We are headed to Myrtle Beach today with our fifth wheel camper and the dogs in tow for vacation! This beach trip is an annual trip that my family has taken since I was a baby (and before I was born). Barry and I continue the tradition, and will have an adjacent campsite to my dad and sister. Of course, I will still be following my marathon training plan while we are at the beach.

Here are some tips on how to stick to your running schedule/workout routine while on vacation:

1. Pick a specific time to workout.
I have found that if you don’t have a set time to go for your run while on vacation it’s not going to happen. If you approach the day with the mindset of “I’ll get it in when I can”, you won’t find the time.

Personally, I have found that I need to run in the morning while on vacation, to make sure other activities don’t get in the way. By running in the morning, I know I’ll get my run in. Plus, I’ll beat the heat of the day. Although at the beach, I could run at midnight and it would still be hot…

2. Research before you go.
Do some research and find out where you can run or workout while you’re on vacation. When I travel for work, I often Google “where to run in [insert town]” and that usually works out pretty well. It’s how I found the Platte River Trail, less than 1/2 a mile from my hotel, when I was in Denver last summer.

If you’re staying in a hotel, you can always ask the front desk where there are good places to run. Or you can make plans to use the hotel’s facilities, if they have a gym and/or treadmill. If there is a local running shop nearby, that could also be a great source of information on where to run. Or you could link up with them on a weekly run, if the time and day suit your schedule.

3. Forget your training plan.
Okay, maybe not if you have a big race coming up. But otherwise, just go out and run. Don’t hold yourself to any certain mileage or time goal. Why not have a vacation from structured running and just run to enjoy it?

4. Take advantage of cross training
When you’re on vacation you often get the opportunity to do activities you don’t normally do- such as hiking, kayaking, biking, playing Frisbee on the beach. Feel free to mix things up and let one of those new activities be your workout for the day.

You know, like pedaling a four-person bike by yourself…

5. Relax
Don’t spend your vacation stressing about getting your run or workout in. If you end up not having the desire to run, take a rest day or do some cross training. But just think of how good it feels to have your run done and be relaxing on the beach under the sun with a cold drink in your hand (see tip #1).

What other tips can you add about running/working out while on vacation?

Now that the chickens have started laying, I have decided this will be my final post in this series. In a way, it’s like we’ve come full circle.

We have watched them grow from 4 day old fuzz ball babies living under a heat lamp in a box in our garage:

Into nearly full-grown hens laying their first eggs:

We converted an old wood shed into a chicken coop with an attached chicken run area:

And learned how to build things like nesting boxes…

…and roosting poles.

Hank attempted to eat the chicks while they were still babies living in our garage:

But the chicks survived and grew into their awkward teenage faze where they were half feathers half fuzz:

Once they were fully feathered they moved out of the garage and into the chicken coop:

We learned about their favorite treats:

Strawberries, melons, grapes, stale bread, and spinach!

And finally, we learned that chickens like to sunbathe:

I hope you have enjoyed the ‘Chick Days’ series! I’m sure the chickens will pop up now and then on the blog, just to say hi. For now, thanks for playing!

And don’t expect regular Sunday posts anymore…. 🙂

Today was not my day. It was just one of those days where I never really got into a rhythm and I just felt off the whole 6 miles of my long run. I felt tired and sluggish and just wanted to be done. I know it’s just one run and you can’t pin everything on it (good runs and bad runs, I know) but I was beating myself up during this run. I kept thinking “come on, it’s just 6 miles” and “you have no business training for a marathon if 6 is a struggle” and of course “toughen up buttercup.” I guess I did toughen up in a way, since I never took a walk break. I just kept trudging along. I’m not sure what the deal was. Maybe I’m tired from doing all morning runs/workouts this week? Maybe it was just one of those days. It was also 70 degrees with 100% humidity today, and that humidity never helps things any. It also makes my pictures hazy.

On a happier note, I tried out some new fuel: peanut butter-flavored Gu. Although I don’t necessarily need fuel on a 6 mile run, I prefer to try out new types of fuel on shorter long runs in case disaster strikes. Surprisingly I liked the flavor and it sat well in my stomach. I think this would definitely be something I would eat in the earlier stages of a race, because the longer I go usually the more irritable I get and the strongly-flavored peanut butter Gu would definitely not go over well with the irritable side of me.

My running brain did entertain me with some random thoughts, as usual, and for once I remembered one of them to share with you! The trail I was running on this morning essentially has a bathroom every mile for the first 3 (if you turn right and go to the trailhead when you get up on the New River Trail). There’s a brick and mortar bathroom at mile 0 and 3, and then there are porta potties at miles 1 and 2. I got to thinking I have become quite a connoisseur of porta potties over my years of running. I often know where all of the unlocked porta potties in town are located, as well as where other public restrooms are. So here’s where my running brain comes in: I decided that was very similar to the kid from ‘A Christmas Story’ becoming a connoisseur of soap.

Don’t ask why my brain made the leap from porta potties to the Ralphie being punished for saying the F-word. Probably because they both use the word connoisseur (which by the way I had to use spell check in order to spell correctly).

I will leave you with a video of Katie Ledecky swimming the 400 at worlds. It’s worth the watch if you have time. This kid, and I mean kid- she’s only 16, swims the way Steve Prefontaine ran. You may remember her from last year’s Olympics when she burst onto the world scene with a gold in the 800 free.

If you’re interested, the women’s 4×100 freestyle relay was some of the best racing I’ve seen and it has an edge of your seat finish.

Random question: Are elite runners allowed to consume products with caffeine in them while competing in the marathon? Barry had mentioned to me that when he takes in a Gu that has caffeine in it, he always gets a boost. I noticed today that the peanut butter Gu does not have caffeine in it and for whatever reason started wondering if elites were allowed to take in something that would give them a boost during competition.

Anyone else been following the world championships for swimming?

How do you move on from tough runs? How do you keep them from making you feel like the goal you’re training for isn’t attainable?

This morning I went for my 4 mile run on the roads around our house. I got to watch the sunrise, which was breathtaking. Naturally I did not bring my camera, so I can’t show you. But imagine mountain tops with a bit of mist and then sun slowly coming up through the mist and making the clouds turn hot pink and brilliant white against the blue sky. It was also gloriously cool outside this morning, only 63 degrees with 97% humidity. I think I am getting used to running in the morning without eating or drinking anything beforehand, although I do bring water to sip on while I run. Maybe that’s something your body adjusts to?

I ran in my new Oiselle shorts today and I continue to be happy with them. Four miles is a bit better to judge them on than 1.5 miles is. I also thought of another tip for running on the road! Be aware of where the sun is while you are running. I realized that it’s important to be aware if the drivers coming towards you (if you are running on the left side of the road) have the sun in their eyes, making it unlikely that they see you.

Last night I gave Barry an early birthday card (his birthday is September 16) to tell him I signed him up for the Hokie Half!

I debated on how far in advance I needed to tell him and had settled on 3 weeks. But then the other night he started telling me how the folks at the running store nearly had him convinced to sign up for it. So I figured I better let him know I had already signed him up before that happened!

Okay, I need all of your insightful input on this random question! There was a story on the news about Drew Brees only tipping $3 on a $74 takeout order from a restaurant. I guess the waiter/waitress took a picture of the receipt and called him cheap. His response was that he tipped that way because it was takeout, but if he had sat down in the restaurant for a meal it would have been 20% or more. That being said, do you tip when you order takeout from a restaurant?


I usually don’t. My thinking is yes, someone had to package it for you, but do you tip the employee at Subway who wraps your sandwich up or the employee at Panera who packages your to-go soup or salad order? I’m just curious on what other people do when picking up takeout from a restaurant and I’m mildly concerned I haven’t been tipping when I’m supposed to. It’s not something I’ve given any thought to before.

Do you tip on a takeout order from a restaurant? If so, how is that different from Panera or Subway?

If you run in the morning (aside from long runs) have you found that your body adjusts?

If you signed someone (who runs regularly) up for a race as a surprise, how far in advance would you tell them? Would you like it if someone signed you up for a race as a surprise? I would love it! When I told my dad I had signed Barry up as a surprise he said “Oh nice [long pause]…. don’t ever do that for me.”

There was an article about spectators in the July 2013 Boston Special Issue of Runner’s World, written by Mark Remy. Many of the articles in the 48 page special are heart wrenching, but this particular article about spectators, called Standing Ovation, was uplifting. In case you didn’t get to read this article, I am going to share a passage with you that I particularly enjoyed. It’s a bit long but it’s worth it. I added in some pictures to go along with the passage.

“This is what many folks outside the world of running may not fully appreciate: The attack at Boston wasn’t just an assault on innocent bystanders. It was an assault on innocent bystanders who had come together to cheer for marathon finishers. In this sense, the Boston bombings were — for me, anyway — an attack on this relationship itself, on the bond between the people who run and the people who root for them. And not just those who happen to be family or loved ones, either. I mean friends, co-workers, neighbors, college students, total strangers. At any marathon, but especially at a race like Boston, they turn out in droves to stand there and cheer. They are absolutely crucial.

In fact, the word spectator — from the Latin spectare, “to observe” — seems inadequate. It suggests passivity, and crowds who turn out for marathons are anything but passive. Marathon spectators shout. They clap. They play bagpipes and kettle drums. They rattle cowbells and scream you name, if they know it. If they don’t, they latch onto any identifier — “Go, Team in Training!” “Go, Sparkly Skirt!” “Go, Runner’s World!”

They hold handmade signs that make you laugh. (“You Should Have Taken a Dump When You Had The Chance.”)

It’s funny — a crowd supporting another crowd. You would think that having so many people cheering for so many other people would dilute the impact for any given runner. You would think that a single, random runner passing hundreds or thousands of roaring strangers couldn’t possibly feel special. You’d think that. But you’d be wrong.

I’ve been buoyed by people cheering by name for the guy next to me, and by “Go Mommy” and “Go Daddy” signs held up by someone else’s kids. I call this “secondhand inspiration.”

It’s a cultural universal: Every year, untold millions of spectators materialize to urge runners on at marathons around the world. Boston alone attracts an estimated 500,000. I don’t know when or where, exactly, turning out to watch other people run became a “thing.” (It’s odd, isn’t it, when you stop to think about it?) But I’m glad it is I can’t imagine ever running 26.2 miles without the crowds. And yet it’s easy to take them a little bit for granted.

Maybe this is because marathon spectators are kept, literally, on the margins — they line the roads and streets and jam themselves onto sidewalks, pouring their energy and attention outward, at the multitude of runners streaming past. At large marathons, there’s no mistaking who’s performing and who’s in the audience.

Or maybe it’s because our own private “support crews” are so good at what they do. During months of training, they put up with our aches and pains; they watch us vanish for hours at a time to do our workouts and long runs; they listen to us blather on about mileage and nutrition and ice baths. They indulge us.

On race weekend, of course, they’re the ones who kick into high gear just as we’re downshifting to prepare for race day. They travel along with us, carrying our stuff and eating when, and where, we want. They soothe our nerves. They study course maps to plot out where they’ll have the best chances of seeing us. They wonder whether, logistically, they can catch us at mile three and again at mile 11, and still make it to the finish on time, if they hustle They stand, often in poor weather and often for an hour or more, staring at a sea of grimacing runners as they wait for their grimacing runner to appear. And when we do, they go nuts.

They do all of this for us.

Not only that, but they do it with humility. How many times have you heard a runner’s spouse or partner at a race say that he or she is “just here to watch”? Just!

The tragedy in Boston spawned several social media memes. One was the notion that, in the face of this horror, “We are all runners.” It’s a fine sentiment, but I’d tweak it just slightly. On April 15, in the space of 13 awful seconds, we all became spectators. (Even those of us who are, in fact, runners.) As events unfolded, we sat and watched. But we rallied, quickly and loudly. We came together to voice support, to assure the victims — and each other — that we’re strong and we’ll get through this.

If that doesn’t say “spectator,” I don’t know what does.”

I hope you stuck through to the end of that excerpt, because it speaks volumes to how special spectators are. In the past my parents and sister, as well as Barry’s parents and his sister have traveled to our races just to cheer Barry and me on. When I ran the American Family Fitness Half Marathon last fall in Richmond, my Dad biked over 20 miles around the city to see me 4-5 times during the race. I ran my PR at that race, 2:01:00. There’s no way I would have been able to hang on without having him to look forward to every few miles (my dad is probably rolling his eyes reading this, because I’m being sincere).

Our families coming out to support Barry and me at our races means more to me than they know. I don’t want to speak for Barry, but I’m pretty sure he’d say the same. Knowing you have a familiar face waiting for you at “X” mile marker keeps you going when the going gets tough. Make sure you let those who support you know how much you appreciate them.

Did you read the full article in Runner’s World?

Who supports you in your sport?