Chicago Running Review

My race schedule in recent months has helped to remind me that I’m a relative newbie to living in Chicago.  I missed Soldier Field 10 and this weekend, I’ll be out of town and unable to cheer at the Fleet Feet Women’s 5K and 10K.  The #FFCheer women detailed 13 reasons why they love that race.  #FFCheer is also doing a post-race brunch for men and women.  The race and brunch should both be fun highlights of the summer.

However, like other members of the team, I’ve been blessed to travel to locations that are great for running – Puerto Rico, Los Angeles and Palm Springs, to name a few.  Micaela (@_Micaela) spent National Running Day in Spain.  Nina (@Running_Nina) recently ran in Paris.  For this trip to Cape Cod, Massachusetts — as I’ve done for other recent vacations — I plan to take my running gear with me and continue marathon training.  Other than the clothing essentials, here’s what else I’m packing.

Running shoes — This seems like a no-brainer, but the choice of shoes can involve some advance planning.  In the past, I’ve taken my Saucony Kinvara on vacations because they’re light and flexible and don’t take up much room in my carry-on luggage.  This time, I’m planning on completing a long run so I’ll pack my everyday trainers.

GPS watch — Rather than mapping out runs in advance, I’ll rely on my Garmin to track distance and my memory to hopefully not get lost.

Hydration belt — I haven’t taken my Nathan Speed 4R before, and have either gone without water, hydrated at a gas station or convenience store along my route, or awkwardly ran while carrying a plastic bottle.  Not ideal.

For me, running on vacation is a fantastic way to explore new places and gets me out of the rut of training on the same routes over and over.

Do you have any advice or must-haves for running while on vacation?

This post was originally published on the FFCheer blog here: http://ffcheer.posterous.com/vacation-training. Running changes everything!