Relay Check List

Oh boy, not mentioning sports AT ALL in yesterday's post was kind of tough, especially because I am soooooo excited about the Palmetto200 starting in less than 36 hours*!

*Our team has a 9AM start time Friday... How we ended up with such an early slot and a projected average of a 9 minute/mile... I have no clue. The advantage of such a "late" start time is, that we can get up at a decent hour Friday morning!

Having several races under my belt, gives me some experience on what I am having with me for a race. If I have to travel to a race, I take several outfits with me to decide in the morning, what I feel like and when I get a better feel for the temps and general weather conditions. A relay brings on several additional points to consider when packing your stuff:

1. three legs = three outfits
2. weather conditions can vastly differ due to extended time of the race, day and night running, traveling a route of 200 (in this case) from the Midlands to the Low Country
3. limited space (I say this even though we'll have much more space this time because we are going to rent two HUGE vans)

When it comes to the clothes, I will work with versatile pieces, arm/leg warmers and bright colors. But of course the packing goes way beyond the clothes, so I better start a check list to make sure I won't forget anything (in no particular order):

• three versatile running outfits (I will spare you the details, you'll see on the pictures)
• three pairs of running socks
• recovery socks
• two pairs of running shoes (in case a pair gets wet)
• Birkenstock's for in between runs
• hat and shades
• sunscreen and bug spray
• running fanny pack (for cell phone, b/c we'll be running in the middle of nowhere)
• RoadID
• Garmin
• inflatable camping mat, sleeping bag and pillow (oh yes!)
• one "going out" outfit for after the finish line
• bathing suit (the finish line is right on the beach! ;-) and small towel
• baby wipes (for a quick clean-up in between the runs)
• hand-held water bottle, blok shots (for emergencies) and TUMS
• race belt
• reflective vest and reflective ankle bands
• head lamp, red and white bike lamps, batteries for the lamps
• van markers for a little decoration
• team t-shirt
• bathroom tissue b/c you never know how the porta john's look like
• GPS for the car
• description of my legs to memorize on the drive down there
• camera and transfer cable b/c I will try to blog from the road from a team mates laptop
• print-outs with hotel directions and confirmation numbers

That looks like an awful lot of stuff... But I kinda doubt I will be able to thin this out.... Just glad that we have a big van this time! ;-)

I AM SOOOO EXCITED!!!















Didn't I tell you that a post without a pic is just not complete! ;-)