Running While on Vacation

I’m just back from the beach, a vacation I have been looking forward to with great earnest all spring. (Remember that long, cold winter and spring?) It’s been over three years since our last vacation, just about the same amount of time that I have been a runner. I had it all planned out … early morning runs, lazing on the beach all day and picturesque strolls on the boardwalk at night. Most importantly, I did not want to miss my chance to run. As I gear up for yet another training cycle I am trying to increase my mileage and prepare for the road ahead, so to speak.

What I came to realize is that what you have pictured in your mind and what plays out in real life are often quite different. I set out for a run that first morning after walking the length of the boardwalk the day before, playing on the beach and then walking a round trip total of 3.5 miles to dinner with my two young kids. By 10:00 pm we were all tuckered out, but I had to get that run in the next morning. Such is the runner’s mind.

I got in a decent 5 mile run which ended on the beach as I watched the sun rise and then went about my day – more trips up and down the board walk and an afternoon of playing in the surf. I collapsed in bed on my second night at the beach, more tired than I was on that first night. The next morning, instead of gearing up and heading out for a run, I woke up my sleeping children at 5:30 am to take them out to the beach and watch the sun rise. Sure, I could have let them sleep but I wanted to treat them to something special that they have never seen before, a neon colored sunrise on the beach. Certainly this memory in the making trumped a morning run on tired legs from the day before. What I came to realize was that sometimes vacations are just that, a break from everything, even running.

I’m glad that I ran at least one morning while on vacation. I love to add new places to my growing list of running locations and it’s a great way to take in the sites. If I hadn’t gone for a run, I never would have seen the rest of town, away from the beach and boardwalk. I ran by off-the-beaten-path restaurants and shops, past neighborhoods and boutiques, I even ran down to the next town. I ran by a restaurant I would later take my family to eat for lunch. Lacing up and heading out for a run is a wonderful way to explore while on vacation, if you have enough energy from all the other stuff you do while on vacation.

Tips for running while on vacation:

• Contact the local running club or running store and ask if there is a group you can meet up with or whether they can suggest a route for you.
• Find a local track and opt for a shorter speed workout.
• Head out first thing in the morning before you are too tired from the rest of your vacation adventures.
• Don’t take a watch. Don’t worry about pace. Just go out and enjoy yourself.
• Run on the treadmill at the hotel.
• Look online before your trip (sites such as mapmyrun.com or garminconnect.com) to scout out running routes.
• Plot a route which takes you by an historic site or an area of town that you might not otherwise have a chance to visit.
• Take your camera and/or phone.
• If you miss a run or two you are not going to lose fitness. Give yourself a break and take an extra day or two of rest.