Ford Ironman Wisconsin : Official Thread (Page 48)

Good stuff...thanks.

Chamois cream, is that basically Vaseline?

I agree with Whizzzzz on keeping it simple. It's ok to pack the kitchen sink to take to Madison, but the best advice I ever got and something I swear makes my race much less stressful is packing only what is absolutely necessary in the T1, T2 and special needs bags. Don't pack a bunch of food if you aren't going to eat it and don't pack three changes of clothes. Check the weather on Saturday before bag drop and pack what is realistic.

I also visualize each event as I pack up the bag and literally go through the transition as I would do it so I know I haven't forgotten anything. It helps keep the stash to the minimum too. I don't really use special needs so I put "emergency" items in there like extra tubes, CO2, sunscreen, one snack item, more chamois cream/body glide and sunscreen. I have never gotten these bags back at WI so don't put your favorite arm warmers or jacket in there.

In 09 I forgot something simple but really important - the straw for my aero bottle. And since you don't have to put that in your gear bags, I didn't notice until 5:55pm and the local bike shop closed at 6. I had to beg them to let me in. So my other advice is to check all your gear no later than Saturday morning so you can go buy any last minute items stress free!

The athlete guide says that you can pick them up on Monday in the ballroom.  Was that the policy in the years you did not get them back?

I had the same experience last year, took about 5 minutes and got all my stuff back.  The boxes holding the stuff can be out of order but it is not a big deal.

I might take some old knee socks and use them as armwarmers. Disposable. I have some $40+ armwarmers and I love them, but I don't want to lose them!

Cut the feet off mine today! I did this for IMLP and it was perfect. It was cold and rainy at the start of the bike so I wore the knee socks and tossed them at an aid station about 50 miles in. If it's cold all day it's nicer to be in good arm warmers, but for a chilly bike start this works the best.

?I use Knee Socks from Target $1.00 and can ditch them at an aid station. I am sure I will do the same thing this year with the cool morning temps.

Safe travels all you participating this weekend!

We here on BT will be pulling for you.

Soak of the experience, have fun, nothing new on race day, and enjoy becoming an Ironman for the first or tenth time!

*BUMP*  I can't let IM Moo fall below any other IM thread, for goodness sake!!

It's YOUR day coming up very soon!!

For SN bags, tie something bright on the handle (yarn, ribbon, etc).  Makes it a lot easier to find them in the big rain-soaked stack of SN bags on Mon morning.

Also, I tell my kids I'll buy ice cream if they can find my SN bags.  Works every time