Leaving my comfort zone

My first tri, years ago, was an Olympic distance in Washington DC, about 4-5 hours south of NY. An out-of-town race can be quite an adventure and a little bit scary.

Just do your training and think through the logistics of getting there, where you are staying and how you will get around. Roll with any changes and set backs due to the logistics and you'll do just fine.

I think driving has an advantage over flying in that you can really pack the car, including things that you just might need.

I travel to almost 100% of my races, most of them by air! There just isn't anything in Saigon beyond the occasional road race. I think the most important thing is packing everything you will need plus a few spares/extras if something gets lost or breaks down, or weather conditions change unexpectedly. This website has a nice checklist that you can print out and even customize according to your needs, or you can create your own checklist based on the one here. It's much easier and stress-free to just follow a list so you have everything you need before, during, and after the race, rather than just practically cram what you think you need into your car!

I'd always make sure to bring snacks/food for after the race. Not sure about others, but a few hours after an event I tend to get ravenously hungry and "hangry". And races almost always happen on weekends, when restaurants can be pretty busy, plus they may be crammed with other hungry/hangry athletes. I always try to have some serious snacks with staying power (not just carbs but some healthy fat and protein) to give me the energy to drive back, take my bike apart and get to the airport, or at least get somewhere to eat something more substantial.

Edited by Hot Runner 2017-12-17 7:16 PM

Thanks for the tips!

I"m pretty much a 100% travel racer. Great way, great excuse, to travel places and see them from not just the normal spots. My advice would be:
1. Make sure you plan to spend a little extra money. You will forget something or need emergency repair or something else will come up.
2. If you fly, be aware that Homeland Security Regs don't allow CO2 cartridges on airplanes in the USA. I'm on a list somewhere because of that.

Was going to mention that. Actually pretty much no airlines anywhere (that are worth flying on, at least) allow CO2 canisters.

Good to know, although I am not planning on flying to races this (next) year, maybe one day I will and I’ll have more questions then.

For now, I will take my van (which I bought 3 years ago with that purpose in mind) and drive 2 to 3 hours to get there and stay I at hotel nearby (will have to book way in advance I guess).

The thing about racing at home is that I am familiar with the course, I even train there so know it by heart. What do you do when you are in an unknown place? Go with the flow hoping it will be well indicated and/or you can follow another athlete who knows where they are going? Or should I ride/walk the course the day before? It’s a sprint, so there would be time I guess. To put my mind at rest.

If possible I would ride/walk/jog the course for sprint or Olympic. Sometimes longer races will offer a bus tour of the course for those who flew in and don't have a car, or have a "virtual tour" video. At the very least, make sure you have studied the map, gone to the briefing, and walked through transition.

Do as I say, not as I do.....In several cases, I have raced courses I've never seen, mostly because of lack of time or transport. In one case, I never even saw T2 until I went through it. Usually things worked out okay; in one case (70.3 Worlds in Australia) not so much. (Missed a key turn on the bike course and ended up riding an extra 10 km loop). It pays to preview the course if at all possible!

I just look at the course map and an elevation profile (if there's a lot of ups and downs) and that's it. But I kind of view discovering the course as part of the fun of race day.... which makes me a bit of a weirdo outlier, I suppose.

That’s one way to look at it I suppose but there isn’t time to enjoy the view during a sprint and with my legendary (lack of) sense of direction, I think I will ride the course the day before not to have to worry about it on race day.