Training While Traveling Article by Scott Jurek

This article seemed pretty timely after my trip to Mexico last week, the canceled trip to Colombia this week and NY vacation next week...  Enjoy.

The Long Run: Train Or Bust

Updated: Aug 10th 2011 1:43 PM UTC by Competitor.com

Ultrarunning star Scott Jurek shares his tips for logging miles while traveling.
Written by: Scott Jurek

Photo: Scott Draper

It was a classic case of air travel gone wrong. In 2001, my team and I were stuck in the Vancouver International Airport for an extra 12 hours while on our way to the Hong Kong Trailwalker 100K. In an instant, we lost half a day and missed out on a training run on the course. It would have been easy to grab some dinner, curl up on the airport floor and call it a day, but my teammate, Ian Torrence, had a better idea. Before I knew it, we were running along the sidewalks of the departures entrance. Although the 90-minute run took place alongside roaring planes spewing jet exhaust, we made the best of things and didn’t miss our training run. I maintain a busy travel schedule amid training for the world’s longest and toughest ultramarathons; combining pre-travel planning with adaptability is my strategy for running while on the road. Before leaving home, I front-load training. My advice:

• Plan the week preceding travel as a higher volume week and the travel week as a recovery week.
• Do quality sessions such as tempo runs, hill workouts and long runs the week before travel.

If I’m traveling some place new, I try to research the area so I know what to expect when I arrive:

• Use the Internet to research running routes; I like www.mapmyrun.com and www.usatf.org/routes.
• Search for restaurants and grocery stores to save time and fuel right.
• Check the weather forecast to pack appropriately. This may appear to be a no-brainer, but you’re more likely to skip a run if it’s pouring and you forgot a running hat and waterproof shell.
• Research nearby running specialty stores and running clubs to join group workouts and explore hidden routes. Before a trip to Asheville, N.C., I contacted resident trail running legend Will Harlan, who gave me a great tour—complete with lessons on botany and history—and workout on a local trail.

Upon arriving at my destination, I gather additional information from the hotel staff to confirm my research and get advice from locals that may not be available online or in English. When I traveled to Tokyo in February, I stayed one mile from the 5K path that circles the Imperial Palace. I went for a run to shake off the jet lag as soon as I got settled, sightseeing during the less hectic late-night hours.
A busy schedule that changes on the fly can obliterate training plans. Here’s what I do:

• Look over the next day’s schedule and plan when a run will fit; it’s often best to train first thing in the morning before obligations pile up.
• For tempo and specific pace workouts, a GPS or speed-distance watch is an important tool for knowing splits on routes without mile markers.
• Evenings are a good time to squeeze in a flexibility or short strength session. If a hotel gym is not available, consider a portable gym unit (such as TRX or resistance tubing) that packs easily.

Remember, even the best plans need to be flexible:

• Make do with the time and environment: Thirty minutes of running in traffic can be better than a zero for the day.
• Make the most of unexpected schedule changes. Have running gear on hand for unexpected opportunities to train.
• Factor the day’s stress into whether getting out for a late-day session is worthwhile. Sometimes rest and sleep may be the best choice.

While it may not take the form of running alongside an airport tarmac, training during travel can be something to dread or a fun challenge to embrace. Running in a new environment and being adaptable may be just what you need to stay motivated.

About the Author:
Based in Boulder, Colo., Scott Jurek is a seven-time winner of the Western States 100-mile trail run. Read more from Scott every month on the back page of Competitor Magazine.


http://running.competitor.com/2011/08/inside-the-magazine/the-long-run-train-or-bust_34677

Change of Plans

We’ve all had that time when we had to change our running plans. Sometimes this change is forced by injury or schedule, sometimes it’s allowed by opportunity. When we’re not in the final weeks of an important training cycle, change presented by opportunity should be welcomed – a new trail, a new training partner, an interesting running opportunity – these changes keep running interesting.

I had a change forced on me last week by opportunity. I say forced because the opportunity was so great I couldn’t turn it down. I was traveling in Arizona for work, staying at a resort hotel with the Tucson Mountain Park just out the back door. Mountain trail running was an opportunity a Miami runner just couldn’t pass up, 10k on Friday be damned. 

4:30am Run - Part 3 End of the Week

I Jedi mind tricked my way out of the camp this morning.  I had seen a trail not far from the camp’s gate that I wanted to check out, so as I got to the gate this morning I willed the guard not to notice me, or at least not to care.  “I’m not the one you’re looking for.”  Really I just waved and took the dismissive nod as “whatever, stupid gringo” and I sped off into the dark before he’d have a chance to realize what I was doing.  Unfortunately that was about the highlight of the adventure.

About 30 yards down the trail, just around the corner, I came to a stagnant stream about knee deep.  I was tempted to cross but just at the edge of my flashlight beam I could see the dark out line of a crocodile.  Or a log.  Whatever it was, along with the “beware of crocodile” road signs I had seen, the rustling in the bushes and the eerie shadows my weak flashlight was casting I decided I’d already had enough and headed back.

Unwilling to completely forgo my excursion I ran a mile down the road hoping to hit the turn off to a smaller road that lead up towards the hills surrounding the mine.  After a mile I still couldn’t see the turn off and I wasn’t having fun running on the rutted shoulder of the road, in the dark, hoping some passing mine car wouldn’t stop to tell me what I was doing was unsafe (in Spanish) so I headed back to the camp to finish my run on the now boring, but well lit streets.

Overall the week wasn’t terribly exciting, but I did manage to get out for 5 runs totaling about 35 miles.  Better than I had expected and much better than the 0 miles I would have had even a month ago.

4:30am Run Part 2 – Jungle Town

It’s actually more of a resort town IN a jungle, and it was more like 4:50am run, but same thing.  I managed to get out the door early again this morning.  It was a struggle because they keep the building air-con on so low it was cold getting out of bed (for a now thin blooded Miami kid), but getting outside into the warm humid morning felt pretty good.

It’s a bit strange running though a small enclosed town.  It’s probably bigger population wise than many small towns in the US.  I’m guessing several hundred over a thousand people, plus there’s a gym, 2 pools, tennis courts, soccer field, movie theater, bowling ally, supermarket and hotel.  Yet all of this is packed within a fence surrounded by jungle – a small mining town disguised as a resort.  A route all the way around the outside is probably just short of 3 miles, so I got a pretty good feel of the place doing an 8 mile run this morning.  The FARC used to be pretty big in this area, and though I’m told there’s no danger anymore, I’m not sure how they’d feel about the gringo going outside the fence.  Even within the fence running the in dark can have it’s “on edge” moments – rustling in the bushes 9 times out of 10 is a bird or cat, but I don’t really want to know what might come out that 10^th time…

I’m surprised I don’t see more people out running in the morning here.  You’d think in a small town like this where everyone works for the same company and lives in close proximity, people would take advantage of this quite time.  Instead I saw 2 other runners, 1 armed guard and his dog and got to enjoy the sounds of a jungle waking up in the early morning solitude of the camp.

As much as I’d like to get out of the fence I think I’ll continue to do my laps in the relative safety and peace of this fenced in resort town and look forward to getting back to Miami and more running freedom.

4:30am Run - Motivation

Sometimes you have a run that you’re just proud of.  Sometimes that’s because you hit some milestone, exceeded some goal, or you proved something to yourself.  I was pretty happy with my Wednesday run this week.  I set off with a goal of 10 miles, 7:20 pace, and negative splits.  I met all of them running the 10 at 7:08 pace with a 2 min negative split and never felt like I was straining, all while practicing drinking and fueling (something I never do.)

This morning I was happy with my run for a completely different reason.  The run was not long (only 4.5 miles) and it certainly was not fast (8:20 pace).  Instead I was happy because I actually RAN.  I’m traveling on business and in an area where running just isn’t easy (a small mining camp in Colombia.)  Even a month or 2 ago that would have been reason enough for me to blow off running for a week and a half – not even bring my gear, but today I woke up at 4:30 (I’m not a 4:30am person) to get a few miles in before I met my hosts at 6 for what will be a 15 hour day by the time we’re done.  It may not seem like much, but if I can put in 25-30 miles during this trip it’s that much more than I would have had before, and that much less conditioning I’ll lose while I’m down here – and for me something that makes me proud and motivates me to run this week.

Finding those little things to be proud of can help you keep running, and keeps the running interesting.  It doesn’t always have to be a PR, or a great run – it can be finding a new route, seeing a great sunrise, or even just getting out.