Written on Tuesday, October 17:
Traveling always presents unique challenges to those of us who workout and train. Countless magazines always seem to have recommendations for quick workouts that can be done in hotel rooms. The majority of the travel I have done so many times in my life involved driving for hours on end. If we were lucky enough to get a hotel room, it was usually checking in after midnight and getting up and out quite early. I surely attempted to make time for running, even when time was short. The mental and physical boost running gives me has always been worth making sacrifices (usually sleep) for, but it can still be very tough to motivate myself at times.
I flew into Los Angeles yesterday and was picked up by my friend Mark Beemer and a guy he works with, Patrick. Beemer needed to run an errand down in Orange, CA, and then needed to make it to a meeting down in Carlsbad. I was more or less out of it from the exhausting weekend, and without any real plans in Los Angeles, I agreed that it was no problem to go. However, it meant that in addition to spending 7 hours flying and laying over yesterday, I would spend an additional 3+ hours sitting in the front seat of Mark’s Sprinter van.
We made it to our hotel around 6pm, California time. I contemplated jumping on the treadmill for a short run, but reconsidered. I figured the day off would help me recover from the 14 mile run Saturday and the soccer game Sunday. When I awoke this morning to go for my 10 miler, I was glad I’d opted against a quick jaunt at the hotel.
Running in unfamiliar places can either be very invigorating or quite frustrating. I’ve been fortunate to run amidst some really great cities. I’ve traveled Europe extensively with bands and waking up in Paris, Stockholm or Berlin can be a treat. I can easily combine a good workout with a sightseeing tour. Waking up in Diamond Bar, California, a tad jet-lagged, did not make for an inspiration to move me out the door very quickly.
I knew the endorphin release and the accomplishment of adhering to my running routine would make me feel better, so I strapped on my shoes and my iPod and headed out the door. I mentally prepared for an out and back run, but after the 2nd mile out on the lonesome city street I was on I began to re-evaluate. Instead, I decided I’d turn around at the 3 mile mark, returning half of the distance I’d just covered, and head up a different street that looked like there was more to “look at.”
All there really was were strip mall stores, but that kept me a tad more entertained than the middle class neighborhoods I was running by on the road I’d started out on. It can be very daunting, mentally, to not have a planned route for the distance you’re supposed to cover. The iPod came in handy because it alerted me as each mile passed. However, always hoping and expecting another mile to pass can prove more exhausting than just knowing that you have 4 or 5 miles to go while running a well known route.
Nevertheless, I was able to calculate what it would take to complete the entire run and stop a half mile short of the hotel start point. My finish line would be a Target store, where I could stock up on less than 3 oz travel toiletries. The not-exactly-an-out-and-back philosophy burned me just a bit, as I had to pass the Target by .25 miles and turn around to end in it’s parking lot.
Overall I ran 10.03 miles in 1 hour 17 minutes and 09 seconds for an average pace of 7:41 minute/mile.
Traveling always presents unique challenges to those of us who workout and train. Countless magazines always seem to have recommendations for quick workouts that can be done in hotel rooms. The majority of the travel I have done so many times in my life involved driving for hours on end. If we were lucky enough to get a hotel room, it was usually checking in after midnight and getting up and out quite early. I surely attempted to make time for running, even when time was short. The mental and physical boost running gives me has always been worth making sacrifices (usually sleep) for, but it can still be very tough to motivate myself at times.
I flew into Los Angeles yesterday and was picked up by my friend Mark Beemer and a guy he works with, Patrick. Beemer needed to run an errand down in Orange, CA, and then needed to make it to a meeting down in Carlsbad. I was more or less out of it from the exhausting weekend, and without any real plans in Los Angeles, I agreed that it was no problem to go. However, it meant that in addition to spending 7 hours flying and laying over yesterday, I would spend an additional 3+ hours sitting in the front seat of Mark’s Sprinter van.
We made it to our hotel around 6pm, California time. I contemplated jumping on the treadmill for a short run, but reconsidered. I figured the day off would help me recover from the 14 mile run Saturday and the soccer game Sunday. When I awoke this morning to go for my 10 miler, I was glad I’d opted against a quick jaunt at the hotel.
Running in unfamiliar places can either be very invigorating or quite frustrating. I’ve been fortunate to run amidst some really great cities. I’ve traveled Europe extensively with bands and waking up in Paris, Stockholm or Berlin can be a treat. I can easily combine a good workout with a sightseeing tour. Waking up in Diamond Bar, California, a tad jet-lagged, did not make for an inspiration to move me out the door very quickly.
I knew the endorphin release and the accomplishment of adhering to my running routine would make me feel better, so I strapped on my shoes and my iPod and headed out the door. I mentally prepared for an out and back run, but after the 2nd mile out on the lonesome city street I was on I began to re-evaluate. Instead, I decided I’d turn around at the 3 mile mark, returning half of the distance I’d just covered, and head up a different street that looked like there was more to “look at.”
All there really was were strip mall stores, but that kept me a tad more entertained than the middle class neighborhoods I was running by on the road I’d started out on. It can be very daunting, mentally, to not have a planned route for the distance you’re supposed to cover. The iPod came in handy because it alerted me as each mile passed. However, always hoping and expecting another mile to pass can prove more exhausting than just knowing that you have 4 or 5 miles to go while running a well known route.
Nevertheless, I was able to calculate what it would take to complete the entire run and stop a half mile short of the hotel start point. My finish line would be a Target store, where I could stock up on less than 3 oz travel toiletries. The not-exactly-an-out-and-back philosophy burned me just a bit, as I had to pass the Target by .25 miles and turn around to end in it’s parking lot.
Overall I ran 10.03 miles in 1 hour 17 minutes and 09 seconds for an average pace of 7:41 minute/mile.
posted by Mike Mowery at 1:59 PM
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