I raced my first Masters Track Nationals 5 months after I started on the track. My coach sent me. He didn't send me there to win, he sent me there to see and experience. Because, once you go to the "big show", every other show seems like small potatoes and you aren't so nervous. And then when you do go back to the big show for your 2nd time, to try to win, you aren't nervous and can focus on what needs to be done.
There are so many little things that you have to deal with that you never know until you do it:
- Traveling with bike equipment. Packing it. Dealing with airlines.
- What do you bring? What's not necessary?
- Setting up a "camp" in the infield for a week.
- Hotels with bike equipment
- Getting to the track on time
- The track not being open for free warmup. Gotta learn to use rollers to warmup for your biggest kilo of the year, can't do
any standing starts. Flying 100m jumps at full speed? NOPE.
- Learning how to warmup with 50 people on the track.
- Bike check
- What to do during the 3 hours after they close the track for warmups and when your event starts.
It's a lot to think about.
Oh, and in LA, you have to go outside to pee
