Training for the Detroit marathon: Starting off

A while back on our sister site, Gadling, I made it public that I would be registering and running in my first marathon. Considering I'm not a HUGE running fan, I wanted to prove to myself that after putting in so many walking miles on the Steps Across America tour, I'd be able to push myself and my fitness level a bit further by running a full 26.2 miles. Now onto the training.

To my advantage, a good pal is helping me get started, providing me with reading material, scheduling runs on my calendar, and so on. I'm presently in the middle of Week Three training, with 15 more weeks separating me from the Detroit Free Press/Flagstar Bank Marathon on October 29, 2006.

Marathon training, like anything else, would be easy if it were the only thing we had penned in our planners, but that isn't always the case. Take my situation. In the midst of my training schedule, I'll be flying to Tajikistan for a three-week period. I'm not certain how much of the country's female population goes running on a daily basis or for long distances. I'm really trying to keep my calm and hope that I'll be able to find a decent gym or run undisturbed in the post-Soviet country. But what if I just can't? Sounds like a silly question, but seriously? One suggestion already tossed my way was to pack a jump rope to keep some level of cardio activity. Obviously this isn't going to compensate for one of the long runs. So, my question is this:

What do you do to keep from breaking your marathon training while in transit or traveling in strange places for an extended period? I'm sure most of you are beginning to see that I'm only a fledgling in the marathon world, but we all start somewhere. Any and all advice is welcome, so please share your thoughts to my first -- but not last -- question during my marathon training.