Going on vacation can be a fitness routine killer. While away from home you get out of your comfort zone, away from familiar routes and the next thing you know miles are lost that you’ll never get back. For some this can be a fitness killer…
Truth be told I have fallen into this trap myself. I’d miss a few days, and told myself I would get started when I got back home. Next thing I knew a day turned into a few days and then a week. With my routine in shambles, a week transformed into a couples weeks and easily that spiraled into a month or more.
Tired of falling off the wagon and seeing all of my gains in endurance, speed and lost pounds evaporate I decided to take my running on vacation with me. Just as I planned out my vacation adventures I planned running into the time away from home. While on our latest adventure Michele and I planned our fitness time around visiting family, 4th of July activities and fishing in Central/Northern Minnesota.
Lake Wobegon Trail – The Lake Wobegon Trail is a 10-foot wide, bituminous surfaced hike-and-bike pathway. The trail, which opened on September 30, 1998, extends through Central MN from the city of St. Joseph to the city of Osakis. The trail also has an extension on the west side of Albany heading northeast to Holdingford and beyond.
With a wonderful trail system so close we took advantage of this as often as we could. We planned our running early in the mornings or whenever we could plan in a fitness getaway.
(86 miles of trail at our finger tips)
With the cool temps and low humidity I found it easy to run. With such conditions at hand I logged a few tempo runs and long distance outings to help burn off the calories of our other vacationing activities. Those activities included, family reunions, other “adult gatherings.” wing night, pizza night and way to many home made cookies.
(It only takes a little extra room in the suit case)
Whenever you’re on vacation, or away from home on business, look for city/state/federal parks systems/trails for some fresh, exciting and new places to run. Big city running can also be fun and there is no better way to see the city from the ground floor. Not sure where to run, look up some local running clubs, running speciality stores to find some safe places to get out and burn off some stress. Or follow the latest vacationing/fitness trend of destination races. Make the point of your trip to race in a new city. Taking your fitness on vacation with you instead of leaving it at home helps with the hazards of eating away from home, keeps your routine in check and it also refreshes your running.
Fishing – If you can’t fish in Minnesota, you can’t fish anywhere. We went out a number of times to locations I’m sworn to kept a secret. Fishing up north the fish grow large, we were pulling in 1 pound panfish nearly at will. I also caught a number of largemouth bass, a few northern pike, crappie and perch.
(D you know how many calories it took to land this monster?
Not many but it sure was fun)
Vacationing can be about some downtime, about rest and recovery. It can also be about learning a new activity, and exposing yourself to new adventures. It is great to getaway, to see new areas of our great country and experience new activities. With some advanced planning and a little research your fitness does not have to stay at home.
How do you stay fit while on vacation? Post a comment and tell us about it…