Weekly workout round-up: Marathon Training whilst Travelling!

TOTAL: 37 miles run, 3 strength sessions

I went to Los Angeles this week on a business trip!! As a job opportunity and a travel plan, it was something I was very excited about, but in terms of my fitness I was also nervous, because I had just committed to a training plan, and didn’t know how I would be able to fit all my miles in as planned. Travelling from Chile to Los Angeles is about 20 hours door-to-door, and so pretty much 2 entire days were wiped out for me, and the rest of my time I was very busy with meetings and interviews. Nevertheless, with a little creativity and a lot of tiredness, I managed to switch my schedule around enough to get the miles in without too much stress. (Actually, I’ve just realised I got more miles in than was on my plan (37 instead of 36) but I also spend 2 days being very inactive on planes, so I think it probably all works out!)

MONDAY: 3 miles EASY

My schedule for today said 5 miles easy, but I left my house in Chile at 5am and didn’t arrive to the hotel in Los Angeles until 9pm (or 1am Chilean time). I was really tired, but I had been sat on my bum all day on the plane, and wanted to go to sleep at a “normal” American time. So I went to the gym! Unfortunately the hotel is new so its fitness suite isn’t open yet, but they had a deal with a Golds Gym just across the road for free entry. I hoped on the treadmill for some easy miles, then into Target for some late-night snacks! And then at 11pm fell right into bed to sleep.

I think the snapchap speaks for itself

TUESDAY: 60 mins STRENGTH

There’s a 4-hour time difference between Chile and Los Angeles, which resulted in me waking up at about 5am and being unable to sleep despite my tiredness. At least it gave me some time to catch up on emails and draft an article before breakfast! (By the way, the breakfast at the InterContinental Downtown L.A. is A.M.A.Z.I.N.G) I had a break in meetings early afternoon, so decided to pop back to the gym and fit in a strength session. It was a barbell workout, based around arms and back. I then added 15 mins core work on the mats, to round off a good sweat session without making myself feel too tired. I wanted to be energised for the rest of the day!

View from my breakfast table….

WEDNESDAY: 6 miles HILLS

That time difference came in useful today! I woke up at 6am, and was out of the door by half-past in order to run. This was a slowish run around the Downtown area, which included running up into the start of Sunset Boulevard, into the hills. When this says “hills”, it had some undulating rises, and one killer hill for 2 blocks, but wasn’t anything like the trail running I do here on my hills day. But, I got it done! And for the rest of the day, I felt very accomplished for having been up and out into the city before any forums or interviews.

THURSDAY: 8 miles EASY, 30 mins STRENGTH

My flight home was in the evening, and I had to do some work in the morning but I HAD THE AFTERNOON FREE!! I decided to do a tour of all the downtown sites, from Union Station, Grand Central Market, and various museums, but instead of walking between them I decided to RUN! I was running with my hiking backpack, something which I’m not very used to, so I took it a very easy speed and just enjoyed the sites, stopping every mile and a half or so to explore. After this, although I had checked out I could still use the gym, so I hopped onto the treadmill for 1 mile (6:45 tempo) and then into the weights area for 30 mins. I was hoping that this all would tire me out for the flight, so I’d actually be able to sleep, but to no avail! I’m hopeless at sleeping on transport, even when I’m shattered I can’t get comfortable.

At Grand Central Market, a re-fuel stop for my first RX bar (omg they are great!!)

FRIDAY: Impromptu REST DAY

Yeah, so I was meant to run 5 miles today. 5 miles. But… As I mentioned above I didn’t sleep on the plane, and didn’t get back home in Santiago until 5.30pm, by which time all I wanted to do was curl up in a ball. I decided not to push myself any more than was necessary, but since I needed food from the supermarket, I decided to walk the 4-mile round-trip down the river to the huge mall near me. There are supermarkets closer to me but it was a lovely evening and having been busy during the week I hadn’t had the chance to listen to my regular podcasts! This gave me a chance just to chill out and stretch after my flight, and truly tire myself out properly.

SATURDAY: 3 miles EASY

And I truly was tired out! I slept until 11am, which was over 11 hours sleep, and probably the latest I’ve slept in whilst I’ve been here in Chile. It was lovely weather, so after procrastinating then finishing off an article during the early afternoon I went out and read for a bit in the park, until the temperatures had cooled down slightly. Then I just jogged 5km around the neighbourhood, v.e.r.y. s.l.o.w.l.y. I normally don’t run the day before a long run, as I like my legs to be as fresh as possible and be as well-rested and energised as they can be, but I wanted to get the miles in.

SUNDAY: 15 miles LONG RUN, 2 miles COOL DOWN, 30 mins STRENGTH

Remember the fiasco that was last week’s long run? Where my 13 miles turned into a hellish fight against the heat and the hills? Yeah, well at least I got paid back with this amazing run!! 15 miles, in which I really tried to just slow down the pace, and take it easy because I knew I’d had a long week. However, my legs and my mind didn’t connect, and whilst my mind thought I was running easy-pace, my legs were going at 8:45/mile! It helped that I left the house before the sun had come up over the mountains, when it was still cool and I had made sure I had taken on a lot of fluid the day before. Anyway, it shows that one bad run doesn’t mean that they all have to be terrible!!

In the afternoon, I wanted to wash my hair but my flat shower is terrible, so I decided to go to the gym instead (one of the most #basic reasons for going to the gym ever). I thought I still had a couple of miles left in my plan for the week, and my hamstring had been tight at the end of my long run, so I decided just to jog it out very slowly (10-minute mile) on the treadmill. I did 2 miles, then realised I’d done the maths wrong, and I had over-done my plan for the week. Oops. I then did a 30-minute arms / abs circuit, because I had made the long trek there and didn’t want to waste it!

VERY HAPPY RUNNER!!

So that’s my week! A busy one, but one I’m proud of because I got all of my miles in, but also didn’t let it get in the way of my life. I often have problems with balance, especially during times when I’m sticking to a plan because it can take over my life. Do you also have similar issues?

This week, like normal, I will be linking up with Jess and Jess from Jess Runs ATL and The Right Fits. Their link-up is always really fun to read as all the participants have such different approaches to running, yet are all super dedicated and inspirational! Check out the rest of the link-up here.

I also just got to know about HoHo Runs and MissSippiPiddlin who also host a weekly wrap-up, so I decided to link-up with them. The more training plans I can read and fitness bloggers I can follow the better 🙂

If you have any questions about my training, about my goals or about my mad running about L.A. (or anything else), comment below or send me a DM on Instagram (primallyimperfect). I’d love to hear from you!