My housemates have been dog-sitting the past week and will taking care of Hans for another week. I’m an animal fan, have a cat, and am wanting a puppy here soon myself! So I welcomed the extra addition of hair, puffy dog bed, crate and of course Hans. But it got me thinking about how I handle traveling and staying outside my home, my room, my ‘territory’…or more to the point my running and workout routine.
I’ll be frank, any time I know I’ve got a vacation, ‘field trip’, road trip, or anything where I’ll be traveling, my mind goes to one thing first: how I’m going to get in my workout. Call me selfish, call me obsessedo, call me neurotic, I don’t care because maybe all of the above are true. If I’m going somewhere I better be darn sure I’ll be able to get my run in. Things are complicated if I’m injured and it’s then a matter of making sure there is a gym where I can cross-train.
Usually with running there are is at least somewhere to run outside; I once had to do loops around the hotel’s parking lot. It was boring as heck but at least it was another run in the books! But there are always more preferable options so I do a little research and, I fully admit, that I make my plans around my runs/workouts.
The selfish part would come in if I’m with other people, but I always do my best to not let my running/workout neurosis put a kink in their plans. Like I said, if I’ve got to do my 127 loops around the parking lot so be it.
The first place I go after I check into a new hotel isn’t to scope the view from the room it’s the hotel’s gym. (The second is to pry off that bed’s comforter! I’ve seen those 20/20 black light expose pieces! hehe) I scope out the treadmills and ellipticals, check out if there is a view of a TV, and I fully admit I get a little anxious if there is only, say, ONE measly treadmill. If I’ve got to get up early and only have a certain time frame for my workout and *gasp* someone else is on MY treadmill, what in the world am I going to do then? Is my plan foiled thanks to a walker on the treadmill?
So yes, before anything else I peruse local gyms, nearby running routes, potential bike trails, actual trails, nearby neighborhood streets for which I can get my fix. My fix of miles. Others people have their must see locales, crave the cabanas on the beach, even take to the sea on a cruise…but this runnerchick’s got her priorities and if I’m ever held captive on a cruise there better be more than one treadmill also on board or the Nike Gods better help that poor soul who dares hog the machine when I want on it! 😉
1) How do you feel about traveling and going to new places? Are you one of those people who loves to travel as much as they can, or are you a bit of a homebody and stress about traveling?
I’m a weirdo…I do like traveling to a degree, but only so much as I make sure I’ve got a fair enough warning ahead of time and that I’m certain I’ll be able to get my little workout/run routine in. 🙂
2) Best tips for when you do travel and getting in those runs/workouts?
If I’m with other people I’ll get up early and do my thing before they workout. I scope out the nearby gyms if there isn’t one in the hotel, and I’m okay being bored on a running route and will just head out and do loops if there isn’t really anywhere awesome to go.
3) What’s the last vacation, road trip, or time you went away?
The one that sticks out in my mind was driving a UHaul down to CA…not fun…haha. But I had a stop-over and picked my exit based on the one that had a really nice YMCA for me to hit up in the morning. 🙂
I love to travel – but I still like to try to get some workouts in when I can. Some places it is harder to arrange than others, so if it seems impossible and it’s only a 2-3 day trip I might just do lots of walking/touring and call it rest. 😉
u have traveled to some amazing places, i always love reading about your experiences! 🙂
This is my jam! I used to get anxious when traveling that I’d have to skip workouts but I always find a way now! I pack two things ALWAYS – a resistance band and my sneakers. If there’s no treadmill and it’s not safe to run outside I manage a resistance workout – I have a circuit I do with my bands that really gets me burnin! Or I bring playing cards and make each suit a different exercise, I flip through every card in the deck doing however many reps the card says (faces are 10, aces are 1). If you add in burpees or jumping jacks you can get some semblance of cardio in there. I’ve also been known to whip out my yoga deck in the airport and get my down dog/plank on (never wear dresses in an airport if you’re a fitness junkie) or run interval sprints in a parking lot!
Last trip was Auckland and you better believe I signed up for a race AND did my ab routines and push ups in the hotel room!! There’s always time for a set or two of push ups, v-ups or tricep dips!
okay, i have totally traveled with the resistance bands too and they are awesome ways to get in strength moves similar to what i’d do with some free weights. and oh man, burpees kill me and they get ur HR up there in no time flat! 🙂
i’m guilty of doing core work in the airport too…i’ve got no shame, i mean it’s not like i’ll see the random people at the airports people ever again…lol
OMG! This is totally me! I just went to Disney and I had to run on their “fitness trail” which equalled a sidewalk outside the hotel to get my run in!<———-this is also the most recent time I went away. Going off of that if I can't run outside for some reason I usually try to work my workout in somewhere an do it a the gym. I also don't like to put a kink in people's plans.
haha…yea at Disney Land i did loops around their giant parking lot…oh, fun times! 🙂
haha so I gotta admit, I do the same thing – I plan trips according to my workouts! It’s never an issue when I can run – usually when I travel its to visit a friend, so I know I’ll have a safe neighborhood to run in. Injuries are more of an issue and I’ll admit to cancelling some trips to visit friends this winter because I knew I wouldn’t be able to work out. My next trip is to visit my best friend, and she’s a runner/avid worker-outer too so she will always make sure the two of us can get to a gym at the very least. I’m hoping to be running regularly by then (and usually when I travel its only for 3-4 days so I don’t feel the need to do epic long runs or tough workouts), but if not she said I can bring my road bike and/or she’ll get me access to the nearest pool. people like that are easy to visit, I wish I could say the same for all of my friends!
HAHAHA…actually canceling plans, totally guilty of that one too! lol…but i’m glad u’ve got some friends who also totally get the fact that u can’t skip ur workouts. 🙂
You know this chickpea loves to hit the road – or the airport 🙂
When I’m travelling I use Map My Run to map out routes of varying distances around where I will be staying and then I print off a little map so I can refer to whichever one I would like to do that day! Then I just need to remember my sneakers and running gear.
I love to see a new city from the road and getting up really early before my travelling companions, or just getting up early because I am flying solo, is the best time to hit the road and see everything before the people start their day.
Other than that, I like to make sure that I walk as much as possible while I am away because there is no way I can resist my pistachio gelato!
Or a glass of wine or two….
The last time I went away was Melbourne in February. I managed to get some really great runs in – there were lots of hills where I was staying 🙂
haha…i love how u bring up one other very important fact: working out on vacation means u can EAT more!! duh! 🙂 and u are a queen of travel as well, i’m so woefully untraveled i always gawk and love reading about the places u venture to! 🙂
I’m always thinking these same thoughts when I travel. Often times this means I have to get up at the crack of dawn to get in my workout while everyone else is asleep and then I’m doing some crazy circuit workout in a strangers kitchen using gatorade bottles and duffle bags as weights. Last time I traveled was to NYC where we were staying in time square, so I was a bit stressed as to where the heck I was going to be able to workout safely and not get lost.
haha…okay, visions of me running in place in a hotel room come to mind when u bring up the weights workout!! oh, us crazy runners…but hey, gotta get those workouts in! 😉