On the road

Tomorrow I leave for 5 days out of town for work. After a few years out of the workforce to focus on the mama aspect of my life, I’m a bit out of the business travel routine. But I have to admit, finding a way to fit in a workout or run was always the hardest part of business travel for me. I’m a creature of habit, I like to run pretty much the same route every day. And I hate the treadmill. Sometimes the treadmill is the only real option, as it will be for me this week so I’ve already bargained with myself, I just have to do 3 miles. If I feel like doing more, awesome, but that’s the minimum I need to do. It’s like I have a little drill sergeant in my head.

Sometimes though, business or personal travel takes you someplace where it’s more fun to run than your own home turf. My favorite place to run when I travel is in Sarasota, Florida. My good friend and fellow runner Saralyn lives there. I love running on the beach with her and talking and catching up, the miles just fly by. And it doesn’t even bug me when I find that fine white sand in my shoes weeks later at home.

If you are traveling someplace new and want to keep up your running routine, a little homework can help you plan ahead and get your motivated to try a new running route. Check with your hotel, I’ve stayed in some places where the concierge has pre-printed running maps. Runner’s World is an excellent resource to find running routes, check out this resource area for running routes all over the world. Though I generally like to run the same route every day, it’s the runs somewhere else that are firmly planted in my memory. I’ve run along the seawall in Vancouver, on a road lined with poppy fields in Tuscany, and through the English countryside on a dreary day. That beats my little park trail with the occasional dead armadillo.

For your on the road running mix, even when we’re running Tuscany, it’s still nice to get home.