Chico Triathlon Club

PLATINUM SPONSORS

19

Mon

CTC President's Report - September 2015

Hello CTC Members,

Swim, Bike, Run & Smile

Race Results:

This is a shout out to anybody who has participated in a recent race. We would love to hear from you. Please send me 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.

EVENTS:

The Tahoe Ironman full and 70.3 is fast approaching. Good luck to all of you racing and if you are not racing, try to make it up to Tahoe Sept. 20th to cheer your friends on.

We will have a group ride September 27, 2015. Greg Watkins will be the ride leader. As a group we will show up and participate in Rodney’s Forest Hill TT. Please see the link below.

http://racechico.com/race/the-36th-annual-forest-ranch-hill-climb-time-trial-2015-09-27

SAVE THE DATE!!! CTC will host the annual end of the year party on November 21, 2015.

Training:

Swim at One Mile:

Shall resume in the spring.

The River Road TTs:

We had a great year out at the River Road TT. We owe a big thank you to Stephan Ayers and Eric Ayers for putting these events on for us.

The Friday Rides:

With the shorter days fast approaching. The Friday rides will become an informal workout until the spring. Thank you to all of you that participated in these rides.

Runs:

Tony English, is leading a LSD run on Sundays from the bathrooms at 5 mile at 8:00 AM. This is an easy pace 60 min. run.

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

CTC Track Workout.

With the shorter days fast approaching. The Track Workouts will become an informal workout until the Spring. Please look for an update from coach Sean Molina.

Warm-ups begin at 5:45 PM at the PV High School Track. We'll follow with stretching, drills, and some coached workouts for runners of all abilities.

On the Third Thursday of the month, many of us head over to El Patron after the track workout for some refreshments. El Patron is a Mexican, order-at-the-counter place in the Safeway shopping center on East Ave. It's at the west end near the gas pumps. For those that just want to show up for the food, we'll probably get there between 6:45 and 7:00 PM. (Thanks Greg Watkins)

Athlete of the month:

Congratulations to AMY BROMELOW for being voted the athlete of the month in September.

Volunteer opportunity:

Tony English has created the following list of volunteer opportunities for the Club.

Please contact Tony English @ vice_president@chicotriathlonclub.com, if you are interested in helping out at any of the events listed below.

CTC Volunteer Opportunities 2015:

Exciting opportunity at the Tahoe Ironman!!! You still have time to contact Tony English to volunteer!!

Please make sure to check out the volunteer opportunity with Sutter/Yuba Tri and CTC at the upcoming Tahoe Ironman.

Almond Bowl Nov 1 Aid Station

2016

Frost or Fog Late Jan Booth or Aid station

New Business:

CTC membership is currently being updated. We are having a new website developed and this is causing a little lag on getting an accurate count on membership. Please be patient as we work with our website developer. It will be amazing when it is complete.

Stickers are in and have been distributed to all of the workout leaders. If you would like a CTC sticker please show up for a workout and ask the workout leader.

The Club t-shirts are at North Rim.

CTC was featured in both the Chico ER and the News and Review on the success at Granite Bay.

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

Shawn Hughes

CTC President

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08

Thu

Tahoe Ironman 70.3 Race Report - Amy Bromelow

NIGHT BEFORE

The night before the race I had spaghetti with co-racers, teammates and family. several different experienced racers checked in with me each to go over race (survival) strategy, gear, nutrition and logistics. That alone was a cool experience. That night I got a huge altitude headache and had to break down and take Ibuprofen knowing that it would add to the stress my kidneys might take the next day.

MORNING OF

Set the alarm for 4:00 AM but got up at 3:00 wide awake. Jumped into the first car leaving for the shuttle. This happened to be with a world class Ironman who just raced the 70.3 World Championships in Austria and is racing the Kona Ironman Championships on Oct 10. He was doing the full and I was really geeked out being with with an athlete like that right before the race. Talk about inspiration. We got on a shuttle from Squaw to Kings beach where we were separated in body marking. I basically wandered around using various bathrooms until 6:45 when I went out to watch the full swim start. I had an awesome mental game that morning and did not allow nerves creep in or adrenalin bubble up, even while watching the swim (probably good that I am near sighted).

SWIM (49 minutes!)

Then it was my turn, to go in and change into my wetsuit and stand around in that with freezing feet for 40 minutes. Next time throw away flip flops or socks. Ran into some teammates who told me how to score a second cap to keep my head warmer. Time to line up in the chute. I wanted a good swim time so I went right to the middle toward the inside rather that following conventional beginner advice of going to the outside where there is less traffic. They played music in the chute and then sent us off. It was very hectic and I was swam (swum?) over rammed, elbowed, kicked… I had to push people off of me several times. Nobody swims straight so it’s a madhouse. Nothing painful happened but it was frightening. I refused to panic during this even though I couldn’t catch my breath because of the altitude. I had trained all summer with bilateral breathing but I had to breath on one side because I couldn’t wait that long for a breath. I tried to tread water a couple of times just to catch my breath but was rammed from behind each time and it wasn’t an option. I tried to gradually edge my way over to the outside but it was impossible. Finally I turned right at the first buoy, I guess about a half mile in. I was able to get to the outside and had much more room. Still plenty of contact but I was adjusted to the altitude by then and was breathing better. I didn’t feel tired, the water didn’t feel cold anymore, and sneaking a peak at my watch I knew I would more than make the cutoff. I was stoked that I wasn’t having any of the dizziness that I had in some training swims. The earplugs Jason Berry gave me seemed to work well for that. After the next turn to head back to shore I had even more room but had difficult sighting because the sun was fiercely in my eyes to the right. Now I had to force myself to breathe bilaterally. The sighting practice at One Mile was very helpful here. This is also when I started to remember to enjoy the experience and starting looking around in the clear Tahoe water, again thankful that the water wasn’t as cold as it could be. When I got out I could stand! Had to jog up a steep hill of sand and grab my numbered bag. I rinsed my feel in a wading pool and a group of volunteers pulled off my wetsuit and aimed me toward the door. I ran into the changing tent where another volunteer helped me find my sunglasses, put on my socks and arm warmers and packed up my bag. I changed into my bike shorts but had them on backwards and had to take them off, now wet, and put them on the right way. I couldn’t resist but hit the restroom that I saw was standing empty before heading out to my bike.

BIKE

I walked the super far distance to my bike as fast as I could, knowing that running that far in bike shoes would flare up my AS, possibly tanking my run later. Grabbed my bike and walked as fast as I could to the mount line. Transition was a ridiculous 10 minutes. That’s with no resting. Started out on the bike knowing I was going to have to give it my ALL to make the cutoff. I really felt the altitude with the breathing and my legs felt a little shakey from the swim. After 10 miles my breathing was better and my legs were warmed up. I felt very strong. Felt great on all of the hills, wish I could have been faster on the flats but that’s what I had. I got stuck behind an SUV during one downhill where I could have made up some ground. The weather was perfect and I was thankful to all of the teammates that advised me not to wear the windbreaker. Had my arm warmers down by mile 20. Aside from arm warmers I had no other warm gear on and that was a good call. There were many spectators and cars driving by with cowbells. Some of the signs people made were pretty funny. At the top of a short but very step hill I grinned at a cheering spectator and a meat bee bounced off of my teeth and hit my leg stinging it. Ouch! At least it didn’t go in my mouth. At one point I was climbing a hill and asked a woman I was passing (yes, I passed some people) if we were near Brockway Summit. She said this was it and it was only three more miles. SWEET, the hill was a piece of cake so far. Well that didn’t last. It got steeper and steeper as it want and it was at least 4 more miles. This is where I got to stop at an aide station that had my Chico Tri Club teammates and get new water bottles. I shed my gloves, arm warmers and empty water bottles there (I want those back). I asked if they could tell how I was doing on time but there was no way they would know so they just said I looked great. I still felt very strong at this point so on up the hill. This hill became a hateful beast. I was almost to the top though and many people were walking their bikes but not me. Even people doing the full were walking their bikes but I was determined not to even though I was pulling 4 miles per hours. I finally relented with only a ¼ mile to go and got off, my legs jack hammering. I rested but refused to walk my bike and got back on (difficult to do on a steep hill). Once over the crest I knew this was a chance to make up ground so I was bold and flew down the hill reaching a top speed of 44 miles per hour! If the downhill was curvey, I wouldn’t have been able to pull this off. I really enjoyed this and the view was amazing! I passed quite a few people here. I also yelled “woooooHooooooo.” The last ten miles I was racing as hard as I could and watching my watch. I did not have the option of trying to save my legs for the run. Got into T2 with only 5 1/2 minutes to spare. A volunteer took my bike to rack it, and inside the transition tent another volunteer offered to help me change. This time I declined and changed myself while she bagged up my stuff. On the way out, two volunteers rubbed sunscreen on me with gloves.

RUN

I started out on the run and was relieved to find that though my legs felt very tired, they were operational. Unfortunately, I couldn’t breathe and felt light headed. It was also very hot. I walked as briskly as I could hoping to catch my breath. I alternated walking and running but I had no breath and just felt so hot. By mile 2 I started to get stomach cramps. At this point, I was drinking some water at each aid station and had a GU. The rest of the 6 mile loop just got worse. I was constantly checking my watch trying to redo the math. By the time I came around for the second loop I had worked out that unless I ran the rest of the course with no walking I wouldn’t make the 8:30 time. I was under the impression that I wouldn’t be allowed to finish if I didn’t make this time. I saw Joanne, who is a hero to me, and she said “Amy you got this.” As soon as I passed her a sob came out and my throat constricted alarmingly. I have never had that happen before. I gasped for air and got control of my emotions so I could breathe again. I decided that I would do the second loop anyway so that even if I didn’t get a finishers medal I could know that I did the distance. The lightheadedness and stomach cramping just got worse and I was basically running the downhills, walking the uphills and about half and half on the flats. I felt just as out of breath walking and my legs hurt even worse but I just couldn’t maintain a run. I was licking salt and drinking at aide stations. Dumping water on myself at every station. The water just sloshed uncomfortably in my crampy stomach. I couldn’t decide if I should drink more or less or what. I didn’t want to end up in the hospital and I just felt unhealthy. It felt so hot and I was running past people on the side of the road with their head in their hands being consoled by volunteers and spectators. People were puking. It was out and back and I was running toward people that were having odd head and body movements. Most of these were full Ironman competitors. The only other 70.3 competitors I saw at this point were walking also. At this time there were also fast, healthy Full competitors whizzing by. One of the was Mike Daily. I also saw Mitch twice. I reminded myself to enjoy the race and looked around at the beautiful Squaw Valley. Basically said “&^*# Tahoe” and gave up on the idea of enjoying this. A spectator shouted to the runners to keep negative thoughts at bay and only allow positive thoughts in. I took her advice but it didn’t last long. Was just trying to get to the finish without doing a face plant. Several Chico Tri Club members rode by me shouting encouragement. Spectators shouted encouragement using my name, which is printed on my bib. Shawn Hughes rode by on his bike numerous times saying “keep your head up, you got this.” I was depressed at this point and exhausted so I pretty much stopped responding. I no longer was saying thank you to the well meaning spectators that yelled my name. I stopped responding to the volunteers that offered me water and Gatorade. I just kept moving forward. When I knew I was in the last mile I decided it was probably safe to force myself to run the rest of the way without stopping. I couldn’t keep that up though. Finally got into the Ironman Village and ran past a large group of CTC friends all shouting for me. I waved at them but didn’t look at them. Was hoping they couldn’t tell with my sunglasses on. I appreciated their support but was thinking they were about to be disappointed. I rounded into the finish and they announced my name “Amy Bromelow you are a 70.3 Ironman finisher.” I smiled and threw my hands up just in case it was true. They put a medal on my neck and gave me a water bottle and a cool hat and congratulated me. I said dumbly “are you sure I finished?” They said “Yes of course, you are here, you made it.” I walked over to the nearest railing and started to cry but then my throat closed and I started gasping for air. Luckily the railing was outside the med tent and someone took me inside. I eventually got a handle on myself and went over to the CTC tent to show off my new medal.

AFTER

Later, after a dip in the hot tub and dinner, we went back and watched the last hour of full Ironman finishers. Some of them had been racing 17 hours. Amazing!

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07

Wed

CTC Presidents Report - August 2015

CTC President’s Report August 2015

Hello CTC Members,

Swim, Bike, Run & Smile

Race Results:

EVENTS:

Congratulations, CTC successfully defended its title at the Granite Bay Team Championship. Once again you made me very proud to be a member of this club.

The Tinman Tri at Lake Siskiyou was cancelled. However, we have heard that there is a plan to make sure that it is on again for next year. In addition several members showed up for a fun weekend of training and camping.

The Tahoe Ironman full and 70.3 is fast approaching. Good luck to all of you racing and if you are not racing, try to make it up to Tahoe Sept. 20^th to cheer your friends on.

CTC had a booth at the Thursday night market on August 6th. Thank you to everyone who made it out to the event.

Training:

Swim at One Mile:

Sadly, due to the conditions at One Mile we will no longer be holding our Friday morning swims. We will keep you updated with any open water swim opportunities that come up.

The River Road TTs:

We had a great year out at the River Road TT. We owe a big thank you to Stephan Ayers and Eric Ayers for putting these events on for us.

The Friday Rides:

Have begun if you are interested please send an email to Shawn Hughes at president@chicotriathlonclub.com. These rides are great for any rider looking for a mellow afternoon spin and or looking for pointers in ride technique.

Open Water Swim:

The Black Butte open water swim practice was a great time. I would like to thank Jeriamee Leeman for helping put on this event.

Runs:

Tony English, is leading a LSD run on Sundays from the bathrooms at 5 mile at 8:00 AM. This is an easy pace 60 min. run.

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

CTC Track Workout. Warm-ups begin at 5:45 PM at the PV High School Track. We'll follow with stretching, drills, and some coached workouts for runners of all abilities.

On the Third Thursday of the month, many of us head over to El Patron after the track workout for some refreshments. Since we missed out last week, we are having the Thirsty Third Thursday post workout get together tomorrow. El Patron is a Mexican, order-at-the-counter place in the Safeway shopping center on East Ave. It's at the west end near the gas pumps. For those that just want to show up for the food, we'll probably get there between 6:45 and 7:00 PM. (Thanks Greg Watkins)

Athlete of the month:

Congratulations to TANYA TORST for being voted the athlete of the month in August.

Volunteer opportunity:

Tony English has created the following list of volunteer opportunities for the Club. Please contact Tony English @ vice_president@chicotriathlonclub.com, if you are interested in helping out at any of the events listed below.

CTC Volunteer Opportunities 2015:

Exciting opportunity at the Tahoe Ironman!!!

Please make sure to check out the volunteer opportunity with Sutter/Yuba Tri and CTC at the upcoming Tahoe Ironman.

LOCO relay race

Late May thru August – Tri season – no major effort

Loco 200 relay Sept 11/12 Aid Station

Love on the Rocks Sept 12 advertise opportunities (if no on Loco)

Almond Bowl Nov 1 Aid Station

2016

Frost or Fog Late Jan Booth or Aid station

New Business:

CTC membership is currently at 110 members.

Stickers are in and have been distributed to all of the workout leaders. If you would like a CTC sticker please show up for a workout and ask the workout leader.

The uniforms have arrived. Please contact Sean Molina to make arraignments to pick up your order.

The Club t-shirts are at North Rim.

Chanel 24 did a news report on the Club and it’s success at Granite Bay.

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

Shawn Hughes

CTC President

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