Female Festive Fears…..Forget Them!
By Nia Parry
The silly season is upon us once more…..when the ‘pacing’ game takes on a whole new meaning; when the only PB on your mind will be the one to single handedly polish off a whole Terry’s chocolate orange before breakfast has been served and the reference to endurance training no longer means your long Sunday runs, rather your mammoth Christmas roasts - just how high can you pile those crispy roast potatoes on your festive plate before they send the glazed golden parsnips overboard to a carpet fate?…. and intervals become the micro breaks between mouthfuls of your mums brandy soaked Christmas pud. Is this beginning to sound all too familiar…..then join the club! As much as I am relishing the thought of heading home to the tranquillity of the hills to spend the festive season with family and friends I freely admit that my concerns and fears for my training and waistline over the coming weeks are growing by the day.
Whether you are long standing Serpie members or ‘newly-weds’ to the Serpentine running club, the case remains that for many of us we have either just started or are about to embark on our Spring marathon training. Perhaps some of you have never classed yourselves as runners before and were inspired as we all were by the fine example of women’s running set by Paula Radcliffe in London and Chicago this year. Maybe her performance led you to the web search engines and on to our award winning website. Either way we all have goals in mind for the coming months, be they marathons, 10k PB’s or just staying fit and healthy.
However the problem is two-fold; winter weather which makes us reach for the snooze button a little too often on these cold damp mornings and the Christmas party season, both of which could well disrupt all those good intentions leaving us short of time for our long runs or missing them completely and nursing a few too many hangovers! However, rather than preaching about the benefits of a low fat/high carb, wheat free, dairy-free, alcohol-free….in fact food free diet and a rigid winter training schedule that would send the great lady herself seeking for cover behind the nearest Christmas tree, I am going to take the ‘alternative’ route and extol the virtues of the festive season….so, with our own Christmas party in mind, come on serpie ladies, let's get FESTIVE!!
F is for Flexible, accept the fact that during the Christmas season your training and eating routines are going to be upended by office parties and visits away to see relatives and don’t stress obsessively about it. Exercise a little ‘damage limitation’ when the wine is flowing and the buffet is beckoning; do what you can when you can and be reasonable with yourself, as the saying goes “ Christmas comes but once a year” you have another 51 weeks to make up for any ‘harm’ done.
E is for Enjoy, delight in the change of scenery and time away in a different part of the country and use the opportunity to try out new running routes and indeed new running partners. Revel in the joys of leaving the cooking responsibilities to some one else for a change and look forward to great chatter with friends and relatives over long sumptuous dinners.
S is for Socialise, hectic city living doesn’t permit as many opportunities as we’d like to visit friends and relatives during the year, so before you sneak out of the door clad in your new Helly Hansen ensemble as the rest of the family are forming teams for Trivial Pursuit, try fitting in an early run before the late risers surface or when they are all in their post-lunch/pre-dinner snooze and show off your general knowledge instead!
T is for Time out, no doubt many of you have completed a busy season racing and are now enjoying the delights of the cross country season, so pause and think when did you last have a real rest period, and I don’t mean the enforced kind due to injury! We all know that in the long run recovery promotes fitness and increased performance, so use this time wisely to allow your body to prepare both physically and mentally for your next training period.
I is for Injury and its prevention. When the wintry weather or cold dark mornings get the better of you and you find yourself house bound, invest this time wisely in another part of your training schedule that often suffers - stretching. We all know the benefits of stretching but few of us actually devote much time to it. A good stretching program can help with flexibility which can ultimately improve performance, it can aid quicker recovery following a race or hard training session by promoting rapid repair of damaged tissues, moreover stretching can help to prevent problems occurring in the first instance, which often leads to extended periods of time off due to injury and ultimately costly physiotherapy sessions - it’s also a good excuse to have some quiet time to yourself in all the mayhem!
V is for Vegetables, pile ‘em high and keep the winter sniffles at bay. This time of year colds, flu and bugs are passed around like canapés at the office Christmas party, so to ensure you stay healthy, fit and most importantly running, visit your local farmers market and make the most of the fantastic seasonal winter veggies …..immune boosting soups and casseroles, energy replenishing fruit smoothies and compotes, vitamin filled warm winter salads…..get creative and stay healthy!
….and finally
E is for Enter…. a race or two! Wherever you may be over the holiday check out race listings and sign up for one so that you have a goal in mind over the party season to keep you focused on maintaining your training. And as we runners are often accused of being unsociable types why not invite family members or friends to join you, if not running then perhaps they could volunteer to help out?….and what better time than this to give our own Serpie New Years day 10K a mention, how about setting a new PB or maybe take this rare opportunity to see fellow club members from a different perspective and try out your marshaling skills, either way your support is needed……..on that note Merry Christmas and see you all there!
Nia Parry