The holiday season can be a challenging time for runners to maintain their training schedule. With all the festive celebrations, family gatherings, and travel that often come with the season, it can be difficult to find the time and motivation to stick to your usual training routine. However, with a little planning and flexibility, it is possible to continue making progress with your running over the Christmas period. As coaches, the number one thing we want all our Runnas to do is have fun and enjoy their training with us!
Here are a few tips for adjusting your training during the holidays:
Whether you train or not over Christmas is dependent on your goals. Are you training for a race / event that is time bound? i.e. you're 6 weeks away from your half marathon? If so, we don't want to miss any of the key workouts or key weeks of training. As a result, if you're in this boat I'd suggest bringing a de-load week forwards to the week of Christmas and then carrying on with the training as planning having completed that de-load week early!
Plan ahead: If you know you will be busy over the holidays, try to plan your training sessions in advance. This might mean getting up a little earlier to fit in a run before the rest of the household is awake, or setting aside time in the evening after the festivities have died down. By scheduling your training in advance, you can make sure you have the time and energy to complete your workouts.
Make the most of your surroundings: If you are traveling over the holidays, try to make the most of your surroundings and incorporate some running into your vacation. This might mean going for a run along the beach, on a scenic trail, or through a new city. Exploring a new place on foot can be a great way to see the sights and get in a workout at the same time.
Don’t forget about recovery: The holiday season can be a stressful time, and it’s important to make sure you are taking care of your body and allowing it to recover properly. Make sure you are getting enough sleep, staying hydrated, and eating well. If you are feeling particularly tired or stressed, it might be worth taking a rest day or doing a gentler workout, such as yoga or Pilates.
If you are not be training for a race and you're not time bound in the same way, take it easy! Relax, run when you want to, and run in the way you want to. Go to Christmas day Parkrun if thats what you like. Don't run at all if you don't want to. You can always rest and soak up Christmas and then pick up you training the week to follow! This can act as a bit of an extra de-load week and then you'll be fresh and ready to attack the training after the week off with the motivation to do so!
We're on hand to help through the Support tab over Christmas period (although bare with us with if we're slightly slower responding!) so just send us a message if you have any questions at any point and we look forward to hearing from you! Most importantly, enjoy this time! Wishing you a very Merry Christmas from Team Runna!
