Eating, drinking, seeing family and celebrating. Can you really
do all of this and train too? There's always a balance and here are
just a few training tips to take you through the season to be
jolly!
Don't over indulge with the food and drink over
Christmas. This doesn't mean you can't have fun and enjoy
yourself but make sensible nutrition decisions where you can so
that when you do have something 'naughty' you can actually enjoy it
without feeling guilty. No point spending the first 6 or 8 weeks of
the year trying to shed those unwanted Christmas pounds.
If you are off work over this period you may be able to get
additional training in with more sessions or
longer sessions and treat as a big week. This takes the pressure
off times when you are working hard knowing that you got some extra
training in over the Christmas period.
Take time to rest especially if you are putting
some extra sessions or hours in. Be lazy and stay in bed in the
morning, put your feet up and watch a film, have an afternoon nap.
This is a great time to get some extra recovery in ready for the
long January and February months.
Have some fun with your training and do one of
the many fun races or sessions around at this time of year. It
might be a boxing day dip in the sea, local 10k run across fields,
or simply a long ride or long run with your local triathlon club or
running club. This time of year with a lot of people off work is a
great time to catch up with people you don't see very often and
just get out and have a social ride or run.
Importantly, spend time with the family. This
is a time to make up for long periods of work and training but also
to get some time in the bank for future busy times. The family is
there supporting athletes all year round with training and racing
and this is a time of year to give a little back and spend some
quality time with the family. Plan to get up early to train so that
you can spend time with the family or train later in the evening,
it may be more inconvenient to you but will pay dividends long
term.
Be safe with your training. Don't be tempted to
go out on the bike early if it's icy and break something, this will
ruin Christmas for you and the family. This applies to all over
winter but especially this time of year.
Happy Christmas folks!
