As my race day is fast approaching, I’ve been working on my packing list, and while I will be sharing the ridiculousness of that in a future post, I thought I would share my current favorite gear and products that will be getting me through this race.

Like last year, this year I’m racing in a Coeur Sports kit.  I absolutely love my Coeur kits.  I wrote about them previously, but the tri shorts are phenomenal.  No seams to rub in awkward places and no super thick padding to make you feel like you’re running in a diaper.  For me, the fit of the kit is perfect – no awkward shifting and my shirt doesn’t ride up leaving me with the dreaded lower back sunburn tramp stamp.

I am never getting away with a built in bra, so I wear an ENELL bra underneath.  I have been asked before if I have any issues with the ENELL not drying during a tri, and I haven’t noticed any issues, but during the last race I did, I was shoving ice into my bra, and the race before was during a rainstorm, so who knows.  But I also don’t feel like any parts of my kit truly dry during a race.  My ENELL is great because it keeps everything in place, and I love the shape.  (And there’s a new color coming out next month too!) My Coeur kit is racer back style, so while my ENELL shows, it doesn’t look terribly out of place.  I just always have to make sure that I’m coordinating my colors!

I can’t say I have a favorite pair of socks, but I’m a Hoka One One shoe fan through and through.  With Lock Laces for easy wearing.

Nutrition and hydration wise, I started using Tailwind this season and am a huge fan.  I normally drink lemon lime, but am experimenting with some of the caffeinated flavors.  I discovered that on long rides, I need something solid as well, so my bento box holds a few whole wheat lemon bar cookies and some gummy candies.  Tailwind is my main fuel, the rest just sort of keeps me motivated.  Get to mile 20 and you can have some candy, get to mile 25 and you can have a cookie, etc.  I’m easily entertained.  I also use Base Electrolyte Salt.  I used to use salt capsules, but I like not having to swallow a pill while racing, and I like that taking a lick of salt from my thumb cuts the sweetness of the other things I’ve consumed during the ride/run.  Some people claim it’s overpriced and that salt from the grocery store works just as well.  All I know is that this works for me, and at the rate I use it, I can afford to splurge a little bit.

There’s plenty of other stuff I use on race day, but these are the big key elements and brands I recommend to friends.  Obviously, a bike is also hugely important, and while I love my Felts, the key on bikes is to get something in your price range that fits you.  Bike fit is so important and so painfully ignored by many.

I’m sure in a few months, I will have all sorts of new products to share with you, but this is what will get me through Augusta!

OpenClipart-Vectors / Pixabay

The next two weeks of my training schedule are a bit screwy, specifically with regards to swimming.  As we’re nearing the end of the summer (at least in terms of school starting back up and such), the county indoor pools, where I normally swim, are closed for maintenance, so three of the outdoor pools have opened up for early morning lap hours.

One of the outdoor pools is actually closer to my house and is a 50 meter pool, so I prefer it, but normally, they don’t have early lap hours, so early morning swims are out.

So this week, I was excited!  It was a change in my routine, and the outdoor pool doesn’t really have a locker room where I can get ready for work, so it meant going home after swim instead of straight to work, but that’s okay!

I misjudged the traffic and got to the pool about 10 minutes before the 6am opening.  Not a big deal.  But then there’s no movement inside.  6:00 hits.  Nothing.  I think maybe they’re waiting til 6:15, when the attached indoor pool opens.  Nope.  So I go venturing over to the indoor pool building.  Nothing there, just a sign saying they’re closed with an arrow pointing to the outdoor pool entrance.  So I go back over. There’s another guy waiting there too.

Then I notice something.  There are PEOPLE IN THE POOL!  How did they get in?  I am smart, I can figure this out.

Turns out that the pool is open, but rather than open any of the entrances, one of the side gates is open and you can just walk in.  Awesome.  So I get my workout started about 30 minutes late.  At least there’s a lane available to share.

Then my lane partner leaves and this guy joins me and he hits me no less than 11 times during my workout.  Because he had to do this weird backstroke the whole time.  Jerk.