Thursday 17 April 2014

BTC SPRING NEWSLETTER

This newsletter is to bring the members of the Bridgewater Triathlon Club up to date on BTC activities and plans for the upcoming season. While there is no established schedule for these newsletters in the future, we would sincerely appreciate hearing from anyone who has news for our members. If you have something to contribute, please send it to bridgewatertriclub@gmail.com. Anything submitted, provided that it is within club mission and vision, will either be included in the next newsletter or circulated by email, depending on importance and urgency. We look forward to hearing from you.



MEMBERSHIPS RENEWAL

Now that the new year has commenced, it's time that we all renew our memberships in BTC and Triathlon Nova Scotia. While the most visible benefit of membership is the discount it provides when we register for races, don't forget the protection you also get. Membership in TNS covers you for any liability you may incur as the result of an accident in which you are involved while racing or training. Further, membership ensures that the groups which organize our many races and our club activities (such as Fancy Lake practices) are protected. To join or renew membership, please contact Gail Mercer at jaturnerandsons@eastlink.com. The approximate cost is $50.00.


FANCY LAKE PRACTICES

OK. Take your calendars and mark down May 8. That's the commencement date for this year's Fancy Lake practice series. Lori Ann Meisner will again be leading us through the workouts that many of us depend on to fine tune our racing fitness. Another email will be going out closer to that date, but as usual, we will all meet at Fancy Lake Provincial Park to start our workout at 6:30 pm, so get there early to ensure you get a parking spot, bike rack spot, and a chance to greet your friends before the sweating starts.


MY FIRST TRIATHLON

The participant list for this year's “My First Triathlon” program at Fancy Lake is slowly filling up. However, we still need several more participants before Coach Tammy has enough to make her effort worthwhile. Remember, she does this as a volunteer in the middle of her very busy course schedule. Some folks from previous years have expressed an interest in repeating the program. That is doable too. Please contact Tammy immediately at tammy@gohealthyfitlife.ca. Bring a friend. It's a great program that you won't get anywhere else for any price. Oh, and as for price, it's still free! All that knowledge, enthusiasm and fresh air in one place. Can't be beat.


RIVERPORT DUATHLON

Once again BTC will be hosting the Riverport Duathlon, but this year it's even more special. Not only will it be the best race on the Triathlon Nova Scotia calendar, and not only will it again be the Provincial Duathlon Championship race, but this year our race will be one of only a few selection races for the Canadian National Age-Group Duathlon Team. One team spot has been set aside for the winners of each of the age group and gender categories in which we race. Team members will be on the 2015 team to represent Canada at the World Duathlon Championships in Adelaide, Australia. This is a big deal. However, last year's Race Director Ken Snook has been obliged to step aside this year due to family/work commitments so we are looking for a new Race Director. This is not such an imposing job, as previous Race Directors have created a comprehensive binder to aid the new Race Director in making sure things go off as planned. If you have strong organizational and communication skills, a love for multisport, and a desire to give back to this sport, please contact us here at BTC with an expression of interest. bridgewatertriclub@gmail.com.

NON-BTC ACTIVITIES

SWIM PRACTICES: Three lanes of the new Lunenburg County Lifestyle Centre 25 metre pool have been booked on Wednesday nights from 7-8 pm. Coach Liam Patterson will lead attendees in a triathlon-specific program of drills, workouts and stroke improvement. Cost will be approximately $5 per person per night, all paid up in advance before the first night's practice which is to take place on April 23, 2014. For more information and to join this fun and very worthwhile workout activity, contact Janelle Knickle at janelleknickle@hotmail.com.

TUESDAY EVENING BIKE TIME TRIALS: Once again the Tuesday evening time trials will run from their usual spot on the Second Peninsula Road, near the intersection with Hwy 3. Plans are for the 10km time trial runs to commence on the first Tuesday in May. Warm-up starts at 6:00 pm with the first timed rider leaving at 6:30 pm sharp. Expect another announcement close to the first date. Also, as these rides are timed by volunteers who, if they are timing can't ride, consider volunteering to time at least once this season. We're all in this together! While Shane Eno has been our contact on this so far, we'll provide other contact information when available.

INTERVAL RUNS: Nothing improves running economy and your ability to metabolize blood lactate better than interval training. If you've ever done intervals by yourself, you know how hard it is to motivate yourself to get out there and put the appropriate level of intensity into your workout. Well, help is available. These workouts have already commenced and currently happen on Tuesday evenings at various locations but will change to Wednesday or Thursday evenings in May so as not to interfere with either the Time Trials or our Fancy Lake workouts. Weekly announcements about time and location are published on our Facebook page. Tim O'Regan provided us with more information on these workouts which you will find at the end of this newsletter.

SOUTH SHORE KIDS TRIATHLON: Once again the South Shore Kids' triathlon will take place on July 1 at the Bridgewater Outdoor Pool. This is a truly inspiring event, watching hoards of youngsters getting their first taste of our multisport. Please consider volunteering. You won't regret it. Please contact Race Director Steve Saunders if you would like to be involved. All volunteers gratefully welcome. Contact Steve directly at steve.saunders@highlinerfoods.com.



ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON INTERVAL RUN SESSIONS


“Hi BTC members,
Please see the below message from Tim O'Regan regarding run intervals starting next week!



From Spring to Fall a group of local runners meet weekly to perform running interval training.  This form of run training is meant to increase ones speed when competing in running competitions, triathlons or duathlons.  Weekly reminders are sent out via our Facebook page with the date, time and place for each session (the location changes every week).  None of the participants are trained coaches, they simply follow a proven format.   These sessions are meant for people who have running experience and would like to get faster, but you do not need to be fast to participate .  This is not an ideal training scenario for beginner runners as we cannot teach people how to run.  This is not BTC sanctioned training and all participants do so at their own risk.  If you are curious or have questions regarding this type of training, you are welcome to come and watch any of the sessions.”

“1. We meet weekly
Each practice is the same structure:
-warm up
-main body of work out
-cool down

2. For The month of April we will meet on Tuesday night and starting in May and continuing on...Wednesday or Thursday depending on Fancy Lake Triathlon practice.

3.  The purpose of doing interval training is to speed up your run.  You trick your body into thinking it has to maintain this speed during competitions. Ideally you would only do this training once or twice a week...once is plenty for most people.
The rest of your run training for the week can be easy runs and tempo runs depending on the time you can spend.

4.  Some of our workouts are shorter distances with more repeats and some workouts are longer distances and fewer repeats.  Some will be on hills, some will be on the track, and some will be a combination of uphill and downhill. 

5. In May, we will be outside rain or shine.  In April we will plan to do our workouts at HB Studios only if the weather is poor.

6.  The important thing to remember is to maintain consistent times during each intervals....it doesn't matter how fast or slow you go compared to the group, but that you are consistent.

7.  This is an informal group ....you are here participating at your own risk...know your limitations!”


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