Train-n-Tri: Packing for Wildflower

Packing for Wildflower took all day!!!

I am exhausted and I need a recovery day.

Just shopping for firewood and food took hours.

Hooking up the trailer, pulling it out of its storage area and cleaning it up took hours.

Loading it up took a while.

Then I had to pack up my personal items.

And my new tri kit.

The rule is to NEVER try anything new on race day.

I am breaking that rule because I am taking my SunRype kit and wearing it.

I will be wearing it with a LOT of AQUAPHOR!!!!

As I was deciding which tri-kit to wear I came upon an article by Jim Vance...10 Mistakes To Avoid at Wildflower.

You can read the entire article here....

http://triathlon.competitor.com/2013/05/training/10-mistakes-to-avoid-at-wildflower_9022

There is a lot of good advice in the article, some of it is just common sense...such as stay out of the sun if you aren't racing because it will wear you out.

I guess it should also say, don't go to the beer garden and have a few and sit in the sun because it will wear you out before your race. It should also say don't stay up late sitting around the campfire with a bunch of friends drinking beer and talking tri-shop when you have to get up early in the morning to race.

You know, common sense stuff.

Mr. Vance did dole out one piece of advice that helped me make a decision about which bike I will be riding at Wildflower.

I had been on the fence.

Conflicted.

Which bike to ride?

Hector the tri-bike

Hector

or Sarah, my road bike, that was my tri-bike, but then was made back into a road bike.

Sarah

http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=489460221981185313#editor/target=post;postID=9074080237835406507;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=33;src=postname

In his article Mr. Vance said, "don't’ have a rear cassette which is designed for flat terrain. This course is tough, from the first mile of the bike course, on to the finish. You will face tough climbs and want to have a rear cassette which will allow you to climb with ease. This means at least 25-tooth cogs for the strong bikers, 27 for weaker riders.

Poor Hector...he has a 22.

I am leaving him at home.

But I promised him that I would get him a new rear wheel with a different cassette during the summer and I will take him to Wildflower next year for the long course.

Just in case you are wondering, Sarah is a 32.

So she won hands down.

Mr. Vance also recommended in his article that,"If you’re camping, you’ll want to coordinate necessities with the other people you’re camping with. Trying to do it all yourself, and not delegating responsibilities like food, drinks, coolers, camping stoves, tents, sleeping bags, bike tools, etc, will only make the weekend responsibilities too much to bear. Coordinate in an organized manner with the group you’re camping with, and save the rest of your energy for racing."

Poormy guy Robert.

I think he has expended all his race energy on working to pay for our weekend of fun triathlon and then getting the trailer ready to go.

He says he is going to have fun!

Good thing because that's one of my mottos.

Triathlon is fun.

Finishing is fun.