Last week, while I was traveling for work, I received a number of questions about maintaining a healthy lifestyle and workout habits while traveling. With those questions in mind, I thought it would be helpful to share a peek into last week’s workouts. I am currently training for the Brooklyn Half Marathon on October 20th. Even though I still have eleven weeks of training before I cross the starting line, I’m very focused on my goal.  My goal on October 20th is to cross the starting line strong, mentally and physically, so that I can push myself to a sub 2 hour half marathon!  In addition, I’ve continued to make some “small” but impactful changes to my everyday routine as I continue to focus on feeling my best during an especially busy time period.

I’ve continued to increase my DAILY STEPS by making it a focus each day. Some days this means taking the “long route” to drop Katie off at nanny share or meander a bit on our way home while other days, I’ll take a conference call outside, especially if it’s primarily listening versus active engagement.  My average steps continue to be around 9,500 which is a huge win versus where I was though I’d still like to hit 10k each day. When I was traveling last week, I logged more than four miles of airport walking each travel day due to long delays.

My philosophy for maintaining healthy habits during business travel is to treat it like a regular week. That means that as much as possible, I wake up at 5:30 to workout just like I would in Brooklyn and I eat moderately. Sure, at our work happy hour I had a cocktail and I couldn’t pass up the delicious margarita at the Mexican restaurant, but I don’t treat work travel like a vacation, indulging in every local delicacy. I eat a healthy breakfast and lunch to ensure I have the energy to make it through long days and then at night, I enjoy dinner and drinks with co-workers. Staying as healthy as realistically possible while I’m traveling also allows me to return home with energy versus being exhausted for Bo and Katie.

So, with that said, let’s dive into last week’s training, twelve weeks out from my half marathon.

Monday: Even though I didn’t go to sleep until 1:30 AM Monday after horrible flight delays, I made it to the gym before my meetings started. This was a perfect example of a day when I knew that a run would provide me with more energy throughout the day than multiple cups of coffee. I ran 3 miles in 27:50. 

Tuesday: I spent 45 minutes in the hotel gym doing a runner’s strength workout that I found on Pinterest and then hopped on the treadmill to sprint a mile at an 8:34 pace.

Wednesday: Luckily, I have the opportunity to work with some like-minded people so Wednesday morning I had the treat of running and working out with co-workers. Our run towards a local lake included gorgeous, sunrise views and cool temperatures. As an added bonus, my colleague, Jim, provided me with some running form coaching during our run which reminded me how important running the tangents and keeping form in mind is during a run. I tend not to “pull my leg” through the run, stopping my stride short. He gave me a few tips that I’ve been able to easily leverage during runs since then. When we finished our 4 mile run we did 10 minutes of core work, including spider push-ups, planks, and v-ups.

Thursday: My anxiety around more than 9 hours of travel delays didn’t make Thursday a very enjoyable rest day. I ended up logging almost four miles of walking throughout the day as I listened to podcasts, conference calls and music while passing the time in Arkansas and Atlanta airports.

Friday: Similar to the way I started the week, I ended the work week with a 6 AM tower Pilates class even though I was exhausted from the previous day’s travel and late night. Molly’s tower class always challenges me, especially the ab series, so it felt great to be back after two weeks away from Pilates due to vacation and work travel.

Saturday: I knew that some yoga would be a beneficial way to work out some stress that my body was holding as well as loosen things up before Sunday’s long run. The 65 minute Yoga Vida class I took was a bit harder than I expected but I really liked the teacher and continue to be impressed with the Dumbo studio.

Sunday: I knew that I wanted to conquer some hills and distance during Sunday’s long run. Luckily my friend Melissa was game for the challenge and recommended that we include Brooklyn Bridge in our route as it provides over a mile of hill training and beautiful views. I covered 7.5 miles and maintained a 9:38 pace which was exactly the confidence boost I needed especially since it was a hot day and we were talking throughout the entire run.  I think this week we are going to head to Prospect Park for more hill training and a change of scenery.

I’m proud of last week’s workouts and the only change I would make in hindsight is to make my weekday runs a bit longer. Ideally, my 3 mile run would have been a four mile run and my four mile run would have been five miles. As I continue my training, I know that my week day mileage is just as important as my long run, so want to continue to increase the mileage in line with Theodora’s coaching plans.

Your turn – Are you running any upcoming races? How is your training going?