Dillon, MT

Pigtail Connector Trail

Run Time: 32:08

Another lucky find in an unlikely place for a short run in the early evening after a long drive across Idaho. I had stops in Boise and Idaho Falls, with nothing in between, so rather than take I-84/I-86, I took a more direct route on US 20, the most ubiquitous route in my territory. I had never driven this stretch, though, and I thought it might be more interesting than the interstate.

It wasn’t that interesting, unless you are interested in having to pass slower-moving vehicles on a two-lane with limited vision of the road ahead. There were some hills and some mountains in the distance, and an occasional dry streambed. A lot of scrub-brush. Not much wildlife. Not even much livestock.

So I felt fortunate to find this short trail very close to the hotel, running along I-15. Normally, a trail alongside an interstate is not ideal, but traffic on this stretch of I-15 at this time of night was only occasional. I followed the trail to a neighborhood street, then ran down sidewalks to a “downtown” area by an old railroad depot, then ran back.

My run time was short because my time is short in the evenings if I do not get to the hotel in time. I always have a fair amount of laptop work to do when I have been on the road all day. Plus, I have to eat at some point, and since I snack on the road and do not eat lunch, I am typically very hungry by 5 pm, though running usually abates my hunger till I am done running.

I do not like deciding whether or not I am going to run when I get to the hotel, or how long I am going to run if not the full time, just like I do not like deciding what I am going to wear in the morning. Decisions use up mental energy. So I came up with a plan the week before this trip: arrive at the hotel by 16:00 = full run + strength training; arrive by 16:30 = full run; arrive by 17:00 = full run -10 minutes; arrive by 17:30 = full run -20 minutes; arrive by 18:00 = full run -30 minutes; arrive by 18:30 = full walk -30 minutes; arrive after 18:30 = no run or walk.

This plan tilts toward the run and away from work. If I lose 30 minutes of time to driving, I only lose 10 minutes of running/walking. It is not a fun decision: do I sacrifice work for health, or health for work? If I am on the laptop from 7 am – 8:30 am working, then on the road making sales visit till 4 or 5 pm, then arriving at the hotel from 4 – 7 pm, am I obligated to work 2-3 more hours on the laptop at the hotel? No. If I don’t, the work of emailing back-and-forth with accounts and prospects piles up, and the work of projects piles up, and staying organized flies out the window. Health is important. The quality of work is partly determined by health.

So, a compromise. Or a partnership, however you want to look at it. For me, the important thing is to make the decision once, to set parameters, and to just live with the results. Weather is the factor that will disrupt the process. Occasionally I will decide that the weather is bad enough that it is not worth leaving the hotel room, except for food.

I do not like working that many hours when I take a work trip. I also do not like doing half-assed work, or falling behind on work tasks, or not communicating with customers and prospects in a timely manner. I like exercising and getting enough sleep. On occasion, I will get to the hotel and just take a nap, and that evening I will do the bare minimum of work to be ready for the next day. Or I will do the bare minimum and then watch West Wing for two hours. I like being able to do that on the rare occasion and not see my work schedule blow up as a result.

And besides, some of my best work gets done when I am running.