Packing List

Ok, so Saturday is my first race of the season.

I don't think you heard me.

I said, it's the first race of the season.

And I have the race jitters like you would not believe.

What the hell? I've done this three years now. And the distance of this race doesn't even come close to the distances at which I'm training. It's a 1/2 mile swim - about 850yds. I've been swimming over 2000 for so long that 850 could be my warmup. It's a 10-mile bike. When I'm lazy, I ride 12 or 13 just to say I did something. It's a 4-mile run. When I'm really dragging ass, I get close to 5. I've even done a super sprint from this same location, with almost no training whatsoever, back when I thought swimming 1km was a big deal.

I. SHOULD. NOT. BE. AFRAID.

But I am.

I almost wish I'd done my first du, sick and all, just to get the first-race jitters out of the way. And no one really understands how sick I was, so to say that is saying something HUGE.

I have the Race Jitters.

So, here is what I shall do to calm my Nancy Ass down. I shall make my packing list. Nothing makes me less jittery, besides telling myself this is Just Another Workout and Straight Up Doing the Damn Thing, than getting good and organized.

Soooooo . . . . here we go!!!


Pre-Race Packing and To-Do's

• Clothes for before the race
• Directions to race site
• Directions to packet pickup site
• Figure out course
• Book hotel
• Clif bars
• Bananas
• Oatmeal
• Honey or agave nectar
• COFFEE, milk and sweetener
• Set 3 alarms
• 5-hour energy
• Meds
• Bike tune-up/once-over
• All bags packed and hatches battened down!!
• Check in to hotel and get to bed early
• Lay out food and outfit
• Double-check transition bag

Set-Up Packing and To-Do's

• USAT Card
• Sunscreen
• Transition bag
• BODY GLIDE
• Two towels (BRIGHT) and anything else bright to stick to bike
• Race numbers (affixed to everything!!!)
• Championchip (and strap)
• Watch and HR monitor
• Tri outfit
• Bra
• Goggles
• Swim cap
• Anti-fog stuff
• Water to rinse feet

T1/ Set-Up Packing and To-Do's

• Black sharpie
• Flip flops
• Sweatshirt
• Water to rinse feet
• Bike (with all repair tools in bento box!!)
• Food bar in Bento box or Gus in this case
• Pump
• Helmet
• Sunglasses
• Bike shoes
• Safety pins
• Race # belt with Gu pouch (strapped to bike)
• Bottles of water
• Bottles of Clif shot
• Gus

T2/ Set-Up Packing and To-Do's

• Race number
• Lip balm?
• Running shoes
• Socks
• Baby powder
• Water/Gu/Clif shot
• Place to store wet gear
• Post-race pack-up

I be thinkin' that's about it.

JITTTTTTEEEERRRSSSSSS.......