Fanny pack lady
By Alison Colavecchia
2.1.01 (www.slowtwitch.com)

Dear Mr. Tinley,

I am writing in response to your comment made in the Sept. 2000 edition of Triathlete magazine. Indeed I am writing in response to the following:

"The only thing worse than seeing someone going by you who could survive a week on a desert island with the crap in her pockets is a person racing with a fanny pack".

I am the fanny pack lady!

Don’t get me wrong, the first page I always read from my faithful off-the-stand Triathlete is its last page, Tinley Talks. However, I took immediate umbrage to this line and thought it deserved a rebuttal (pun intended). Since I now have a forum for such, I thought I would use it to advantage.

In thinking about this line since September (Ok maybe I am a little obsessive) I have been trying to figure out why I have raced with my fanny pack, for surely there must be a good reason for it. It finally dawned on me that when I race with my fanny pack I am a complete one-woman mobile aid station! I am self-sufficient. I have spent my whole life working hard at being self-reliant, self-sufficient and self-determined why would I change my stripes now as I race? My parents and husband would probably argue that this stance has not always served me well. I would argue that this stance has allowed me to less often fear taking the hard road, less often fear taking an unpopular path or at the very least to acknowledge the fear but go anyway.

I discovered that when you race as a Back of the Packer having a few extra's not only comes in handy but can provide a measure of comfort when out on the course. Periodically, the sports drinks en route are consumed and only water remains.Those marking the bike route may have wandered a little––with the wait––so there may be merit in racing with a course map if it looks complicated, confusing or painfully hilly.

After watching my training partner crash on her bike during a ride and only having a sock to help clean up for the trip home, I decided that the fanny pack needed a mini-first aid kit. Next, I read that Heather Fuhr and Paula Newby-Fraser collect the money they find along their routes. I thought that sounded very cool, maybe even a little luck might rub off as a result of copycatting, so I adopted the strategy (when not life-threatening, of course). I now have a small collection of loose change in my pack along with a quarter for that emergency call (thanks Mom).

I have been to a bunch of races now where the hot treats (real food) has disappeared by the time I have finished! The bananas and bagels remain of course. A little extra Gatorade in the pack along with a powerbar for the finish can be helpful. The other item in there is my hospital card. I figure if I am gonna collapse, seize, faint, crash or bonk I want no hassles getting in at the hospital and I want to be delivered to the right address after I come to.

At this stage of my tri career, I am obviously still in the business of survival. I am preoccupied with simply getting me to the finish line. My fanny pack has, to date, allowed me to believe that if the whole darned race were packed up as I headed in to the final stretch, I would still make it in. Perhaps when I am finished with the business of just finishing, I will pack more lightly or even not bring along my fanny pack at all. For now, where I go the pack goes. It is my lifeline.

So Mr. Tinley, in case you happen to end up in the Back of the Pack (again) and in need of a gel, band aid, hospital card or dose of Gatorade and they’re all out at the aid stations or finish line, just keep an eye out for the lady with the fanny pack…I’ll be along shortly and would be happy to help out a fellow Back of the Packer!

Cheers to stubborn self-sufficiency!