Eat, Drink, (Swim, Bike, Run) and Be Merry

As the comedienne Rita Rudner said: “It takes six months to get in shape and two weeks to get out of shape. As soon as you know this, you can stop being angry about other things in life and only be angry about this.” So here we are launching into the holidays, a time of not only eating, drinking, and being merry, but cold weather and dark, short days. Clearly, a time when it's easy to fall out of shape.

Yesterday was the Solstice, and we celebrated the fact that the sun will be returning to us, a little at a time, each day until summer. But for now the days barely start at 8:00 am and darkness is falling before 5:00. Finding the time during the busy middle of the day to get that exercise in can be daunting, and yet we have parties to go to and platters of cookies beckon. Luckily, like the fat squirrels outside my window, we athletes have a secret. We know that even if we pack a pound or so on here or there over the winter, it won't be staying put come training time. It won't accumulate, like a slow snowdrift, burying us in layers and layers that hold us to the ground. Before long (possibly even before the the last scraps of wrapping paper have been all picked up and thrown in the recycling bin), we'll be hitting the pavement, the pool, the trainer, or the weight room. We can't help it, our bodies just don't feel right without it anymore.

Tomorrow, we're heading over the mountain pass to some cabins where we'll spend Christmas with my mom, sister, and brother-in-law. I've packed up all of the warm coats, jackets, gloves, and boots. We'll probably go tubing, rent snowshoes, or hit the slopes, as well as build snowmen and throw a few snowballs. I won't have time to train, but it will be an active, busy holiday all the same.

So before I go, to all of my triathlete friends, have a wonderful holiday! Eat, drink (swim, bike, run) and be merry!