My plan to stay active while traveling worked out really well. I completed just about everything as planned. I knew I was going to eat too much, how can you not when you’re in Chicago, but I still need to work on some control there. It was better than a trip to Chicago would have been a year ago, but I will continue to refine my plan so I can do better on future trips.
What Happened?
Before and during my trip to Chicago, I did an excellent job of following my training plan I had laid out. Unfortunately, due to the great food options, I ate significantly more than planned and that followed me through the weekend. Towards the end of my trip and into Phoenix for the weekend, I started to feel congested which meant I slept more than I typically would. Sunday I was planning a long bike ride, but didn’t even get out the door.
What Worked?
The workouts I had planned during travel along with the extra sessions immediately before and after worked out great. I had completed my strength training almost exactly as planned and completed every treadmill workout as planned. Moving forward I’ll continue to plan small workouts like this when traveling, enough to stay active, but nothing that will have huge gains. This also removed the reliance on a lot of equipment or good weather (which we certainly didn’t have). While traveling, I tend to drink a lot more Diet Coke than I should; to help this, I picked up some simple flavored drink packets to add to my water. I still had a 12 pack of Diet Coke, but I feel like I drank a lot more water which I think helped me stay more active.
What Didn’t?
The bench presses and skullcrushers laying down at the hotel gym were not going well, it was a struggle to get up which could have been a combination of factors. I cut them a bit short, but made up for them in Phoenix. I didn’t get on my bike Sunday at all like I had planned. We went out with friends Saturday night and stayed out very late, plus I was still feeling congested so I slept much longer than planned and we had brunch scheduled with another group of friends.
What am I going to do about it?
Working into this coming week, I am still sick, but planning to get back on track with my workouts. I’ll have to build a new plan for biking, which may include Global Bikes B.E.S.T. Ride Program (Beginner to Expert Saturday Training). Global Bikes and E-Bikes is a local chain of bike shops that offers a lot of workshops and rides. This specifically is a 5 week program that helps road cyclists get more comfortable with riding, especially in a group setting. I’ve started it before, but something came up and I didn’t get through all of it like I had planned. I’m looking to kickstart another good push to get in better shape while it’s still nice out. In March, the days start getting hotter and workouts need to migrate more to the twilight times of the day.
What do the numbers say?
I gained 7.3 pounds, I knew it would be bad, but I didn’t think it would be that bad, hopefully some of that is a symptom of being sick as well. Either way, I’ll get back to eating better and as my sickness wanes, I’ll work on getting back to working out.
Summary
While traveling, I did a great job of sticking to the planned workouts. I feel like I did a better job staying hydrated than I had on previous trips. Unfortunately, I ate a lot more than I should have. Getting back home, I didn’t do the workouts I planned, nor did I get back on track with my diet as quickly as I had hoped. Not a terrible week, but not a great week.