A couple weeks ago, Jess and I drove down the Pacific Coast Highway from San Francisco to Los Angeles. I didn’t travel a lot before we got married, so this trip made me feel very fancy. Plus, we got a whole bunch of pictures that look great on Instagram.
As excited as I was to see the West (er, Best?) Coast, I was also worried that I wouldn’t be able to run while on vacation. And I expected to be very annoying about it after we got home. “The Pacific Ocean was, like, so inspiring,” I thought I’d say whenever someone asked about the trip. “But I didn’t do my long run, so basically all my goals for the spring are shot.”
As someone who still isn’t exactly well-traveled, I learned a few lessons about running while on vacation. Here are a few of the most important things I think I learned last week.
Running on a Vacation Diet Sucks
During a two-night stay in a small town called Cambria, I ate a meatloaf sandwich that was the size of my torso for lunch. Three hours later, I went for a run. “I’m not doing the workout on my plan,” I said to Jess on my way out of the hotel room. “Just a few easy miles before dinner.”
One mile into the workout, I learned a really tough lesson about running while on vacation: There’s probably no such thing as an “easy” mile after you eat four pounds of meatloaf.
If you’re thinking that I should have taken a nap instead, you’re probably right. Could I have adjusted my diet to make running while on vacation a little easier? Probably. But should I have done that? If you’re thinking the answer is “yes,” we are no longer friends.
Personally, I think it’s OK to eat as much cheese as you want while you’re on vacation. And if you have to skip a run because you ate all that cheese, don’t be too hard on yourself.
There’s (Probably) No Such Thing as a “Productive” Vacation Workout
Even after the meatloaf incident, I was hellbent on doing a long run at the end of the week. After all, I only brought two pairs of shoes: my Brooks Adrenalines and my Saucony Omnis. I tossed three Huma gels in my liquid carry-on bag, and my FlipBelt was one of the first things that I packed. I had everything I need for a solid 10-12 mile jog through Los Angeles.
After a few Internet searches for “best bike paths near Westwood,” the consensus seemed to be that running the perimeter of UCLA a couple of times was the way to go. It seemed like a good opportunity to bump into Josh Rosen and tell him that I hoped he’d be a Giant in a few days. Plus, it was just a few blocks from where we were staying. Perfect, right? I thought so, too.
Then, I got super lost somewhere near Bel Air. To get back to where we were staying, I had to climb a few hills that felt like they had been designed by Satan.
After 6 terrible miles, I called it quits and didn’t run again until we got back to New York. I’m the furthest thing from a running coach, but based on how I felt, I think I can safely say that I didn’t gain much from that “workout.” If anything, it made me hate running for a day or two. Even worse, there was no sighting of Josh Rosen.
Plenty of you are probably more dedicated runners than I am. You probably would have found much smarter ways to get productive work in during a trip like this. But if this whole thing resonates with you, I hope you believe me when I say that (I think) it’s totally OK if you end up cutting a workout short because you’re, uh, on vacation.
You Won’t Lose All of Your Fitness After One Down Week
I think there’s one main motivator (or fear) that kept me running while on vacation, which I think a lot of you can relate to.
I’m always worried that after any amount of time off, I’ll lose all my fitness and be very sad.
I know, I know. Des Linden just won Boston after taking a bunch of time off. But she’s Des Linden, and I’m definitely not. Plus, it’s worth repeating that I’m kind of an idiot. As crazy as this probably sounds, I got very jealous of everyone’s Strava posts while we were, you know, doing the incredible drive down Highway 1.
So, what happened after we got back to New York? I (mostly) jumped right back into my training plan for the Brooklyn Half. This past Sunday, I raced a 10K and came in at 45 minutes flat—which was a personal record for me by over three minutes.
Jess has tried at least three dozen times to convince me that I can take a few days off every now and then. I know she’s right, and yet, I still find a way to drag myself outside after eating a bunch of steak while on vacation. It’s very dumb, and maybe I’ll finally start listening to her now that I’ve learned these lessons. Or, I’ll throw up all over myself during our next vacation during an unnecessary jog. We’re visiting her parents in a few weeks, so subscribe to the blog to see what happens!
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