Travis Speegle's Fitness Journey

Coast to Coast Road Trip Fitness Challenge

Tomorrow begins a 10 day road trip from San Diego to Quantico, VA. 

I am excited about finally getting to see a little more of our country and experience more of the interesting things that make this such a great country. 

There is a lot for me to learn from this journey and perhaps a few things we can discover together.  I've decided to make put a bit of a fitness spin on the trip to make things a little more interesting. 

You see... one of the things I most appreciate about travel is local culture and especially local foods.  So each time we stop, I will be looking for foods that are unique to the area we are in... this in itself isn't all that unique.  It's a pretty typical of Americans to eat whatever foods are available on the road.

As a health and fitness professional, I usually pack healthy snacks and some supplements to keep on track when I travel.... but this time I'm not taking a thing.  And I still plan to come home in better shape than when I leave.   This is my challenge.

It will be like an urban fitness survival challenge. 

Along the way, we will stop and find creative ways to physically train each and every day.  In a way I suppose I will be "earning the right" to enjoy the food culture of the southern US.  We will have to be creative to fit training in and making it work with no gym, equipment or nutritional supplementation. 

My staff took measurements of me today and they will measure again upon my return.  I can't wait to see how it turns out. 

We made it to Tucson!

We made it out here with only one stop in Yuma, Az. for some food. (Had some great BBQ at Dave's Famous BBQ.... it had to be good, the sign said they were famous.) 

The trip out here through the desert was uneventful, but the search for food turned into quite an adventure after we checked into our hotel room.... I'll update that story later. 

It's late, I'm tired and I need some sleep. 

The adventure continues as we head for Texas tomorrow.  Yee haw! 

A recap of Day 1

We started the road trip on beautiful (very typical) day in San Diego and simply headed east. 

After a very brief stop in Alpine, CA for feul and some water we set the cruise control and didn't slow down until lunch time in Yuma. 

I had never ventured this far east on I8 down here and was almost surpised by the beauty and ruggedness of the landscape as we made our way over the coastal mountains and into the desert. 

A BBQ joint in Yuma and some Starbucks for the road and we were off again... getting into Tucson about 9pm local. 

The hotel turned out to be far from "luxury" accommodations so after checking in we immediately headed out to find some food and something interesting in this town.  I figured we couldn't miss by heading toward the University of Arizona campus.  Unfortunately our nav system didn't know that the freeway was under heavy construction directly in the path of our route, with all of the off ramps closed.   

So what set out to be a 10 minute trip downtown turned into nearly 2 hours stuck on the freeway and nearly running out of fuel.

After refueling we finally made our way downtown and found a bar that was still serving food.  I very happy with a pile of fairly tasty chicken fajitas given that it was now 11:30pm. Paired with a pint of Guiness the world was looking a little brighter. 

As far as training for the day went.... it wasn't much.  I got in some Z drills at each stop and then did about 10 more minutes before bed.

This journey is already turning out to be more interesting that I had anticipated.  There is a lot to learn out here, each and every experince will teach us something. 

Overall it was a great day

 

 

On the way to Texas...

Today is already starting off better in terms of activity.

I woke up, after a terrible nights sleep, and immediately started moving.  15 minutes of Z drills followed by several sets of various squats, push ups, jumping jacks and lunges. 

Rick had seen a Waffle House nearby that he said we would have to eat at this morning, so I needed to get some work in prior that culinary adventure.

I had never eaten at a Waffle House so this was a nice piece of americana.  A short walk to the restaurant preceded this exciting meal of ham, eggs and, of course, a waffle.  The waitress looked at me a little funny as I was sopping up the butter that was drowning my eggs, but other than that is was exactly what I expected. A tasty waffle, greasy eggs, and a nice little ham steak. 

We're off to a good start.  Now back on the road.

El Paso, Tx

El Paso

this place is certainly not much to look at.

We pushed all the way accross New Mexico without a single stop today to reach El Paso for lunch.  We figured it would be a good resting point halfway to our destination for the day and probalby someplace interesting to see.

Overall this place seems like it pretty much sucks.  The landscape is uninspiring and dirty and then there is the stark contrast between El Paso and Juarez, Mexico that lies right accross the freeway.  It's interesting,  if not sad, to see the wealth of an American city's financial district within the same view as the poverty of the city of Juarez. 

We did at least happen accross a good mexican restaurant for lunch.  Good food, great service and lunch for about $5 per person. 

I won't be coming back here without a very good reason. 

2 Days into it....(Rick here)

Second day on the trip and the reason for it is finally setting in.  My brother and I are on a journey of discovery.  Thus far we have spent numerous hours talking, I think we are close to solving all the world's problems;  not bad for two days.  Tuscon was OK but Odessa was a lot more fun.  We went out after 600 miles of travel and inspite of my over priced nav system, we found a great place to hang.  CA is missing some good food places, namely Buffulo Joes. 

Tommorow will be an easy day.  Hotel has a pool so that means some swimming and training despite the 35 degree weather.  I have discovered thus far that if one chooses to stay healthy on the road it really isn't that hard.  We shall see if I hold the same opinion when we reach Quantico.  Arlington here we come. 

-Rick

In Odessa after Day 2

Odessa is certainly more welcoming than our previous destination.  The hotel here is much nicer in both facilities and staff... .the people here are ridiculously friendly. 

The trip out here was a push through road trip for sure other than our food/fuel stop in El Paso the only other break in the 600 mile drive was about 40 miles east of Tucson to see "The THING?".  A couple of people told Rick that we had to see it and the dozens of signs on the freeway enticed us off to see it.  I can't tell you what it is... if you're out in the middle of nowhere, southern AZ on the 10 you'll have to stop and see it for yourself. 

As soon as we got into town here, we were once again in search of food, local cheer and possibly an adult beverage or two.  We got some advice from the front desk girl at as to where to go, so at least we didn't get lost this time or stuck on the freeway. 

We checked out a couple of places before settling in.  First, a pool hall type joint that was very loud, had an angry vibe and a pierced up young lady with a serious attitude working the door that didn't seem to like us very much.  It seemed like trouble was brewing so we tried the next place on the list. 

Next was a HUGE amusement park type of country bar, looked like it was built in an old Costco... not the scene we were looking for. 

We finally made it to a sports bar/ wings joint that even had Guinness on tap.... good wings and a couple of black and tans made for a nice evening.  Even met a marine that knew a bunch of the same people that Rick has worked with closely over the years. 

I know the drinking isn't the best thing for the physical fitness challenge of this trip, but interestingly enough this trip may turn out to be more about spiritual fitness for me anyway. (more on that later)

Our experience here in Odessa has been good.  I was able to get up this morning and get a decent bit of training in the room before breakfast and now we're ready to head for Dallas. 

The adventure continues......

Central Texas

Rollin thru cotton pickin central Texas.

It's freakin cold out here and nothing to see but cotton fields and oil wells.  Makes me really appreciate the 80mph speed limit.

Oooohhh..... Windmills

Oooohhh..... Windmills, huge Texas sized windmills. 

Are they running out of oil in Texas?

I just got excited to see something other than cotton fields and oil wells. 

I hate Stephen Colbert!

For the past 2 hours we have been listening to Colbert's audio book "I am America".

This is the first truly painful experience of this trip. I think I would rather stuff my ears full of red hot coals than listen to this crap. This was Rick's choice of audio programming and it has him intermittently laughing his ass off.

Unfortunately, I can't convince him to turn it off. And, since he is driving (and is a hell of a lot bigger than me) I am obligated to endure this torture. The good news is that we're only about an hour away from Dallas wher we will stop for the night. If you like Stephen Colbert, there is probably something seriously wrong with you too.