The training is done and it’s time to pack!!

I don’t have a lot of time tonight and have NO BUSINESS blogging. It was the first day of school, I’ve been up since way too early and I really need to get to bed but I started pulling my stuff out and thought I’d just post quickly about how to pack for a destination race.

An embarrassingly large portion of my half and full marathons have been run not right here in Dallas (where, btw, certain times of the year a race can be found literally every Saturday and Sunday) but in far off places like Anaheim, Chicago and (of course) Orlando. So packing for a race has become “old hat” as they say. But it wasn’t always that way. In fact, I would say it wasn’t until my 7th or 8th race away from home that I started to relax and trust that I knew what I was doing.

Here are some things I’ve learned:

Don’t try to pack for the whole trip in one setting. I break it up into a “running stuff” packing session and a “normal stuff I need to live while I’m gone” packing session. I am, you see, very easily overwhelmed and if I compartmentalize it I am much less stressed. I even own a set of these little beauties:

Rick Steves Travel Cubes

And they are ONLY for the running stuff. OCD you say? Perhaps. But when I get to my hotel I take great relief in knowing that I checked, and double checked and triple checked that it was all there. You see, “real life” stuff I can get at Target. My running stuff? Well let’s just say I like what I like and spending half a day hunting down the particular kind of socks I like doesn’t sound fun to me the day before a race. Yes, the Expo carries a lot of running gear but the lines can be long and by the time I get there on Friday may be picked over so I’m not taking ANY chances.

When I was gathering all my stuff over the weekend (yes, I start very early but during the work/school week there is no time for shopping so if something needed to be purchased, Saturday was all I had!) I could not find my Minnie Mouse hair bow. This was not the end of the world (and not likely to effect my performance;) but I do love the way it looks out the back of my Nike running hat.

So while I was searching for the bags above, I found an old drop bag where I had dumped all my stuff from my last RunDisney race and score! Hurray! Found not only my bow but some fun, unused samples!!

Looks like the weather will be dry and slightly warm but nothing compared to what we’ve trained in here in the Lone Star state so here are the outfits that are coming with:

I’ll choose for sure once I get there, but the outfit on the far left is most likely what I will be in for the 10K and then my “actually worn way more than one would think” Minnie outfit for the half. It’s hard to see in this photo, but the yellow top on the far left is from Raw Threads and has BELLE on the front and this on the back

It’s very fun! I’ve never run in it before which is a big no-no but heck, it’s only a 10K. Hopefully I won’t live to regret that . . . .Oh, and the blue skirt is from Sparkle Skirts. Love them. And I love that I can wear my own compression shorts (from Athleta with pockets!) that I love underneath.

So here are the shoes- Merrell Dash Glove 2

Which I have now worn 4 times and I feel like are sufficiently broken in. I did get a blister the first long run in them so I’ll be taping that up to be on the safe side. Hasn’t bothered me again so it may have actually been my sock. Fingers crossed on that one! I’m bringing my old shoes as well as they still have some life in them and should these give me trouble for the 10K, I can use my old ones for the half. Minimalist shoes don’t really wear out the way regular ones do, the the old ones will work just fine.

So let’s see – running outfits, shoes, Body Glide, socks, compression sleeves (which I may or may not wear – they bother me if it’s too warm), running bras, Minnie Hair bow, Nike running hat (X2 since they get really gross and sweaty), plus Bondi Bands because if it’s REALLY warm I’ll wear that under my hat, Nathan Quick Draw water bottle (which I’ll most likely only use for the half – I trust Disney water stops and for a 10K shouldn’t be an issue), NUUN (which I just started using and love) and that’s it! I think. Oh, and a tote bag to carry my stuff at the Expo – I find the drop bags too weird to carry around and I feel better when my stuff is in a tote. I don’t know why.

So that’s the RUNNING part of packing. The rest of my packing is the same for any trip so doesn’t require any special instruction. And I’m just going to Anaheim, not the moon, so if I forget hair spray or something I’m sure the Disneyland Hotel gift shop would be glad to hook me up.

If you’re getting ready to go, I’ll see you there! And if you’re looking forward to a Disney or other destination race later in the year, good luck finishing your training! If you want to follow along in real time come like the FB page as that’s where I’ll be posting all the pics and thoughts from the race weekend first – Running Pastor Mom on FB! Or you can follow me on Twitter where I’m @JenLefforge. It’s going to be a fantastic weekend win/loose/draw/PR or DNF. Because it’s a blessing to be able to train and it’s a MAJOR blessing to be able to travel to great races like the Disneyland Half!! And no matter what happens during the race, you still get a celebratory dinner and to remember that your for sure lapping everybody on the couch!

Happy Running!!

Jen