Friday, December 6, 2013

My "Stay Consistent through the Holidays" Personal Running Challenge

First off; I still love my new running shoes. Really. On every run with them I have a moment of "Oh my god-why didn't I buy TWO pairs of these because they are THAT awesome?!" Alas, Black Friday is only one day and my psychic powers weren't totally in tune at that moment. Boo.

On the plus side I have no running-shoe-related reason not to run as much as I can during the next month. Traditionally, for me, December has been a month of running that slowly reduces in frequency to me struggling to get out the door of two or three 5ks a week. THIS YEAR WILL BE DIFFERENT darn it! Then there are the holiday parties where extended family always ask "Are you still running?" and I have to say yeaah..and feel guilty about not running as much as I normally do. So this year I was proactive and printed off a schedule, put it on my fridge and have been dutifully ticking off my runs to stay consistent. So far..so good. I'm still averaging between 50-60 kms total per week, although my long runs have been only about 15kms. This weekend though, all of the programs my daughter attends have started their winter shutdown until January so I have actual time to run..for hours(!!) on Saturday or Sunday :-) Just this weekend though. Next weekend I'll be trying to fit in a run while my husband's whole family appears on our doorstep for a few days (thankfully my husband has talked them out of taking their large dog with them..5 adults, 3 kids under 10, one puppy already residing in the 3 bedroom house = no room for anything else). But fitting in runs around family holiday gatherings is what all runners try and do this time of year. I'll be as flexible as I can but I'm sure I'll have to break out the headlamp on a few early morning runs.

My husband on the other hand, has said he'll be taking some time off from running during the holidays-I tried to explain how hard it is to get back on the running horse once you get off..but I don't think he's quite as dedicated (crazy/committed-whatever) as I am about running. He does appear to be dedicated to his calorie counting app, so I'm hopeful all the hard work he's done over the past 4 weeks won't be ruined. Fingers crossed.

If you think about it, runners really should strive (ha) to be consistent through December, with all of the holidays (no matter what religion you come from) come numerous family visits, parties, food and lets not forget the hours spent buying gifts, a runner needs to stay sane and of course running is the best advice for natural stress reduction that I can give. Now if I could only find a gift for my mom!

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