Special Needs Bags

Jonathan Brown

Hello All,

 Can you all give me some input on what to put in the Run and Bike Special needs bags?  Any thoughts would be good.

 

Jonathan

Woody Freese

I have seen everything from a back-up pair of shoes and socks (run bag) to PB&J sandwiches, spare tires & tubes, Gore-Tex jackets... the list is wide and incredibly varied!

Typically, for Bike Special Needs I carry all the food/sodium I need for the first half of the ride and put what I need for the second half of the ride in the BSN bag. Sometimes I will add a can of Coke or Pepsi to drink while riding thru the village. Given the number of flats I had in LP last year, I will likely add a spare tube or two and a spare CO@ cartridge or two this year. If I have used arm warmers on the first loop, I often drop them back in the bag with the empty gel flask and/or sodium container I carried on lap one. A clear rain jacket may be added to the bag, depending upon the forecast - it can change very, very quickly in the Adirondacks.

For the run, I generally will leave a long sleeve wicking shirt, in case the temperature drops. I would recommend putting any clothing/shoes (and/or items you don't want wet) in a zip-loc style plastic bag before putting it in rains, the items in the bags may get wet.

Given that I generally use the food/drink that is available on the course, I don't load up much in the RSN bag - sometimes a Power Bar, but little more.

It should be noted that you might not want to put anything in the bags that you cannot afford to lose. If bags are not picked up the night of the race, items are often brought to the transition area very early the next day - held for a couple of hours - and then disposed of. In years past, I have seen athletes searching thru the dumpsters next to the high school, trying to retrieve their favorite running vest or spare tires/tubs.

In addition to double-bagging items for Special Needs, I also double bag my T1 and T2 bags, as well as the Dry Clothes Bag. If it rains the night before, the racks are covered with plastic - this is not a guarantee that items will stay totally dry. It takes an extra 2 seconds to empty inner bag when you are in the change tent.

I am sure others will have great suggestions and thoughts -

Dino Sarti

At CdA my bike bag a extra tubes, Co2 and extra sunglasses. My run bag had socks, fresh shorts, more glasses and a long sleeve shirt. Both also had salt and advil. I never stopped to use either one...... I lived off the land nutritionwise and did need to waste time with the bags.

The "case of the missing sunglasses" had a profound effect on me....

cpainerun

For the bike special needs I like to have a bottle of Infinite in case I lose mine on a bump or something and a special treat to look forward to in case I'm having a rough spot (frozen mini snickers or a few chocolate covered expresso beans anyone?) If I am feeling good and don't need it-- no harm-- if something just isn't jiving, its a great pick me up or reward for working through it.

I haven't had a need for anything out of my special needs run yet, but typically keep a treat for reason above and if it there was a weather issue predicted , then I would put a shirt or something in there for that need

John Withrow

For BSN, I put a couple tubes (with valve extenders attached) 2 CO2s, old stick of body glide, sunscreen, and an insulated lunch bag that holds my 2nd bottle of slushy concentrated Infinit. And either a stinger waffle or Powerbar. But in the 3 IM races I've done so far, I have only swapped my bottle, grabbed the Powerbar and gone. Usually takes around 30 seconds of stopped time if you hurry. The tubes and CO2 are only there in case I flat in the first 56 miles so I can replace my on bike supplies at BSN.

For RSN, I put a change of socks, small thing of Vaseline, sunscreen, and an insulated lunch bag which holds my 2 new flasks of Infinit Napalm which will be my nutrition for the 2nd half of the run. I have only ever grabbed the nutrition. I've never touched the socks or sunscreen, etc. but I keep putting them in there for my 'just in case' piece of mind...