Running while on the road...

Last week I talked about all of the strange things that come to you as you are out on the road logging all of those miles. This weekend, I had two long runs which allowed for a lot of random thoughts. But, on both runs, there seemed to be a common theme – running while travelling. I think this was due to the fact that this week, I am heading down to New York for a site review tour with my boss. I guess this is what caused me to think about my running schedule and how I was going to get my runs in while on the road.

Running on the road is really nothing new. I chose a career that would put me on the road quite a bit each month as I scoped out new sites for the various companies I have worked for and in numerous cities across the country. I have travelled to and run some amount of miles in 49 of the 50 states. I still have not had the pleasure of visiting Alaska but hope to in the near future. I have also run in Australia, Canada, The Bahamas and Israel. I can always find a route to run where ever I am.

If I am really thinking ahead, I will map out a route to run ahead of time which makes it a little easier to complete any specific training goals I have for the days I am on the road. Plus, I typically get my run over with early in the day so it won't interfere with my work. If I forget to map a run before hand, I have found that most hotels will have suggestions for running routes that start at the hotel. If not, I just go out and explore. I have been lost a few times but always manage to get back to my hotel. Sometimes bruised and bloodied from being a bit of a klutz.

I have had many memorable runs in my travels. But, the most memorable runs I have had while travelling were when I was in Israel in February 2007. After we arrived and had a good nights sleep, I got up early in the morning and had a chance to run along the Mediterranean oceanfront in Tel Aviv. I ran from my hotel down along the oceanfront to Jaffo and back. It was such a beautiful run. People were just starting to get up and move around. A few hearty souls were actually out in the surf swimming along the beachfront. But overall it was so quiet and peaceful. I had the chance to run the route twice before we headed up the coast.

My next good runs were up in the Kinneret region. This is also known as The Sea of Galilee area. We were staying at Kfar Blum (Hebrew: כְּפַר בְּלוּם‎, lit. Blum Village) which is a small kibbutz in the Hula Valley part of the Upper Galilee in Israel. Kfar Blum's location near the Jordan River at the foot of Mount Hermon has made it a center for outdoor recreational activities including walking, hiking, kayaking, rafting and bird watching. They had a jogging path that ran along the Jordan River. As I did my 5 mile run along the Jordan River path, I had a chance to see some pretty amazing birds. What amazed me is how narrow the Jordan River is when you stand next to it. In comparison to the Mississippi, it is really no more than a stream.

But, the most amazing runs I had were near the end of our trip when we were staying in Jersualem. Here I had a chance to run around the new and old city. It is truly awe inspiring to be running along streets that have been there for thousands of years. I could feel the history oozing up through the soles of shoes. I can say that Jerusalem, with its many hills, is not the easiest place for unplanned runs. But, I found a good route from my hotel up to the Old City and then up to the Jaffa Gate just as the sun was rising over the ancient walls. I actually had to stop for a moment to take it all in.

The Jaffa Gate (the westernmost gate) is so named because it is the portal for Jaffa Road, the precursor to the modern highway to the ancient port of Jaffa and the Mediterranean coastal plain. There I was able to run along the high city walls, south of the Jaffa Gate where the walls are known as the Citadel of Jerusalem and mistakenly known as the "Tower of David," a Jerusalem landmark. The current tower was built during the reign of the Ottoman sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. During Israel's War of Independence, Israeli forces fought hard to connect the Jewish Quarter of the Old City with Israeli-held western Jerusalem by controlling the Jaffa Gate. With a Jordanian victory in 1948, Israeli forces were not able to gain control of the gate until the Six Day War in 1967.

I always bring my running shoes and clothes with me on every trip. I have found that people I work with in the areas I am travelling are sometimes up for a run in the morning before we head out to look at real estate. I get a chance to see the area and not from a car window. I find that I can get a much better sense of the areas after running through them. Plus you can get your workouts in anywhere and you don’t really need any special equipment. The only thing I can recommend is to map a route out before you go. One of the better websites to use is runtheplanet.com.

So, for those runners who can’t cope with any days off; bring your shoes with you when you travel. Then lace them up and head out for a new adventure. I know I am never disappointed.

Here are my training totals for this week. :
Feb 8 – 15.20 miles (2:20:08, 9:13 pace)
Feb. 16 – 6.10 miles (53:18, 8:44 pace)
Feb. 17 – 3.00 miles (22:56, 7:38 pace) – Speed work
Feb. 19 – 8.20 miles (1:13:47, 8:59 pace) – Tempo Run
Feb. 20 – 6.10 miles (55:43, 9:08 pace)

Feb. 21 – 10.10 miles (1:31:31, 9:03 pace)

Total Miles: 48.70 miles

2009 YTD Miles: 312.20 miles