Newsletter Oct 2024

Chairman’s Update

Dear Tri2O’ers

Welcome to your October 2024 Newsletter containing some excellent articles & write ups, all skillfully crafted together by our Editor Sunil. Thank you to everyone who has taken time to share their stories and experiences.

Congratulations to all Tri2O’ers competing in events since the last newsletter, always great to see those post race selfies in the FB group. If you have competed in any of the Club Championship Events listed HERE – enter your details and time into the Club Championship entry form found… HERE   –  Your result may well be “in contention” !! 

Further to Nora’s recent email regarding this year’s Nominated Awards; there is something very special when receiving an award from your colleagues in recognition of your effort or contribution, so please do make your nominations ASAP. Our Awards Night (date TBC) we will recognise not only the Club Champions but also members nominated & voted for by their peers.

Many thanks to our Club Captain & Kit Officer Paul Archer for preparing a new Tri2O Kit order window with our supplier go HERE & enter TRI2 to order.

PLUS Paul has sourced some great looking swimwear which if the order is still “Open” can be seen HERE

You will have received our Club Secretary’s “Notice” of the upcoming AGM to be held on FRIDAY 22nd November at the Griffin Pub in Caversham, I encourage you to put the date in your diary & join your fellow members of Tri2O for the meeting and for the opportunity to socialise afterwards over a free buffet of healthy & tasty delights!

I Hope to see some of you at our End of Season Social next Friday 18th in Reading &/or at our AGM in November.

Best wishes

Mike Nash
Chairman

Our chosen charity – Sport in Mind

Every year the club runs the Reading Triathlon, and a portion of profits (according to the club constitution) are donated to charity. Our chosen charity for the second year running has been Sport in Mind, which is a Reading based charity whose tagline is “Transforming the lives and mental health of children and adults through sport and physical activity”.
 
 
They have both adult and youth programmes, including for families; the personal stories on their website are really moving https://www.sportinmind.org/Blogs/personal-stories.
Sport in Mind is the UK’s leading mental health sports charity and it just happens to be based right here in Reading. The charity delivers physical activity (sport, walking, dance and movement, gardening and exercise sessions) projects in partnership with the amazing NHS in order to aid recovery, promote mental wellbeing, improve physical health, combat social isolation and empower people to move their lives forward in a positive direction.
 
Thank you to everyone for supporting the Reading Tri and so enabling  us to contribute in a small way to the great work that Sport in Mind do. I hope that some of you were able to take part in their “100km in 10 days” challenge for the 10th October, World Mental Health Day.
 

Membership Update

Please join me in welcoming the following new members to the club:

  • Francis Martinez
  • Paul Harwood

As always, I am happy to offer a welcome call to make sure you are getting the most from the club. Please let me know if you would like to talk all things Tri2O related. I’m happy to take questions from anyone to make sure your club experience is the best it can be, so don’t hesitate to get in touch

Also note for anyone that swims at Hi5 lake if you link your Nowca account to the club, you get a £2 discount per swim. Please let me know if you need assistance to do this

Thanks

 

Coaches’ Corner – Mental Strength

A while back, a few of us took part in a series of online workshops on Mental Strength for Athletes, with Jonathan from JC Runs. Whilst this isn’t the same as Mental Health (by any means), working on your mental strength is a valuable exercise for you to get the most out of your relationship with exercise and training. There’s no doubt that exercise is good for mental health, so any tools at your disposal for keeping you going with exercise when perhaps you don’t feel like you want to, or have the capacity to do so, are worthwhile.
Here’s a summary of the notes I took!

  1. Develop a “positive personality” – the characteristics of this he described as:
    • Open to new experiences
    • Optimistic
    • Competitive and conscientious
    • Proactive
  2. View your decisions as active choices not sacrifices
    • This helps maintain a sense of control over the situation
    • Keeps intrinsic motivation high
  3. Use support available to you from other people
    • Technical advice
    • Social support [club members, friends, Facebook group!]
  4. Identify your motivation for succeeding [more on this below]
    • This will help keep you determined
  5. Focus on personal development
    • Don’t compare to others
    • The race is long, and in the end, it’s only with you
  6. View setbacks as opportunities for growth
    • What have I learnt?
    • What would I do differently next time?
    • Develop a growth mindset [there are books on this!]
  7. Strengthen your confidence from a range of sources
    • Preparation
    • Previous successes
    • The faith others have in you
  8. Take responsibility for your thoughts, feelings and behaviours
    • Don’t externalise
  9. Concentrate on what you can control – the process vs. the outcome

He also gave us a list of 10 ways to build strength & mental flexibility:

  1. Vary your training times
  2. Vary your training routes
  3. Get out of your comfort zone
  4. Make a plan and stick to it
  5. Change your daily routine
  6. Take a cold shower
  7. Start sea swimming [other sources of open water are available – Hi5 Reading lake is open every Saturday through the winter; the 3rd Saturday club social swims will continue!]
  8. Ditch the music
  9. Do the hard things first
  10. Get up an hour early [coach’s note: also go to bed an hour early!]

Finding your “Why”

In my opinion this is one of the most valuable processes you can undertake as an athlete. Yes, if you are reading this you are an athlete! Your “why” is a very personal thing, often requires some soul-searching and deep questioning, and isn’t usually the first thing that comes to mind. Take some time to think about what makes motivates you to get out of bed at 5am to be in the pool at 6am, or drags you off the warm comfie sofa into the cold garage to hop on the turbo. And then think about it some more. Write it down. You don’t have to share it with anyone, but you can. For me, it’s a mixture of modelling healthy behaviour to my children and others, and wanting to stay as mobile and independent in old age as I can, with a body that does everything I need and want it to do for me. Your “why” is what will get you out of bed when it’s cold and miserable outside, or get you pushing through that last interval when your legs are screaming at you to stop.

Let’s face it, we take part in hobbies to make our lives better – so just keep remembering that!

Georgia Jackson
Head Coach
 

Club Captain’s Report

Thanks to Mike, Sunil and Claire

Our long-standing chairman, Mike Nash, is standing down at the next AGM.

Mike is one of the first people I met as a member of the club – his welcome made me feel right at home, in stark contrast to some other clubs I have been a part of.

His commitment to the club is stellar, whether it is supporting club events, keeping the committee (Sunil) in check or extending the same welcome I received to other new members.

It’s members like Mike who can make or break a club – Mike definitely has helped to make ours. Thanks for your time and efforts, hope to continue to see you in club colours!

I’d also like to take the time to thank Sunil and Clare who are also stepping down – Sunil’s unflinching honesty and commitment mean there are big shoes to fill here, whilst Clare has reinvigorated our social calendar post-COVID!

Paul Archer
Club Captain

 

Returning to exercise post partum

Some of you will know that I had my first baby at the end of last year. I maintained fitness as much as possible during my pregnancy, with PT sessions twice a week and walking where possible. I struggled to keep up any running due to hip pain and sciatica from 20 weeks, so had a shift in focus to build strength and maintain mobility.

I’ll be honest, I was rather naive in thinking that I can use maternity leave to regain fitness and get lots of training in… I hadn’t really thought about the lack of sleep, need to feed so regularly, contact napping, time to actually grab myself a drink or some food, or even pop to the toilet, let along training! Needless to say I quickly had to reset expectations, and the focus changed to movement and spending time outside. I bought a baby carrier (aka weighted vest) and set off walking, which not only helped with my mental health in getting outside and moving, but doubled up with a good way of getting Erin to have a nap!

After 6 weeks I got back into PT sessions, and through the support of family and friends looking after Erin whilst I had a PT session, and a very helpful PT, come baby entertainer, bottle feeder or just providing a cuddle I managed to get back into exercise. This was far from consistent, but still a welcome change to sitting on the sofa, having completed most of Netflix!

I returned to work 7 months post partum, which brought additional challenges juggling work, nursery drop offs and all of the germs that nursery brings. A couple of months in now I feel we are getting more of a routine, and having all been ill for around a month I am keeping everything crossed we have a period of good health ahead.

So where am I going with all this? Having a baby is THE HARDEST thing I have ever done, but I wouldn’t change it for the world. I have read many a article that it takes mothers 2 years to find themselves again post partum and I can now truly believe this. My friend summed it up perfectly that you always feel like you are missing out on something, and eventually you’ll learn to balance mum guilt.

I don’t have the answers but I am learning to be kinder to myself, and continue to maintain focus on movement and being outside as that’s what makes both Erin and I happy.

Thanks
Clare

Running News: Winter Running!

Lace up your running shoes, get your beanie cap and gloves on … the Tri2O Winter Run programme is here! This year we have an exciting line up of social runs and events, a great opportunity to get some solid training in over the winter to fly in in the 2025 triathlon season!

2nd November, Woodley parkrun; a favourite of mine, 3 laps around the park mostly paths, some grass. A great coffee shop for a post run Tri2O catch up and cake treat! https://www.parkrun.org.uk/woodley/

1st December Mapledurham 10k, 10 miler, half marathon trail event around the beautiful paths of Mapledurham and a great downhill finish! https://mstevents.co.uk/mapledurham10half/

7th December, Prospect parkrun; a super offroad route around the park, come along to run or support! Post run coffee and cake is must of course! https://www.parkrun.org.uk/prospect/

24th December, Winter Woolly 10k https://www.racinglinerunning.co.uk/winter-woolly-10km a great course and festive event.

29th December, GUT BUSTER 10k or 10miler. The iconic GUT BUSTER, the best way to end the year…. water crossings, Roman Walls, fields, footpaths and a memorable finish! https://mstevents.co.uk/gut-buster/

A bonus we have special discount codes for you too!
Tri2OMST2024  ##10% MST Events
RLR20CLUB   ##20% Racing Line Running

Have a wonderful winter season and look forward to catching up with as many of you as possible on these winter runs!
Edwina

Reading Triathlon Update

The Reading Triathlon 2024 was another great success for the club. The official BTF report was excellent all round, we donated a great amount to the official charity Sport In Mind, and the feedback from the participants has been amazing. And as ever, the main subject of feedback was around how fantastic all the marshals and volunteers were.

Volunteering at events has been proven to be good for mental health, for both the volunteer and the participants. It is always an enjoyable experience and is so rewarding when you get the feedback both on the day and after the event. There is nothing better as a Race Director than seeing such great interactions between all of you on the day and the participants, and I know it is one of the biggest (if not the biggest) reason why people come back to our event very year.

So as always, a huge thank you from myself, Georgia and Iain for everything you all did before, during and after the race this year. We genuinely could not run the event at all without you, let alone so successfully.

With that in mind, can I ask you all to get Sunday 14th September 2025 in the diary when we get to do it all again!

Jamie 

Welfare Officer

‘Welfare Officer’ brings to mind safeguarding requirements for children. As a predominately adult club we don’t tend to consider the need and role of a Welfare Officer. Most of the time this is true, I have been the Welfare Officer for a year and not had a single concern raised. Does this mean we are all 100% happy with the club and how we manage wellbeing of club members, or is it just that no one knows of the role and how to raise a concern?

In line with our commitment to member wellbeing and our constitution, Tri2O includes a Welfare Officer on the committee.

The role of a Welfare Officer is to be a point of contact for issues relating to the wellbeing of club members, with the aim of fostering positive experiences and relationships within the club.
Example issues a Welfare Officer may handle:

  • A member has behaved in a discriminatory manner towards another
  • A member doesn’t feel included at events, or is nervous to get involved with the rest of the group
  • A member feels that events aren’t planned with accessibility in mind
  • A member is struggling with their mental health and doesn’t know who to reach out to

If any member has any concerns regarding the above or has concerns about a vulnerable adult, please contact me on welfare@tri2o.club. I will do my best to resolve the issue and/or signpost to appropriate services that can help.

Why did I become Welfare Officer?
I feel strongly that we should all feel safe and supported on our triathlon journeys – however short/long, humble or ambitious they might be. One of my bug bears is the elitism that can creep in around different races and distances of triathlon or multisport. Each and every race participation and distance should be celebrated because we are getting out and doing it! Don’t ever knock a super sprint or sprint tri until you have raced one hard, they hurt like hell!! We have all come from different backgrounds, so let’s support everyone’s training and racing.

Why did I start doing triathlon?
It’s so long ago I can hardly remember! I rowed through my 20s and with 10 years of endurance sport behind me, the transfer to running and cycling was a well-worn path. I realised many years ago that training reduces my stress levels, which in turn makes for a more relaxed home environment. We all know why exercise is good for mental health but here is a quick reminder:

  1. It makes you happy – endorphins
  2. It improves sleep – both in terms of sleep pattern and depth of sleep
  3. It reduces anxiety and stress – by reducing stress hormones and by giving your brain a change of scene
  4. It improves confidence – by improving our skills and fitness. Also, seeing progression is always a confidence boost.

I very much hope that Tri2O is providing a welcoming and inclusive environment so that all members can gain the benefits of exercise as above and more. If you feel uncomfortable with something at the club or that our codes of conduct are not being properly upheld, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Kate Kitto

Social Media Posts

Share your photos/medals for our social media shout outs. 

Please send me your medal or race pictures. We would really like to post shout outs when club members have completed an event and celebrate your achievements. Tag us in your own posts if you are happy for us to share them and follow the club Instagram and Facebook pages. 

Send photos to the email media@tri2o.club or to Sian Vaughan on messenger and don’t forget to tell me what you were up to at the time. 

Dates for your diary

  • 22nd Nov – Tri2O AGM

We would love to hear from you

The next newsletter will be in Dec 2024, please send your contribution to info@tri2o.club before 10th Dec 2024.

We would love to hear from you, particularly if you have taken on a new challenge or are new to triathlon.

Categories: blog