Hi all,
I’ve been offered the opportunity to join a different company with a good track record and benefits. Hurrah! Unfortunately this new job would include one and a half to two weeks of travel per month which would put a dent in my training. Boooo! The company is based in Atlanta and I’d be traveling mostly to major metroplitan areas on the East Coast, California, and Florida.
Who travels for their job and how does it affect your training?
I’m sure you could at the very least go for runs in the places you’re going. No bike and probably no swim, but at least you could run.
Not travelling as much as I used to, but have figured that the bike is pretty much a non-starter. I’ve only been able to get a decent bike in on one trip - rented a reasonably good road bike and brought my own shoes and pedals. Mountain bikes are a little easier to find, but trails aren’t.
I’ll run wherever I am. I’ve never had a problem with this - but have had to run through some pretty skanky areas. I use jetlag to my advantage to get in early morning runs (heading west).
I’ve had good luck finding pools - but finding a pool with decent hours that fit with my work schedule is sometimes tough. A bit of googling before heading out is usually enough to get me a hotel close to running routes and/ or a pool. Use this to find pools… http://www.swimmersguide.com/
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If you are going to the same places over and over AND you are working your normal hours while on the road, you can easily swim and run. Biking is tougher.
My road trips almost always end up being round the clock work so being on the road per se is not the major limiter, time is. My trips are short (3-4 days) and scheduled well in advance so I just work them into my training plan. I work hard and skip rest days the 10 days or so before I go, use the trip as a couple rest days and fit in a workout or 2 if I can then plan on going hard again when I get back.
I travel over 100,000 miles per year; mostly to California from Florida. Since I workout early in the mornings, I try to take late morning flights --10:00 - 11:00 or the red-eye (I can sleep on the plane). Whenever possible I stay at Radisson or Sheraton hotels; they almost always have decent workout facilities and a pool; most “Express” hotels have a Fitness Center that consists of a broken bike and a treadmill. A lot of hotels also offer complimentary or reduced price ($5.00) one-day memberships to nearby gyms.
When I get to my hotel, I take the rental car for a drive, to measure off distances for running. I use the stationary bike with level/resistance all the way up on the endurance program. I swim when there’s a pool (and don’t when there’s not). I do my best to keep to regular (at home) training schedule.
Eating healthy on the road can be more difficult keeping your training schedule.
I travel lots for my first job. Avg less than seven nights at home per month. I ran a ton. Swimming and biking not much…rarely. It’s easier with the internet, you can find parks to run in, most hotels have treadmills and workout rooms. Ask STers before you go where to run as well.
“Travel” makes it hard, but it isn’t the real enemy - your schedule is. Will you be flying all over the place but working office hours? If so, then you can definitely get a lot of swimming and running in. If you travel a lot as a consultant or having anything to do with the tech industry however, it’s more the insane hours than the fact that you’re in Chicago one day and Phoenix the next. SAC hates it when I’m on the road and he doesn’t hear from me, because he knows I’m working 16hr days and not getting any workouts in.
The other thing is whether you travel alone, or with a team. Even one other person can make it difficult as you won’t be able to make the same sort of choices as when you’re solo. If I’m travelling alone I can get up at 05:30, be in the pool by 06:00, and out by 07:30 to be at work for 08:30. If I had to swing back to the hotel to pick up the rest of the crew, there wouldn’t be enough time.
Someone else already mentioned it, but it bears mentioning again: eating can make or break you on the road. Living in restaurants just isn’t good for an athlete, period. You can try to make smarter choices, but it’s far from optimal. If you’re staying for longer periods of time, book into a Marriott Residence - they have kitchens so you can buy groceries and do your own cooking if you’re so inclined. This is schedule dependent however, as if you work 16hr days the last thing you’ll want to do when you get back to your room is cook.
I’ve been able to make it work to a degree, but I’m sure SAC is waiting for the day I email him with the news that I’ve found a new job and won’t be living on the road 50% of the time.
Not at all, you just need to get creative. I’ve had some GREAT training experiences on the road. First of all, you need to know as far in advance as possible where you are going. Then hunt down the local tri-club or cycling club and make contact with their special events, social or membership person. I usually do this by email. Seek out folks who will be willing to help you bum a bike for a day or two.
Last year I called the Kansas City Cycling club and the president said they had a standing wednesday night ride with the entire club that I could join in on. He met me at my hotel and pulled out a full carbon giant road bike for me to ride! All I do is bring pedals, a pedal wrench, helmet and clothes. Pack the pedal wrench in checked baggage or you will have it confiscated by the homeland Nazis at the airport.
Did the same thing in Great Falls, MT a few year back too but it was a mountain bike club and we hit some squirly singletrack at dusk that was too much fun. You will find very cool people out there you just need to look.
Also, see if you have any leverage with the hotel chains you can select.Westin/Sheraton. In partnership with Reebok, Westin plans to have two guest rooms specially equipped for fitness buffs in each of its 121 hotels by the end of March. One room will feature a stationary bike; the other, a treadmill. Both will offer assorted other fitness equipment, such as exercise mats and balls. The rooms will cost $20 more than the standard rate. The nightstand magazine is runers world. Marriott and Bally’s has teamed up for a fit kit in the room too, not as nice as Westin, but you get a yoga mat, some dumbells and stretch chords.
Always bring a water bottle too. Almost every hotel tap water is rank but the workout rooms almost always have a water cooler with nice cold bottled water to take back to the room.
I also frequently try to find local trail guides and map the trailheads the best I can. Then I put the trail head address, or one close to it, into yahoo maps. There’s a little icon you can click on the right side of the map that will show you all of the closest hotels to your location. That way you can select a hotel right by the local running or hiking area.
Check with the front desk at your hotels too. They often have running maps for folks like us.
Find the local gym or YMCA on the web, download the class schedule. I’ve done several spin classes on the road when I can’t get a contact from a club. My health club is a member of a nationwide organization that provides reduced rate visitation to member clubs associated with the program. Or get a membership at 24 hour fitness or one of the other mega gyms in your locale and get the bonus membership that allows you to go to all of them.
Finally, right when you get to the room, call the front desk and request a feather pillow. Many places have them and it sure beats the rock they give you!
Good luck and welcome to the wonderful world of airport hell post 9-11 for the business traveller.
Cheers, Karma
Running on the road is the best. No better way to see some new surroundings. Unfortunately that’s all I get to do when I’m on the road. On the good side my travel is limited to the offseason so it’s not a big deal if I don’t ride or swim.
There are some damned good suggestions here and I’ll look into them when I hit the road this winter.
Well unfortunately my possible new job would be sales related, so that after regular work hours I’d be taking the dealers out for drinks/dinner. That pretty much shoots down training “after” work. My only shot is probably very early in the morning after being out with dealers till 11PM. Ouch…