Tag Archives: chris baker

RACE REPORT: 041 Wall Street Run – 3 Miles: 19:25?

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The AHA Wall Street Run takes place in lower Manhattan’s Financial District and is pretty much organized chaos. The 3 Mile course runs a maze-like route through all the narrow roadways, finally ending at the ever-so-familiar Battery Marina. No I don,t have a yacht, it’s where a lot of the open water swims happen to end.

Erika asked me to pick up her number at the NY Road Runners, no problem. The problem, it seemed, was that I had not registered for the race!

Half disappointed and half excited, I left the Road Runners and sent some emails explaining my dilemma. Ed from ‘Dad Posse’ solved the problem. He couldn’t run the race so I could use his bib! Fantastic!

At work the day of the race I sat and thought about what I was about to do…
I was going to wear Ed’s bib in a 3 mile run.
SIDENOTE: Ed is in the 50-54 age group. (Sorry Ed for revealing your age)
I would surely take home an age group award for him, which would be kind of strange at the awards ceremony.

I decided to run without the official timing chip for 2 reasons. 1: Ed is running to gain entry into the NYC Marathon and however funny WE thought him knocking 3 minutes off his mile average in a weeks time was, the NYRR might penalize him. 2: Not fair to the 50-54 age group.

I met Mike and Patrick (also from ‘Dad Posse’) before the race then we set out to line up for the start. This is a general mess of a start with no seeded corrals and a total bottle neck right in the beginning. It’s a charity fun-run, not something where you’re going to be setting any records so I always tell people to just enjoy themselves.

In the start corral I ended up bumping into Anthony DiGangi who I met at the Fire Island 5K last year. He and his brother organize the run and I highly recommend it. I’m already signed up for this year’s race (fi5k.org).

The gun went off and it took me 2 minutes or more to cross the start. After getting through we were truckin’ at an 8 minute pace, people were hopping on the sidewalks and it was actually kind of dangerous from a sprained ankle perspective. This is why Erika opted to not run. She hurt her ankle in a bike fall Tuesday and didn’t want to risk injuring it further.

On Church Street there was a moment where the course widened so I sped up and cruised down the left side.

Back into the narrow streets it got really hot. It was already 93 degrees, but it seemed to escalate in those tight quarters.

I’m a huge NYC history buff and in my head I was thinking “Man, I would love to teleport an early Manhattan Dutch settler to this moment see what he thought of our little 5K.” At least he would know how far a kilometer was right? Ha.

Water Street widened the track again and I picked up my pace. We were running directly into the setting sun and it got HOT!

The final stretch runs right along the water. The group I was with all started sprinting and yelling, why not.

The clock said 19:25 when I finished but I have no idea how accurate that was without a timing chip and how far back I started. It just felt good to get the blood going and race with a big group.

I grabbed a bottled water and poured the whole thing on my head. Problem solved.

Then I heard “Hey Baker!” It was Daniel (or Dnorton). He and I chatted about the run, along with another fast guy who introduced himself to us.

I grabbed my baggage and was gearing down when I saw Mattsix, followed by Joeonetime! (using Twitter names make me imagine we are all super heroes)

I left them to meet up with Mike and Patrick. The 3 of us ended up going to Nancy Whiskey Pub which I have been wanting to go to for 10 years! It was awesome! A classic NYC dirty irish pub with loud rock-n-roll and cheap drinks. I shall return.

Good luck to Eissa, Ron and Sonja who race the Ironman Coeur d’Alene on Sunday! (I’m secretly jealous)

RACE REPORT: 040 Lavaman Triathlon

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Sex/
Age
Age
Place
Overall
Place
 Swim
0.3M		 T1 Bike
13.7M		 T2 Run
4M		 Total
Time
M32 3
19
 9:49 1:33 36:53 1:33 25:39 1:15:29

Jim (from ‘Dad Posse’) had us sign up for the Lavaman Sprint Triathlon for 2 reasons. 1: triathlons are awesome 2: the course went by his Grandma’s house so we had a place to stay and easy access to the start!

The plan was as follows…

Saturday afternoon Jim and I drive down to Granny’s. Ed (also racing) would be either driving down to meet us later that night or leave at 4AM the next morning to arrive in time for the start. Mike and Gio would show up once the race had started to cheer us on.

Saturday morning I took a 4 mile run in the sun then hopped on my bike to meet Erika and Marie downtown to go to an art festival in Brooklyn. I parked my bike in Union Square then we took the L Train to the center of the hipster world. Any of you who know me know I despise hipsters and if I had my way I would hunt them. Full beard in the 90 degree summer sun = retarded.

We got back to Union square just after 1PM and seeing as I had til 4PM to play, I rode my bike out to Fort Greene to see Jasika and Claire who were having an impromptu gathering. Jasika made us Pear Sangria which was out of this world refreshing! After catching up with them I took off to head back to the Upper East Side. It took 40 minutes on my bike – not bad.

Jim picked me up and we were on the road around 6PM headed to Lavalette, New Jersey!

We arrived at the Jersey Shore around 8PM and after quickly saying hello to Granny we went out to get some food. We stopped at Mia’s and had some pasta. It was a cool and windy night and we were hoping the wind would ease up for tomorrow.

Back at the house we hung out in the garage drinking beers and working on our bikes, preparing them for the morning’s battle. Around 10:30 we were winding down for bed (we had to wake up at 5AM) when we got a text that Ed had just left Manhattan en-route to us! It’s easily a 90 minute drive. Jim and I had a quick conference and decided that in all fairness to Ed, we couldn’t go to sleep until he arrived. That would have given us the unfair advantage of 2 hours more sleep than him on race day, duh. Therefore, we continued drinking beers on the roof deck.

Ed showed up around 1 in the morning! In fairness to us, Ed insisted he have a beer! We rolled into bed at 2AM!

RACE DAY

No sooner did we lie down, we have to pick our heavy heads off the pillow. It actually hurts my mind and body right now just thinking back to how I felt!

Jim dug around the pantry for awhile and found some American Lite coffee which may have been from the late 70s. It was beyond horrible and yet… I still drank all of it!

My head cleared a little once we hopped on our bikes to ride to transition.

I set up my transition pretty quick then made my way over to Jim and Ed to see how they were doing. For such a small and local race there were some very hard core bikes floating around. Some to the tune of $10,000! There was also this total jerk in front of Jim who made me upset. He thought he was away “too cool for school.” In these kinds of events, 99 percent of the racers are awesome, totally down to earth, and fun to talk to. This guy was part of the remaining 1 percent. During the bike course he would become my target.

Before the start, we had time to jump into the Bay. It was really shallow, but the water was nice. I got stung by a jellyfish. He would not be the only jellyfish I encountered during this race. Mike had showed up and was taking pictures from the shore.

6:50 was my start and I waded into the water to wait for the gun. I wasn’t nervous at all and thought, finally, all the open water swims and triathlons had eased my mind. The gun went off and I dove in, digging hard.

After a hundred yards or so I slowed up my pace and caught my rhythm. I attempted a new technique I was working on last Wednesday in the pool and thought it was speeding me up. I finished the .38 mile swim in 109th position which was a slight improvement since the Rev3, but still wasn’t up to my standards.

Running out of the water I ran by Gio who was yelling something like “Hustle Baker!!!”

Made it through T1 in good time and jumped on the bike, taking off in hot pursuit of the leaders. (Did you notice that my T1 and T2 times are identical? Strange indeed.)

The bike course was a 3 loop, out and back, so you could always see whoever was in front of you coming back in the opposite direction. This is great because you can figure out how many spots behind you are. It also sucks, because you’re like “Seriously? How is that guy biking so fast! I have to catch him?”

The first lap was tough, but as I came around into my second lap, I saw that jerk from transition up ahead and really let my legs burn. I passed him a few minutes later and never looked back. I just stayed in aero position and let the pain start, never coasting.

I saw Ed and Jim a few times on the coarse and we yelled to each other! I also saw Mike and Gio at transition numerous times, taking pictures and yelling for us to kill it!

As I pulled into T2 to ditch my bike, I saw that there were runners already out and I knew I had some work to do.

Bolting onto the road my legs were not ready at all! It’s not that they hurt, I just can’t get up to full speed, like being stuck in the mud in a car. I passed a few guys and then around mile 1 we hit an aid station where I poured water on my head and took off! My legs were warmed up and in full swing.

SIDENOTE: Erika and I participated in a running clinic hosted by Danny Abshire, Ian Adamson, and Ian Anderson from Newton Running on Tuesday that taught me a lot about form. At a few moments in this run, I used what I had learned and it definitely helped me increase my pace and stay focused. Thanks guys!

At this point I was cruising at a 6:15-6:20 pace and steadily gaining on people. I felt good, but the sun was out and heating things up real fast. I wanted this to be done. Coming around the corner I could see the yellow of the finish in sight and sped forward.


I finished in 1:15:29 which I was happy with.

I found Mike and we cheered on Jim and Ed as they came through the finish at their respective times.

We grabbed food and watched the awards. I ended up getting a trophy for 3rd in my age group which was cool!

We rode back to Granny’s where we eventually took off to head back. Jim dropped me off at my cousin Cat’s grad party in North Jersey where we rocked until 4PM or so. Was I deliriously tired? Yes. Was all the pain and sleep deprivation worth it? Indeed!


—

I leave you (anyone who has ever considered doing a triathlon) with this…
This was Ed’s second triathlon (his first being the week before!) and he has only been training for 9 months or so. As he sat eating his bagel after the race looking somewhat serious, somewhat pissed, kinda staring off, I said “Hey Ed, what’s up, you good?” He chewed for a second then stopped and said, “That was Awesome!!!”

RACE REPORT: 039 Rev3 Quassy Half Ironman

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Sex/
Age
Age
Place
Overall
Place
 Swim
1.2M		 T1 Bike
56M		 T2 Run
13.1M		 Total
Time
M32 26
133
 45:26 2:18 2:55:16 1:39 1:39:56 5:24:36

Swim. Bike. Run. Seems easy enough right?

My first triathlon of 2010 (second triathlon ever) was the Rev3 Quassy Half Ironman in Connecticut this past weekend.

As far as training went, my philosophy has always been to just do as much of the 3 disciplines as possible. I really hate regimented workouts as it takes the enjoyment out of it for me. Mentally, I tell myself  ‘Okay, you need to do a speed run this week, 4 bike rides, a swim and maybe a distance run.’ but nothing is written out. I also like to sign up for a ton of races which keeps me on my toes and can be considered ‘training’.

Jim from “Dad Posse” had us sign up for this race months ago when I wasn’t even sure I could handle such a distance. Sometimes you just need a little push, you know. It takes place in Connecticut just west of Hartford, in some beautiful countryside.

Saturday morning I went on a quick bike ride, then proceeded to make 4 ‘Race Burritos’. SIDENOTE: Erika thinks I should market them, so this is the name I will be using for now. I also prepared some shrimp scampi to take with me for Saturday night’s dinner in the hotel. I didn’t want to go out and as all of us racers know… we have our rituals and this is one of mine. I packed all of the goodies up in a big blue cooler. It’s funny, when I was at the grocery store buying the cooler the gal at the register was like “Alright! Looks like a BBQ and some Sunday beers!” Not quite… try ‘first aid kit’ or ‘survival kit’. Evidently, her 5 year old son also likes to run.

It’s also very hard packing for a triathlon. So many components that I ALMOST forgot my running shoes! What a disaster that would be. I guess I could have experimented with barefoot running right?

Jim showed up at 2:30 to drop off his wheels. He had to bail on the race last minute but was kind enough to let me borrow his car. Thanks Jim! I took off, headed into the northern territories.

I arrived at 4:30 and headed over to race check-in. It was very organized. While dropping off my bike into transition for the night I ran into Bill, a fellow NYC Triathlete and runner! He was right across from me in transition.

SIDENOTE: This was a high caliber, therefore all the Pros came out. What does this mean? Remember, this is my first Half Ironman so I was already nervous, now enter people like Matty Reed (last year’s winner) who is like 6 ‘5 and has the sickest bike.

Back at the hotel I mixed up my water bottles with half Red Bull-half Gatorade. It looked a little bit like a mad scientist’s laboratory. I ate my shrimp scampi while watching some bad hotel TV and was asleep by 10PM.

RACE DAY

I had the strangest dream. I had woken up and went to the race and was and hour or two late. I was very upset and the race director was like, “you can go ahead and start with a 2 hour deficit if you like?” Right. I was freaking out and just then my REAL alarm went of. It was 5AM in reality and I was right on schedule. Drank a cup of coffee, had a banana and some granola and I was off.

Arriving at transition at 6AM (it closes at 6:30) I quickly set up. I made friends with these two fellas across from me who saw me taping 2 burritos to the top tube of my bike. “Hey man, what’s that, a PB&J?” “Nope, those are rice and bean burritos!” They laughed and upon hearing about how I had already tested this fuel in an Ultra and a Marathon they were firm believers.


Notice me contemplating where to tape my second burrito…

After laying out my bike and run gear I grabbed my wetsuit and headed down to the beach to get ready.

Wetsuit on, I waded into the lake to get acclimated. It was then that Gallacher came over and introduced himself. He is a good friend of Jim’s I had been communicating with on email. We had a few laughs and watched the Pro’s line up. Craig Alexander was among them who took Ironman Kona last year. He is basically a beast and would end up winning it. After the male Pro’s took off into the water there was a 3 minute gap, then the female Pro’s entered. My heart almost stopped when Natascha Badmann was 5 feet from me! She is a personal idol of mine and I never thought I would be IN the same race as her! Kinda felt like I was right where I was supposed to be in life… The women were off and then it was time for my age group to line up.

Before we get underway with race details first lets clarify some things for anyone not familiar with Triathlons.

Generally speaking there are 4 triathlon distances, Sprint, Olympic, Half Ironman and Ironman. They always go in the swim, bike, run order. Today’s race was a Half Ironman distance, my furthest and most challenging race to date, even harder than my Ultra. I think this has to do with the fact that your entire body is in pain because you use all muscle groups.

Swim: 1.2 Miles
Bike: 56 Miles
Run: 13.1 Miles

A battle.

We lined up and within the 3 minutes the gun went off!!!

It was chaos. I was trying to stay in the lead but seriously, its like a piranha attack (I have never been attacked by piranhas). As space opened a little, I got my life in order and was steadily swimming, sighting every third stroke. I’m not the best swimmer due to my lack of speed. It’s really bizarre as I don’t get tired, I just can’t move quickly through the water. This race is maybe a sign that I should take a master’s swim class.

It was a beautiful swim through a crystal clear lake, very different from the choppy and toxic Hudson River swim from the following weekend. I could feel 2 different waves of swimmers pass me, which was frustrating, but I just kept telling myself to finish, I will chase them down later.

Cruising up onto the beach 43 minutes later I ran into transition, ripping off my wetsuit. I made the good choice to throw on some socks before putting on bike shoes. A choice that may have cost me 30 seconds, but in the end I avoided some serious blisters.


Hopping onto Andraste (my Cervelo P2) I quickly got into rhythm. Immediately, I ripped open one of my ‘Race Burritos’ and began having breakfast… ‘Breakfast Race Burritos’? I like the sound of that.

In the beginning to middle of the bike portion of the race, I was playing leapfrog with this one gal who was part of the Trakkers Team. She had this really cool bike made by Isaac? I have never heard of this brand, perhaps custom? She was a really amazing biker and in the second half of the course she blasted past me and I never caught up. Props!

What gorgeous scenery. I caught myself gazing off across the rolling hills a few times before snapping out of it going “Baker, Hello! This is a race, not a nature show.” As many people have reported, this was an extremely difficult bike course. Hills, hills and more hills. Just when your legs were recovering and you were settling into a rhythm, around the bend comes another behemoth of an uphill battle. It was kind of funny in the beginning… but my humor had faded by Mile 40.

At one point while riding by a few guys, one of them yelled… “Hey man! IS THAT A BURRITO?!” I smiled and said of course it is, duh. He yelled back “Can I trade you a Lemon Gu for your burrito?” No way man, that was my lunch and high noon was fast approaching. I did however, let him know that I had an extra one back in transition he could have.

Never have I wanted to get off a bike and run more than I did at this point. Please, anything to use a different muscle group!

Throughout the entire bike course there were constant ‘bomb drop’ descents where we might have been going 50 MPH spinning out our top gears! It was insane! The best description I could think of was that of a roller coaster… the feeling right as you start to go down the first drop, in the pit of your stomach, where you are teetering between ‘This rocks!’ and ‘Am I going to die?’ SIDENOTE: When tucked into Aero position on a TT Bike the brakes are on the outside handlebars. Try going for those while bulleting down a monster hill.

The plan was to eat my second ‘Race Burrito’ during the last 10 miles of the bike in order to have a solid block of energy for the run. Why the last 10 miles you ask? During the (dirty) Jersey Marathon I learned an important lesson with my burritos. They process into energy 5 running miles, or 30 minutes, after consumption.

As soon as mile 46 hit you better believe I was hungry and I wolfed it down. My next invention is going to be ‘Race side-order of Guacamole.’

SIDENOTE: My joke the second half of the ride was, upon passing another rider who looked friendly and not too crabby, say “Hey! Someone told me we have to run a Half Marathon after this! Is that true?!” It normally got a few laughs.

Cruising into T2 I hopped off the bike and booked it over to my slot, racking my bike and tossing my helmet aside. I quickly donned my racing flats and put on my Nautical Star wristband, then bolted for the run course. It was a sharp left turn out of T2 and I was going too fast without my legs properly adjusted to walking again, almost flying over the side rails!

Miles 1 and 2 were downhill, and we were going against the flow of the bike riders coming off their last few miles. Gallacher passed me and yelled “Go Baker go!” It was right around this point that the sun made an appearance for the rest of the race, increasing the temperature to boiling!

Turing sharp right into Miles 3 and 4 we were confronted with a brutal series of gravel uphills! It was very hard on the calves and yet… very peaceful and quiet running in the woods.

Miles 5 and 6 took us down a neighborhood road to a turn-around and then back out onto the main roads. It was here that my energy soared and all pain from the bike had subsided. I’m not sure if I picked up my pace, but my spirits certainly spiked and I was running with a smile.

I have never really spent a lot of time in Connecticut, but I had my preconceived notions. Today altered my perceptions forever, in a positive light. I grew up in the suburbs of DC, Virginia to be exact, and if you went 20 miles due west you hit horse country. Miles 7-9 felt like I was back home! It was very rustic, with man-made rock walls, huge oak trees and elegantly designed farm houses. The only difference is that Virginia has this thick, musky, floral vibe to it and up here in the North the air was a little lighter. Whatever, it’s my story, I can talk about smells.

The last few miles were hard, but the thought of being done with this mayhem was what kept me going. The final mile was a gradual uphill through the woods.

A strange thing happened at this moment. I was by myself just trucking along when out of nowhere this huge monarch butterfly started flying alongside of me! It was to my right, pacing me, fluttering up and down right around chest level. It stayed with me for 100 feet before veering of into the forest.

Rounding the final turn into the ‘Finish Chute’ I sprinted. It may have looked like demons were chasing me, and yet, I was smiling.

Crossing the finish line at a high speed and then slamming on the brakes is a funny feeling. Think… Millennium Falcon coming out of light-speed… everything slows back down and your brain catches up to your body.

Time: 5:24:36 (Real Time clock pictured is incorrect based on our wave starts)

This Stats chart shows just how bad I did on the swim and how much ‘catching up’ I had to do. (I love statistical data!)

I got my finisher medal, then went for some snacks. I wasn’t thirsty or hungry as I had been very efficient in fuel intake the whole race! One thing I did do (as I looked around at everyone else who finished and took their lead) was remove my sneakers and socks to walk barefoot on the grass. It felt SO good.

I had finished right on time to see the Pro’s get their awards. They announced the women first and Natascha Badmann had came in 7th place. It’s so surreal being so close to the athletes you admire. Craig Alexander won the men’s race and even set a new course record. Nice work Craig!

Knowing that I would be fading in the next few hours, I hightailed it out of there and headed back to New York City.

SIDENOTE: I left my Garmin on the entire time I drove back to NYC… there goes THAT statistical data! Rookie move.

Driving down the Interstate with the windows down, sun pouring in and the Who’s ‘Teenage Wasteland’ blasting I put on a huge smile and thought simply, “Hell yeah.”

RACE REPORT: 038 Great Hudson RIver Swim

Posted on by Posted in All, Race Reports, Swimming 4 Comments

Time Distance Place
53:43 1.3 Miles
155

This is my second year of racing or being ‘athletic’. Therefore, I have been repeating races I did in 2009 the last few months, the Great Hudson River swim being one of them.

It’s a time to reflect, compare, contrast and ask “Why on earth am I swimming 1.3 miles down the Hudson River on a Saturday morning?” Bragging rights are cool even though all my friends are over me swimming in the Hudson, BUT, I have my first ever Half Ironman race (the Quassy Rev3) this weekend so I looked at it as a training swim, especially since the distances are almost exact.

The night before the swim I made some stir fry and basically did a lot of work. Unpacking that is… I was still sorting through boxes after my move a week ago. Erika was away this weekend it was a perfect opportunity to stay in and organize!

RACE DAY

I was up at 7… unpacking still…

I went to (Coach) Todd’s place at 11AM so we could walk up to the start. He cooked up some egg sandwiches and gotta say, not great pre-race food. Ila, Todd’s wife and my good friend, said she would just see us at the finish. Last year she escorted us to the start, took pictures, etc, etc. BUT like I said, it was year 2 and all our friends were way over Todd and I’s crazy swimming stunts.

We made it to the Christopher Street Pier by 11:30 and got checked in. I was number 12! No, that doesn’t mean I’m fast, it is merely because my name is Baker and ‘B’s’ are in front. This is also a bad thing which I will explain in just a hot second.

Todd and I quickly jumped into our wetsuits and greased up any areas that might chafe… ie: armpits, neck, ankles.

Marty from NYC Swim started to make the pre-race announcement when Regina from Chiu on This introduced herself! We follow each others racing history but have never physically met! It was awesome to hang out and as it turns out she is also racing a Half Ironman this weekend! A few words from Marty and then LINE UP for the start! SIDENOTE: I’m not normally one to get upset, but this one gal asked “what happens if someone doesn’t show up on the other side?” with a little chuckle. Well, during the Brooklyn Bridge Swim in September that happened because a man died during the swim. So, yeah, I was upset at that comment.

LINE UP means exactly that, you line up in numerical order. I am number 12 out of 250 so that’s in the front. Fine. Then, once we are ready everyone moves into the water single file starting with 1. The problem is that if you are in the front you have to wait until everyone is in the water before starting, duh, it’s a race. Did I mention that the water is ice cold?

We started filing in off the pier and I made it in okay with just a slight shock from the 60 degree temperature.

SIDENOTE: Lets have a talk about experience for a moment. It’s critical. I was flashing back to last years race (my first open water swim) and how I was freaking out when I jumped into the frigid water, hands in the air (like ya just don’t care) so they wouldn’t freeze, heavy fast breathing. Ha! Now I was bobbing around having a blast. Todd and I were even BS-ing about what we did the night before. “Not much man… *bob* *splash* just unpacked some boxes and made some stir fry.” “cool… cool.”

As soon as all the swimmers were in, which took maybe 5-10 minutes, Marty sounded the horn and we were off!

Unlike last year, I didn’t wait for the fast swimmers to go ahead, I started right into the soup! People are on top of you and touching your feet, it’s mayhem and if you have any fear of drowning, this isn’t the place for you. As soon as we rounded the first buoy and took a left into the Hudson going South someone kicked me square in the eye socket; 1- inducing pain, 2- flooding my eye with toxic water. I quickly released the water and dove back in, unfazed, but a little pissed off. I kept saying “Its not their fault, they didn’t know I was behind them.”

This was my third pair of goggles and by far THE BEST! They are the Aqua Sphere open water goggles and aside from the kick to the face I didn’t have any water leakage the whole swim and my visibility was great!

Unlike last year where I stopped at times to take in the fact that I was in the middle of the Hudson and I was tired, I dug right in and didn’t stop. I learned a new trick the Tuesday before the race, swimming at Todd’s pool. “Sighting” which basically is every third breath, you look forward and fixate on a target.

I noticed that during the second half of the swim I was zoning out and just cruising through the water. I was really having fun out there and had no fears.

As we entered the Battery Park stretch (or the last 1/4 mile) things got bumpy. Giant swells were making it difficult to sight at a very crucial moment, the point where e needed to make a hard left to get into the Marina and not get dragged out to the Statue of Liberty. Once I saw the sea wall on my left and knew I was in the safety of the Marina I picked it up a bit to try and ‘sprint’ the finish. Its a lot different than running, that’s for sure.

As I climbed out of the water I was thrilled to have completed this race yet again! We got our medals and then I hosed down in the clean water area. I then found Todd and Ila (Todd finished 5, 6 minutes ahead of me) who were hanging out watching the swimmers come in. My time was 53 minutes and change, which is wild as it shows you just how many variables go into open water swimming. That’s a full 10 minutes slower than last years race where we had the current gong with us!

Swimming is by far my weakest of the three triathlon disciplines. Its not that I’m bad at it, as I wasn’t fatigued from the swim, I’m just not fast for some reason. Oh well, I will just play catch up on the bike and on foot!

We proceeded to go to the Lobster Roll Cart and get some food. It was a perfect swim, and a beautiful sunny day down on the Battery.

RACE REPORT: 037 Healthy Kidney 10K: 37:11

Posted on by Posted in All, Race Reports, Running 5 Comments

Sex/
Age		 Bib Overall

Place

 Age
Place		 Finish
Time		 Split
Time		 Pace/
Mile		 AG %
M32 129 161 26 37:11 0:18:14 5:59 72.7 %

This Sunday would mark the second running of the Healthy Kidney 10K for me and also be the first time in 2 weeks I had run (pending a track workout Tuesday) since the NJ Marathon.

I was in fact quite excited to NOT be running a race of marathon distance!

As work ended on Friday my mind wasn’t in ‘work is over’ mood, in fact I was getting fired up. That’s because I was slated to move Tuesday from my Chelsea 2-bed apartment to a new Upper East Side 1-bedroom! I had been packing since Wednesday and had lots more to do.

My co-worker and friend Annie offered to give me some boxes (as she had just moved) so I went to her apartment. I then went home, grabbed my laundry, and headed to the grocery store. One thing I overlooked in moving was that I needed a solid pre-race meal!

Shrimp Scampi it was. This dish never fails me on race day. Proteins, carbs, butter… everything the body needs to survive!

After dinner, I watched the KONA Ironman World Championships 2004 (one of my favorite ones) to get inspired, packed and then went to bed around 12.

RACE DAY

I woke up at 6:30Am and got some coffee on. SIDENOTE: not sure if any of you know this, but for some reason I don’t need an alarm clock to wake up if it’s not earlier than say 5AM. I blame my Dad.

I packed up a few more boxes before heading out on my bike.

It was amazing out and was turning into perfect racing conditions! I locked up my ride by the Band shell and after searching for Ed to no avail, I headed to baggage and then my corral. It was here that my old pal Kevin Masse from Front Runners ran into me. We caught up a bit and wished each other well on our race.

Blue Corral was pretty empty when I arrived but it was soon teeming with runners stretching, jumping and smelling of Icy Hot which incidentally makes me nauseous.

A word from our sponsors (namely the people supplying the huge cash awards for the winners)… a little National Anthem action… and then we were off!

The first mile was a bit packed but we were cooking. In a big money race like this you get all the Olympic runners and speedsters out so even the front of the pack is crowded!

We hit Mile 1 at 5:50 which disappointed me as I wanted to break 37:59 which was my PR. SIDENOTE: I’m horrible at math. 5:50 as it turns out, is good.

Mile 2 to 3 opened up the group a bit and we were running single file ‘race style’ now. I can normally gauge my body and how I’m feeling at this point and make a decision as to whether this was a ‘good’ race day or ‘bad’ race day. I was leaning more toward the bad as I was feeling a touch winded.

Harlem Hill came up and I blazed up it swinging my arms like a a madman (as I was taught to do on Tuesday Speed training). At the apex I took a deep breath, then started striding down the other side attempting to gain some time. Mile 4 hit at 24 minutes and change.

Running down the straight away by 89th street I kept trying to remind myself of the Ultra in November. During that race I had to run 9 laps around the park and the finish line was here. When I was getting tired I just said “Baker, you ran this 9 times! This is just once, you’re almost done, go go go!” It did help, but only psychologically, my legs were still burning.

At Mile 5 I ended up running along a Central Park Track Club racer and we paced each other for the last mile. Another taller fellow joined in pursuit behind me soon after. I really think this may have helped my finishing time a lot.

Rounding the bottom loop of the Park by Columbus Circle we hit the 6 Mile mark with 400 meters to go at 36:30 or so and then it dawned on me… I had been doing bad math the whole time, I was indeed on point to hit my time!

I tried to kick it up a notch but I was already blazing. It wasn’t until I saw the finish line (don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes!) that I pulled the trigger. I flew through the finish line with a time of 37:11 which was a whole 50 seconds under my goal! I felt great and had a huge smile.

After grabbing a few waters I headed down to the Finish to cheer on all my friends who were running… Ed, Matt 6, Erin, Frankie, and Elizabeth to name a few. I watched for 30-45 minutes and didn’t see any of them! I was also texting Erika so they may have slipped by while my head was down.

Back up at the main area I ran into Matt 6, Erin and Frankie. We decided to go grab some food and at Matt’s suggestion we hit Time Warner’s Whole Foods. It was amazing. They have a breakfast buffet and delicious coffee. We ate and chatted about our races before heading our separate ways. What a great start to a beautiful day! Now back to packing…

RACE REPORT: 036 NJ Marathon: 03:15:27

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Sex/
Age		 Bib Overall

Place

 Gender

Place

 Age
Place		 Finish
Time		 Pace/
Mile		 AG %
M32 629 21 19 3 03:15:27
7:27
 63.0 %

Monday started the week leading up to the NJ Marathon and I was quite excited for it! The weather report for Sunday looked ideal for a great day to go for a run.

On Tuesday, my left calf was still bothering me from the Lincoln Tunnel race the previous Sunday, but I still decided to rock out Speed Sessions with our group.

We did some sprint intervals followed by some core work which proved to be a lot of fun.

The rest of the week I biked sporadically and just enjoyed the weather.

On Saturday I ran for 20 minutes (to get my legs ready) up to Erika’s apartment. She had cooked french toast for me! What?! It was delicious… she’s quite the baker, no joke intended.

I went home and made rice and bean burritos for Sunday’s Marathon, then headed out to meet Ed.

It was a ‘Dad Posse’ plus family weekend. Ed (and family… Annalise, Jack, Isabelle and Ben) picked me up and we headed out to Mike’s house, which is 10 minutes from the race. Mike and his wife Kara offered to host us for the race similarly to the Little Silver 5K last R-october.

Once we arrived at Mike and Kara’s (plus Kelly and Kevin) we proceeded to have some beers and get ready for dinner out on the back deck. Jim and Lisa (plus Josephine and Elizabeth… and LOUIE) had beat us there and were already having fun. SIDENOTE: Who is Louie? Louie is Jim and Lisa’s 1 year old Boston Terrier. He’s adorable (in a tough way of course) and even purrs like a cat at times.

For dinner we had a spread of pastas and salads which was perfect for a pre-race meal. We also had a few Coronas, which only helped (in my opinion) the carb-o-loading.

We were in bed by 10:30-11 PM. Not bad at all…

RACE DAY

I slept like a baby and woke up unaided at 6:30AM. Mike was up getting coffee ready. I grabbed a cup plus a bagel and chilled out on the back deck with the gang as they woke up. We were slotted to leave at 7:30 for the shuttle bus which was plenty of time to get my head together for the run.

Sitting out in the open air in my PJ’s having coffee, birds chirping and sun shining, I thought “Wow, what a beautiful day for a run.” Little did I know what was in store…

In preparation for battle, I grabbed 2 of my burritos and lodged them in my waistband. If you are wondering why on earth anyone would eat burritos during a marathon, you can read either my Knickerbocker Race Report or Disney for a better understanding.

We took the shuttle buses and arrived with ample time to get to the start. As we approached I noticed zero signage instructing runners or spectators where to go. We ended up running right into the side of the corrals (which were also utter chaos). Think… cattle (wait… udder chaos?). We all just hopped into the madness. As the wave 1 start went off I looked around and realized I was in the 4:15 pace area, which was 1 hour behind my goal for the day at least. Whatever… I thought I’ll just bob and weave once the race starts. We came to a halt right before Wave 2 got set off and as I crossed the Start Mat I realized I was 7 1/2 minutes back.

The Full Marathon course was 2 loops of the Half Marathon loop (which all of my ‘smart’ friends were doing).

Jim was on my heels and we started up the right side, weaving through people. As soon as we turned inland a wave of heat hit us similar to opening an oven door. Wow!

It was really crowded as I flanked everyone pushing forward. I tried to be as cordial a runner as possible, avoiding bumping people. I also had to pee really bad so I was watching out for port-o-potties in my peripheral. I knew that I would have to wait a few miles to get ahead of the early bathroom breakers.

At Mile 4, I pulled over to a port-o-potty for a hot second and whoa, it was an oven inside. “And that’s all I have to say about that… “

Moving forward I realized just what we (all 10,000 runners) had gotten ourselves into. It was scorching hot out. Right about Mile 5 I decided to have some kids at a water aid station hose me down with a water hose. 10 seconds later I was running without any music as I realized they also hosed down my iPod. Hmmm… 21 Miles with no music? Sure, I can do it.

I was cooking at a pretty good pace at this point and had high spirits. There were a lot of aid stations and I took every opportunity to grab 2 waters… one to drink and one for my head.

Not much to report for Miles 7-10… it was just freaking HOT out. The sun was relentless.

At Mile 11 we were running in the downtown area, then made our way left toward the boardwalk. SIDENOTE: I really like looped courses in a marathon as you can plan when you will use your energy reserves. Therefore, I was visually marking the course as I ran it, planning my attack on the second loop.

Cruising along the boardwalk was great as the ocean breeze was a savior. I liken it to opening the fridge after coming in from the summer heat. I think I even thanked the ‘ocean gods’ at one point…

Back at the Start/Finish I ran through the ‘2 loopers’ gate. After passing through and beginning along the path I had started an hour and a half earlier things got a lot quieter. It was at this point I looked at my Garmin and realized that my goal of a Boston Qualifier or a Sub3 Marathon were definitely NOT going to happen. Whatever, it was 95 degrees and humid, I needed to stay alive! However, the show must go on, never give up.

I was in the habit now of dumping water on my head at every aid station and if they had a hose, well I may as well have been a human 5-alarm fire. I was also dry 300 meters later.

Mile 15 or 16 I started getting very hungry (we will recap this fatal error at the end of our lesson) and so I ate one of my burritos. It was ‘beyond awesome’.

Chugging along between Miles 16-20 was maybe the hardest part of the race. Most distance runners will tell you that, but this wasn’t my ‘so called’ wall. I was just hungry, like starving hungry, like runnin’ on empty. The second issue was that the scenery was sub-par. It was very ‘Mayberry’ for those Andy Griffith fans out there. I was just trying to keep my feet going and every time there was a patch of shade or a sprinkler I ran through it. Seriously, did I mention that it was hot?

Around Mile 18 is when an Angel in Disguise came onto the scene. I was trotting along (possibly drooling) and on this quiet neighborhood street with zero traffic an elderly woman came into the middle of the street. “I have water! I have water for anyone who wants it!” Wow. I bee-lined it over to her and tried to stop. She said “No! Take the water and run, Im only going to affect your time!” I poured half the water bottle over my head and THEN I did something I have never thought to do. My feet were burning! Really bad, like they were on fire. I stopped and poured the ice cold water directly into my sneakers. It felt so amazing! I smiled and ran on.


As I approached Mile 20 something totally weird happened. I was flooded with an enormous amount of energy. All the pain (or hunger) I had been feeling subsided. I looked up and just started trucking! Watching my Garmin I KNEW I had fallen off the wagon the last few miles… BUT what if could make up some lost time?

I was passing people and staying the course. I grabbed a cup of water at an aid station and I realized I was as hydrated as I needed to be. (They say not to drink more than you need to and I truly believe this). I kept going and was throwing up the Bullhorns plus Thumb ‘Love’ sign to anyone cheering me on.

Not to dwell on this strange phenomenon, but I have never had a surge of energy like this at the end of a distance run. I normally just want to die, duh.

At Mile 23 I had started catching up to the tail end of the Half Marathoners and was running around them cordially. I had programmed the course into my head and was anxiously awaiting the point when it turned left onto the beach… the home stretch… the Ocean.

Cruising along at maybe a 7 minute pace I made the left and once again was welcomed by the oceans cool breeze. It cooled my core by ten degrees without even exaggerating. I was now 2 miles out running along the crowded boardwalk dodging walkers and random people who weren’t aware of a race taking place.


As the final mile approached I got very excited. I knew Ed, Jim, Mike, Annelise and Lisa would be somewhere toward the end cheering me on, which would only fuel my finish. There was an arch ahead that said something like ‘Finish.’ I sprinted, but as I passed through I looked ahead and could see the real finish 300 meters ahead! (NJ Marathon people… NOT COOL). I summoned up some more strength and gunned it again! This time I heard my name to the left and I saw the gang cheering me on! Overdrive! I cruised through the finish, grabbed my medal and hat and went to find the crew. I felt pretty good even though I knew my goal hadn’t been achieved.

We met up, exchanged a few high fives and took a few photos before heading out.

We wrapped up the day at Mike and Kara’s with a BBQ and some more Coronas. Thanks to Mike and Kara for once again being great hosts!

Returning to mighty Manhattan, I was greeted with a sweet surprise… Erika! She insisted she take me out to celebrate the marathon! We had some BBQ and bourbon drinks (she’s from Texas.) It was a great way to end the weekend.

—

I learned a lot after this race, as usual. I need to eat my burritos BEFORE I get hungry. This way the energy transfers into my body without any down time.

Im also really excited for the whole crew! All of us killed it out there in really rough conditions. For a few of the gang, it was their first Half! Congrats to all of you, that is quite an achievement and obviously only preparing you for the next step… Full Marathons! Awesome.

On a personal note, I was kind of down on myself for not breaking any of my records and not qualifying for Boston by under 5 minutes again. I was kind of in a stupid daze, as if nothing marathon related had happened during the post run festivities. When Erika said she wanted to take me out to celebrate my race and how great I did, even though I didn’t think I had done well at all, I got really happy and snapped out of my funk.

A lot of runners get down on their performances. They aren’t happy with their times, or if they PR’d. We can be really hard on ourselves. What hit me as Erika and I were eating dinner (which is the feeling that soaked in after my first marathon) was “Hey, you just ran a marathon, jerk! That in itself is an accomplishment.” That’s when I understood once again why I run Marathons or why I race in Triathlons: to feel alive.

There are only possibilities.

RACE REPORT: 035 Lincoln Tunnel 5K: 19:24

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Sex/
Age		 Bib Overall

Place

 Gender

Place

 Age
Place		 Finish
Time		 Pace/
Mile		 AG %
M32 84 45 38 10
19:24
6:17
 66.0 %

The week leading up to the Lincoln Tunnel 5K was pretty busy…

Monday: My friend Jasika had her birthday party at SoHo Grand. Erika and I hung out with her, Claire and a plethora of other interesting people until we decided it was time to head out as it was Monday after all.

Tuesday: Speed Sessions in Central Park led by Josh. We did 1/2 Mile intervals around the Great Lawn followed by (at Erika’s suggestion) a group meal at Shake Shack. It was a blast. Lets see if I can get everyone… Role Call: Josh, Erika, Amy, Elyssa, Michelle, Serene, Matt, Joe, Nancy, Erin, Anna, Frankie, Bill, and Jenna.

Wednesday: Hung out with Ed and Daniel discussing serious stuff like ‘stocks.’ We may have had beers too.

Thursday: Erika and I went to Carnegie Hall to see Frederika Von Stade’s farewell recital. It was beyond amazing.

Friday: My friend Matt’s 40th birthday party at Hill Country BBQ that involved overeating.

Saturday night Todd, Ila and I went out to Rick and Molly’s place in Hoboken to stay the night. We went out to a cute Italian place where I had Shrimp with Penne pasta as my pre-race meal. We all went to bed at Midnight, anticipating bad weather for the morning.

RACE DAY

We woke up at 7AM to cold rain, making the process of getting out of bed quite hard, especially knowing we would have to trek out in it to get to the start of the run.

After some fussing, Todd and I convinced Ila that “Yes, this is gonna be fun!” and we geared up.

We grabbed a cab and headed over to the Lincoln Tunnel start area. The dialogue between Todd and the cabbie was funny… “Where to?” says the cab driver. “The entrance of The Lincoln Tunnel,” says Todd as the driver turns in confusion.

The start area was a mess. It was raining and people were trying to find cover once they obtained their race bibs. I was queued up to start in the faster 8AM race but missed it the start, therefore slotting myself to run in the 8:45AM start.

Ila made friends with some of the head Lieutenants in the police squad running the event and they shared their Dunkin Donuts coffee with the three of us. Ila is good at this type of maneuver and we are always thankful when she pulls it off, case in point.

We headed off to the Toll Booths to get in the start pack. I led us up to the front of the gang, explaining to them the whole bottleneck thing that would take place as 1000 people scrambled to get into the tunnel.

The gun went off and we started moving slowly. Its not a corral based race so there were all different paced runners around. I ran the first mile in 9-10 minutes.

By now I had passed the bulk of the people and I opened up my stride and picked up my pace to a full sprint.

Imagine the run like this… a 3/4 of a mile downhill, followed by 1/2 a mile straightaway, then a 3/4 mile uphill… rinse, repeat.

As we made our way uphill toward the New York side I was in the very front (or so I thought). I had dreamed about this one moment prior to the run… looking down the Lincoln Tunnel, seeing a bit of light coming from around the bend, and no one else around, as if it were some surreal movie where I had to escape through the tunnel on foot. Maybe the entrance to heaven? I have a vivid imagination…

Approaching the bend my dream came to an abrupt close as 2 runners passed me coming the other direction at MACH 10! I was not in the front, I was 3 back!

Exiting the tunnel into New York is such a strange feeling. Part of me wanted to stay, thinking to myself “Um, I live right down the street, I could just go home right now.” Instead, I hugged the orange cones and made the quick turnaround back into the darkness hoping to chase down the speedsters in front of me. This, of course, would prove to be impossible as they were easily 400 meters in front of me moving at the speed of light.

The return trip was pretty cool as the large groups of people coming at me were cheering me on. Todd and I high fived as I cruised by!

Basically, the rest of the run I was just truckin’ down the tunnel making sure I didn’t slow my pace. As I came out of the tunnel to the end I experienced one of the most anti-climactic finishes of all time. I was all by myself with no one in sight as I crossed in 3rd place, arm in the air and then… no friends, no cheering crowds, just cold rain and the ramp leading up to the turnpike. I took cover back under the main tent thinking “Well, at least they have bananas.”

I finished in 19:24 at a 6:17 pace which isn’t even close to a PR, but it was fun nonetheless AND I got to run with my 2 good friends Todd and Ila. This was their introduction to NYC running and I’m glad to have been there with them.

We celebrated, or warmed up rather, back at Rick and Molly’s where Rick prepared a huge breakfast for us. Thanks for being great hosts!

RACE REPORT: 034 Run for the Parks 4M: 23:34

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Sex/
Age		 Bib Overall

Place

 Gender

Place

 Age
Place		 Finish
Time		 Pace/
Mile		 AG %
M32 563 43 42 11
23:34
5:53
 72.0 %

First off, good job to all my friends who ran the Boston Marathon! I’m so proud of all of you, what an accomplishment! I was following your progress with the web tracking system (not the email one that we all know failed!)

Instead of Boston, I will be running the ‘prestigious’ NJ Marathon in 2 weeks. I think I’m ready. Ive been running, biking and swimming like crazy, but 17 miles has been my greatest distance in the last few months. Is that enough? Probably not, therefore you might see me out blazing a 20 miler in the next week. Taper?

Our Tuesday speed group led by ‘SS’ or Josh was a blast this week. He had us (Erika, Amy and I) doing some crazy hill workouts in Central Park. I picked up a few new techniques that actually prepared and helped me a lot on Sunday’s run. Thanks Josh!

Saturday night Erika and I made a pre-race meal of pasta with a side of hummus salad. In honor of running we watched Forrest Gump. I hadn’t seen it in quite some time and forgot that it’s actually a pretty inspiring movie!

RACE DAY

I met Erika on her new bike on the west side of the park for a leisurely ride to the race. SIDENOTE: Saturday we scoured the East Village and finally found her a beautifully restored 1982 Peugeot! She named him Blue Steel. It is a really beautiful bike, they don’t make (lugged) frames quite the same anymore.

We arrived at the band shell and locked up right next to Ed from ‘Dad Posse’. We geared up and then split off to our respective corrals.

The gun went off and I crossed over the timing mat like 10 seconds later. We were not really going that fast for being in the first corral so I hit the right side of the crowd and started cruising up the side of the runners.

Thanks to my hill workout Tuesday I was able to speed right up Cat Hill!

We hit Mile 1 just under 6:00 which I wasn’t too happy about as I wanted to really push it this race and maybe PR again. Right around this time the field opened up and we were running single file and really cooking. It was also at this point I had to get out of my head and say “Baker, chill out, this is fun!” I smiled and loosened up a bit continuing on.

Mile 2: 11:40, still having fun. As we started heading south toward Mile 3 I noticed that I felt great. It was one of those days where I felt no pain or cramps and just kept moving my feet as fast as I could.



The 3rd Mile came up fast – I then mustered up some strength for the final Mile. I could see some of the lead guys 100 yards in front of me, but knew I would never catch them at this rate. I rounded the 72nd street final stretch and busted into a sprint. The Finish clock said 23:40 but my actual time turned out to be 23:32.

No PR for me today! I would have needed to shave 4 seconds off that time. It was, however, a great day for a run with perfect conditions.

I hung out with Joe (joeonetime) for a bit and was interviewed by a film maker.

Here is a link to what he made, which is really great!

After a quick race recap, Erika and I rode our bikes up to a Starbucks to refuel with some sweets!

RACE REPORT: 033 Scotland 10K: 37:59

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Sex/
Age		 Bib Overall

Place

 Gender

Place

 Age
Place		 Finish
Time		 Pace/
Mile		 AG %
M32 35 149 139 24 37:59 6:07 71.2 %

This week started out with torrential rain up until around Wednesday. It was miserable. Luckily, Thursday came around and was 70 degrees and sunny, not a cloud in the sky.

I had work off on Friday, so in the morning I biked around town and soaked it all up. I was sore all over though, the ‘got hit by a truck’ kinda sore. Why? Thursday night my presence was requested to help my good friend Todd (Swim Coach Todd that is) move his company’s office spaces. Lots of heavy things… desks, computers, couches, and yes… a soda machine.

Later on Friday afternoon, my brother and friend Matt came over to have roof beers. We lounged around for a few hours catching up before we parted ways, all of us having other engagements.

It was my piano teacher Sugar’s (and friend) birthday so she was having a dinner party down at Cafe Gitane. I arrived there with Walter and Amanda. It’s a really cool room in an old hotel. I am a history buff, so this was right up my alley. In fact, did you know that the survivors of the Titanic stayed there right after the incident? True story.

You runners out there know why going to a restaurant the night before a race is dangerous don’t you? Anyone, anyone? Bueller? Bueller? What if there isn’t any good pasta on the menu for carb-o-loading? There was only one pasta dish, the ‘baked pasta’ which was the equivalent to baked ziti. It was awesome. I quietly slipped out of the party around 11PM in order to get some rest before the race.

RACE DAY

I had pancakes for breakfast, which were amazing! Then, I met my new friends Michael and Jay and we walked over to the race together. It was a beautiful morning and the Park was bustling with activity from every angle.

The blue corral was packed in like sardines by the time I got there so I had to post up at the very back. Whatever.

The gun went off and it took me at least 30-45 seconds to get going. Yes, it was a crowded race. Not to sound snobby or anything, but a slew of random slow people were in the Blue. We were bobbing and weaving all around them the entire first 1/2 Mile. Im not sure how they slipped through security…

For the first mile I was flanking the left side, pushing past people trying to get out into the open. As I was cruising I hear “Baker!” to my right. It was my friend Kevin Masse running along side of me! I hadn’t seen him in awhile since he took a running break after running Philly. We chatted for a hot second before he told me to get going.

At Mile 2 things were getting better. Erika was there on the right snapping photos and cheering me on. Thanks Erika!

The Harlem Hill came up quick and it hit hard. It never ends man! I tried to push up the hill as best I could. Once we rounded the top corner and started to head back south I smiled big, knowing that the hardest part of the run was now behind me. I mean, I still had to finish, but there were no more monster hills.

By now we were a single file line of runners and were all cruising around the same pace. Mile 5 happened fast as well, which was a relief. Right around this time a few guys kinda boxed me out and were passing me. I just thought to myself, ‘let them go by, chase them down at the end.’

As we rounded Columbus Circle I was holding back… wait for it, wait for it… (not wanting to burn out right before the finish which I did once by starting too soon).

As soon as we hit the uphill and I could see the Finish coming into view I hit the afterburners and brought it into full sprint! I think I might have taken out 7-8 people that were in front of me, it was awesome! SIDENOTE: It’s true that sprinting past people at the end isn’t that big a deal if you aren’t contending for the 1, 2 or 3 spot, but for me, I get like a movie soundtrack ( the end of Teenwolf or Karate Kid for example) in my head and pretend I’m winning. It’s these little personal moments that make it fun for me.

When I stopped running I did feel extremely light headed and nauseous. This was the first time this has ever happened. I needed water, STAT! After slamming 2-3 cups I felt back to normal.

I finished in 37:59 which is a personal record by 10 seconds which makes me happy. What a great day for a run!

RACE REPORT: 032 Colon Cancer Challenge 4M: 23:28 12th Place

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Sex/
Age		 Bib Overall

Place

 Gender

Place

 Age
Place		 Finish
Time		 Pace/
Mile		 AG %
M32 39 12 12 2 23:28 5:52 72.3 %

After Sunday’s NYC Half Mary I had no intentions of running before the Colon Cancer Challenge 4M this weekend. I did bike once or twice during the week, but I basically took it easy.

This race means a lot to me as my Mom was diagnosed with Colon Cancer when I was 14. She had a real rough time with it and almost didn’t make it through. Because of her experience she has become a nurse in order to help others with similar ailments. Pretty admirable. Go Mom!

My Friday night was actually quite fun. Erika brought me to her friend Chris’s birthday party in Hell’s Kitchen. I got to meet a lot of her close friends and every one of them was great! A very fun group. At 8 we split up and I headed to Tribeca to hang out with Ahern and Robin. It was her father’s girlfriend Susan’s birthday party at a really nice Italian restaurant. Soon after that I was back on the move heading to the NYU area to meet backup with Erika and 2 more of her friends. I love sporadic nights like that where you kinda bop all over town.

Saturday I went to Todd’s and we did Triple Homicides in the pool. It was awesome and thoroughly painful. My heart rate might get going harder in the pool that in any running race for sure!

That night I made my staple pre-race meal of Shrimp Scampi for Erika and I. It was evidently pretty good (so I’m told).

RACE DAY

I woke up early on race day and set off in search of 2 things… coffee and bananas! After acquiring said fuel sources I walked over to Central Park to find ‘Dad Posse’. Last year the Colon Cancer Run was when all of us first met, so this was our friendship anniversary run. While waiting for them my coworker Kathy jumps in front of me. Hi! She and her husband were running it too so we chatted a bit.

SIDENOTE: it was freaking cold out! Last week it was 65 degrees during the Half Mary, not today. But, I’m tough… so…

With 15 minutes to go I jumped in my corral. It was sparsely populated with speedsters and I was like ‘Whoa. I better keep up with these mama-jamas.” I had my foot on the start mat which is a rarity. The gun fired and we were off, blazing a path up Central Park.

I was in the front group of runners and we were hauling. Slowly the faster people pulled away until we were all running single file. We hit Mile 1 at 5:35 and I was feeling very good.

At Mile 2 we were clocked at 11: 45. I was maybe 20 guys back from the lead but there was no way I could take a win here as the leaders were cruising way too fast.

Mile 3 came up quick and I was still in good shape. I think the fact that I ran a Half Mary last weekend tricked my body into being fine for a 4 miler. I am also a different person when running in a race. I barrel through any pain I might have just to hang onto the lead pack in hopes of a win. As we rounded the corner to the finish I picked up the pace and rocked a mild sprint passing a bunch of runners. The first place female was right behind me so as I was crossing they had a finish line banner out on the right (for her) which I actually contemplated running through.

Time: 23:28 AND I came in 12th Place! Too cool! I also got another plaque which is awesome because Ive never won anything in a NY Road Runner race ever!