by April Corey
If you are an athlete, you have gear. If you are a triathlete, you have a lot of gear! Keeping organized with your gear for three different disciplines can be a challenge.
I am able to store all my gear in my bedroom closet (except for the bike, helmet and shoes). Over the years, I have accumulated different storage items for different parts and pieces. It isn’t all matchy-matchy, but it works for me. If you don’t have closet space, you can use a dresser drawer, a kitchen drawer/shelf, or an over the door shoe hanger.
Nutrition
I use plastic buckets from the local dollar store and throw all my gels, waffles, beans, bars and powders in there. My training dictates what I use. Be sure to go through all the items to ensure that they haven’t expired.
Clothes
I have one soft-sided basket that holds my race kits. I like to keep my race kits separate from my training gear so they last longer. Plus, I like them looking good on race day. All of my training gear has its own shelf in my closet and away from my everyday wear.
Swim Gear
I keep all my basic staple swim gear in a swim bag. If I keep it all in the bag, there is very little chance that I will forget something. The basic staples in the swim bag are a couple of swim caps, goggles and ear plugs. If you use paddles, fins, pull buoy or a kickboard (and none of these are supplied at the pool) then you may want these items in your swim bag. On my way out the door, I will grab my swimwear and a towel.
Bike Gear
The biggest piece of gear for a triathlete is the bike. I keep my bike, helmet and bike shoes safely stored in my garage. If you don't have a garage or spare room, you can use hooks to hang it bike from the wall or ceiling. Or you can remove the front wheel and store it in a closet. If all else fails, you can lean it against the back of the couch.
Run gear
My running shoes are generally with the rest of my shoes, so I don’t have a special spot for them. But visors. Oh….the visors. I have become a serious visor collector. I try to only keep a few out and will rotate them for a change-up. The rest of my visors are stored in my hanging shoe holder.
Misc gear
And then there is ALL the miscellaneous stuff that you have no idea where to put it. I have a few large buckets (again, from the local dollar store) that hold Band-Aids, kinesiology tape, foot goop and other odds and ends. I also have two hanging shoe holders in the closet that hold my extra bike tubes, extra goggles/swimcaps, visors/hats, headlamps/flashlights/batteries and anything else that I don’t have a home for. I have three plastic drawers on a shelf in my closet. One drawer holds all the water bottles that I think I need. Another holds all my cold weather gear (gloves, mittens, hats, ear bands, balaclavas). And the third drawer holds race belts, training belts that hold my phone and any other training belts.
I am constantly trying to weed out the extra items that I don’t need or haven’t used in over a season. But, I have a lot of items that I use between triathlons and ultrarunning, so it makes it a bit of a challenge. Being creative with storage is a necessity so gear doesn’t get lost in the midst of everyday life.
Take some time to organize your inventory now to save time heading out the door to train!