What & how to pack for a triathlon

IronMan 70.3InspirationGearTransitionsRace

1 Oct

This was my first triathlon event ever so you can imagine that I felt a bit overwhelmed when I got the 72 page long event guide from IronMan 70.3. This brochure was lengthy but incredibly helpful. I have to admit that even after reading it 3 times, I still had a few question mark in my head ;) Luckily, IronMan 70.3 Weymouth offered a Q&A on Instagram the day before which was so helpful.

Let’s have a look now, how the registration, bag preparation and bike racking works for IronMan 70.3 races and what I’ll do differently next time. Here we go…

Friday - Registration and bags preparation day

I don’t like to rush things, do them last minute or queue hours on end with the other 2,000 participants so I arrived on Friday and went to the Athlete Village to register and pick up my bags, stickers and BiB Number. I couldn’t believe that they really printed my name and the flag of my birth country on my BiB number! On Race Day I found out why: The spectators scream your name and cheer you own. It was incredible and such motivation :)
Afterwards, I felt overwhelmed again because they gave me so many things at the registration. Stickers, arm wrist band, three bags, a big bag and the list goes on. Luckily there was an instruction ready which exactly described where which of the ~8 stickers go. Here’s how I packed my bags…
Blue Bag: Everything I need for T1 (transition between the swim and bike ) and the bike ride itself, goes into the blue bag. Here’s a list of my things:
- Race belt with my BiB number on it
- Helmet
- Sun glasses
- Suncream
- Tissues
- Lush toe powder
- Socks
- Running shoes (because I don’t use clip-in shoes on my bike)
- Pump
- Long sleeve shirt
- Gloves
- Towel
- Buff
- Hair Tie
- Drops for an irritated tummy
- Nutrition-wise I wanted to be prepared as good as I can so I added every kind of flavour and texture of foods I know I can eat during cycling. I didn’t know what I will crave after the swim in the salty water so I had a selection of the following goodies with me:
  - Nakd bar (salted caramel)
  - SiS bar (red berry)
  - Eat Natural bar (cashew and chocolate)
  - MisFits bar (hazelnut chocolate)
  - Granola bar
  - Apple
  - Banana
  - Flask with water
Red Bag: The red bag is for T2 (transition between the bike and run) and what I need for the run.
- Suncream
- Running belt
- Tissues
- Compeed plaster
- Ibuprofen
- Another pair of glasses
- Socks
- Rain jacket
- Again, I had a collection of different flavours and textures with me so I could easily chose whatever I craved at that moment. Here’s the goodie list:
  - Nakd bar (salted caramel)
  - SiS bar (red berry)
  - Eat Natural bar (cashew and chocolate)
  - MisFits bar (hazelnut chocolate)
  - Crumble bar
  - Apple
  - Banana
  - Raisins and nuts
  - MyProtein gel (cherry)
  - Tailwind powder (caffeinated raspberry and pure berry)
  - Flask with water

**White Bag**
The white bag is for everything you’d like to have ready after the race. I only put in some fresh and warm clothes.

Saturday - Bike racking & bags placement day

On Saturday everyone has to rack their bike, blue and red bag.
The white bag needs to be placed into a truck on Race Day in the morning before you head to the swim start.
That was all done easily and quickly, however, I took my time to walk up and down the different areas: Bike Out, Bike In, Run Out, the way from the Swim to the transition, etc. I walked all these routes a few times and tried to memorize where I had to go and where my blue and red bags were located in the transition tent. You can imagine that with over 2,000 participants, it’s packed with bags.

Sunday - Race day

Getting up at 4:30 am, feeling energized, scared and ready to rock (all these feelings at the same time)
After my pre-race breakfast, I took the water bottles out of the fridge and I made my way to Transition and arrived there at 5:45 am (~1.5 hrs before the race start)
Getting my tires pumped up, placed my two bike bottles on the bike and put in my water bottles in each of the three bags. Yes, you’re allowed to fill the bags with fresh hydration and nutrition on Race Day but all the other stuff needs to be packed and racked the day before. And believe me, they take this very seriously at IronMan and check everything.
Then I went to the transition area, placed water bottles in my blue and red bag and (what was really cunning ;) ) I opened up the nutrition bars so I can easily take them from the back of my trisuit and eat them. Believe me, you really don’t want to start fiddling around opening energy bars while you’re cycling anything between 28 - 50 km/h.
On my way to the swim start, I placed my white bag in the truck which was moved to the finish area for us where we could pick it up after the race.

What I’ll do differently next time

Bring a head torch in the mornings so I can see something in the portable loo.
Bringing a small water bottle for the white bag so I can have a sip before the swim start.
If I’d have a supporter with me at the swim start, that’d be incredibly helpful because I could wear a jacket and shoes while I’m waiting in the cold for ~1.15 hrs before I finally get into the water.

That’s pretty much it. I knew what I needed nutrition- and hydration-wise because I tested it a lot in the last ~2-3 years of training.

As you can see I had everything twice with me and a lot of “just in case” things, such as extra layers of clothes in case the weather changes, additional nutrition, Compeed plaster and ibuprofen in case I’d need it, etc. I like to be prepared and I have to admit: It really worked out well for me.

Next up will be an article about the Race Day :) I can’t wait to tell you all about this life changing experience.

In the meantime, have a look at some pictures of the IronMan 70.3.

IronMan 70.3TriathlonGear

Tamara Miller