Beat the Holiday Rush

 

I know I’ve said it before.

I know it sounds as crazy as a Black Friday shopper charging the door at 3a.m. 

But I love working out during the holiday season. 

Not only does it help keep my energy level up during a stressful time, but the gym: It’s so empty! 

Think about it. The ability to choose from any treadmill, get into any premier fitness class, be able to sit in the sauna without 50 of your not-so-closest friends breathing down your neck. It’s the kind of holiday bliss only Santa could deliver.

Yes, Virginia, I’m taking full advantage of the time now. Because come New Year’s Day, anyone who’s ever been to a gym the first week of January knows: it’s a post-holiday hell.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I love fitness, and I love kindred spirits with hopeful souls and newly-pledged goals of fitness and well-being. But must all 300 million of us pledge to begin on precisely the same day?
 

I know, I know, it's so selfish but I’m already thinking of how difficult it’s going to be to get an already-coveted pass to my Body Pump class. And getting into yoga or spin class? Forgeddaboutit.

Sure, I realize by the third week of January the neophytes will have flamed out and we’ll all have the place to ourselves again. But it will seem an eternity until then.

For now, I’ll ask Santa for a little patience. And I'll invite you to give the pre-holiday gym experience a try. I think you'd like it. As for me, I plan to keep pushing hard to get a leg up on that late date in January – just in case my new yoga pants don’t see the inside of a classroom until then!

What Stayed in Vegas...

I took a road trip to Vegas with friends last weekend.

We didn’t play blackjack at the card tables. So, I didn’t lose my shirt. I did, however, lose my favorite pair of running shoes. And I've been sans running shoes ever since.

As a runner, I’m embarrassed to say that I don’t have a “backup” pair of running shoes. In fact, I’d venture to say that my closet is a cross between a Sex & the City/New York-style closet (think: 4-inch heels and peep-toe shoes) and the closet of a California beach bum (all manner of flip-flops present and accounted for). But, no extra sets of running shoes. Thus the predicament.

I survived about three days without running. I cross-trained instead, wearing my flip-flops to weight-training class (I’m pretty sure that’s against club rules). And I avoided the urge to jump on the treadmill Zola Budd-style for fear I might get stange looks (or worse, kicked out of the gym entirely.)

But after three days, I couldn’t take it anymore. I broke down and went to Target and bought a pair of cheapie tennis shoes ($15.99, thank you very much). They are pretty stylish and they’re from a brand I trust (Champion).  But they’re not my shoes, if you know what I mean.

A good pair of running shoes is, well, much like a "woobie" blanket. It makes us feel comfortable when we slip down into it. If you ever lost a woobie blanket as a child and your parents tried to replace it, I bet you weren't fooled. It was scratchy. Not the same as your woobie, right? Well, I’ve been imagining all manner of things happening to my feet in the cheapie shoes (is that my ankle popping? I think I just heard something.) Alright, so I may be a bit paranoid -- and spoiled with my $85 Saucony Italian running shoes. But you'd miss them, too, if you logged these training miles!

I will survive. After all, there are far worse problems to have these days. Hard economic times. High unemployment. Shoot, some people in the world have no shoes at all. (To give soles to those souls, btw, you can visit Tom's Shoes here.) 

Tonight as I go to bed missing my woobie, I’ll say a prayer to count my blessings. I'll also send out a prayer to the Catholic Saint Anthony -- saint of lost and stolen items -- in hopes that my wayward shoes will make their way back to me soon.

Fast Friends... yet Slow to Depart



Exhibit A: The burger, fries, and Guinness beer I consumed post-race.

Five weeks ago I crossed the finish line of a Marathon, then proceeded to redeem my post-race reward: a meal I had been craving during the last several miles of the marathon. A hamburger, fries, and a Guinness beer.

Sure, I deserved it. In fact, after running 26 miles, I felt I deserved a million bucks.

Little did I know this single burger would spark a chain reaction (literally) that would take the next five weeks to break.

You see, after arriving back home, I continued to crave this all-American beauty. There wasn’t a drive-thru window I didn’t visit. I knew the location of every McDonald’s chain within a 50-mile radius. I consumed more hamburgers than Bill Clinton during both of his Presidential terms combined.

It didn’t take me long to realize I had created a monster. One that (what's that saying?) felt so good on the lips but even after several turns on the treadmill was starting to cling to the hips.

So, I went straight to someone who could help: a holistic doctor I've visited over past year who has helped me align my eating habits to a healthier lifestyle. As I sat in the office of Southern California's founding preventative medicine doc -- he, too, seemed puzzled by my meaty addiction. Mostly because I’ve never even been a big meat-eater. In fact, my diet has almost always been vegetarian. Damn near vegan, really.

While he needled me with his tiny acupuncture tools, he began to needle me with questions as well. “Tell me. What was the first meal you ate immediately following the Marathon?” 

“The first thing I ate?,” I replied. What does that have to do with anything, I wondered. Then I thought back to that fateful night. My eyes grew as big as my little stuffed tummy. Sheepishly, I replied: “A hamburger."

Bingo.

He grinned slightly. I could tell he was impressed with himself.  I admit, I was impressed with him, too. Not even pausing to take a victory lap, he went on to explain that when the body goes through a period of physical exertion or exhaustion (such as it does during a Marathon), at some point the body starts to tap into precious protein stores. That can leave a person ravenous for protein once the event is completed. With this craving, I had reached for the lowest common protein denominator: the good ‘ol American hamburger.

As if I was being read a line straight out of “Eat This, Not That!,” he went on to describe how making one simple, smart choice after the race could have helped me avoid all of this. Instead of meat protein, I could have opted for a healthier source of protein in the form of nuts, seeds, or legumes. This one simple choice would have saved me weeks (not to mention countless dollars) at the drive-thru fast food window. It is a tip I feel compelled to pass on to my fellow racers.

Fast forward to today: I’m happy to announce I’m off the hooch. With the help of the holistic healer, I downed my last hamburger several days ago. I’m back to eating healthy. And more importantly, I am equipped with the knowledge to make smarter choices after my next long race. Oh sure, I'll probably still go a little crazy, throw caution to the wind, eat something I wouldn't normally eat. But I'll be much, much more careful to choose a food companion I'll be willing to have around for weeks afterward.

25 Days of Running

There's nothing like the beginning of a fresh, new month to serve as a great motivator to reinvigorate one's running routine.

So, during the month of December as I'm decking the halls, I will also be running throughout the "25 Days of Christmas."

It may sound crazy at first blush. I mean, most people shut things down during the holidays. Take the month off. Throw their fitness routine to the wind, right? Surprisingly, I find that running actually helps keep me centered during harried times. It relieves holiday stress, helps me sleep at night, and oh yes! keeps me firmly in those fun, sparkly, holiday dresses.

Oh, don't get me wrong. I still intend to partake of the holiday festivities. Have a bite of a holiday cookie. Enjoy a hot toddy. Eat so much on Christmas Day I wish I'd never been born. But keeping up my 5KaDay running routine will at least help take the edge off of the holiday stress. And help keep the Santa-sized pants at bay.

So go ahead. Join me. This Christmas season, while you're out doing things for others, get out and do something for yourself. Give the ultimate gift to yourself - one of good health.

'Tis the Season to run!