Travelling with work used to represent a challenge to my running – or perhaps “excuse” was a better word. I find travel tiring, and fitting in the running meant rising early before hitting the road, or finding the energy to go for a run after getting back after hours of driving, or getting up from a hotel bed when I really wanted to enjoy the luxury before knuckling down to work again.
But a couple of years ago I vowed to use the travel as an opportunity, not an excuse. It’s an opportunity to run in new places (or at least places where I run infrequently), even if it means a very early rise from a hotel bed, or stopping off part-way home to run.
Last night I flew up to Aberdeen and stayed at an airport hotel prior to driving to Elgin this morning. For once there was little hurry so there was plenty of time for an extended run around Dyce (the small town where the airport is located). With advice from a runner on the WeightLossResources website, I set off in perfect running weather.
I ran around the end of the runway, through housing into woodland where there were bluebells aplenty, down through the woods to the River Don where I diverted to the south to the weir, then back north along the bank of the Don for a few kilometres before joining the path along the old railway line to the railway station, over the bridge and then back along the airport perimeter to the hotel.
My legs felt a little tired after Sunday’s half-marathon, but I slowed down a little and they were fine. The sore spots on my back (from sweaty shorts) gave me no difficulties. So all in all, a very satisfactory and enjoyable run.
Back at the hotel I opened the laptop and ordered some sports gels and energy bars and recovery stuff, to start my experimentation with better long run fuelling.
