Greetings from the stunningly beautiful Sunshine Coast of British Columbia! I feel like I've been a lot of places in the last week! Battle Lake Minnesota to Minneapolis to Seattle to Vancouver to the Sunshine Coast. Phew! I've put on a lot of miles, but it has been an awesome trip so far! I'll share more with you when I return but suffice it to say this has been an amazing vacation!! And today is the main event - Amber's Wedding!!!!!!! I am sure I'll have lots of pictures to share!
Today I thought I'd talk about maintaining your exercise schedule while on vacation. I am not always great about making time for workout when I am on vacation. My vacations tend to be active anyways as I tend to do a lot of walking/exploring. In fact, I usually lose a little weight when I go to Europe because of all the walking I do! But when you are training for something like a marathon, the natural activity that you do on a trip just doesn't really cut it, so fitting in runs is a must.
Last week was challenging because I was in an area that is not great for running (unshaded roads by my parents cabin, curvy narrow roads without shoulders in the area). Add in the fact that it was ridiculously hot and humid, and it was a tough week of training for me. As a result, I made this week a sort of 'step back' week, which means I decreased my mileage. I was due for a step back week anyways as every 3rd week is usually a step back when training. So it worked out just fine!
I did my Mon and Wed runs by myself in the hot, humid temps of Minnesota, and then enjoyed a beautiful, cool run in Vancouver with Amber and Anais on Saturday. I will say - it's a lot easier to fit runs in when you are traveling with fellow runners! I ran by myself earlier in the week and held myself accountable by writing it down ahead of time in my planner. For me, writing it down helps me stick to the plan!
Here is how the training broke out for the week!
Monday: hilly, hot 6 miles, 9:40 pace. It was 81 and ridiculously humid, so I am surprised my pace wasn't slower.
Tuesday: We had a big storm come through on Monday so I raked up the branches in my parents yard and helped move a boat lift. I am considering this cross training! I also swam quite a bit!
Wednesday: 5 hot, humid miles at a 9:40 pace.
Thursday: rest day due to traveling!
Friday: Cross training = 1.5 hour bike ride around the Stanley Park area of Vancouver.
Saturday: 11.25 miles along the sea wall at a 10:40 pace. I took it extra easy on this run and focused on taking in the beautiful views!! We took lots of walk breaks and stopped to take a couple of pictures. I felt awesome at the end.
Sunday: rest day
***
Training tally:
Week 3: 22.25
Training to date: 75
Are you good at fitting in workouts while traveling? I have gotten good at fitting them in when traveling for fun, but am not so great at fitting it in while traveling for work as we work such long days!
I'm not the best at exercising while on vacation. Usually, though, I'm pretty active in what I do and I'm not just sitting around, doing nothing, so I probably get MORE activity in than when I'm at home, just in a different way. But then I'm also eating more, ha, so it all evens out. ;)
ReplyDeleteGood work this week! And I hope today is awesome for Amber and everyone involved with the wedding. I'm sure it'll be a fun day!
I think it's good that you are doing a step back week this week. Otherwise it's easy to get stressed out or feel like you are not fulfilling your "duty" to yourself. Or maybe that's just me. But we need to be realistic about our time/schedule. I actually planned on doing a step back last week when I was in Oregon, but with the baby and everything there ended up being some extra downtime, so I used it for running! Needless to say, I did not get a lot of books read, but last week ended up being my highest mileage week yet.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the rest of the training. I am glad you have other active people there so you can all help each other get some miles in!
I never work out while traveling ... I just prefer not to because when I travel it is always for vacation and I usually do a lot of walking on vacation which is good enough for a week or so :-) (for me).
ReplyDeleteIt has been unbearably hot, hasn't it?! I'm sure you're loving the sunshine coast, I honestly cannot even imagine what that feels like right now. lol!
ReplyDeleteI'm so jealous, but I hope you're having a wonderful time, which I am SURE you are!! Can't wait to hear all about it! :)
People who exercise at all on vacation get a big high five from me! I'm bad about it, though for the most part I tend to eat less ( I know, weird, right), especially if food is not as available. And I walk more so I figure it kind of evens out... except I usually struggle to get back into my routine when I return!
ReplyDeleteHave a great time and can't wait to hear more :)
You are so dedicated! I often struggle to fit in my miles when I'm traveling for fun, especially if I'm with my non-runner spouse. I'm usually a bit better about fitting it in if I'm traveling for work, but I do tend to be satisfied with shorter runs then.
ReplyDeleteI'm so proud of you for keeping up with your workouts on vacation! It's so encouraging to read, too. We're going to a family conference in two weeks and I'm already trying to figure out how to keep my runs on schedule :)
ReplyDeleteWow-- you are totally awesome! I can't believe your dedication and you must be so fit it hurts! Keep it up! You'll ace it!
ReplyDeleteHeat can really screw up one's running schedule -- I can relate! Way to go for staying on top of marathon training despite all the traveling you've done these past few weeks!
ReplyDeleteI had to get creative with working out during my vacation as I couldn't run. So packed resistance bands. Best invention ever since they are so packable.
I'm glad you were able to run in much cooler temps than what you experienced earlier in the week! It was so miserable! Can't wait to hear all about the wedding and see pictures of your trip!
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job fitting in exercise especially considering this was a crazy vacation! I am better at fitting in exercise on more relaxing vacations but I did manage to run and bike in Vancouver. Not too mention more than 1 crazy hike! Back to real training when I return!
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job fitting in exercise especially considering this was a crazy vacation! I am better at fitting in exercise on more relaxing vacations but I did manage to run and bike in Vancouver. Not too mention more than 1 crazy hike! Back to real training when I return!
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you - travelling with runners makes it sooo much easier to fit in your runs! Unfortunately my foot ended up hurting the rest of the trip so that was my one and only run in BC - but I'm so glad I did it! :)
ReplyDeleteI LOVED our long run in Vancouver! So beautiful and fun! It's also the ONLY run I've done in the last 2 weeks haha. Need to get back to that!
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