September in Review

September is a transition back into more regimented schedules, new program offerings, races, and an increased competition schedule for our Fall sport athletes. There is a lot of work slated for October but we will highlight all of our members’ accomplishments from the past month. A handful of those are listed below.

9/2 - New Program Offerings with Disability Service Agencies

Thanks to Jen and Kyle we have had the opportunity to start a handful of programs with a few different disability service agencies. Jen is teaching a yoga class for Seven Hills and Kyle is running group fitness classes for American Training and Perkins.

9/8 - Lesley Allison Pumpkinman Half Ironman

Lesley, who has completed Sprint and Olympic distance triathlons in the past, traveled to South Berwick, Maine for the Pumpkinman Half Ironman. The event consists of a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, and 13.1 mile run. This was Lesley’s first event of this distance.

9/14 – Hayden qualifies for Head of the Charles

There is still no personal accomplishment that compares to seeing a friend or client accomplish something that they’ve worked hard for. Hayden has trained hard and consistently for as long as I can remember; balancing this with the demands of med school at UMass. On the 14th, Hayden rowed a 5k time trial to qualify for the Brown Alumni Boat at the Head of the Charles. I’m looking forward to seeing him compete on the 20th of October.

9/20 – Submit Abstract to NEACSM Conference

Dr. Jason Talanian, the adviser for our Cerebral Palsy research project, and I submitted our abstract for a poster at the New England American College of Sports Medicine Fall Conference. We are waiting to hear if we are accepted to present at the 2019 event at the Rhode Island Convention Center in November.

9/22 – Brian McNally Races Wallis Sands Triathlon

Despite being envious of my Newton sponsorship, Brian has trained consistently with us for the last couple of years. On the 22nd, he went up to New Hampshire to race in the Wallis Sands Sprint Triathlon. He completed the race in 1:17:19, running the final 5k leg in 21:24 (6:54 pace).

9/23 – Egan Bachtell Named Northeast 10 Conference Defensive Player of the Week

In a 19-7 win over Southern Connecticut State, Egan led a great defensive effort, filling the box score with 5 tackles, 1 sack, and two forced fumbles. He was voted NE10 Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts. Egan was one of the first athletes that I worked with, training him after his Senior season of high school football to prepare for the college level.

9/26 – Meeting at Northampton YMCA about making the Facility more Inclusive and starting Adaptive Fitness programs

On Thursday, I traveled out to Northampton, MA to meet with the wellness director for the Hampshire YMCA. A former Special Olympics MA employee, we discussed how to make the Y more inclusive and how to launch adaptive fitness programs. More information about this relationship and the details of the help that I’m providing will be featured in next month’s review blog.

9/27 - Last Day for Fired Up

A successful first season of business came to a close for Fired Up on Friday. While Cassidy rightfully has received a lot of recognition for the business, having known Denise for the last few years, her unwavering support for Cassidy and how she has sacrificed so much for her daughter to realize this goal is admirable. The success of my gym has been directly correlated to the members we have; and we have the best.

9/28 – Middlemiss 5k

I couldn’t believe what I was reading when I first heard of Kevin Lacoste’s accident. I was lucky to get to work for Kevin when I was a substitute teacher in the Nashoba district and maintain a relationship with him through a mutual love of running. We always reconnected at the Middlemiss race, an organization that he passionately supported. Throughout this marathon training cycle I’ve thought about Kevin a lot. When the workouts are hard he has been in the back of my mind reminding me how lucky I am to have the ability to run. When Jacob and I run the Eversource Marathon on October 12th, I know that I’ll think about him a lot.