Fitness on the Road- Running

This morning I went for a run by my hotel. Running is great while traveling because you don't need a lot of gear, technically just sneakers and clothes (but I include my i-pod and garmin in my must have category as well). The treadmill bores me to tears, so I always try to find a way to run outside. It's worth it to spend a little time researching your destination before you go, so that you don't end up running somewhere unsafe, or get stuck running laps around the hotel parking lot. Here are a few strategies I use.

-Look for a running club at your destination. They might have group runs you can join, have route maps on their website, or if you e-mail them, be willing to provide some advice. I've yet to get a negative response when trying to hook up with a running club where I'll be traveling. Running in the USA has a great list of running clubs around the country.

-Check out a Running Route Website. There are quite a few website where people can post routes they like to run. Try US Track and Field; Map my Run; Walk Jog Run, and Runner's World

-Use your blogger connections to find a running buddy in your destination. If I have time before my trip I look for running blogs set in my destination. Best case scenario is that I connect with the blogger and we meet up in person. Even when that isn't possible, they should at least be able to provide some tips on good places to run.

-Use Google Maps to scout out potential routes. I always look around my hotel for residential areas and parks as I like to get away from the traffic.

-Use the hotel parking lot or parking garage as a track substitute.  There have been places where I didn't feel safe running on the roads, so I did a lot of loops around the hotel parking lot. This can get boring pretty quickly so I like to turn it into speed work. For example alternate sprinting up one row of cars, and then recover by jogging up the next row. This is also a good opportunity to mix in some drills like high knee skips, side shuffles, and backward running.

Any other advice out there for road warrior runners?

And as an update to yesterday's Crossfit workout- I am in agony today. I am SOO sore. I dropped my hairbrush this morning and could barely pick it up.