For the last two weeks I’ve been in Hawaii on the Big Island and Maui on my honeymoon. Between sipping Pina Colada cocktails, hiking volcano craters (see below), and swimming at red sand beaches, I actually did some running.
But not a lot. In fact, I ran very little.
I took a lot of days off (hey, it’s tough to run when you’re getting up at 2:45 to watch the sun rise from 10,023 feet) and only ran 4-6 miles on the days I felt motivated. One day I ran 9 miles – but it was brutally hot and I didn’t have much fun.
As I begin my preparation for the 2011 Philadelphia Marathon, I wanted to start fresh and extremely motivated. Taking time off to mentally and physically rejuvenate is one of the best things you can do before a heavy training block.
But I also realized that I couldn’t start at square one. I needed to stay fit even while I was on my honeymoon, no matter how difficult it seemed. With 3 course meals, scorching sun, hiking and other activities, and low motivation, it seems nearly impossible to stay in shape while on vacation.
As I was running through volcanic fields on the Big Island, I started thinking about how to stay in shape during a vacation. I realized there are a few key principles to get the most impact from your workouts without sacrificing too much from your vacation.
It doesn’t matter what type of vacation you’re on: honeymoon, family vacation, road trip, or spring break. These principles can maintain your fitness even with a 30 minute workout just a few days a week.
How to Stay Fit on Vacation – Coming Soon to the Runner’s Gear Bag
After brainstorming ideas for this topic, I realized that this was going to be a lot longer than a blog post should be. So I decided to put together Strength Running’s third free guide – How to Stay Fit on Vacation. It will be for the runner who wants to maintain her fitness while on vacation.
I want to be clear that this is not for runners going on “running vacations” or those who want to build fitness. This is for real people (not you weirdos who are addicted to exercise endorphins) who want to relax, spend time with their family or friends, and not worry too much about running. You’ll have to run a little to stay in shape, but not nearly as much as you normally would.
I’ll also share the rationale for the workouts that I did while in Hawaii and why they work so well to maintain your fitness when you’re doing nothing else (with the exception of a few Mai Tai’s, of course).
Like the Strength Running PR Guide, this will be available in the Runner’s Gear Bag – a collection of free resources for runners who have joined the team.
The guide will launch in about two weeks once I’ve done all the fun stuff like formatting and editing. As usual, newsletter readers will get it first before the official launch date.
To get instant access once How to Stay Fit on Vacation launches – and other resources in the Runner’s Gear Bag like the Strength Running PR Guide, circuit workout, and extra content – sign up below and join the Team. Welcome aboard!
EDIT: How to Stay Fit on Vacation is now available! Click here to download your free copy.
