Happy training for the week of 5/13.

Racing Season is Heating Up:  CTC was spotted on the podium quite a few times down at Folsom Lake this weekend.  Greg Watkins, Jason Berry, Becky Hutchison, Al Masterson, and Tammie Watkins all raced at Saturday's hot and hilly Folsom Lake International Triathlon while Laura Van Dervoort competed in Sunday's Mother's Day Duathlon.  Results for both events have been posted to the Results page of the website.

Thirsty Third Thursday Track Workout:  In an effort to foster more informal gathering and socialization among club members, the third Thursday of the month has been designated Thirsty Third Thursday at the Track Workout.  After the workout, we'll head over to El Patron for some post workout recovery food and drink.  El Patron is a Mexican restaurant in the Safeway shopping center across from PV High School (at the west end near the gas pumps).  It's an "order at the counter" type of place and should make for a nice, informal post workout gathering place.  For those that can't make the track workout and still want to get together, just meet us there sometime between 6:45 and 7:00 PM.  We'll kick it off this Thursday, 5/16, so mark your calendars now.

Uniforms: This year’s uniform order is set to arrive any day.  Pick-up will be coordinated by Sean Molina, so if you placed an order, you should receive a direct email from him soon.  If you missed the window on this year’s order and are interested in a tri suit or cycling kit, please contact Sean (training@chicotriathlonclub.com) and let him know.  Reorders can be made for as few as five pieces, so once there’s enough interest, we can open another order window.

CTC Support of the Black Butte Triathlons:  CTC has taken on the responsibility of supplying volunteers for both day's events:  the MTB triathlons on Saturday June 8 and the Road triathlons on Sunday June 9.  All club members are encouraged to come out and volunteer on the day you're not racing, and maybe even early or late on the day you are racing.  CTC has taken on other responsibilities as well, and the club is working hard to make our "home town" race a premier event in Northern California.  The club's efforts are being coordinated by Shawn Hughes, so look for future communications from Shawn about what we can do to support the event.  If you'd like to take a more active role in the process or have any questions, contact Shawn directly at sponsorship@chicotriathlonclub.com.

Next General Meeting: Mark your calendars now for Saturday June 15 at 2:00 PM when CTC will host its next general membership meeting.  More details to come.

Monday Fun Run on Temporary Hiatus:  We have a new leader lined up for the Monday Fun Run, but she can't start until after Memorial Day, so for now, the Monday Fun Run (5:45 PM at One Mile) is leaderless and is on hiatus.  If you plan to run those evenings would like to lead the run for a few weeks, please contact president@chicotriathlonclub.com (or reply to this email).

CTC Club Discount for USA Productions Races:  CTC Members have been offered a 15% discount for all remaining 2013 USA Productions races.  Contact  president@chicotriathlonclub.com (or reply to this email) to request the discount code.

Happy training for the week of 5/6.

Open Water Swim Workshop: CTC hosted its first open water swim workshop Saturday at Black Butte Lake.  It was a great learning experience for all participants, with good conversations, Q&A, tips, tricks, and open water drills.  A specific focus was on minimizing the impact of open water anxiety including body contact simulations.  Plans are in the works to have another workshop, possibly at the Forebay in Oroville.  Please contact Justin Waller (jcwaller900 at yahoo dot com) if you are interested in attending a future workshop.

Early Season Races, Part I:  Jennifer Moore and Jay Pothier both competed in Sunday's Wildflower Olympic distance triathlon.  In addition, Jeriamee Leeman raced the Napa Valley Sprint Triathlon, also on Sunday.  Their results have been posted to the Results page of the website.  Finally, congratulations to Eric Ayars for posting a Boston qualifying time at Sunday's Avenue of the Giants Marathon.

Early Season Races, Part II:  For those looking for an early season Olympic distance race, several CTC members will be competing this Saturday at the USAT Folsom Lake International Triathlon at Granite Beach.  Registration is still open, and you can view a video from last year's race here (check out the CTC racers at 2:08, 3:04, and 4:10).

Open Water Swim Workouts at In Motion:  Open water specific masters swim workouts are now taking place Mondays and Wednesdays at Noon and at 7:00 PM at In Motion fitness.  We are working on setting up a "punch card" system that will allow people who are not In Motion members to attend the workouts.  Details will be provided as soon as they become available.

Open Water Swim Workshop: CTC will be hosting an open water swim workshop this Saturday May 5th (please note corrected date) at 2:00 PM at Black Butte Lake.  The club is partnering with Chico Masters Swimming to put on the event.  We will go over some tips and warm-up on dry land, some great open water drills and then some actual open water distance swimming.  Please plan for about 2 hours.   In order to participate, you must be able to swim 800 yards continuously and must be able to tread water for 60 seconds.  You will need to be added to the participant list by either contacting Justin Waller (jcwaller900 at yahoo dot com) or by verifying your swimming ability at the In Motion pool Monday or Wednesday at Noon or 7:00 PM (these are the "open water" swim practices for the masters group); please ask for Wendy.  There is no cost for this session, but there are fees to get into the park, so consider carpooling or riding out to the lake.  There will be two masters coaches swimming with us and helping out with techniques, tips and tricks for open water swimming.  Please contact Justin if you would like to participate or have any questions.

Track Workout Update: The Thursday night track workouts (5:45 PM at the PV High School Track) have been a great success so far this year, with lots of runners of all abilities out there improving their running.  David Bruhn (a.k.a. the Track Guru) has brought some interesting warm-up exercises using techniques from Yoga and Pilates.  Since there have been requests for copies of his instructions, they've now been posted to the Training page of the website.  Feel free to contact David (trackcoach@chicotriathlonclub.com) if you have any questions about the exercises or about running in general.

Time Trial This Thursday:  Unfortunately, you'll have to wait a week to practice the Yoga and Pilates warm-up exercises with David.  Since this Thursday is the first of the month, it's CTC night at the River Road Time Trial.  The course is five miles out and back, starting where W. 5th Street turns into River Road southwest of downtown.  Registration begins at 5:30pm with the first rider going off at 6:01pm.  All levels are welcome for this individual race against the clock.  So wear your CTC colors and come out for this free event put on by R.A.C.E.  Please note, while all R.A.C.E. events are free, the Chico Tri Club recommends that members who participate in R.A.C.E. events make a donation to the jar on the registration table.  Additional details about the Time Trial can be found here.

Uniforms: This year’s uniform order should arrive in the next few weeks.  If you missed the window on this year’s order and are interested in a tri suit or cycling kit, please contact Sean Molina (training@chicotriathlonclub.com) and let him know.  Reorders can be made for as few as five pieces, so once there’s enough interest, we can open another order window.

Chico Stage Race Pictures: Pictures from the Chico Stage Race have been added to the Gallery page of the website.  Thanks once again to Laura for taking them.