Training always requires flexibility, because as much as you
plan, there are always unexpected obstacles, whether from internal or external
structures. Training while traveling
demands even more patience. The external
conditions are more unpredictable and the support structure you create to take
care of internal conditions (injuries, eating healthy foods, sleeping well)
aren’t there.
Nowhere I have traveled required more openness than when I
visited Addis Ababa, Ethiopia for two months.
Runners had three options for training: 1) Run on city roads before
daybreak at 5:30 am (After dawn, all sidewalks and roads were literally
unrunnable because of the people/chaos); 2) walk the one city park with a
one-mile dirt loop, and run circles; 3) Take public transportation to mountains
just outside of city, and run (after full light, of course, when the hyenas
won’t eat you). This was my first time
outside North America, and it was an incredible lesson in privilege for a
recent NCAA Division I graduate. Forget
the piles of Nike clothes and fancy hotels.
I learned from my training pals how incredibly fortunate I am to have
consistent calories, to consume protein, to have shoes that fit and a sports
bra, to have a home – a shower!, and to have education. The list could go on for a long time.
As I traveled through Eastern Europe for these past three
weeks, I tried to continue training hard to prepare for road races in
September. It ended up being really hard to get quality training in, and I was too often cranky. My
plantar fasciitis flared up from walking on cobblestones, tour groups of fifty
people clogged up an entire path, and I never knew where I could find an open track. I had one workout that went far
better than expected, which was followed by one so terrible, my coaches and I
decided to wait until I get home to try anything up-tempo again. I wish I could always clearly hold onto the
knowledge of how fortunate I am to be able to train as much as I do, but I can’t.
If I did, I would love every single second I got to spend running in
comfortable shoes and had a protein bar waiting at the end of my run. At the very least, when I remember to reflect, I can appreciate the flexibility I learned, even if I'm not always happy about it.
Run in Riga, Latvia
Another selfie in Berlin, Germany