Category Archives: Training: Swimming

Training Weekend: 108.5

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Ironman Louisville fast approaches and training has been spot on. My 2 previous Ironmans had decent training, but nothing like what I have designed for Doug and I this time around.

Last weekend we rode 75 miles and then ran 4 off the bike followed by a 2 mile open water swim on Sunday. Then, Tuesday we ran 18 miles to shake out the legs (I’m kidding, it was an intentional long run). Exhausting stuff. I have been so so hungry. Please feed me.

As I sit here writing I am still hungry. Yesterday we embarked on a 100 mile ride out to Ramapo State Park and Harriman State Park.

We would our way through fun back roads in towns like Ho-Ho-Kus (it’s really a town name!) Saddle Brook and Franklin Lakes before getting to the heavy stuff.

Taking a left onto Skyline Drive, we started one of the most challenging climbs I have ever tackled. I tried to maintain some sort of level heart rate, but as we got further into the climb and I was out of the saddle, sweat starting to trickle into my eyes, all hope was lost. It was through the roof. Really, the only thing on my mind though was not quitting to walk my bike, so with my quads burning bad we made the ascent. I waited for Dougie at the top and we had a laugh at the mayhem.

We rode through some beautiful parkland and had many more climbs. Our total elevation gain was 6,660 feet.

Riding through Tuxedo Park we passed a porcupine! Seriously, I did not even know they existed that close to me.

Beyond_Defeat_training_porcupine

Then, as if a porcupine wasn’t ‘wild animal’ enough, I had to stop my bike to let 15 turkeys cross the road! See you guys in a few months…

Beyond_Defeat_training_turkeys

The whole ride took us around 6:20 to execute including pit stops. By the time we arrived back at the car it was 2PM and we were not excited to run in the mid day sun. We did at least, make the best of it by running over the George Washington Bridge and back. It was such a beautiful day and great to see the city in such clear conditions.

Beyond_Defeat_training_ride

We pulled the 6 mile run off with an 8:20 pace which is right on track with training.

We hit the showers, grabbed a sandwich and a beer and then (along with Danika) headed up to the Doyle’s for Keenan’s 4th birthday celebration. We were in remarkably good shape after our activities, we even managed to throw a football around.

The following day we headed out to Super Secret Tri Training camp. (Thanks Aunt Margie and Uncle John!) We were pretty trashed from Saturday, but knew the swim would help.

Beyond_Defeat_training_swim1

We executed a 2.5 mile swim in our wet suits and I feel like I could have kept going. Transformations and ‘body evolution’ are happening. Beyond_Defeat_training_swim2

108.5 miles done and I am so excited for my off day tomorrow!

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Big shouts to a bunch of the battalion. Amy, Rachel, Tess, Patty and Victor all raced the Lake George triathlon series this weekend and they all crushed it! We even have a few first time Half Ironmans in that mix! Congrats to all!

Previously, on Beyond Defeat

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The year 2011 was one hell of a year for me in many ways. Some were triumphant, others heartbreaking.

I set off the year with the Goofy Challenge. Saturday’s Half-Marathon portion was ran with my mother who chose to celebrate being 20 years cancer free. I had been coaching her for the 3 months prior to the race and we finished together in 3:01:25! My mother had seized the day. As for Sunday’s Marathon, well, I wanted to seize that day. I ran with all of my heart and finally broke 3 hours, finishing in 2:58:16. It was and is to date the only marathon I have actually screamed with joy as I crossed the finish.

In February I met (through the Runner Army) my girlfriend Abbe and we have been connected at the hip ever since!

I made a very big athletic decision in March. My training schedule has always been unorthodox and random, and I wanted to get my butt in gear for Ironman Arizona. I needed guidance. That’s when Sonja agreed to coach me for the season! (she is still my coach for 2012) Hiring her to essentially kick my ass every day was one of the best decisions, evidenced by my performance in Arizona.

The New York City Half Marathon was a bit of a wash for me this year. I ran it with food poisoning (I barfed my brains out an hour before the race) so I guess my race nutrition was sub-par. I ran a 1:27 and was so happy when it was over.

In April my Mom and Step-father visited and so since my Mom was now a runner, I had the Bridges Crew set up a Bridges Run for us! My Mom was thrilled to meet all of my Runner Army pals and could finally put a name to a face since she sees everyone comment on the blog.

May set off with the NJ Half Marathon, (1:23) and the Healthy Kidney 10K (37:02). This month was also going to be the Reach the Beach Relay and I was on a team with 10-20 of my friends (the Runner Army). The morning I was to leave for the race I got a distressed call from my Step-mom. She told me my Dad (who was diagnosed with Lymphoma 2 years prior) had gotten sick and I needed to get home as soon as I could. Based on the tone of her voice I knew this would be the last time I would see my father alive. I watched him go from pretty bad, to really bad to being on life support in 4 of the most traumatic and heart wrenching days I have ever lived through. The whole story is here for those interested.  

Back in New York City, I had the Great Hudson River Challenge to finish off May. The Runner Army (you know who you are) decided that they would all surprise me at the end of the race to help support me. It was quite amazing of them. Thanks guys.

My training had been escalating dramatically up until my father’s death. I pretty much dropped it almost completely in June. We did, however, organize the first ever Run for Bruce, a 5 mile run down to PJ Clarke’s. The turnout was amazing and even though it wasn’t a race per se, my youngest brother Jeff won.

I also got talked into the Alcatraz Sharkfest Swim from my buddy Todd. A 1.6 Mile swim from Alcatraz to the mainland, sure why not. Looking back on the mayhem, it was very awesome. It was also very challenging because there were no sighting buoys.

In July I started picking up with training again and getting out of my funk. I ran a couple 4 Milers in the Park and a 10K.

August was the annual Fire Island 5K. I came in 2nd Place overall again this year with a 17:52.

In September I finally was able to apply AND get into the Boston Marathon! One of my big dreams (before I heard about Kona that is).

Rev 3 South Carolina was in October. Jim, Ed and I road tripped down there for the race and had one hell of a time. I raced the Half Iron distance in 5:12 and felt ready for Ironman Arizona.

But first…

I had a lil race called the New York City Marathon to conquer! This was my 3rd time, and far from my last, racing it. Home turf, all my running pals, and the epic crowds of NYC cheering you on… it’s a day one never forgets. I had a course PR of 3:00:48 (because I stopped to pee again) and didn’t break 3,  but was still very excited to make that time. As usual we celebrated hard after, but not too hard as Ironman was in 2 weeks.

My whole year was a build up to Ironman Arizona. It was also a mystery. I had never raced this distance, what would happen? I’ll tell you what happened, I made some memories that have yet to fade. I finished in 11:13 and was completely satisfied.

That pretty much capped off my year, except for one last item. I signed my first ever sponsorship contract with Kompetitve Edge! I don’t think I have ever had more of a smile on my face than when I left work after hearing the news.

So yeah, 2011 had it’s roller coaster moments, but it ended on quite a high note. I always like to use the phrase ‘There are only possibilities.’ In 2008 I ran the NYC Marathon pretty much on a dare. Whenever I am reflecting, I always wonder what I would be doing with myself had I not started running?

 

 

 

 

I’m a Sponsored Athlete!

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In 2008 when I decided to take up running and attempt a marathon, I had no idea it would take me this far. Running and Triathlon are an everyday piece of my vocabulary now and my world revolves around races. Is it even possible to immerse myself even more into the sport?

Yes.

It’s with great excitement that I would like to announce that I will be a sponsored athlete on the Kompetitive Edge team for 2012!

Kompetitive Edge will be my support throughout the race season, providing me with the best of the best gear to fulfill my race goals. If that wasn’t reason enough to be excited, I get to be a part of a very serious and talented team of athletes! Lookout 2012!

‘Professional Athlete Simulator’ day

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Training for your first Ironman is anything but easy, especially when your Coach is dedicated to making you the best athlete they can. The last few months have been 10-15 hour training weeks, which have hopefully resulted in improving my endurance.

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Seeing as how NYC Marathon and Ironman Arizona were coming up fast, Coach asked that I take a day off work to get in a solid all-day training session. “No prob! Sounds fun!”

I have always dreamed (or at least the last 3 years) of being a professional triathlete or runner, my 9-to-5 job being to exercise. What fun to wake up and swim, bike and run all day! You can wear tri shorts and a sweaty tee, eat healthy, and get faster all day! The grass is always greener isn’t it.

My Wednesday morning started off with a coffee and a bagel. I then got my trainer ready, jumped into some gear and started workout 1 of 4.

ONE (2 Hours)

(I’m going to keep the details kind of vague since it is Coach’s secret formula)

A trainer ride starting with a series of ‘spin-ups’ getting my heart rate elevated. I had my iPod on and was rockin’ out having fun, for now. Next was 1 hour of increasing heart rate drills, the max being 155 and very intense. Next I did a series of single leg drills, which at the end my legs were jello. I think that was the goal. I was a sweaty mess.

TWO (1.5 Hours)

Walked over to Asphalt Green while eating a banana and drinking Gatorade, trying not to look like a wierdo since I was already sweaty and red.

In the pool I executed 3500 Yards in a series of different drills. I made friends with a lot of old ladies (remember it is 11AM on Wednesday). This was quite refreshing as there is normally a lot of jerk faces floating around the pool at night training for the 40+ Age Group Olympics.

Back at my apartment I wolfed down a huge plate of shrimp scampi I had made. Seriously, I was starving. I also had just enough time to run out and get my Halloween costume.

THREE (2.4 Hours)

It’s now 3PM and I am half way done my ‘training day.’ Back on the bike trainer, thinking I was unstoppable, I soon found out that my legs were not in a good mood. I was warned that this workout would be PAIN but I had no idea. Heart rate drills were followed by ‘grinding-climbing’ repeats, lots of them. I was seeing stars at a few points. Never in my life have a sweat so much. Luckily, the workout was over before I lost consciousness.

FOUR (1 Hour)

I met Abbe in the Park for an easy run. The legs felt pretty good but were in no shape for speed! Abbe said to me a few times, “You an take off at a faster pace if you want?” In my tough guy voice I was like, “No, no this is fun. Let’s just run together and talk about stuff.”

We ended our run at MXCO for some guacamole. I also had a burrito because my stomach and body needed some serious calories after my fiasco of a day.

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What did I learn from my ‘Professional Athlete Simulator’ day? Respect. Respect for what the Pro’s do day-in and day-out. Even though it’s a cool career and is glamorous, it’s a lot of hard work and dedication.

I think I am ready for Ironman Arizona. Coach also said I can ‘race’ the New York City Marathon (which is 2 weeks prior to IMAZ) instead of taking it easy. This is terribly exciting as my legs have been itching for a good running race!

Fall Races – Pep Rally

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Isn’t life funny? We get so wrapped up at times in what ‘we cant do’ or what we ‘don’t have.’

I sit here writing this on the eve of the Rev3 Half Ironman in South Carolina, with Ironman Arizona a month after feeling down on myself because I can’t seem to get my swim speeds up to a competitive level.

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A few years back I was leaving work headed home, very wrapped up mentally in some financial trouble I had gotten myself into. I felt like I was going to either have a brain aneurysm or start crying or both. My mind was racked with how I would deal with this situation and that’s all I could think of.

As I stood in my sardine packed subway car heading uptown to my warm apartment in my suit, listening to my iPod, a strange noise was making itself known at the other end of the subway car. Slowly, ‘Clang! Scrape. Clang! Scrape.’ as it got closer, everyone looking at each other as if we were in some horror movie and didn’t know what strange thing was approaching.

You could see people start to clear a path as the ‘Clang! Scrape. Clang! Scrape’ got near to the center of the car. Everyone was looking down at the floor.

As the people parted, and my eyes were able to fixate on what was headed towards us my heart sank. It was the torso of a man, a paraplegic, moving along by swinging his lower body while his arms supported him. He was blind, and in front of him he pushed a big tin pail collecting money. The subway car was so eerily quiet I could have heard a pin drop. The only sound was of coins and bills going into his tin to help.

Sometimes life isn’t funny. Sometimes we don’t realize that no matter how significant we think our problems are, someone else out there has much bigger problems.

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Sometimes it’s easy to focus on your own weakness, even when that weakness may be so insignificant in the grand scheme of life.

Most of my friends these days are athletes, impressive athletes no matter what caliber, with a drive, focus and intense determination. I say good luck to all of you in these Fall races you have chosen to compete in. Race hard. Feel that burning sense of being alive, and race for others that aren’t able to.

On Fear

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What are you afraid of?

I have spent a lot of time thinking about fear these past few months, especially after watching my father pass away right in front of me with nothing I could do to stop it. Was I afraid of dying? Was he? Surely he had thought about it, knowing that it was a possible outcome of his Cancer.

Fear is a very powerful emotion. It can stop us from achieving our true potential.

I was afraid of the water.

Since taking on the sport of Triathlon I have learned this. The realization came to me a few weeks ago when swimming the Alcatraz Sharkfest Swim. Without hesitation or fear, I jumped into the icy cold San Francisco Harbor with a smile and started making my way to the shore, anticipating a hot cup of coffee at the finish and hopefully a big breakfast.

2 years ago I would have never attempted such a feat. For all of my life (until now) I have been scared of the water, be it the deep end of a pool or a lake. If I couldn’t touch the bottom, I wasn’t into it.

Why? Was I traumatized as a kid? My parents were awesome, they had me in swim lessons at a young age so it’s not like I couldn’t tread water.

Looking back, I think my height played a big role in my fear. I hung around really tall swimmers who would venture into the deep and play water football. Knowing I couldn’t touch the bottom I would watch from the sidelines. These were my summers growing up and after awhile I had no interest in even going to the local pool.

Ironically, late in High School I used to love going to a place called Difficult Run and cliff diving into the rapids or riding the waterfalls. We also went to an abandoned bridge called ‘Party Bridge’ and jumped off its 40 foot ledge often. These activities might not be considered ’swimming’ though.

In 2008 when I took up running, it wasn’t long before I had friends saying “Baker, you should do a triathlon, you are good at running and biking, you just need to get swimming!” I wanted very badly to do a triathlon, but I feared swimming.

Luckily, one of my best friends is really stubborn and pretty much ordered me into his buildings pool one night after work, telling me he would re-teach me how to swim. Todd went over the mechanics of swimming and taught me freestyle. At first I would swim 2 laps, then rest before setting off for 2 more. 2 weeks later I could do 10 laps before resting, and so forth. Progress was being made.
Then, he told me we were swimming a 1.6 Mile race down the Hudson River in May. Things got real and I felt my fear rise again.


We conquered that race and many more after it. Swimming in the Hudson doesn’t even get me nervous at all anymore. Soon after that race I completed my first triathlon and never looked back.

My first triathlon!
I now look forward to swimming and the smell of chlorine gets me excited.

My fear turned to love.

So I ask you readers, what are you afraid of? What are you going to do about it?    

Bike. Swim. Cheer. Run.

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55 degrees and sunny both Saturday and Sunday? I’ll take it, and you better believe everyone else in NYC will too!

Coach had me queued up for a 2 hour trainer ride, but after running an errand outside I was like, “Stay inside and ride? No way, I’m terrorizing the town on my bike!” and with that I was off.

I chose to ride my track bike as I figured that would simulate the trainer best as I can’t coast. I also have no brakes, and since you never brake on a trainer ride that seemed logical too.

Any time I take a ride in the streets and avoid Central Park (especially since al the police have been ticketing bikers as of late) I like to say that I am ‘Saying hello to all the neighborhoods’ and seeing what’s going on in each one. The Garmin map below shows where I visited.

Pizza is a common theme for this post and halfway through my ride I popped over to Nino’s drive by window for a slice.

SIDENOTE: I have very strong opinions on the best food in NYC. Nino’s happens to be one of top 3 pizza joints.

Later that day I had swim instruction. We went over my form and worked on some drills that will improve my speed over time. Very exciting stuff!

Saturday night? Yeah I was tired.

I was really looking forward to Sunday. Maura, Bryan, Matt6 and I were to cheer on Maura H., Erica Sara and Steph (long with countless other women) in the More Fitness Half Marathon for Women.

I was supposed to wake up at 7AM but instead woke up at 6AM because my ‘smart’ alarm clock from 1998 still thought ‘Spring Forward’ was April 2nd. Save the Robots? Maybe.

Arriving just after the start, Matt, Bryan and I… ‘The High Five Station’ were on fire. We were obnoxiously loud with Thunder Stix, Cowbells and a sign made by Bryan and Maura. (Maura and Robin K. arrived shortly after, they were getting a run in first… Runnerds!)

There were somewhere around 7,000 runners and probably 1,000 of them high fived Bryan. It was awesome. We saw Maura H., Steph and Erica Sara a couple times before we headed out to get some breakfast, celebrating the gals running achievements. Both Erica Sara and Steph PR’d! Nice work gals, well done!

After the race I was supposed to run a 1:45 minute aerobic threshold run. Arriving home at 1PM I was in some kind of a funk. Maybe it was all the bad walkers cutting me off? Anyway, me being in a funk is a rarity. I pretty much swore the run off.

At 3PM I had the craving for some pizza. I embarked out to my favorite Upper East Side location on 79th and 1st, acquiring a slice of hot cheese pizza. After thoroughly enjoying it I had the secondary craving for Pretzel M&Ms. This may be due to the fact that there is a huge bowl of them on my coffee table. I had 20-30 and they were everything I had dreamed they would be.

Slowly, my attitude was changing. Inside, energy was forming.

30 minutes after my feeding… I was like “Hey, it’s nice out. I haven’t missed a day of Coach’s super charged plan (see image below) so why stop now?!”

It was an amazing run at a 147 HR Average. This means I was running 8 minute miles. On occasion I pushed into the high 7s which is great because it means I’m progressing!

I wanted to kick out some speed a few times as people passed me but I held my ground. Then, I heard these footfalls coming up behind me like a bat outta hell… I was like “Who? What?” As the runner passed they patted my back looked back and gave a shout. It was Antonio, one of my running partners from early on!

Gotta love Central Park… it’s the Runner Army’s backyard.

Appetite for… Progression?

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Over the last week my appetite has become ravenous. I find myself walking to work, drooling at all the cafes, in some sort of glazed over zombie-like shuffle.

“Will I make it to work, where my precious oatmeal lay waiting for me to devour it and live another day?”

“Will I have to throw myself through the door of some unsuspecting cafe and demand eggs, cutting everyone else in line off like a jerk?”

“Perhaps, at my last waning moment I will resort to some crazy cannibalistic behavior and eat my left arm, since I’m a righty?”

These thoughts have been going through my head because for the first time in my life my training program is through the roof and I’m loving every minute of it! Coach S has me really gearing up my volume and relaying all kinds of data to her. Heart rate, cadence, pace, times… it kinda feels like a science project…

This is what happened this week so far, explaining my hunger. I am leaving details out because I don’t want to give away Coach’s planning or secret formulas, but you get the idea.

Monday: AM Run, PM Swim

Tuesday: AM Bike, PM Run

Wednesday: AM Swim

Thursday: PM Bike

Friday: AM Run

I feel really good, especially since this kind of schedule is starting to become a bit more routine for me and falling into place so to speak. I never ran, biked or swam this much EVER. I ran like once a week (if it was sunny) and biked a couple times because I drank to much coffee those days.

Since I enjoy blogs with photos, I have included a few below (however unrelated they are to the above text) to entertain you.

LOOK! I got new goggles! I test them Saturday, look out sharks, I will eat you.

Last weekend Abbe and I went down to DC. This is a shot I took as we made our way to cheer the National Marathon runners. Pretty cool right?

Cherry Blossoms and an Egyptian obelisk.

 

 

 

Swimasaurus Rex

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Yesterday, as my errands finished at noon, I wondered what fun thing I could do in the city seeing as I had no plans. Just then, like something out of Twilight Zone, my phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Bakes, it’s Todd, what are you doing? Let’s get our swim on.”

“Hell yes! See you in 20 minutes.”

And with a simple phone call my fate for Saturday was sealed.

SIDENOTE: Are you kidding me? You think I didn’t know it was Todd calling me? What ‘phone’ of the year 2011 doesn’t have caller ID? A crappy one. I added our names for affect, and in case you forgot who’s blog you were reading. You’re welcome.

I haven’t swam since the Harriman Sprint Triathlon last August!!! That’s like 6 months.

After some coffee, prepared for me by Ila (thank you Ila!) we hit the pool. Todd said we were to swim 1 Mile and to document our speed and time so we can follow our progression over the next few months. I was down, but more importantly to me, I just didn’t want to drown during Ironman Arizona at the end of this season.

This is my ‘To infinity and beyond’, ready and willing to swim pose. My goggles are awesome.

After a 20 lap warm up we stet the clock (Todd has one of those underwater timing thingys) and started the swim. Todd is faster than me, but for some reason I always try to keep up the first couple of laps before I realize I’m burning out.

When you take me out of Air and put me into Water I turn from fast to slow. It’s quite frustrating. Last year after getting help from Brandon (who is a sick swimmer) and a few others, the consensus is that my form just needs time to marinate.

Focused on this, my swim was based on my technique rather than trying to be a speedster. The first few laps were difficult (seeing as how I haven’t swam in 6 months) but I slowly clicked into pace. I practiced keeping as aerodynamic as possible and having quick powerful strokes. I felt good about everything, even though I wasn’t flying along, I was doing well.

Half way through the mile my body was on fire. Seriously. I thought about getting out of teh pool and walking onto the roof deck and into the snow to ‘chill out’ for a hot second. But, I didn’t. My runner mind was fully active and I wanted accurate data upon finishing my swim.

Todd finished about 10 lengths ahead of me. As I wrapped up, he gave us our times.

31.08 = 1,6500 YDS (1 Earth Mile)

I was happy with that.

I quickly popped out of the pool and went to the roof deck. I stepped out into the snow and it felt awesome! Instantly, my body cooled down.

Back at Todd’s place Ila had made us some delicious Kale Chips! I’m including the next photo because it’s silly. Todd had leftover pasta and so ‘created’ a pasta sandwich for us to eat while we decided on what our ‘real’ food should be.

I love swimming. My favorite part is that (normally) I sleep like the dead that that night. Unfortunately, last night I woke up at 3AM.

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SUPER UNRELATED SIDENOTE: Amy C. showed my this free app called ‘Instant Heart Rate’. It’s very cool!

I got a 42 BPM resting rate which I understand to be good, but I am told I need to eat less? I’m not a doctor.

2010 in a nutshell…

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Around this time of year I think all of us like to look back on what our year entailed, then look to see what may be in store for the future.

SIDENOTE: This may be long winded, sorry. It’s more of an exercise in reflection for me, to see it written out.

THE PAST

2010 was set off with a bang for me with the Disney Marathon (my second) on January 10th. My time was 3:13:13 which was a PR by 2 minutes but I was in no way happy with this time. My mom got to watch me run a race for the first time which made for an exciting day.

February was kind of a wash as far as racing went. I did participate in the Run for Haiti charity event but set up in the back and just ran with friends.

As March rolled around I was ready for some action. The Coogan’s 5K up in Washington Heights was the start. I set a new NYRR 5K PR by running a 5:53 per mile race. This was important to me (and yet trivial) as I wanted my time under the NYRR umbrella to reflect a sub 6 mile average. Like I said, trivial, but it’s these little details that excite me at times. I ran the NYRR 8000 and the Colon Cancer Challenge as well.

The New York City Half Marathon was a milestone race as I was able to PR by 5 minutes at 1:20:48! I also qualified for the NYC Marathon with this time. More memorable then that was just how many of my new running friends I saw before, during and after the race! Such a great group of people.

In April I ran the Scotland 10K, Run for the Parks and the Lincoln Tunnel 5K.

May hit hard with the New Jersey Marathon starting it off. It was the hottest marathon I had run in with temps in the high 80’s. It was a battle field. My time of 3:15:27 was worse then Disney but I didn’t come down on myself too hard based on the crazy weather. I hate making excuses, but when people were strewn out on the sidelines like wounded soldiers I made an exception. For those of you who aren’t aware, I was and had been going for a Boston Qualifier this whole time and missing my mark by 3-5 minutes overtime.

PR’d the Healthy Kidney 10K with a 37:11 and swam the Great Hudson River 1.3 mile race. I did not PR in the swim, in fact I think I was almost last place as usual in swim events.

June was monumental as I raced my first ever Half Ironman! I got to race with all the pro triathletes I admire and even brushed elbows with a personal hero, Natascha Badmann.

I ran the Wall Street 3 Miler which is always fun in a ‘utter chaos’ kinda way. How could I forget the Lavaman Sprint Triathlon? Jim, Ed (from ‘Dad Posse’) and I stayed up till 2AM drinking beer, woke up at 5AM on 3 hours of sleep and raced. I even won 3rd in my age group so Hmmf to you ‘sleep’.

July brought us the Aquathlon Swim/Run event followed by the NYC Triathlon which was awesome! If I thought the NYC Tri was hot I was definitely not ready for the sauna that was the Queens Half Marathon! It was brutal!

In August I ran the fun, but also sweltering hot, Fire Island 5K and tried to uphold my 1st Place ranking. I failed and came in 2nd but still had a hell of a time! Then ‘Dad Posse’ and I raced in the Harriman Sprint Triathlon, always a fun event.


As Autumn arrived there was excitement in the air as marathon season was upon us! I ran the NYCM Tune-up 18 Miler and was able to maintain the marathon pace I had set. One goal I had set for myself all year was to run a Sub5 Mile in the 5th Avenue Mile race. I accomplished this by 1 second at 4:59. This was a big goal for me.

In October I ran a trifecta of 5K’s! The Montgomery River Run 5K where I took 1st Place overall, The Hoboken 5K where I PR’d at 17:37 and took 3rd overall and the Little Silver 5K where I took 11th overall.

My favorite race is and has been the NYC Marathon. This year I ran a 3:01:59 which qualifies me for Boston, another goal I had set!

The exclamation point on the year was running the Tough Mudder obstacle course with ‘Dad Posse’ and Ronny. It was hard, scary, grueling and totally awesome!

Looking back I’m very happy with my racing. Although I am very competitive, I’m still having fun out there.

What stands out most to me, as I evolve deeper into the sport, is all the friends have made! You all know who you are, from my Tuesday Night Speed Group, to the ‘Dad Posse’, random speedsters, competitors I have met during races, bikers on the road to Nyack and many others. This running/triathlon community continues to amazing me and I am very thankful to be a part of it.

THE FUTURE

Im registered for a number of races already, The Goofy Challenge, NYC Half Marathon, Alcatraz Shark Swim, NYC Tri, Rev3 Half Ironman South Carolina and Ironman Arizona. I really need to get my swimming up to par this year and try and get a bit faster. There is work to be done!

How was your year? What races will you race in 2011?