Welcome back everyone! I hope all of your summers are going swell, your runs strong, and your naps mighty and long.
Summertime is a great time to relax, unwind and travel to new, exciting destinations. I was fortunate enough to travel to Southeast Asia this past June. The trip was conveniently planned five days after the San Diego Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon for a few different reasons; the main one being that if I had an awful race, I would be out of the country and hopefully everyone would forget to ask me about it by the time I returned.
Luckily I didn’t have to worry about dodging any marathon-related questions, as it was actually one of the best races I had run (woohoo!). In fact, it was so good that I did not want to lose my mojo and was afraid that the next two weeks of traveling would eliminate everything that I had worked so hard to obtain in terms of physical fitness. While numerous studies have shown that it is nearly impossible to lose one’s endurance in two weeks, I am neurotic, stubborn and believe what I want. With that, I knew that even though it would be difficult to run in the countries we were exploring, I was destined to make it happen.
The amazing thing about running and, quite honestly, one of the biggest reasons why I like it is because you can do it just about anywhere. At the bare minimum, all that is required is a good pair of running shoes and socks. (Though running in the nude is often shunned or heavily frowned upon in most places, so I don’t recommend it.)
(This picture was taken in Siem Reap, Cambodia after one of my runs. This proves that with a semi-decent sense of direction anyone can run in foreign country — even when all directions are written in Khmer.)
When I travel, I take comfort in the fact of knowing that as long as I have my running shoes and two pairs of workout clothes (socks included) anything is possible. I tend to take at least two pairs of workout clothes so as to rotate them and allow the inevitable sweat to dry. This is my attempt to make them feel as new and non-gross as possible when I’m ready to wear again. If extra suitcase space permits, I will take another pair of clothes; however, it is an inescapable fact that when traveling a person will reuse their workout clothes without getting to launder them. Sure, by the time I return home I may have accumulated an extra set of houseflies, but getting that run in was so worth it!
The below items are a few of my favorites to take with me while I travel as they are lightweight, dry rather quickly, and do not take up much space in my suitcase.
- New Balance Heathered Jersey Tank Top
- Nike Dri-FIT™ Pro Classic Giraffe Bra
- adidas TECHFIT™ Capri Tights - Vibration Print
Until next time, happy trails, roads and any other unchartered terrains!
-Chelsea
