M-words: Miami, Marathon, March & Death-by-10-Meters

I finally went to the doctor yesterday to have them x-ray my silly left foot.  It's still hurting from when I landed wrong on January 29--11 days ago.  The fantastic news is: It's NOT broken! Hooray Hooray!!  The less-than-fantastic news is:  No running on it for 10-14 days. (Bad, especially when the National Marathon is under 2 months away....yikes!)  The good doctor also chastised me a bit for running on ice....but hey, there was a medal and a free t-shirt in it, how could I resist??

I am thankful now that I wasn't able to sign up for any races earlier in March (or fly down to New Orleans to do the Rock & Roll Mardi Gras Half Marathon, as I was contemplating a month or two ago.)  I am allowed to do spinning and elliptical, so that will help keep my cardio up while I'm not running.  Also, I can walk as much as I want (thank goodness, or I wouldn't be able to get to my office!) and do weights, which I enjoy.  Also, I did my boot camp class this morning, in which we did a fun activity called "Death by 10 Meters" that involved 5 min of 10 meter sprints.  The sprints actually weren't as bad on the foot as a long-distance jog-run.  And, after 5 minutes, I felt like I had exerted myself....quite a bit actually.  I might keep them up at home....thought it might be harder without a trainer counting and watching you.  Maybe they will help me increase my speed, even though I won't be running for over a week and a half.

Inconveniently, I leave for Miami on a week-long work trip on day fourteen of this no-running-sentence, so I'm hoping it feels much better by then.  The problem with this Miami trip is that it is all work and no play.  It's usually 16-18 hour workdays, leaving very little time for any sort of workout.  I usually can squeeze in one workout my first morning there on this type of trip, then it's all downhill.  Diet-wise, it's also a battle because  we eat large meals (3-4 courses) with nothing in between.  And the food is delicious.  So, by the time I finally sit down to a meal, I'm ravenous and ready to dive into anything.  Then, I look down at my plate and it's amazing food that I typically only eat on a special occasion (or a fancy date.)  In addition to that, I'm usually mentally & physically exhausted from the long days and, since it's a work trip, the conversation isn't exactly intriguing. So, because of this, I tend to eat more than I care for.  In short, these trips tend to be weight-loss/diet/nutrition suicide.  While I'm looking forward to heading somewhere warm & sunny (it's in the 20s here in DC) I wish I had that extra week to get myself more prepared for the marathon.  This will be my sixth trip of this nature and each time I resolve to keep myself and my diet in check. Each time I have failed.  My only hope is that the beautiful people who live in Miami year-round will inspire and motivate me to NOT polish off a filet mignon or pile extra banana pudding onto my plate. I'll cross my fingers.... 

I still have thirteen days now until I depart--plenty of time to work on all non-running aspects of my diet and fitness goals. Though, on March 1, as soon as the plane touches back down in DC, there will be a Blitzkrieg of health and wellness for the following 26 days---maybe even St. Patrick's Day! (gasps!!)

Anyway, I need ideas for good ways to stay on track while traveling....

View of sunrise over the Potomac as I walked over the Key Bridge.