TARGETRAINING : endurance is life

There is so much to recap, it goes to show that to delay news is to let it pile up.

Dom Gillen has gotten back into racing and has won two races: an off-road duathlon and a mountain bike race. Dom is heading to Duathlon Nationals this weekend. Good luck Dom!

David Yockleson continues to race at a high level, getting third in a duathlon and second in the first triathlon of the season.

The Elite/U25 Cycling team won the Johnny Cake Series (Justin Lindine won two races and got 3rd in the other race). Craig Lukens got 3rd in one of the Johnny Cake Series races (in Albany). The team also won the Bethel Spring Series team award, with help from Masters Team member Stephan Badger, who got 3rd overall in the series by getting a bunch of 2nds and 3rds during the series. Justin won a race there as did Matt Baldwin, and Eneas also got a second place there. In the big event, Battenkill-Roubaix, the first important road race of the season, Eneas got 6th in what was a photo finish after 80 miles of racing in unexpected 80 degree heat. In the Cat 2 race, Nate Ward got 5th. In the 30+, Stephan Badger got 2nd to mighty Rodger Aspholm, representing very well in his first official TT Masters race. There was a strong showing by team and club members in all categories at this epic race in and around "upstate NY" towns. There are lots of races coming up; this should be a place to watch for more news.

On April 17th, at Tri&Cycle, Dom Gillen did a seminar that discussed how to plan a Triathlon season. The event proved so popular that Dom will run it again in May.

The outdoor rides have kicked off, as have the track workouts. We have increased the number of swims. TARGETRAINING has added more depth to the triathlon training program and team: Valentine Lopes and Tyler Johnson. More to follow.

TARGETRAINING March Second Weekend Recap

The Special Olympics Polar Plunge at Como Beach was a success, raising over $140,000! TARGETRAINING was a proud sponsor.

Who is right to join TARGETRAINING to get faster and more comfortable on a bicycle? To become a kick boxer? To run a 10K? To swim 1000 yards in the open water? You are! Here's a great story: a well educated woman who lives along one of TARGETRAINING's bicycle routes came into the Tri&Cycle shop and admired how far we ride. We invited her to join us. "But I am not a serious rider! I can't go that far!" Our question "Do you like to ride?" "Not at your pace!" We asked her (and you) the same question "When an expert ski instructor works with a student (of any age), don't they adjust the effort to the student? We do the same." Her eyes lit up! "Ok, I'll try it!" That's all we ask -- try training with us, indoors or outdoors. While we don't guarantee a great experience, we think you'll have a fantastic time and truly improve your fitness and skill levels while being part of a great community of folks very much like you.

David Mosse, captain of our Tri Team, noted that the team ranked highly in the USAT standings. David Yockleson, Mitch West and David Mosse made All American status. Within CT, Mitch was 4th of all the CT guys in his age group and David was first. On the men's Masters squad in cycling, Scott Bodin, Tony Taylor, Kyle Wolfe and Ian Sinclair all were very highly ranked nationally, in the Northeast and in their state.

We are very fortunate that Carpe Diem Racing exists and puts on the Bethel Spring Series. Many of you reading this may not know where Bethel CT is but for those who live in NYC it is like our Floyd Bennett Field (which is near the end of Flatbush Ave in Brooklyn) and we like the fast paced efforts we put in there.

The U-25 Elite Team's training camp focused around two items: a random drug test administered by manager Kyle Wolfe and the Sunday ride/race/ride session. The youngsters succeeded in both efforts. Everyone is racing clean, and we are proud to make that announcement. And the clean team then rode to Bethel (about 20 miles), raced well as a team, and then rode back. Justin Lindine won the P123 race against a strong field, by breaking away with Eneas Freyre (who got 2nd) and a fellow from the new Sommerville Training Racing Squad (thanks to David Somerville for sponsoring a new team). Captain Eneas and manager Kyle directed the squad, who faced strong competition from Fordifrutta, a political economist racer named Professor Hacker, the above mentioned squad, the Bethel Bike shop squad, Stage 1 and a number of other teams. Old man Stephen Badger and ex teammate Allistair Radcliff (now on Fiordifrutta) broke away from a break powered in part by TARGETRAINING's squad. David, Nathanial, Matt and Ryan (our junior riding alongside the senior squad) all played roles in helping the team get its first win of the still very young season. Stephen and Matt got 9th and 10th to round out the results.

Plenty of other TARGETRAINING folks raced. Brendan Mansfield and Tom Thornton teamed up to get 2nd and 3rd in the Cat 5 race. Us more experienced 35+ guys are waiting for them to upgrade so they can help us win some of the tougher races...Alec Bernard and Justin Floch did their FIRST RACE EVER!!! And finished! Congratulations to our youngest racers, who go to Staples High School. Bart McDonough, Rob Weiss, Mike Allaire, David Stouffer and Max Veiga all raced. Good stuff.

TARGETRAINING First Weekend of March Recap

Lots is happening at TARGETRAINING. In the shop, we are hopping. We have all the Cervelo bicycles in stock, have an amazing selection of wheels, Powertaps, an array of clothing, a great selection of wetsuits and swim gear, and great Puma and Avia running shoes (still awaiting the Zoot shoe).

In the Strength and Conditioning studio, Fred is tearing it up with kick boxing, Torr is migrating his ski conditioning class to a spring conditioning class (it's hard...), and Justin continues to push clients to new limits (in the nicest, most sustainable way). We expect to get some new equipment in as well, including an ergo rower to help supplement our current suite.

On the cycling studio front, we are transitioning from pure base training to tempo. This is a fun time of year, as we increasing intensity. But of course if you have not been training, please come in and we'll set up a custom solution for you. Eneas is having the group climb some very long mountain in Italy this week. Carlos and Eneas did a challenge session last weekend.

On the triathlon front, Dom is expanding the swim program, adding Wednesday night at Staples. Also, soon, we will start Wednesday track sessions. We have added Valentine Lopes to our multisport staff. He is a 26 year old who has competed in triathlons since he was 12. He's got a big smile -- you will see him around more often going forward.

The outdoor program will expand soon. By April, we will start doing consistently more rides. Watch hear for an announcement about our schedule for training rides and runs.

This weekend our clients and teams competed in two key events: the final Boston Buildup and the Bethel Spring Series organized by Carpe Diem Racing.

It's over. Phew.

Nice to have that series out of the way. That said, today's race was actually pretty good. Here are the results:

http://www.clubct.org/Results/08Results/08BB25kRes.html

I got to meeting Valentin Lopes, a new TT team member today, after I'd seen him with the TT gear on. I pulled even with him at about 1/4 mile into the race. The good news was I think we helped each other quite a bit during the race as we ran steadily the first 7-8 miles up the hills and then tried to pick it up the last 6-7. I couldn't catch Naseem (40 yrs. old) farther ahead, and we'll have to wait and see how the scores turn out between me and Anthony Ryba, but Buchanan apparently didn't race today (ran with Zengo after going out with us the first few miles) and I'll end up 2nd or 3rd master for the series.

I felt much better in this race than the 20K...I took an electrolyte tab at each 4-mile mark and ate a Gu at 8 miles...definitely helped the legs respond better later in the race. After an 18:19 first 3, the next six were 38:10 and the last 6 were 36:48 (and probably should have been faster). Valentin and I ran together until 14M when I tried to go with Anthony Ryba to the finish (he'd been shadowing us for about 4 miles). Good race with Ryba at the end...he just had a bit too much over the last 1000M.

Now we can get down to REAL triathlon training (as opposed to the silly stuff I've been doing since December).

David

Yesterday was the first spring training race at Bethel for 2008.

First, let me say welcome back to Paul Levis. Paul was sick over the fall and came back with flying colors yesterday. He was able to tailgun the P123 event no problem even though at least 15 others were dropped when things got fast. Great to see you again!

In the 40+ Masters race, Mike Allaire, Max Lippolis, Rick Spear and client Rob Weiss competed. Max Viega was working on his beauty sleep. Everyone was attacking and was super active, especially Mike with front side move that almost worked! Looking strong! Eventually a strong two man break got up the road with about 10 laps to go. Then, out of nowhere a bridge group comes of the field. Is that, could it be? Rick Spear is driving it! They catch the one rider from the break while the other panics at the site of blue and green in his mirror and takes off. He holds off but the sprint easily goes to: Rick Spear for 2nd place. Awesome. Max Lippolis slays the field sprint for 6th. Awesome job guys. Just great racing.

Mike was the only one to double up the 3/4 race. Next week we hope he does the 123 instead.

The U-25/Elite team was there in force for the 123 event joined by power man Stephen Badger and Paul Levis. The lads were strong and aggressive and even with Justin off on a 12 lap solo attack (12 laps in that wind - yuck) they couldn't get anything to stick. They took both primes and made what should have been the winning move except that the other attackers wouldn't work with such intimidating riders. A strong leadout gave Stephen 3rd place. The squad learned a lot for the first race of the year and will definitely improve for next week. Thanks Stephen!

See you all next week!

By the way, you don't have to be "race fit" to do Bethel. Just come out and have fun. Or at least come out and support your friends and teammates. Really, that was fun too! We even have a tent!

Kyle Wolfe
Manager, TARGETRAINING Cycling Racing Teams

TARGETaste

Come join us for an evening of indoor cycling along the rolling hills of Provence at 6:00PM, followed at 8:00PM with ‘Hors d’oeuvres and a tasting of French wines led by TT client Jordan Ross on Thursday, February 28th.

TARGETRAINING Client and wine expert Jordan Ross, will lead an informal, fun and educational tasting of wines produced along the route of the 2007 Tour de France. You will try thirst-quenching Champagne followed by elegant Burgundy and chewy Syrah/Grenache blends from the foothills of the Pyranees. Jordan will delve into the basics of smell and taste and discuss tasting techniques. Jordan has a degree in Enology from the University of California at Davis. He offers wine seminars and tastings to consumers and executives; to learn more visit www.JordanOnWine.com.

Please register in advance for this session as spots are limited. Friends and family are welcome.

TARGETRAINING Happenings

Yarden Golan, our Israeli National Team rider, is joining a new Israeli professional cycling team for 2008. Congratulations Yarden! She will be coached by TARGETRAINING's Carlos Restrepo.

Fred Sessler is preparing to fight in a series of martial arts events and also is preparing for body building competitions. He is also leading a scintillating kick-boxing class leveraging his incredible energy and his knowledge.

The TARGETRAINING racing team expanded its program this year into the teenage arena. The preliminary roster includes a number of athletes from Westport's Staples High School, as well as teenagers from Westchester and other areas of Connecticut. More to follow.

TARGETRAINING is going to introduce an evening swim time: 7:45 PM on Wednesdays. Please write to Dom@TARGETRAINING.com to get details.

This weekend was a great training weekend. It also snowed 3 hours earlier than expected Saturday so those of us riding outside needed windshield wipers on our sunglasses to get the snow off. Sometimes the unexpected can be fun -- but it was cold. The indoor sessions were packed and high energy. The studio went non stop.

TARGETRAINING will be a sponsor of the Westport Minuteman race again this year. The race will go on April 27th. We will be there both to race as well as to help.

TARGETRAINING ON YOUTUBE BROUGHT TO YOU BY 140.6 MILES

Out of nowhere, an enthusiastic fan of TARGETRAINING joined us and videotaped the place. But in fact 140.6 miles is a good cause. The two ringleaders are Chris Elmore & Dave Miller and their website is http://www.140miles.com.

In their own words: "140.6 Miles is a webumentary about two normal guys trying to balance training, resting, work, family and friends as they prepare to compete at Ironman Lake Placid on July 20th, 2008 while raising money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. The goal of this project is to raise $100,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. The Society is the largest voluntary health organization in the world, dedicated to funding blood cancer research and providing patient services."

TARGETRAINING's FRIDAY JAN 25th 7 PM PARTY AT TRI&CYCLE. It was a blast. Filled to capacity, great food, good drink, exceptional company. Thanks to everyone who came.

January 21st

Lots of good indoor riding today plus Dom led the trail run in 20 degree weather, with Ed, David and Scott attending.

And three members of the tri team decided to brave the weather to do the Boston Buildup 15K race. Here's the report from Dave Yockelson:

http://www.clubct.org/Results/08Results/08BB15kRes.html

Congrats to Megan (1:13:33) and to Allie (1:10:15) - Megan ran 2 minutes faster than she intended on a TOUGH course!

Race summary:

This course is hard, plain and simple. It's an undulating course with no rest as you're always going either up or down; on this course, despite the fact that everyone said it can be negative split on the return, it felt like an uphill both ways (to me, anyway).

It looked like there was some cash prize for the win today - two Kenyans (Gilbert Kiptoo, the winner, ran 5:19s on this course - YIKES) showed up along with some Syracuse track guys (one who wore only a singlet, shorts and arm warmers) and the rest of the "regulars". First mile for me: 5:26, which meant that the lead was right about 5 flat. Too fast, but too late. I suffered more on the hills than I can remember in the past....

Time: 56:46 (6:05). I was pretty beat afterwards. Splits at each 3-mile section were 17:38-36:11-54:40 (37:40 at 10K).

Now licking my wounds and preparing to cheer for the Giants.

January 20th

Hope everyone saw our nice ad in the Westport News for our one on one program. Our studio on the second floor of 772 Post Road East is perfectly designed for personal sessions -- it is devoted to individualized sessions and yet still has tremendous energy from the rest of the TARGETRAINING activity.

Wow. Did we have a turnout this Saturday or what? It was great to see the Cafeteros Bicycle Team show up to ride in our cycling studio on Saturday. They headlined the 12 noon class, which followed two packed sessions (7 AM and 9:30 AM). Eneas, David S. and Rick went outside for a two hour ride -- they were well insulated and avoided all the black ice. Sunday will officially be too cold for outdoor riding -- show up at the 7 AM class which will start running from tomorrow until the end of the cold weather (i.e., through March).

Stop by to watch the 2007 Giro D'Italia. It is an inspiring race with plenty of great sprint finishes and some incredible mountain stages.

TARGETRAINING also started a juniors cycling team today -- officially signing up two 15 year olds to the team. Homegrown Westporters, these two lads will be racing in the local races and perhaps doing some travel races with the senior team.

January 19th

This week, TARGETRAINING committed to help two major charity rides but did so by getting involved in three major rides. First, TARGETRAINING and clients signed up for the Pan Mass Challenge. Second, TARGETRAINING again signed up as a sponsor of the Connecticut Challenge. And it found two riders who will raise additional money for the Connecticut Challenge. What is unusual is that these riders are going to do the Race Across America as part of their fund raising effort. Stay tuned for more details on all three events.

January 15th

The editor was sick last week so forgive the slow updates. First, Eneas and Dom delivered an insightful presentation on "Base Training 101". About 20 clients attended. Thanks for coming. And now, we are in the thick of base training.

We are getting a fair number of clients joining for the first time -- welcome to TARGETRAINING! We hope you enjoy the experience. Never hesitate to give us suggestions please on what we may do to make your experience even more rewarding.

Speaking of rewarding, we had a fairly packed house this weekend both in strength training and endurance training. It is great to feel the energy and see the enthusiasm.

Fred Sessler is working with Men's Health to take a young woman with medical issues (abnormal spine curvature) and is coordinating a program to help make her fit. Men's Health will publish the results of this effort. It should be informative and we hope helpful.

Look for an article on Base Training in Westport News in the Healthy Living Supplement coming out this week.

January 8th

Please remember Wednesday Jan 9th 7 PM at Tri&Cycle "Base 101" training seminar by Eneas Freyre and Dom Gillen.

Fred's under the weather! Get well quickly Fred! We miss you.

Today was incredible outside and a lot of clients snuck in outdoor rides! Good for them.

TARGETRAINING's annual party -- reserve January 25th's evening...if you did not get an invite please call...!

One of our masters team members, Abdul Kabia and his wife Amy, are now the proud parents of their son, Ekundayo "Eku" Kabia, on January 7th. Congrats!

Weekend Jan 5-6th

We had a lot going on this weekend, including the trail run at Trout Brook, a mountain bike ride in Sherwood Island, participation in the Boston Buildup 10K, lots of one on one training sessions and great indoor cycling sessions in our endurance studio. Some of us went for nice long outdoor rides, too, given the unseasonably mild weather.

Please stop in at 7 PM Wednesday at Tri&Cycle to listen to Eneas Freyre and Dom Gillen discuss "Base 101: How to set the foundation for your season."

Jan 2nd

TARGETRAINING U-25 Development Team's first training camp recap. As seen in Cyclingnews.com (click here)

This past weekend Team Targetraining (U25 and elite riders) held its first training camp of the 2008 road season in Westport, Connecticut. With the goal of the camp to be a "get to know the team and each other" approach, it was attended by returning riders Eneas Freyre, Justin Lindine, Adam St. Germain and Lee Rosenthal. New riders brought on board for next season were there too, including Nathanial Ward, David Hoyle, Will Nowak, Craig Leukens and Ben Zawacki. Only Matt Baldwin was not able to make it since he was enjoying his honeymoon in Mexico.

Riders converged in Westport, Connecticut, where they started the day off with coffee and food during meetings on team policies and sponsor education. The meetings included a very detailed explanation of the team's anti-doping policy, and of the possible random testing throughout the season. The team coaches reviewed training plans and racing programmes with the riders.

After lunch, Team Manager Kyle Wolfe brought the squad to their first task of the weekend with a survival course of hiking, a 150-foot (45.72m) rope rappel and four river crossings at a local park. Many fears were overcome and feet got wet as the team learned to work together and communicate.

After a team dinner, the boys enjoyed a USA football game – the Patriots and the Giants.

On Sunday, the squad took part in a paintball match in Pawling, New York, for what was touted as "extreme stressed based team bonding exercises." Over five hours of paintball combat followed.

The camp ended with encouraging words from Wolfe and plans for another camp, which will including riding bikes, next month. (Thank you Cyclingnews.com for the recap!).

TARGETRAINING is conducting a seminar series to help you prepare for the season ahead. We are starting with a base training seminar on January 9th entitled "Base 101".

TARGETRAINING is conducting a cool camp in Florida. Check out this. Sign up here.

TARGETriathlon Camp in Claremont, Florida. From March 3 to 9th 2008. Led by Dominic Gillen, head of the Triathlon Program.

We are offering a full- week program (Mon-Sun) and a half-week program (Wed-Sun).

Participants can end the camp week by competing in the Florida's Great Escape Triathlon. (1k/25k/5k)

Tuesday 9-10:30AM Swim • Skills and Drills. 11:00-12:00 Strength. 12:00-2:00PM Lunch OYO and free time. 2:00-4:00 Ride/Skills Ride. 4:00 – 6:00 Free time. 6:00- 7:00 Lecture/Q&A (TBD). 7:00 Dinner OYO.

Wednesday 9-10:30 Video tape/Swim workout. 11-12:30 Ride (from the pool). 12:30-2:00 Lunch OYO/free time. 2-4:00 Track Run and Skills and Drills. 4-7:00 Free time/swim video analysis appointments. 4-7:00 Check in. 7:00 Group Dinner and Lecture/ Q&A (Training Principles).

Thursday 9-12:00 Lake Louisa State Park, • Open water swim, • Transitions, • Ride the bike course, 12-2:00PM Lunch OYO and Free time. 2-3:00 Strength. 3-4:00 Track Skills and Drills. 5-6:00 Lecture Q&A (Nutrition?).

Friday 9-10:00 Lecture/ Q&A (Season Planning). 11-12:00 Swim Skills and Drills. Theme Parks (optional).

Saturday 9:00 Lecture/ Q&A (Racing, Visualization). 10:30- 12:00 Lake Louisa State Park. • Swim • Bike • Run 2:00 Lecture/ Q&A (Tri Gear). 6:30 Dinner Pasta party.

Sunday Florida’s Great Escape Triathlon (1k swim/25K Bike /5K Run) Post Race BBQ and Photo.

The training center is closed Monday and Tuesday to give everyone well deserved and needed time with their family and loved ones to rest, repair, recover and get ready for base training. So is the retail store. Strength, endurance and equipment experts are all looking forward to working with our wonderful clients after a holiday respite. Have a great break and we'll see everyone Wednesday!!!! And thanks to all of our wonderful clients for your fantastic patronage, tremendous enthusiasm and wonderful camaraderie. Here's a holiday cheer from us to you!

There is a lot happening in our "upstairs" studio. Situated above the cycling studio, we have 2000 square feet dedicated to making your muscles optimally suited to your needs. Torr- Michael Bennetta and Fred Sessler are teaming up and are now the Co-heads of the Strength Program at TARGETRAINING. Torr has been with TARGETRAINING since its inception. He is an elite motocross racer, ex-national cross country skier, former elite cyclist, cross country runner and an expert in re-hab. Torr spent years in Colorado before coming back to the East Coast. He is happily married to Jill and has a baby Logan. Clients see Torr's caring and calm demeanor and know they are being helped by someone that's on their side.

He joined TARGETRAINING in January of 2007 with 25 years of industry experience. His love of the game is incredible; he inspires. Fred has been a natural body building champion, is a black belt in multiple disciplines and has fought in the Golden Gloves. Fred's clients range from "I've got to get back into shape" to those with flawless bodies and incredible fitness. They all share the desire to improve and the need to be challenged.

Fred and Torr work closely with the entire staff, including Justin, to employ a team approach that gets clients strong, powerful, quick and capable. Teaming with Eneas, Dom and the endurance staff, the Strength Program enables clients to get holistic answers to their athletic and fitness questions. This includes a uniquely designed endurance strength set of classes. Please stop by to say hello to both Torr and Fred. Or try one of their excellent group sessions (e.g., Fred's kick boxing class or Torr's ski preparation class). If you can, you should take an hour to do a one on one session with them. Both the group and one on one sessions will push you (appropriately). And these guys will train you outdoors as well as indoors, to ensure that you are real world fit. Strength and endurance -- it is a combination that works effectively.

Going skiing to Aspen CO for a week. Will promise to fill everyone in when back. Please stop by if you want to get in on the action at TT between now and then!

There may be snow Sunday but the usual action will take place: indoor cycling Saturday and Sunday, Trout Brook Sunday at 7 AM, and cross ride 9 AM.

Some or all of you know, TARGETRAINING will be sponsoring an Under 25 year old Development racing team again for the 2008 racing season. Last year was a great first year and the lads had a lot of success. Kyle Wolfe is again the manager and director for the squad and he appears to be very excited about the opportunity. Kyle is an elite masters racer himself.

Kyle has given the following notice "We are starting the season off with a team training weekend on December 29 and 30th. It would be great if some or all of you can be involved! On Saturday we will be having a survival type course at Trout Brook in Westport. Just a couple of hours of climbing, rappelling and water crossings!

On Sunday will be a paint ball game at Liberty Paintball in Pawling, NY. I have reserved a field for the day and want all of you to come and have fun. The cost for playing for the day is about $35 plus ammo, which is cheap. We plan on playing for about 4+ hours! The whole idea is to teach the lads to act as a team or they will get shot! Much fun. And a good opportunity to beat up on fast kids! All are welcome and feel free to bring friends or relatives."

Should you start introducing more glutamate into your diet? There was an interesting in this past weekend's edition of Wall Street Journal article entitled "A New Taste Sensation" by Kathy McLaughlin. This new taste sensation, dubbed umami by Japanese scientists in 1909, means deliciousness, according the WSJ. And a key chemical compound is glutamate (remember MSG and chinese food?). The Journal article is a good read, but it does not directly discuss the nutritional value of glutamate. Please don't confuse glutamate with glutamine, a non essential amino acid that is prevalent in meats, soy isolate, and items like Muscle Milk. Glutamine is an important part of muscle metabolism; glutamate is not. Fortunately normal people get plenty of glutamine through an average diet. And it is a non essential amino acid, which means the body can synthesize it from other sources (does not have to ingest it). A good article on it may be found at the Institute for Traditional Medicine.

Athletes can and often do supplement their diet to have more. However, amino acid supplements are not cheap and can upset the stomach/cause loose bowels. Studies suggest that athletes under training stress need more amino acids (the stuff of protein) than the average person. So, when you are training a lot, you should elevate your caloric intake and yes, focus on getting extra protein to help your muscle metabolism. Since all meats, milk and soy have a lot of glutamine, you don't have to buy glutamine in the powdered form to get your fill. As for glutamate? Taking more MSG appears to mostly be a matter of taste. Your fifth taste. Enjoy.

Between strength/speed work, cycling and running, TT was awhirl in activity this weekend. So a lot of training and not much racing these two days for the group. Here is a picture of Eneas the coach and his son training in Trout Brook Valley:

The cycling studio was fogged in by the gang training on Saturday -- an inspiring perspiring site. Meanwhile Torr and Justin had clients doing timed hot potato drills in the strength studio -- so the sweat was flying there, too. More Cervelo bicycles are now fully built and on display on the showroom floor in Tri&Cycle.

On Sunday, 7 hardy souls, led by Dom, ran in Trout Brook. Later that day (because they slept in), the Staples High School cycling team led by their fearless leader Alec did its first indoor session as a group this weekend, riding in virtual reality through fictional "Empire City". They went through some traffic lights and paid the ultimate virtual price. Fortunately, they continued to train in the real world....and did very well, lasting over an hour in their first session. Rumor has it they will be back in on Friday....Where is Will Hardy?

Harold Kamins has developed into an excellent all around cyclist (he was pretty good when he started with TARGETRAINING). Harold designed the Charter Oak course this year, a ride that goes from Brideport to West Cornwall. That ride is organized by Andy Boas, who loves riding and equally is passionate about helping less fortunate youngsters get a good middle school education. Harold rode the front of the pack each day of the 3 day, 200+ mile ride. You can also see Harold in action at cyclocross races this season. Here is Harold smiling as he is jamming at a race:

Go Harold go! In case you missed it in Friday' November 30th's "Escapes" section of the New York Times, Cyclocross got a front page article. Entitled "Cyclocross: Mud, Sweat and Gears" the article, written by Stephen Regenold, describes a race in Blaine, Minnesota. Stephen observes that "In the United States, a longtime dead zone for cyclocross [compared to Europe], the sport has recently caught fire....Courses include obstacles, ramps, bumps, sand pits and lots of mud." And you get off your bike and run with it (thus "cycle" and "cross country running" = cyclocross). He points out that the skills combine road and mountain biking. TARGETRAINING does cross rides every other Sunday. Come join the gang (this past Sunday we rode in the snow/mud). There are plenty of great cyclocross events in Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and New England. Thank you to the NY Times and Stephen Regenold for spreading the gospel of this fantastically fun sport.

The Cervelo road bicycles have arrived at TARGETRAINING's Tri&Cycle shop! Matt will get some cool pictures of them. The SLC-SL (that is Soloist Carbon Super Light) is a beautiful, stealth fighter worthy frame. Everything about that frame says "fast". It looks as if we got in the entire Soloist order -- SLC-SL's, SLC's, and Team Soloist. Get them while they last; there is more demand for Cervelo than supply. These machines are awesome to behold and better to ride (editor note: it would be nice to race on an SLC-SL...). The R3-SL is being shipped and should arrive next week. That's a light, stiff frame (around 800 grams).

Torr is conducting the second TARGETSki class this Friday at 6 AM. If you are downhill or cross country bound, you are missing out by not taking this class. We'll get Torr to do a writeup to describe the type of training that takes place. A client stated "It was hard. It hurt." We hope that is good feedback...

Dom is doing individual swim sessions on Sunday for those who wish to improve their form. Sign up now if you are interested, please.

Today's morning training session had us riding in South Africa on the famous Capetown ride. The weather was a balmy 60 degrees inside the studio, although it was a frigid 25 at 6 AM outside. The ride is relatively flat for the first 20 miles. Those who felt up to it did 3 sprint series plus 3 3 minute threshold efforts. Most of us rode for 1 hour 15 minutes -- it is still transition (i.e., less miles). One of us went for a transition run outside...

Saturday was cold and TARGETRAINING's cycling studio was jumping with activity. Sunday saw a small number brave even colder weather to do an hour + run in Troutbrook Park including a pass up the red trail hill. This same group then stopped to change at TARGETRAINING, met a few Staples High School students who are training with us to brave snow and cold on a mountain/cross ride at Sherwood Island.

Meanwhile, Max Veiga, Bruce Koffsky and Alan Masarek braved freezing cold river passings, steep climbs and even more snow to do Gails Trail Run. Max took 2nd overall. Great job Max!

Justin Lindine sent us a picture showing the podium celebration when he won the NY State cyclocross championship. Great stuff Justin!

Our TARGETRAINING alumnus Todd Wells won two major cyclocross races this past weekend, although lost a good friend Mike Janelle, a top ultra endurance athlete who passed away in his sleep (his wife is expecting, as well). Inspired, Todd went head to head with Chris Horner both days but powered away.

Our collegiate racer Josh Jamner has won three cyclocross races so far this year and has qualified for Collegiate Nationals. Congrats Josh.

Next weekend there is a trail run called Gails Run. It is a charity run being held in Pound Ridge. More detail to follow. Also there is the Jingle Run December 9th.

A bunch of us went to Trout Brook to run and to ride -- perhaps a dozen runners and six to eight riders. The temperature started in the low twenties. Guess what? We were hot. We did the red trail which basically goes uphill for about 45 minutes. It was fun!

We had great turnouts for our indoor rides. Next Sunday we are doing the 9:30 AM indoor ride -- please sign up. If you wish to do an earlier indoor ride, please email us.

What a beautiful morning to go for a five mile run this past Thursday! About 3000 people raced the Pequot Turkey Trot in Southport/Westport and around 30 TARGETRAINING friends and family participated. Notably Dom Gillen got 3rd place overall, David Yockleson got 3rd and Max Veiga got 8th in the 40-49 age group (out of 500), Susan Stuart won her age group (50-59). Amy, Jill, Laurie, Ellen and Megan all finished strong, Tony, Terry, Bruce, David, Wayne, Rick and Chris had big smiles on their faces, and a bunch of us had special recovery mimosas' afterwards while the raffle was going on. Torr and Mitch were there to cheer us on, too!

Meanwhile, Eneas won his race in Chatham MA (a 5K running race). Great stuff!

TARGETRAINING has a lot to be thankful for this year. First, Eneas and his wife Nancy brought their son Eneas Caden into the world. Then very soon after, Torr and his wife ushered in their son Logan. Two of our crew got married: Carlos to his sweetheart Karen and then Matt to his sweetheart Alescia. And we grew as a firm, adding an excellent group this year: Fred, Matt, Carlos, Dom, Justin, and Max.

There were so many great accomplishments by clients and team that it is hard to recount now. We'll do that as a reflection for the start of the New Year. Let's just say this is a great day to give thanks, enjoy time with our respective families, revel in the fantastic, warm weather we have today, and see each other tomorrow to ensure that we use all those calories consumed today properly! Have a Happy Turkey Day!

In the Sunday New York Times Sports Section, Dara Torres, a 40 year old swimmer who happens to be the fastest women sprinter in the US (and perhaps the world) discusses her training approach. She does four strength and conditioning one on one sessions a week for 90 minutes and five (only five) pool sessions (90 minutes plus). She gets stretched for an hour every day plus gets massaged. Dara does not appear to have any spare fat on her 150 lb 6'0" frame. According to the statistics, Dara has gotten faster as she has gotten older. According to the NY Times, she is heavily tested and is drug free. Dara's approach to being a top athlete is instructive and of course inspiring. Please see full article

We are starting (we hope this is one of many) a new effort, summarizing health and fitness articles that we find excellent. Here is the first, and it is from the Saturday Wall Street Journal (November 17th, 2007) entitled "Is Yoga Just Posing as a Good Workout?". "Cardiovascular exercise -- defined as a repetitive, rhythmical exercise involving large muscle groups -- is widely viewed as increasing longevity by increasing the body's demand for oxygen and making the heart and lungs work harder." Ok, so we know this. The question is whether you need to run, swim and bicycle versus sweat a lot in yoga (or by corollary in a pilates class). Common sense is backed by science. A 2005 study "showed an expenditure of oxygen [in these classes] about twice as high as resting but almost half as high as walking....Lewis G. Maharam, a sports-medicine doctor and medical director of the New York Road Runners, says measuring cardiovascular activity in yoga is tricky, as it varies depending on the instructor, the type of yoga and the individual's fitness level. But Dr. Maharam says no yoga provides the rhythmic aerobic exercise that is always beneficial: one that keeps the heart rate in the right range for at least a continuous 20 minutes." There is no substitute for core endurance sports. You can't take shortcuts to being fit.

The article then sights a leading medical luminary who reinforces this view. "Dr. Cooper [who is recognized as a leading proponent of endurance exercise and is founder of the Cooper Institute] recommends people do all three exercises -- cardiovascular, musculoskeletal and relaxation/stress reduction. He suggests people in their 30s do 80% aerobic, 20% musculoskeletal; that moves to 70/30 for people in their 40s, 60/40 for those in their 50s, and 55/45 for those 60 and older (muscles start to atrophy when you age unless you exercise to keep muscle mass). That means at least 30 minutes of continuous cardiovascular exercise three times a week and 20 to 30 minutes of musculoskeletal twice a week. Yoga, he says, falls into the musculoskeletal and relaxation categories."

We concur with Dr. Cooper: subscribe to an excellent endurance package combined with strength and conditioning, and you will be healthier, wiser and likely able to hold on to your wealth longer (by definition). Stress reduction helps keep the balance, so yoga/pilates/massage is useful as well.

Now on to the Fun Stuff! Eneas Freyre and Harold K. did a cyclo cross race this weekend, and Eneas got 2nd. About a dozen of us did the bagel/coffee/hot chocolate Trout Brook Valley trail run. It was cold but not wet and really once we got going it was not cold. Then about eight of us went to Sherwood Island to do cyclocross/mountain biking. It was even nicer by then; we threw out some cardiovascular induced sweat... (see Yoga above). On Saturday, a ton of us decided to churn out a tough indoor session while a smaller number went for a 2.5 hilly ride outdoors. Mitch West did the Philly Marathon in 3:11. An off season race...All in all a good weekend.

A decent size group is going to do the Southport/Westport Turkey Trot on Thursday. See you then!

We had our first open trail run. It is one of many to come. The balmy 28 degree temperature was perfect for the woods. I hope you enjoyed the bagels, coffee and hot chocolate. Thanks to Lauren and Kim for joining the guys -- Ed, Chris, Bruce, David(s), Scott, Dom, Max, Matt and Rick. Going downhills definitely gets easier as you do it more often -- you get better at visualizing and stepping. Dom is the expert so please fire questions at him! See you on the trails next week! With more bagels, coffee and hot chocolate. I am getting more everything bagels -- those ran out!

Mitch West did a trail running race in Greenwich -- results/report to follow.

Bruce and Paula Koffsky braved the cold on Saturday to lead the group ride outdoors (with Rick). Everyone else, and there were a gaggle of riders, rode indoors. Not that it was easy, as Eneas certainly provided a motivating training session followed by Carlos.

There was lots of action in the one on one facility with Justin, Torr and Eneas training multiple clients.

And not to be outdone, Matt finalized TARGETRAINING's first Castelli order.

Castelli is a legend in cycling and the clothes are outstanding. Stop by soon to see the new selection. He also placed an order for more TARGETRAINING winter clothes (jackets, booties, gloves and head gear). so ask him when they'll be in.

The weekend was action packed: David Mosse competed in Iron Man Florida, David Yockleson ran the New York Marathon, Harold K. did the Farmington Cyclocross race, Dom led a group through the white and red trails for an hour plus run in Trout Brook and then led a different group for a cyclo-cross/MTB ride at Sherwood Island. And Gary led a group on a 70 mile destination ride up to Litchfield County. Plus we had a packed house on Saturday as Eneas led two indoor sessions up Alpe D'Huez and Rick led a group ride at 8 AM that braved the cold and wind.

David Mosse finished 17th in an incredibly competitive race. He broke the 9:45 hour barrier in the Ironman, coming in at 9:42. He did the bicycle leg in 5:02 or about 22 MPH average for 112 miles. He swam in just under 59 minutes and did the marathon leg in 3:34. David Yockleson, after 1 month of run specific training, completed a 2:57 NYC marathon (after a blazing 1:22 first half).

Next week Dom is\going to put together a trail running clinic where we hope to get a bunch of TARGETRAINING clients introduced to trail running. It is meant as an open clinic so whoever is reading this news section is invited. We will meet as usual at Trout Brook at 7 AM. We will do a half hour effort (about a 2 mile loop at a pace designed to get everyone used to running trails). The more advanced group will do an hour trail run. It will be fun. Hot coffees and bagels afterwards at TARGETRAINING.

Also, for those who missed the announcement, TARGETRAINING is now a Cervelo dealer. We are very excited because we believe Cervelo is the leading engineering focused bicycle company out there. They are very selective with whom they partner, and we believe that our clients will benefit from being able to get access to demo bikes to see the special qualities of this company's bicycles first hand.

TARGETRAINING had a fun filled weekend, even though it was 50 degrees cooler than the weekend before. Max Lippolis came to join the crew to lead the 7 AM group ride, which started out at a balmy 38 degrees F. Was everyone dressed properly? Well, there were some cold fingers out there...But the ride was fun, nonetheless. We did the 42 mile loop in fine style, with Ann Marie, Ray, Christina, Nancy, Megan, Lord and his friend Paris riding very strongly. Megan is preparing for a half ironman race in Bermuda (next weekend), and she looked very strong out there. A strong group went out for the 9 AM ride led by Carlos. There were more indoor riders than have been in the past few weeks because of the cold weather, including Dean and Barbara, both returning after a summer hiatus. Eneas left after the early indoor session to compete in a major cyclocross event in Glouchester (pronounced Glowster) Mass, where he grabbed 25th in a very pro heavy cycling field. TARGETRAINING cycling coach Chris Jones grabbed 3rd both Saturday and Sunday.

Sunday, Marc Gillies led a TARGETDestination group ride to Kent, CT. The weather was chilly but great for riding and the leaves were beautiful. Earlier that morning, Dominic led Max, Rick and Bruce on a 1 hour trail run in Troutbrook Park. It is an excellent experience and great cross training for those who spend a lot of time on the bike. Speaking of time on the bike, we spotted David M. starting out on a 7 hour training ride in preparation for Ironman Florida. Nice Dave!

TARGETRAINING participated in a great event -- the Charter Oak Challenge Foundation Bicycle Tour -- founded by Andy Boaz and his family and friends. This 240 mile, 3 day ride is spectacular and we hope to participate and raise money for this fantastic cause again next year.

We also sent riders to the Cystic Fibrosis Ride, a 100 KM event on Sunday. The riders (Christina left, Nancy right) rode in honor of Will, a 10 year old pictured below, who bravely lives with the disease every day.

We sent bicycle racers to the Three Town Bicycle Road Race in Baltic (Norwich) CT on Saturday and to the Pedal for the Roses YMCA criterium on Sunday.

Will Harding, one of our protege TARGETeen clients, completed a 3000 mile trek across the country on bike, putting in 90 mile days routinely. Westport News wrote an excellent article about Will's odyssey. Will completed the trek in the summer but we thought it deserved mention concurrently with the article. Congratulations Will!!!

The End of September saw TARGETRAINING go to Las Vegas to the Interbike Show and compete in the ITP Triathlon.

Jordan Rapp was out in Vegas along with Matt and Rick, all looking for goodies to put in Tri&Cycle. We visited great companies including Cytomax, Cervelo, Mavic, Zipp Speed Weaponry, SRAM, American Classic, Pinarello (Gita Imports), Blue Competition Bicycles, Seven Cycles, Hed Wheels, Pedro's, Park Tools, Zoot, Tyr, 2XU, Kuota, Quintano Roo and many many more. The displays were great.

Then Jordan came back East to win the ITPMan Triathlon. Eneas Freyre, racing in his 2nd triathlon ever, got 3rd place. David Mosse got 6th overall (3rd in a blistering fast age group) and David Yockleson won his age group and got 7th overall. Ed Parker got 8th in his age group. Lord Morgan, Rick Moore and a bunch of other TARGETRAINING triathletes competed and did very respectable times. Congratulations to all!

September Actions at TARGETRAINING. There has been plenty of activity, stretching from Rhode Island to Bermuda to Westport to Westchester.

Let's start with Bermuda. The women's season officially ended with Hiroko Shimada getting 7th overall in the four day event with a number of top 10 results, including the opening criterium and the time trial. Yarden Golan finished every stage in a brutally hard stage race. Thanks for all your efforts -- great way to finish the season! And, the weather was balmy, despite hurricane season.

Meanwhile, back in the Northeast, the TARGETRI Team stampeded the Jarden Westchester Triathlon, with Mitch West getting 5th overall amateur (Mitch would have easily won his age group) , Greg Stewart winning the 30-34 age group, David Yockleson winning the 40-44 age group, and Megan Griffis getting 8th in the women's 25-20 age group.

Two weeks before, Greg Stewart, Mitch West, Megan Griffis and Paul Sikora competed in the Westport Kiwanis Triathlon. Megan Griffis got 1st overall female!!! Greg Stewart won the 30-34 age group and Mitch West got 2nd (missing first by 3 seconds) in the 35-39 age group (wear a wetsuit next year...). Paul Sikora won the 13-14 men's age group.

Let's finish with Rhode Island. We sent two separate waves of athletes to Rhode Island, first the men's triathlon team, who competed in the Narragansett FirmMan Half Ironman. David Mosse did a 4:43, David Yockleson a 4:45 and Rich Izzo 5:02 . All did well in their respective categories, but it was a tough day. David Yockleson gave this pithy explanation of what faced them: "

"I spent part of Saturday at the beach in the gale force winds therein...I hoped that they would dissipate a bit (a lot) prior to the race along with the heat. At the pre-race brief, however, the director noted a Sunday forecast and predicted "the windiest Firmman ever". Great...

Sunday - the wife and I were out at 5 am to pick up Mossad and noted the lovely humidity. We were at transition by 5:30, and unlike prior years at which we are freezing at race start, it was warm. The water seemed calm, however. As Rich noted, though, there was a distinct lack of BRIGHT ORANGE BUOYS except for the first turn and right before the last turn. This didn't seem bad, though, until we were IN the water. Once in, I made the turn maybe 200 yds out, then...NOTHING. Everyone went pretty wide toward the kayakers/surfers who were too far out...it turns out I went nice and straight, but seeing no one spooked me and I had to stop a few times to make sure I was on course.

Exited the swim with a stream of expletives unprintable here...felt like I'd been in an hour (it should turn out to be about 31 minutes). jumped on the bike aiming to make up for lost time and powered out of T1. I was biking HARD...dumb move given the headwinds we had pretty much all the way except in the back hilly section and the last 10-15M. In retrospect, easing on the bike a bit to save some for the run might have been smart, but as I am often reminded by my wife, I'm not that smart. Near 35 miles, I passed Mossad on the side of the road. I asked if he was OK (a rare sportsmanlike effort on my part) and he was - he'd flatted. I pushed on, made the turn, and rode like crazy on the return. I ended up unofficially 2 minutes slower than last year (about 2:31), but given the wind and heat/humidity (I was sweating profusely on the bike), it was OK.

Back in T2, a quick change and I charged out onto the course ready to kill. I ran my typically fast first mile, same as usual at Firmman, but noted I didn't have the traditional resilience in my legs. Also noting the heat, I eased of into the 2nd mile figuring it would be a race of attrition. I started the run in 11th place...I passed one quickly and by two had passed 2 more and had 2 relays in front. Things were looking good...until I lost ALL my steam at about 3.5 miles. 7th place quickly became 10th as I slowed precipitously and began to walk the water stops...this continued until about mile 8, where I somehow gained a second wind and was able to pick up to 7:30s or (a litlle) better. Felt OK until the slight hill after 12, eased up that, then at 12.75, made the turn onto the beach. The Alcatraz sand steps have NOTHING on this beach run...1/4 mile (probably less but feels like a mile) on sand when you are dead. Finished up in 4:45 totally spent but happy to finish. My run was 1:39, 15 minutes slower than 2006.

TOUGH day...but they can't all be perfect, right?

David Mosse's retort to that experience was "Only thing I have to add is if anyone wants to know how to change a tubular with their teeth, let me know (-;"

We also sent a master's team to Rhode Island to compete in the Bob Beal Masters Classic. Ian Sinclair got 2nd in the 40-44 road race and 6th overall in the omnium. Mark Gillies got 12th in the 50-55 road race. Rob Weiss also competed in the event. The rain poured on Saturday in epic proportions during the road race, which included a vicious uphill followed by a treacherous downhill.

Aug 31st-Sept 3rd (Labor Day Weekend). TARGETRAINING did its final weekend of summer activity, spreading itself from Vermont to Georgia. And TARGETRAINING's teams earned 3 race wins as well as a King of the Mountain Win, a Sprinters GC win, and an Omnium Win in its final summer weekend (not to mention two second places and four third places). Let's start in the Northeast and work our way to the Southeast. In the Green Mountain Stage Race, TARGETRAINING sent its young men of the U-25 team to compete in a very difficult 4 day stage race. Justine Lindine, Allistair Radcliff, Lee Rosenthal and Adam St. Germaine ventured to Vermont to ride up Appalachian Gap, among others. Joining these fellows were Hiroko Shimada, the lone representative of the TARGETRAINING women's team, to do the women's event. Max Lippolis ventured to Vermont as well to do the 30+ race, Max Veiga to do the 40+ race, Doug Crane to do the 50+ event and Rob Weiss to do the Category 4 event. Congratulations to everyone on competing in a tough four days.

The U-25 squad was ably guided by manager Kyle Wolfe, who volunteered his time to help. Early on, Alistair showed prowess by getting 7th in the uphill prologue, with Lee not that far behind in 15th place. The next day was uneventful for the team (the flat road race). On the Queen Stage of the race, Justin Lindine attacked early. This was a helpful move. As a result, Justin won the King of the Mountain competition for the entire stage race and Alistair was able to sit in the winning chase group, and climbing well, got 2nd in the stage and moving into 2nd overall in GC. The next day, the team tenaciously protected Allistair, but a group including Dominc Perras were able to get 15 seconds up the road, moving Alistair to 5th overall. The team rode fantastically; it was a great way to offiicially wrap up the U-25 road season. Thanks guys for representing our colors so well! We are proud of you!

Max actually held the sprinters jersey for two days and finished seventh overall in the general classification. Hiroko Shimadao finished 10th in the GC.

There was lots of criterium action in New Jersey over labor Day. In the US Bicycling Hall of Fame, Abdul Kabia won the 35+ race. It was Abdul's second win in as many weekends. Scott got 3rd in both the 35+ and the 45+ race (three podiums for TT for the day). On Sunday, Eneas Freyre won the P12 race at Denville, with Ray Diaz getting 5th, Tony Taylor 6th and Scott also in the money. Tony Taylor got 2nd in the 35+ race, led out by Scott and Abdul. Yarden Golan got 8th in the women's event.On Monday, at Basking Ridge, Eneas Freyre won the two-day New Jersey Labor Day Omnium by getting third in the Basking Ridge race after his win the day before in the opening event. Again, Tony, Ray and Scott all placed in the money in the event. Tony Taylor got 6th in the 35+ event and 3rd in the 35+ omnium.

In the South, Robin Farina and Leigh Valetti did their farewell races in TARGETRAINING colors in the Atlanta 10K event in Georgia. Leigh got 8th in the event and Robin, who got 13th, was aggressive and noticed by the winner Tina Pic, who was quoted in Cyclingnews showing her appreciation for Robin's aggressiveness during the race. Thanks girls for riding a good season for TARGETRAINING. Best of luck in your cycling careers. The final race for the women's season will be Bermuda, where Hiroko and Yarden will ride representing TARGETRAINING.

Aug 25-26th. TARGETRAINING continued its travels around the Northeast, sending teams and clients to enjoy competition and the greater outdoors.

Saturday morning at 6 AM, the TARGETRAINING Women's Team, represented by Robin Farina, Yarden Golan, Andrea Meyers and Hiroko Shimada, started off in NYC at the GS Mengoni, with Robin winning the race, soloing in for the victory. Hiroko grabbed 4th, Andrea 5th and Yarden 10th. Great job! .

Eneas Freyre

and Ray Diaz earned 8th and 9th in the blazingly fast Pro 1 2 GS Mengoni Men's race. Eneas was in an aggressive mood and put his stamp on the race with a breakaway which the field ultimately pulled back

Saturday afternoon, an intreprid group of the TARGETRAINNG Masters Cycling Team braved 100 degree heat in Binghamton NY to do the Chris Thater Memorial around beautiful Recreation Park off Beethoven Street. In the 30+ race, Frank McCormack said "Hey Rick" (he was disguised in a Hot Tubes uniform). So Rick bailed on this race (not because of Frank, but because baby brother Mark McCormack was doing the race, too). Amos Brumble also was there so of course it would have been nice to have had Eneas. But Kyle Wolfe, Scott Bodin and Tony Taylor bravely lined up. Kyle bridged up to the inevitable break that was being led by Mark McCormack. For those who do not know the course, it has a challenging hill with a few pretty sharp turns, and with the 100 degree heat it offers no place to hide. Suddenly Kyle waved his hands calling for help from Tony and Mark and then faded (and apparently got quite heat sick). Tony rose to the occasion and was in the chase group with Frank and Amos. Tony ended up getting 6th behind Frank (who nicely took Tony to the curb in the sprint -- way to treat your elders Frank :) ). Scott got 10th by grabbing 3rd in what remained of the destroyed field. Then Tony and Scott quickly put on their numbers for the 40+ (yes, it was still 100 degrees and they were exhausted). Unfortunately, Rick who was fresh did not make the winning moves but Scott did score 10th in the 40+.

Sunday, TARGETRAINING returned to the podium with TWO WINS at Bethel CT's industrial park criterium course. It started with the Masters 40+ race where Doug Crane rode like a man possessed and was sprinting for primes and attacking like crazy. No one was letting him or Abdul Kabia go and finally a 5 man break got loose without either of them. No problem says Abdul, who bridges up at 1400 watts two
laps later and continues to drive the break to the finish. Abdul Kabia got an awesome hands up win! Great job! In the 3/4 race next up, Doug (remember?) got into a 5 man break that lapped the field and then KEPT GOING PAST THEM. Awesome. Tired from the first race a few minutes earlier, Doug missed the win but stayed in the money. Great job Doug! Not to be outdone by the old guys, a small but elite P123 field saw Matt Baldwin attack early with a dirty stinky Fruity only to be joined by Alister atcliff a few laps later. With the hard work of Abdul and a less than stellar Kyle in the field and elbows out blocking, they eventually came all the way around for another TARGETRAINING win for Alister Radcliff. Matt Baldwin grabbed second place. Nice team work guys!!!

Sunday also brought a bunch of TARGETRAINING athletes to Middletown CT where the Middletown Grand Prix was being held for the first time. Eneas, Rick, Ray, Max Veiga, Mike Shinal, Rob Weiss, David Stauffer, and Mark Gilles all decided to do this relatively brutal race. As hard a course as Thater can be, Middletown put its stamp on the word "respect the course." Rick and Ray showed up smiling until it was apparent that the 45+ race would be really hard because John Funk (4th in road nationals), Skip Foley (current US crit nationals champ), David Kellog (he's just good) plus notables like Tom Officer were there as well. It was a fun race, with Rick/Ray finishing in the top 10 (missed the break; however, only 1/3rd of the field finished) but out of the money (only placed 5 deep). Max faced an equally good field in the 35+ and finished close to top 10 as well in the third group as the 35+ field was decimated. Rob, Mike, David and Mark were happy that their races were over. Eneas, however, soloed away from a very strong field including TARGETRAINING coach Chris Jones as well as Roger Aspholm. Caught with three to go, Eneas watched as the peloton let Roger Aspholm go. A game of cat and mouse ensued with Roger getting the win and Eneas nipped by a New England based rider (name not yet known) to earn a hard fought 3rd and final podium position.

Turning to the world of triathlon, David Mosse and Scott Feder did a local event called the Mossman Park CIty Olympic in Bridgeport CT. David did an excellent job getting 2nd in the 30-34 men's agre group with a 2:08 time. Scott Feder did a personal best and grabbed 6th in the Men's 40-44 age group.

Finally, Jordan Rapp, one of TARGETRAINING's multisport coaches, got 5th and did an impressive 8:51 in Ironman Canada. This is more remarkable because it is his first Ironman and he tumbled down on his bike. He finished just behind 3rd and 4th, who caught him in the last two miles of the run...We are proud of you Jordan.

We sent athletes (clients and team) to New Hampshire to compete in the Timberman Half Ironman. This included Dominic Gillen, Mitch West, Greg Stewart, Alan Masarek, Bruce Koffsky, Cornelia Parchment-Horn, Ellen McCarthy, Laurie Brannigan, Allie Lawler and Fran Gray. Dominic got 31st overall, which we know is off for him, and placed 14th out of 18 pro males. Mitch West got 2nd in the 35-39 age group! Allie Lawler also podiumed with 3rd in the 35-39 women's age group. Greg got 12th in the 30-34 men and Fran and Laurie got 13th in their age groups (30-34 and 35-39 women). Cornelia, Ellen, Alan and Bruce all finished, which is an impressive feat.

We also had Hiroko Shimada, Scott Bodin, Mike Allaire, Doug Crane, Max Lippolis, Joe Regan, Allistair Radcliff and Lee Rosenthal go to Massachusetts to compete in the Tour of the Hilltowns (there is a reason for that name) Road Race. Hiroko got 3rd in the women's race, Scott got 4th in the 40+ (Mike finished in the field), Doug got 6th in the 50+, Max got 6th in the Cat 3 race and Joe finished in the field. In the Pro12 field, Allistair got 10th place and Lee finished in the field.

Justin Lindine got 5th in the NY State Time Trial championship on Saturday and won a 6 hour mountain bike race in Bolton, MA on Sunday. He looks ready for the Green Mountain Stage Race.

Richard Fuchs and Chris Kinney ventured to Mt. Washington to do the famous Hill Climb in New Hampshire. Anthony Colby went there as well. But 87 mph wind gusts and a freezing rain cancelled this event.

Yarden Golan, Ray Diaz and Rick Spear represented TARGETRAINING at Prospect Park in the Blistered Butt Road Race in NYC on Saturday morning, with Yarden getting 3rd place in the women's race, Ray 11th in the P123 and Rick getting 4th in the 35+ event.

In East Hartford Connecticut on Sunday, TARGETRAINING sent a strong squad and came away with THREE WINS in the Keith Berger Memorial Criterium, as well as a second place and an eight place. Yarden Golan won the women's event, showing that the tough NRC events plus the training she does with Carlos and TT appear to help her find that extra edge. And she did this with no team support (not too shabby, Yarden). Anthony Taylor won the 40+ race, in which TARGETRAINING also had Scott Bodin (captain), Abdul Kabia, Ian Sinclair and Rick Spear. The team did its best to actively impact the race, instigating and representing itself in multiple moves. In the key move, Abdul Kabia set up Tony by doing a long breakaway that Tony countered. The team did its best to shut down the field after Tony went away with 4 others, knowing that Tony's sprint was probably the strongest of the breakaway group that included former 50 year old pro Tom Officer. Tony did win the 5 up sprint, so that worked out! Abdul got 7th and Scott 9th. In the 30+ race, Eneas Freyre guest rode with Scott, Kyle Wolfe, Ian, Rick and Abdul all part of the squad. The objective was to either create a break with two TT'ers in it or to set up Kyle for the sprint. Abul was active again, as was Kyle, and when Abdul and Rick were in a move with about 12 to go that was brought back, Eneas countered, not realizing that he would drop his breakaway companion. Again the team did its best to control the front. Eneas made good on his end and soloed eleven miles for the win. Abdul got 7th as well. Ian Sinclair got 2nd in the Cat 3 race, where he got into the winning break of 6 riders with about 5 to go. Excellent! In the P123, Eneas, Tony, Kyle and Allistair Radcliff represented TARGETRAINING. Alistair got away solo and won a prime, and Eneas also won a prime. With 5 to go, a dangerous move went up the roade with no TT'ers in it. Eneas and Kyle and the pack brought back the break, but that counted Kyle out for the sprint. Eneas set up to lead Tony out, who lost Eneas's wheel, but Eneas hung on for 8th. Tony got 13th. It turned out to be a pretty good day for TARGETRAINING's cycling teams.

We also sent Leigh Valletti and Andrea Meyers to Downers Grove (Chicago Illinois) to compete in the International and National Championships. Leigh got 26th and Andrea finished Saturday's race, but Sunday's crash marred race saw Leigh go down twice (lots of rain).

August 16th. Rockleigh, NY. Ray Diaz won this famous Thursday night training series with the help of Scott Bodin. Congrats Ray!

August 11-12th. Coxsackie New York. Justin Lindine got 3rd, Alistair Radcliff earned 8th and Lee Rosenthal 9th in the Pro 1/2 83 mile road race. Doug Crane got 7th in the 45+ 63 mile event. Hiroko got 5th in the 63 mile P12 women's race. New Jersey cross races. Eneas got 3rd in the Saturday Night Fever race and 4th in the sprint cross race. Chicago Tour of Elk Grove. The women's team went out there with guns blazing and Robin Farina was able to finish in the money at 18th. Leigh, Yarden and Andrea raced hard and Leigh was taken down in a crash with less than 1 to go. Next weekend is the tough Downer's Grove race (US National Championship).

August 4th-5th. Pan Mass Challenge, Greenwich Triathlon, NRC Races down South, New Hampshire bicycle races, the NYC Half and riding action right in Connecticut! Let's start with the Pan Mass Challenge. Ray and Ann Marie Forehand along with Christina Lake and Josh Jamner did the 200 mile, two day ride to support cancer research. Christina commented: "This was the most incredible event of our lives....It was so rewarding. So many stories to tell..." We are proud of the TTers who partook in this event. Some TARGETRAINING team members and clients decided to tackle the Greenwich Triathlon (a sprint distance, non sanctioned event). Our head of Triathlon, Dominic Gillen, got 2nd on the day (he's still coming into form), Mitch West got 6th (and 2nd in his age group),

won the 40-49 age group and Megan Griffis

got 2nd in the women's 20-29 group! Eneas Freyre, Cornelia Parchment-Horn, Ellen McCarthy, Alan Masarek, Scott Feder, Addison Freeman,

Josh Cooper all competed in the event. The TARGETRAINING women's team competed in two of the most demanding criterium events of the professional season in North Carolina. Robin Farina and Leigh Valetti both scored in the money with 20th and 25th the first day, and Robin crashed with two to go but Leigh held out the second day to also score in the money. We are awaiting the report on the New Hampshire racing. We had a nice turnout for the Sound Cyclist TARGETRAINING ride on Saturday, with about 30 Sound Cyclist participants. Dave Yockleson did the NYC Half on Saturday and ran in around 1:17 -- he had a good experience. All in all a busy good weekend.

July 29th. Tokeneke Classic Road Race. This race does not occur in Tokeneke (Darien) CT but rather starts in East Hartland CT and circles the Barkhamsted Reservoir. The 22 mile loop entails 2200 feet of climbing including a finishing 2 mile rise. A bunch of us went there. In the Men's P12 event, Eneas Freyre won, with Justin Lindine earning 3rd and Alistair Radcliff getting 7th. The team rode well, putting three into the finishing group of ten, and then with Eneas, Justin and a guy named Roger riding away from the field (Roger is slightly good so we don't feel badly that Eneas and he beat each other up). In the Masters 35+, Scott Bodin pulled in 6th place by patiently waiting for aggressors like KOM winner Max Lippollis to blow up by attacking too early (Max 16th instead of first... -- we know you can do it!). Ian Sinclair and Kyle sacrificed themselves for the team, while Max Viega started the race 7 minutes late (!). The 45+ race was actually faster than the 35+ (Ray and Tony where were you) but Doug Crane held on for 15th while Rick, Mark and Marc Tater rode for the fun of it (as if it were fun). Tour de Toona. The women's team raced the hardest race (7 day stage race) of the season, and Kathleen was able to get a top 30 GC position, and Rebecca was not far behind. This race is one which surviving means a lot, as it is not forgiving. The women return home only to face an Autumn of high speed criteriums. A fond farewell goes out to Mandy Lozano, who now turns to become a graduate student at the Darden Business School of the University of Virginia. We'll miss you Mandy! Colavita Sutter Home rider (and TARGETRAINING coach) Anthony Colby won the KOM jersey at the Tour de Toona. The race did not finish on any uphills so there was not much differentiation on times in the GC; TARGETRAINING coach (rider for NERAC Pro Cycling) Chris Jones did pull out a top 15 though (good stuff!).

July 28th. Connecticut Challenge. What a tremendous event -- this is the second year that TARGETRAINING has supported this ride. It is a great organization -- thanks to Bob Mazzone, Jeff Keith, John Ragland and the entire crew supporting this great bicycle ride, all done to support the Yale-New Haven Cancer Survivorship Center. It is exceptional community spirit, bringing together enthusiasts, families, competitive athletes, and most importantly, survivors, all working towards a common, important cause and doing so in an incredibly enjoyable and fulfilling way. So many TARGETRAINING clients rode. Rob, Ray, Alan, Kyle, Liz, Todd, Bruce and Adam all did the 100 mile ride. Scott, Mark, Eneas, Ann Marie, Kim, Paula, Bonnie, Christina, Mike, Josh, Rick and Ellen did the 50 mile circuit. John Ragland rode the 25 mile circuit with his 9 year old daughter. And Ray, Ann Marie and Christina are going on to do the Pan Mass Challenge next week ( I know more came so please send me an email so I may update this accordingly). The dinner that night was a comfortable, fun barbeque that we recommend everyone try to attend next year!

July 24th. Upcoming events: (a) July 28th -- Connecticut Challenge Saturday. Should be a great event -- 50 & 100 mile rides. (b) July 29th -- Preview of Greenwich Triathlon Course with Dominic Gillen (c) August 4th -- special ride with Sound Cyclist Club from TARGETRAINING and Pan Mass Challenge for a bunch of clients (d) Greenwich Triathlon (e) Timberman Triathlon with a bunch of TARGETRAINING team members and clients attending (f) Westchester Triathlon (g) a lot of bicycle races (h) TARGETRAINING's ongoing every day of the week indoor and outdoor training (cycling, swimming at Longshore in Westport and swimming at Burying Hill Beach open water, and running track at Staples Wednesdays and running long from TARGETRAINING on Sundays).

July 22nd, NYC Triathlon. Mitch West got 17th, Greg Stewart 24th and David Yockelson 26th in the elite age group category (open across age groups no pros). Mitch pulled a sub 2:04 while Greg and David finished within 30 seconds of each other around 2:06.

July 22nd, Union Vale Road Race. A strong squad of TARGETRAINING folks took on one of the toughest regional road races. In the P12 event, Justin Lindine medaled in the NY State Road Championship for elites, after earning 7th overall. We are awaiting formal confirmation for what medal he earned. Eneas Freyre grabbed the final podium spot (3rd) after a hard fought battle. Ray Diaz got 2nd in the 45+ race, with Doug Crane 13th, Mike Allaire 16th and Mark Gillies 30th. Max Lippolis earned a tough 11th place in the 35+, with Max Veiga hanging in there to finish.

July 22nd, Freedom Tour, Stirling NJ. Scott Bodin instigated the winning move, and was joined by Kyle Wolfe. Kyle led out the final stretch and Scott bolted for the line, only to be nipped by two riders in the last few meters, holding on for 3rd.

July 21st, Lake Placid Ironman. David Mosse got 30th out of more than 250 competitors in the 30-34 men's category. David's 10:47 time is deceiving as it proved a very tough day for everyone. He posted a 5:49 time on the bike after a blistering sub hour swim. Then he pulled off a 3:50 marathon. While this was not close to Dave's personal best, and we await the details from him, the men's field was simply slower than in previous years. It was a difficult course this year.

July 21st, Poughkeepsie Main Event Criterium. This was a good race for TARGETRAINING. Kyle Wolfe won the 35+ race, breaking away and lapping the field with Roger Aspholm and TARGETRAINING alum Fernando Ferreira. Morgan Stebbins led out Kyle for the win and Abdul Kabia took 7th while Morgan grabbed 19th. Justin Lindine got 12th out of a huge field of 25 starters in the P123 event, while Josh Jamner got 7th in the 4/5. Rounding out the day, Yarden Golan grabbed 4th and 2nd of the U23 starters in the women's field.

July 21st, Tour of Mt. Holly Criterium. In this 100 KM criterium, we sent a composite squad of Cat 1 racers (our Masters team and Elite team): Ray Diaz, Eneas Freyre, Rev Doctor Governor Scott Bodin CPA CFA PhD, Matt Baldwin and Lee Rosenthal. Ray, Eneas and Scott scored for the home team in a race that was basically ballistic from the start.

July 21st, Attleboro MA Criterium. Adam St. Germaine decided to race locally and got 16th in the P123 event, while our buddy Justin Medeiros got 16th in the 30+ race.

Trip to the Alpes, July 15th to July 20th. The editor of TARGETRAINING's news section was away in France to ride in the Alpes. Rob Capadano and Rob Weiss both had planned a trip to France about 6 months ago and twisted the Ed's arm to go to Borge D'Oisans. Grudgingly he boarded a flight to the Lyon airport, where the two Rob's and Rick rented cars and then drove to the Oisan region. Spectacularly beautiful, the Oisans only have two directions -- up and down. The day of arrival, the three Americans stopped at Le Cassini hotel (where the Rob's were staying) in Freney D'Oisans, put together their bikes and then ascended Les Deux Alpes, a 2500 foot 12 KM climb with a median pitch of 7%.

Roughing it, they then ate a 5 course dinner at Le Cassini, forcing down a delightful Bourdeaux in the process. The next day, they embarked on a ride up a neighboring river valley to the village of Le Berarde.

This 27 KM climb had a median of around 4% but pitched to 10% for about 5 KM. Forced by the grueling climb to St. Christophe en Oisans (and the likelihood of very good food), they stopped on the way for lunch where the plat du jour was roasted duck, rice and ratatouille. The next day was Tuesday the 17th and it was time to see the Tour de France. So they climbed to the top of the Col de Galibier.

A 30 KM climb from Freney D'Oisans, the Galibier required going through the Col du Lauteret and the town of Le Grave and ascending about 5000 feet at 4% median grade (pitching to 10% and a median of 6% for the last 10 KM). We'll do a separate writeup of the Tour day. How do you follow that? Alpe D'Huez of course. So the next day the hour attempts were made going up Alpe D'Huez and suffering was never more brilliant fun.

The chocolate crepe tasted as spectacularly as possible. The descent through the back door exit via "Villard Reculas" may have been the pinnacle of perspectives in the region. Another exceptional dinner and it was off to the airport in the morning for the Ed. We'll have to do it again.

July 10 to July 22nd. Superweek. Wisconsin, Illinois. Leigh Valletti and Mandy Lozano competed in a number of these National Race Calendar events, which take place in various Wisconsin and Illinois towns over a two week period. Mandy got one top ten result and finished 17th in the series and Leigh got four top ten results including a 3rd place (podium).

TARGETRAINING Recap of April 2008 Activities