Most of us have dealt with the affliction from time to time; some of us more often than we would like to admit.  The symptoms begin subtly but are soon too strong to ignore:

You know the entire REI staff by name.  They look the other way when they see you coming.

The bike shop is the most dialed number on your cell phone this week, followed closely by that of a long distance teammate.  You hope to have a bit of prize money in hand when your spouse sees the phone bill.

Your co-workers keep asking why you are so “out of it” the week before your “vacation.”  You tried to explain last time but were so overwhelmed by questions about your best time in the mile and whether you thought you could finish a marathon that you decided to go incognito this time.

Recreational cyclists watch, aghast, as you, laden with a backpack, lights, map board, seven water bottles, and a paddle, ride back and forth along the bike path, making an adjustment every 50 meters.  Their incredulity increases when you ask their kid to hang on to the dog leash attached to your bike seat to determine whether it functions properly.

You have checked and re-checked the airline website in an effort to determine whether an extra bag or overweight bag costs more.  You’re having recurring nightmares about seizure of your “carry on bag” and “personal item” because they are really a large racing backpack and a slightly smaller racing backpack.  You have no idea whether or not that nice check-in person who put your bike on for free last time will be there again, but you’ve spent some extra time on your knees next to your bed at night, just in case.

You’re sleep deprived, already, and your spouse keeps asking about what exactly you have been spending so much time on (you ask yourself the same thing after tinkering for hours) and why the lawn isn’t mowed.

Recalling that the race also includes physical elements, you finally get around to a bit of training well after dark.

It’s Week Before You Leave for the Race Scrambling Like Crazy Syndrome, and sometimes it’s almost harder than the race itself!  As I prepare to head out for the Best of the West AR in Canada next week, I hope these tips might provide a bit of guidance towards what—or what not—to do during that big week before PQ in August.

1.      Remember the essentials. While racing, I always carry the following items within reach: small tube of Sportslick, electrolyte pills, ibuprofen, chapstick, sunscreen (I like the small sample pouches made by Protech), safety pins, a small tube of toothpaste (sloshing around a bit in the mouth with some water a few times a day seems to decrease mouth sores), and some sort of caffeine.  At transitions, I plan for easy access to more Sportslick (the importance of this product in battling blisters and chaffing cannot be overstated), a headnet for bugs, and diaper rash cream, which usually becomes a team favorite and necessary carry on item after a day or two.
2.      Read those e-mails. If your team is like ours, you probably have dozens of e-mail threads spread out over the last six months.  Checking up on conversations about gear and strategy is important; pity the poor soul who forgets the tent and strobe he promised to bring late one night in February.
3.      “There’s those thinkin’, more or less, less is more.” Eddie Vedder had it right in composing these words for the Into the Wild soundtrack.  Although making a list and checking it twice is important, getting to a race location and having too much junk to schlep around can be a hassle.  Having too many choices slows transitions.
4.      Check and Test Your Lights. While I have been lucky enough to use bomb-proof, super-light biking and trekking lights from AYUP (an Australian company, ayup.com.au), I still check each light and battery before a big race.
5.      It’s a balancing act. I may have set a world record for tinkering yesterday.  Several trips to the bike shop, failed tubeless tire conversion attempts, trying to get my two-piece paddle separated again (if you live in the area, there happens to be a guy with an iron grip at the paddling shop downtown who finally fixed it), messing around with this and that, trying to figure out which clothes to bring, etc.  At the end of the day, I had to remind myself that I would only spend more time preparing when I actually arrive at the race site, so everything probably does not need to be completely prepped.  I realized that I could leave reading the watch instruction manual for the plane ride and final bike adjustments for after the plane ride, when things get tweaked anyway.  Also, keeping family in mind before the race is crucial as well.
6. Oh yeah, possibly most importantly…if there’s ever a time to go nuts on ice cream, brownies, and other goodies, this is it.  Go for it, and remember that all of this stuff is “fun”!

Good luck out there,

Travis Macy

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This entry was posted on Monday, June 22nd, 2009 at 9:34 am and is filed under Primal Quest. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.