Road Trip

On Saturday, the Wife and I will be road tripping it to beautiful, sunny Cancun Oklahoma. The forecast is for temps in the mid-60s. Good. No, Great! Beach weather compared to New England. Unfortunately, there are zero beaches in the entire state, according to certain resources. No beaches, fine. I'll be biking and running. Plus, there's something that Oklahoma has that no other state in the union can boast: the Banter-in-Law and family.

The BIL is a legitimate triathlete (unlike Darwin, Mendeleev, and Newton who are honorary triathletes). He started triathloning a couple of years ago and hasn't stopped since. I truly enjoy(ed) watching him obsess and grow (or shrink, he's a former clydesdale). He ain't done yet. He's as motivated as any athlete I've ever seen. We'll often discuss training and racing strategies. The BIL is the only member of the family that can handle the Banter in triathlon speak. In fact, he seems to relish in it. He'll forward on some concerns about equipment/ training/ aches and pains and I'll do my best to offer up the best advice I can muster. This is going to be a great trip. I get to see family and workout. Win/Win.

As the voyage deadline approaches, I am finding my stress levels climbing. I am concerned about the implied competition with another triathlete obsessing about all the things I need to pack between now and then. Such as:

Required Packing Items:

• Wife
• BanterDog
• Big Dog (the non-running dog, more on him later)
• Wife's stuff (not sure what that means yet)
• Nourishment (people and doggie)
• Espresso Maker (more on this later)
• Pillow
• Street clothes (both Wife's and Banter's)
• Toiletries
• Banter (yup, dead last on the list)

There's a lot more to consider when embarking on an exercation (exercise + vacation).

Packing Training Clothes
-Do I bring my cold weather biking stuff (booties, bibs, lobster gloves, earmuffs, wool socks, thermals)?
-Do I bring running pants or just shorts?
-Long-sleeved or short-sleeved jerseys/ running tops?
-Do I pack my full swim bag or just the suit and goggles?
-How many shorts for each discipline?

Which Bike?
-Do I bring my aluminum road?
-My carbon tri?
-Aerobars on my road bike?
-Training wheels or race wheels?
         (leaning towards training as OK is a full-sized wind tunnel experiment and bike skills are literally in the basement)
-Aero Helmet or regular one?

How many shoes are enough?
I do not wear my running shoes except when running. So add sneakers to the list, and then:
-Regular bike shoes or tri-bike shoes?
-I just bought the Saucony Mirage and so far love them. But I haven't done much Mirage Mileage. Do I take advantage of OK to break them in?
-Do I also bring my Mizuno Wave Riders, which are well broken in?
-Or, just the Mizuno's and save the Saucony's for racing?
-I'm addicted to my Vibram Five Fingers and have 2 pairs. I don't run in them (at least not yet, more on this later). Do I bring them both, one, or none?
-Sandals? Especially for showering after a swim, should we decide to pool swim (see comment above on beaches).

Jackets
The high temps are predicted to be in the 60s, but the lows will be considerably cooler. I'll have my NY jacket but may need workout jackets for running/ biking.
-Shell jacket or wind breaker?
-Separate for biking and running?
-Rain jacket? (Long range forecasts are unreliable, rain is always a threat)

Accessories
-The Garmin and HR monitor (I should put this on the required list)
-Timex watch for pool swimming?
-Bike lube? Wet or dry?
-Bike tools?
-Pump?
-How many spare tubes/ CO2?
-Body Glide?
-Wet suit? (I hear that OK has some outdoor holes filled water, not quite a 'beach')
-Nutrition? Bars, gels, powders?
-Sunscreen?

After all this, I still feel like I'm missing something. I've got the swim, bike, and run stuff covered, right? What else? Further, where do I put it all? Some of this stuff will be covered by the BIL, so that helps out. I have a box that I can put on top of the SUV and a bike rack for the back. It may not be enough. I'm assuming that the space limitations will dictate the amount of essentials I will bring. What do I eliminate? So many decisions.