Tips: Planning Your Next Fit-Cation by Amanda Piccirilli-Hall
Greetings from 30,000 feet! While my travel is limited these days, I sure do love when I get to do it! Exploring the world is one of my favorite things and I enjoy it most by being active in new and exciting places.
I’m a planner… a Type A, need an itinerary travel planner. I love going in knowing I want to see this location on this day at this time with these reservations and this confirmation number. When planning my adventures, some type of fitness always gets thrown into the “plan.”
Here are some tips I always consider when I look into planning my fit-cation.
- Am I currently training for an event? I often have two things in mind; first, am I currently training for a big race and secondly, am I just in maintaining mode. Sure, while in a big training block your fitness level is at peak performance and you mentally feel like you can do all the things (lets climb a rock wall on a ginormous mountain even though I have no experience!!). But you need to think smart. You’re focused on a very big end goal and is it worth getting yourself into a situation where you can get hurt? If you’re two weeks out, maybe you should skip the 5 mile super technical hike to spare a rolled ankle, and instead jump on the beach cruiser for an easy stroll through downtown. But if you have nothing on the radar, go wild and tackle that mountain!
- Figure out what the locals do! Are you part of an endurance club that has people all over the country within the group? Reach out asking for suggestions on where to go. Ask questions like what time is the safest to go out for some training, is there a local bike shop you can rent from, is there a good running route near by? No question is a silly question.
- Do your research. This is one of my favorite things when heading out of town. I will often Google “hiking trail in {insert city}”. One of my favorite websites for this is alltrails.com:AllTrails: Trail Guides & Maps for Hiking, Camping, and RunningSearch over 400,000 trails with trail info, maps, detailed revies, and photos curated by millions of hikers, campers, and nature lovers like you.alltrails.comIt gives you local trails in the area, feedback from those who have been on it and more.
- Watch YouTube. Guys, YouTube is my favorite. No matter where I’m going, I pop on YouTube and type in the city I’m visiting and BAM pops up things to do, see, eat, etc. I literally planned my entire Baby Moon to Zion from watching YouTube. I found secret places, unusual trails and the best of the best all from watching other peoples videos. More spare time? Creep on Instagram, it’s just as helpful using #CityYoureVisiting
- Does your hotel have a gym? If you are currently in a training block, do some research on if your hotel has a gym. See what type of equipment they have and how you may need to re-arrange your schedule based on what is provided. Staying at an AirBnB? Check to see if there are any gyms near by that offer day passes to use their pool for example.
- Sign up for a race. Looking to check a new state off your bucket list? Races happen all year round, there is a greatly possibility there will be something going on within a 30 minutes radius to where you are staying. A new state is nice but bling is even nicer.
Ready to bust out of Dodge? Then start planning! I hope you use some of these tips on your next. Looking forward to seeing your next adventure!
