It’s that time of year when many of you are out of town. You want to get your runs in but sometimes safety is a concern when in a city you don’t know. Vegas hosts many marathons and races this time of year. It is easy to get distracted trying to experience all that new city has to offer.
What do you do to stay safe?
Ask at your hotel for recommended running routes. Many hotels can point you towards a local running route. Often these routes are fairly short but as workouts are often planned to be shorter on vacation, this can work! If you need a longer run, plan to do multiple loops to get the distance in. This also builds mental endurance which is a great skill to develop and you’ll need it on race day.
If you absolutely need a longer run, a great resource is to ask at the local running store. They can easily point you to a good running course and will give you honest recommendations about what areas may be safer than others. As a bonus, sometimes you can even join a group run!
The dreaded treadmill at your hotel gym is another easy way to get in a workout. if you aren’t used to running on a treadmill, it’s best to keep the running session short as there are some differences to running on the treadmill if you aren’t used to it. The gym at the hotel should also have other cardio machines like an elliptical. That is a great way to get in a workout without the pounding of running.
When you are out running here are a few things to think about to make sure you stay safe.
Stay alert and keep earbud use to a minimum. Make sure you can hear your surroundings. Trust your instincts and change direction or go into a store if you feel at all that something is “off.”
Carry your phone. If you have an app like “Find my Friends” enabled, you can set it so only trusted family and friends can see where you are at any given moment. Many find this to be an added sense of safety.
If you are comfortable with carrying pepper spray, many running stores carry handheld pepper spray devices. Note that these devices are not allowed in carry-on luggage but a device with 4 ounces or less and with a safety mechanism to prevent accidentally spraying is allowed in checked luggage (check with TSA for current regulations). These devices can also work on stray dogs which can also be a concern depending on where you are traveling.
The bottom line is get creative with your workouts, use the resources around you and stay safe. Don’t stress too much about any given workout as it is the holidays after all.
Cheers!
CoachLesley Training 