Hello OxfordTri family
I hope that you have had a great week. For me it’s been lovely to see lots of new faces at sessions both at Leys on Monday and very spooky track on Thursday. If you have joined the OxfordTri family can I just say a huge welcome and please do make sure that you make yourself known to coaches and fellow members at sessions, we’re a friendly bunch.
Also a reminder that, we have opened nominations for our awards for the evening there has been a few come in but we’d love to see more so please do head here to nominate your fellow club mates. You can follow the link HERE to do this. The deadline is the 7th of November at 9pm.
Also a reminder that if you raced in any of the OxfordTri Series events you can submit your results – HERE
Finally, wishing all those taking part in Round 1 of the Cross Country League tomorrow morning the best of luck (not that you’ll need it!).
Have a great weekend.
God Bless
Craig
End of Season Awards Dinner – Award Nominations
Please use the following link to vote for your fellow club members under the following award categories (please note you don’t need to have someone in mind for all of these to vote)
- Female Athlete of the Year
- Male Athlete of the Year
- Most Improved Female Athlete of the Year
- Most Improved Male Athlete of the Year
- Club Member of the Year
Voting Link – HERE
if you raced in any of the OxfordTri Series events you can submit your results – HERE
The deadline for voting and submitting your results is the 7th of November at 9pm.
Social Media and Publicity Help
At our AGM the other week there we had a really positive time where we shared the progress that the club has made over the past 12 months.
Minutes from the meeting can be found – HERE
Whilst we are delighted that there are a number of new faces joining the committee or helping out in wider club roles we do have a few opportunities for others to get involved. As a result we have decided to split one of the roles advertised, this is the Social Media / Publicity Lead. If you think you might be interested in either of those please get in touch via info@oxfordtri.co.uk
Kona World Champs Race Report – Sean
When you finally, after 2 years since qualifying, walk down the steps into the pacific ocean and swim out to the famous start line at the end of Kailua Kona pier, the realisation that there’s no turning back hits you hard, it’s race time!
The sea is a delightful 26 degrees, the fish are beautiful but you have to stop looking at them, time to focus….
I position to the left as I usually do but I’m later than planned and am 3 back from the front, the horn blows and I spot a gap, wow hang on what just happened there’s no bubbles in front of me!!! Ok drift right get in with the pack, everyone is super civilised, few bumps nothing malicious, oh crap I didn’t start my watch! A nice group forms and drag me to the half way mark. Its the perfect draft, you’re working exactly as hard as you want to but on someone’s toes.
We’re all oblivious to the apparent shark sighting and apparently dolphins are getting between it and us swimmers, you can’t make this stuff up!! The swim comes to an end too soon for me, just an epic 1min slower than 2016 but I expected more like 4.
We’re off on the bike, and as is usual in Kona, there’s a bit of a tail wind to start, not much, but enough with the smooth wide roads to mean you’re flying!!
Being 2nd to last wave off, and knowing the AG behind are older than you, does mean you know if people are passing you, especially early, they’re probably your AG, this seems to be happening an alarming rate but I’m doing nearly 40kph! Stick to your power plan Sean…
The suns in and out, it gets hotter and then more humid, the wind up to Hawi seems to be blowing as usual, it’s a 20k drag into a strong headwind but relatively small gradient. A few rain drops at the top and we’re over 1/2 way! Now the descent and the infamous crosswinds, I get caught a couple of times, you feel like you’re floating, not as much grip as you’d like, it’s a bit hairy…someone comes past me, much better aero bar set up, much more stable, damn another position lost.
At the bottom of the hill you turn back onto the Queen K the suns now out properly Garmin is reading 36 degrees in the sun 32 when it goes in and suddenly I’m out of gels, uh oh, I had 15 in that bottle!! Oh well they’ve gone down well so far, let’s keep going! Two more down the hatch but I’ve probably been a bit light on fluid, I down 750mls as quickly as I dare and start to wonder if, with the heat, I’ve just overloaded with water and gel??
T2 comes and I’m super happy to be 11 minutes ahead of 2016 schedule, actually I thought I was more but that’s doing calculations during a race for you.
Onto the run and my stomach is not happy, ok no problem, just keep the pace in check, there’s no sun running down Ali’i drive but there’s also no wind, it’s super humid, it feels like it needs to rain, 32degrees and humid is bloody hard on the body. Cooling is its priority, digestion is not!! I’m nibbling gels, the smallest possible amount at a time. Because of the heat there is an aid station every mile on the run. My routine is set early, ice in the hat, or tri suit, it sits right on my hr strap next to my heart, this feels good! I have a good laugh at a chap who’s had ice tipped down his back but without anything to stop it going all the way down to his butt crack, his running takes on a hilarious gait as he attempt to stop it going further between his legs and tries to get it out of the leg holes, unfortunately this entertained me for only 2minutes, I’d have loved it to be longer
Blisters arrive at 21k, I had meant to practice running with wet shoes but never got round to it, I’m also ruing that I left my compeed blister stick in my transition bag. I keep glancing down but no blood, so crack on!! Cramp sniper arrives in the new section of the energy lab, I’ve not done this before, boy it’s tough, yes physically but mostly mentally, it’s relentless in that section. Back on to the Queen K, 12k to go and I can see the rain, it’s tipping down on mt Hualalai (the extinct volcano behind Kona town), but there’s no sign of it getting nearer us, but we’re inching closer to it!!!
Finally into town and it’s clearly been raining, the temp dips to 30, the rain starts again, 29, 28, this becomes much more manageable, still taking on ice, water and nibbles of gel, stopping for 10sec stretches every 500m or so. Having messed up my watch at the start I ask a spectator what the time is, quick mental maths tells me I’m going to do it, I’m going to be faster overall than 8 years ago! I roll down Palani, Jan Fodeno is on the final aid station, gives me water and a high 5, how cool is that!!!
At the finish line I find the camera and kiss the bracelet Kate asked me to wear so she was with me all the way, I know she is watching back in the UK.
And we’re done, Kona number 3, 2012, 2016 and now 2024, each Dan Adderbury me faster.
I feel terrible, so hang out in the athlete recovery area, there’s nice seats, food I can’t eat, but mostly I just can’t move and I can’t get my bike until 7pm anyway!
Dan comes to find me we run through our days and what happened in the pro race, all the while looking at food and wishing we could eat it!!!
I can’t thank both Rebecca and Dan enough for giving me some company this trip, it’s a long way to go solo, but if you get the chance DO IT!!! It’s absolutely epic, the whole week is bonkers
OxfordTri Goes Cross-Country – 2024/25 Season
It’s Cross Country season and the Club will again be competing in the Oxfordshire Cross Country League. As in previous seasons the League runs on the first Sunday of every month from November to March. It is often the highlight of the year for many club members both on a competitive level and also a social one. Last year we had our highest ever OxfordTri representation with 46 members taking part across the league.
Each race day we often travel as a team so don’t worry if you don’t have transport as lifts should be available to the race venue, where we will then run around in the mud for about 7km before finishing with homemade cake, or on the odd occasion a pub lunch. The first race of the year is tomorrow the Sunday 3rd November.
In order to join in with the muddy fun for the 2nd you need to sign up firstly for an English Athletics Membership which is £19 for the 2024/25 season, if you don’t already have one. Then your entry for the league which is £16 for the remaining four races starting in December. Please see below the two links for signing up and if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact Katie and Clive who are our amazing Cross Country Coordinators via EA@oxfordtri.co.uk
English Athletics Membership – HERE
Cross Country League Entry – HERE
Training Calendar
See the official calendar for full info and sign up links.
Monday 4th November: Coached Swim – Leys Pool @ 20:00
Tuesday 5th November: Coached Spin– Oxsrad @ 19:00
Tuesday 5th November: Coached Swim – Thame Pool @ 20:00
Wednesday 6th November: Coached Swim – Radley @ 20:00
Thursday 7th November: Coached Run – Horspath @ 19:00
Friday 8th November: Coached Swim – Kidlington @19:00