And here I thought summer couldn’t get any crazier. Last year was the epitome of unusual. I was back and forth to North Carolina all summer long for my dad’s transplant. We were in Vegas for BlogFest, roadtripped to California for the EMPOWER race. I also went to Rochester, NY, Seattle, WA, and Asheville, NC, for friends’ weddings.
Last year maybe wins the award for most travel in the span of just a few months (read my recap here!), but this year is giving it a run for its money! And it probably wins the award for EPIC travels!
March: It all started when I went home to see my family.
I managed to sneak away for a couple of day trips to get some spring skiing in while I could.
April: We went to Vegas for Caitlin’s 30th birthday!
May: Just five days after getting back from Las Vegas, I met Caitlin in Italy for a wedding. The wedding was in Ravello, on the Amalfi Coast, so we decided to make it into a week. (Yes, I know, recap blog post is totally late. It’s coming, I promise!)
June: I snuck in a last-minute trip back home to North Carolina for Father’s Day. I’m so glad I did! I got to be there to see my dad paddle board and ride in the boat for the first time in 18 months!
June: Two weeks ago we were in San Diego for BlogFest (recap also to come for this!).
July: I had my 25K race on Sunday at Mt Hood (race recap post coming, too).
And now here we are. I get on a plane to Norway for 10 days on Friday. And at the end of August I’ll be going to Colorado for a friend’s wedding.
See what I mean? Less back and forth, but more epicness for sure.
All of my travel this year has been strenuous. Almost every time I fly home to North Carolina I take the red eye, and when I come back home to Portland I land at nearly midnight. And let’s face it, flying to and from Europe is NOT easy when you’re based on the West coast.
Flying and being in airports for so long makes my body physically hurt, and I have never been so jet-lagged for so long as I was when I got back from Italy (getting stuck in the Newark airport for 8 hours certainly didn’t help). Running a conference is hard – it always seems to take at least two weeks to get back to normal after BlogFest, especially this year with the 4th of July just a few days after we got home. Of course, I got sick right after the conference this year so my BlogFest recovery feels even longer this year. With the bulk of my upcoming trip to Norway based around hiking, I fully expect to be ridiculously sore for a long time after and will no doubt need recovery from jetlag and sore muscles.
But even with all of the challenges, travel is always worth it.
As worth it as it always is, getting acclimated after travel is never easy. Whether it’s shaking it off as quickly as you can upon arrival so you can dive into your trip, or trying to kick jetlag and find your routine at home again, I have a couple of go-to tricks that always help me.
Hit the ground running
Literally! I always like to go for a run when I arrive at my destination. When I’m home at the beach, I’m just trying to survive the day after a red eye. When we got to San Diego, going for a run that first evening was the best way to get a feel for the area and hit the reset button after an early flight and a long day of setting up for the conference.
It’s my favorite way to get some bonus sightseeing in too, like in Italy.
When you get home, go for a run, hit the gym, take yoga. Your body will thank you for it!
Normalize the abnormal
The best way to try and feel normal quickly is to adapt to the schedule that you’re on. Try not to think about what time it is at home, and “do as the Romans do.”
I arrived back from Italy at almost midnight on Sunday. The next day I got online to weed through emails, attended a meeting, and went to yoga. Everyone was shocked, amazed I was even remotely functioning. It definitely wasn’t easy, but it ultimately helped me to dive right back into Portland life.
Hydrate
When feeling fuzzy brained from time changes, processing everything around me, attempting to minimize bloating while flying, and trying to get my body to function normally, the #1 thing that can help is WATER!
60% of the human body is water so of course drinking water is incredibly important for the body’s health and functions. My very favorite way to hydrate is to sip on Gerolsteiner Sparkling Mineral Water – it’s both refreshing and also contains important minerals that my body needs to replenish and recover.
Mineral waters are created by precipitation percolating through layers of bedrock and accumulating in underground aquifers that then reemerge to the surface. The nature of the sediment to that particular geographic region determines the taste of a specific mineral water. Gerolsteiner is my absolute favorite! It is neutral tasting and effervescent while still being incredibly refreshing. It is full of minerals that the body needs, and that are especially key for me right now with all of my flying time, running, and hiking (aka sore muscles!) – calcium, magnesium, and bicarbonate.
I’m so excited to be participating in Gerolsteiner’s Sparkling Detox this August! All you have to do to join in with me is to swap out Gerolsteiner Sparkling Mineral Water for all of your beverages August 27 – 31. And right now you can enter a sweepstakes for the chance to win a free case of Gerolsteiner to participate in the challenge. Enter here and use the code LIZ18.
Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Gerolsteiner Sparkling Mineral Water. All opinions expressed are my own. I truly appreciate all of the brands that support the Sweat Pink community.
I’m tired just reading this! I love that you’ve found ways to normalize while traveling! Safe journeys
haha yeah it’s definitely exhausting, but getting used to rolling with it and finding some sense of “normal” always helps!
Whoa that’s a whole lotta travel! While I do like to travel I don’t know if I could do it that often. It seems like you have it down to a science now because you have so much experience!
It can definitely be hard to stay healthy and hydrated while traveling so I love that you’ll be participating in the challenge!
Some things are routine, but it inherently throws wrenches into plans and routines all. the. time. It’s nice getting back into a routine and all of my healthy habits when coming home. AND the Detox in just a few weeks!