From the Ocean to the Desert: Week-in-Review & Link-up
Travel. It’s a word many runners and triathletes fear during the middle of a training cycle. Will I be able to get all my workouts in? Will I have access to the equipment I need? Travel can definitely derail our training and healthy eating plans, but only if we let it.
During the past two weeks, I’ve been a traveling maniac. I spent most of last week in Tucson, Arizona, for work, and 11 days in Florida the week before that. I used the time away to explore new running routes and to try some new workouts.
If you’re looking for some helpful tips to ensure travel doesn’t derail your training, be sure to check these posts out:
5 Tips for Running While Traveling
Don’t Let Travel Unravel Your Training
Every week I share my weekly training and how I’m taking action against my 2015 goals. I also share the one thing I’m most proud of from the week and the one pitfall that has challenged me the most. Then, I invite you to do the same. There is a place at the bottom of this post for you to share a link to your weekly recap for others to come and cheer you on or offer you support. If you don’t have a Web site, simply share about your week in the comments section.
Here’s what my past two weeks of training looked like while in Arizona and Florida:
Getting Sweaty and Stronger
My fitness goals for 2015 are to stay in half marathon shape year-round (20-30 miles of running per week and long runs of 8-11 miles) and get stronger (2-3 strength training and cross training workouts each week).
Week of March 16 – Tucson, AZ: The Desert
- Monday: Ran 5 miles at an easy pace + 75 minutes of restorative yoga
- Tuesday: 30-minute Jillian Michaels strength training workout at 5:30 a.m. before catching a flight to Tucson
- Wednesday: Ran 5 easy miles along the Rillito River Path in Tucson (read more about the path here) + 1-hour massage
- Thursday: Rode 45 minutes on the stationary bike at my hotel in Tucson
- Friday: Ran 7 miles through the Sabino Canyon in Tucson (read more about this epic run here)
- Saturday: REST + 1-hour of acupuncture and Chinese cupping massage – Saturday I participated in Muscle Walk in Atlanta to benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Association. The walk consists of a short victory lap (ours was about a half mile) because many of the participants can’t physically walk or are in wheelchairs. It was a beautiful morning full of so much inspiration, meaning and making a difference. If you’d like to make a donation to MDA to support my Muscle Walk efforts, click here. (And thank you!)
- Sunday: Ran 8.2 miles at an easy pace in the rain with friends in the morning + 75 minutes of yin yoga in the evening
Week of March 9 – Tampa, FL: The Ocean
- Monday: 1 hour at Orangetheory Fitness, including 3.4 miles of running with speed work and hills … also on Monday afternoon, I got to fulfill one of the things on my bucket list by swimming with manatees in Homosassa Springs. I got to see two mothers and two babies together. I really love manatees so this was amazing. I already can’t wait to go back later this year.
- Tuesday: 4-mile easy run with Mr. rUnladylike and my dad
- Wednesday: 1 hour at Orangetheory Fitness, including 2 miles of running and 1 mile of rowing
- Thursday: REST
- Friday: REST
- Saturday: Ran the Oldsmar Armadillo 5K (You can read my race recap here.)
- Sunday: REST and travel back from Florida to Atlanta
Eating Clean
My nutrition goals for 2015 are to cook most days of the week, limit sugar and bread intake, track my food daily and focus on eating clean(er).
Eating well while traveling can be a challenge. I did much better in Tucson than I did in Florida surrounded by family, friends and many events to attend. I took a week off in Florida from tracking my meals in MyFitnessPal, but last week I got back on the horse and really love being able to see my calorie, carb, protein and fat intake to ensure I’m consuming the right amounts of each. I planned some great meals for this week and will be back in the kitchen sharing some delicious recipes on next week’s recap.
What I’m Most Proud of
I’m most proud of my 5K performance since I haven’t been doing any formal speed work or training, with my fastest mile being 6:47. I’m also really proud that I got up before sunrise every day I was in Tucson last week to get my workout in early before the day began.
Where I Struggled
I struggled with food choices in Florida. I overate in social settings, but I’m back on track as of last week and feeling much better. It is amazing how much better we feel when we eat clean and healthy.
Thought for the Week Ahead
“Acknowledge all of your small victories. They will add up to something great.” ~Kara Goucher
Loading InLinkz ...I want to hear from you! How was your week last week? How was your training? What are you most proud of? Where were you most challenged? Share your comments and/or link up to your weekly recap post below.
Comments
I love to workout when I ravel (which is few and far between these days) The best way to see a new city is to run it. My biggest problem is mapping out my runs. I need to get better at that. You’re traveling to some interesting and beautiful places! Nice week of workouts!
Amazing work! You are always so inspiring! You should be incredibly proud of that 5K!
In other news, it’s fabulous that you are able to work in your training while traveling so much. Airplanes wreck me, so I don’t know how I would manage.
Keep it up!
Thanks for your kind words Jenn. I appreciate it. Hope you are doing well! xo
Great week of workouts! The trails in Tucson look so pretty!
I don’t travel much except for vacation, but I always try to get in workouts when I’m away or move around my rest days if it’s just a weekend trip. A couple trips this year are to races, and I’m excited to combine running and seeing a new city more!
I was travelling last week – so not a lot of time to run! Definitely a challenge to get 3 small runs in. even this week is becoming a bit of a nightmare 🙁
Traveling can be so tough Rebecca! Hang in there. You’ve got this! xo
wow that is so super neat that you swam with MANATEES!! How did you get to swim them?! My sister LOVES them and would love an opportunity to do that, too!!
Hi Audrey,
They do swimming with the manatee tours in the Crystal River/Homosassa Springs area in Florida. It cost $116 for my husband and I total. We really loved it. The season is November through March when the weather is cold. They flock to the springs where the water temperature is 72 degrees F year-round. I’d highly recommend it. xo
ah – thank you so much!! That’s a good price too for such a unique experience!
Wow, you certainly managed to do alot of great workouts while traveling. Swimming with manatees must have been so much fun! I had a great week that included running the final ten miles of a marathon with a friend running her first marathon. Training for Boston continues well and hopefully a 22 mile run this weekend will go as planned!
How special to run the last 10 miles with a first-time marathon finisher! I bet that was incredibly special, and probably more memorable and meaningful than if you had ran the race yourself. Glad to hear your Boston training is going well. Keep it up! Just a few weeks to go!!!
Jesica, wonder what your take on acupuncture is after reading this blog. Was it a treatment. I have heard mixed reviews on acupuncuture, and sure appreciate your viewpoint. I sometimes get a cranky IT Band.
Hi Mike,
I actually wrote a recap of my very first acupuncture treatment about two years ago, which was the only other time I’ve ever gotten acupuncture. If you’re interested, you can read it here: http://www.runladylike.com/2013/05/14/trying-acupuncture-for-the-first-time/. I liked the acupuncture I had last week better than this first time. What was really great was that my therapist worked on my tight spots and then did the cupping after, so I think the combination of acupuncture with massage was what is most helpful. My mom has really felt significant results from acupuncture and really believes it made a difference for her and some injuries she had a few years ago with foot pain. I don’t think I’ve gone enough to give a definitive take on if it works or doesn’t. When you have a limited budget, I tend to want to invest in massage more than acupuncture, but the therapist told me that massage is more short-term and acupuncture treatments can eventually have longer-term effects. So, the jury is still out, but I do want to try it again. She told me that after four sessions I could probably come once a month and see good benefits. I have really inflamed calves, so anything to help the circulation flow I’m game to try. Let me know if you try it out and what you think. I think it’s worth trying to see how your body responds, but one time probably won’t be enough to see significant benefits. My sports massage therapist has really helped me prevent and attack IT band issues so they don’t get in the way of my training. I can definitely speak to sports massage for cranky IT.
I love reading your travels !!! And I love that you got to swim with the manatees. That is beyond cool!
Thank you Smitha. And more importantly, CONGRATS on your big half marathon PR this past weekend on an incredibly tough course in tough conditions. You are awesome! Very excited for you!
What a great two weeks! Getting the workouts in while travelling is so hard, and don’t even get me started on nutrition :).
I’ve been struggling with a bit of fatigue but I think it’s normal for this point in the training cycle as I just start to crank up the volume… bring it on, Spring!
Alyssa,
I was reading a post from my friend Janae at Hungry Runner Girl today and she shared a tweet from a friend that the Hansons-Brooks training team shared. They said that if you are feeling 100 percent and not tired at all well into a training cycle, you are doing it wrong. So feeling a little fatigued is definitely normal. That’s what taper is there to help fix. Keep it up! And we can both work on eating clean together. I’ve tried some great recipes this week that I’ll be sure to share in next week’s recap. xo
I saw that post too! Such a great little reminder 🙂
My last run was done on January 10th due to a ultra nasty case of Plantar Fasciitis. ULTRA frustrated. It looks like you have had some great adventures and runs the last two weeks! Thanks for the great posts, keep them comin.
I’m glad you’re taking time off to properly heal Tim, but I know how extraordinarily frustrating it is. I hope you’re back out on the road soon. Thanks for your kind words. xo
Just seeing those pictures from Tucson brought back so many great memories! I qualified for worlds at the national duathlon championships in Tucson in 2013 and it was amazing! I loved racing there!! I also love that you get it done on the road – no excuses and CONGRATS on the 5K win!! I’ll definitely have to read that recap!!
Hi Allie! I don’t think I realized your qualifying race happened in Tucson. So cool! I hope you had an incredible birthday. I’ve loved watching all your fun adventures this past month. xo
Great job getting your workouts done while traveling! That’s definitely not easy. I love your fitness goal of staying in half marathon shape the whole year, by the way!
It is so hard to get your workouts in while traveling! You did a great job and I am sure it helps so much to get the exercise in early before the day starts. I lived in Arizona (Phoenix) for 13 years and I miss those desert runs. Last week went well for me. My sister was in town but we ran together and I was able to get in a lot of my HIM training before she arrived, which meant tripling up on some days and putting some job training items on the back burner, but it will all work out somehow. Good post!
i’ve found that my weak food place is home, too. i’m okay on the road for work, but there is something about being at home that makes it even harder. great job getting it all in. i can’t wait to hear about your weekend!