The second of our club races was held in September. Thanks to all the marshals who helped to make the event a success, we were once again complimented on the enthusiasm of our marshalling by the BTF referee. A week later we held the Club Championships at Sandringham School. On what was a lovely sunny morning, Chris Brown and Emily Taylor won the respective Mens & Ladies races. Full results are below.

As the season comes to an end and the nights draw in, it seems like a good time to take a breather, reflect on the highs and lows of the season and start thinking about your racing plans for next year.

So, to help give people some much needed winter motivation, on Friday 6th October we will be holding a social event at The Goat in St. Albans, for people to swap racing and training experiences from the year. To kick things off, we will be having a few of our more experienced triathletes present some of their hard earned wisdom gained from events this year.

This social is open to everyone, from those planning on going the full distance, to those wanting to smash their sprint PBs or to those just wanting to catch up with their fellow club members without getting shouted at for taking extended rest and holding up their swimming lane.

We guarantee you will learn something useful, you might even save yourself some time, cash and perhaps a few trips to the physio along the way.

We look forward to seeing you all there.

The Committee

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CLUB NEWS

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Spinning: Our winter training programme starts next week with Spinning on Tuesday 2^nd October, at Fitness First, St Christoper Place, St Albans. We have the studio from the slightly earlier time of 7.30pm, and will aim to then start the session at 7.45pm, allowing time to set up and warm up.
During the first phase up until Christmas, we will be working on aerobic base building, a very important but often neglected part of every cyclist's training.

The key to base building, is to be exercising aerobically, which is easily done by using a heart rate monitor. If you are going to be using a HR monitor in the spin sessions, please make sure you are aware of your HR zones and have done a recent test before coming to the first session. There are a variety of different zone descriptors/ calculators out there but they all work on the same principle. You can try the one on the British Cycling website here and then use their calculator to interpret the numbers.

Don't use a HR monitor? No problem - the coaches will guide and instruct you as to how working at this key level feels, to help you ensure you are training efficiently. All you need to bring is a drink, a towel and some energy, plus £2.

Circuits: The winter training programme then continues with circuits on Wednesday 3^rdOctober, also at Fitness First, St Christoper Place, St Albans, starting at 8.15pm.

Circuits is strongly recommended for triathletes as it helps to build a strong core which is necessary for all the triathlon disciplines and especially over the winter months it helps to build a strong foundation for more focussed training later on.
Chris and Angie put on a varied session that is hugely enjoyable, with no two weeks being the same.

Running: Finally, James has started a Tri-Force run session held on Friday evenings at 7pm from Marshalswick. The session is for all levels from very beginner to the quickest people in the club. The beginners will do less reps and have longer recovery and the quicker will do more reps and have less recovery.

New Members:  A warm welcome to new members Claire Eadington, Tim Akers, Emily Taylor and David Mackay who joined the club in the last month.

Swimming: Swimming continues throughout the winter as usual on Mondays at the Boys School from 7.45pm, and on Thursdays at HSV from 8.15pm. Its probably worth sticking an old T-shirt in your swim bag as T-shirt sets make an appearance at this time of year.

Keep an eye on Facebook for updates on all the club sessions..

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Race Results

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• 3-10 October Deca UK (10 Iron distance in 10 days – why?)
• 8 Oct: Ware’s Essex Sportive
• 15 Oct: Bedford Autodrome Duathlons - 2018 ETU Sprint & Standard Qualifiers, Jekyll & Hyde Park Duathlon, Run Hatfield House
• 22 Oct: Stevenage Half Marathon, London Fields Senior Aquathlon London League,
• 29 Oct: Emmitremus Sportive, Luton Half Marathon,
• 4 Nov: BallBuster Duathlon
• 19 Nov: Essex Season Ender Sportive, VeloPark Falling Leaves Duathlon

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Recipe of the Month: Apple Cinnamon and Oat Bars
These are a variation on the normal flapjack and a dead easy to make and slip in your pocket for a mid, ride or run boost.

225g rolled porridge oats
2tsp ground cinnamon
50g dried apples, roughly chopped
75g dark brown sugar
75g unsalted butter
175g golden syrup

1. Place the oats in a bowl, along with the cinnamon and apple and mix thoroughly
2. Place the sugar, butter and syrup in a small pan and melt on a medium heat until runny and the sugar has dissolved. Pour straight into the oat mixture and mix until there are no dry oats.
3. Pour into a lined brownie tin and press down until tightly packed.
4. Bake in the oven at 180C, gas mark 4.
5. Remove from the oven and push any bits of apple back into the mixture with a spoon, the cut out portions. Leave to cool in the tin.
6. When cool, remove and cut into bars along the original lines. Should make about 12 bars.