The OCD Triathlete: Organizational Tips

So, this post was inspired by Ironman By Thirty's post  in which he had a plethora of nutritional goodies and no organizational method to the madness.

We as triathletes are well known for carrying alot of "baggage."  It's as if every time we head out for a weekend race we are packing for an entire family of four going on a two week vacation.  Sound familiar?

Well, for those of you who are organizationally challenged and need a little help in sorting/storing/traveling all your equipment, have no fear; I am here to help!

I am extremely OCD when it comes to clutter and living with my "horizontal filer", Matt, I have learned to be a little more creative when it comes to our triathlon gear.  Two times the triathletes is equivalent to 10 times more "stuff."  And, if it were up to Matt, we would be traveling with our gear shoved in plastic grocery bags.

You laugh.  For a year this was my reality as a Giant Eagle bag was literally Matt's transition bag. I think BDD might remember this all too well ;)

So, here are some tips/tricks and suggestions when it comes to organizing your triathlon "stuff".  Hopefully you will find this helpful and find that it makes life a lot easier in the long run.  If nothing else, you will come to realize what an OCD Engineerd I really am ;)

Nutrition: stored in our pantry in a three drawer Tupperware container.  If you  purchase in bulk,  use a cupboard that is less accessible to store the "overflow" and replenish the Tupperware drawers as necessary.

Bottom Drawer: This drawer is filled with protein and energy bars.  Typically Matt and I use this type of nutrition prior to or after a workout, but not during.

Middle Drawer: This drawer is filled with gummies.  Everything from Honey Stinger Gummies to PowerBar Energy Blasts can be found in this drawer.  Typically Matt and I use this nutrition on our long bike rides.

Top Drawer:  This drawer is filled with a plethora of gels.  Matt is big on Hammer Gel while I prefer Honey Stinger and Gu.  None-the-less this is mainly our run nutrition drawer. 

Drink Mixes:  Our lazy susan is the home for our drink mixes.  If you use Infinite or Myoplex you will find that it comes in  bags.  These are not only bulky and hard to store, but they are a mess to use as powder typically ends up everywhere when you try to reseal the bag.  I have found that Tupperware containers designed for cereal are the way to go for powder storage.  Also note that I have color coded labeled the containers: Matt's drink mix is in green and my drink mix is in silver.  BTW I love my label maker ;)

Swim Gear:  In the winter when we hit the pool our swim gear resides in our pool bags which hang in the laundry room above the sink.  Matt has his own bag and I have my own bag.  This way we know where our stuff is and it provides a means of drip drying without mess.

Running Shoes:  Our running shoes reside in the garage on a designated shoe rack.  This is actually only half of our running shoe collection.  We could probably stand to have His and Her shoe racks at this point. (Have you ever seen so many Brooks shoes in one location?)

Wet Suits:  Our wet suits hang up in the garage (next to our Carharts).  We installed this simple wire closet rack about three years ago and it was one of the best ideas yet.  No need to bring the sandy wet suits inside.  Just hose them off and hang them up in the garage.  (You can also see our additional shoe bag hanging on this rack).

The Coup de Grâce: This is the mother of all triathlon purchases and  probably the single best purchase Matt and I have made (in my opinion).  It's our designated triathlon cabinet!  

Bulky Gear:  Inside our designated triathlon cabinet you will find triathlon gear storage at its finest!   The top shelf is the host of our bike helmets and a Tupperware bin filled with miscellaneous parts (extra bike seats, helmet visors, water bottle holders, etc.)...mainly the "stuff" we don't use anymore, but don't want to part with.

The right side of the cabinet is where we hang our spare bike tires, fuel belts, and race belts.  In the summer we also hang our swim bags here.

The left side of the cabinet is sorted into three shelves and three Tupperware bins:

The top bin contains our mechanical bike gear.  These are the necessities you need to take with you every time you travel with your bike: extra tubes, chain cleaner, lube, tire levers, Allen wrenches, etc.  That way we are prepared for any type of mechanical bike failure anywhere we go.

The middle bin contains miscellaneous swim gear from extra caps and goggles to cans of Tri-Slide and sunscreen.  In the summer we ditch the pool bags for this Tupperware container and also store our wet suits in it when we travel.

The bottom bin contains all our bike equipment: helmets, sunglasses, riding gloves, Bento Boxes, Speedfill Bottles, Butt Butter, Body Glide, Biofreeze, sunscreen, riding shoes, etc.

I also get to have a designated location for all my tri -stickers.  I love stickers, but I hate sticking them on things (like my car).  I actually don't mind putting them all on the inside of the cabinet door.  

The Mechanical Bike Bin

The Swimming Bin

The Bike "Stuff" Bin

The idea of having separate Tupperware bins for all your gear is ingenious to me.  It's so simple to have everything in one spot and just grab the boxes and go when you are traveling.  It's also much easier to pack your car with Tupperware bins than trying to shove bags of stuff everywhere without having stuff fall out all over the place and trying to remember what gear you put in what bag.

Workout and Race Clothes:  Matt and I have separate designated tri-clothes bins in our closet.  His is on the left and mine is on the right.  The bottom drawer is for all things spandex: bike shorts, tri tops, etc.  The middle drawer is for running shorts.  The top drawer is for tech tees and running shirts.  On top I keep our winter running hats and gloves as well as a spare can of Tri-Slide and our heart rate monitors.  Everything is in one spot so we know right where to find it.

Running Hats and Visors:  Next to our tri-clothes bins  I created an area for all of our running hats and visors.  This was so easy to do and I didn't even have to put holes in the wall.  All I did was hang six 3M hooks that you can find in any local store (Target, WalMart, etc.)  They are super easy to hang and peel off without a mess.

Winter Bike Room:  I figured I'd throw this in for shits and giggles.  If you note, we have the bikes sitting on an outdoor tarp in what is supposed to be our "formal dining room".  Matt and I aren't really formal people and traded in the dining room table for the more practical bike trainers and entertainment center.

I think most of the people in our development would refer to us as "hillbillies".  I'm fine with that label...no shame in being true to your roots ;)  The tarp was actually a necessity after I spent about an hour scrubbing black chain grease out of our wool inlay carpet.  That was the first and last time I ever want to do that.  I will say that OxyClean works miracles in getting  grease stains out of carpets!

Matt and I just officially completed this winter wonderland!  If you recall we used to have a 15" TV that Matt played his games on and I watched movies on while on the trainer.  We recently upgraded to a 42" and I can honestly say I didn't realize what I was missing!  We have four options for entertainment while on the trainer: radio/CD player (with iPod dock), XBox, TV, or DVD's.  

And when we are not on the trainers Matt spends about 50% of his waking life in here playing Call of Duty MW3.

So, I hope that you found something helpful in this post and if you ever need help organizing anything don't hesitate to ask.  This is my true life calling and I am up for hire ;)