Running and Business Travel

After months of hardly doing any traveling for business, my travel schedule has picked up and I find myself on the road again during the week for the past couple of weeks. I realize now that I was taking so much for granted while I was training for the Philadelphia marathon and my work schedule kept me close to home. Now, I have more planning to do when it comes to packing my suitcase (making sure I have enough changes of running gear for the week) and making sure I select a hotel that has decent exercise facilities. Last week, when I traveled out West, I fully expected to run outside but the Santa Ana winds squashed that plan! Wind gusts up to 80 mph were roaring through Albuquerque so I had to resort to Plan B and do all of my running indoors on the treadmill. This week, I am traveling out West again and will be visiting Denver and the hotel where I am staying has a very nice fitness center.

While traveling, I also have to focus on eating properly and making sure I stay hydrated. In the past, I would always notice, on average, an extra 3 pounds whenever I would return home from a business trip. Part of the challenge of traveling is being away from my routines (bringing my lunch to work every day and making sure I eat plenty of fiber). Fiber and water are my friends when I am on the road. If I neglect these friends while traveling, I tend to suffer the consequences which are a bit uncomfortable J

So, business travel presents some additional challenges for those of us who want to maintain our running schedules while we are out of town. Packing enough of the right gear, selecting a hotel with a decent fitness center, staying hydrated, eating properly and getting enough sleep (especially when there are time zone changes involved) are all factors that need to be taken into consideration to make sure your next business trip doesn't find you holed up in your hotel room watching your favorite news channel and getting depressed over the current state of world economics, the pathetic condition of our political landscape, or the very sad stories of either missing or abused children. Now I realize I have another reason to run!

Happy and Safe Running!
John