I Live for Race Day!

Well, this is the last night before your first race! Jitters, I hope so. If you are not nervous something is wrong with you. This is where your training plan and trust of all that you did leading up to the race pays off. Nutrition, You have that down right? Just don't do anything stupid, like try something new tonight or tomorrow morning.

One note that may be of interest... You might want to bring a small roll of your own toilet paper or pick up a travel size one from a Walgreen's or CVS. I assure you this will come in handy. When you have 300-500+ people using a few port-a-potties (all with race day jitters) TP tends to be valuable. I could probably sell TP for $5.00 a roll 20 minutes before transition closes. Heck, It would be smart for a Charmin or a another TP company to be a sponsor of a tri. (I also always thought that Gillette or Schick razors should be an official sponsor of a longer race (70.3 or 140.6)- most shave their legs and it could be a cool setup at packet pickup (imagine the "Gillette Fusion truck" truck there- testing razors, HA- Yeah you have all seen the commercials... I digress..

Anyway, on race night I always...

1. Put all my numbers on my bike, helmet and race number on my belt.
2. Pack my race bag, you do it the morning of you might forget something

SWIM- (goggles (2 pair), towel, wetsuit, swim cap, anti-chaff cream for under arms if you want. Also good to put on legs and forearms so you can get your wetsuit off a little easier.

BIKE- Bicycle, bike pump, bike bag (for flats), cycling shoes (or sneakers if you do not have clip-in pedals, helmet, race belt with number, sunglasses, water bottles (for sprint 1 bottle is fine), socks

RUN- running shoes, hat or visor (if needed), race belt (if not already on from bike), GU or nutrition if need (100 calories will suffice)

-Attire will differ depending on what you decided to wear on race day (tri suit or changing in T1 and T2).

3. Pump up tires at night and check in the AM to make sure there aren't any slow leaks in the tubes.
4. drink water(want your pee to be light yellow)
5. eat dinner early (eat your carbs)
6. Put your bike rack on your car (if needed).
7. Set out food you will eat in the AM.
8. Charge ipod to listen to pre-race.
9. Pack a set of clothes to wear after the race.
10. Bring a recovery drink (Gatorade Recover or my favorite Chocolate Milk)- you will have to bring a small cooler if bringing this to keep it cold.
11. Try and go to bed at a decent hour.
12. Get up early enough so you are not rushing. It will be early either way so does it really matter whether it is 4 am or 4:30?

*If you are a coffee drinker and use it to start each day (I do) go ahead and drink some coffee. If that is part of your routine then go ahead and pour yourself a cup (I would recommend about 6-8 oz at the most). Not enough to dehydrate you, but enough to give you a good pick me up.

Go ahead and enjoy this moment, tomorrow you will become a triathlete and the addiction will become stronger !

I heard this used as an affirmation at my first 70.3 in Orlando by an individual who had written himself about 30 different notes. The race director saw that he had tossed this one on the ground and read it to everyone over the microphone cause it's good,

"Pain is Weakness leaving the body"

Tomorrow you may be sore, but do your best, whatever that may be and you will enjoy every moment. Stay after the race and enjoy the food and camaraderie. It is all part of the experience. One of many to come.

You are now one of the 2.3 million people (USAT) that participate in a triathlon each year.

Race Week: Triathlon Gear

Its the final day before the race. I just started packing and organizing my gear. This is the last time I have a chance to pick up any new gear that I may need tomorrow.

Bike : Cannondale (I have no idea what model it is. My friend Schuyler, another Ironman, was not satisfied with me not knowing). I am pretty psyched to have this bike. I have officially been out swimming more than I have biked, so I still have a ton to learn about bikes. Just having it is awesome to me. Thanks Bree Sherry!

Dan: Rack your bike by the seat post on the bar. Make sure to alternate your bike from the person(s) next to you to allow you to easily get your bike off the rack. You want your handle bars to be alternating from people next to you. If you get there early enough, try and take the spot closest to the end so that you do not need to between the racks to get to your gear. I have a very high seat post so I always make sure to test my spot on the rack and make sure that I can take my bike off the rack and roll it under the bar. Make sure you pump up your tires the morning of the race. ( I pump them up the night before as well that way you can check them in the morning and to see you lost any air over night which may lead you to realize you have a small puncture in your tire. There will be bike mechanics on site the morning of the race so if you do not have a bike pump they will be able to do that for you.

Bike pump: Blackburn Airtower I just purchased this pump and have yet to use it. I will be testing it out later tonight and will be sure to pump up my tires one last time in the morning.

Helmet: Bell Venture After seeing what types of helmets are out there, I know this helmet is more of a casual recreational helmet. Maybe an upgrade in the future.

Water bottle - I bought a water bottle last week and didn't realize till now that it doesn't fit into the water cages. Der!

Dan: One water bottle should suffice for a sprint distance race. You may want to think about putting G2 in there as opposed to water if you feel you may need some additional calories during the race.

Wetsuit: Rented Xterra sleeveless You can read more coverage here.

Goggles: Aqua Sphere Kaiman I just purchased these goggles the other day. What an upgrade from my last pair! They look huge on my face though.

Clothes: I still haven't fully figured out what I am going to wear. I do not have a tri outfit. I was looking at some shorts the other day and haven't decided whether I will splurge or not (haven't seen any less than $55 at retail.) Maybe I could get by with these spandex shorts and a bra. I am going to check some more out today.

Dan: Who needs it? - Try and have as much of what you are going to wear throughout the race on before the race starts. It will make your transitions faster and keep you from struggling to put on clothes while your body is wet.

Socks: When I ran my first half marathon, I did purchase running socks. Hello comfort. That was a great purchase. While putting down $9 or so for a pair of socks seems crazy to me, it was worth it.

Dan: Put these on before the bike (might consider bringing a towel to wipe off feet before putting them on)

Sneakers: Nike Pegasus I have put many miles on these shoes and will need a new pair soon...but not today.

Nutrition: GU and Shotbloks I am not sure I will need these or not, but will pack just in case.

To add:

Towel
Spare bike tire
CO2 cartridge

Dan: Race belt - to affix race number to. Have to have your number on the front part of your body during the run. (some races make you wear your number on your bike during the bike so this is where a race belt come in handy. You can flip it to your back on the bike and turn it to the front for the run.

Have I forgotten anything??