I stood before the wall of packs, half excited and half realistic: these look a lot smaller in person…how is that going to fit my clothes, computer, camera, tent, sleeping bag and pad?
As I waited to get fitted I began examining the packs, not knowing the differences between any of them and just looking at tags and colors…it was a lot to take in. Im still trying to figure out how all of that stuff is going to fit in a 65L pack, but many have done it before me so it must be possible.
I can tell you one thing, I will turn into a master packer by the time I finish the race!!
researching gear makes everything become more real, myself and several of my squad mates are beginning to get some of our gear and look up vaccinations and think about the details. Its fun because none of us know what we are doing, we have stalk other racers blogs for their advice on what equipment to bring and what brands to buy but ultimately we won’t know what we need or what works till we are already there and we are all in the boat together.
Training camp dates were officially released a couple weeks ago,so from July 12-19th ill be getting to live with my squad for the first time as we get put through some situations that we might encounter out on the field. we will be using the same gear we take on the race so we can buy a better product if needed before we actually leave the states which is a good thing to know!
Its wild to think that in a little under four months ill be at training camp and once training camp is done, we only have about a month and a half before we launch….wow…didn’t realize how short of time we have after camp…like I said, it just keeps becoming more and more real.
Ive been asking the Lord to talk to me about what training camp will be like and I keep seeing pictures of laughter – a time to abide in the joy of the Lord no matter what crazy things they may have us do. It will be uncomfortable as we are challenged and hilarious as we find ourselves in ridiculous situations, Im really excited!!!
Im also going to make a plug here for financial donations, I don’t want to beat a dead horse over and over again but I ask that you consider financially supporting me if you haven’t already. Im looking for those who would like to partner with me and donate monthly, however if all you can manage is $10 that gift is also profound.
Im putting together a registry of the gear ill need during my time on the race and ill release that in the coming weeks if you would feel more comfortable giving me a tangible donation or if you just feel led to help me out in purchasing all of this stuff 🙂
For starters here is the link to the pack ill need for the race, if you would like to purchase this as a donation please let me know so I can give you my address for where to ship it. I need a medium size pack : http://www.rei.com/product/844650/rei-crestrail-65-pack-womens
