Appropriate vs Practical Sneakers
I started a new day job this week. As some might know, I travel a lot for day job and this new day job is the same – more reasonable travel time but still a lot of travel.
Many of my trips will be short from now on, 2 to 3 days, and I’ll want to travel light. This week I managed to fit all my necessities including 2 suits, workout clothes and a change of clothes to ride home on the plane plus you know, my work laptop, iPad and lady-toiletries. Problem: I was already wearing my boots. There was no room for my sneakers. None.
That meant 3 days of no gym. Granted, I did yoga in-room those three days but had no hard cardio. I couldn’t make use of the hotel gym because I had no sneakers. And while some hotels have a program to lend you sneakers, that’s a little… Nah. I’d rather find a way to bring my own sneakers.
Packing a bigger bag sounds like a logical solution. But there’s the desire not to check luggage if it’s such a brief trip. I could, but really, I’d like to travel light and not worry about my luggage not making it to my destination with me. Nothing like going to a client site in the same clothes you wore on the plane the night before. And yes, I’ve had to do it.
My solution? Get smaller sneakers. Not in size, because my feet are already small. No, I mean a different style of sneaker that’s sleeker and takes up less space packed. My current sneakers are running shoes, with a big thick sole for good tread and shock absorption. The new ones are really walking shoes with minimal sole without sacrificing too much in the way of support. They’re not really made for athletics, and not made for hard cardio. But heck, they’ll get me into the gym and onto the elliptical for the couple of days I’m traveling and I won’t miss out on cardio. I can wear my real running sneakers for workouts the rest of the week.
It’s not optimal. These are not the right shoe for the exercise activity. I understand this. But these are a compromise of practicality in order to get into the gym at all while I’m travelling light.
