Pre Contest Travel

by Kris Pitcher

Without fail, I end up with work related travel right before a competition. This one is no exception. I'm off to DC for an amazing work opportunity, which takes me from the comforts of home (sans stove), the week before a show.

Thursday of this week I'll fly into Seattle where I'll do a local show over the weekend. We decided to stick a bikini on me and see what happens going in fully hydrated, fully fed, just for fun. Planning for travel can be easy if you know before you go.

Those of you who know me know I take what I need. I pre-cook, weigh, and freeze individual protein portions. Each day of travel is separated out into a gallon freezer bag, and everything goes in the deep freeze.

My meals for travel day are packed in "take along" plastic containers, unfrozen. All that frozen food keeps itself stable for a full day of travel. If I'm lucky enough to have a mini refrigerator at the hotel, great. If not, I can pack with ice for up to three days safely. Never had a problem.

It's always a bit like urban camping. I don't always get to select the hotel, or it's amenities. But you can do a lot with a coffee maker. If you can make hot water, you can prepare a lot of things, and you can even (sort of) defrost frozen chicken.

If you know me, you also know I don't really care if my food is slightly frozen. Better to have chicken-sicles than room-temperature warm food. It's just fuel. Prepare and take what you need. Everything I need for 3-4 days fits in a shoulder style cooler which fits easily under the seat in front of me on the plane.

My husband says I take more food than clothes on trips, and he's right. It's all about having what I need to have. If I'm lucky, I'll find some veggies along the way. A salad here or there, or a store to buy something. Ultimately, it doesn't matter as long as I've got my protein.

I'm off! A week of great work stuff in a great city, followed by a contest this weekend. Then we turn around and get ready to head off for the big one, the NPC USA's. Don't let travel throw you, just think of it as an opportunity to get creative. It's also great practice for when you'll travel to your next show!