City Coach | Kevin Starkes' Blog

Beer Mile - July 3rd

So my good friend Bruno Garcia turned 29 yesterday and in honor of his birthday we decided it was time for another Beer Mile (the first Beer Mile being held on Blair's birthday). We headed out to BK -- some dressed to impress while others were there to redeem themselves from previous poor showings in the Beer Mile. I was certainly looking for redemption since my first attempt produced a finishing time of 15:42. Needless to say, the race was a HUGE success. Everyone had a great time and some of us ran decent...

Based on the picture, I'm sure everyone can see that Paul was feeling very patriotic!!! 

Race Results: Top 4 Finishers

Kevin Starkes - 7:39

Paul Leone - 8:39

Bruno Garcia - 9:15

Beverly Paulis - 9:22

The Wheels On The Bus Go Round And Round

So after months away --- Achilles Tendencies (left achilles), Arthritis (right foot), Contusion (toe) and now a Wicked Blister (left foot) --- I finally made it down to the track this afternoon. Although my blister is right where my foot arch is suppose to be (I have crazy flat feet), I taped it up and blocked out the pain for a little over a hour. 

The 6th Street track is roughly 1.2 miles from my apartment so it is the perfect distance for an easy warmup before jumping into a track workout. Today's workout was the following: 3 x mile with a 400 recovery between intervals. At first glance, I thought it was pretty simple since prior to becoming Mr. Glass (reference is from the movie Unbreakable --- Samuel L. Jackson), I was doing mile intervals with more reps and less rest but those were the good old days. Based on what happened out on the track today, I feel confident is saying that I am roughly at 39.4% running shape.

I would not say that the workout was bad --- let's be honest, I'm just happy to actually be running --- but it was a lot harder than I expected. My splits were even but after the first interval I was looking forward to the workout being over. My form was terrible, my VO2 was nonexistent, and my legs were not turning over quick enough. All-in-all, I am happy it is all over. Hopefully next week will be a little easier...   

Some People Have All The Luck

So my last post was all about how excited I was about returning to the track and actually start training again. Well, as the title of this post sums it up perfectly, it seems that I broke my toe Monday night just before I went out to run. Though I have been telling everyone that I got into a fight with a group of ninjas (mind you, it could have happened), the truth is I just have really bad luck and did something to upset the running gods. 

The Track

So I am a HUGE fan of track workouts. I really believe that I am not fully training unless I hit up the track once throughout the week. Now that I am entering my sixth week of training, I am finally ready to get back on the track. So tomorrow I am planning to head down to the 6th street track and run in circles for awhile. I do not expect this to be fun or lighting fast - let's be serious, I have zero speed - but the fact that I am getting back into a normal routine makes me very excited!

Last week I took it easy since I have been steadily increasing my miles each week. I think I totaled 35 miles but it was my run on Saturday that made me realize I have a long way to go. I got up early and decided to hit up Queens. Walking out my door, I knew it was going to be a struggle to finish the run. I started out, heading north, and crossed over the 59th Street Bridge. I was about 3 miles into my run and I already wanted to stop, go home, go back to bed, and maybe take up a sport that involved less physical movement (chess, ping pong, or darts). I made it to the RFK Bridge (I have no idea why it is no longer the Triborough Bridge) and turned around retracing my steps back to my apartment. It was only a 70 minute run but the amount of energy it took me to complete it was ridiculous. 

Needless to say, I do not see myself racing in 2009. I won't be in shape and I see no reason to enter in a race unless I am at least 80%. Based on Saturday's run, I think I am roughly at 46% running shape! 

Brooklyn Half-Marathon Results

I will make sure to post an in-depth description of the race in another post but I wanted to highlight some results first!

Congratulations to the following people are certainly in order:

Blair Heinke (CPTC) - 1:27:46 & was the 14th woman to cross the line

Paul Leone (RUN NYC) - 1:26:41 & was certainly the most colorful runner on the course

James Gray (RUN NYC) - 1:28:03 

Scott Towle - (RUN NYC) - 1:36:28 & came directly from riding 56 miles for Race Across The Window

Derek Cummings (RUN NYC) - 1:45:06 & came directly from his usual pre-race preparation ceremony!

Chris Anderson (NIKE) - 1:40:03 & was still on West Coast time

Joshua Zito (NIKE) - 1:46:12

Sneaky...Sneaky

It seems that our good friend - Gab Taraboulsy - did not get deported back to Canada (he went missing about a month ago). Instead, he went home to run the Ottawa Marathon and decided not to tell anyone. Well the results came in and there is no reason to hide his major accomplishment. Gab finished in 3:25:59 - setting a HUGE 13 minute PR. After talking with him yesterday, he found his second marathon more enjoyable and felt that he had a lot left in the tank near the end of the race. Now, that might have been the booze talking but it does appear that Gab is getting a handle on this running thing.

Congratulations Gab!!! 

On The Road

Heading down to PA - setting up a NIKE Soccer event - but wanted to share with everyone that today is the first day since February that I am pain free. That's correct, I have zero pain in both legs. I cannot describe to you how excited I am. Yesterday, at Run Club, I took the front group for a quick 4-mile run and I must admit that the pace was a little too quick for the condition that I am in at the moment. When the run was over, I was spent! It was one of those runs that make you realize that you have a long way to go. It is always good to be put into check because it makes you want to train harder - wake up early and put in a ton of miles. With that said, I am about one week away from getting back to a normal training schedule and in my opinion, it is happening at the perfect time.

Quick Update

Nothing new and exciting to report at this time. I am still NOT having fun running though I am out there almost every day. The weather is getting really nice so I cannot wait to hit up some longer runs (Bridge Repeats!). It appears that I will be 'running' in the Brooklyn Half-Marathon - in no way will I attempt to race it - but covering 13.1 miles won't be a challenge. If all goes as planned, I'll be close to 40 miles this week (maybe 2 of those runs will be decent) and hopefully will get back onto the track at the beginning of June. There are still a number of things I need to do before entering a race but once June rolls around, I should be totally back to my regular training. Let's just say --- IT'S ABOUT TIME. 

Next Step - BOSTON

I am very happy to announce that our good friend - Scott Towle - is heading to Boston. This morning, Scott ran in the Pocono Marathon  and set a HUGE PR - 3:05:17. I believe that his previous best was around 3:15. Congratulations Scott!!! 

Entering a Race

Last night I received a phone call from my buddy Tristan seeking my help. Now knowing Tristan since I was three (always getting each other into some type of trouble), I could only image what type of ridiculous thing he had in-store for me. Could it be another request to help him move to some far away land with no idea of where to live, nothing packed on the moving day, and no truck to transport his belongings (he really thought that one out) or maybe it would be another request to start a ‘Wham’ tribute band? Whatever the scenario, I was bound to end up doing some crazy with the hopes of it at least being legal. 

To my complete and utter shock, Tristan (being very serious) asked me to help him get ready for his first road race. Needless to say, when he said he was running in a race I almost fell out of my chair. Holding back the urge to laugh out loud, I asked him to repeat himself in order to make sure I heard him correctly and to my amazement, he repeated his request. 

Now before you judge me poorly for wanting to laugh at Tristan for entering a race, let’s just say he is not your typical cardiovascular guy. A smoker for the past 15 years, Tristan is more of a gym rat with a hint of resemblance to ‘Mr. Clean.’ I’m pretty sure his forearm is the size of my calf! But that is beside the point… 

On Saturday, June 27^th, Tristan will be running in the Jimi Gubelli – 5k Walk/Run in Island Park. I share this with everyone because it made me think about how/why I started running. It's been a little more than 2 1/2 years since I walked out my front door and ran that unforgettable 1/2 mile (I had to walk back home). Obviously blessed with terrible feet for running, leading to numerous injuries, I am amazed that I’ve devoted so much time in this sport. I remember calling Tristan and telling him that I could go out one night because I had to wake up early to go for a run. I believe his response was something like ‘What! Running? Are you dying from some fatal disease?’ 

So now it is his turn to jump on the bandwagon and start running. I am excited that Tristan is deciding to lace up his sneakers (I’ll make sure he is not running in basketball sneakers). I do not expect great things from him nor do I expect him to decide to run on a regular basis but it’s awesome to hear him talk about running/training. I will certainly be on hand for this race (maybe running in it), supporting my good friend. I doubt I will be able to hold back my laughter though! To be honest, this might be his craziest idea to-date – crazier than the time when we were 14 years old and he tried to get into a New York City bar with a 45 year-old African-American male (named Jamal) ID.  

For more details about the race, visit http://jimigubellifoundation.org/.