Run before you drink

The festive season is choc full of traditions. You got the turkey, ham, pudding etc.. including copious amounts of beers or what ever might be your poison. Then on Boxing Day there's the possibility of more food, more beer and watching one or all of the Sydney to Hobart start, the MCG test and the Caulfield races. A few days to catch your breath and then New Year's Eve might just have your body being treated like a fun park rather than a temple.

Amid all of that it's no surprise that a few kilos are stacked on in a short space of time. Those kilos then hang around for too long and become really hard to shift. But hey it's tradition. I'm a big fan of traditions and don't like to miss out on the fun that comes with the festive season. So the question is how am I meant to keep up with the running in such a busy time.

As the title simply says, all you have to do is - Run Before You Drink. - Sounds easy and it kind of is. Just need a touch of extra planning and a bit of water at the end of each day/night. The Christmas day/Boxing day double is the tough one. With two young kids up early and excited about opening up presents and then a full day ahead of food and alcohol there was only one option available to me this year. I ran to my sister's place for our big lunch while Leah drove with the kids. I was able to squeeze in a half marathon and then feel very justified in having a real crack at some beers and stacks of food. I did smash down a couple of Powerades before cutting loose mind you.

So then I scheduled Boxing Day as my rest day and made sure at the end of it I topped up on water and electrolytes so I was in reasonable shape on the 27th to get back on track with a decent run.

The 'Run Before You Drink' strategy was important at the beginning of my running life too. Going from drinking pretty much everyday to nothing didn't seem achievable. So I told myself just to get out and run for 30 minutes then I would allow myself to indulge in a few beers. This was a bit of a reward that seemed to motivate me. Before too long I was still doing the running but wasn't feeling the need for the beer at the the end of a session.

So now with under 5 months until the TNF100 (http://www.thenorthface.com.au/100/) and me being on holidays, it really is time to train like a madman.

This week has involved the following -
Sunday - 15km
Monday - Rest Day
Tuesday - 15km
Wednesday - 20km
Thursday - 13km
Friday - 16km
Saturday, Xmas Day, - 21km
Total - 100km
Happy with that total for a busy week but need to throw in a long run of 35+ kms or 3-4 hours in the hills.
We'll see what the last week of 2010 brings.