The buzz and excitement of your next overseas holiday can be quickly overshadowed by the anxiety of messing up your training schedule or missing some key runs.
Keep the buzz alive with these thoughts and ideas for continuing training while travelling.
Firstly, accept the fact that unless the universe is working for you, and only you, you are going to have to miss some runs or at the very least be prepared to chop and change a few minutes (or miles) here and there.
This is important because, after all, a holiday is a holiday, and it’s actually a great opportunity for your body to rest, and you get the added bonus of being able to spend some quality time with your loved ones.
When you arrive to your destination, once you have a moment to yourself, pull out your smart phone and spend a few minutes exploring your location with google maps.
If you haven’t already, now is a great opportunity to download a map of your location. Google maps allows you to specify the area you want to download and this typically takes up very little space on your smart phone.
If you’re on Strava (or equivalent) inspect the segments others have run at your location. This will give a good indication if the route is popular or whether it is easy or difficult.
Strava’s chat feature lets you even see who has run the route and you can message them to ask for advice or for some company if you are a little nervous about running in a new place by yourself.
With regards to running buddies, if your savvy with social media, jump on facebook or similar app to check if there are any active running groups in your area. It would be an anomaly to find a running group that is non-inclusive – so this is definitely worth a shot.
Now that you have an idea of a possible route, you’ll need to decide a time to go for a run.
There is an argument that going even for a short run on the day you arrive to your destination gets the blood moving and helps you stay awake longer and makes moving into a new timezone smoother.
Once you’re settled in a location, especially if travelling with family or friends, going for a run early in the morning could be a good option. Especially if you have a big day planned or your afternoon is uncertain.
Be sure to let someone know your plans before you take off and take enough water to keep hydrated in case you get a little lost or your run time estimate turns out a little optimistic.
Don’t fret if you get a little lost. Your phone’s GPS should be able to give you an idea of where you are (especially if you’ve downloaded a map of your area) and allow you to trace your steps back. You don’t even need to be on a network.
Another idea is to just go out and explore. Just like a holiday, the idea of losing and immersing yourself in a new environment can be very rewarding. The thought of building a mind map of this new area and flooding your brain and sensors with never before experiences images can be quite refreshing and a run can turn into an adventure without you realising.
Lastly, if fitting in a run is just not going to happen, remember you are on holidays for a reason. Perhaps giving your body a chance to recharge and heal is exactly what the doctor ordered. If you’re anything like me, the lower mileage only serves to add fuel to the fire and you might find some extra motivation or stoke when you do return and will see you shooting for bigger and brighter goals! Just remember, while your body rested – your muscles and skeleton also likely lost some of its training effect so be sure to ease back into your training with a week or so of easier runs.
