Mornings, Travel and Training

As some of you might know, I am currently in training for my second half ironman. I know, I know, after I finished the last one I swore up and down that I would never EVER do a race like that again. But then, I forgot how painful and time consuming the training was (let's not even get started on the race) and I got my friend Matt to sign up for the half ironman in Vichy, France with me. I dusted off my bike and started swimming laps in the pool, finished a half marathon and got into a routine. I felt like there were piles of time to be ready.

Then time zipped by and I went to 9-a-week trainings, where most days of the week include a 2 hour block of some combination of the three sports, with longer runs and cycles on the weekends. Even though my current work/life schedule is relatively stress free and flexible, I still felt like my day wasn't over until about 9pm after I had swam/ran/biked to exhaustion. So I decided to make a change and be an early morning exerciser. I'm not exactly fond of mornings in general, but getting myself up to swim laps was even less inviting. The first week was tough, and I won't lie and say it got easier. But there was a perk to starting these workouts in the morning. It meant I could be done with all my obligations by 6pm and have an evening free, and I was much more likely to continue my routine as I traveled. 

And continued I have! While in Chicago I managed to follow my planned training schedule every day, which means good things for me and my race. My visit in California looks a little busier, meaning it will be harder to stick with everything I'd like to do, but the early morning training is the key. Another hurdle of exercising while traveling is having access to the necessary equipment. For me, that's road bikes and water to swim in - thankfully at least running can be done anywhere. I tackled this problem by finding gyms, pools, and rental bikes everywhere I was going. By planning ahead and knowing my next steps, I had less excuses and more chances to keep to my schedule. And we all know how important it is for me to keep training (if you don't, just read my blog post about my Lausanne triathlon!). This next week and a half will show whether I am able to keep it up, but everyday I stick with it is a triumph. Do you keep training as you travel? How do you keep yourself motivated? I find the idea of not being able to finish my race is motivation enough at the moment!