Buffalo Triathlon Club

Buffalo Triathlon Club, Inc.

Next Meeting: 8/7/08
7:15pm @ brick site

August newsletter

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Our Library
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(members only)
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Club Workouts
Thursday Bricks
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Lake Erie Swimming
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Events
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Tri WNY race series
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BTC Merchandise
2008 Apparel Pre-order
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Sponsors & Friends
Sponsors & Discounts
Other Local Sport Clubs

The brick workouts are hosted by Joe Pautler and are made possible by our sponsors Score-This!!! and DeSoto Sports. DeSoto Sports donated 30 race belts for our workouts. Score-This!!! donated a set of race numbers, lets us use one of their large race clocks at many of our workouts, and also donated some additional race belts. Thank you!

Overview
A "brick" workout is any training session that involves two or more of the three triathlon disciplines. In most cases brick workouts tend to include biking and running, which is the case for the BTC brick workouts. During the months of May through September the BTC holds weekly brick workouts and bicycle time trials. Many of the workouts are timed and points are earned by the members that participate. At the year-end banquet awards are given to the members who have accumulated the most points.
Points
For the timed bricks participants are grouped into the following categories: Male under 40, Female under 40, Male 40-49, Female 40-49, Male over 50, and Female over 50. We follow USAT rules with regards to determining age groups (age as of Dec 31st of current year). Within each category first place earns 7 points, second place earns 5 points, 3rd place earns 3 points, and all other finishers earn 1 point. At the end of the year awards are given for the top point earners in each category. The same categories and point system also applies to the time trial events. Separate awards are given out for the time trial winners. The events listed in yellow on the schedule are the timed events where points can be earned. The results from each week, as well as the cumulative point totals, are posted on our web site.
Rules
1. You must wear a helmet on all bike rides
2. You must follow USAT rules (no drafting, no earphones, etc)
3. Glass containers are not permitted in the park
4. The park closes at 9pm
5. The BTC discourages the use of alcohol and members will not be permitted to participate in the workout if they have been drinking. Members are permitted to bring their own alchol for personal consumption following a workout, provided that they do not violate any park rules or laws (no glass containers, no under age drinking, etc). Any members who bring and/or consume alcohol at or after a BTC event knowingly and personally assume the risk of so doing and expressly release from liability the BTC and all BTC officers and members.
6. BTC members must sign in prior to beginning the workout
7. Friends are welcomed. They must sign in and folow the rules. Also, a $5 insurance fee is required from all non-members for each workout they attend.
8. If your friends will not abide by these rules, please do not bring them to the workouts.
9. If you want to workout with with a non-compliant friend, do not sign in or join club members in their workouts. This is due to legal and insurance concerns.
Time & Location
All brick events are on Thursday nights, except for one (see schedule posted below), and begin promptly at 6:00pm. Our starting point and transition area is West Canal Marina Park (View map of the surrounding area). It is located approximately 3 miles south-west from the brick site that we have used in previous years (the North Amherst Fire Hall). You can use google maps, MSN maps and directions, Yahoo, MapQuest, etc, to obtain directions to the park. The approximate address of the park is "4084 Tonawanda Creek Rd N, North Tonawanda, NY 14120. There are 3 parking areas, all right next to each other. We use the East-most parking area (the one furthest from Niagara Falls Blvd), and use shelter 5-L which is right next to that parking area.

This park is a prime location for the Brick workouts because there is ample parking, public restrooms, park shelters with picnic tables, a playground for the kids, decent roads to bike on, and nice paths for running in nearby Acacia Park.
Bike routes & running paths
The entrance to Acacia Park Cemetery is approximately 1/4 mile east of West Canal Marina Park. Acacia Park contains a network of gravel paths that are fairly nice for running on (picture 1, picture 2). We mark specific running routes for our timed brick workouts (1 mile, 1.95 miles, and 2.9 miles. We also provide Black and White map and cue sheets for the 1 mile and 2.9 mile routes)

We use a 6.25 mile bike route for our various brick workouts and time trials. Here is a map of the bike route and here is a turn-by-turn cue sheet. If you're going to use a cue sheet, you should give some thought to how/where you're going to attach it to your bike. Here are some examples of home-made cue sheet holders.

Brick Schedule:

1-2-3 Brick: 1 mile run, 2 laps on the bike (12.5 miles), and a 3 mile run.
3-2-1 Brick: 3 mile run, 2 laps on the bike (12.5 miles), and a 1 mile run.
3-3-3 Brick: 3 mile run, 3 laps on the bike (18.75 miles), and a 3 mile run.
Formula One Brick: 1 mile run, 6.25 mile bike, 2 mile run, 6.25 mile bike, and another 1 mile run.
Time Trial: 2 bike laps around the 6.25 mile loop, with riders starting every 30 seconds.
Tim Chesko Memorial Time Trial: Tim was a very accomplished member of the BTC and a strong supporter of our weekly brick workouts. More importantly Tim was one of the nicest people ever to walk the earth, and was a great friend to all of us. Tim passed away very unexpectedly at the age of 42 in February of 2008. You can read more about Tim in the March 2008 edition of our club newsletter. Although Tim is in our thoughts at every brick workout, we pay special tribute to him during our final time trial of the season. The event follows the same format and point scoring as our other time trials. In addition to that we will also have a special award for the participant who is able to beat their season average time by the greatest margin. If nobody is able to beat their average time then the award will be given to whomever comes closest to their average time. In order to be eligible for this special award members must have completed at least 2 previous BTC time trials in the current season. Additional details regarding this event will be provided on the BTC email list.
Open Brick: The workout of your own design, free choice. No timing is done for "open bricks", and no points are awarded.

This schedule is subject to change due to elements beyond the host’s control. Please be sure to check this schedule regularly (and watch the BTC email list) for changes and cancellations. It is very rare for an event to be canceled in advance. Cancelations due to weather will be made on-site at the time that the event is scheduled to start. Even though it might be raining at 5pm where you are, it could be clear and sunny at 6pm at the brick site! The events listed in yellow, are the timed events, where points are awarded.

Date/Time Event Sign-in/Set-up Timer

Thursday, May 8th 2008, 6pm Open Brick Joe P. n/a

Thursday, May 15th 2008, 6pm Time Trial Joe P. Joe & Paula

Thursday, May 22nd 2008, 6pm Open Brick Joe P. n/a

Thursday, May 29th 2008, 6pm 3-2-1 Brick Joe P. TBD

Thursday, June 5th 2008, 6pm Open Brick
(JPMorgan Corporate Challenge) TBD n/a

Thursday, June 12th 2008, 6pm Time Trial Joe P. TBD

FRIDAY, June 20th 2008, 7pm St. Greg's 5k
(Click here for info & reg!!) n/a n/a

Thursday, June 26th 2008, 6pm 3-3-3 Brick Joe P. TBD

Thursday, July 3rd 2008, 6pm Open Brick Joe P. n/a

Thursday, July 10th 2008, 6pm Time Trial
& club meeting Joe P. TBD

Thursday, July 17th 2008, 6pm Open Brick Joe P. n/a

Thursday, July 24th 2008, 6pm 1-2-3 Brick Joe P. TBD

Thursday, July 31st 2008, 6pm Open Brick Joe P. n/a

Thursday, August 7th 2007, 6pm Time Trial Joe P. TBD

Thursday, August 14th 2008, 6pm Open Brick Joe P. n/a

Thursday, August 21st 2008, 6pm 3-2-1 Brick Joe P. TBD

Thursday, August 28th 2008, 6pm UB Bulls game
(No Brick) n/a n/a

Thursday, September 4th 2008, 6:00pm 1-2-3 Brick Joe P. TBD

Thursday, September 11th 2008, 6pm Open Brick Joe P. n/a

Thursday, September 18th 2008, 6pm Tim Chesko Memorial
Time Trial Joe P. TBD