Before going on a vacation, I always pack my running gear. It includes running shorts, T Shirt, Shoes and wristband. In addition to the running gear I also pack my dreams of running. I dream that I am getting up early in the morning and going for a nice 5-10 Kms run before leaving my Hotel for sightseeing. And I am seeing this dream before every vacation. Whether its a business trip or a family trip I see this dream before I embark on my journey. In all these trips I can remember that its only once when I donned my running shoes and went for a run. This was in 2014 when I joined a new organisation and I was sent to Ahmedabad for training. It was a 15 day training. I remember I went for a run around the Hotel and too for 1 day in that trip. But apart from that I don’t remember ever going for a run when I am on a vacation. In short my this dream of running in a dreamy location never came true.
Is going for a run on vacation so difficult ? In my experience it is. If you are with your family, then you usually have a good time in the evening. You go out for sightseeing during the day and by the time you are back at Hotel, you are tired. Your dinner is usually heavy. When I say heavy, it means you have delicacies which take more time to digest. You order food which you normally don’t have at home. With all the food and sleeping late, it gets difficult to wake up early and go for a run. On the other hand when you travel for business, there are events, conferences, meetings, and dinner which takes a lot of your mental energy. In this situation all you want to do is wake up later than usual and have a late breakfast.
What I have also seen is that, most Hotels have a gym which has a treadmill. Lot of holidayers run on a treadmill before having a sumptuous breakfast. Gym in a hotel is really a blessing.
Now Inspite of all these you want to run. You have made a decision that you will for a run. Here is what you need to do.
Step 1: Take out you running shoes, shorts and T shirt before you go to bed. Keep them next to your bed. Your mind will get tuned to wake up early.
Step 2: Sleep early and set up the alarm. Setting up alarm is half the job done. You will be subconsciously aware of the alarm. Another trick is to tell your pillow to wake you up at the set alarm, in case you have a problem sticking to the alarm.
Step 3: As soon as you wake up, straightaway follow the routine you follow at home. This will help you prepare for surprises which you might encounter on your run.
Step 4: Run half the distance you run when you are at home. This will ensure you will enjoy the run. Since you are at a new place it will help keep you fresh and energetic throughout the day.
Do remember you are running for pleasure when you are on vacation and not for the primary reasons like losing weight.
In the end I want to say whenever you are on vacation, your priorities are different so its absolutely OK if running takes a backseat.
Happy running