The vacation workout.  You know you’re gonna be traveling somewhere away from home (or even away from your country) and you manage to plan a workout based on your destination. If you’re a multi-sport athlete, you’re going to end up doing these!  Sandy beaches make for good open-water swim opportunities, or a local trail or track for running workouts.  I have managed a few vacation workouts over the years myself. Some are easy to plan, and some might take a little more effort. 

The Open-Water Swim Vacation Workout

The open-water swim vacation workout can be a lot of fun in a foreign destination.  I recently swam in Costa Maya, Mexico on a cruise ship “beach getaway” excursion.  Hey, it WAS a beach and there WAS water there, so…  With a little planning ahead, I had packed my swim cap and goggles for the possibility of swimming. The ocean off Costa Maya in December is not exactly warm, but I chose to deal with it anyway.  The resort we were using for the beach had lifeguards on duty, so I asked them what the swim area boundaries were before getting in. Always a good practice when swimming in a new area!

With this information loaded in my brain, I proceeded to swim, tracking my distance with my Garmin and my eyes so I wouldn’t go out of bounds.  After the initial chill wore off, I got into a swim groove. Good thing too, because the current was picking up (as well as the wind) and the return swim was a little harder. Once my swim was done, I received a compliment from one of the lifeguards who had been watching me swim. He said “You looked very strong in that current. Good job!” 

That has not been my only ‘foreign’ swim experience.  I have also been able to plan swim workouts in Jamaica, Bahamas and Haiti, and hopefully there will be more to come!

The Run Vacation Workout

Doing a running workout in a foreign location seems like it should be easier than planning a swim workout, and it CAN be with some planning.  Using cruising as my transport, I have been running not only on the cruise ship deck, but in other countries as well.  Armed with information from cruise staff, internet posts and some locals here and there, you can plan some pretty nice runs.  For instance, running along the forts in San Juan, Puerto Rico lets you see a lot of the city.  Do your homework ahead of time to make sure you have a good plan.

What’s YOUR favorite Vacation Workout?

What about you? Do you find yourself planning vacations where it’s possible to do your training workouts? Have you successfully done a vacation workout and want to tell us about it?  Comment on this post (below) and share your vacation workout experience.  Maybe someone will get some good information to help THEM plan a vacation workout of their own!