Vacation Fitness

  Memorial Day weekend signals the start of travel season for most Americans. Vacations are a great time to maintain or improve your fitness, if you have things planned correctly.
   The first thing is to check into the fitness accommodations where you are staying. Most U.S. hotels have some type of fitness rooms now, and, if not, an association with a local club where guests can work out on a per diem basis. Also, a run is a great way to tour a city on foot. Bring along your phone to map a route, and for emergencies if you get lost. I usually like out-and-back courses in cities that I'm unfamiliar. If your near a park or boardwalk, even better!
    If you are staying in more rustic surroundings, there should be plenty of opportunities to hike, run, or canoe. Resistance bands or a TRX suspension strap should do the trick as far as limited equipment needed on a camping trip. My son and I did a few weekend NASCAR road trips in a recreation vehicle when he was growing up. I brought along the TRX, hooked it up a hitch on the RV, and we did a bunch of push-ups, pull-ups, squats, and lunges with it. A little antidote to the hot dogs  and fried dough we ingested!
    If your a real exercise junkie (and, reading this column, you might be), look into a fitness vacation. You can pick a famous road race you may want to try, like the July 4th Peachtree Run in Atlanta, or the Falmouth 7.1 miler on Cape Cod in August. Try to get the race done in the early part of the vacation, so you can be more mentally at ease afterward. Nothing's worse on traveling companions than an obsessive runner worrying about his/her next race!
   Bike tours are also great. The Ride Across Iowa is supposed to be great, not only for the cycling but the experience in staying with friendly Iowans as they share their homes with riders on the trip. There are also many through Europe, with varying intensity levels. Make sure you are on one that fits your abilities before signing up!
   There are also adult camps for running, biking, swimming, or all three, as well other  specializations such as martial arts. Some may involve education and certification as well, so a fitness professional can combine work, pleasure, and bettering themselves for their clients.
    Vacations are a good time to try different fitness experiences, like paddle boarding or kayaking. Spots long the Jersey Shore also have a lot of classes on the beach in yoga, kettlebells, or "boot camp." When we're in Stone Harbor, we often check out the "Trial By The Isle," where Philadelphia Flyer rookies do a variety of strength and endurance tests along the beach.
     When vacationing with your family try not to make the whole day about your workout. When we're at the Shore, I get up by 6 a.m., am out running by 7, and home just as my wife is drinking her coffee a little after 8. The kids are still sleeping. I'll do my strength training on my son's schedule, so we're spending time together, and will even do a "power walk" with my wife and daughter, too. Don't worry, I'm replacing the calories with  lobster dinners, fudge, or soft ice cream with "jimmies."
       My most painful run ever involved a vacation. During college, my high school friends and I would spend five days in Wildwood each summer, which entailed hanging out at the Shamrock Cafe nearly every night. Back in the late '70's, the Shamrock (still an institution on Pacific Avenue!) featured five "drafts" for a dollar.
      I had a college friend and teammate who lived in Wildwood Crest. We arranged to meet for an 11 a.m run. The temperature at the start was over 90 degrees. Competitive with each other, we did a 12-mile run at about 6:30 mile pace after a night I had been out till at least 3 a.m.. I'm normally very adverse to the cold, especially cold water. At the completion of this run, I just dove right into the hotel pool with my running clothes on.  A workout not to be repeated.        

Spring Running Tips

   Late Spring and early Summer are busy racing seasons, and we at Mountain Fitness are happy, once again, to serve as sponsors of the Bob Beckert Memorial 5-K Run, Sun., June 5th, 10 a.m. at Watchung Hills High School. Applications are available at the club, or through run4RJB.com.

    Running is one of the best form of exercises. It's my personal favorite, both for the feeling it gives me (physically and mentally), and the competitive aspect. You can constantly challenge yourself with races of varying distances and terrains.

     As I've gotten older (58 in September!), I've been injured more often, due to the effects of 40-plus years of moderate (25 miles) to heavy (60-plus) mileage; the workouts I do on my own and with clients at the club; and my tendency to jump back in, while I should be resting or re-habbing an injury. Frankly, I'm better at giving running advice than listening to it!

     All that being said, here's some good wisdom, courtesy of Dr. Frank Cardone, in a recent Family Medicine column in the Star-Ledger. Dr. Cardone notes that 40-60% of runners have at least one significant injury per year. I can raise my hand there, and add that many injuries I've suffered are compensatory for another ailment that hasn't quite healed. For example, a strained right Achilles that changed my gait, resulting in a meniscus tear on the same leg. Cross-train, ice, run, race, and now a strained right hamstring that I'm struggling through! You can imagine how it feels after a six hour drive to visit our son at college in New Hampshire!

     As per Dr. Cardone, here's some general tips to remember when hitting the roads:

 *Don't increase your mileage more than 10% per week, and also be careful about ratcheting up the intensity too fast. 

 *Although they are a necessary and essential component to any training strategy that involves racing, don't overdo the hill work or intervals.

 *Higher mileage corresponds with greater frequency of injuries. This has proven true in my case.

 *Don't run seven days per week. Every other day is optimal for injury prevention, and cross-training activities like swimming, rowing, or the elliptical trainer can take the place of running on the alternate days. That will keep the cardiovascular conditioning up, and emphasize some different muscles and movements.

 *Softer running surfaces are better, but also be careful of uneven terrain on trails or grass.

  *Use proper running shoes and replace them every 400 miles or six months.

 *Listen to your body, and don't run through pain. To that, I always joke, "Then I would never run!"

 Good luck on the roads this summer, and hope to see you at the Beckert Run on June 5th!