The Beast is in full swing! All participants have been hard at work over the last 3 weeks and now it's your turn to test it out. If you haven't checked out our morning boot camp yet - member or non-member! - email Josh Fly at flyjos@chelseapiers.com for your Free Trial Class today!

Congratulations to swim coach Rod McClave on winning his second open water swim of the season! Rod took first place at the East Hampton Volunteer Ocean Rescue Squad’s Open Water Swim on August 14.

Rod won the two-mile swim with a time of 43:33, which was well ahead of his 24 other competitors. He also stole first place at the East Hampton Open Water Swim in Montauk this past July.

According to The East Hampton Press, the Ocean Rescue Squad's Assistant Captain, Rich Kalbacher said, "That's fast!" He also noted that many swim the race as a personal challenge, but it's clear that Rod can race.

Congratulations to Rod and best of luck in his next open water challenge: a 19-island-hopping, 7-mile swim and 33-mile run in Sweden over Labor Day weekend.

Click here for the full article, titled "McClave Wins Another Open Swim."

It's August, the sundecks are wonderful and the river breeze feels great on a hot day! With the purchase of a facial or massage at The Spa, you can lay on the sundeck for a full week and enjoy what's left of summer!

Purchase any 50-minute facial or massage at The Spa and receive a free, one-week membership to the Sports Center!

Just mention this offer when booking a treatment in August or September only, and you will have full access to New York's most inspiring gym for a full week. Boxing, yoga, rock climbing, sand volleyball, Pilates, a brand new cycle studio, swimming, over 100 fitness classes per week and so much more.

To book your treatment today, please call The Spa at 212.336.6780.   Offer valid for August and September 2010 appointments only. Week membership valid for one month following appointment. Valid for non-members only. Must be 21 years old to redeem.

A little food for thought! I recently came across an interesting study, from the American Heart Journal, on the direct impact fitness level and body mass index (BMI) have on blood pressure.

Click here to read and feel free to post comments.

Congratulations to Full Throttle Endurance Racing (FTE) on dominating the Nautica NYC Triathlon for the third consecutive year! On the hottest day in the race’s ten-year history, FTE handily won the team competition, finishing 17 points ahead of the second-place team on the strength of eight podium finishes spanning a wide range of categories.

In the elite division, Allison Lind finished second among women; Doug Clark and Bill Kelly took fourth and ninth, respectively, among the men. 

Melanie Wolff (F30-34) and Stacy Creamer (F50-54) both won their divisions; Creamer’s time was the fastest among all female age-group competitors and Wolff’s was the second-fastest.  

“It’s always a thrill to race on home turf,” said Creamer, “especially when the course includes the Hudson River, the West Side Highway, and Central Park.  And I love racing for a team.  I compete better when more than just my own results are at stake.”

Mark Guay took second in the highly competitive M25-29 division. 

“It was definitely not an easy race with the heat and humidity and, at times, I wanted to quit,” says Mark Guay. “How could I though? With my team cheering me on, I dug deep and persevered, and even set a new PR.”

Greg Usry (M45-49) and Full Throttle coaches Toni Weeks (F30-39) and Dan Ownes (over-40 Clydesdale) all finished third.  Jess Mullin won the Athena division by more than 14 minutes.

Other FTE athletes contributing to the team win were Charlie Howe (fourth, under-39 Clydesdale) and Tom Slon (fifth, M50-54).

FTE team members Creamer and Bobby Kennedy also scored for second-place Yale in the Bloomsburg Businessweek Ivy League Championship, and Melanie Wolff and her husband, Bryan Wolff, scored for third-place Princeton.