How to Travel Like a Pro Athlete

We’re within the thick of the race season, which implies you’re possible not simply logging loads of swim, bike, and run miles — you’re in all probability additionally crisscrossing your area, nation, or continent (or even perhaps the globe should you’re a professional) as you journey to at least one occasion after one other. You’ve skilled exhausting and ready properly, so don’t undo all of that arduous work by touring like a rookie! It’s worthwhile to journey like an athlete. With a little bit of planning and preparation, and by mastering just a few key abilities, you’ll be able to attain each begin line contemporary, relaxed, and able to go.

9 Tricks to Journey Like an Athlete

Pack Forward

For a lot of professional athletes, packing is probably the most loathed a part of touring, nevertheless it at all times appears to get simpler because the season goes on. The important thing to doing it efficiently (and never forgetting something very important) is to create a prioritized record of all the objects you want to your race, after which to examine these objects off as you pack them. If I do know I’m going to be touring quite a bit, I maintain my must-have objects inside my suitcase, so that they don’t get misplaced — however that’s not essentially the place they keep after I head out the door. Given how usually checked baggage arrives late (or in no way), I at all times pack my most important race objects (e.g., bike and run footwear, race equipment, helmet and sunnies, Beachbody Efficiency Hydrate) plus one coaching equipment in my carry-on bag. This has saved me on multiple event — and several other teammates when their baggage has been misplaced!

Examine the Climate in Your Vacation spot

This tip would possibly appear to be a no brainer, however I can’t inform you what number of instances I’ve assumed that it’s going to be sizzling and humid in Miami or heat and dry in California and it’s been something however! Examine the forecast to your vacation spot usually, and pack accordingly, but additionally be ready for all eventualities. Mom Nature is usually a fickle lady, and she or he has a behavior of defying her predictors. If I’m tight on house in my baggage, I’ll depart toiletries at residence and purchase them at my vacation spot, so I could make room for additional gear.

Have a Skilled Ship Your Bike

Packing and touring together with your bike is usually a main headache, particularly should you’re not skilled at it. If that’s the case, search the recommendation of a extra seasoned good friend, or enlist the assistance of an area bike retailer. Many retailers provide bike-packing companies for an inexpensive value. You may also use a service like TriBike Transport, which lets you drop your bike off at a collaborating bike retailer and choose it up on the race location a day or so earlier than the occasion.

If you happen to resolve to journey together with your bike reasonably than ship it, make certain to familiarize your self together with your airline’s bag charges. They will vary from $75 to $200, and never all airways deal with your bike bag with TLC, so make certain all the pieces is properly wrapped and guarded. And don’t pack something additional in there. You’ll usually see athletes squeezing tons of stuff into their bike bag, however that solely will increase the probabilities of your bike being broken.

Whichever possibility you select, it’s at all times prudent to get your bike serviced/checked not less than per week previous to your departure. That provides you with loads of time to repair any points that pop up.

Sleep The place You Race

I attempt to discover lodging that makes race day logistics as straightforward as potential. Saving a couple of dollars by staying miles away is pointless if it’s a nightmare to journey to and/or park close to the venue on race day. With the ability to stroll, jog, or journey to your race with out problem or stress will assist get your head in the suitable place to have an excellent race. Additionally keep in mind that when you have particular dietary wants, or simply desire to know precisely what you’re consuming (that’s me for certain!), then staying in self-catered lodging (someplace with its personal kitchen/fridge/microwave) goes to make your life significantly simpler.

Don’t Stress

Whether or not it’s a protracted or a brief haul, flying could be the athlete’s enemy because of the stress it locations on the physique. I attempt to keep away from scheduling exhausting coaching classes for the day earlier than or morning of journey days, partly since you merely don’t get better as properly after them as you do while you’re residence. Air journey additionally knocks your immune system down a notch, making you extra vulnerable to catching a bug as you weave by means of airports (that are mainly large petri dishes) and spend prolonged intervals of time crammed in a confined house at 30,000 toes with greater than 100 different (doubtlessly illness carrying) passengers.

My recommendation: Be vigilant about what you contact and what you eat, and maintain a bottle of hand sanitizer inside attain always. If potential, attempt additionally to take care of a constructive mindset, and do all the pieces you’ll be able to to reduce your stress stage. For me, that features avoiding red-eyes. I used to fly in any respect types of bizarre instances of the day and night time if it meant maintaining extra money in my pocket, however I’ve since discovered that not disturbing my sleep and coaching schedules is much extra necessary, particularly throughout race week. In brief, don’t ever anticipate to run into me on a 4am flight (or actually, any flight earlier than 9am or after 8pm).

E book an Aisle Seat

Sustaining wholesome blood circulation is necessary for everybody, together with (and maybe particularly for) athletes. To that finish, I at all times attempt to reserve an aisle seat in order that I can stand up and stretch my legs each 60 to 90 minutes. Compression socks additionally assist. Simply be sure you put on them underneath your clothes so that you don’t appear like an entire endurance-sport geek.

Keep Hydrated

Flying is a dehydrating course of because of the dry, filtered air that’s circulated by means of airplane cabins, so plan forward — particularly should you’re travelling with an airline that makes you pay for water (I’m speaking about you, Spirit). I at all times take a water bottle on the airplane with me, and can alternate ingesting a diluted electrolyte beverage (e.g. watered down Beachbody Efficiency Hydrate) and plain water. Tomato juice is one other winner due to its excessive ranges of sodium (a key electrolyte). Belief me on this one: Good hydration habits can mitigate the results of jetlag, so drink up.

Give Your self Time to Regulate

Jetlag and time zone modifications can wreak havoc on the finely tuned athlete’s physique. For every time zone traveled, I attempt to give myself not less than in the future to regulate. Though jetlag consultants recommend making modifications to your day by day routine (e.g., bedtime, wake time, and so forth.) by an hour a day within the days main as much as departure, I’ve by no means discovered that significantly useful. As a substitute, I attempt to trick myself into the vacation spot time zone after I arrive by spending time in pure gentle as late into the day as potential, doing gentle train and mobility work to get my blood flowing, consuming contemporary meals, and doing all the pieces I can to facilitate an excellent night time’s sleep (extra on that in a second). Even be conscious that you’ve simply spent prolonged time cooped up in a airplane, so your physique won’t really feel great relating to coaching the following day. Be affected person, and don’t panic! I discover that doing my mobility work, spending time on the froth curler, and meditating (i.e., deep respiratory and stress-free) all assist carry my physique again round.

Get Some Relaxation

Sleep is clearly necessary, and it may be simply disrupted by journey. I attempt to observe the identical pre-bed routine on the street as I do at residence, in order that wherever I’m on the earth, my physique and thoughts know when it’s time for sleep. A sizzling bathe/tub, some gentle stretching/mobility work, a chapter or two of an excellent guide, after which earplugs and an eye fixed masks and I’m off to dreamland. I additionally attempt to keep away from blue gentle (emitted by LED gadgets similar to telephones, computer systems, and televisions), proper earlier than mattress, as it might probably intervene with falling asleep. Don’t be afraid to assist the method with some melatonin (so long as you seek the advice of your physician first) and/or just a few drops of lavender oil in your pillow. In my expertise, each work wonders relating to resetting the physique’s clock.

So there you’ve gotten it! With a little bit of forethought and some key abilities, there’s no cause why you’ll be able to’t race simply as brilliantly when touring midway world wide as you do while you compete near residence. Good luck, and journey protected!