I was on the road last week for work, which is always a bit of a challenge when I'm in the midst of some kind of training jiggery-pokery. I think I did a pretty decent job this time, so I thought 1) I plan ahead. This is non-negotiable for me. If I go on a trip without an actual plan for getting the miles in, almost guaranteed it's not going to happen (or at least not to the extent that it should). This week of travel has been on my calendar for a year and I knew more or less what the schedule would be, so I was able to do some strategizing ahead of time. This meant I didn't have to figure out when, where, & how much I would run on the fly.
For this trip, I knew that I would have a reliable chunk of time each day between 4:00 and 6:30. Monday was my post-long run rest day and Friday I'd be on a plane, so I planned an afternoon run for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Inland SoCal in July tends to be triple digits for a lot of the day, so I planned for treadmill runs. (Thankfully I was staying in the same familiar hotel at always, so I knew the 'mill situation was reliable.)
This was not the hottest day.
2) I set reasonable expectations. Yes, there are trips where it's possible for me to get in exactly what I would have done at home, but they're rare. Over the years I've learned that instead of vowing that I will get up early, research nearby trails, find a public track to drive to, and/or somehow carve out 3-4 free hours for a long run & then beating myself up for not making it happen, I focus on being realistic with my expectations--what I can I absolutely, definitely do without too much extra effort? What can I probably do with a little extra effort?
This past week, I knew my 4-6:30 window was good for a nice chunk of running, but also that it would be following what tend to be intense, draining days, and that I'd also need to have the energy for 6:30-8:00ish dinner meetings afterward. Since I'd just had three 40+ weeks in a row, the timing was right for a cut-back week anyway, so I decided that I could easily run 5 miles in that window, with plenty of time leftover for decompressing/catching up on email before and showering/getting ready for dinner afterwards. With a 6/14 weekend scheduled for when I got home, three 5-mile runs on the road was a) perfect, mileage-wise and b) completely doable.
3) I put on running clothes at the first opportunity. This week I've been getting back to my hotel around 3:45 each day & immediately changing into running clothes before I sit down for 30-45 minutes of catching up on email/other work/general internet decompressing. Then when I'm done, all I have to do is walk out the door. It's an easy thing that makes a big difference at a time of day when I'm not always feeling super high energy.
We meet again, old friend.
4) I tell people ahead of time. I mean. I don't tell them apropos of nothing; just, if people are discussing plans, when we'll be available for various things, etc., I'll just put it out there that "Hey, I'm planning to do my run between ___ and ___, so I can definitely do/check on/deal with [x] before or after if that works." This means that I'm not tempted to interrupt my run or cut it short because I'm stressing about getting back to my computer to check email/do work thing because someone might be waiting for me to do something.
(Note: When I was younger/newer in my career, this kind of boundary-setting was SUPER uncomfortable and scary, but as I've gotten older, more experienced, and just better at boundary-setting in general, it's no big deal. Though jobs are different and I get not everyone will have this luxury. It's also a great tactic for social trips as well, though)
And, I think maybe that's it? Almost always that's enough for a successful travel/training adventure for me. Other tricks I've occasionally employed when necessary include:
- Getting up early (uuuugggghhhh).
- Staying up late (UUUUUGGGGHHHH).
- Sleeping in running clothes when I know I need to get up for a repulsively early run. (Yes, I've done it. Don't judge me.)
- Shoe-horning in short doubles when the schedule doesn't permit much else (ie, 3-4 miles in the a.m. & 3-4 more in the evening). Not ideal, but better than nothing.
- Bailing on social-type work events that are not strictly required (again there's "required" and required and jobs work differently so YMMV).
- Doing an easy run of equal mileage if the treadmill/road/trail situation makes a speed/tempo workout kind of sketchy.
- In the event of a weekend trip, moving my long run to another day (ie, Friday), and/or running a bunch of days in a row so that I can take said weekend as two back-to-back rest days.
- Trying to run big weeks before & after & just accept the fact that it's going to be a rest/massive cut-back week & it's not the end of the world.
People have also suggested to me finding a short local race nearby to motivate you on at least one day, or contacting a local running group to see if they have any group runs you could join, but I've never successfully done either of these because a) it seems like a lot of extra work/travel when I'm probably already pressed for time and b) I don't really like people. (Kidding. Sort of. #introvert.)
Have you tried any of these? Any other travel/running tips out there? I am always looking to build my repertoire!
It will only be 3 weeks of speed work, so I don't actually expect it to make THAT much difference in the 10K, but starting speed/tempo work in mid-August gives me 16 weeks of real marathon training, which is really as little as I want to do.
As you probably already know, I've been reading a classic a month for the last two years. It started as a one-year project in 2014, but I've enjoyed it enough to keep going with it & will probably continue until it starts to feel like a chore.