Vacation Running Anxiety

Hi!

We've been home for almost 48 hours and settling back into a routine has been the best feeling.  I ran yesterday and today and have felt great about both of my runs.  

This morning I did just over 5 miles and was excited to see my comfortable pace was just around a 10 minute mile.  I remember when I first started running I was averaging close to 12 minute miles so I feel really good about my progress.  Fueling is starting to become an issue for me and something I am going to need to start playing around with but that is for another post! 

In other good and fun news I actually won something, weird I know!  A few weeks ago while I was at Fitbloggin'13 I entered a Twitter contest with The Laughing Cow.  I really didn't plan on winning and had actually forgot all about it until last week when I found out I was a winner, woop!  

I think cuddling up to the Laughing Cow got me extra points!  

Not really.

I could not remember what it was the winners would receive but I assumed it would be along the lines of cheese.  

Am I smart or what?! 

I tried all of these flavors during the break at Fitbloggin'13 and surprisingly my favorite was the Queso Fresco & Chipotle.  Normally I am a White Cheddar girl and while that is yummy too I really liked the spice on the Queso.  Plus it all came in a nice little lunch bag that will really come in handy this summer, score!  

You are probably asking what any of this has to do with the title of this post, the answer is nothing, I just wanted to share the fun news with you first.  Okay onward to what I really wanted to talk about, what I call Vacation Running Anxiety.  I really do not think there is a form of anxiety out there with that title but let's just pretend there is for the purpose of this post.  

We have been traveling a lot and while it is great to get out and see the country and all that jazz I find myself completely unable to get out and run while we are away from home.  It isn't from lack of motivation or even the desire to get out there because I have both of those things.  I find that I am plagued with anxiety and the idea of running around a strange new place by myself completely freaks me out.  When I am running at home in the light of day I am completely at ease even though I still run with my pepper spray and no headphones, stay alert people!  I always try to run "scared" but I still feel very comfortable running around town.  I pass by a lot of other runners and walkers and people walking their dogs, everyone is very friendly.  I know which streets to avoid because theirs dogs scare the crap out of me and I have a general idea of how far I am from home in any given area.  On our most recent trip to Northern California I headed out for a run Tuesday morning just to see what I could pull off.  

This was all I could muster, ugh.  I think that the heat and elevation played a part but I know 75% of it was my own anxiety.  Every sound would send my heart racing, if I heard a dog barking I would jump 10 feet I can just imagine what I looked like from someone's kitchen window.  It takes me a while to feel comfortable to any new area and I think our short little 1 week trips are not enough time for me to reach any sort of comfort level.  It really bums me out because it means my mileage for this month will not be anywhere near where I would like it to be :( but that is just something I'll have to let go.  I was able to take a yoga class with my mom so the week wasn't a total loss!  

What am I going to do about it you ask?  I could hide under a rock and never leave our hometown again (I can hear Katie cheering) but that is not realistic.  What I need to start doing is locate a gym in the area that we are traveling to and ask about a discounted rate for the time I'll be there.  Or better yet try and book a hotel that has a gym with a treadmill.  Even better yet would get some of my family members to start running so I have some running buddies when I come visit *hint*hint*.  I am pretty much planning on making Joey my running buddy once he graduates from boot camp, no excuses now!  Minus the whole commitment to the Navy, yada yada yada.  

What do you think about vacation running anxiety, is it something that affects any of you? 

Do you like The Laughing Cow cheese wedges? 

- I have loved their cheese forever!