Dear Future Racer,
Some of you are about to head to training camp so soon!! That is so exciting!! It seems like just yesterday I was leaving to go to training camp, not really even knowing what that meant. I just knew I was nervous and excited and freaked out all at the same time. I have a few suggestions for you about training camp, but I also want to share some other stuff.
My team is in the midst of month 5. I know that your month 5 seems so far away right now. I still can’t even believe that we are already here, and we leave in two more weeks. The people on your team truly do become your family. God is going to teach you so much and show you so much through them that they are going to become some of the most important and influential people in your life. You will trust them to tell you the hard things out of love.
Even now as you prepare your heart for camp know that you are being ushered into a new family. The World Race is a culture that is excited to see new people going hard after what the Lord wants in your life. Know that you are being prayed for by people you don’t even know and your presence in some places around the world is expected and anticipated with great delight. You are being prayed for from racers on the field, we love you and we are excited for you to start your journey on the Race as well.
Okay, enough mushy stuff. You want to know about training camp… Well I’m not going to tell you much, because that would just be unnecessary. You will learn quickly on the Race that there are some things that you need to know, and some things that are just better if you don’t know until it happens. [For those of you who love control, this will be stretching for you… but it will be so good]
Packing for training camp: This is your best shot at practicing packing before you actually leave and when you can figure out what you really need and what you really don’t need. This also give you the opportunity to find out what you don’t need and leave it at home before it costs an arm and a leg to send it home from the field. Pack what you think you want to take on the race. It will help you, I promise. Also, you will figure out a way to put your pack together where things will fit. Everything will eventually get a home and it won’t be hard to pack up in just a few short minutes. If packing really stresses you out, try packing and unpacking and repacking a few times before training camp to figure out how it works best for you and the stuff you are bringing.
There are some things that you don’t need to have the name brand item for the race. Things like packing cubes/bags. I bought a pack of three bags with a drawstring closurem that are three different sizes from Walmart for like $5. They work just fine. Some people even bought name brand packing cubes that have had broken zippers since being on the race. Also those airtight bags that look like a giant ziplock bag are totally underrated.
Clothes on the race: Like with the packing cubes, many people only bring clothes that are like specifically for camping or hiking or always being dirty. While there are days that being dirty happens, days for hiking adventures, and times you will sleep in your tent bring clothes that make you feel like yourself. A few of those quick dry shirts are nice to have [I don’t have any, but I kind of wish I did sometimes]. But again, I have jeans and pants that I would wear at home. I brought some old T-shirts that I would not be sad to part with and ended up buying some shirts at a secondhand store that make me feel more like me.
It is handy however to bring clothes that are multipurpose. If you bring pants that can either roll up or zip off to different lengths those are convenient to have. I personally don’t have any, but a lot of my teammates do and they use them often. For me, I enjoy skirts and dresses. I bought two dresses at the end of last summer on clearance for $2 a piece and they are functional as dresses and a skirt of different lengths, because I can roll it up to be a shorter skirt. I also brought a few pairs of shorts that I can wear as pajamas or that I can wear outside when it is warm [and allowed for women to wear shorts].
Shoes: Chacos? Tevas? Reefs? Toms? Are they necessary? Are they not? I personally have some Teva mush flip flops that I bought right before launch that I wore every day. Some things we did I was glad that I had a bit of a tougher sandal to wear. But after wearing them every day for four months they are pretty worn out and are really no longer comfortable. If you are a Chaco person already, I would say bring them because you will wear them, if not don’t worry about them. Chacos are sandals that you need to break in before you come on the race. Some people didn’t know that and had a rough time wearing them the first few weeks because they got crazy blisters. Reefs are beautiful and comfortable and sturdy. Everyone who has them loves them, I kind of wish I had some. It seems like everyone has Toms. It is just the hipster thing to do. If you already have them, you will wear them out on the race. It is month five and most people who came with toms have holes in their big toe from wearing them so often. We also had a layover in NYC and most people who had Toms already, bought some new ones because the one downside to wearing your Toms every day is that they get smelly because of the leather. I know that the idea behind Toms is to send another paid of shoes to someone who doesn’t have them, but you can also get fake Toms overseas for pretty cheap. They won’t have the Toms label or leather soles, but they will look almost identical. I bought some in Romania for $10 and I love them.
Give yourself one luxury item: Yes this is a year of sacrifice, but give yourself one “luxury item”. That will look different for each person, some girls brought makeup, a hairdryer, a straightener, one pair of heels, trail mix/food from Trader Joes [that is still holding strong in month 5 by the way]. My luxury item is going to be used starting next month [when my team starts our 3 months in Africa] and will be rationed out as far as it can go… I have a roll of luxury toilet paper, Charmin Ultra. It has been in a ziplock bag in my pack since Training Camp because I knew I would take it on the race.
You will trade clothes and get rid of clothes on the Race. You will buy new clothes and shoes. Don’t stress so much about what you will wear or what you will bring. Just get on a plane or get in the car and get to Training Camp. Don’t let things distract you. I might even go as far as to say let your cell phone battery run out so you aren’t tempted to text people at home. It will help you stay present. Give your ipod one good charge and ration out the minutes you have to use it.
Also, one last thing about camp: If you see a former racer you “know” [from blog stalking for example] don’t be afraid to go talk to them and tell them you read their blogs. Ask them questions. They won’t bite. I promise.
