Bag o' Tricks

If you are a triathlete you have received (or bought) enough bags during your tri-life to send a family of five on a two week ski vacation, so why don’t you put one of those bags to good use on a daily basis?

Have you ever packed for your after work ride, run or swim only to get to the trails and realize, crap, you’ve forgotten your socks, visor, sunglasses, goggles or (ladies) your sports bra.  What oh what do you do?  Tell your training buddies you’re heading out for a beer and you’ll see them there after they finish their training?  I don’t think so. 

I used to belong do the Downtown YMCA.  I headed over for a lunchtime run one day only to realize I’d left my sports bra at home.  I had no time after work to get my run in, so it was now or never…what to do, what to do.  I stared at my locker for a bit and then pulled out my swimsuit.  I’ve seen plenty of women doing entire triathlons in swimsuits and never could figure out how it would be very comfortable.  So, I figured on this day of my forgetfulness, I might as well try something new in order to get my workout in.  I threw on my bathing suit, running shorts and a shirt and headed to the treadmill.  It was a HOT run, bathing suit material DOES NOT BREATH!  But I got my workout in.  If I hadn’t had that extra suit in my locker, I may not have gotten my workout in, which wouldn’t have made me very happy.

Yes, as a child, I was a Girl Scout and I still live by the motto “be prepared”.  I keep a bag in my car that I call my “bag o’ tricks”.  If I head out for a workout and realize I’ve forgotten something, my bag has a backup for almost everything I need in it.

Here are my contents:

-          Swimsuit

-          Swim Cap

-          Goggles

-          Contacts

-          Running shorts

-          Running shirt

-          Sports bra

-          Socks

-          Visor

-          Gym towel (can be used as a mini swim towel)

-          Jacket (winter)

-          Gloves (winter)

-          Ear warmer (winter)

-          Two produce bags (winter)…what are these for, you ask?  Ever forget your toe covers while riding in the winter?  Wrap a produce bag in the toes of your shoes and it helps a little.

Now I don’t have an old pair of bike shorts in there or running or cycle shoes, so if I forget certain things then I’m out of luck (I do carry about four pairs of sunglasses with me at all times, so I should never be short on those!), but I can pretty much pull off a workout with what’s in the bag if I have to.  I’d suggest adding things like body glide and Chapstick, but for those of us who live in hot climates it wouldn’t last a day without melting all over your extra gear.

Speaking of extreme summer heat…I have an extra helmet in the car too.  It’s one that came to its demise one hot summer day a couple years ago when I thought it was a good idea to leave it in the car (in direct sunlight) all day.  The case is melted, but it’s been used by multiple people when they’ve forgotten their helmet.  It’s a million times better than nothing!

As it turns out, I’ve used this bag more to loan things to people than for myself, but it has come in handy for myself every once in awhile.  Go through your plethora of bags and grab some old training gear that you don’t use often (don’t lie to yourself, each of us could probably put three of these bags together with all the extra gear we have) and create your own “bag o’ tricks”.  It will save your butt one day, or make you a hero to a training buddy that has forgotten their oh-so-important goggles.