Back from Vacation!

Okay...
I thought I was going to blog while on vacation for 5 days, but seriously it was nearly impossible to find time. Instead, I'll give you the nuts and bolts of my eating, exercising, and traveling.

Traveling on the plane:
I packed hardboiled eggs, fruit, and rice cakes. 
After going through security I bought water, so I could have that on board. I found it very easy to just eat what I brought. I packed snacks for the kids, so they had plenty of things they would enjoy.

We stopped at Panda Express twice, once on our way to D.C., and the other time on the way home. The children felt like the food, so one time, I ordered a side of mixed vegetables (doesn't have oil), and a small side of the Teriyaki chicken (about 3 oz). 

Traveling on foot in/around D.C:
I have a smaller eBag that I decided to take on the flight instead of the big eBag I showed you a few weeks back on another post. The smaller one seemed like a better option for carrying around the city. Each day we went to the Metro Station, I bought a few hard boiled eggs, sliced chicken, fruit, yogurt, and vegetables from the market. For the most part I kept enough food with me. A few times, I got really hungry and there weren't any obvious restaurants around that we could stop and eat. 

One time we stopped at a very cool sandwich shop near The White House, where I was able to get lettuce, cubed chicken, tomatoes, and onion while the girls had banana milkshakes and hot sandwiches. 

Twice I ordered room service at the hotel (once for steamed broccoli and the other time for steamed broccoli and grilled chicken breast). That was a little expensive, so I decided from that point forward, that I would get food from The Metro Station, prior to returning to the hotel room. The girls seemed to enjoy as well, since twice they wanted sushi, and hummus and crackers for dinner. 

Workouts away from Home:
Working out consistently away while traveling is probably the hardest to do...since one or two workouts may happen, but keeping it consistent can be challenging. We seriously did so much walking that one evening, there was no way I could run at the hotel's gym. Instead I used the Elliptical Machine. I didn't think it gave me a good enough workout, but it was something. Tuesday when we arrived I ran and worked lower body. Wednesday, I ran and worked upper body. Thursday I tried the Elliptical Machine for cardio' and worked lower body afterwars. Friday we did so much walking and that evening we had a performance to attend at the Kennedy Center that I took the day off. Sundays are usually my days off, but I had to readjust my schedule. So, Friday was my new day off, and I worked out Saturday, then Sunday, prior to getting to the airport for the return flight home. I ran both Saturday and Sunday as well, followed by conditioning of upper body and lower body. I didn't have a kettlebell, but I had access to weight machines I do not have at home. So, the variety was great. 

So, this is one ugly picture of me on the treadmill, but I happened to be texting a friend that there I was 6:00am one morning on the treadmill working out. I forgot to take a picture of the rest of the gym, but they had a full set of dumbbell weights, machines, etc. I highly recommend hotels that cater to the traveling business person, because the gyms are much more substantial than your average hotel. 

Twice during our stay I would leave the room early in the morning to workout while the kids were busy sleeping. They knew where to find me, and so I wasn't worried about them. 

I especially liked working out in the morning, because my feet weren't sore and I could relax at the end of the day with the kids. If one can manage to get the workout done in the morning, I highly recommend it while on vacation. Sometimes plans change in the evening, and it's very easy to just forget about working out. 

The One Missing Part:

Water! Water! Water! It was really hard drinking lots of water. I didn't have my special water container, because of airport security. I constantly kept one bottle with me during the day, but it was being shared amongst the three of us. I couldn't really carry anymore, because it would just be too heavy. So, in the morning and evening by the third day, I was guzzling as much water in me to compensate for the lack of it during the first two days of adjustment. 

Final Comments:
I would do it again! I loved it! My husband is not one to travel during a time when he is focused on a competition. Not only that, but he doesn't even want to go out to dinner, and he wants to cut a day out short to get home to eat on time. That's exhausting if you ask me. I want to be able to live life to its fullest while still being able to train for a competition. This trip confirmed that it's totally possible. The girls and I met people from Baltimore, Afghanistan, and Long Island. I wouldn't trade the amazing experiences of talking to others, going to so many D.C. sites, and feeling another culture...just to think there was only one way to train toward a goal. 

In January, I have another trip planned, but with my uncle. We are going skiing for my birthday. I will attempt to do the same thing. Find a gym, size up the resort for markets, and just enjoy!

RsmKettleGirl@gmail.com