One of the collateral effects of the globalization of the economy is that we find more people traveling as part of their work routine. This puts a lot of pressure in trying to maintain a healthy life style and for our purposes sticking to a training plan. Nonetheless, as we runners know, it is pretty much about discipline and flexibility that allows us to reach our goals, being this completing a 5K, 10K, half marathon or a marathon.
A couple of large hotel chains have become conscious of this strive for a more balanced life style and have improved their gyms and incorporated healthier choices into their menus.
Recently, I had the chance to stay at the Westin Tampa Bay Hotel. My trip was for leisure, thus I always bring with me my running gear and try to accommodate at least a short run in the morning. I have read before about their RunWestin program in association with New Balance, so I decided to give it a try. The program basically offers you for $5 the chance of getting a New Balance short, shirt (and appropriate clothes for women), shoes and socks; basically, all that you need to hit the gym or the road.
The first thing that came to my mind (and maybe better said to my wife’s mind) was about cleanness and how comfortable I was in using sport’s gear that might have been used several times by different people (by the way the socks are for you to keep!). I got the gear the night before my early run (you call guest services and you get your stuff in approximately 10 minutes), all running oriented. Shirts and shorts looked fairly new and shoes were brand new. I asked if they had a recommend running trail and they gave me a small map with a 2 miler and a 3 miler path. The trails were average, since you run through a park, but then headed by a parking lot, and there was hardly anybody else running there; nonetheless, it is nice at least to have an idea where to go and of the distance (bear in mind that this hotel is nearby the airport, so probably not the best location to find local runners). After my run, I hit the gym, which was nicely equipped. I was happy with my morning workout.
After running in Florida’s summer conditions (hot & humid), the cleanness factor struck back to me; I had to ask the hotel staff how they handle this. They told me that they wash the clothes (which is obvious, but I have to tell that there was no trace of any odor whatsoever; it passed my wife’s smell test) and the shoes’ insole is replaced every time someone uses it, which gave me assurance that it should be OK not to bring my own gear next time I think in staying at a Westin. At the end of the day, it is not different to the clothes you get at a gym.