How many folks travel regularly for work?  As someone who used to travel > 9 months per year (Monday – Friday) for over 4 years after graduating from college, travel, fitness, and nutrition sometimes felt like a midair battle each and every trip.

Now, with the benefit of hindsight, learning the hard way about not taking care of myself, and needing to decompress after packed schedules on the road, I’ve found ways to carve out sufficient time to focus on the necessity of balancing food/work/fitness – but it does start with some Weather.com research, lots of Google searches about local (and safe) running trails and a bit of contortion with shoes, dresses, sneakers, bands, and everything in between all in hopes of avoiding the dreaded checked bag.

In your Suitcase:

1. Yoga – yup, this is something I do the first night each and every place I travel to (work or pleasure). Even at 5’ 2”, I still request even-more-space seats but still walk off feeling cramped, stiff and totally off kilter
   1. Tricky Tip – I haven’t quite managed to check on my yoga mat and sometimes sneaking in yoga when you’re schedule is tight or you’ve been sent to the middle of nowhere can be a challenge à enter a yoga towel (yippee). It’ll save you from direct contact with those lovely hotel floors but also provide you enough grip and surface area to stretch those muscles out.  Most can be rolled up and pack like a dream
   2. Here’s the one I purchased a few months ago: Yoga Towel
2. Tennis Ball – similar to the yoga mat limitations, I still haven’t found a way to check my foam roller when I travel – enter the good ol’ tennis ball to the rescue! I’m notorious for having a few around the house, one under my desk at work and one in my suitcase.  Nothing feels better after racing through the airport or office in heels and coming home to roll at least your feet out.
   1. Tricky Tip – here are some other ways to soothe sore muscles with the tennis ball: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzlJOl4OBm8 
3. Bands Galore – my physical therapy exercises are at the core of my training regardless of the travel schedule and luckily these 2 bands pack away like a dream. There are plenty of great exercises you can do using just a few simple bands.  Here’s a few from an earlier Fit-Nerd.com post –> Link

So here are some of the more recent pit stops:

1. Nashville –
   1. Key Shop: despite the terrible weather last weekend, I was able to duck into http://rhythmrunning.com/ where I bought a few Nashville running shirts + new pair of Goodr Sunglasses and + Altra Running pants
   2. Great Run: Marcella Viverette Smith Park
   3. Favorite Extra Curricular: Hattie B’s amazing fried chicken – my BFF and her (now) husband had this wonderful local restaurant cater their wedding just outside of Nashville and we fell in love with the plantation, vino and plenty of Hattie B’s fried chicken.
2. Atlanta –
   1. Key Shop: Olympian Jeff Galloway’s Phidippides Running store just outside of Atlanta (as recommended by my friend and fellow obsessed runner Jill)
   2. Great Run:
   3. Favorite Extra Curricular: Braves game! Given that our hotel was next door to the stadium + coming from Boston with chilly temps to an evening of 70-degree weather, this was a no brainer

• 

• 

In 3 weeks, I’ll be hitting the road to Irving, TX, New Orleans and back again to Atlanta – any suggestions on local running shops to seek out, trails, or other excursions??