Should I bring my running gear on my holidays?

Q I'm off on our family holiday to Cyprus for a fortnight and I'm trying to pack. I have to be ruthless so we don't have to pay for luggage because my husband refuses to pay extra to have baggage in the hold. So with three children to pack for as well, this is no easy job because it means we are all allowed only one piece of hand luggage each.

Looking at the stuff laid out on the bed, my running trainers and kit are the equivalent space-wise of a week's worth of T-shirts for the kids and I'm debating the point of taking them.

Will bringing them just make me feel guilty when I look at them, unused each day because I can’t be arsed to go running and will I resent the stuff I had to leave behind? Or, will I go bananas if I don’t go running for two weeks? Am I just looking for an excuse when I should be looking to pack in more grit into this holiday, not less? Lena M

A This is a conundrum indeed. If it cheers you up, I am about to go on holiday too and I might not pack my trainers either. This is how I justify not bringing my running shoes or my running routine on holiday: just as I need a break from our London home, my job, my environment, so do I need an annual break from running.

It’s not only my 41-year-old knees and ankles and hips that need respite from running, but my head also likes to kiss it goodbye for a fortnight.

Underpinning this separation is my theory that – much like a partner one sees daily and takes for granted – to miss running, is to fall in love with it afresh when I return. And all of our relationships, including our relationship with running, need to be rekindled every once in a while.

We go to France, which is much milder and more running friendly than Cyprus will be at this time of the year, which will be beyond baking. So, unless you are planning to set an alarm for 5am to go for your run (which is not terribly holiday spirited, let’s face it) or go at 8pm or 9pm (which means missing out on lunchtime and early evening lady petrol – my brother-in-law’s term for rose wine and essential medicine I suspect with three little ones in tow), there is absolutely no way you are going to be able to run.

So, if you need to find an excuse other than the baggage, remember it will be just too hot.

The caveat to all this excuse making is don’t let your break from running become a break from all exercise, because the more you move on holiday, the better the holiday is going to be. For everybody.

Make that swimming pool in your villa/hotel/shared apartment your holiday running track. Fifty laps every day will give you all the zen calm of a four-mile run.

You will use different muscles from running and really help strengthen your core – all of which your running body will thank you for. Plus, it’s taking the strain off your joints, yet is every bit as cardio busting, with all the benefits leaving you feeling relaxed, exhausted, exhilarated, de-stressed and sleeping like a baby.

You’ll get the endorphins and serotonin boost as well from a vigorous swim, which will make you patient and calm and much less shouty – something that as a mother of two, my family desperately need me to be on holiday.

Dare I say it, a vigorous swim also tends to make one want an alcoholic cocktail much less. It will help neutralise any angst and stop you from going bananas for a fortnight without running.

Any type of ball sports in the water with the family is another great running substitute. I love throwing a waboba (waboba. com) around with my husband and sons. It’s a fabulous workout for the upper arms and core. I always feel stretched everywhere, especially when we play with it in the sea. So, spend as much time as you can in the pool and the sea – on the move – slathered of course in factor 50 .

Then, without those trainers, if there is a suitable beach nearby, and once you are settled into your holiday, you could always slope off around 7pm and head to the beach for a sunset run barefoot. The burn in your thighs and buttocks from the extra work your legs have to do to run on sand will be like nothing you’ve ever known.

Provided the sand is clean and firm enough to run on, it provides an ideal running surface, especially just at the water’s edge. Don’t be put off though by deep sinking sand (if you are fit and gritty enough) because this just adds value. At the end of your run, wade into the ocean to cool off. The sky, the sand, your life will never look as beautiful. That right there might just be paradise.

I would also suggest that you disregard your husband’s penny-pinching attitude towards luggage and insist you take one family suitcase for the hold. If he persists, give him the job of packing for himself and the three kids and see how he gets on. That’ll learn him.

The Grit Doctor says...Have an affair on holiday – with swimming – and fall back in love with running when you come home.

Ruth Field is author of Run Fat B!tch Run, Get Your Sh!t Together and Cut the Crap.