Travel while training for a marathon, Part Four

I've been away from blogging, preparing to go the Romantic Times Booklovers convention in Kansas City. In preparation, I ran, biked and beefed up my diet. I knew there were going to be days where I ate what I wanted, and didn't get to the gym. When attending conventions, such as this, I knew what to expect.

It's difficult to diet and exercise, while traveling. But-it depends on the travel. This convention was pure fun for fans of romance, and for the authors. There is nightly parties hosted by publishers, with dancing, hotel convention food and plenty of booze. All of it, challenging to someone who is training for anything! During the day there is workshops, with hours of sitting following the night of partying. 

What to do?  Besides, just not going. 

• There is the no parties rule.
• Making the gym a priority. That isn't any fun.
• Don't attend any parties. 
• Don't allow any booze to touch your lips.
• Be in bed by 9p.m. Come hell or high water
• Become a reverse Vampire. Never appearing when the sun goes down. 

A few tips to have fun and still maintain a little healthy sanity:

• Drink plenty of water. I had a water bottle with me constantly.
• Eat regular meals. 3 meals a day. Don't depend on processed snacks to get you to a free dinner, which usually isn't worth the wait.
• Each meal should be half veggie and fruit.
• Avoid too much caffeine, although you feel like you need it.
• Rest. Don't think you have to do everything. Take a break, nap, go for a walk.
• Set a regular routine of deadline for parties. Go have fun, but depart at a sane time to get plenty of rest.
• Avoid too much alcohol. Avoid hard booze or mixed drinks with tons of sugar. Stick to the lighter stuff. Put a limit on how many!!
• Drink tons of water. I think I said that already. Especially before bed, and first thing in the morning.
• Make a routine of the gym. It gets you through the day better, with more energy. What I discovered about this, you never know who you'll run into in the gym. I ran into the book cover models working out. What a delight in the morning. But-don't kill yourself to get there. If you danced the night away. Don't worry about it.

I'm home now, and exhausted, but more than ready to hit my bike, since I have blisters from dancing. Which is a great work out. I'm going on a 3 day juice fast to cleanse out my body. All day I'll juice, and eat a light meal for dinner.

I ate foods I normally don't eat, such as wheat products,drank wine every night and had sweet deserts. I'm retaining water from the travel, flying and being out of my regular diet. Eating out daily is a lot of processed foods, which is why I recommend lots of veggies and fruits. They're in their natural form and keep things moving while you're away from the diet. A fast should help get my body back on track. I had a blast, but am so happy to be home. Can't wait to have a home cooked meal tonight.