The crazy never stops around here. Last night I had a thought, “I bet I could find another job to fill my time. One that would be in the morning.” I don’t know what made me do it, but I checked the boys’ school website for any para positions. Sure enough, there was a lunchroom para position open. I emailed the principal asking about the job’s hours. He emailed me back this morning with hours that would fit perfectly into my schedule. He also said that I should apply NOW because they were doing interviews that afternoon. I applied and he called 15 minutes later to offer me an interview. Talk about fast turnaround. I felt like the interview went well. And then my phone rang with a call from the school late this afternoon, but I wasn’t near it. No message and I got the school voicemail when I called back. No message is a good sign, right? I think this job sounds like a lot of fun! Lunch and recess…the best parts about school according to most kiddos!

Anyway, back to the regularly scheduled post. I have another triathlon this Saturday. I’m a little nervous about it, because I haven’t been doing much triathlete-type workouts (read: swim and bike). It’s also my first open water swim. I grew up going to the lake, so the water doesn’t scare me. I’m just nervous about swimming in something other than a pool lane. And I don’t want to get kicked in the face.

In honor of my second triathlon, here’s my list of gotta haves for a triathlon. Goodness, triathletes need a lot of STUFF! I bring all of my stuff in a backpack, but I’ve seen some people use a tote.

Pre-Race

• Sweatshirt, headwrap, and flip flops. “Why am I awake again?”-o’clock can be chilly.
• Poor Man’s Trisuit. More on that at the end of the post.
• Garmin watch. I use mine as a stop watch during the swim and as a pacer for the run. During the bike, I use my bike computer.
• Qalo Ring. I gotta let all the dudes now that this triathlete chick is taken!
• Road ID. Always.

Swim

• Goggles. Make sure it’s a pair that you have been training in. Nothing new on race day.
• Swim cap. Some races provide them. Some do not.
• Johnson’s baby shampoo. It works great as a defogger for your goggles.

Bike

• Bike…duh. I have a Trek Madone 4.5. She’s a carbon frame road bike. But you will see people using just about every bike under the sun. Triathlon bikes with full discs. Road bikes with aero bars. Huffy mountain bikes. It’s your preference, but a better bike will make you faster, especially if you move from aluminum to carbon. At least that was my experience.
• Bike computer. Not a necessity, but I like to know my time and speed during a race. Mine tracks cadence as well, which is helpful for not blowing up your legs before the run even starts.
• Helmet. Duh again.
• Sunglasses. Unless you like squinting.
• Water bottle.
• Nutrition. I keep a bag of energy chews in a little speed bag that I can get to without falling over. Make sure you practice eating on the bike before race day.
• Shoes and socks.
• Towels. I use two. One to step on and a smaller one to dry my arms off and then my feet off.

Run

• Tank. I put a tank on for the run. I don’t bother with it on the bike because putting a shirt on while wet is kind of a pain in the butt.
• Bondi Band. Again, I don’t put this on for the bike. My hair is still wet. But I need it for the run to keep the sweat out of my face.
• Race belt with bib. Don’t run out of transition without it. They will make you go back.
• Sunglasses. Don’t forget to leave them on!

Post-race

• A change of clothes, just in case.
• Flip flops. I always want to take off my shoes first thing when I’m done.
• The Stick. I bring mine so I can stretch and roll out my legs as soon as I’m done.
• Pretzels. I always bring a salty snack for post race. It helps my body rehydrate itself.

If I forgot anything, let me know. I’m written this list a few times, so I might have left something out.

Ok…poor man’s trisuit. I want a real trisuit some day. I have my eyes on this bad boy. My running store, GoRun Wichita, is going to be carrying Zoot soon. YAY.

Until then, this is what I wear. My trusty Under Armour Authentic 7″ compression shorts and a Champion Absolute Workout II sports bra. It gets the job done. Any type of compression shorts would work. I have a pair of Reebok ones too. Also any type of over the head sports bra without padding will work. I have a neon green UA one that I wear on occasion too.

I like the Champion bras because they come in fun prints. I have these two too.

My poor man’s tri suit works great for a sprint triathlon, but anything longer than that, I might want some real tri shorts that have a small pad in them for the bike. I had a professional fit done on my bike, so I find that the less padding on my booty the better because after all, the bike seat was made to fit my sit bones.

I hope this helps all you wanna-be triathletes out there. Maybe after Saturday I’ll feel like a real triathlete, because right now I still feel a lot like a NOOB!