric) on the table. Then, the power went out! Nobody in the place really made a peep, they just kept talking and eating. Then guy next to us even used his iPhone flashlight to see his meal and continue chowing down. I had a pizza diavola, one of my favorites. I even get it here in NYC at San Matteo. The food was absolutely amazing and being around the locals was a blast.

The rest of the night was spent at ‘Eric’s Place’. He opted for a suite with a sick balcony, so we partied there, obviously.

DAY 2

It was a bit overcast again and in the low 50’s. For breakfast, we ate downstairs in the hotel dining room with some Italians, Brits and Germans. It was a very wide variety of food and we (as Americans) were thrilled with all the options. A cheese and meat plate for breakfast? Grazie!

The rest of the day was spent exploring the old town of Malcesine. It was quite a cool place and felt like stepping back in time as we wandered through the tight cobble stone streets. We had lunch at Ristorante Aristotele which turned out to be a fantastic place. I had Bolognese as the first part of my carb-o-loading. (This would not be the last time I would have Bolognese.)

Next, we took the local bus ten minutes down the road to Torbole, another lake town. This was where registration was as well as the finish of the race. It was a slightly smaller town known for its windsurfing, so every bar and shop had a surf theme. Dougie and I found these sweet Torbole cycling jerseys that we picked up.

Bib pickup was a cinch. No one spoke english, so it was a ‘simple pass me this and I’ll pass you that’ scenario finished with a ‘ciao, grazie’.

We ended up heading to dinner at 8-8:30 that night. What’s so great about a 9:30AM marathon start two blocks from your hotel… the night is yours!

I forget the name of the place we had dinner, but it was superb. (Fun Fact: all of the meals in this story are going to be amazing aside from maybe one.) Dougie and I got this spicy seafood pasta that the server recommended. I know, I know… very risky the night before a marathon, but we had a good feeling about it. The feeling was spot on and it was delicioso. We finished our meal with some of the homemade grappa-like substance they had brewing and then hit one more bar for a night cap before bed.

Does Danika have her own bottle of wine?!

DAY 3

We casually woke up and hit the hotel restaurant breakfast. It was a beautiful day without a cloud in the sky. We would start the race with 50 degrees and end it at 70. I fueled up with some greek yogurt and fruits as well as an espresso. Back in the room as I geared up I had my usual (as of late) peanut butter on bread.

I was very excited to get this run on in such an amazing environment.

Dougie, Danika, Abbe and I set off for the start down the cobble stone streets and all thought, “Wow, it would be terrible to have to run on these.” We think Eric may have gone back to bed.

The Start was in the center of town and all 500 runners were milling about trying to stay warm, even though t was a mere 50 degrees. Dougie and I had Newtons on and people were staring at us as they had never seen them before. It was also very hard to figure out what was happening as everything was being broadcast in Italian. We just waited until people started lining up and we followed along. Then, just like that, we were all just running.

We all started in the back, so it was a little tight running through the streets of Malcesine, although very fun to see the locals cheering. I hit Mile 1 at 8:28 and decided I wanted to pick it up. I even thought how fun it would be do have negative splits on a marathon.

The scenery was just as I imagined it. We were running south on the out-n-back right along the banks of the lake with the Dolomite Mountains cutting into the sky, the sun projecting dramatic shadows across them. I think the local italian racers must have thought me crazy as I stared into the distance, shit eating grin across my face.

Miles 2-5 were in the high 6:50’s and I was feeling pretty peppy and really excited to be running. Tapering can be so hard sometimes. The turnaround took us quickly through a tiny italian town with very narrow streets. It was a very ‘Death Star Run’ situation and it felt like we were flying.

Back on the course heading north I passed Abbe and gave her a high five. A few moments later I saw Dougie and did the same, Battalion representin’ hard.

Miles 6-10 I started to drop into the 6:40’s feeling fluid and really enjoying myself. At mile 10 we passed the town we were staying in and there were a lot of locals out cheering yelling ‘Bravo, bravo!’ By now everyone running by me was in race formation and cutting the tangents very tight. Italians sure do know how to race!

As we started to make our way to Torbole, the fabled winds that rip over the Dolomites from the north hit us dead on. It was pretty rough and there were tiny packs of 2-3 runners here and there drafting each other. My pace for miles 11-15 dropped into the high 6:50’s.

Luckily, we started descending and bearing right a bit so we were shielded from the mighty north wind for the remainder of the run. The course got very twisty now and there were a series of very cool tunnels we went through that passed under the mountains. I was by myself and found that I was just staring out at the lake and mountains smiling. It was so beautiful. Torbole was in sight now, some 4 miles into the distance. You could see all of the wind surfers enjoying their Sunday on the lake zipping back and forth at very high speeds. Without exaggeration there were between 30 and 40 of them. Miles 16-18 were clocked at 6:38, 6:11, 6:36.

We leveled out as we entered Torbole and started to see the cheering crowds. Then, in the center of town we passed the finish line turn off for those running the 15K or 18 miler.

Just saying hello to my fans…

Marathoners had to keep going, which was tough mentally. We ran out along the waters edge and caught some really cool views of the side of the lake we had just come from.

Then, the most challenging part of the day approached. We had a 3 mile out-n-back along a flat sunny stretch of road. It was really hot by now and I was slowing down. The remainder of my pace would be in the 7:15-7:30 range. At mile 23 I was fading pretty bad and all by myself out there without anyone in sight. My mental game was collapsing. Then, I heard this pitter patter of speedy feet catching up to me. It was a woman I had passed and said hello to at mile 16. As she passed I said “Bravo! Great pace, go, go, go!” and she replied back to me, “You too, come on!” This was such a big help. I held her pace and for the rest of the race shadowed her from about 10 meters back.

The last 3 miles were on a small paved trail and at least offered some shade for us, which was very helpful. We hit the lake front again and took a left making our way to the finish. I was totally spent and very happy to cross. My time was a 3:05 and change which I was very happy with.

Comin’ in way hot on that turn!

It turns out Monica, who finished in front of me, was 3rd Place Female so there were loads of cheering! So much so that they didn’t even announce my finish.

Sex/ Age	Bib	Overall Place	Age Place	Finish Time	Pace/ Mile	AG %
M38	26	19	2	3:05:15	7:03	67.47%

After getting my medal I made my way to the food and drink tent. A banana and Gatorade set me straight and I started to regain normalcy. Our meet up spot was a restaurant called Winds on the main drag, so I headed there, ordered a beer and waited for my crew. Shortly after, Danika followed by Abbe and Eric and then Dougie all showed up.

Not a bad location for a race.

We left Wings Restaurant and headed down to the shore to bask in the glorious sunshine. After a few drinks and some food we headed back to Malcesine for showering.

That night we headed back to Ristorante Aristotle where I had a really hearty and tasty pasta dish. We finished up the night at Eric’s Place, obviously.

Thank you Lake Garda, for providing me with a truly epic setting to run a marathon. I was overwhelmed with the beauty that surrounded me countless times.

DAY 4

The next day we headed out to the Ferrari Factory in Maranello to test drive Ferraris!

Italy… to be continued…

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