another first
During this whole triathlon training thing, I've had my share of 'firsts'. Some have been awesome, some have been embarrassing and some have been so far outside my normal routine, I never thought I'd see the day. My latest 'first' is of that last category: I exercised while I was on vacation.
My wife and I had planned a quick getaway trip to Puerto Rico long before I got talked into doing the triathlon. Normal me would say 'to hell with exercise, I'm on vacay!"...and then I would proceed to sloth around on the beach all day, drink in hand. But I kept thinking about all the progress I've made so far – and how quickly the race day is approaching. So I decided to make a plan.
After a bit of research on the area surrounding our resort and using my running apps to browse various routes, I was able to make a plan that would keep my training going, but not ruin all the fun...just two session spread over 4 days.
First Session: OMG, i can't believe i just did that
To keep things interesting, the plan for my first session was to do a run-swim-run brick workout. I would run from our resort in Fajardo through some local neighborhoods to the Seven Seas Beach, where I'd do an open-water swim along the length of the beach, then run back to the resort. Total run of 3.5 miles and just under a half-mile swim.
(click to enlarge)
The way I saw it, this plan would go either of two ways:
- A fun exploration of Puerto Rico, running along the coast through some quaint neighborhoods with a refreshing swim in crystal blue waters
- I'll get mugged / shot in a ghetto or step on a sea urchin and die in the water, getting swept out to sea
Either way, Lindsey decided she wanted in on this adventure, so she joined me.
Turns out it was more of a mix of the two (without the mugging, shooting or sea urchins). The run was nice in some parts but totally sketchy in others. We're talking areas with overflowing dumps, potentially murderous bearded people sleeping in tents on the sidewalk and a copious amount of chickens and feral dogs running about. What the hell with all the chickens??
Some parts were beautiful...like this part. Some areas, not so much.
The swim was a little nerve-wracking because this was my first open water swim. While the water was a pretty blue, it was murky and creepy and I had to go out pretty far from shore. Once I started swimming, I couldn't see past the length of my arm and I had no idea what was lurking under there (which is weird...because just two miles away at our resort, the water was crystal clear blue). BUT, I pushed through it and swam the length of the beach.
Lindsey followed along the beach to make sure nobody stole my stuff (or that I didn't, you know...drown).
Finished! All without getting stabbed by any creatures or getting swept out to sea.
"That couple" who worked out on their vacay. #whatshappeningtous
Second Session: Kept It Simple
With one adventure out of the way, I decided to keep it simple on our last day. So I stuck with swimming laps at one of the resort's seven pools. Yes, seven. I guess there are worse places to do a swim session....
Last day at the resort, I took advantage of the lap pool. 1,200 meters in paradise!
Lessons Learned
So what have we learned about taking a vacation during training?
- Squeezing in a run or some other exercise on vacation is such a great way to explore new places and break outside your comfort zone.
- When you're done, you can sit back and enjoy that fruity drink...cause you totally earned it.
Notice the touristy sunburn lines. #nailedit
Keeping it classy, sipping sangria through a straw.