Traveling to Races

Now, I am no expert on this topic. In fact, I would say I am quite bad at traveling to races (just ask my sister, Libbie, about our trip to Mazatlán!) but, I am getting better.

In my opinion, the definition of stupidity is doing the same (wrong) thing and expecting a different (better?) outcome over and over. In other words, a smart person learns from his or her mistakes, and a really smart person learns from other people's mistakes! Well, aren't you just a bunch of lucky freeloaders! Here, I am going to share some of my more epic travel faux pas, so you won't make the same mistakes I have.

Some of these obviously apply more to traveling abroad, and some only apply to ITU races, but I hope all of you (even you weirdos who travel for things other than triathlons) can find some good ideas from this that will help your travel go smoothly.

·         Bring $200 cash, minimum. It can be difficult to get cash (especially in foreign countries) and it is a lot easier waving a $20 in the cab driver's face than explaining (in rusty Spanish!) that you need to stop at an ATM. Money talks!

·         Print EVERYTHING! Race registration, flight and hotel confirmations, any paperwork proving you’ve booked anything you have. Assume no one will have your file, especially if you used a 3rd party booking site. In Mazatlán, I didn't print my hotel booking, and they almost didn't let me stay in the room I had already booked at paid for... luckily I was saved by the internet, and was able to email the manager my booking confirmation. What if there hadn't been wifi in the hotel? Or if my Spanish was crappy??

·         Make sure your phone/watch/clocks are set to the correct local time. This is another one from Mexico; I assumed my phone would re-set to the right time, but it was actually an hour ahead for some reason... evidently Verizon doesn't speak Spanish... So, I was thinking I was going to be a little early to my pre-race meeting, but I was actually a lot late... Good thing they realized I was a moron and took pity on me...

·         Bring food, and know where you can buy more. It is easier, cheaper, and your GI tract will be happier if you get non-perishables before leaving and eat what you are used to rather than taking your chances at a restaurant. Do you know how hard it is to find peanut butter in Mexico??? How am I supposed to keep the fat kid inside me happy if I can't give him his daily dose of Skippy?!?!

·     
            Do your homework! Know local manners, language, exchange rate, etc. Don't be the ugly American... although we do all know this guy, no one actually wants to be him. Oh, and assuming that most people in non-english speaking countries can actually speak English is a lot like jumping into a pool and expecting to stay dry.

·      

      (This one's from my pageant girl!) Have an emergency bag that you always pack with extras, but never open it or remove anything unless you need it! Some things to fill it with:

o   Gels/bars 

o   Athletic tape

o   Rubber bands

o   Spare kit

o   Tools for bike

o   Extra cap/goggles

o   Vaseline

o   Race belt

o   Water Bottle

o   Anything else you might forget (or have forgotten in the past!)

·      
      Bring tools for your bike, even if you won’t need them. If you can fit it, pack it, and at least you might be able to help someone else out. Good Karma always helps going into a race, and this way the dude who you loan a hex key to will be less likely to kick you in the balls on the swim... or not?

·     
      Bring EVERYTHING you need for race day!

o   Swim: race kit, cap, goggles, wetsuit, towel, bodyglide

o   Bike: helmet, shades, bike, shoes, bottles, nutrition, spare kit, tools, lube, rubber bands, tape

o   Run: Shoes, belt, hat?

o   Extras: Warm ups, towel, sunscreen, packet, ipod, nutrition, camera, pack of Marlboro reds and a 5th of Maker's Mark.... wait, what?

·     
      Know when and where everything happens! Including: pre-race meeting, bike check, packet pickup, course familiarization, wave starts, etc. Sometimes this can be unclear on the race site, so email the race director with any questions. This is their job, so they should be happy to help you out.

·     
      Know how long it takes to get from where you are staying to the race site/meeting site so you aren't guessing when you've got an hour to get to the course, setup transition, and warmup before the gun goes off... Ok, ok, to be fair, its been a while since I made that mistake. Fortunately, I was able to ride the adrenaline (and the Red Bull I just pounded) all the way through the race!

·         Know your course! Look at maps 1 month out, drive course when you get into town. Inspect swim venue (swim in it if possible?) walk transitions, spin bike course and jog run course a couple days out. Look for things like currents, sandbars, the fastest lines, hills, cracks in the pavement, etc. Its better to know where these things are in advance than finding out when making a descent on the bike at 47 MPH... although that road rash really makes you look tough...

      Bring some comforts of home, and try to keep your routine as similar to being home as possible. For me, this means morning coffee, Food Network or SportsCenter on TV(I know, weird combo). Call your loved ones when feeling anxious, just to take your mind off of everything.

This sums up my list, but I full encourage you all to make your own and add to mine based off of your own experiences. My thoughts are, the worse a mistake is, the less likely you are to make it again... and since I have made a good chunk of bad mistakes in my racing career, hopefully you can learn from the summation of them in this list rather than making your own, you idiot. Until next time, FOLLOW THE PACE RABBIT.... unless he's going to Mexico....