Last week as Katie and I walked across Hyde Park to the start of the World Tri London, many other triathletes were treading the same path. Many of them were weighed down by big bags and boxes balanced precariously on the crossbars on their bikes. “But what do they have in there?” This was one question that my triathlon guru couldn’t answer.

We’d cycled the five miles from my flat to the start with a blue drawstring race issue rucksack each that carried everything we needed. I was already wearing my trisuit, my bike was stocked with a drink and some fig rolls, I had my helmet on and was riding my bike, the only thing left to do was pack my wetsuit, trainers and not forget my goggles.

For some reason, sticking three different sports one after the other to form a race can send some people into a kit frenzy. They presume that three sports means three times as much stuff, but it doesn’t have to. The only essential extras triathlon requires when compared with running is a bike, some goggles and a wetsuit.

For my first triathlon (a sprint) I took two pairs of socks – one for the cycle and one for the run. After all, they were socks, they wouldn’t take up much space. I didn’t use both pairs and I learnt a valuable lesson that day. As I came back from the cycle to rack my bike and get ready for the run I looked at my socks. Should I swap, should I not? I stood motionless for a few seconds that seemed like an eternity. This was my error.

Bringing a second pair of socks as an option had introduced decision-making into my transition. Same socks or new socks? Change or don’t change? And when you’ve just cycled as fast as you can and are in a rush to get onto the next stage, decision-making is the last thing you should be doing. Know what you’re going to drink, eat, take off, put on and do it without thinking too much.

This past weekend I travelled to St Neots for The Grafman half-iron triathlon. It was a journey that I’d done the day before that first sprint triathlon and both times I did it alone, on the train and with my bike. There was no way to carry a big plastic box or suitcase full of kit, so I loaded up my rucksack with what it would fit in. Yes, it was a triathlon four times as long as that first one but that just meant finding a little more space for snacks.

This is how I arrived at my friend Helen’s house, with everything I’d need for the 70.3 as well as a change of clothes for the pub after and general weekend stuff. It’s tempting to take lots of different kit and nutrition options with you – it can make you feel reassured when you’re packing that you have everything you could possibly need and delay making difficult decisions. But packing is when you need to be making those decisions – not when your brain is frazzled on exhaustion or adrenaline.

And don’t panic when you rack your bike next to someone in transition who has brought along a small shed full of stuff.

Having said all this I fully reserve the right to rent a car and fill it with half the contents of my flat when I travel to Bolton next month.