Special Needs Bags?

Bike:

I packed a 6 inch baugette with Nutella and PB pretzels.

Run:

Those mini Aquaphor give-a-ways, can of Coke.

Everything else in the bags were standard... Extra gels, tubes, etc...

A note of inspiration?

On run nice to have something you look forward to food wise or to drink. First IM I had quite a selection of food choices in my run special needs..picked pita chips and gum.

If you will be running after the dark, long sleeve shirt/jacket/vest and perhaps a light that attaches to hat.

x2
I had my family members and training partners each write me a note on a 3x5 index card. Most of the writing was done at dinner the night before, but my parents had gathered other notes from family members who couldn't make it. I put them (without reading them!) in a Ziplock snack-sized baggie in my Run Special Needs bag. It was a huge motivation to get to SN so I could start reading them. I had 23 or 24 total, so I let myself read 2 cards at every mile marker on the 2nd half. I can't tell you how much they helped... I laughed and cried and read them over and over, so grateful for the support I had, even from people who couldn't be there. I highly recommend it.

Pic of all of my cards after the race

Edited by lisac957 2010-10-11 11:17 AM

First of all, check to see if you will be able to recover your SN bags. Some races you can, some will tell you upfront you won't get those bags or contents back.

However, even if you can get them back, don't ever put anything in those bags you can't live without (either on race day or after!!) - in particular, SN bags get beat up, ripped opened, spilled on, etc as they are moved around.

Good ideas here so far, but I kept it really simple...

Bike SN - new 3-hour fuel bottle.  That was all for me, and I stopped to get that new bottle.
Run SN - a mini Body Glide stick, and a long sleeve shirt in case I was out there longer than anticipated.  That was all, and I didn't need to stop for either of those things in the race.

Cheers, Chris



Edited by Hydro 2010-10-11 11:33 AM

I love that idea!  I hope I remember it for next year!!

For my IM's:
Bike: 2 inner tubes and 2 CO2's, extra salt tabs, maybe warmer clothes/rainwear if forecast calls for it. I keep a stash of crappy throwaway clothes for this very purpose b/c they may not be returned. I usually stop for the salt tabs as a precaution.

Run: more salt tabs, bodyglide or other lubricant. warm clothes/rainwear if in forecast. I've never picked up a run bag.

Jamie

Be a maverick and don't have "special needs".  Eat and drink what they provide on the course...live off the land.

I never understood the special needs bags anyway.  Maybe I'm just low matainance but everything I need is on my bike or at the aid stations.  The idea of stashing a Snicker's bar or spare tube or dry socks just seemed like cheating to me.  Yeah, yeah, I know it's legal....just seems like a unecessary crutch to me.

~Mike

I think the spare bike stuff is always a good idea.  You bring the stuff you need with you; the stuff in the SN bag is insurance / to replace stuff you already used.

I plan my race as if I'm not going to use the SN bag.  But I still pack it just in case.  CdA last June, I recall someone who was on the roadside fixing her 3rd flat of the day.  The odds are slim but I'll stick to the "be prepared" motto.

Tubes and such were specifically prohibited in the IMKY rules.  The rules clearly said "ONLY food or drink" may be put in the special needs bags.  I carry two tubes plus some tiny patches.  If I have 3+ flats, I will beg one from another rider or find the bike techs roaming the course and get one from them.

You reach a point where you just have to accept that 'you've done everything you can reasonably do' and put yourself out there.  You don't NEED any special motivation or added inspiration to complete your race.  You trained for the distance and you are gonna do it.  Period.  If you need additional inspiration or motivation, look within.  Find it within yourself.  If you need special food or a cheesburger then I guess use a special needs bag. 

The SN bags are just one more dang thing to worry about.  Some people have T1, T2, morning of race bag, bike special needs bag and run special needs bag - 5 bags!!!  OMG, it was so nice at my race to only have a T1 and a T2 bag and throw the rest of them in the trash.  Again, I'm low matainance and like to keep things simple!







If I put a snorkel in my SN bag, is that cheating?

I don't even want to think about what you plan on doing with the snorkle on your bike or run but that would be a direct violation of the rules for IMKY....unless of course, you plan to eat it.

~Mike

Edited by Rogillio 2010-10-11 1:59 PM

When SN bags are allowed, use them within the race-specific rules. Or not.

For many of us, an IM (or any 140.6 race) may very well turn out to be a once-in-a-lifetime event.  For anyone doing their first IM (regardless of whether there will be more in the future or not), it would be foolish not to take every reasonable & allowable precaution to ensure you cross that line.

For some of us, that means quite a bit of safety & even motivational stuff in the SN bags. Others, it's not much in there.  And still others, nothing at all.

It's a personal choice.

But this "crutch" notion of SN bags gets really old.  If you use aid stations on the course, but then come back and poo-poo the idea of SN bags as a crutch, that's just plain hypocritical.

It's no more of a crutch than waiting for an assist vehicle.  Using either one eats into your time

I'm a little surprised at the restrictions placed by IMKY... seems like you'd want people to be able to deal with their own mechanical issues.

NM

Edited by Rogillio 2010-10-11 2:13 PM

x2

Not sure why people feel the need to criticize the use of a bag the race provides for you, in such a condescending mannor.
OP asked for "creative ideas" - not a dissertation on why NOT to use SN bags.



Edited by lisac957 2010-10-11 2:18 PM

I'm sorry you and others find my opinions on special needs bags use condescending, critical, hypocritcal.  I believe one should trust their training and not think there is some secret 'thing' they can put in their special needs bag that is going to save the day or make the race easier to finish.  Certainly on the open forum of internet one might not always get the answer they were looking for but I did not mean to hijack the thread.  Believe  it or not, I was offering what I thought (and still think) is good advice for an IM.  Take it or leave it.

~Mike

just try to keep it a simple as possible.  I never used mine but had a candy bar, some dry socks, a long sleeve T, and I think some tums in my run SNB.  Could have used the dry socks but they would not have stayed dry for long.  The thing is, on that run a lot can happen and you could be feeling really bad.  There might be something you want just in case you get to the point you need a psychological boost.  But you should be able to find anything you need out on the course.

As someone else mentioned, see if you get them back or not, might make a difference.

For the Bike SN, I put in an extra tube and a CO2, as well as an extra bottle of dry Infinit.  Didn't stop for it

For the run, I put in extra socks, and even a pair of shoes!    I sweat like a P.I.G. pig here at home, and my shoes get wet on long rungs.  Not in dry Arizona.  But I did switch socks.  I also put in a long sleeve shirt and I think maybe a payday or something, but didn't use them.  I actually stopped at the run SN twice, first for the socks, the second time to drop of my bottle of infinit that i couldn't stand any more.

That's very cool Lisa!  My favorite (well, the only one I can read) is "Run B*tches!" 

I also brought sunscreen... although that's certainly something you could put in your regular transition bag(s) instead of SN.

Clearly if you aren't trained, no special food or note is going to help. The OP wasn't asking if having a special food would make up for a lack of training or make his day easier.

For ME, the notes from my family that I took from my SN bag at mile 13 of the run made me smile, laugh, and tear up a little. I allowed myself to read a couple every mile, and it gave me a little boost when I was really starting to hurt. They ranged from old family funny stories to serious stuff to silly stuff (the longer you take, the drunker we'll all be!).

Having bug spray in SN run was REALLY helpful --- the mosquitoes in Cozumel at dusk were BRUTAL!

Also - it's not cheating if it's allowed on the course.

Edited by trishie 2010-10-11 5:04 PM

I have not read all of the posts. I include a (Wisp?) travel toothbrush. It has a toothbrush on one end and toothpick on the other. I also have one on the bike. It really helps freshen your mouth after a long day of IM Perform.

The OP has many suggestions for stuff to put in his bags.  He also now knows of at least one 2-time IM finisher who did not use them.  So he has options.  To me, the decrease in logistics hassle trumps the risk one might mitigate by putting something that might be needed in the bags.


~Mike