The Training Crucible

Okay, so the official Disney Marathon is not until January 2011, but this past week my family was there for vacation, and believe me, we logged the miles! Before left I wrote a post about how to train while on vacation, now that I'm back I wanted to share the results.
Over the course of 5 days at Disney we walked over 33 miles.  I used the pedometer feature built into the my Timex watch to track the miles.  I did have a couple of issues with the pedometer not always tracking my steps, especially as we stood in line for rides and did more of shuffle than a walk, but overall, I think it kept a pretty accurate count of what we did.  Each day also offered extra workouts:
1. Pushing the stroller (at times with 100 lbs worth of kids aboard)
2. Swimming
We same every night at the pool for about an hour.  This was great because it gave me an opportunity to get off my feet and still get a good workout in.
My one regret is that I didn't get my ab work in like I planned, but after having 10 hours days while on vacation, I felt like I deserved the break.
This week as I am a bachelor with the rest of the family in Florida for a wedding I plan to hit the road every day, once I catch up on some sleep!
Tomorrow, I be posting about my plan for the next 12 weeks: Speedwork!

This next week I will be on vacation. The family is going to go visit the Mouse at Disney.  My girls have been looking forward to this for awhile.  Add to it the fact that they get to see nana and papa while we there and the trip is over the top!
But going on vacation can be hard when you are use to your workout routine at home.  Here are some of the tips I plan to implement on our trip this year:


1. Have a plan. I know it sounds simple, right.  You have a workout plan at home, why not take a little extra time and plan for your vacation.  Going to Disney means lots of time walking and simply being on my feet as we stand in long lines, so I'm not even going to worry about trying to get any runs in during the time we are at park.
2. Watch what you eat. Because vacation can mean lots of fast food, you'll want to be informed about what you are ordering. The Fast Food Explorer can provide you some great information about many of the most popular fast food restaurants.  I also make the extra effort to drink water and stay away from the empty calories found in soda.
3. Realize that something is better than nothing. I am not a world class athlete, I do not need multiple hours of training everyday.  Before leaving for vacation I was doing P90X or running everyday, but one week off is not going to kill me.  I am sure I will miss working out as normal, however, I will be walking around 4 theme parks with my wife and 3 girls (ages 5, 3, and 2). I know from past experience that when these girls get tired they want to be held. Holding 25-40 pounds for 30 minutes is a workout, especially when they fall asleep in your arms.  Walking around the park isn't the same as running 8 miles on Saturday, but I'm taking my pedometer to keep track of how far I walk this week.
4. Think of exercises you can do with minimal equipment.  Part of my plan is to do my ab workout in the hotel room each morning.  I also plan to mix in some push ups so I can get in some upper body work.  On vacation you could also take resistance bands with you (much lighter than your dumbbells).
5. Take it easy on yourself the next week. Don't try to double your workouts the next week in order to make up for one missed week.  Chances are if you do double up you'll end up getting injured and miss more time.  Simply return to the level of workouts that you were at before vacation.  If at any time you feel like you are overdoing it, back off a little bit, remember you've been away for a week, your body needs to adjust.  If you are 3 or 4 days into the week and you feel really good then push your workouts on the next 2-3.
6. Enjoy your vacation. Chances are it has been too long since you took one.  The last time I took a week long vacation was 2 years ago. I need this one. And because I really do need it, I'll also be taking a break from the blog/email/Twitter for the week as well. Talk to you when I get back!

How do you exercise while on vacation?

[photo by: Capt Kodak]