10 TIPS FOR TRIATHLETES WHO TRAVEL FOR BUSINESS

Tips for your triathlete business traveler…

We all have husband/triathletes who travel for business, yet still have to train during these trips.  If it’s off season, it’s not too difficult to plan for, but if it’s in season and close to a race, more thought needs to go into what’s available at the location and what to pack, especially if it’s more than just an overnight trip.  Tri gear can take up a lot of room in the suitcase, so you have to pack wisely.  We’re sure there are many of these travelers out there, so our triathletes actually came up with their top ten tips for what you can do to at least make the training portion of the trip easy and less stressful.

1. Pack a plastic bag such as  Stuffits for stinky, sweaty clothes (it absorbs both moisture & odor) if you don’t send them out to be cleaned/laundered, don’t have a chance to soak them in the room, or have that last minute work out to get in before you leave.  You may also want to pack a travel size of laundry detergent, if doing the soaking bit.  If you forget, there’s usually a plastic bag in the room for laundry service.
2. If trying to get by with carry on, wear your running shoes while traveling, as they take up so much room in your luggage.  If you do have to pack your running shoes, stuff them with socks, underwear, etc.  Leave no wasted space.
3. Wear your training watch if you don’t need a dress watch for business.
4. Make sure to bring some for of ID and a place to store it for when you are running or riding, or use RoadID. It works great and will have your emergency contact information on it and you don’t need anything to carry it in.
   
   
   

   Carl always wears his RoadID….

5. Check for availability of a gym and lap pool, either at the hotel or local gyms and what hours they’re open.  This can be very important as you may need to work out before and after your work schedules and weather won’t always permit going outside.
6. If you don’t have this option close to home, like my husband, go on the web and see if you can find a masters swim class for practice.  Not only do you get in a great training session and maybe some great pointers, you only need to pack a suit, cap, and goggles.  My husband takes advantage of this when he travels to California or Arizona and gets to enjoy both the class and an outdoor pool.
7. If necessary, rework your training schedule or work with your coach to either make your day off while you’re traveling or so you don’t have to do a swim or bike while you’re gone, whichever isn’t available to you or is the least optimum to get done.
8. Biking certainly falls to 3rd place in the workout line when traveling, but you do have a few options:
   1. Maybe consider adding some weight training or taking a yoga class instead to build up those leg muscles and endurance.
   2. Take a spin class or use a stationary bike in the gym.  Holly Bennett wrote an article in the July issue of Triathlete Magazine called, Spin-Off, that gives you a one-hour spin session workout. (does not appear to be online yet).
   3. Check with a local bike shop to see if they will let you demo a high-end bike.  All you need are shoes and petals.  This option makes most sense if you will be gone for more than a day or two.
9. As my husband usually has dinner meetings when traveling, he plans his schedule to give himself time to work-out in the AM (you should already be used to getting up early).  And, if you have a hard workout, make sure you try and leave time between your shower and putting on your dress clothes, to cool down.  If you’re still hot from working out and have a limited supply of dress shirts, you don’t want to sweat through them.  My husband also will try and get a workout in between afternoon meetings and dinner as an alternative or if has to do two in one day.
10. Nutrition:  Using a product like Gatorade makes it much easier on the road, as you can buy it anywhere.  GU and bars are easy as they don’t take up any room.  Depending on your meeting schedule, you may want to order room service for breakfast, so you can get eggs, oatmeal, or whatever else you need to eat after working out.  Or, grab a bagel and peanut butter packets at the hotel kitchen/dining area.  Many times you won’t get satisfactory nutrition at meeting breakfasts and not at the time when you should be refueling.

So, we hope this makes your traveling just a bit easier and keeps you to your training schedule.  Oh, make sure to take a few triathlon-related magazines with you for inspiration and “mindless” reading – the equivalent of the beach read novel.  Safe travels…..

Also, be sure to check out all the travel articles available on TravelingMom and here’s two we love for business travel:

How a Business Traveler Plans a Family Vacation by Teresa Shaw

Road Warrior Traveling Mom Business Travel Tips by Nasreen Stump

 – THE TRIWIVESCLUB

DO YOU HAVE TIPS FOR TRAINING WHEN YOU TRAVEL FOR BUSINESS?

Sherry Wernicke

Sherry is one of the TriWivesClub and LifeDoneWell co-founders and contributes to multiple blogs. She is a former co-owner of the California Apparel News and had a career in the healthcare industry. Her passions include traveling, real food, the environment, and animal rescue/welfare. She lives a healthy lifestyle and has been a vegetarian since 1987. She and her husband are parents to two rescue pups and reside in Connecticut.