Comprehensive Racing

Mighty John Young... He's Famous!

2012-01-30T17:03:00.004-05:00

For those of you who haven't seen this interview... Grab a cup of coffee, sit back and relax to the soothing words of our very own Mighty John Young.

http://enduraguide.com/2012/01/30/meet-the-worlds-most-famous-little-triathlete/

Dear Diary...

2012-01-25T11:00:00.002-05:00

I wish I could take credit for this and honestly, I'm not sure where it came from, but thanks to Chewy for sharing!

A little late with the update...

2012-01-23T12:03:00.006-05:00

BI-WEEKLY NEWS SUMMARY 01-13-12

CAPTAINS CORNER: Captains hold top-secret meeting, guarded by national security and top intelligence. What could be brewing? Changes? Blog updates? Sponsors? Kick-off meeting? Team clothing? A new name for Kosmo? Discovery of the Honey-Badger’s secret powers? News soon to come.

COMP BIO: The Captains have spoken, send us your BIO recapping 2011, your outlook on the future, and a few other tid-bits. We want to know the real YOU.

FAST STARTS: Congrats Anne “KneeModel” Noga on starting the 2012 season on the fast track claiming back to back 2nd place age group victories at the 1/1 Frosty 4miler, and 1/7 Olde Salem Greens (Sno-less) Snowshoe Trail 3.5 miler. Sweet.

RESOLUTION 5K RUN TO KICK CANCER (Lexington, MA): Congrats Heidi “Mt-Goat-Girl” Videto finishing 13th of 109 in age in a field of near 1,000, near top 10%. That Mtn Goat Gal can run!

DISNEY MARATHON WEEKEND (Orlando, FL): Congrats to Team Incredibles way down south as Disney Dawnie took a PR in the half at 1:36, 6th of 1,400 in age (24,000 runners, yikes!), just missing the top 5 podium, and then the marathon relay with Mr Incredibles Bob finishing in 3:25 taking 23rd of 800 teams. There were some sore quads on this double up weekend but some incredible results by the Incredibles.

BITTER COLD ‘CROSS RELAY SHOWDOWN (Waltham, MA): 8 teams go in, only one comes out, its Cyclocross Thunderdome! And guess who came out with the win….. Live from ESPN Ocho-X, racer and correspondent, Capt Irom-Muppet Kurt gives the low down; “It was a really fun day! Not too serious, but just serious enough so we all raced hard! Almost to the point of losing breakfast a few times... Started with 8 relay teams, racing for 45 minutes. We finished 16 laps in that time, so the laps were short and fast. The top 3 teams advanced to a two rotation race... The final 3 teams were Mystic Velo, ECV and Comp Racing. The race was a 2 way race between Comp and ECV since Mystic had a mechanical on Lap 2 and we ended actually lapping them later in the race. The final race was 10 laps, 2 laps for each of us on the 5 man teams! Comp won by about 30 seconds. It was a good time!” Big Congrats to Capt Kurt Ironmuppet, Super-Duper Dan Cooper, and the organizer for Comp, Eric “Quiet-Assassin” Whewell.

OLDE SALEM GREENS SNOWSHOE(LESS) CLASSIC (Salem, MA): Its mid January and the winter weather has yet to arrive (no snow and 50 degree finish for this race). So with a little extra work by the race co-directors (Capt P, Iron Jay, Dan Super-Cooper, and Bucketlist Bill Morse) and the 5k snowshoe race became a new 3.5mi hilly trail race for 240 runners. Super efforts by Comp in the race and on the course volunteering. As Capt P finished in 8th overall, Dan Super Cooper 14th, Bucketlist Bill Morse 28th (2nd in age for the silver), Tim Slim-Speedy Clarke 35th(3rd age) Roz “Luna-Chick” Puleo 57th, Anne “KneeModel” Noga 65th (2nd in age for another silver), Erin “MudNewton” Bennett in 89th, Big Stu Greeley in 133rd, and TRX-Girl Denise Murphy in 151st. Big thanks to Iron-Jay Curry, Capt Jen “Divinci” Linnane, Capt Kurt Ironmuppet, and Steph Superlicious Cooper for volunteering on the course and stocking the water stop. Look for this race to move to February next year, we need some frickin’ snow!

Recovery...

2012-01-20T13:45:00.000-05:00

Every once in a while I get to the point where I just can't take it anymore and I have to use this blog to vent or muse a little. Today's topic... Recovery! I'm not talking the time you take after a race to relax for a day or two, I'm talking about a large chunk of time to rest and allow the body to recover from the abuses of the previous season. There are hundred's, if not thousands of articles and papers written about this very fact, yet, every year, especially this time of year I hear about people killing their bodies for races they are targeting in August, September or even further into November and December! GIVE YOURSELF A BREAK!!!! What I am about to say next does not reflect any scientific data at all, but is instead based on experience and watching dozens of athletes over the last 10 years of racing...

If you have an injury that didn't go away last season during training, training harder this year will not make it go away!

There, I said it! I feel a little better now... probably better than anyone reading this editorial that just realized they didn't let their injuries from last season fully heal! As someone who spent the majority of last spring on crutches, and then a large chunk of the summer being dropped on rides while I rehabbed to finally racing a full 'cross season at the back of the pack with no delusions of grandeur that I was going to win, but to make sure I was good to go for 2012, I would ask each and everyone of you... Please, please, please, give your body a rest and...

1) Seek out the medical help necessary to fix the issue whether it's RICE or as dramatic as surgery
2) Seek out the help of a qualified bike/shoe fitter
3) Seek out the help of a qualified coach that not only understands you, but understands the rigors of your life that might involve kids, work, travel, etc, etc, etc... We are not all Pro athletes!
4) Plan your season with peaks and recovery... You can't win every race.
5) Be realistic... Is a crushing interval workout in January going to make the difference in your training for an August race? Better yet, is missing an interval workout in January going to make a difference if your knee/shoulder/ankle/hip swells up like a balloon because you haven't let it recover from last season?
6) Surround yourself with positive people! Surround yourself with people that understand that injuries and recovery are part of racing. Those are the people that will be there to drop back and pick you up in a group ride, or will go out with the slower running group just to keep you company. Seek them out!

I feel a little better now and hopefully, if there is one person out there that gains something from these words, I have done my job. If not, then so be it.

And finally, thanks to all my teammates and family that stood by my side from the first time I got back on my feet after my surgery and kept telling me... "Recover right and you will be stronger than before..." Thanks everyone! I'm back!

Train Smart. Race Hard. Have Fun

Captain Elmo

2012-01-18T14:01:00.001-05:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

2012 is off to a great start with Comp Racing taking the line at the Salem "Snowshoe" Classic and a day later taking the big win at the 1st Annual Bitter Cold Frozen Showdown Cyclocross Relay!

Plans are being made, sponsors are getting on board and big things are in motion! Stay tuned right here for news about rides, run, events, sponsors and some random captains' musings.

Bike technology...

2011-12-02T17:24:00.003-05:00

This is some pretty cool technology and even cooler that is comes from the local crew at Parlee Cycles(parleecycles.com) in Beverly, MA...

http://www.thepostgame.com/blog/pulse/201112/ring-my-bell-new-bike-reads-your-mind

As a team with designers, engineers and techno-geeks, we can appreciate this more than most! Who says innovation in America is dead?!

And special credit goes to Chewy for finding this article!

12/02/11 - Weekly Update!

2011-12-02T10:20:00.012-05:00

BI-WEEKLY NEWS SUMMARY

12-02-11 NORTHEAST VELOCROSS CYCLOCROSS (LONDONDERRY, NH – 11/19) - Comp covered several men’s races on this crazy Velo/BMX/Woods course, walking away with a Top 10 and a couple Top 20s. Congrats to Iron-Jay Curry (Top 10), Paul “Clyde-with- Glide” Penaskovic, Scott “Wooly” Wilson, and Capt P for some good finishes and some good air time on the BMX bumps.

BOSTON ROAD CLUB CYCLCROSS AT SHEDD PARK (LOWELL, MA – 11/20) – Comp not only covered several men’s races but also several female races as well with some great results all around and a couple top 25s to boot. Big congrats to our growing female corp, Roz “Luna-Chick” Puleo, Capt Jen “DaVinci” Linanne, Catherine “Cat” Quinn, Nancy “Wrapper-Happy” Hatfield, and Greta “the Great” Zygmont. On the boys side tearing up the course we had Capt Kurt “Elmo-Ironmuppet” Maw, Dan “Super-Cooper”, Iron-Jay Curry, Admiral Bucketlist Morse, Eric “Quiet-Assassin” Whewell, Paul “Clyde-with- Glide” Penaskovic and Scott “Wooly” Wilson. And we even covered the Juniors race with young Madeleine “Mad-Z” Zygmont (daughter of Scottie and Greta) taking to the mud. Because one race is just not enough pain, Dan Coop and Capt Kurt stuck around for a double race day in the PM. We just love to suffer.

BAYSTATE CYCLOCROSS VERGE SERIES RACE #12-#13 (STERLING, MA - 11/26, 11/27)- A 2 race weekend in central mass with Comp covering them both, and racing them well, taking a Top 10, a couple Top 20s and a podium. But who would take it? The Boys? The gals? The Juniors? Saturday had some strong performances with Capt Kurt, Capt Jen and Dan Supper-Cooper diggin hard and covering 2 races. While on Sunday Comp covered 3 different races with Iron-Jay, Capt P, Capt Kurt , Scottie Wooly-Wilson, and Madeleine Mad-Z, hittin’ a cold morning that froze a few fingers. And who took to the podium? None other than Comp’s new upstart, young Madeleine “Mad-Z” Zygmont in the Junior Female category. Way to go Mad-Z!

WILD TURKEY 5-MILER (SALEM, MA – 11/24) – A record turnout again for this local running race that has gone from 160 runners 7 years ago to 1,450 this year. Congrats to Tim “Kona-Slim-Speedy” Clarke, Artie “One-Man-Party” Gray, Colin “Green Monstah” Doherty, Denise “TRX-girl” Murphy, Capt P and Tula “the canine puppy terror” on crossing the line. Tula ran the 5mi in a PR 46:05 with Mom and Dad Smurphy. But if that’s on 4 legs do you cut the time in half or double it?

FEASTER FIVE 5MILE (ANDOVER, MA 11/24) – This race is beyond records, as near 10,000 runners attended this one. And at this one Comp’s Mighty-John Young stood head and shoulders above the rest as he was invited by Dave McGillvary (Boston Marathon Director) to speak before the runners prior to the race. Now there’s a big honor. MJ had a few other bonuses as this one as well, as ESPN8 the Ocho caught up with MJ, “What a great morning! Finished the Feaster Five (mile) in 1:10. I was asked to speak to the 10,000 runners prior to the race. ‘Doesn't matter if it's a 5 minute mile or a 14 minute mile, it's still a mile’ A true gift this morning. Thanks to Dave McGillivray and all of the Merrimack Striders! Had a chance to meet and talk with Joan Benoit and Bill Rodgers both the night before and just prior to the race.” Now that’s a good race morning.

GABE’S RUN 5K AND 1MI RUN (HAMILTON, MA 11/25) - Looks like more of our young offspring are getting into the race spirit as young Owen joined his dad Mighty-John for a little run and schooled him in the 1-mi “fun” run! As MJ calls it, “Owen took off at the start and never stopped running. I had to cut across the cross-country course twice to catch him and even then he got to the finish before I did. He finished the 1 mile course in 11:45. I asked him when he was running if it hurt at all and he said, ‘Part way through my right rib was sore, but I ignored it.’ I am so PROUD of him.” Congrats to the Young family.

OTHER THANKSGIVING TURKEY TROTS – I’m sure several other Comp members were at various turkey trots that I’m unaware of, so this is a blanket CONGRATS to you all for earning your 3,000 calorie turkey day dinner and fixins’.

2012 Is Ramping Up!

2011-11-22T13:45:00.004-05:00

Comprehensive Racing would like to welcome it's first new sponsor for 2012... Rolf Prima Wheels! Comp Racing will be rolling on Rolf for Road, 'Cross, and Tri racing next season!!!!

www.rolfprima.com

Check them out!

A few photos...

2011-11-14T16:12:00.005-05:00

Just a few photos from racing at Canton in no particular order...

Iron Jay Curry over the short barriers..

Dan "Super" Cooper... forced to run up the ridable run up!

Kurt and Dan just waiting for the whistle...

Kurt "IronMuppet" Maw setting up the turn...

The weekly update...

2011-11-14T16:12:00.001-05:00

TRAIL RACE – NIPMUCK TRAIL MARATHON (ASHFORD, CT): Here’s a general description of this race from a trail runner I found off the web, " ...I have no desire to risk my life and health running with you lunatics. ‘Dear Friends, Warning: It is possible to get a serious injury in this race’.” So big congrats to Brenda “SoCal Bombshell” Smith for taking this on. And as she says “I happily didn’t finish last”. Sounds like just finishing is huge at this event.

RUNNING-VOLUNTEERING – DEVIL’S CHASE 6.66MI (SALEM, MA 10/29/11): The Comp runners may not have shown up, but the team Comp water stop volunteers were ready and on their game to deliver to over 1,400 runners with water and Gatorade and some good ‘ol fashion spookyness. Thanks Capt Jen “DiVinci” Linanne, Denise “TRX-girl” Murphy, Big Stu Greeley, Anne “Kneemodel” Noga, Mighty-John Young and Erin “Crash” Bennett in helping Capt P to make the Comp stop the tops on the Devil’s course. See attached for a pict of the Comp Spook Crew (the tongue belongs to Erin B).

CYCLOCROSS – CANTON CUP (CANTON, MA 10/29/11): Another big Comp day on the Cyclocross circuit as 7 roll up to the line in some big 100+ fields. Congrats to Admiral Bucketlist Bill Morse (23^rd) in leading comp in the maters 55+, Catherine “Cat” Quinn (22^nd) in leading Comp in the Women CAT3,4 race followed by Nancy “Wrapper-Happy” Hatfield (28^th), and big congrats to Iron-Jay Curry (25^th) leading Comp in the Mens CAT 4 race, followed by Dan Super-Cooper (55^th), Eric “Quiet Assassin” Whewell (60^th) and Capt Kurt “Ironmuppet Elmo” Maw (80^th). Great improvement by the boys from last year’s Canton Cup as Jay, Dan and Kurt moved up dozens of spots as the Orange continues to move closer to the front. See “Race Results” below for a full detailed race report and results from Capt Kurt filling in for the ESPN Ocho-X. For some Comp action photos, see attached

TRIATHLON – MIAMI 70.3 HALF IRONMAN (MIAMI, FL 10/30/11): Oh the warmth, sunshine and beautiful weather of Miami, NOT. As Ironmom Heather Mackesy and Kapt Kid Kosmo Dave Boyle woke to thunder and a deep water race start in the wind and rain (you sure you weren’t in New England?). Congrats to both in braving the conditions, patience with 25 waves of starters (that’s Huge!) and finishing and setting good race indicators for 2012 (that includes IM FL). And big congrats to Kosmo in shedding more bike demons, averaging 19.4 mph on a windswept course. See “Race Results” below for Kosmo’s full race write-up on this event and complete results.

TRAIL RACE – G.A.C. STONE CAT TRAIL MARATHON AND 50 MILER (IPSWICH, MA 11/5/11): Congrats to Sal “the Panama Shadow” Genovese in completing his first trail 50-miler in 10:38:25, good for 67^th of 150. That’s a long-ass day. Also congrats to the Comp 4 in completing the trail marathon, led by Iron-Jay Curry in 52^nd of 200, followed by Admiral Bucketlist Bill Morse in 105^th, Richie “Metallurgist” Lewis in 162st and Big-Stu Greeley in 166st. And kudos to Brenda “SoCal Bombshell” Smith in pacing/supporting a friend in the 50-miler for a marathon herself. This race put on by G.A.C. is known for its great food on the trail and post race schwag, and it didn’t disappoint as all finishers received a banquet on the trails and sweet zip pullover.

RUNNING – ING NEW YORK CITY MARATHON (NY, NY 11/6/11): Big congrats to Comp finishers Warren “Flash” MacPhail and Brett “Pants-on-Fire” Richardson in at 4:00 and 4:23, respectively, at the ING NYC Marathon. A little fast Orange in the Big Apple. From the sounds of it, it was just as tough to prepare for the 4-hour wait at the start as it was to run for 4hours on the course. But a rewarding experience it is in the Big Apple and per recommendation of Flash, a must event for all marathoners. See “Race Results” below for a quick report from Flash, as he was just off his 3hour goal through 13.1 miles, but the long wait at the start came back to haunt the hamstrings in the second half.

RUNNING – MANCHESTER CITY MARATHON (MANCHESTER, NH 11/6/11): Another big congrats to our marathoners, as Cheryl “Rockstar” Alden claims another PR, shaving 9 minutes off last year’s time with a brilliant 3:43:10 (8^th in age) in Manchester City. If Boston was still open it would have been a BQ time for 2012, but for 2013 with the qual changes, its 3 minutes shy. But never fear, with the “Rockstar’s” consistant PR efforts, a 3:40 is in the bag for next year.

CYCLOCROSS – NORTHHAMPTON VERGE NECCS CYCLOCROSS (NORTHAMPTON, MA 11/5&6/11): Now this is Cross, race temps in the 20s, frozen ground changing to mud, sweet stuff. Congrats to Eric “Quite Assassin” Whewell in competing CAT4 both days in fields that topped out in the 130s, finishing 113 on day one after some mechanicals and an improvement to 58th on day 2. Also congrats to Catherine “Cat” Quinn and Greta “The Great” Wilson on day 2 in the Amateur Women’s race placing 67^th and 73^rdrespectively, with smiles. Scott “Wooly” Wilson was also on hand for day 2, but if rumors are correct, was DQ’d (for a beer handout?). When was that illegal in Cross? Its bonus points at Ice Weasels! Hey, its cool in all the Belgium races! Take note, say no to the suds in a VERGE NECCS series event. See “Race Report” for another ESPN Ocho-X report from our Comp correspondent on this 2-day event.

Weekly Update

2011-09-14T15:25:00.004-04:00

///comprehensiveracing

BI-WEKLY NEWS SUMMARY 9-15-11

· ANNOUNCEMENT – On Tap for the Weekend – 9/16-9/17 Reach The Beach Relay, 9/17 Danny Oats 5k, 9/17 FIRM TDD Sprint Tri, 9/18 Buzzards Bay Sprint Tri, 9/18 NE Running Co Lone Gull 10k, 9/18 B&S Rockin Mad 5mi Challenge.

· ANNOUNCEMENT – Danny Oats 5k Date set 9/17/11: Memorial 5k road race and 2.5k walk on 9/17/11, 99 McMahon Road, Bedford, MA go to www.dannyoates5k.com or contact Comp member Lisa Freed at 781-275-0494 , lafreed@verizon.net . Proceeds to a scholarship fund for local high school students .

· ANNOUNCEMENT – 7th Annual – Sea-to-Shining-Sea 5miler 9/25/11: Roz’s Mom hosts this annual race that always ends up on the same weekend as the Lone Gull, Wicked Half, Danny Oats, Reach-the-Beach and other races. But this year they moved the race in hopes of some Black & Orange attendance. Hey, it has free BEER and BBQ! Details are - Sunday, September 25 at 10am - Free Beer and BBQ post race!
Register at: http://www.active.com/running/nahant-ma/7th-annual-sea-to-shining-sea-fivemiler-2011

· 2011 End of the Season Velodrome Track Pursuit and Sprint Series (Londonderry, NH) Final results have still not been posted for this summer track series (Kurt Kenetic Pursuit and Perl Izumi Sprint). Outside of knowing Steve Pelletier took the Gold winning the Elite Pursuit series, and Todd Crumb maybe taking the gold (at min the Silver) in the CAT 4/5 Sprint Series, we’re not sure where the rest of the team placed in the various other series/categories/etc, but there is a good chance of more awards for the Track boys. In any case, congrats to the Comp track boys for an outstanding 2011 season: Steve, Todd, Scott Wilson, Andy Masia, Andrew Van Kuren, Jeff Walsh, Mike Tobin, and Paul Penaskovic. We’ll post the rest of the results when they’re in.

· Saturday Sept 3^rd MudNewton Mudrun 5k and 10k (Ontario, Canada)– Erin Bennett put on a great race up north as property owner and race organizer. As Capt Kurt noted we need to get a road trip going next year to the great white north eh. And bring the bikes, great mountain biking up there. For a quick view of the 2011 race check out this report on YouTube on the event. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIvqYPE0Sws . Congrats Erin. www.mudnewton.com.

· Sunday Sept 4^th Hy-Vee 5150 National Triathlon Championships (Des Moines, Iowa)– Congrats Might John on taking the Gold as the Open Paratriathlete Division 5150 US Champion, finishing the Oly course in 3:59:56. In an Ocho interview MJ was asked how he saw the race unfold, “I had the race of my life on a truly hard course. The water was fine in the swim but I was hammered in the back and on the legs by a number of swimmers passing me over the 1.5K course. The bike course was hillier than I expected but nothing I couldn't handle, where I averaged 15.3 mph The run course was flat except for the last 1/5 of a mile leading uphill to the State House. I was able keep to 13.5 min/mile for the entire run. I was awarded a "gold" medal and gift card from ORCA. Now I can look into getting a custom made wetsuit! Thanks so much for all the pre and post race encouragement and cheers. I carried them all the way to and from Des Moines”. Great work MJ.

· Saturday Sept 10^th Concord YMCA Clough Sprint Tri (Weare, NH) – AND THE OVERALL WINNER IS ……..MATT GARCEAU! Huge Congrats to Matt Garceau, winning the Clough Sprint Tri overall title (not just age group, OVERALL). As the lone Comp racer at the event, Matt made sure no one was going to forget the Orange blur crossing the line. Just Awesome! In a field of 170 on a hilly course, Matt ranked 16^th in the swim, 6^th bike and 1^st on the run with a 19:34 to claim the overall victory in a time of 1:16:17, 20 seconds over the 2^nd place finisher. The Ocho raced back from Iowa for a quick interview with overall winner Garceau, as he notes, “Decent swim, decent bike, I get to T2, and there is only one bike on the rack. I can see the guy running out of transitions and he had huge biker’s legs, so I knew I’d probably pass him somewhat quickly. I pass him, and there is no one in front of me. I honestly didn’t know what to do with a lead in a race. I had a decent run (averaging 6:18’s on a somewhat hilly track). I crossed the line first, waited for the final results, and learned that I was the overall winner. I think at one point I had an outer-body experience that day. Holy crap!” Outstanding end of season for Matt just back from Age Group Nationals in Burlington, VT. Way to go big guy.

· Saturday Sept 10^th MaxPerformance Title IX Sprint Tri (Hopkinton, MA) – In completing just her first full season in triathlon, Andrea Barlow came up big at the Title IX women only tri finishing 57^th of 600 in a time of 1:19:07 and 31^st overall on the bike! Awesome work. Also on hand was wife of Big Stu, Colleen Greeley, also finishing well in 2:03:28. Way to go Comp gals! Results were:

57 85 Andrea Barlow SALEM MA 1:19:07 12/58 F3034 300 13:38 2:43 31 35:30 0:56 97 26:23
547 383 Colleen Greeley LYNN MA 2:03:28 21/23 F5559 560 19:22 5:37 545 57:06 1:44 517 39:42

· Sunday Sept 11^th – Nahant 30k (Nahant, MA) – Beautiful coastal day for the hilly Nahant 30k under sunny skies. In a field of about 250 the Comp racers set out to pound the pavement. Congrats Jay Curry leading the Comp racers, and congrats to Denise Murphy, Kevin & Kevin Curry and Stu Greeley for putting in a good long day’s effort. Results were:

 93 JAY CURRY            163 M 40 M4044   8 LYNN       MA   2:39:21  8:33

169 DENISE MURPHY         17 F 46 F4549   7 SALEM      MA   3:04:50  9:55

179  KEVIN CURRY           23 M 23         9 LYNN       MA   3:11:35  10:17

180  KEVIN CURRY           53 M 53        10 LYNN       MA   3:11:36  10:17

200 STUART GREELEY         8 M 58           LYNN       MA   3:53:00  12:30

· Sunday Sept 11^th – Lake Winnipesauke Relay (NH) – Congrats Tim Clarke running the 2^nd relay leg for his team(approx 11 miles), averaging about a 7:49 pace in helping his team to a 41^st place finish in a field of 76 teams. Tim’s impression of the race “It was beautiful up there”. Nice run Tim on a hilly race around Lake W.

RACE SERIES SUMMER LINKS

FIRM Tri/Du Events www.firm-racing.com

Max Performance Tri/Du Events www.maxperformanceonline.com

Tri Find (Tri Events by State) www.trifind.com

Tritanium Sports Events www.tritaniumsports.com

Sun Multisports Events www.sunmultisportevents.com

Time Out Productions Events www.timeoutproductions.com

North Shore Trail Series www.northshoretrailseries.com

BikeReg Races/Results www.bikereg.com

(IF U GOT RACE NEWS, CHARITY NEWS, EVENT NEWS, SEND ME A WRITEUP, I’LL POST ANY DISTANCE, ‘CUS ITS ALL FUN STUFF. I can’t print it if I don’t know about it.)

Ride smart, ride hard, ride fast, love your bike, (“Race like a Tri Star, Kick a little arse!”)

“Pain is temporary, Pride is forever” – Dave Scott

The Captains

Comprehensive Racing

www.comprehensive-racing.com

www.comprehensive-racing.blogspot.com

Some quick cyclocross questions and answers...

2011-09-08T13:38:00.001-04:00

Hey folks,
Every year, you hear a bunch of us raving about how much fun cyclocross is and how great it is for bike handling skills, power development and most importantly fun! This inevitably leads to lots of questions, so before the questions start rolling in, here are a few quick primer Q&As and some video links to what cyclocross racing is all about and to prove that yes, cyclocross is for everyone!

Q&A's:

Q: Do I need special bike for 'cross?
A: The answer is no. While there are 'cross specific bikes out there that do have benefits, first time racers can use a standard mountain bike or could use a road bike but that is not recommended. Generally, mountain bikes or 'cross bikes are recommended. As far as cost, 'cross bikes do not need to be carbon fiber or super expensive, in fact, you can get decent entry level bikes for about $1000. That being said, there are lots of used bikes out there.

Q: How long are the races?
A: 'Cross racing is done by time, not distance. Each race, is done for a set amount of time, ie, beginners usually race for about 40 minutes. The actual racing time is determined by the average speed of the lead riders after a lap or two. Lap cards are displayed at the start finish line and count backwards to let you know how many more laps you have to do. Typically, a lap distance is 1.5 - 4km long depending on the course.

Q: What category do I race in?
A: Beginners (first timers) have to race as a Category 4.

Q: How much running is involved and how tall are the barriers?
A: The amount of running depends upon the course, but generally, the distances are short, a few yards at a time between barriers or for a run-up. Barriers are used to add an extra obstacle and are generally 40cm tall.

Q: How long is the season?
A: In New England, the racing starts in late August/early September and goes until the weekend before Christmas (current schedule).

Q: Do I need a special license?
A: Just like doing a triathlon without a USAT number, you will need to purchase a one day license to race a cyclocross race. If you are planning on doing more than 5, then the cost one day licenses will cost more than an annual membership, so you can purchase one at www.usacycling.org.

Q: Do I need special clothing?
A: Technically no, any cycling clothing will work. In fact a member of Comp Racing once won a race with baggy shorts on. The only technical riding wear you need are shoes, such as mountain bike shoes with SPD cleats or if you are not using clipless pedals, trail running sneakers would work as well (this is not recommended though).

Q: How do I get on and off my bike quickly?
A: While there are lots of ways to do this and there are techniques, for your first race, just do it however you can. If you have time before racing to go to a practice or watch some videos, there are so great instructional videos available.

Finally...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eGrug-mUto&feature=fvst

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRZOa_E9Qs8

That should cover the basics and answer a few questions. If you already own a 'cross bike, we'll see you out there! If you own a mountain bike and want to try, just pick a race and give it a go! If you have questions, don't hesitate to ask!

Busy, busy, busy...

2011-08-29T13:14:00.002-04:00

We've been so busy since mid-July we haven't even had time to update the blog! We've racing in Colorado, IM Canada, The Witches Cup in Salem, The GP of Beverly, The Westboro Tri, Timberman Sprint and 1/2 IM, hanging out at Kingdom Trails and so much more!!!! Updates are coming soon!!!!

K

Ironman Lake Placid! 16:59:59...

2011-07-20T18:42:00.002-04:00

It's that time of year again when group of Comp Racers head north to Lake Placid to join the small group of individuals worldwide that can call themselves an.... IRONMAN!

Good luck to all of you! The rest of the Black and Orange will be cheering for you from afar!

316 – Cheryl A

349 - Heidi H

494 - Heather M

1570 - Jay C

1652 - Chaz F

2293 - Dave B

2712 - Richie L

2807 - Stu G

2841 - Bill M

Multi-Week Update #9

2011-06-21T13:39:00.000-04:00

///comprehensiveracing

BI-WEKLY NEWS SUMMARY – WOW WE WERE BUSY THESE PAST 2 WEEKS!

· ANNOUNCEMENT (Comp Member Event - (6/18)), HOPKINTON, MA - Race Director Lisa Freed has the swim for breast cancer (Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition Against the Tide). It’s a great cause, and once again , Heidi Watney is there! Come swim, kayak or combo, or donate to the cause. Lisa’s sponsor page is http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/lisa-freed/againstthetide-hopkinton

· ANNOUNCEMENT – CLIMB TEAL SAVE THE DATE - Saturday July 23^rd, 6-10pm, Climb Teal Fundraiser for ovarian cancer at Jubilee Yacht Club in support of Mark Doyle and his wife as their team undertakes a climb of the highest peak in Africa, Kilimanjaro. When their web-site is up and running a special announcement will be posted. Soon.

· ANNOUNCEMENT – BRUINS WIN THE CUP! BRUINS WIN THE CUP! As the black and gold is supported by the black and orange at every home playoff game by Ironmom Heather and Kaptain Kid Kosmo Kowboy Boyle in pure ecstasy in the stands. How sweet it is!

· (5/25, 6/1, 6/8) LYNN WOODS TRAIL RACES #1, #2, #3, LYNN, MA– Lynn Woods races of 5, 5.5 and 6.5 mi events through single and double track and fire roads have kicked off with some huge fields for this Wednesday night series as near 150 were on hand for race #1, 100 for #2 and 110 for #3. Each week Comp had at least a half dozen racers and led by a different runner each race as Iron-Jay Curry lead Comp in 18^th overall at race #1, Sal “Panama-Jack” Genovese was 22^nd in race #2, and Super-Cooper Dan was 16^th in race #3 to lead Comp. Other racers with some great efforts on courses included Admiral Bill “Bucketlist” Morse, Big Stu Greeley, Nancy “Wrapper-Happy” Hatfield, Steph “Superlicious” Cooper, “Uncle-Skinny” Kev Curry, Richie “Metallurgist” Lewis and yours truly, Capt P.

· (6/4) KUPENDA 5MI NORTH SHORE TRAIL RACE, BEVERLY,MA – Supporting our sponsor NE Running Co, Comp brought 3 trail warriors to the line for this 2-loop trail run behind Gordon College, all finishing 5^th in the age brackets. Overall in a field of 100, Capt P took 18^th, Bill Morse 27^th and Denise “Cat Whisperer” Murphy purrrrrrrrrrrrred in at 62^nd . Next event in the North Shore Trail Race is the ECGA’s Run For the Hills 10k at the Pingree School in So. Hamilton on July 16^th. Congrats to the mudders.

· (6/5) MOOSEMAN 70.3 HALF IM, NEWFOUND LAKE, NH – The big race of the weekend was a beautiful sunny day in contrast to the 2010 event that found rivers of water flowing down the road. Super work by the Comp crew in this early season half IM as Cheryl “Rock-Star” Alden pulled together a 36/3:18/1:48 for a sweet 5:47:47. “Smokin’ ” Joe Geringer had a fine day with a 41/3:13/1:52 for a 5:55:44 and Sonja “Ring-Barer” Majstoravich a 42/3:35/2:04 for a 6:28:57. Cheryl said it best on this race, “So happy to have dry roads on the down hills It was a great race day” J . Congrats to all our endurance racers.

· (6/5) B&S EXTREME URBAN ROADRACE, SALEM, MA – Do you like hurdling shopping carts? Running over buses? Jumping thru the mud? Zig zaging thru junk yards? Then these crazy urban races are for you. Congrats Kelley “Keys” Philbin on finishing this crazy race.

· (6/5) BIG RING RUMPAS MTB NECS #3, AUBURN, NH – Congrats Andrew “Hammer” Van Kuren placing 20th in the Open Cyclo Cross Division at the Big Ring “Ruckus”, Auburn, NH. Hammer started with a field of 40 riders and only 28 finished! Lots of crashes, mechanicals and general chaos ... Physco Cross!!! Now this sounds fun, as long as you’re not the one crashing…….. Nice job of survival Hammer. Paul “the Clyde with Glide” Penaskovic was supposed to make this event but got caught up and worn down in a strong-man stump grinding festival. The things to do in NH are endless.

· (6/5) ROUTE 66 MTB at DOMNARSKI FARM, WARE, MA – The Smith’s took on this bear of a race and were chewed up and spit out with two dead bikes and one heck of a crash. Nice course if you like a 6 mile technical single track climb to a couple miles of swamp and a sketchy downhill to a 90 degree downhill finish (great for the spectators to see the crashes in the final 50 yards). Capt P and young Tayler Smith finished but it wasn’t pretty as both bike sh** the bed. Nice effort Tayler even without a chain! Good thing I got you running in those duathlons! J .

· (6/7, 6/8) NORTHEAST VELODROME, LONDONDERRY, MA - Comprehensive is putting in some serious time at the local velodrome, and gathering some podium-results too. Todd “Gooseman” Crumb was 1st in the Cat4/5s on Tues...still dominating the Sprint Series and looking quite proud on the top tier of the podium. Steve “Pursuit” Pelletier was 2nd in the CAT 1/2/3 Sprints. Scott “Wooly” Wilson took 2nd in the Wed night Omnium for the 4/5s, working hard in the Miss 'N Out and Points Race. Andy Masia, just back from an overseas trip, rode support for most of the night Wed, helping his teammates achieve results. Congrats all and Good luck to Andy as he heads to the velodrome in Trexlertown PA for a Omnium this coming weekend!

· (6/10) PSAC SEASIDE STRIDE 5K, WINTHROP, MA – In supporting fellow Comp racer and event organizers, Artie “on-man-party” Gray and Warren “Flash” McPhail, Comp brought 4 to the line finishing high in the field of 246 (a record crowd!). It was beautiful sunny light breeze Friday evening along the coast of Winthrop for a race and BBQ hosted by Artie and friends. Jamie “Autopilot” Crowley led all Compsters with a sweet 6:01 pace -18:40 for 4^th overall and 1^st age, followed by Capt P with a 6:15 pace, 19:25 for 8^th overall 2^nd age, Paul “Kite-Runner” Copeland was in at 22^nd and 8^th age, and Artie “One-Man-Party” Gray at 57^th and ……back to his tough luck 4^th place in age finishes. Thanks for the race and bountiful BBQ Art, great as always.

· (6/12) FIRM ASHLAND LIONS METRO WEST OLYMPIC AND SPRINT TRI, ASHLAND, MA) - Disney Dawnie and the Mighty Mighty Vescios played a tune on the competition (Racing Like a Tri Star, Kick Your Little Arse) scoring a 2^nd overall relay team at the Olympic distance. Word has it Dawnie kicked some major male butt at the end of this one. The World Tour continues at the nex FIRM race. Matt “Lean-Mean-Machine” Garceau had a great race in the Olympic individual finishing 24^th overall in the field of 130, but who would have thought they would all be Clydesdales? As Matt placed 6^th Clyde in the 24^th slot. This really was a giant of a race, or a race of giants. In the sprint Jordy “Hot’lanta” Wetzel jumped off the Crit schedule and into the tri circuit in high fashion placing 14^th overall and 2^nd in age in the field of 80. With those results you can expect to see Jordy at a few more sprint tri races. Nice effort by all on this cool rainy day.

· NEXT UP THIS WEEKEND – Mt Washington Road Race (its only one hill) as Bill Morse goes for No.30 (consecutively). A dozen+ head to the Patriot Half IM and Minuteman Sprint. Lisa Freed lead the Swim for Breast Cancer.

GROUP TRAINING/EVENTS

Bike – Salem Cycle/comprehensiveracing Saturday Group Ride 6/18 8:00am from Salem Common. TUESDAYS: Marblehead Cycle 6pm (Comp’s Denise “Cat-Whisperer” Murphy to lead a “Girl-Power” ride at same time).

Run – Join the Tuesday/Thursday 5:30am 5-mile runs in Salem starting at Front Street. Join the 6:00pm Lynn Woods Crew for trail runs on Wednesdays (Great Woods Road entrance).

Swim – Sundays at Stiles Pond, Boxford MA 8am start.

UPCOMING CHARITY EVENTS (Comp Mission Statement, Article IV, Participate/Donate in Charitable Events)

Stu Greeley Charity in memory of his brother Ron for the Leukemia Research Foundation - Ironman Lake Placid (July 24^th)

As most of you know Stu’s brother Ron lost his battle with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML) after a courageous 13 month long ordeal. AML is a cancer of the blood and bone marrow. In his memory Stu is doing the Lake Placid Ironman Triathlon, this July 24th, to raise money for Leukemia and Cancer research. Ron was an avid team sports athlete growing up, Baseball, Hockey, Track, whatever the season, there were games to be played. He then moved into coaching his son’s teams in Little League Baseball and Youth Hockey. If you’d like to donate, Stu has set up a fundraising page at: http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/stu-greeley/leukemia-research-foundation?fge=ask . Stu’s shooting for $3,000 .

Climb Teal (coming soon)

Vescio MPS TT

2011-06-02T13:24:00.002-04:00

Vmps Time Trial Training Series--Millbury, MA

For the most up to date info, visit Vescio MPS:
https://sites.google.com/a/mpstraining.com/services/time-trial-series

http://mpstraining.com/scroll/scroll.htm

Looking for a fun way to get in shape for cycling or racing? Then join us for the Vmps Time Trial Training Series brought to you by F.I.R.M. Racing.

Known as the ‘Race of Truth’, the time trial is you against the clock. Riders are sent off one at a time with no drafting allowed. A weekly time trial is a great way to gauge your cycling fitness. Plus it is rewarding to watch your times drop as the season progresses.

Race Course

Our 9.4 mile course starts in Millbury, goes around Lake Singletary in Sutton, and returns to Millbury. There is a climb near the start of the route, some flat riding, a descent, and then gently rolling terrain to the finish line. All timing will be done by F.I.R.M. Racing.

Course Directions

Start: Near junction of Sutton Road and West Main Street
Sutton Road becomes Singletary Avenue
Follow Singletary Avenue to four way stop sign
Take right onto Boston Road
Follow Boston Road. Bear left to stay on Boston Road when the road forks. Follow to stop sign.
Take sharp right onto West Sutton Road
West Sutton Road-->Singletary Road
Singletary Road-->West Main Street
End: Near junction of West Main Street and Sutton Road

Schedule

Tuesdays, May 17 through Aug 30 (16 weeks)

Registration: 5:30 PM to 6:10 PM at Vmps Triathlon Center, 45 River Street, Millbury, MA 01527

Start Time: First rider sent off at 6:30 PM

click here to register

Fees

$75 to register for the series ($50 for Vmps Triathlon Team members)

$10 per race if a person doesn't register for the series ($8 for Vmps Triathlon Team members)

USA Triathlon membership is required for the series or for each race. Participants in the series may purchase a USA Triathlon single day license for $10 to cover them for the entire series if they do not have an annual membership. Participants choosing to participate on a per race basis in the series must either have a USA Triathlon annual membership or pay $10 for a USA Triathlon single day license for each of the races they choose to do in the series.

Registration

Riders who register for the series receive a tech shirt and a water bottle.

You may register for the series either online or at Vmps Triathlon Center, 45 River Street, Millbury, MA. You may register for a single race at the Vmps Triathlon Center no later than 6:10 PM on the day of the race. There is no online registration for participating on a per race basis.

click here to register

Refund Policy

Registration fees are non refundable.

Inclement Weather Policy

Safety is a top concern. With that in mind, the time trial will be cancelled due to rain or other inclement weather. A cancellation notice will be posted on the home page of www.mpstraining.comby 3:00 PM of race day. No make ups or refunds will be issued for cancelled events.

Summer Races!!!!

2011-06-02T13:21:00.000-04:00

Summer Racing-Training Series and Other Team races

With these temps, summer is definitely upon us, and with that, summer racing series. The big Tri race series have already started (FIRM, MaxPerformance, Sun MultiSports) and so has the Wells Ave Crit Bike series, now the next phase, the liquid goo phase of summer………………..

TUESDAYS/WEDNESDAYS – Northeast Velodrome Track Series (Londonderry, NH)

Come join the high speed track pack for individual or group training with the Tuesday night Pursuit Series and the Wednesday night Bunch Racing Series. For more info go to :

http://northeastvelo.com/articles/training-schedule-clinics-pg64.htm Tuesdays - Kurt Kinetic Pursuit Series: Tuesdays 2011 ; Wednesdays - Fuji Bikes Bunch Racing Series Dates (May thru Aug)

WEDNESDAYS - ECV Time Trial Series (Hamilton, MA) – 6:00pm Wednesdays ( June 1, 15 and Team TT 6/29, July 6, 13, 20, 27 and Team TT Aug 17)

For $8 a great series to get your triathlon cycling on target starting this Wednesday 6/1. A 11.5 mile loop thru Hamilton/Ipswich/Essex and back to Hamilton. Registration by 5:30pm, off at 30 sec intervals at 6:00pm. Max firld 50 riders. For more info:

· www.ecvcycling.org

WEDNESDAYS - Lynn Woods Summer Trail Series (Lynn, MA) – 6:30pm Wednesdays (May 25^th thru September)

Another great FREE series (donations for weekly refreshments accepted), a 2.5 to 3 mile short course and a 5 to 6 mile long course depending on the layout (different course most every week), started last week. For more info go to:

www.lwrun.org

THURSDAYS - Nahant Tri Series (Nahant, MA) – 6:30pm Thursdays (June 2^nd thru Aug 25^th )

FREE (possible $3 parking fee on hot days). A great way to get your short game on, super-sprint tri at .25/5.5/2.7 starting this Thursday 6/2. Great people, fun event, brrrrrrr cold water. Meet at end of Nahant causeway adjacent to the Tides Restaurant.

SATURDAY/SUNDAYS North Shore Trail race Series (June – Nov)

A great series (and organized by our sponsor New England Running) of local trail races for the mud runners, from 5k to a full marathon. Join this Saturday June 4^th for the Kupenda 5miler at Gordon College in Beverly. For more info:

· www.nerunningco.com/trail-series

RACES: June 4, 2011 Kupenda 5 Mile Trail Race ; July 16, 2011 ECGA’s 4th Annual Run for the Hills 10K Trail Run ; Aug. 27, 2011 ECGA’s 2nd Annual Beverly Commons 7.3 mile Trail Run ; Sept. 17, 2011 ECTA 10 Mile Trail Run Oct. 16, 2011 ; Ravenswood 4.1 Mile Trail Race ; Nov. 5, 2011 Stonecat Trail Run (25 bonus points to all finishers)

FRIDAY NIGHT - Point Shirley Athletic Association Seaside Stride 5k (Winthrop MA) – Friday June 10th

This is Artie “one-man-party” Gray’s big race vent of the season. Come on out and support Art and Flash Warren McPhail along this great coastal road race.

· www.pointshirleyathleticclub.com

Weekly Update (a few weeks late)

2011-06-02T13:20:00.000-04:00

///comprehensiveracing

NEWS SUMMARY (Details of events in “RACE/EVENT NEWS”) Com’on the bullets are short, just read it. Orange was everywhere the past 2 weeks.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Due to the Tour de Cure ride on Sunday, none of the Captains or Lieutenants are available for the Saturday 9am ride. But if you are looking for a ride please go to the common and gather up, the ride is yours to ride as you wish.

· HALE RESERVATION 5K TRAIL RUN 5/7/11 (WESTWOOD, MA): In a field of 61 Artie “one-man-party” Gray took the orange and black to the south side of the state and stood the podium in 2^nd, 19^th overall. Way to keep out of those 4ths Artie!!!

· MAXPERFORMANCE SEASON OPENER SPRINT DUALTHON/TRIATHLON 5/8/11 (HOPKINTON, MA): Tri - In a field of 400 Comps new members Brett Richardson and Stephanie Feltman took to the field/sea of battle as Brett finished well in #266 and Steph in the #322 spot, in their first Tri EVER. Great effort by our rookie stars in the chilly (57-degree) Hopkinton State Park water and post Kentucky Derby celebrating . As Brett put it “considering we tried to do our carb loading starting with the Bruins on Friday night and a Kentucky Derby party on Saturday - I think we did . . . okay. I think a turtle may have passed me on my first transition but I am not sure.” DU – In a field of 170 Comp just missed a 2 for 2 on the podium as Capt P reeled in a 6^th overall (3^rd best bike split) and 1^st in age, and Mark “Mick” Doyle dug hard for a 15^th overall but a bad/loose cleat cost him an extra minute in transition and landed him a 4^th place age group finish.

· FIRM SUDBURY SPRINT TRIATHLON 5/8/11 (SUDBURY,MA): In a field of 460, Comp landed 2 for 2 on the podium as JP “Super-Speedo” Peters took 6^th overall (2^nd best bike split) and 2^nd in age, and Nancy “QT2-mania” Thompson (still rehabbing that knee) took a 2^nd in age (57^th overall). Superstars all around. News on the Vescio front, Don Big-Ring refuses to quit as he still took the best bike relay time riding with one arm in an up-right position! Team VMPS with Elaine at the anchor on the run took 1^st place overall team! Now that’s impressive.

· KISSENA VELODROME OPENING WEEKEND 2-DAY OMNIUM 5/7 AND 5/8/11( QUEENS, NY): In the CAT 1/2/3 race, Steve “Pursuit” Pelletier pulls out a super weekend of track racing as he placed 8^th overall as he gains as much experience as possible prior to the US Track Nationals in July in Trexlertown, PA (his season A race). Kissena had a competitive 80 entrants and was 2 full days of racing (Kilo, Team Sprints, Miss 'N Out, Points Races, Match Sprints, and Scratch Races). Steve’s take “I rode well overall, gaining some experience competing with the Elite riders, and picking up a few Omnium points in each field along the way. Highlights: Rode a personal-best Kilometer TT, took 5th in the Masters Scratch Race, 4th in the 1/2/3 Team Sprint... rode 9 races total” Congrats Steve and good luck on the A race!

· NORTHEAST VELODROME 5/8 OMNIUM AND and 5/10 SPRINT (DERRY, NH): At the Omnium, Andy Masia was the talk of the track racing! He placed well in every event and won 2 match sprints which gave him a decisive Omnium victory! Way to scoop up some points Andy! At the Tuesday night sprints, Scotty “Wooly” Wilson and Todd “Gooseman” Crumb finished 1/2 at the first night of mach sprints at NE Velodrome . Small field on Wednesday, but Andy Masia took the Bronze for the nights Omnium. All super results from the track!

· WELLS AVE CRIT SERIES 5/8/11 (NEWTON, MA): Andrew “THE HAMMER” Van Kuren placed 2nd for the second straight week in the Wells Ave B race! Again a solo job for VanK! Nice riding! Must be the added aerodynamics of the EZPinz! www.ezpinz.com - Andrew is founder and owner! Check out the site. And for you riders doing the Tour de Cure, Andrew has donated $200 worth of EZPinz to the event to be drawn or won at the event.)

· GAC MOTHERS DAY MULTI-LOOP TRAIL RACE 5/8/11 (BRADLEY-PALMER STATE PARK): This 3-mi loop course is run until a marathon is completed or, Mom calls you home. In this case Mom won as Iron-Jay Curry was in 3^rd place overall after 6 laps (18 miles), but had to leave the course to get home to Mom. What a nice boy. Keeping Jay company was Admiral Bill “Bucketlist” Morse who may have done the whole marathon, and Big-Stu Greeley with a few less laps. Congrats all 3 on a great day.

· WAYNE ELLIOT MEMORIAL CIRCUIT RACE 5/14/11 (MERRIMACK, MA) – Wish we could have posted a nice finish for Mike Riordan in his first ever circuit race. But an errant rider not holding a line cost Mike the race and the next 6 weeks including the Tour de Cure and the B2B. So instead we wish him well on his recovery from a broken collar bone and scapula and hope for a speedy return. We’ll miss you at the Tour de Cure Mike.

· KATIE LYNCH HEARTBREAK HILL HALF MARATHON 5/15/11 (BOSTON, MA): Mighty-John Young continues to drop the times at every race and this race was no different as he dropped 16 minutes (that’s over a minute per mile!) from last year’s half with a 2:55:41 finish. Congrats Mighty!

· JCC TRIATHLON BY THE SEA 5/15/11 (MARBLEHEAD, MA): In a field of 200 on a rainy early morning, Tim “Slim-Speedy 2010 Kona-boy” Clarke cranked out a 34^th place finish overall. Sweet! But too many fast 40 year olds kept him of the podium. Nice work Tim!

· 1^st ANNUAL TWIN LIGHTS HALF MARATHON 5/15/11 (GLOUCESTER, MA): In a field of 850 the Smurphy’s (Capt P and Denise “the Cat-Whisperer” ) took their limited (none) distance training to the test and were pleasantly surprised with a 1:40:15 and a 2:01:30 finishes on a course that was hilly throughout and measured closer to a nautical 13.1 miles as all runners armed with a GPS found the course a bit long at 13.3 to 13.4 miles. But for a first year race a good time was had by all, with good course support and post treats. It could have been a good day for Jay “Gunship” Miller with all the nautical jargon around but we never saw him. Where’d ya go Gunship? We came to keep you company!

· Salem CYCLE / COMP RACING Bay State Bike Week Kick-Off Event 5/14/11 (Salem, MA)– Comprehensive Racing and Salem Cycle’s kick-off event kicked-off Baystate bike week in style with arm reflectors and T-shirts from Mass Bike/DOT and water bottles courtesy of Specialized and Salem Cycle. We had 18-1/2 in attendance and opened with a summary of Baystate bike week and review of the Bike Law Update from the Bicyclist Safety Bill and followed that up with some safety tips and some advice on how to commute to work. The event closed out the event with a 4-mi community bike tour from Salem Cycle to Salem’s Willow’s point and towards Winter Island, returning to Salem Cycle and collection of event free swag.

· TOUR DE CURE - JEN’S COMPREHENSIVE RACERS- The ride for the Tour de Cure supporting the American Diabetes Association is here! With 28 27 riders and $12,000+ raised, we set off on Sunday the 22^nd under hopefully some dry skies. Thanks all that are participating and all that donated.

2010 Tour de Cure...A walk down Memory Lane...

2011-04-19T22:04:00.021-04:00

Ahh, yes..... I remember the 2010 Tour de Cure like it was yesterday... We gathered in Gloucester at the High School, so excited to ride! We pitched the tent, chalked the pavement, pumped the tires, filled the water bottles, gathered the troops, and smiled for the camera as we prepared to ride 62 miles for the American Diabetes Association to help cure diabetes. Jen's Comprehensive Racers were ready to roll - one Red Rider, 13 Comprehensive Racers, and one full scale cardboard cutout of our beloved Captain Kurt who was stuck in Europe on an unexpected business trip!

At the start line, we heard lots of kudos and thanks for our efforts and plenty of folks wishing us well on our journey. We began the ride with a large group in the first sendoff at 7AM and slowly broke up into a long train single file and then some smaller clusters of riders. We took in the beauty of Cape Ann as we pedaled along through shady trees, along the sea shore and then over the leftover potholes of winter, yelling "Hole!" to our friendly riders behind us as we dodged and hoped not to fall in!

We paused at a few of the rest stops along the way to check in with the race directors, to repelntish our snacks and water bottles and to chat with other riders and compare notes. Smiles all around - What's not love with a beautiful sunny day on your bike with great company?!

....Oh and that cardboard cutout of Kurt? ....Well he was a little too much like a sail to ride with, so he guarded the tent in that format, but .... He also morphed into his secret riding identity, "Elmo" to accompany us for the ride! On Patrick, Jen and Dan's handle bars in aero position, of course!

We all enjoyed an unbelievable day of riding the full 62 miles and approached the finish line and our tent with pride! We had accomplished our mission completing the ride and raising over $4000.00 for the ADA to support reasearch for a cure! Now that's a reason to celebrate....

....And celebrate we did! The Captains re-united for a toast!

Chester Bear settled in for a snack and a relaxing sprawl...

Dan and Patrick had to try out the riot gear just to be sure it worked ok....

...And Patrick thought he'd steal a smooch from Denise while no one was looking!

We relaxed, chatted, refueled, laughed....

....And refueled, chatted, took in the sunshine and smiled some more.... So much to be thankful for, so much to be proud of. ; )

Jen's Comprehensive Racers did it! We rode 62 miles and made a difference! Our sponsors, friends, families and folks who donated cash or cheered us on all did it, and we are so proud!

We're going to do it again! On May 22, 2011, Jen's Comprehensive Racers will ride again! Join us! We "Train smart. Race hard. Have fun. " And we make a difference!

Our 2011 page can be found at: http://main.diabetes.org/site/TR/TourdeCure/EasternNewEnglandArea?team_id=4995958pg=team&fr_id=7544

Join us to ride! Sponsor us! Cheer us on! And thanks in advance for all that you do!

Weekly Update #8

2011-03-25T09:42:00.002-04:00

///comprehensiveracing

NEWS SUMMARY (Details of events in “RACE/EVENT NEWS”)

· Team Comp has a banner awards evening at Lowell Beer Works as “JP Super-Speedo” John Peters and Cheryl “Rockstar” Alden walk away with Tri top honors as MVPs, and Steve “Pursuit” Pelletier, Scott “Omniumman Wooly-Wilson”, and Ken “Crit-Crazy” Thoman grab top cycling honors. See Attached for full list of awards. Kudos to the Captains 4 (Kurt, Jen, P, and Kosmo) for hosting a beer-licious Comp gathering.

· Capt “Elmo-Olmo Ironmuppet Hippy” Kurt Maw goes under the knife on March 30^th for a hip re-build and repair. We can make him, faster, stronger, he is the 6 million beer guy. We all wish you the best my friend, and a recovery that has you fit and ready for the first Cross race.

· Comp/DRR takes on the snowshoe finale at the Granite State 10k Championships, Led by Capt P in the 18^th in the 10k and a team of 6 that dug deep for the Team Bronze as DRR claims 3^rd overall in the final team series standings for the GSSS. Capt P and Iron-Jay finish at 12^th and 17^th to claim top 20s in the final GSSS standings. Huge Kudos to Sal “Panama-Jack” Genovese and Steph “Superlicious” Cooper for joining the DRR Captains (Jay Curry, Dan Cooper, Bill Morse and Capt P) in this late season race to make the DRR 3^rd place possible.

· Capt P leads Comp with a 16^th overall, 2^nd place podium finish at the Olde Salem Greens 5k XC race, with Dan Super-Cooper and Tim “Slim-Speedy” Clarke close behind in 34^th and 50^th in the field of 361. New member Colin Doherty makes his Comp debut with a nice 73^rd.

· Big Stu Greeley adds a new Charity as he takes on Ironman Lake Placid in memory of his brother Ron for the Leukemia Research Foundation. See the Charity section for details and donating.

· Jen’s Comprehensive Racers riding the Tour de Cure supporting the American Diabetes Association is building steam with 20 riders and $2,500 raised. If you can’t join please consider making a donation on behalf of one of the many Comp riders. See charity section below for details.

· Road Bike Rider (RBR) tid-bits returns, Why Can't Climbers Go Faster on the Flats? Why do powerful sprinters suffer so much in the mountains? See below for answers on power-to-weight ratio .

UPCOMING TRAINING/EVENTS

Bike – Salem Cycle/comprehensiveracing Group Ride is suspended for the season. Look for us starting next April for another season of riding roads.

Run – Join the Tuesday/Thursday 5:30am 5-mile runs in Salem starting at Front Street.

Swim – No swims scheduled this weekend.

UPCOMING Tri/Du/Run RACES/EVENTS (March/April):

Mar 26^th – April Fools 4 mi Road Race (Salisbury, MA) www.runthecircle.com

Mar 27^th (NEW DATE)- Stew Chase 15k (Lynn, MA) www.stewchase.com/stewchaseroadrace

Mar 27^th – Eastern States 20 miler (Kittery, ME) www.easternstates20.com

Apr 9^th – Merrimack River 10mi Trail Race (Merrimack, MA) www.rivertrailrace.blogspot.com

Apr 10^th- Salem Wellness Fair 5k Roadrace (Salem, MA) www.salemroadrace.com

Apr 17^th – FIRM Wrentham Duathlon (Wrentham, MA) www.firm-racing.com

Apr 18^th – Boston Marathon (Hopkinton to Boston, MA) www.baa.org

Apr 23^rd – FIRM Rockbuster Off-road Duathlon (Ashland, MA) www.firm-racing.com

UPCOMING Cycling RACES/EVENTS (March/April):

Mar 27^th – Marblehead Michael Schott Circuit Race (Marblehead, MA) www.bikereg.com

Apr 3^rd – Myles Standish Road Race (Plymouth, MA) www.bikereg.com

Apr 17^th – Fat Tire Classic EFTA NECS #1 (Farmington, CT) www.bikereg.com

Apr 23 – Root 66 Massasoit Lung Challenge (East Taunton, MA) www.bikereg.com

UPCOMING CHARITY EVENTS (Comp Mission Statement, Article IV, Participate/Donate in Charitable Events)

Tour de Cure to benefit the American Diabetes Association (May 22^nd) – TEAM “Jen’s Comprehensive Racers”

The team site for the 2011 Tour De Cure to benefit the diabetes foundation is up and ready for anyone ready to join. We already have 20 signed up and are looking for more.

The Team site for registration is: http://main.diabetes.org/site/TR/TourdeCure/EasternNewEnglandArea?team_id=499595&pg=team&fr_id=7544

To view the main site go to; http://main.diabetes.org/northshoretour. The race is in South Hamilton, MA, and search for “Jen’s Comprehensive Racers” team and sign up.

Good luck and welcome aboard the B&O Train! If you can’t ride it, consider donating to one of your fellow B&O riders, we don’t care who you donate to, just support the cause if you can.

Stu Greeley Charity in memory of his brother Ron for the Leukemia Research Foundation - Ironman Lake Placid (July 24^th)

RACE/EVENT NEWS:

Mar 20^th – 4^th Annual Comprehensive Racing Annual Awards

Great turnout by the team at the 4^th annual team awards night! Great company, great chatting, graeat food & drink, great awards presentation by the captains 4 ( Kurt, Jen, Patrick, and Kosmo Dave). All agreed it was a fabulous time full of black & orange passion. Congrats to all that won awards and congrats to the whole team for making 2010 a big success and spreading the B&O in races covering 49 of the 52 weeks in 2010. For those that missed it, here are the awards recipients:

Team MVP Award (all around racer/teammate/sportsman/character/charitable) – (male) “JP Super-Speedo” John Peters, (female) Cheryl “Rockstar: Alden

Inspiration Award (exceptional qualities) – Roz “spinerval” Puleo

Kosmo Spirit Award (pushing the limits) – Artie “one man party” Gray

Most Improved (on the rise) – Jay “Gunship” Miller & Bob “Blackstone Valley” Marsh

Consistent Force Award (best exhibits core values – min 5 year teammate) – Admiral Bill “Bucketlist” Morse & Disney Dawnie Desmarais

Outstanding Charity & Community Service Award – Nancy “Wrapper-happy” Hatfield & List “Swim-girl” Freed

Ironman Finishers Award – Jodi “All-Iron” Frank, Peter “Stealth-warrior” Wronski, Tim “Slim-Speedy” Clarke, Jamie “Jetboy” Crowley, Tara “Jetgirl” Crowley, Kelley “Rungirl” Philbin, Seth “Agassi” Hanapole

Rookie of the Year Award – Sonya Majstoravich, Nancy Hatfield, Emily O’Brien, Nancy Boren, Andrea Barlow, Debbie Lewis & returnee Renee Maxwell

Velodrome Bike Award (excellence in track) – Stephen “Pursuit” Pelletier

Holy Cowbell Bike Award (excellence in Cyclocross) – Scott “Wooly” Wilson (and U19 winner Madeleine “Wee” Wilson

Rubber to the Road Bike Award (excellence in Road racing) – Ken “Crit-Crazy” Thoman

Mud/Snow Trailblazer Award (excellence in snow/mud running) – Iron-Jay Curry

Asphalt Wonder Award (excellence in road running) – Team Incredibles (Dawnie, Bob, Bryce, Briana Desmarias)

Aqualung Award ( excellence in swimming) – Tracy “Mermaid” Grilli

Platinum Plate Award (Characteristics of leadership, mentorship, sportsmanship and commitment to building the Comp Racing Balck & Orange reputation) – to be given out annually starting 2012. The Captains challenge the team, go out and earn it!!!!

Mar 13^th - Granite State Snowshoe Series Championship 10k (Mt Washington -Gorham, NH ; Website ; www.granitestatesnowshoeseries.org

The venue at Mt Washington again is the best of the season with plenty of snow, as 60 shoers take on a 10k course that includes a 5k sprint through rolling groomed XC-ski tracks, thru a tunnel under Rt 16, and a hilly 5k finish that included 3 climbs (one a 700ft lung/leg burner), a long ¾ mile decent the had racers tumbling from 2-3ft post holing, and a finish designed by the DRR Captains that just could take the easy way back as it re-ascended only to go back down, snaking back and forth across valley-way in Cyclocross style fashion. The difficult finish did not sit well with some racers, but DRR loved it! The entire team was stupendous as DRR earned a 3^rd for the day and retained 3^rd in the series standings, edging out the 4^th place team by a scant 18 points. DRR was scrambling to fill the team as many had to cancel late, but Sal “Panama-Jack” who just returned from a 2 month trip to Panama and Jamaica (talk about a temperature shock), and Steph Superlicious” Cooper brought her heaping mound of school project work to ensure we had the racers for a full team. The DRR racers finished: Capt P 18^th (1:00:19), Iron-Jay Curry 25^th (1:06:09), Sal “Panama-Jack” Genovese 27^th (1:08:11), “Super-Cooper” Dan 33^rd (1:11:34), Admiral Bill Bucketlist Morse 35^th (1:12:37) and Steph “Superlicious’ Cooper 49^th (1:34:39). For the season, the fantastic “Captains 4” kept the team high on the charts with final individual series results (min 5 races) of: Capt P (12^th), Iron-Jay (17^th), Super Cooper Dan (24^th) and Admiral Bucketlist Bill (26^th). Thank you all that snowshoed with us this season to help ensure we had a season to talk about.

Mar 20^th – Olde Salem Greens 5k XC Race (Salem, MA)

This race had a mere 70 runners back in 2006, just 5 years ago. This year 400 registered, 361 finishers. Where are all these runners coming from? The decade is the new running boom of the 70s. The XC race is one hilly bastard, and this early in the season, many were cursing the skies to the finish. Cold temps (below freezing) kept the ground from being too muddy, so the traction was good. All Comp runners finished in the upper 40% of their age groups for a banner black and Orange day. Comp finished: Capt P 16^th^th 12/49 (22:59), Tim “Slim-Speedy” Clarke 56^th 2/38 (20:52), Dan Super-Cooper 34 11/38 (24:54), and Colin Doherty 20/49 (26:04).

Weekly Update #7

2011-03-11T10:26:00.000-05:00

///comprehensiveracing

NEWS SUMMARY (Details of events in “RACE/EVENT NEWS”)

· Team Comp makes it official as the Captains announce the 2010 Comp Awards night for Sunday March 20^th from 3pm-7pm at the Beerworks-Lowell (203 Cabot St, Lowell, MA). Respond by March 14^th so we can get a head count. This event is always a good one so don’t miss it. Have a few drinks and snacks on the team tab and come join us. (Notice: Save your candy/energy bar wrappers, potato chip bags and Stonyfield yogurt containers and bring to the event. Nancy “Wrapper-Happy” Hatfield is still collecting to raise the final $3,000 for the Mia’s Playground project. Bring your trash! Its Mia money!

· Steve “Pursuit” Pelletier receives the highest Track honor, the “2010 Sportsman of the Year”. Details below.

· Comp/DRR takes on the Northeast Federation 10k Snowshoe Championships in Northfield MA. Capt P leads, Admiral Bill Morse muscles it, but it all hurts.

· Comp teams up at the Vmps indoor timetrials as Kosmo’s Comp Krew and and Comp Race Legs (Sexy Legs) grind it out for top honors. Led by Jonathan “Chewy” Mangsen and Ken “Crit-Crazy” Thoman for the boys and Kris “KChurb” Cherbonneau for the ladies.

· Comp brings it on in the heavy wet snow of the Hyannis Half Marathon, lead by Admiral Bill “Bucketlist” Morse and new member Heidi Hack-Videto, with “Kapt Kosmo” Boyle putting the finishing touch on 3 half Ms in 4 weeks. You’re da man!

· Jen’s Comprehensive Racers riding the Tour de Cure supporting the American Diabetes Association is building steam with 17 riders and $2,400 raised. If you can’t join please consider making a donation on behalf of one of the many Comp riders. See charity section below for details.

· Road Bike Rider (RBR) tid-bits returns, with 5 lessons from the road (Rookie Mistakes). With the road season right around the corner, this is right on time. See bottom of e-mail for details.

· DRR hits the final race of the season, the Granite State 10k Snowshoe Championships at the base of Mt. Washington. Come join the fun! (and pain)

UPCOMING TRAINING/EVENTS

Bike – Salem Cycle/comprehensiveracing Group Ride is suspended for the season. Look for us starting next April for another season of riding roads.

Run – Join the Tuesday/Thursday 5:30am 5-mile runs in Salem starting at Front Street.

Swim – No swims scheduled this weekend.

UPCOMING Tri/Du/Run RACES/EVENTS (March):

Mar 13^th - Granite State Snowshoe Series Championship 10k (Mt Washington -Gorham, NH ; Website ; www.granitestatesnowshoeseries.org

Mar 20^th – Olde Salem Greens 5k XC Race (Salem, MA)

Mar 27^th (NEW DATE)- Stew Chase 15k (Lynn, MA) www.stewchase.com/stewchaseroadrace

April event to come

UPCOMING Cycling RACES/EVENTS (March):

Mar 27^th – Marblehead Michael Schott Circuit Race (Marblehead, MA) www.bikereg.com

April events to come.

UPCOMING CHARITY EVENTS (Comp Mission Statement, Article IV, Participate/Donate in Charitable Events)

Tour de Cure to benefit the American Diabetes Association (May 22^nd) – TEAM “Jen’s Comprehensive Racers”

The team site for the 2011 Tour De Cure to benefit the diabetes foundation is up and ready for anyone ready to join. We already have 17 signed up and are looking for more.

The Team site for registration is: http://main.diabetes.org/site/TR/TourdeCure/EasternNewEnglandArea?team_id=499595&pg=team&fr_id=7544

To view the main site go to; http://main.diabetes.org/northshoretour. The race is in South Hamilton, MA, and search for “Jen’s Comprehensive Racers” team and sign up.

Good luck and welcome aboard the B&O Train! If you can’t ride it, consider donating to one of your fellow B&O riders, we don’t care who you donate to, just support the cause if you can.

RACE/EVENT NEWS:

Feb 25^th - 2010 Northeast Track Awards ceremony at the Burlington Marriott

Steve “Pursuit” Pelletier pulled in a lot of Track awards in 2010, but the best was yet to come as he received a surprise award that the Comp team can be very proud of. Steve was named the "2010 Sportsman Of The Year" by the director and board of the Northeast Velodrome. This award recognizes more than just race results; it takes into account good sportsmanship, competitiveness, participation in all events, adherance to rules, efforts at advocacy in the cycling community, volunteerism, etc. It is the track's highest honor. Congrats Steve for putting the Black & Orange at the apex of Track. Steve took over the title of Track Sportsman of the year from another Comp racer, the 2009 recipient, Scott “aka Omniumman aka Wooly” Wilson. Now that’s impressive, 2 years in a row of Black & Orange. Steve expressed that he was really proud to have won it under the Comprehensive Racing / Salem Cycle team colors and hopeful the team can build it's presence at the velo next season. If you’re interested in trying Track racing out, Steve would welcome any opportunity to help teammates with interest in getting their start at the track.

Feb 26^th- Northeast Snowshoe Championships 10k (Northfield, MH) ; www.runwmac.com

The results: 86 shoers, Capt P 32^nd , Admiral Bill Buckelist Morse 61^st, in a full field of top XC/snowshoe runners of the Northeast (Tilton, Johnson, Wheeler, Nephew, Van Orden), this is the NE Championship (combined WMAC and GSSS).

The Race (through the eye(s) of Capt P): One word, pain, ..suffering, ..exhaustion (OK that’s 3 but it all means the same thing). The 10k(actually 5.5mi) Northeast Federation Snowshoe Championship (New England region) had the best of conditions (5-in of freshies over a deep base), best of weather sunny blue skies and 20s temp), and the most vertical of any race to date (1,600ft+ including a 1.3 mi climb of 900-ft and a 0.6 mi climb of 500ft). With DRR racers injured and others out of town, the DRR/Comp crew was cut to 2, Capt P and Admiral Bucketlist Bill Morse. Big decision to start, with 5-inch fresh snow, deep cleats or standard cleats? With a lot of climbing, standard cleats seemed to be the way to go as tired legs won’t have to pick up as much to clear the cleat over the snow on every step, meaning less tripping and face-plant potential, and toppling on the downhills. There would be one flaw in this thought as would be evident as soon as the gun went off, the opening half mile was on a groomed flat XC ski track that was soft and sugary, that a shorter standard cleat would find hard to grab purchase, putting a bigger “S” in suffering right from the get go. Immediately my mind was going against me “you’re losing ground! you’re going to be in a bad position as the single track 900-ft first climb starts immediately after the track! You’re going to be stuck in the pack!” All would come to fruition within 200yds of the climb as those speeding around the track at full bore would crash quickly and start walking (poor race management). In a group of 12 or so I had 3 shoers (all from the same yellow jersey team) walking and would yield no ground regardless of the rest of us still running as we shouted to no avail. Extra energy would be sucked out of the legs on this climb as several passes had to be made off trail in the deep stuff adding further “S” into the climb that seemed to go on for ever. Hey, this is all fun right? Passing 2,3, 5 up to 10 shoers! As the climb neared its apex I struggled to pass one more shoer to ensure some space ahead for what would be a fast slamming descent, and down we go…fast… zig zagging thru the trees, sliding thru telemark-esque turns, throwing branches aside, then bang, two runners back on the heals afraid to let it go (how’d this dude get ahead of me?), and the shouting returned from my usually good-sportsmanship thoughtful brain “let it fly or step aside!! Move it move it you’re losing it!” Back into energy sapping off-trail deep tracking to pass, and that fear of dangerous post-holing and falling. Once in the clear, let it all hang out, now this is fun….until the bottom that starts the next 500-ft climb! Now, convince the mind that there is no pain, the lungs don’t burn, the hamstring doesn’t strain, push, push push…..to the summit, and back down. I sail downhill trying to pick up the time I know I lost at the beginning of the race and then “thwap!” a thin branch rakes me across the eye leaving me blurred and without depth perception. This does not bode well with a full speed downhill descent as I place my speed in check until the sight comes back. Near the bottom the familiar sounds of stopping shoes encroach, a pack of 3 lead by speedy Steve Wolf is on my heals, and as we hit mile 5 and the rolling trail to the finish, my legs are junk, the pack of 3 take me, I push for everything that left in reserve but to no avail, I will not catch them. I finish, in a heap. Everyone finished in a heap.

Feb 27^th – Hyannis Marathon and Half (Hyannis, MA) www.hyannismarathon.com

On a heavy wet snow day, Comp turned in some nice numbers out on the Cape (The Cape in Feb?, snow?, running? 13.1 / 26.2 mi? Those are dedicated asphalt pounders). In the half marathon Comp was lead by Admiral Bill Bucketlist Morse for the boys in 1:55:18, and new Comp member Heidi Hack-Videto (recruited by and friend of Kelley Philbin) for the ladies in 2:02:36. Seconds later Kapt Kosmo Boyle was in at 2:02:59 (3 Half Ms in 4 weeks with drops in time in all. Welcome back to endurance sports Kid Kosmo). Kapt Kosmo had a running partner at the end of the race as big Paul “Clyde with Glide” Penaskovic, running anchor leg for the marathon relay caught up (or was it the other way around?) with Kosmo for little team chat and catchup. Great way to finish a race. Fantastic effort by all on a snowy wet run day.

Mar 6^th – Vescio MPS Indoor Time Trial (Worcester, MA)

Comp pulled together 2 teams for the inaugural VMPS Timetrial, Kosmo’s Comp Krew (all male) and Comp Race Legs (all beautiful female legs). This race was a combined team time for teams of 4. Kosmo’s Krew would be led in a near dead heat finish with Jonathan “Chewy” Mangsen and Ken “Crit-Crazy” Thoman finish in a time of 24:27 and 24:29, with strong team support effort from Kaptain Kosmo Boyle and Bob “Blackstone valley” Marsh for a team total time worthy of a 5^th place finish overall. Comp Race Legs was led in crushing fashion by Kris KChurb Cherbonneau in 26:15 with strong efforts in a near 3 way tie by Capt Jen Linnane, Heather Ironmom and new member Brenda Smith for a 9^th place team finish. Here’s team “Comp sexy legs” Capt Jen’s play by play of the day: “The Black and Orange represented in style at the Vmps Indoor Time Trial held at the new Triathlon Studio in Millbury MA. Elaine and Don hosted a great day of cycling in their new digs which showcased 9 CompuTrainers, a swim ergonometer, some Kestrel and Cervelo frames that Vmps will be fitting and selling, a few informational lectures, and lots of tri gear for anyone in need. The event attracted lots of talent and interest, and was a great way to spend what started out as a dreary Saturday, but ended in sunshine and smiles all around. Comprehensive Racing filled the 1-2PM timeslot with a full audience cheering them on! Jonathan and Ken gutted out a top notch finish for the Kosmo's Comprehesive Krew team with Dave Boyle and Bob Marsh not at all far behind. Kris Cherbonneau led the Comprehensive Racing Legs team by a longshot with Jen Linnane, Heather Mackesy and new recruit Brenda Smith all trying to chase her down the whole way. The Legs team rocked the Lanterne Rouge and a free private coaching session with Don - not bad for a first time out this season. Special thanks to Captain Elmo who cheered us on and snapped lots of pics to commemorate the day. Lots of great riding and socializing with the local triathlon folks, and we thank Vmps for hosting a fun event with lots of raffle prizes and smiling faces all around. We wish them well on their new adventure and look forward to another event soon!”

TRAINING PROGRAMS:

(Stay Tuned!)

OTHER NEWS

Tid-bit bike-info from Road Bike Rider (RBR): Lessons from the Road

o^o o^o o^o o^o o^o o^o o^o o^o o^o o^o www.roadbikerider.com/newsletter.htm
RBR

Rookie Mistakes -- 5 Lessons from the Road

Face it, there's a lot to learn when you take up road cycling. We all make rookie mistakes -- some bigger than others. But we learn from our mistakes and become better riders because of them. Retelling rookie mistakes helps other newbie roadies avoid making the same ones. So, some tales, and lessons, from the road.

One of my buddies was on the verge of hypothermia after completing his first organized ride several years ago on a nasty April Fool's Day in the north Georgia mountains. Caught off guard by the frigid, overcast weather, and owning very little cycling gear, he checked in for the ride wearing shorts, a long-sleeve wool-blend jersey covered by a wind vest, a pair of cotton crew socks, no shoe covers, no head covering under his helmet, protective shop glasses, glove liners and fingerless gloves. Another friend gave him some spare knee warmers to wear, and he headed out on the 50-mile ride. Ten miles in, it started to rain; 30 miles in, the rain turned to snow, and the wind howled. Compounding his serious clothing mistakes, he failed to put the cue sheet in a protective covering, and it fell apart in his hands when stopped to look at it, thinking he was lost. Finally, in agony as he struggled up a climb 10 miles from the finish, he was puzzled to see a truck and van loaded with bikes drive past him. He had just missed his chance to be picked up by the sweeper wagons. If only he had known that's what they were!

Lesson 1: Be prepared with adequate gear and course knowledge. If you're not, you could put yourself in real danger.

My first organized ride, only three months into my own road career, was itself a mistake-filled adventure. Riding with my two strongest and most experienced buddies, I prepared as best I knew how. I packed my Power Bars in my jersey pockets, filled my bottles and was ready to roll. Early on, we formed up into a paceline with some other riders, and as I took my first pull, I hung on for dear life, churning to try to maintain the same pace the guy in front of me had set. I couldn't do it, but I obstinately stayed on the front until I nearly blew a gasket. Only when the rider behind me yelled for me to pull out did I finally relinquish the lead spot. Of course, when I rotated to the back, my buddies admonished me only to pull for a short time -- if at all -- before rotating out. If you're not strong enough or are too tired to pull, just rotate through, they said. Nobody will mind.

Lesson 2: In a paceline, pull only as long as you're capable of pulling, and rotate out before you're completely spent. There's no harm in not pulling at all.

Later on that same ride, I got tripped up by one of those Power Bars I had brought along. You remember the old Power Bars, right? Roughly the size of a big candy bar, they were arguably the chewiest substance on Earth after being warmed up in a jersey pocket. As we hit one of the first long hills on the course, I happened to be chomping on one of those Bars like a cow chewing its cud. With a mouthful of "nutrition," I was literally sucking wind -- but not enough. I fell off the back like a lead weight.

Lessons 3 & 4: Ultra-chewy, hard-to-swallow food and cycling don't mix; and, no matter what you're eating, it's best not to eat on a hill. The vast array of gels and bites today are formulated for quick consumption -- for good reason.

I'll end with the retelling of another rookie mistake that I made in tandem with the same near-hypothermia buddy mentioned above. Very early on in our roadie days, we flatted within seconds of each other on a group ride. Both of us being rank novices at changing a tube, we went to work without the help or coaching of any of our mates. Taking way more time than it should, we both finished at about the same time and reached for our air canisters to inflate our new tubes. What sounded like two rifle shots later, we started the process again. Both of us had pinched the tube between the bead and the rim, exploding the tube.

Lesson 5: Learn how to properly fix a flat. Practice at home where there's no rush, and do it enough times so that you're skilled and confident the next time you have to fix one on the road.

(IF U GOT RACE NEWS, CHARITY NEWS, EVENT NEWS, SEND ME A WRITEUP, I’LL POST ANY DISTANCE, ‘CUS ITS ALL FUN STUFF. I can’t print it if I don’t know about it.)

RACE SERIES SUMMER LINKS

FIRM Tri/Du Events www.firm-racing.com

Max Performance Tri/Du Events www.maxperformanceonline.com

Tri Find (Tri Events by State) www.trifind.com

Tritanium Sports Events www.tritaniumsports.com

Sun Multisports Events www.sunmultisportevents.com

Time Out Productions Events www.timeoutproductions.com

North Shore Trail Series www.northshoretrailseries.com

BikeReg Races/Results www.bikereg.com

RACE SERIES WINTER LINKS

Winter Wild Uphill Series (run/snowshoe/ski) www.winterwild.com (starts Jan 15th)

Acidotic Snowshoe Series www.granitestatesnowshoeseries.org (Starts Jan 2^nd)

Western Mass Athletic Club WMAC Snowshoe Series www.runwmac.com (Starts Dec 26^th)

Winter Triathlon/Duathlon Series www.WinterTriathlon.org (Starts Jan 9^th)

WINTER Run Events

Half at the Hamptons (Feb 20^th)

Black Cat 10/20 miler (March 6^th) www.bnsfitness.com

Stew Chase 15k (March 27 – NEW DATE) www.stewchase.com/stewchaseroadrace/

Ride smart, ride hard, ride fast, love your bike, (“Race like a Tri Star, Kick a little arse!”)

“Pain is temporary, Pride is forever” – Dave Scott

The Captains

Comprehensive Racing

www.comprehensive-racing.com

Weekly Update #6

2011-02-24T16:18:00.002-05:00

///comprehensiveracing (and Sister Team Dungeon Rock Racing)

NEWS SUMMARY (Details of events in “RACE/EVENT NEWS”)

· 2/12 at Horse Hill 8k Snowshoe in Merrimack NH - Capt P (16th) and Iron-Jay Curry (23rd) lead the way for DRR Comp Racers and a 3rd place team finish as 7 cross the line.

· 2/13 at Weston Winter Tri in Weston, MA - JP Super-Speedo Peters kicks it up for the season finale with a stellar 14th finish and 2nd Masters. Tough break for Nan “QT2” Thomson as a troublesome knee keeps her from starting.

· 2/19 AM at Beaverbrook 5k Snowshoe in Hollis NH - Capt P, Super-Cooper Dan and Bucketlist Bill Morse go for the SS double and Eileen Dunn makes a return to save the DRR GSSS season as DRR fields a full team and will place a full team in 5 races concluding with Kingman Farm and the GSSS Cahampionship. Yeah-Baby!

· 2/19 PM at Kingman Farm Moonlite Snowshoe in Madbury NH - Comp brings 9 to the line, as Capt P posts a 5th straight top 20 GSSS finish at 17th, Iron-Jay is close behind in 19^th(3^rd top 20 finish). With a race to go Team DRR is in 3^rd place in GSSS series, can they hold it?!

· 2/20 at Half at the Hamptons in Hampton NH - Cheryl “Rockstar” Alden leads the Comp crew with a nifty 1:45 PR, Kosmo Boyle and Ironmom better their Texas Half times of 2 weeks earlier by 12 and 10 min. A third 13.1 coming?

· Comp Time Trial Teams are building steam for the 1st Annual Vescio MPS indoor team time trials on 3/6. Comp has 2 teams, more coming?

· Jen’s Comprehensive Racers riding the Tour de Cure supporting the American Diabetes Association is building steam with 15 riders and $1,500 raised. If you can’t join please consider making a donation on behalf of one of the many Comp riders. See charity section below for details.

· NOTICE: The Northshore Tour de Cure is having a kickoff party on Wednesday March 2, 2011 from 5:30-7:30PM at the Village Green located at 225 Newbury St/Route 1 Northbound in Danvers MA. There will be appetizers and a cash bar and a night full of chances to win free prizes as well as a free gift for all who attend. You must RSVP to lflynn@diabetes.org if you plan to attend, or you can call 617.482.4580 x3464.

UPCOMING TRAINING/EVENTS

Bike – Salem Cycle/comprehensiveracing Group Ride is suspended for the season. Look for us starting next April for another season of riding roads.

Run – Join the Tuesday/Thursday 5:30am 5-mile runs in Salem starting at Front Street.

Swim – No swims scheduled this weekend.

UPCOMING Tri/Du/Run RACES/EVENTS (Feb/Mar):

Feb 26^th- Northeast Snowshoe Championships 10k (Northfield, MH) ; www.runwmac.com

Feb 27^th – Hyannis Marathon and Half (Hyannis, MA) www.hyannismarathon.com

Mar 6^th – Black Cat 10 & 20 miler (Salem, MA) www.bnsfitness.com

Mar 13^th - Granite State Snowshoe Series Championship 10k (Mt Washington -Gorham, NH ; Website ; www.granitestatesnowshoeseries.org

Mar 20^th – Olde Salem Greens 5k XC Race (Salem, MA)

Mar 27^th (NEW DATE)- Stew Chase 15k (Lynn, MA) www.stewchase.com/stewchaseroadrace

UPCOMING Cycling RACES/EVENTS (March):

Mar 27^th – Marblehead Michael Schott Circuit Race (Marblehead, MA) www.bikereg.com

UPCOMING CHARITY EVENTS (Comp Mission Statement, Article IV, Participate/Donate in Charitable Events)

Tour de Cure to benefit the American Diabetes Association (May 22^nd) – TEAM “Jen’s Comprehensive Racers”

The team site for the 2011 Tour De Cure to benefit the diabetes foundation is up and ready for anyone ready to join. We already have 15 signed up and are looking for more.

The Team site for registration is: http://main.diabetes.org/site/TR/TourdeCure/EasternNewEnglandArea?team_id=499595&pg=team&fr_id=7544

To view the main site go to; http://main.diabetes.org/northshoretour. The race is in South Hamilton, MA, and search for “Jen’s Comprehensive Racers” team and sign up.

Good luck and welcome aboard the B&O Train! If you can’t ride it, consider donating to one of your fellow B&O riders, we don’t care who you donate to, just support the cause if you can.

RACE/EVENT NEWS:

Feb 12^th – Horsehill Showshoe (Merrimack, NH) 11:30am start ; race Website ; www.granitestatesnowshoeseries.org

In a winter that has been tough and unpredictable, mother nature threw out a beauty at Horsehill. Under sunny skies, comfy temps in the low 30s, and a course fully covered in the white stuff, DRR fielded a strong team of 7 in a field of 89. A fast quarter mile wide track quickly jumped into the woody single track as it serpentined and weaved through the trees and up and over Horse Hill, a moderate to steep grade and good length to tax the cardio and strength. The Comp contingency was led by Capt P (16th), Iron-Jay Curry (23rd), Super-Cooper Dan (34th) and the Admiral Bucketlist Morse (51st). Other DRR racers included speedy Chris Smith, Greg Esbit, and Emily Trespas.

Feb 13^th – Massachusetts Winter Triathlon (Weston, NH) 8:00am start www.WinterTriathlon.org

Temps were a little chilly but the skies were sunny for this 3rd and final Winter Tri in the Winter Tri Series, and JP Super-Speedo saved his best for last as he competed the 5k run, 7.5k bike and 6k ski in 1:03:40 for a 14th place finish in the field of 60 and 2nd male Master. As JP reports, " Race went well. It was a bit chilly, kind of like it was winter in New England. Run went well and on the bike... well I probably should do some Cyclocross to gain more skill on bike handling. I didn't actually "fall" off the bike. Finished up with a nice ski. The course was well laid out and marked and with all of the snow it was very nice and fast.” Once again JP finishes a Winter Tri Season with stellar numbers. Best wishes to Nancy “QT2-Craz” Thompson who was unable to start this third and final race due to some knee troubles. Get healthy Nan, congrats on your previous winter races.

Feb 19^th - Beaver Brook Snowshoe (Hollis, NH) 11:30am Start ; race Website ; www.granitestatesnowshoeseries.org

With only 3 definite snowshoe racers , we were still a deficit of 2 for the required 5 racers. The call went out pleading for racers to preserve the DRR season as DRR was on the brink of not qualifying for GSSS end of the season standings. Thanks to Eileen Dunn coming out for her first SS race of the season, a little help from Wicked Running's Dave Dixon, and friend Emily Trespas, DRR fielded the 5, plus one. With a sigh of relief DRR set out with a field of 91 on one of the prettiest single track races of the season. The weather was mucho windy as it was most of the previous night, but all was right on the course with a great mix of flat and hills and a little excitement traversing an off-camber line at the edge of a 30 ft drop. Capt P (11th) lead the way, followed by Super- Cooper Dan (36th) and Admiral Bucketlist Bill Morse (37th) and Eileen Dunn (62). Race festivities finished up at 1:00pm and a ride home by 2:30 left a mere 100minutes for departure to Kingman Farm (6pm start) for the daily double snowshoers 3 (Capt P, D Cooper, B Morse). Just bring on the Red Hook post race beer already!

Feb 19^th - Kingman Farm Moonlight Snowshoe (Madbury, NH) 6:00pm start; race Website; www.granitestatesnowshoeseries.org

Kingman Farm Moonlight Snowshoe is the only night race in the east, and with a crew of night-owl DRR Lynn-Woods racers, there's never a problem getting a good turnout for this one. The race of 150 was sold out in one day with DRR grabbing 13 of the 150 spots. If it wasn't for a few injuries we would have had a bakers dozen at the start, but had to settle for 9 starters, 8 for points as one forgot to sign up under the team name…….hmmm who could that be. . This race offers a sweet course under a full moon (or at least it was behind the clouds) with a super fast start straight thru the woods, an open field serpentine mile that left faces and eyeballs frozen in the cold high winds (20 F and 20-30mph winds), finishing with a lung and leg burning long hill climb and winding crazy descent to the finish. Comp-DRR was lead by Capt P's 5th consecutive top 20 finish at 17th, closely followed for the whole race with heckling from behind by Iron-Jay Curry (19th), Super-Cooper Dan (42nd)(congrats on the double), Artie "One man party" Gray (47th)(faster every year), Admiral Bucketlist Morse (48th)(congrats on the double), Richie "Metalergist" Lewis (60), Big-Stu Greeley (76) and Young Aubrey Gray (68). The big bonus about this race is the awards and raffles, the host Acidotic loves to give at this race and all walked away with either a 6-pack of Red Hook Beer, a pint glass, a t-shirt, or a combination of. It’s a fun event. The Comp crew celebrated with a post fest at the Red Hook Brewery for much merriment. Hopefully our happy vibes spread to obtaining a new member traveling with us in female Masters winner Theresa R-S. We are in need of some fast female shoers and Theresa is one of the best, and enjoys a good beer to boot!

Feb 20^th – Half at the Hamptons (Hampton, NH) www.hamptonhalf.com

With windchill advisories the Comp Trio prevailed at the Hampton Half Marathon with Cheryl “Rockstar” Alden pulling in a race PR of 1:45:09, and Kaptain Kosmo Boyle and Ironmom Mackesy dropping the 2nd half of 3 half maras in 5 weeks by 12 mins and 10 mins respectively from Houston 2 weeks ago. The race offered all the hot fresh soup and cold beer anyone would want. And as only Kosmo can spin, the race report from the field:

“First of all kids..lets explain wind chill...wind chill is the sub temp of the actual temp combined with the wind that rips the flesh from your bones, blows up ur skirt, and causes ear drum eruption when you are stupid enugh to run in it...against it...cross against it...

HAMPTON AT THE HALF WIND ADVISORY - We understand the conditions will be extreme and will have a sweep vehichle for all those runners suffering from hypothermia and feel for health reasons to stop (Alrighty then...2 Halfs ...2 Weather warnings ....)

3 Comps hit the stiff winds at Hampton....the standard chatter around the room..time...wind..wind chill..layers..post soup..post beer... The last 2 seemed to change the mood...cold beer and hot soup. Speedy C-Cruise Cheryl Alden focused on a PR, Kid Klyde Kosmo with hope to improve on Houston (lightening showers) and the Iron-Bunny ready to roll as she always is..this time registered and a legal runner...(Davey its cold, Davey, i dont like the cold..I know - I know- "what would the BAA Say!" I hate the BAA..I take that back. Davey don't you dare tell them!). 1-2-3- go. It was easy as that . Off we went..the wind was whipping at 20-30 mph at the start head wind back into town and back neighborhood streets/ the weather started to ward/ wind pared off / until we hit the top hills /the wind came whistling in our ear holes / up the frozen nose hairs..TMI? I picked ice off my burns, nose. By 1:45 Speedy C-Cruise had crushed her PR and budled warmly by dropping to her bday suit..if I had only known!...and covering in a Northface Full Warm outfit..and waiting for the Kosmo Krew. The track really is fast...the ups are easily attacked and the downs do give forgiveness..the toughest 5 mile stretch is the back home loop starting at 9 mi up the biggest hill but hitting all angles of the wind...each year there is either wind/rain/snow right in your face this year it was right in your ear hole... as a runner, you really need to own yourself the last four miles ....if you doubt yourself the flat will eat you alive, if you are confident and strong the wind might get to you..but if your mind is stronger - than you crush this course... This race is a MUST for all runners wanting to PR..This loop is also run in October when the winds are down. Hopefully all have forgotten about Me and the Iron Bunny as we are still running.......We both finished.. The Bunny Gained 10 minutes from Houston And Klyde Kosmo a solid 12 Minutes from Houston. The Comp Trio celebrated with hot hot soup at the endless beer table....”

TRAINING PROGRAMS:

(Stay Tuned!)

UPCOMING RACE NEWS

· DRR! DRR! DRR!

RACE SERIES SUMMER LINKS

FIRM Tri/Du Events www.firm-racing.com

Max Performance Tri/Du Events www.maxperformanceonline.com

Tri Find (Tri Events by State) www.trifind.com

Tritanium Sports Events www.tritaniumsports.com

Sun Multisports Events www.sunmultisportevents.com

Time Out Productions Events www.timeoutproductions.com

North Shore Trail Series www.northshoretrailseries.com

BikeReg Races/Results www.bikereg.com

RACE SERIES WINTER LINKS

Winter Wild Uphill Series (run/snowshoe/ski) www.winterwild.com (starts Jan 15th)

Acidotic Snowshoe Series www.granitestatesnowshoeseries.org (Starts Jan 2^nd)

Western Mass Athletic Club WMAC Snowshoe Series www.runwmac.com (Starts Dec 26^th)

Winter Triathlon/Duathlon Series www.WinterTriathlon.org (Starts Jan 9^th)

WINTER Run Events

Half at the Hamptons (Feb 20^th)

Black Cat 10/20 miler (March 6^th) www.bnsfitness.com

Stew Chase 15k (March 27 – NEW DATE) www.stewchase.com/stewchaseroadrace/

Weekly Update #5 (I skipped 3 & 4)

2011-02-11T09:28:00.002-05:00

///comprehensiveracing

NEWS SUMMARY (Details of events in “RACE/EVENT NEWS”)

· Comp racers, Comp sponsor, and offspring of Comp Racers clean up at the 4^th Annual Salem Appreciation Awards. As Comp sponsor and Salem Cycle owner Dan Schuman received an Innovative Program Award for resurrecting Salem’s Witches-Cup bike race over the past 3 years (with accolades to Comp); DRR Comp members (Bill M, Dan C, Jay C, and Me) also received an Innovative Program Award for its support of the 2010 and 2011 Salem Snowshoe Classic; and son of Tim Clarke, Henry, received a Community Partnership Award for his Eagle Scout project to restore, repair and paint all the benches in Salem Willows park. Many thanked Eileen Dunn (Salem Park & Rec) for her dedication to her work and support of these innovative programs. A proud night for Comp Racing members.

· DRR/Comp digs deep at Sidehiller USSA snowshoe Qualifier but is one shoer shy (need 5) of scoring team points. Super effort by Bucketlist Morse and Panama-Jack Genovese, One-man-party Artie and young Aubrey in Center Sandwich NH.

· DRR/Comp digs in deeper at the Hullabaloo Snowshoe race in Exeter but is again one shy for team points. Can you say “Frustrating!” But super efforts again by Iron-Jay and Super Cooper and some help from Wicked Running to make 4.

· Kaptain-Kid-Kosmo and Ironmom Heather take on Houston at the Half Marathon weekend in Texas and provides a classic Kosmo write-up.

· JP Super-speedo is ready for the Winter Tri Series Finale at Weston this Sunday. Who will join him?

· Capt IronMuppet Maw and Capt Jen were the hosts with the most once again with an open team invite to the Superbowl on the 70-inch screen and so much food it had to be boxed and shipped out with the departing visitors.

· Comp Racing opens up 2011 Tri membership! Sign up by Feb 11^th! (THAT WOULD BE TODAY) Comprehensive Racing and the link is posted at: http://www.active.com/event_detail.cfm?event_id=1929675 . Comp Cycling Team membership soon to come.

· Checkout Salem Cycles website www.salemcycle.com , a new winter sale (10 to 50%) is going on and 15% off tune-ups up until Feb 21^st.

UPCOMING TRAINING/EVENTS

Bike – Salem Cycle/comprehensiveracing Group Ride is suspended for the season. Look for us starting next April for another season of riding roads.

Run – Join the Tuesday/Thursday 5:30am 5-mile runs in Salem starting at Front Street.

Swim – No swims scheduled this weekend.

UPCOMING Tri/Du/Run RACES/EVENTS (Dec/Jan):

Feb 12^th – Horsehill Showshoe (Merrimack, NH) 11:30am start ; race Website ; www.granitestatesnowshoeseries.org

Feb 13^th – Massachusetts Winter Triathlon (Weston, NH) 8:00am start www.WinterTriathlon.org

Feb 13^th – Bear Paw Classic Snowshoe Race (Northwood, NH) www.granitestatesnowshoeseries.org

Feb 19^th - Beaver Brook Snowshoe (Hollis, NH) 11:30am Start ; race Website ; www.granitestatesnowshoeseries.org

Feb 19^th - Kingman Farm Moonlight Snowshoe (Madbury, NH) 6:00pm start; race Website; www.granitestatesnowshoeseries.org

Feb 20^th – Half at the Hamptons (Hampton, NH) www.hamptonhalf.com

Feb 26^th- Northeast Snowshoe Championships 10k (Northfield, MH) ; www.runwmac.com

Feb 27^th – Hyannis Marathon and Half (Hyannis, MA) www.hyannismarathon.com

Mar 6^th – Black Cat 10 & 20 miler (Salem, MA) www.bnsfitness.com

Mar 13^th - Granite State Snowshoe Series Championship 10k (Mt Washington -Gorham, NH ; Website ; www.granitestatesnowshoeseries.org

Mar 20^th – Olde Salem Greens 5k XC Race (Salem, MA)

Mar 27^th (NEW DATE)- Stew Chase 15k (Lynn, MA) www.stewchase.com/stewchaseroadrace

UPCOMING Cycling RACES/EVENTS (Dec):

Mar 27^th – Marblehead Michael Schott Circuit Race (Marblehead, MA) www.bikereg.com

UPCOMING CHARITY EVENTS (Comp Mission Statement, Article IV, Participate/Donate in Charitable Events)

Tour de Cure to benefit the American Diabetes Association (May 22^nd) – TEAM “Jen’s Comprehensive Racers”

The team site for the 2011 Tour De Cure to benefit the diabetes foundation is up and ready for anyone ready to join. I know its early (ride is May 22^nd), but if anyone wanted to take advantage of the bike raffle we wanted to have a site for you to go to. We already have 7 signed up and are looking for more.

The Team site for registration is: http://main.diabetes.org/site/TR/TourdeCure/EasternNewEnglandArea?team_id=499595&pg=team&fr_id=7544

To view the main site go to; http://main.diabetes.org/northshoretour. The race is in South Hamilton, MA, and search for “Jen’s Comprehensive Racers” team and sign up.

Good luck and welcome aboard the B&O Train!

RACE/EVENT NEWS:

Feb 9^th – The 4^th Annual Salem Park & Rec Appreciation Awards (Salem,MA)

Salem’s Park and Recreation department conducted its 4^th annual Appreciation Awards Ceremony night to recognize those that sacrificed their time to make Salem a better place. Salem gave out awards to 15 recipients, 3 of which were connected to Comp Racing.

Dungeon Rock Racing (Innovative Program Award – Snowshoe Race) – For race assistance and guidance, designing and marking the race course, and bringing in support for snowshoe loaners for the 2010 and 2011 Olde Salem Greens Snowshoe Classic . DRR Captains and Comp members (Bill M, Dan C, Jay C, and Me) in acceptance.
Dan Schuman (Innovative Program Award – Witches Cup Bike Race) - Comp sponsor and Salem Cycle owner for resurrecting Salem’s Witches-Cup bike race over the past 3 years (with accolades to Comp and Capt Kurt), putting Salem back on the map for a first class bike racing event and donation of proceeds back to the park that serves the community.
Henry Clarke, son of Comp member Tim Clarke (Community Partnership Award – Boy Scouts) - As a member of Scout Troop 83 and for his Eagle Scout project, organized and directed the restoring, repairing and painting of all the benches in Salem Willows park. The Willows now look beautiful once again.

Jan 29^th – Sidehiller Snowshoe Race - USSA National Qualifier (Center Sandwich, NH)

Great effort and results by Comp/DRR’s Sal “Panama-Jack” Genovese, Bill “Bucket-List” Morse, Artie “One-man-party” Gray and young Aubrey Gray at the USSA National qualifier held on the north side of Lake W and the land of deep snow. Only sad news was that DRR couldn’t come up with a 5^th member to qualify for team points (new requirement this year in the race series). In a record field of 108 for this race DRR was ready to rock. Thanks to Art, filling in for ESPN the Ocho, for the in the eye in the field and feet in the snow summary……

“I decided to venture up to Center Sandwich, NH for the Sidehiller 4 Mile Snowshoe Race in attempt to qualify for Nationals. I was feeling confident after the Salem Greens Race. I figured I had a chance since there are rarely even 5 people in the 55-59 age group. I immediately got nervous when I saw Iron Bill Morse and Nahant Triathlon regular Jack Casey. Two positions gone there. Anyway, the race started ominously as the race director added a couple of feet of snow and a half mile to the race. It was one of the more difficult races as there was very little packed or groomed snow for easy running. The Black and Orange were well represent but one short of the quota to score in the team standings. Sal Genovese led the charge in 46:56 followed by Bill in 47:38. Bill was third in the age group. Art Gray (Me) sallied in at 51:28 for 59th and 6th in the age group missing the coveted national birth. Aubrey Gray was first Comprehensive female in 77:52.
After the race , runners were served superb chilli at race headquarters. A small hut was more like it.. Made a hasty retreat and did not stay for any post race festivities if there were any.

PS. I somehow snuck in the back door as a found my name on the National list by some sort of default placement”

Jan 30^th – Houston Half Marathon (Houston , TX)

Congrats to Kaptain-Kid-Kosmo Boyle and Ironmom-Heather Mackesy at the Houston Half Marathon and their longest run in 2 years. Welcome back kids. Here’s a write-up on the event and race that’s too entertaining to condense. Enjoy the read provided by our one-of-a-kind, Kid-Kosmo. Take it away…..

“Houston - We have LIFT OFF!! Kosmo Dave and Iron-mom Heather never shy to go on a race trip, found themselves in the vast land of Texas.

The Chevron Half Marathon and Marathon sold out in 8 hours in 2010 and went to an all lottery program for 2011

The theory behind signing up for Houston was that I had Chevron as a customer and thought it a great way to visit and get in some miles.

The word on the street was Flat and Fast...

Kosmo got into the lottery and the Iron-mom like a wet puppy looking in from outside - came along for support

For anyone going to Houston, a great city - but there is Nothing open on Sundays - No shopping - No Dining until after 5 on the Weekends downtown (need to be at the Gallaria)

Anyway, we arrived in Houston on Friday and settled in, cleaned up and headed for Chow Time.

We came up on Sambuca! a few blocks down and mounted a few bar stools...the bar maid warned us that Happy Hour was ending soon....1/2 price apps and drinks...Well let the games begin....Outstanding upscale bar food and great drinks to boot....We took bets on the Tab...$80? $90? $48!!!!

A high five and nice tip for service and it was time to hit the sack

Saturday was registration day at the Convention Center...It might as well could have been Gillette Stadium...A collasal center

Saturday was also the 1/2 Marathon US Champioships...F-A-S-T 1:01 !!!

Our little wet puppy was starting to get the look in her eye......"I wanna Race David!!!" "I'm gonna be a bandit" "Do you think it wouild be OK to be a bandit?"

"What if I sign up for the 5k?" "David I didn't come to Houston to run a stupid 5k" "Fine I'll sign up for the 5k!!!! But I'm not happy about it!"

Saturday afternoon was spent looking around for Lunch and food and shops...As already stated CLOSED! - except the Hard Rock - A quick meal and back to the Hotel for an early night

Race Day

With the threat of Thunder and Lightening, Race Coditions were put at a YELLOW warning -

Conditions could call for on course race stopage / restart - Find Shelter

Heather was all geared up with her 5k Bib, tucket under her jacket -

We walked the 5 blocks to the race start corrals, shuffled past the tremendous lines of port - o - potties, slipped through the bib corral check in and

VOILA - Bang the race begins right on time 7am and still dark.

There she is - running the half

We went out and stayed together for a majority of the race under threatening skys.

A light rain was falling, 74 Degrees, great running

We both knew that this would be our longest runs in nearly 2 years and the finish held the key to a checklist.

At the finish, it wasn't about time or about the quality of the run...

It was about completing and getting over some hurdles and progressing towards a greater goal.

We had a fantastic day on the course and were both very happy with the results - steady paces - and the feeling.

We ended our visit to Houston with a special dinner at Vic and Anthony's.

Let's just say -Fantastic! and a must visit when in town

Feb 5^th - Exeter Snowshoe Hullabaloo (Exeter, NH) 11:00am start: race

Another snowshoe race, another “one-shy” for team standings in the GSSS race series. Where are all the DRR racers of past??? This race followed 2 snowstorms within 6 days of the race and offered up the deepest sugary snow and therefore the toughest race of the season. Reports have it that it was lung burning, leg muscle detaching event that left everyone gasping on the ground. This was a race that was hard to change position once it became single track. The single track was tough in the sugary snow, but looping off it to pass would just gas you out as you dropped into the white abyss up to mid thigh. DRR was represented by 2 Comp Racers and 2 Wicked Running racers, and too bad Ironmom Heather didn’t have someone to watch the boys because she could have been that important 5 member for the team. We’ll get this worked out one of these weeks. Congrats to Iron-Jay Curry placing 23^rd in the field of 97, and Dan Super-Cooper placing 43^rd. Teammates Chip Bott and Melissa Jaynes from Wicked running finished 64^th and 67^th respectively in a dig down deep effort.

This weekend is Horse Hill in Merrimack NH. DRR will have a full team ready to rock.

2011 Registration for Comprehensive Racing Triathlon is Open!

2011-01-20T09:56:00.001-05:00

Comprehensive Racing Comprehensive Racing 2011 Registration is open! For $15 join the most welcoming triathlon team in New England!

http://www.active.com/event_detail.cfm?event_id=1929675

Hey Team! Happy New Year!

As another January swings into full steam, we are dropping you a line to check in and hope all is well with you. The 2011 season is here and it's time to kick it off right! So in order to get things rolling a bit sooner than normal, we are opening enrollment for Comprehensive Racing Triathlon team now!

As always, for the triathlon team, there is a minimal registration fee ($15) that will provide you access to the google email chain which provides you with team news and the latest and invitations to greatest events and team sponsored activities. This registration fee will also provide you with a Comprehensive Racing team Tshirt and discounts from our sponsors. Triathlon clothing will be provided by Primal and we will have a fit kit and an event to try clothing on so you can place your order for the clothing you want. We have been working with Primal throughout the year to provide some new clothing options for 2011! We are finalizing our 2011 sponsorship agreements, and as of now we will have the support of Rudy Project, XTerra Wetsuits, New England Running Company, Neuvation Wheels and new this year, a new agreement Pacific Health Labs, the makers of Accelerade and Endurox. The final details of sponsors are being ironed out as we speak and members will receive email updates as soon as information becomes available.

Things that will not change for 2011 is Comprehensive Racing's commitment to supporting charity and promoting the healthy lifestyle associated with multisport racing. We will continue to ask that people participate in charity rides, runs, swims, walks, you name it! If it's a charitable cause, we want to see you out there showing your support! In addition to the charity aspect of the team, we remain committed to continuing to grow the multisport community by inviting new people to the sports that we all love through relay teams and events put on by local promoters and by showing the kind of sportsmanship that has made us one of the most welcoming teams in New England.

So with all that, we invite you to join Comprehensive Racing and the link is posted at: http://www.active.com/event_detail.cfm?event_id=1929675

For the purpose of clarity, the above link is only for the Comprehensive Racing triathlon team. If you are interested in the cycling team, please contact Kurt. We would also ask that you not register for both Comprehensive Racing and Vmps. While this may be a bit different from previous years, it will help us get an idea of who will be racing in what colors and help when we consider team budgets.

Please register by Friday, February 11, 2011, so that we have a complete and updated roster and know where to contact you!

As you register, please update your personal info as requested, and indicate your tshirt size. We will have men's tshirts and women's fitted tshirts. If you are unsure of your size, take your best guess and please send an email to Jen after you complete your registration. She will coordinate a fit kit so you may try samples on to finalize your selection.

We are working on a Team Event to present awards for the 2010 season and to gather together to discuss goals for 2011. More info from the Captains and lots of enthusiasm from your teammates will boost your winter energy level and kick of your new season right! Watch your email for a date for the event! We are targeting early February.

If you are returning to Comprehensive Racing, we welcome you back to the Black and Orange, and promise you an exciting year! If you are new to Comprehensive Racing, we look forward to welcoming you in Black and Orange style! ; ) Please forward this to any friends who might be interested, and copy Kurt at elmo1212@gmail.com with that forwarded invite so that he knows to look for the new name and can contact them if they have questions.

Train smart. Race hard. Have fun. We are looking forward to seeing you all soon!

The Captains

Comprehensive Racing

Mighty John Young... He's Famous!

Dear Diary...

A little late with the update...

Recovery...

Bike technology...

12/02/11 - Weekly Update!

2012 Is Ramping Up!

A few photos...

The weekly update...

Weekly Update

Some quick cyclocross questions and answers...

Busy, busy, busy...

Ironman Lake Placid! 16:59:59...

316 – Cheryl A349 - Heidi H494 - Heather M1570 - Jay C1652 - Chaz F2293 - Dave B2712 - Richie L2807 - Stu G2841 - Bill M

Multi-Week Update #9

Vescio MPS TT

Summer Races!!!!

Weekly Update (a few weeks late)

2010 Tour de Cure...A walk down Memory Lane...

Weekly Update #8

Weekly Update #7

Weekly Update #6

Weekly Update #5 (I skipped 3 & 4)

2011 Registration for Comprehensive Racing Triathlon is Open!

Comprehensive Racing Comprehensive Racing 2011 Registration is open! For $15 join the most welcoming triathlon team in New England!http://www.active.com/event_detail.cfm?event_id=1929675

316 – Cheryl A

349 - Heidi H

494 - Heather M

1570 - Jay C

1652 - Chaz F

2293 - Dave B

2712 - Richie L

2807 - Stu G

2841 - Bill M

Comprehensive Racing Comprehensive Racing 2011 Registration is open! For $15 join the most welcoming triathlon team in New England!

http://www.active.com/event_detail.cfm?event_id=1929675