Running away from routine

It is August, a key holiday month for many people in the UK. It is also a key training month for any runner who is planning an Autumn distance race. I’m not going away this month so my training can be the focus and I can hopefully enjoy running on some sunny evenings. However, I did go away in May and was very conscious that although I wanted to relax and rest, I didn’t want to lose too much fitness over the fortnight. Here’s what I learned.

Fight the jetlag

According to one of my TV guilty pleasures, Biggest Loser, travelling is notorious for weight gain. Clearly this will have more of an impact for contestants of the show compared to traditional holidaymakers, but it is worth bearing in mind especially if you have had a long flight. I don’t run to lose weight but sitting on a plane for a long time in one position, getting dehydrated and eating rubbish food at strange times of the night isn’t going to help general health or fitness. You are also likely to spend the first few days of your holiday waking up at strange times and generally not feeling quite as rested as you had planned. On our holiday I dealt with the jet lag by running – by 7am on the second morning of our trip I was jogging down the Santa Monica beach path and in doing so got to experience a whole side of LA culture that I might not have otherwise done. Santa Monica was full of runners, roller-bladers, cyclists and people doing yoga in the park and as a runner I felt completely at home. I also took the opportunity to roll out my inappropriately short red shorts and pretend I was on Baywatch.

Sight-see on foot/by bike

The “hop on/hop off” bus is becoming ubiquitous in cities across the world. I have managed to shun it everywhere apart from Cape Town, where we were advised that walking wasn’t safe in all parts of the city. Generally I much prefer walking or cycling as a way to see a new place. Our holiday to California involved quite a lot of miles in the car as we drove up the coast, so we balanced this with choosing to cycle, rather than drive, the Golden Gate Bridge and cycling around the Napa Valley rather than taking the “Wine Train” or a tour. Both of these rides were easy and very tourist accessible – we weren’t by any means the only ones who had thought of them, but I can highly recommend this type of sight-seeing for anyone who is off on their holidays soon.

Choose your destination wisely

It really helped that California has a huge outdoor-living culture. Money has been spent on excellent cycle paths, dedicated running routes and fantastic trails through the many national parks. Running, cycling and generally hanging around in lycra was completely the norm and provided good motivation for avoiding lazing around. Next time I go on holiday I’ll definitely try and head somewhere with a similar culture – does anyone have any recommendations?