Hustle and bustle

You always hear people talk about the hustle and bustle of the holiday season.. this year is going to be no different for us! There is so much going on in the next month or so that I can hardly keep it all straight. But that is also a good thing because much of it revolves around being active!

 

You have all of the normal, everyday life, kinds of things like: work, church, cooking, and cleaning. Then add in shopping for all of the right holiday gifts for family and friends along with trying to get some holiday baking done. Oh and trying to find the perfect tree and getting it all decorated. Don't forget the multiple holiday celebrations with family and friends! I love this time of year for all of the family traditions!

 

Next,  we add in the boys activites. Riley and Isaac have started basketball so that means practice for each of them once a week and games for each on Saturdays. Isaac also continues to have karate twice a week for another couple of weeks. He will also be testing for the first time this Saturday. It is so much fun to see him get so excited and be so proud about something.

 

Finally, our workouts and races! These are a must just to keep us sane! To help encourage us to maintain our workouts we are participating in a few challenges and have signed up for some races.

 

As I have already mentioned we are "streaking" with the 2012 Runner's World Holiday Running Streak. So far this is going great. We are right on track and are getting our miles in!

 

 I have also been participating in the Holiday Squat-a-thon. A friend posted this on Facebook so I decided to follow along too. So far, so good. We will see what I am saying when we get to Christmas!

My best friend and I are working on a "Christmas Gift to Ourselves Challenge". This is nothing formal just something that the two of us came up with to work on between now and Christmas. Feel free to participate as well and comment back with your progress. Here are the guidelines:

1) Hit the gym or road at least 3x/week

2) Pick 2-3 of the following 6x/week:

plank

wallsit

leg raises

squats

push-ups

crunches

???- other exercises of your choice

3) Diet-

cut out the junk

no sweets, no chips

good choices when eating out

no seconds, eat veggies

watch portion sizes

What do you get in the end for completing this challenge? It is a gift to ourselves to prove that we can do it! It will help make us more aware of what we are doing over the holiday season. So far for me the diet portion has been a struggle but I am working on it! It is making me pay more attention to what I am doing! We know we aren't going to be perfect- we just want progress in the right direction!

 

I need to keep reminding myself of this!

 

Another way I am staying on track is that I have signed up for some races! I always do best when I have a goal out there. Races keep me motivated and give me something to shoot for. 

 

First up is the Jingle Bell Run. This Saturday I will be joining some other MRTT members/friends to do the 5 mile race. For me it is always a race against myself. I will never win any of these races. I am just out to better myself (also a nice way of telling myself that I am the slowest of the group).

Next up is the Rotary Lights 5K Fun Run next weekend that we do as a family. This will be the third year that we have participated. It is such a fun race to do with the kids.

In January we will be headed back to Lake Geneva, WI  for a couples weekend and for the S-NO-W Fun Run .

Also for January, I have signed up for the MRTT Winter Runnerland Virtual Half Marathon. 

My big goal race is coming in March when my best friend and I will roadtrip across the country for the Shamrock Marathon/Anthem Half Marathon in Virginia Beach, VA.

 

 

 

 

Do you have a busy holiday season coming up? What are some of your family traditions?

What do you do to stay sane this time of year?

For runners/walkers, do you have any races coming up?