6 tips for training while on vacation

Summer is here and many Canadians are taking some much-needed vacation time. Spending a week at a cottage or going on a good old-fashioned Canadian road trip is a lot of fun, but if you’re training for a fall race, these trips can drive a wrench into your training plan. The good news is, you can still enjoy a vacation with friends and family without throwing your plan right out the window. Check out our tips for training while on summer vacation.

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Make it a de-load week

If you know you have a vacation coming up, work your training schedule so that time falls during a de-load week, when you’re cutting back on mileage and intensity. You should have at least a couple of weeks like this incorporated into your training plan already, so all you have to do this time is to match up with your trip.

Keep your runs and workouts short and quick

Vacation is the time to plan some short but effective workouts that won’t take too much time away from the other activities you have planned. Try these quick workouts that take no more than 30 minutes to complete, warmup and cool-down included.

Do your long run before you go

You likely have a long run on the schedule, especially if you’re training for a longer race like a half-marathon or marathon. If you can, plan to do your long run before you leave for the trip or after you get back, and just enjoy a few shorter runs while you’re away. For example, if your trip is from Saturday to Saturday, plan to do your long run the Friday before you leave and the Sunday after you get back.

Be willing to get up early

If you have lots of activities planned during your trip, the best way to ensure you don’t miss anything (or hold everyone else up) is to get up early and put in your miles before the rest of your group is awake.

Cross-train

On a summer vacation, there are plenty of opportunities to try different activities that will challenge you physically that are also a lot of fun, like tennis, swimming, hiking and water sports. Feel free to swap your run for a different sport, and reap the rewards that cross training can offer.

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Relax

Finally, your other option is to simply relax and not worry about fitting your training around your vacation. One week of missed runs is not going to set you back significantly, and a week of rest may even reinvigorate you so your training goes even better the next week. Our advice? Bring your shoes, run if and when you want, and if you don’t end up running at all, don’t sweat it — you can get back to it next week.