Spotting Jordan Rapp in Las Vegas

Matt and I got to hang out with Jordan and his very cool girlfriend Jill Savege in Las Vegas. Jill is also fast; she has finished as high as 11th in the Hawaii Ironman Championships. An ITU Olympic representative for Canada at the Athens Olympic Games in 2004, Jill may become more active on the coaching end of things. Matt Baldwin, Jordan, Jill and I sat down for a lunch at the Wolfgang Puck restaurant in the Venetian Resort.

We discussed a wide array of topics, including nutrition during a race. I introduced Jordan to two items: First Endurance's Optygen and Vespa (wasp extract). Jordan talked about how he likes simple carbohydrate drinks (Gatorade) because it digests well. Jill mentioned how maltodextrin doesn't absorb quickly enough and causes her gastrointestinal distress.

We then switched over to equipment. Jordan, who writes for Slowtwitch, mentioned that he felt Cervelo continues to innovate ahead of the industry. He truly likes Felt, who we don't sell, but who does sponsor Jordan. We understand that Jim Felt has been a good friend to the bicycle industry; Tom Schuler always had wonderful things to say about Felt. Jordan also observed that the Cannondale Slice product is an excellent compliment to Cervelo's P2, P3, P4 because it fits athletes differently (which is very helpful since we try to fit the bike to the person, of course).

We discussed and debated the merits of various wheels, from Mavic to Zipp to Reynolds. Jordan loves Zipp, and while we like Zipp for triathlon, we favor Mavic and Reynolds for road racing/riding. Of course, Zipp has made the 404 and 808 even more aerodynamic this year. And Cervelo's TestTeam is going to race on Zipp wheels. Well, these are three excellent set of wheels -- not a lot goes wrong with Mavic Cosmic/Ultimates, the Reynolds Superlites and Attack wheels and Zipp's series of 4's, 8's and 10's.

And Jordan showed me how excited he was with Zipp's new 100 gram stem. We'll show some pictures another time, but it is a beauty. Can't wait to get one in March when they become available. It is all carbon with some titanium on the outside. Sweet.

Jordan is preparing for his second Ironman Arizona this year; he got 3rd the first time around. When Jordan and Jill come visit us next, we'll hold a special event. He was bummed he couldn't be at ITP to race with Dom, Eneas, Mitch, Yock, Greg and Dave this weekend, but there will be other opportunities. Jill promised she would help us organize a women's focused triathlon seminar/clinic. That should be pretty cool. Stay tuned for more.

"Keep Those Tires Rollin' " Bicycle maintenance tip of the week

Your bike tires are the main contact point between you and the road so keeping them ready to roll will make your cycling sessions safe and reliable. Here are some tips to keep those tires rolling smooth and fast:
- Keep your tires inflated according to manufacturer’s specifications. Making sure that your tires are properly inflated is the single most important thing that you can do to prevent flat tires and premature wear. All tires come with recommended tire pressure ratings so follow them closely. Low tire pressure can lead to pinch flats and dangerous cornering, while pressure readings that are too high for clinchers will lead to a rough and inefficient ride, and with some wheels will even lead to damaged rims and blow outs. Many people think that high tire pressures will decrease rolling resistance and improve performance. This is a misconception. For most clincher tires, a pressure reading of 100-115 will achieve optimum rolling resistance and provide better handling and a more comfortable ride. Rotating your tires is not just limited to your car. Switching your bike tires from front to back every 1,000 miles will maximize the life of a good quality set of tires.
- Keep those tires away from the sun and nature’s elements when not in use. Excessive light and outdoor conditions can damage and weaken the rubber in your tires leading to cracked and weakened sidewalls. Keeping your bike and wheels indoors when not cycling will help extend your tires’ life span.
- When installing new tires or tubes, use baby powder to keep the tire and tube from galvanizing together over time.
- Frequently inspect your tires for damage and stuck debris. You can often spot problems such as cut sidewalls or glass stuck in tires and easily repair or place the tire before your next ride. This simple preventative measure will save you flat tires and headaches on future road rides.

September -- what a month

There are so many great happenings in September it is incredible.
1. Green Mountain Stage Race. The TARGETRAINING Elite squad is racing in Vermont, as is Max Veiga. The race goes 4 days with four stages: a time trial, a circuit race, a long point to point road race and a criterium. Look for results here. And check the TARGETRAINING Blog for more on this.
2. September TT Saturday Centuries(100K). Every 7 AM from TARGETRAINING.
3. Westport Kiwanis Triathlon. Sunday September 7th at 7:30 AM. Sprint triathlon in our hometown. What fun! Please see here. Great for entire family.
4. Threads and Treads Tour de Greenwich. September 14th. This is a blast, but be careful out there. See here.
5. Charter Oak Charity Ride September 20-22 (Friday-Sunday). Great cause -- building and running a school for Bridgeport CT children who now due to the program make it to college. Founded by Andrew Boas who is a caring individual and is passionate about education and cycling. 80 miles each day. Great group of people. Great scenery. Great ride. Please see here.
6. ITP Triathlon September 27th in Darien CT. Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura ("ITP") is a very rare bleeding disorder. The ITP Foundation helps families with children and adolescents with ITP who need financial assistance to manage and treat the disorder, and raise funds to further ITP research. TARGETRAINING will be at this triathlon in force. More to follow. Mark your calendars for this great event. It is slightly longer than a sprint triathlon (1/2 mile swim, 15 mile ride, 5 mile run). Jordan Rap from TARGETRAINING won it two years in a row but this year you will see Dom Gillen and team there.

For family and team

Today was the Tokeneke Road Race held on multiple laps of a tough and hilly 22 mile course in East Hartland, CT. Promoted by local clubs and our friends at Tokeneke, Mossman and Cafeteros, it promised to be a tough day with the masters doing only two laps and the P12 three. With the TARGETRAINING U-25/Elite team getting ready for the upcoming Green Mountain Road Race, this was an important event. Adding to the pressure was how last year Eneas won and Justin took third place.

This year saw the squad send Eneas and Justin again, along with No Nickname Nate, Adam Bomb, BFD Dave, Will Monster, Matt (nickname withheld) and Stylin Ben. Paul "Tailgunner" Levis was also there!

The first lap started quick with multiple attacks until Ben got off the front and away with a Kenda rival. This forced the fruities to chase the next 15 miles and set up Will and Matt going into the big climb. With the Monster pulling full speed, Eneas and Justin pushed the pace with the field right behind them. Eneas coasted through the KOM prize (in his big ring, ouch!) and the mood of the day was set. The field came back together until a touch of wheels put Adam and another rider onto the pavement. Ouch. Adam had to wait a bunch for the service call but got back on with just some scrapes and bruises.

Meanwhile, up the long tough feed zone climb at the end of the second lap, the lone green and blue jersey of Eneas came flying up the climb. About a minute back was Justin just hammering the heck out of a different Kenda and the field about 30 seconds behind with Will and Nate covering moves nicely. Justin dropped his partner and bridged the gap over the next 20 minutes to reach his teammate. They worked well together through a quick rain storm in the valley until their gap hit almost four minutes at the base of the final climb to the finish. They stayed steady up the hill and crossed the line hand in hand with Eneas dedicating the win to his mother in law; who has just finished her cancer treatment. With this type of inspiration, it was no wonder that no other team could keep up with them for almost three hours.

Then, a few minutes later, a flash of green at the finish line shows Will Nowak winning the sprint for third place in front of a fruitie and a nerac. What? Holy crap, that is fantastic! With his teammates up the road, Will got a free rider for the last lap and nailed the remainders for a TARGETRAINING 1-2-3. Nice!!!! Look to see this kid on TV someday soon; strong rider, good skills and does what he is told. I need 9 more! Really, though: I guess we improved on last year the best way possible!

It looks like the team is getting ready for GMSR in the proper fashion and the energy they are producing can be felt with those looking to recover from sickness and continue to influence the lives around us and the team. Our thoughts and prayers are will all of you.

In the Masters 35+ event, you know who won solo, with Scott Bodin 5th, Max L 9th and the best looking man in cycling, Max Viega leading the field up the climb in sterling fashion. Ian just made it home from the Cape to help out too! Nicely done guys!


Kyle Wolfe

Director, TARGETRAINING Racing Teams
http://www.targetraining.com/

Sunday race day across TARGETRAINING

Now, we don't have everyone's results, so please send in results and we'll update this entry accordingly.

Lake Placid. Mimi Boyle got 9th overall woman, 5th fastest time split and second in her age group. As one of her male teammates said: "Just want to add my congratulations to Mimi for a devestating race at IMLP!!! Remarkable!!! I was out there the whole day-- some brutal conditions to race in-- did NOT stop raining from 6:40 a.m. on...Saw Mimi out on the bike course-- crushing it! 5th fastest bike split for ALL WOMEN!! As Greg said, 9th woman OVERALL! 2nd in her AG. I could go on...Way to put it all together Mimi-- there was no luck involved." I believe that one other TT'er braved the race but am awaiting results...

New York City Triathlon. Valentin Lopes and Michelle Faurot joined Dominic Gillen and Jordan Rappin what was a very competitive, apparently heavy jelly fish filled swim, with the current going north rather than flowing south. Jordan got 6th overall in a 1:52+ while Dom managed to get 9th overall in a 1:55+. Valentin did a 2:12 while Michelle did 2:28, and they both competed in the Elite Age Group Category. Lyn McCabe did a 2:35, placing 5th in the 30-34 age group. All very fast times! Congrats!

Litchfield Hills Triathlon. TARGETRAINING's newest training colleague Wolfgang Ermeling won this event in a course record 2:05:21. He did the fastest bike leg, and after riding with him on our Wednesday rocket ride, we know he is fast (and 40 -- how's that for you young ones).

We know that Kim Driscoll won her age group (but please remind me what event) and Justin Colby got 2nd in his duathlon in his age group.

In cycling, the Masters team showed up for the Naugatuck Criterium. We were defending our title from last year but this year we came up a little short. With three off the front with two to go, Scott Bodin and friend of TT Chris Pile launched off the front. Scott just missed catching third place so Scott and Chris got 4th and 5th. Stephen Badger won the field sprint for 6th place. Three in a row just not starting with 1 -- next race!

Footnote: Saturday in the brutal heat many many clients did the 100 mile ride (or at least 2 of the 3 35 mile loops). Congrats to everyone. You are now officially well prepared for the upcoming charity rides (CT Challenge and Pan Mass Challenge).

Sobe Norwalk Triathlon recap

While Dom was shut out from racing the Sobe, TARGETRAINING clients did attend and raced well! David Booth got 5th in his age group and did a 1:10. Rob Labanca got 4th in his age group and did a 1:12. He finished just ahead of Michael Driscoll who got 5th in his age group and also did a 1:12. David Sklar got 14th in his age group and did a 1:19. Joe Bogdan did a 1:20 and got 20th in his age group. Dean Shapiro did 1:24 and 30th in his age group. Kim Driscoll did a 1:25 and got 3rd in her age group (Congrats!!). Mary Money got 5th in her age group and did a 1:28.

Amica RI 70.3 Report

First, congrats to Allie who's going to Worlds; Mitch, who COULD have gone but is doing some other strange race; and Greg, who also received a roll down slot but is also doing some wacky race (other CT notables Oakes Ames, John Wilson and Chris Thomas were insanely fast as well).

After getting over the logistical challenges of registering for the race (stuff had to be checked in at each transition area, conveniently located 50 miles apart with timings that didn't quite correspond to when people could check themselves in), it was race morning. Beautiful day, some good swells in the water, but very nice conditions. I swam what now appears to be a conservative 30:18 - felt very comfortable, probably too comfortable. Through transition, then after about 200 meters on the bike, I lost my 2nd water bottle and stopped, got off and walked back to retrieve - wanted the drink for the long ride but also the bottle had a Blaisman sticker given to me by Mr. Blais the day before who warned me not to dump the bottle. Felt so guilty I picked it up...until it fell off again a few miles later. Got over the guilt. Ended up riding 2:28:32, a one-minute PR but still way short of what it appears was possible (I apparently slowed a bunch the last 16 miles after 1:43 for the first 40M, though I thought I was going quite fast...could have been traffic the last mile or two...dunno).

Now the fun part...seeing how my achilles would hold out for the run. I was able to do my modified run stride OK for the first 7 miles or so and was under 7-min pace, but things got bad by 8-9 miles and I couldn't do anything about it like changing the stride, opening up, planting my foot better, etc. Crawled in with a 1:36 for a 4:40:17 finish, 9th in the AG and - it turns out - one spot out of Worlds (which took 4 excruciating hours after finishing to determine). I also tried out a Blais-influenced roll to make up for the guilt of losing the bottle.

Now to rest my achilles...hopefully it can be ready by the "Greenwich Olympics" in two weeks, but if not, it will be August/September tris and a full onslaught on the NYC Marathon (again assuming full recovery and ability to train).

Rhode Island Half Ironman Sunday June 13th Results

Once again TT had a great showing on a really tough day! Mitch finished 23rd overall (including pros), 5th in his age group. Yoke was 10th in his age group. Greg overcame adversity (bad stomach, unable to hold anything down on bike and run) to finish 9th in his age group. And Allie, benefiting from a somewhat depleted age group, managed to win her age group (15th amateur woman). Great job everyone!Full results here.