2011 Memberships

PayPal and online registration has been temporarily shut down as the Executive works on 2011 fees, start/end schedule, and a solution to getting the signed waivers of registrants to O.A.T. in a quick and timely fashion. We are looking at running Barrie T.C. membership to follow O.A.T. membership (March 1 2011 to Feb 29, 2012) with our membership fees being dependant on any changes with O.A.T. (club fees will match last year's at $40 per athlete).

We are currently working on the proper way to register members, as O.A.T. does not have an online waiver form, and all forms need to be signed and sent in on paper. Existing members do not have to wait to get their new card; they can use their O.A.T. number from previous years to sign up for races while their registration is being processed. New members should contact O.A.T. for a temporary number to sign up for races while they wait for their membership card. The Executive is seeking ways that will allow members to receive their new membership cards as soon as possible, but registrants should realize that a lot of the delay in receiving their 2011 membership card exists because O.A.T. needs to process the thousands of registrants they get annually.

Joe Shows How "Less is More" Can Make You An IRONMAN!

Congratulations Joe on completing Ironman Arizona! You represented the Baydogs very well while swimming/biking/running in the desert. You even got a shout-out from Lisa Bentley on Ironman Live as being one of the few to enter Saturday's practice swim without a wetsuit. We look forward to hearing the many tales you must have after schmoozing with the Pros and of course, completing the race.

Joe's Stats -
Swim: 1:18:39
Bike: 6:42:39
Run:7:28:39

Joe completed Ironman Arizona with a total time of 15:59:47, competing in the M50-54 division.

Sarah Miller's Angus Glen 10Km

I ran at the Angus Glen 10K this past weekend, and Jamie asked me to write about it for the club blog and I was happy to oblige. Here it is!
This was my first ever 10K race, so first and foremost my goal was to get across the finish line. But, I also had a time goal of 50 minutes. I had trained hard for the event, but I still was unsure if I could run that fast!
My warm up went great, I was focused and ready to run. The gun went off and it took me a full minute to get across the line, my first kilometer was slower than planned because of all the weaving I had to do to settle into my pace. Finally the crowd thinned and off I went! I found some people that had the same goal in mind and ran with them. Nutrition went exactly as planned and I pushed hard! The first few kilometers went by quickly. I took half a gel a little before the aid station at the 3K mark, better safe than sorry! I hit the 5K mark right on target, the race was half over! Nutrition was going well and I pushed hard! I continued this up until 7K, where I hit a bit of a rut. My right side had been cramping, and by the time 7K rolled around, it was bad. I stopped to walk for about 15-20m, to see if that would relieve the pain. Thankfully it did, the pain subsided a little and when I started to run again, my legs just took off. I felt even better than I had before and I quit looking at my watch to check my pace. I would be happy with under 55:00, I decided that would be my new goal. I ran with how I felt, and I felt fast. I caught up with this one guy who looked to be clipping along at a decent pace and stuck with him. We hit the 8K mark, no problem. The next 1000m went by quickly. We had 1 kilometre left! There was a downhill and I poured speed into it and let gravity take me along. Then it was 500m until the finish. I glanced at my watch. 50 minutes was attainable! I gave it all I had; calling up every ounce of energy I had left. My breathing became short and quick, but there was no way I would let up. I crossed the line in 50:36! I was elated I had hit my goal time! After I walked out for a bit, I went inside and the results were posted shortly after. I checked out my stats and discovered that I had placed 3rd in my age group!!! (19 and under) Needless to say, I had a great first 10K and will be returning next year in search of a faster time!

Sarah Miller

Angus & Hamilton ; Congratulations Runners.

This past weekend there was two significant Races. One in Angus and the other in Hamilton. Our own Sara Miller ran Angus and did very well. There was many who represented the Barrie TC well. In the Hamilton Half Joanne Merkley placed 18th / 138 in her age category with a time of 1 hr 47 mins. Jo absolutely incredible. Friends of the Barrie TC doing the half were Nancy Chong, Silvia Schweizer and Kevin Thomas. In the Marathon, our Club is very proud of Dean Beaudry, Allan Johnson, Ryan Blake, David "Boston-Rex" Reckzin, and our MP Patrick Brown who ran a 3:39. The Barrie TC would also like to congratulate all the amazing runners from the Barrie Road Runners who performed outstanding. Specifically Brendan Kavanaugh who ran a 3 hr 1 min 30 sec marathon. Salute to All.

Q & A with Paul Harber

Q1. Paul how did you get started in the sport?
Paul : I began to run with my wife Mary in 2007 (she was way ahead of me) to lose weight and to improve my fitness level. We were out for a run and the Barrie triathlon was on, we watched it, I was hooked and set a goal to do a triathlon in 2008 took some classes and got some coaching with Mischelle Stevens. I did 3 tri a tri's and one sprint in 2008.
Q2. What is your favourite discipline of the Swim, Bike and Run?
Paul : My favourite discipline is the bike, I really like the speed and there is nothing better than being out on open road on a nice day
Q3. Do you openly admit to people you know Doug Austin?
Paul : I openly and gladly admit I know Doug, we began our journey in triathlon together, he was just the first of an amazing group of people that I have met since I started.
Q4. If you could be reincarnated, would you like to come back as Doug Austin?
Paul : (pause)...I just wish that I could have started in this sport much sooner than I did, so if I could come back again I hope it would be someone who would be able to and want to spend a lifetime doing what I have only been able to do for the last couple of years. If not, coming back as Doug wouldn't be all that bad it definitely would be interesting.
Q5. This past summer you had a nasty accident, do you feel like sharing with us that day ?
Paul : You always have in the back of your mind every time you go out on your bike that something like this could happen and on this ride it happened to me. As best as I can piece it together I was moving fairly fast a car came close and I moved over to avoid it hit a defect in the road and was thrown into the side of the bridge. Thankfully I don't remember anything until I woke up in the hospital with a broken collarbone, a concussion, bruised ribs and a lot of road rash.
I was thankful for two things that day, my helmet that saved my life and finding out that I had a lot of people that cared about me, Michelle Rumney,Doug Austin and Jamie Aalbers who stuck with me at the hospital and all the people that helped to lift my spirits with their messages. Also my thanks go out to everyone in the club for the gift of the helmet and jersey to relace the ones that were destroyed. Mary played a huge part in my recovery she has always supported me 100% in doing triathlons and I was overjoyed to be able to cross the finish line with her at the 2010 Toronto International marathon when she completed her first half marathon.
Q6. Paul how are you doing today ?
Paul : The collarbone is healed and I am still working to get full range of motion in my shoulder, I am swimming again and working on getting my cardio back to where it was, it sure doesn't take very long to lose it when you can't do anything at all.
Q7. What is your 2011 goal ?
Paul : My main goal for 2011 is to get that 70.3 that I was ready for before my accident which happened 2 weeks before Muskoka, I look forward to getting back to racing again, the best part is I have all winter to do it.

Keeping your immune system on track

Although the tri season has pretty much come to a close, many of us still continue to train for other races. Regular physical activity is good for the mind, body, and immune system. Research has consistently shown that those who exercise regularly have fewer colds and flu's than non-exercisers, and that those infections tend to be less severe and shorter in length. The flip side of the equation has to do with the intensity and duration of the exercise. Endurance training sessions can actually have a negative impact on the immune system in the short-term - specifically, endurance athletes are at an increased risk of upper respiratory tract infections within the first few hours following long-duration exercise.

We're obviously not going to let the scare of a cold or flu prevent us from training for our next distance event. We'll just have to be more careful about how we treat our bodies, especially in the hours following training. Diet plays a huge role in our immune system function, since the majority of the immune system is located along the gastrointestinal tract. We've all heard that vitamin C benefits the immune system, so increase your intake of fresh fruits and vegetables. Two other big players are refined sugars and processed foods. Ingestion of simple sugars suppresses the immune system for at least 5 hours! So although you may feel that you've worked and therefore deserve some leftover Halloween candy, it's probably not your best choice for replenishing muscle glycogen!

Other lifestyle approaches include getting enough sleep, regular hand-washing, and staying home or backing off the training when you begin to feel under the weather. The flu shot is an option for some, although it does not guarantee that you won't catch a cold or a flu. There are other alternatives that have a broader spectrum (protection against both flu's and colds) with fewer to no side effects, such as homeopathic and herbal remedies. One of my favourites is an immune boosting formula by a company called Pascoe, pegged the "alternative flu shot". It works as a preventative measure, and at the first signs and symptoms of an infection. For more information on the "alternative flu shot", speak with your local Naturopath.

Baydog Halloween.

The artist is Scott McEdwards, proud member of the Barrie Triathlon Club.