I got an e-mail last night about special needs bags. Special needs bags, to me, like some of the hazy, mysterious details of sex are to a virgin. I know that they exist. I know that everyone does it, and someday I will too, and then I will understand that it's not that big a deal. But right now special needs bags kind of scare the living crap out of me. What if I don't do it right? What if how I pack my special needs bag gives me away as a virgin?! Will it hurt?!What the hell should I put in my special needs bag?! For me, "special needs" means things like inhalers, insulin, sign language interpreters, and pacemaker bracelets. Since I don't have asthma, diabetes, a hearing impairment (arguably), or a pacemaker, I have no idea what to put in my special needs bag. I know you're supposed to put things like spare tubes and real (un-pocketable) food. But what?! I can only imagine that eating an almond butter sandwich will slow me down on the bike. And am I supposed to STOP to collect my bag? I don't want to stop. I've seen footage of people handing Tour riders some sort of drawstring deal, but I imagine weeding through something like that on the bike really
slowing me down. What do I do with the bag when I'm done? Throw it at the side of the road?! Keep it with me?!Then they say that we can have special needs bags on the run! It's a loop course, so they say we can leave it in T2 or carry it out onto the course with us and drop it somewhere to come back to it later. What special needs might I have on the run?! Should I take advantage of this?! If I do, should I drop the bag or leave it in T2? Oh no! Now I'm actually physically shaking.
And while we're at it, I have some more details I'm having an anxiety attack over:
I've never done a transition from a bag before. This does NOT appeal to my inherent disorganization. Any suggestions?!
T1 and T2 are in different places. Will I be able to get to my bike in the morning before the start?! How am I going to know where my bike is in transition?I've heard stories of volunteers that help you in transition. Do they go get your bike for you? Do they rack it when I'm done?! Are they handing me shit out of my bag, or do they just give me the bag and let me go? I've seen pictures of lawn chairs in transition in Mdot races, am I going to have one of those?! I realize that this isn't an Mdot race, so some things may be different. What's different?!
How the hell am I going to run a MARATHON at the end of all that?!
It is not unheard of for triathletes to drop dead in the middle of a swim. They always say they "don't know what caused Peggy Sue/Billy Bob to stop swimming and float face down to the nearest kayak", but I know the truth: SHARKS! Yes, that's right, what they are not telling you is that each and every one of those triathletes was eaten by sharks. And the ones that drowned in fresh water? Sharks again. I know it is not likely for me to be eaten by a shark some 10 miles from the coast, but IT COULD HAPPEN! Strange things happen every day! If there are river porpoises, then there can be fresh water sharks. And you know what else? People die while running every day. They always say, "Peggy Sue/Billy Bob had a preexisting, undiagnosed heart condition, which caused him/her to collapse at mile 15 of the run..." Well I know the truth! LAND SHARKS! You've seen all those challenged athletes missing limbs in all the ironman feel good human interest stories. You know what REALLY happened to them? LAND SHARKS! What happens if I get attacked by a land shark? Will anyone save me?!
What am I not thinking to ask?!
Is it too late to drop out?!
13 comments:
heh...have fun with all that bullshit.
Yes. It's entirely too late to drop out.
Now man up and stop being such a pussy. You'll do great; you always do. And the rest is, like Angry said, bullshit.
I'd pack that almond butter sandwich if I were you. You never know you might just need it and you could always feed it to the land shark if you can't stomach it.
In the words of Trot Nixon "Cowboy the fuck Up!"
Alright now that the shock value has hit relax, take a few deep breaths and listen to Yoda:
1. Special needs bags:
On the bike you will need to stop to collect it, the vollies don't have the tour team skillz that killz, that and those little bike bags are F**kig expensive when you have to buy at least 1000. Put in stuff that you don't mind losing ( usually the unused stuff is tossed. So don't put the Boston Marathon Jacket in.) Use this for extra nutrition and your favorite "bailout food" The special needs bag on the run might be more critical than on the bike, you might want to put in some blister blocks, band aids, extra sunblock, a cheap long sleeve tee, maybe some extra reflective stickers/ glow sticks IF you are stuck out after dark. ( with your swim and bike splits you won't be.)Leave it in T-2 because if you need anyhting from it you'll most likely need it on loop 2.That and you don't want to pass some douchebag who is munching on your shot bloks.
2. accessing the bike Pre-race, you will have access to your bike on race morning to inflate tires put on water bottles and nutrition.
3 Dreaded Transition bags:
they will give you a pre swim bag so you can toss your post race clothes, compression tights, burial wishes in it. You will most likely have to check your gear bags the night before, the t-1 bag,bike shoes, socks, sunglasses, a racebelt with your number, sun block and small nutrtional items, if you overpack it don't worry these bags will be returned to you. Also you will have your own personal valet in the changing tent so they will make sure you are good to go, hell they'll even give you your bag and direct you to your bike. Same deal with the run bag,toss in light nutritional items, and anything you normally need for the run, ( shoes, socks, visor, fuelbelt, spare racebelt with number, blisterblocks, machette to cut the Achilles of faster runners...I mean fight the Land shark, what ever you want to cram in it.)
4. Dropping dead from cardaic arrest: I will the odds of it happening to me are a lot higher than it happening to me. ( Spooty French Canadian diet and genetics.)
5. About archnemisis running wild at the 70.3, use the anger as fuel and bust the sound barrier.
6. Next time you see me bust me in the mouth for writing this list, preferably with the age group winner medal :)
Go getum tiger!
Sorry edit on the cardiac arrest comment: It is more probable to happen to me than to happen to you
I am a mere runner who occasionally bikes, but I think I can be of help here with the bag.
Put a jack-in-the-box in your bag and then do your best to forget about it. Then during the race when you get the bag, you'll pull out the jack-in-the-box and say, "hey, what's this?". You'll turn the little crank and bop your head along to the little pop goes the weasel song, and then "BOING!", out comes this crazy clown head and you'll scream!
I don't know how that would help you actually, but it'd be pretty funny.
You will be *fine*!! Put some random food in there that is 'real' food and not what you are planning on eating for nutrition as you will be tired of your food after awhile and it might suddenly be the most beautiful thing you have ever eaten. What other food maybe would have helped you on your 12 hour race when you didn't want to eat? Anything?
No sharks up in that river I've heard of...yet. Careful of the land sharks. Can't help you there.
I've always wondered about the special needs bags myself - and I thought they were for stuff like insulin and adrenaline shots, too. Who knew? Unfortunately, I have no good advice about what to put in them, but for the run, what about some advil? Don't know if you ever use the stuff, but it can be the wonder drug that works wonders - and might just help with a nagging ache or pain and make your run a little better.
DON'T FORGET YOUR HELMET!!
p.s. You are a rockstar - I can't wait to read the race report on this. I think we'll be able to smell that charred smell of you smoking the bike field from here...
Add me to the ranks of not knowing what to put in your special needs bag, but it sounds like Bob has some great advice. Don't worry, you'll do great. Can't wait to read your race report!
Bob actually did a pretty good job above. Some other thoughts from my experience last year:
First, I didn't use any special needs bags at all, and somehow survived just fine. Just so you know it can be done.
On the bike, the bag area is very close to the halfway point of the ride, and it's pretty well-staffed with folks who can grab your bag relatively quickly. I could see stocking some extra nutrition (bars or gels, etc) instead of trying to stuff seven Clif Bars in your pockets like I did. Advil is another good idea in case you're having some pain issues (I sometimes get headaches).
Yes, you'll have to stop for them, but the couple of minutes you spend is probably worth it to stay well-fueled for the ride. It's just like stopping for fluids: at the first few stations, I tried to fly right through them, but eventually decided to slow down and take an extra 10 seconds to make sure I got what I needed.
On the run, I can't imgaine what you might need that you can't just stash in T2 with the rest of your crap. BTW, the transition areas at Vineman are very low-key, so don't expect volunteers jumping in to do everything for you - that's more of an m-dot thing. You'll just leave your T2 bag there the night before, and when you roll in on your bike the next day, you're on your own. No tents, either - so I packed a towel in my bag to wrap around my waist when changing shorts from bike to run.
You'll have full access to your bike on race morning, because you have to bring it with you to T1 and set up your transition spot before the swim. T1 isn't that big, so you won't have to hunt through too many racks to find your bike. Everyone sharing a rack with you will be in your swim wave, so you can always follow a same-colored swim cap when you exit the water if you're completely disoriented.
Yes, you can still drop out, but then you'll have to come back here and explain why - and none of us are going to buy it. Just get all of your butterflies flying in the same direction, and you'll be fine.
Oh, yeah, one more thing: have fun!
Ok am I the only one who got a little misty-eyed about Donald's butterfly comment? I'm going to remember that one. Good luck Claire - knock 'em dead! Your blogger family will be with you the whole way, don't forget that!
Hello! It's Emily wishing you millions of luck from England. I think you're crazy but you know it'll be fine really. Take a nice sandwich and maybe a thermos of tea. That'd sort you.
I LOVE this blog, can't wait to hear how you did!
God Claire you do so much I can never keep up with your blog. I hope you are tapering NOW!
I'm so excited for you!! Packing the drop bags for my 100 made me seriously nervious, so I feel your pain. I like what Donald said about going with no bags---not that you should, but just knowing that nothing is THAT crucial helps. I had 2 drop bags for TRT and when I showed up to runner check-in there were people with SIX! I thought that just made things more stressful. Less stuff=less stress and less complication.
Looking at your course map, I found myself thinking "God that's only 3 hours away, I should go see Claire's race!" I got all excited about it, but the reality is that my husband would kill me if I stole another weekend for this racing stuff (he's a little tired of it right now.) Plus I think everyone looks the same on a bike and I would probably drive all that way and never figure out which one you were. That would suck.
Good luck, I will be pulling for you!!!!!
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