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THE RACE IS ABOUT TO START AND I CANNOT FIND MY SOCKS!
My husband, who was a Boy Scout, says that I would have made a good Scout. I guess he thinks he was a bad one. I can understand why based on his race preparation. Apparently, the Scouts' motto is "be prepared". For whatever reason, he is rarely prepared. While driving to the start of a recent event, we learned that the previous entrance was closed and that the new entry was now going to result in five miles of back tracking on a two lane road full of racers. Every extra minute was now reducing our warm up and preparation time. We had even allowed extra time for coffee and "what ifs" because something out of our control always seems to happen.
His race started fifteen minutes before mine, yet I was on my trainer fifteen minutes before him. I could hear him muttering that the twelve minutes of warm up was a far cry from the fifty minutes he needed, and somehow both the sky was falling and his event was ruined. I had to wonder what he would have done if I had not filled all the water bottles, made the peanut butter sandwiches, pinned his race number and packed the car the night before.
He is better than some I know which means these other folks might still be looking for their socks twenty minutes before the start gun goes off!
The average triathlete is a successful, organized, highly motivated individual who is able to train hundreds of hours per year while managing successful lifestyles beyond the sport. How is it that many of us are still looking for our socks twenty minutes before the gun goes off? Or how is it that many of us do not put in an extra thirty minutes to prepare the day or night before? It is contrary to everything triathletes are made of and is as big a mystery or irony or contradiction as why the Mayans mysteriously vanished. After all, they too were so successful in their endeavors.
To keep your race goals from vanishing consider the following:
- Start with a checklist of all needed items for your event from "soup to nuts" or socks to driving directions. Since you're going to the trouble to think through making the list, make variant lists for over-night races and morning drive races, for summer swelter races and winter iced over races, and any other special circumstances you are likely to face. Store the list on your computer so you can update it and print copies as needed.
- Make or review the checklist at least two days before you leave. It is hard to find an "all night" body glide or chamois-lube store.
- As you pack, THE DAY BEFORE check off the items on your list. And, since you made your list so long ago, you already ran out and purchased everything you were missing.
- A few days before you leave, make sure all your equipment, especially mechanical stuff, is in racing order and you have tested all your gear in training. Fiddling with your gear the day before an event is like cramming for a chemistry final the day before the test. Fiddling with your gear the day of the event is like you never went to class at all.
- Remember to leave extra time in the morning to load the car or consider packing the night before when possible. Packing is stressful and no matter what, takes longer than your delusional mind realizes especially when you are half awake still wondering why you are up at 5AM.
- Time everything so that you'll be able to do things more smoothly next time. How long does it take to get out of bed and make your favorite race breakfast? How long does it take to pack? How long does it take to get from your house to the freeway? How long does it take to pick up a friend? Once you get out of the car, how long does it take to do essential stuff not counting warm up? When you know all these answers you can plan your alarm-setting and your driving with near total confidence that you will be where you need to be when you need to be there.
- Know what your prerace meal will be and where you can get it if traveling. Race day is no the time to try something new for breakfast.
- Until you know exactly how long it takes you to prepare and warm up, park at least one hour and a half before your wave start to allow for a stress-free warm up, setting up your transition areas, and familiarizing yourself with the course (transition entrances and exits, landmarks to use for sighting during the swim etc).
Do all the above so that your race day is about achieving your race goals which reflect the hundreds of hours of training preparation. And have confidence that you will not have a meltdown or miss your start when they change the event entrance.
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