Surviving vacation

'Tis the season for vacation For many-----

It's summer time, people have a few weeks saved up and need to get ready for that big fourth-quarter push at work coming up soon

So it's a popular vacation time---except for me, I am lucky if I get a " staycation "

I have spent a lot of words on advice on dietary considerations, rest, and other things like that-----  in addition to finding time to train.
    For most, a lot of these thoughts fly  out the window when it's vacation time

In the midst of trying to relax, we may eat more, get even less sleep, be more harried, and ignore our training for a while

You don't have to ignore the training-sometimes it can be as simple as a walk or jog down the beach, or if you have the luxury of being able to bring a bicycle, a nice ride through whatever town you're staying in can be a way to at least get in a little exercise ----  Most hotel gyms range from bad to merely okay,   but a larger hotel or resort may have a passable fitness facility ---   it's better than nothing,

The above pic is more the rule than the exception,- useless old cardio machines on the verge of falling apart    -- if your hotel gym is like the one below, consider yourself very lucky and enjoy 

 But even then ---------  doesnt jogging on the beach sound a little more "vacation-ey" ?

Better yet !  ---  Take a vacation that revolves around fitness ---
  Who wouldnt want to ride their mountain bike through the slickrock trail in Utah?  Or Fruita Colorado, or any number of different places, -- Tsali trail in North Carolina if you like humidity

I'm a fan of getting out and doing something, rather than just lying around a Sandals resort in Jamaica and pampering yourself with strong drink -----


------ Sounds good so far right?


What about the grub?  -- Far too often we treat ourselves to the worst nutritional choices ever on vacation --- and not just on vacation -- maybe entertaining friends , or having a 3 day weekend -- its not hard to slip off the rails a bit

     When it comes to going off the rails , i can do it with gusto, same as anyone else -- and often in spectacular fashion





If your in New York , -- you gotta stop by a pizzeria or 3

 

 Pizza is hot, fresh,  thin crust and usually served up on paper plates as they shuffle you out the door quickly to make room for the many other folks in line for this stuff ------
 
         
And any particular day, you may end up at a breakfast diner

While i've long advocated that there's not much wrong with a couple of eggs and a serving of bacon, - maybe with some  whole fruit ,  when you start adding in the hashbrowns, biscuits , fruit juice,  and pancakes -- you can go into carb overload pretty quick and the chances for a mid morning energy crash are good

            When its not pizza night,  --- who knows, you may stumble into another staple of the cheat meal,  Mexican food !

Here's what a real mexican taco looks like ----- honestly, probably not going to set you back too far from a nutritional perspective  --- but face facts, unless we are in Mexico or San Diego , how many people  ever get real mexican food?    This is 2 corn tortillas (no gluten) - and some steak with onions and cilantro tossed in -- simple !   Calories? - less than 200 apiece,  150 if you go chicken in lieu of beef  -----  so your meal is directly proportional to how many you eat with few surprises

Most people  mistakenly think these things are "Tacos" also 

 And where do Taco's come from? Taco BEll, naturally

     And when  people go to a "Mexican " restaurant, it usually is a "Tex-Mex" style of place that is heavy on the cheese and sour cream based sauces,  and served up with a healthy portion of rice and refried beans  --- as if the carbs you get from a big plate of chips, salsa and the corn tortillas your  food is made with arent enough --- mmm - dont forget the 8 Dos Equis's and the Sopapilla to round it out !

Good stuff, huh?    ---    There are dietary workarounds  at the breakfast place and the mexican places --- the pizzeria, not so much -- the only "workaround" there is to limit how much you eat ----  eat 1.5 slices of NY pie, not 4 , for instance  ----------
       But a lot of people are of the mindset that they are not on vacation unless they loosen the belt and indulge a little bit


  Here's the Tri-fecta ------  Wake up at the crack of ten because you were out til midnight the night before,  -- amble down to the diner for a  big breakfast,  ---  get your day started, and by mid-afternoon, that old familiar feeling starts again, so you pop into a pizzeria for 2 slices of pepperoni and cheese and 3 beers
   ------  Then , after the day's vacationing and conviviality is almost done,  retire to a Tex Mex place for more adult beverages and 2000 calories worth of enchiladas, rice and queso !

Sounds like a wild day?   ---  It happens  ---   and trust me, if you are on a road trip with a bunch of hard training athletes, - a typical day might include all this plus a mid day trip to a all you can eat spaghetti place, and a bushel full of fruit  ---------    but thats for people who train 3 hours a day and sleep 10 hours   ----  not a vacationer from the midwest


How do you re-set the internal clock and bring yourself back to the road to wellness?

Easy -----  chances are you didnt kill yourself, or your efforts with 2 or 3 days of over the top vacationing  ----  If your body is not used to processing that much food -- then it will not process that much food .   I'd prefer this column to be light hearted , so i wont go into the biological details,  ---- but a temporary eating spike may cause some gastro distress, but is not going to hurt most people long term

               So how do we counteract the forces of evil?



1)  - continue taking your vitamins and any other supps or medication that you need to keep you regulated -- its shocking how many people rush off for a trip without their pills

2)  Find a market and make it part of your vacation plans , -- checking out some of the local sights, -- whether its an open air NY street vegetable market like this, or an organic produce stand in California -- or local fruit and veggies if your travelling elsewhere ------

Push comes to shove, you can find a Whole Foods or Trader Joe's about anywhere these days too

And for every horrendously bad nutritional day, have a clean, light day with minimal excess --- just fresh fruits, veggies, an occasional protein or meal replacement shake of your choice, and maybe some lighter fare for dinner

So in the end, in one week , you had 3 clean days, 3 blowout days and a day or two of travel thrown in ---- get back home and get back on point !

If you take my advice and go on an active vacation , to Moab or Tsali (you won't -- the intention may very well be there, but most people have spouses, significant others, and maybe even kids to think about ) --- then you most likely will have to pack your food in, so eating properly comes naturally   --- plus, few would want to take on the Slickrock trail the morning after a Mexican or Italian blowout dinner 

Eating there will be about surviving the next day --- and i like that  ---    And i hope someday you all get to take an "active vacation" like that,  -- whether its recreational mountain biking or  kayaking somewhere cool, or entering an epic race , like the Leadville 100, or Dirty Kanza 200 --- or learning how to scuba and taking a dive vacation on some old shipwrecks -------- its all good stuff

             --------  And to me, trips like that certainly sound a lot more interesting than going to Disney Land  ,  laying around a hotel pool ,   or jack assing around at all the other tourist haunts the world has to offer  ----  although there is something to be said for traipsing around Key West and pretending to the modern reincarnation of Ernest Hemingway for a day or two

Thanks for reading ---- Live long , live well , and prosper !

--Doug

In closing i'd like to give a RIP to Robin Williams  - he was a lifelong cyclist in addition to being a comedian

-- my favorites are the somewhat obscure role -  "The Survivors" , and also "The BEst of Times"  ----   Obviously the man had his demons , and they eventually won,    but he left behind a huge body of work that crossed all genres     ---   

Regarding his mental state, this is more proof that money alone is not the key to happiness, as i am sure he had as much as he ever wanted -----    I do believe though that good health and wellness can go  a long way towards happiness regardless of our finances 

_

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---- Doug

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disclaimer:    The information contained here is not intended to replace the medical advice of your physician and is not intended as medical advice.  This newsletter/blog is a sharing of knowledge and information from the research and experience of the staff of Fitclaimspro.com and professional colleagues unless otherwise noted

Hey honey! I'm doing a marathon next month !

                         

            Yep ---- they will --- and they'll tell complete strangers when they're training for them too






Goals can be intimidating, . So don't focus on them for a couple of weeks . 
Focus instead on taking consistent daily action. 

What are the daily activities that need to be done to hit your annual overall goal this year?

Focusing on just your actions is like walking through a pitch dark room, when you know the exit is straight ahead, just 10 feet away. Even though you can’t see anything, and you’re basically moving forward blind, you KNOW that if you take those 10 steps straight ahead, you’ll reach the door. So you don’t focus on where you’re going – you just focus on taking those 10 steps in the right direction, and you WILL get there!

Boom. You got this.



 There is a flip side

In the course of my job duties as an insurance man, i was speaking to a middle aged gent  (50ish) -- just making conversation while i looked at his house -----   He had a nice backyard pool so i said 
    "Looks like a nice place to relax after a tough day "   -- no big deal

He had to interject and add ---- (paraphrasing a bit) - "Yes , but i can't enjoy any cold gold, i'm training for a marathon ------ Just started!"

     I continued my inspection of his home , but when i was closing up , we spoke again and i wished him well on his marathon goals ---

 -- nice guy -- 

He had to keep going though (and thats fine) -- we talked about the hot weather , etc.  and how he was bringing his wife's elliptical down from the old gameroom for training  --
  -- At some point , he mentioned he had been riding his mountain bike on the street to acclimate himself to the heat and exertion ---   and when i left, he closed with saying,  

   "yep , about to take the bike for another spin around town , --- push it a little today "
 --- 
   -- I told him to keep himself hydrated and carry a bit of water on a 95 degree day in August

_______________________________________________________


With the very being of my existence ,   i wanted to shake this man and ask him ---

--- "How the hell is gallavanting around town square on an ill fitting budget priced mountain bike going to prepare him for 4 -5 hours of exertion on foot?  "

Short answer--- its not   

Why isnt he out running?  Or at least jogging?  --- Even running some gassers at the local high school track? 

This is the equivalent of walking through a pitch dark room, --- but unlike my first example --- not knowing where the he-double toothpicks  you are going and continuing to bump into walls and doors

------------ bro,  your wife's 9 year old elliptical that only has 2 hours of use on it is not going to prepare you for 4 hours of war -----   neither is riding the 'ol Roadmaster up to Starbucks for a bit of sun on the veranda

   The way to prepare for a running contest is to run -- not "cross train"    -----  lay down a month or two of slow and steady base mileage --- evaluate your equipment  (you dont want to be 7 miles in and have a hot spot from your shoe)  -- slowly increase your speed, and then twice a week try to increase your distance 

You wont look like this ------ 

But this should be do-able    

     -----  You dont have to run the whole 26 -- you can use the event as your Coup de Grace ,  but you should at least be able to cover 22 or 23 miles in training if you expect to make 26.2 on game day

Whats the difference? ----  The difference between 22 and 26.2 is 4.2 flipping miles ---   sadly most reading this would have some issues with that  --- but im not trying to train marathon runners , merely pointing out how one can have a fantastic goal ,  but then fall short through lack of specific focus, or lack of knowledge


 ------

I will never suggest one of my pupils' go run a marathon --- because i dont see any value in it ----   but if you wanna go -----   Rock on, cowboy !  I want to see you succeed!
   Succeeding at something like that doesnt involve watching Friends re-runs while you pound out an hour on the elliptical

       And let me take an ingratiating stab at what i define marathon success  ----  success would be finishing hard --   I mean,  you should be whipped,  but if you prep right, you will begin to falter and fail within sight of the finish line,  -- not 12 miles before
       Success means finishing in what i would call a decent time  -----  i'm not going to make anybody angry by sharing my idea of a decent marathon time , because it is a very wide range,  ---- but suffice to say, if anybody has to do the math and ask themselves - "Could i have walked it in that timeframe?"  ---  then your too damn slow !!!    (ask me about fartlek and how we can improve your leg speed )




Granted , some people love the mental challenge ,   but most of us exercise because we want results === which result would you rather have?

BTw ---- here is what you get for finishing the Missoula Montana MArathon   ------  knock yourselves out !~        

I was having a bit of fun tonight,  my running friends  ----  i do envy your endurance  a bit, but i dont want to chase the same goals as you

That said,  -- if your gonna do it,  do it right ---  and by all means , try a couple of 5 and 10k's first before committing yourself to the company marathon squad at work --- might save embarrassment


------  But thank you for the effort anyway