Here are the results for the August River Road Time Trial.

CTC President’s Report August 2019

CTC-A place to have fun, learn and explore your talents.

Where did the summer go? It’s amazing how quickly the summer flew by. I hope everyone had a great summer season and are gearing up for our last two club races, the Mt. Shasta Tinman and of course our own Black Butte Triathlon. We still need volunteers for BBT, so if you are not able to race we really need your help! We had a great time at the Black Butte Practice tri on August 17^th. Thank you to everyone who participated.

Here is a link to the Black Butte tri volunteer sign up: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B054AAEAA2EAAFB6-black1

Registration is also still open for the 2019 Black Butte Triathlon. https://www.trisignup.com/Race/CA/Orland/BlackButteTriathlon

CTC members are eligible for race reimbursement (except for the relay race) at the pre-April 1^st registration price. You will need to volunteer or bring a volunteer to the race and start the race to get reimbursed. Please help spread the word to anyone who might be interested in participating in this fun event.  It is a great race for both experienced and first time triathletes.

The next (and last of the season) monthly “first Thursday” 10 mile time trial on River Road is Thursday September 5th.   This flat out and back race against the clock is free and open to everyone. It starts where 5^th street leaves Chico and becomes River Road. Sign-ups begin at 5:30 PM, first rider leaves at 6:01 PM, with the rest of the riders on 1-minute intervals after that. Rules of this event include helmets are required, you are responsible for your own safety and no drafting. Big shout out to CTC members Eric Ayars and Shawn Hughes for volunteering to put on this monthly event.

Training

Runs:

The Saturday Beginner LSD is at 9:00 AM. It is a slower paced beginner run going for up to 60 minutes. Meet at the 5-Mile Recreation Area near the bathrooms.

There is also a LSD run on Saturday’s meeting at the 5 mile bathrooms at 8:00 AM.

The Monday Night Run meets at One Mile in lower Bidwell Park at 6:00 PM. The run is posted on Facebook weekly.

CTC Track Workout:

The track workouts at Pleasant Valley High School (PV) are held every Thursday at 5:45 PM (except for when we have the TT on the first Thursday of the month). The details will be posted weekly on the Facebook group, so keep an eye out for changes.

Cycling Workouts:

The Friday rides occur at 5:45 PM on most weeks. Please email Shawn Hughes (vice_president@chicotriathlonclub.com) if you would like to be added to the email distribution list for ride updates.

The Sunday ride is run by Jenni Merrell. Location, route, and distance vary from week to week. Email Jenni to get the weekly details (treasurer@chicotriathlonclub.com). Also keep an eye on the Facebook page, she will usually post details there as well. Rain typically cancels.

The Wednesday night “50” group rides occur weekly. They leave from Rosedale Elementary school. The Fun 50 starts at 5:30 PM. This ride is typically 17-19 mph, no drop, friendly and supportive group ride with no sprints until the end of the ride. The Fit 50 starts at 5:30 PM and typically is 21-24 mph, faster group ride with intermediate sprint points. The Fast 50 leaves at 6 PM and is 24+mph, advanced ride mainly targeted to Cat 3 and above bike racers.

Swims:

We’ll have our last Friday morning “open water” swim workout on Friday 8/30/19. These open water swim workouts will resume in the spring.

2019 Club Events

Check out the CTC website for more details.

Year End Party: November 23^rd at the Arc Pavillion on Park Ave in Chico.

2019 Club Races

We have 2 more club races this year:  

Mount Shasta Tinman- (sprint tri du & relay) September 1

Black Butte Triathlon- (Olympic, sprint, duathlon & relay) September 14

Volunteer opportunities

We have the following volunteer opportunities remaining for the Club:

September 14^th Black Butte Triathlon https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B054AAEAA2EAAFB6-black1

November 3^rd Almond Bowl

Please respond to the call out to volunteers when they are posted.

Race Results

Multi-sport event results for CTC members are posted on the Results page of the website. Contact webmaster@chicotriathlonclub.com with any errors or omissions. Please send any information on a race you have participated in. This could be as simple as your name and the name of the event, your results or a race report outlining your personal experience.

Merchandise

You can order CTC logo merchandise at the Squadlocker store at any time: https://teamlocker.squadlocker.com/#/lockers/118241?_k=xw05zt

Athlete of the month

The athlete of the month for July 2019 is Greg Watkins. Greg has been competing in triathlons for over 20 years and embodies the multisport lifestyle!  Be on the look out for Greg’s interview to learn more about his continued success in our sport.

For 2019, the Athlete of the Month will consist of recognition of a club member who has contributed to the club in a positive way. This can be from volunteering, participating in club workouts, encouraging others or by competing in a multisport event. The Athlete of the Month will be invited by a CTC Board Member to answer some interview questions if interested, so we can share some information about them with our club.

Please take the time to help us pick the next Athlete of the month. Just send an email to president@chicotriathlonclub.com listing your nomination.

Race Discounts

Several race directors have offered discounts to CTC members. Please contact me (president@chicotriathlonclub.com) if you would like information on the discount code:

USAP Events- 15% discount on races. www.usapevents.com

TBF (Total Body Fitness) racing-all multisport events 15% discount http://totalbodyfitness.com/site/races/

Ironman Tri Club Benefits:

Ironman branded races are offering new benefits for triathlon club members. Some of these benefits include early entry, priority tiered pricing, and payment plans. Visit http://www.ironman.com/triathlon/forms/single-sign-up.aspx to sign up and get more information. Make sure to update your profile with your tri club affiliation.

Have a great time running, swimming and riding this month.

Thank you,

Joanne Gilchrist

CTC President

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Tammie and I were approaching our 30^th anniversary and were considering how we may celebrate the occasion. Back in August 1989 we did a triathlon during our honeymoon, an event called the Northern Triathlon Weekend in Orillia, Ontario. For the record, Tammie raced the sprint and I did the half. Since we’re both from North Carolina and were considering a trip to Asheville for our 30^th, I checked the race calendar and found the Lake Lure Triathlon on our anniversary weekend only 50 minutes away. Since we were going to do additional riding while there, including the famous Blue Ridge Parkway and the epic climb to Mount Mitchell, we elected to take our road rather than tri bikes, which turned out to be a good choice for the race as well.

Lake Lure is a small lake in the NC Mountains. The race was hosted at a resort and put on by the same event management company, Set-Up, that we raced with when we lived there from 1994 to 2007. It was neat to see the familiar logos, equipment, and even some familiar faces on race morning, even if I didn’t remember their names. The water was somewhere in the low 80s so wetsuits were not a consideration. I warmed up for the swim and noticed the muck on the bottom which is typical of lakes in that area. The pre-race talk warned of a gravel section on the bike course. The road had washed out and been repaired, but wasn’t yet paved. The comedic race director asked that we not blame him, but to take it up with Jesus (presumably for the bringing the storm that caused the wash out). It was funny in the moment even if it doesn’t sound so here.

The 750 meter swim started in time trial format with a swimmer going off every 3 seconds. I seeded myself around 10^th and struck up a conversation with the woman in line behind me (the eventual women’s winner), asking about the M-Dot tattoo on her calf. Turns out she’s done 15 Ironmans and had just qualified for Kona. Guess I’ll just shut up now. After a moving rendition of the Star Spangled Banner performed by a solo trumpet player and veteran, I was soon was on my way. There were plenty of buoys marking the course and navigation was easy. I was never bumped and soon found my rhythm and lots of open water. Due to travel and recovery from Santa Rosa 70.3 two weeks earlier, I hadn’t been swimming as much as usual and had to push through some fatigue in the last few hundred meters. I came out in 13:31 which ranked first in my AG and 20th in the field of 187.

With no wetsuit to take off I was quickly out on the bike and heading for the hills. The 14 mile bike course is never flat, ever. The first half is a series of punchy climbs and descents, with a pretty serious climb to the high point at about half way. I traded places a few times early on with two strong guys on tri bikes, but once the climbing began in earnest, I pulled away and never saw them again. That morning we had driven in on the second half of the bike course and noticed some pretty sketchy descents (that got me excited but made Tammie nervous). It had been cloudy all morning and about the time I got to the downhills it started raining in earnest, meaning those descents would be done on wet pavement. At about this point I was caught by a younger guy on a tri bike who was "swim challenged" but was very fast on the bike and run. He would gap me on the climbs only for me to pass him back on the descents. In a friendly exchange as he’d say “coming around you” and I’d say “see you on the next descent.” We chatted after the race and he said I was a “beast” on the bike. He was a sweet guy with a really thick southern accent and also said “Man, I thought wee’s gonna wreck out there.” I finished the bike in 42:55  for an average speed of 19.6 mph, slower than I would normally race but not bad considering the 1200 feet of climbing over just 14 miles. My bike split was best in my AG and 6th best in the field.

The rain continued through the 5k run which was out and back, or more appropriately described as up and back down. We ran thorough the resort and climbed all the way to the turnaround, which meant a quick return trip to the finish line on the beach of the lake’s swimming area. I finished the run in 22:32  (7:15 mile pace), good for first in my AG and 13th in the field. I hung around the finish and had the announcer shout out during Tammie’s finish that we had come all the way from California to celebrate our 30^th anniversary. Several people came up to us after the race with congratulations, including an older gentleman who said his dad grew up in Chico and graduated from Chico High in 1941; and that he had been there to visit. The event was wonderfully supported by the local community including all the post-race homemade goodies, highlighted by the uniquely southern pimento cheese sandwiches. There was also free beer from New Belgium (Fat Tire and Voodoo Ranger were the choices), a Colorado brewery that, like Sierra Nevada, has built an east coast brewery in Asheville. I ended up finishing 1^st in my AG and 7th overall in a field of 187. Tammie also had a solid race, stayed safe on the sketchy, wet descents, and took 2^nd in her AG.

As we packed up our soaking wet gear after the race, I recalled that my race list used to include a plastic bag to keep clothes and other gear dry in case it rained during the race. I simply haven’t needed that in California and didn’t think to bring one this time. So we gathered up all of our wet gear for the drive back to Asheville. All in all it was a great event and a lot of fun to race. Who knows, maybe we’ll make the trek back here someday to do it again.