There are a lot of small details to remember on race day.  I always seem to forget something that should be easy to remember. Luckily the small details that I forgot on Saturday, did not have consequences for my race.

The first thing I forgot was to lubricate my neck with either BodyGlide or TriSlide.  Forgetting to do this had zero impact on my race, but for the past two days, my neck would have appreciated me paying attention to this detail.  My neck was rubbed raw by my wetsuit.  I have bad chaffing, but I chose not use a photograph of my neck for today’s blog.  I will spare you that look.

The photograph I did chose, shows my second ‘mistake’.  Can you see it?  This is me at the mount line of the bike leg.  What you shouldn’t see, is my face.  It should be behind my helmet visor.  I put my helmet on in transition, but forgot to take the visor off the top of the helmet and put in place in front of my eyes.

As soon as I started riding my bike, I realized my mistake.  I thought about trying to reposition the visor while riding my bike.  It would probably have been OK, but I was surrounded by other athletes.  I didn’t want to potentially weave about while making adjustments, so I pulled to the side of the road, stopped for a few seconds, and got things squared away. I lost maybe 15 seconds; basically nothing to make sure I was safe from any potential disaster for my race.

I am sure I will remember these small details at my next race. I just hope I don’t forget something else that has bigger consequences.