Running is JUST Like Flying on an Airplane!

This past week I had the awesome opportunity to take a solo trip to Las Vegas & attend a medical conference. And by solo, I mean SOLO! I didn’t know a single person attending the event & I didn’t even bring along my hubby. Scott, my dear better half, stayed home & took care of my sweet twins. I think it is hugely important for the father of kiddos to enjoy 24/7 Mr. Mom duties. I also think it is vital, for sanity’s sake, for mothers to partake in time away… not an hour here & there, but at minimum an overnight trip! A reset, I will call it. But that discussion is a completely separate topic, for potentially a future blog post!

In total, I had 4 flights: 2 outbound to Vegas & 2 back home to Norfolk. That pretty much equates to lots of time thinking… or reading… or sleeping. I came to the realization during one of my many hours at 30,000+ feet, that flying is much like running, for a multitude of reasons.

Have you ever sat next to a person in that tiny aircraft seat that clearly forgot their deodorant?! No bueno. Likewise, we runners certainly don’t smell like roses when we’re an hour into our workout. Despite being rather smelly, we continue to trudge on & usually don’t reveal to others our distaste for their odor or stench. What other choice do we have?!

Have you ever thought, “I could run a marathon in the time it’ll take me to get from Destination A to Destination B”? Well, you certainly could. My flight from Atlanta to Las Vegas was 4 hours + 45 minutes. This is certainly a reasonable & frequent official time for runners who are completing the 26.2 mile distance. Honestly, I would prefer to run for that length of time, rather than be stuck in a 3 foot by 2 foot rectangular airplane space! But alas, much like the race course we stick it out & happily reach our destination.

I also found it funny that like running, on one particular jaunt in the sky, I was parched & dying for a beverage. However, the turbulence kept the flight attendants docked in their seats & thus my thirst for water persisted. This has definitely happened on the race course. After a night of drinking, there have definitely been some dehydrated training runs, as well as races. {PSA: The Running Blonde does not support alcoholic libations on the evening prior to a race! Lessons learned!} There have been moments when it seemed like the 0.5 mile to the next water stop would last the duration of boating across the English Channel!!

Speaking of being thirsty, on one specific flight my “nurse-sized” bladder failed me! I was internally jumping up & down like a 5 year old kid & screaming in my head, “Can we exit the plane already?!?!” Luckily, I did not embarrass myself & successfully reached the airport commode for bladder relief. Although I am probably jinxing myself, I have yet to veer off the road while running to empty my bladder. Be it healthy or not, I do believe it is due to my well-trained-urine-containing-internal-organ. Have you ever realized 8 hours into your work day that despite drinking adequate volume of fluids that you have yet to pee?! Welcome to the world of being an ICU nurse. See, yet another instance where the world of flying parallels the world of running.

One final connection I found was the joy I felt when I landed & knew I HAD MADE IT! Sound vaguely familiar to crossing the race FINISH line?! I welcomed the nearly 72 hours of freedom I was about to indulge in. The internal moaning & groaning I had just trudged through on the plane would all be worth it. And similar to running, at immediate completion of the flight I really didn’t ever want to get back on a plane. However, within a few short hours I had amnesia to the pain & annoyances of flying & knew it was a necessary evil to experiencing the joys & happiness at said destination.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading my bantering about the parallels between running & flying on an airplane. Maybe on your next flight you will think of even more connections {pun intended}… & then go for a well-deserved run at your destination!

Happy Running!