5 Reasons You Should Keep Running Through the Holidays

This is an updated post from 2017.

Who doesn't love the holidays? All the food, the parties, the gifting... all the calories, the stress, the rushing....

I don't know about you but if there's ever a time of year, I need to run, it's December! Every year I say I'm going to start preparing for the holidays much earlier but it never happens. Coupled with my job in healthcare where we work holidays plus it seems like everyone is sick right now, there's not a lot of downtime. Heck, here I am blogging when I should be putting up holiday decorations. I ran this morning when I should have been doing my last minute shopping. But I just know that if I don't move and get my heart rate up, something's going to suffer.

Here are 5 reasons you need to keep running through the holidays!!

Food

Most of the year, I think we runners keep ourselves eating pretty healthy. But this is the time of year when so many folks celebrate as they graze at the troughs of highly caloric foods. We runners aren't immune to the temptations. Cookies are my kryptonite. Poor Santa. He's on target to gain 400,000,000 pounds (source). The average American gains 5 pounds over the holidays. Nope. Not this runner! We run! We burn calories!

Family
Everyone's got that "one" family member... am I right? The loose cannon? The one that you don't even set a place for because you can't count on them showing up? Maybe it's someone who gets offended at the most random comments. Maybe it's a relative who has the need to tell off color jokes or make inappropriate comments about politics, your clothing, your relationship (or lack thereof), your fitness habits...whatever. Not that I know anything about this. When it comes to getting together with family, I feel like running is my secret weapon. I go in, armed and ready. I ran today. Go ahead punk. Make my day. I'm ready for whatever you throw at me. I am calm. I am zen. Works like a charm.

Travel
This is the busiest travel season of the year and the airports are crowded. There's weather, right? Flight cancellations and delays? Running from terminal to terminal to make connections? Don't be that person who gets to the gate only to see the plane pulling away from the gateway. If you're a runner, you're on that plane. Because you have been doing your Yasso 800s and you've got speed in those legs. You visualize the gate as the finish line. You've got this!

Shopping
My mother-in-law was an epic shopper. She'd hit Black Friday and wrestle people to the ground to get the items she wanted. Ok, maybe that's an exaggeration, but she was a great gifter. Nowadays, people are relentless when it comes to grabbing the bargains. The malls are packed and if you are on a mission, you need to be able to weave through the crowds, much like at the start of a big race. You have to train for that, people! You need stamina and endurance. If you've run any long distance events, you know of what I speak.

Eye on the Prize
Do you have plans to run a big spring race? While taking a week or 2 off training for the holidays probably won't hurt you, staying on your training plan will help you stay focused and bring a sense of normalcy to what is an otherwise chaotic time of year. Plus, Santa is watching...

For me at least, running is a huge stress reliever. A new study recently released demonstrated the positive effects physical activity has on stressful situations. While runners don't need research to prove what they already know, it's nice to have our experience validated. Plus, who doesn't enjoy a little infusion of endocannabinoids?

That runner's high is our little secret...

Happy Holidays! Keep on running, my friends.

Running keeps me sane during the holidays! 5 Reasons to lace up and hit the road /via @oldrunningmom #running #runchat #holidaysweat #holidayfitness 

Do you keep on running through the holidays? Or do you take some time off? Tell me about your odd family member! Are you a shopping rock star?

I'm linking up with Kim and Zenaida for Tuesday Topics.

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