How to keep your running streak during the holidays

Whether your holidays are merry and bright or the time of year that you grit your teeth to get through, if you are a regular runner, you’re probably going to want to run.

But if you are the host of a family gathering, there are so many details to manage that you can end up putting your own needs last. Just remind yourself that running is a stress reducer, and someone else can handle pancake duty for the guests while you get your morning miles in.

And if you are the one travelling to visit your family, it can feel as if almost everything is conspiring against you: travel fatigue, not knowing where to run, weather that’s much hotter or colder than you’re used to, family members who think your hobby is weird, or a sore back from sleeping on a lumpy futon that your brother should have left at college when he graduated.

Here’s how to jump those hurdles to make sure you keep up your routine, even if it doesn’t look like what you’re used to. 

Schedule your run

Given the activities that typically come with a holiday, just saying “I’ll run today” isn’t enough, said Chris Lundstrom, director of the sports and exercise science program at the University of Minnesota and a running coach with the Twin Cities Marathon.

“Have a plan and identify ‘when is this actually going to happen,’” he said. If you can, he recommends running first thing in the morning. Not only will getting the run done before your relatives are awake sidestep any criticism that you’re giving up family fun time in order to sweat, but getting it done first ensures that it happens. “It tends to be a little bit harder to get out once the day gets going,” he said.

If you know of a family member or friend coming to the big holiday jamboree who is also a runner, see if you can schedule a time to head out together, he added. The other person will keep you accountable when you may be tempted to skip out.

If your time available to run is tight and you’re planning on staying at a hotel, make sure that it has a treadmill, said Heather Milton, an exercise physiologist at the NYU Langone Health Sports Performance Center. That way you have a tool to help you get in a run no matter what time of day or night you have available — and you won’t have to ask for directions.

Be a tourist

Not that running in a new spot is a bad thing. Your run can pull double duty: a workout and an opportunity for sightseeing. “It’s the best way to get the lay of the land and see some different things,” Lundstrom said. 

© 2019 The New York Times