Engaging abs with Planksgiving

 

Who’s got a hunger for stronger abs? The holiday season is racing towards us, bringing belly-busting bounty of favorite feasts. Most of us are already craving our favorite seasonal indulgences.

 Just the thought of it all makes my belt feel snugger.

 I guess it’s time to firm up my fitness goals, putting my midsection to work before Turkey Day arrives, followed soon by a whirlwind of holiday festivities.

 

 

 Enter Planksgiving.

 The premise is pretty simple. It’s simply a series of plankings, with the time goal increasing slightly each day. The grand finale is a three-minute plank on Thanksgiving. (I strongly recommend doing this BEFORE the feast.)

 My Planksgiving check-in chart is in the sidebar here. Feel free to adapt it for your own use, or create your own (You can also find plenty of similar calendar charts online, although the daily time goals vary somewhat.)

 

Who’s with me?

 Pick your plank. Plank from your toes to your hands. Plank from your knees to your elbows. Do side planks, if you prefer. The most important thing is to get on the floor and get it done.

 This way, when we belly up to the Thanksgiving table, we won’t jiggle like the Jello mold or the cranberry sauce. We’ll strengthen our stuffing.

 Anything after that is just gravy.

 

Related Items:

• Puzzled over planking and 12 alternatives
• Running through the holidays takes spunk and spirit
• Sports nutrition: What runner foods do you hate?
• Winter weight: 8 ways to stay trim during the holiday season

Image/s: public domain image

 

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Holiday fitness challenges kick me into gear

This elf cannot simply stay on a shelf.

As the final stretch of the year approaches, some of us may need an extra push to keep running, working out, and pursuing overall physical fitness. I know I do! 

Annually, I’ve checked off most of the races on my calendar and met many of my mileage goals for the year by now. It’d be easy to just sit back, prop my feet up, and zone out with the TV remote and a pile of favorite snacks.

(I’ll probably do some of that anyway, but just go with me here.)

In this crazy COVID pandemic year, most running races have either canceled or transitioned to virtual events. In many cases, I simply chose not to register (if I hadn’t done so already), once the whole social distancing nightmare became clear. That means (like multitudes of runners), I have had to find means of motivation elsewhere. Upcoming race deadlines simply didn’t happen in 2020.

I think we all hope 2021 will bring an altogether different picture.

Either way, fitness has to happen. We all have our reasons, whether we’re burning calories, keeping illness at bay, or just loving being active. For me, I’m fighting multiple sclerosis, as well as middle-age frumpiness. So I’m gonna keep running and exercising and pursuing strength training.

The holiday season (whether we gather with loved ones or not) brings all sorts of extra dietary delights (and downfalls). Aiming to be proactive, I’m making myself publicly accountable right here.

This year, I have signed on for these holiday fitness challenges:

• 2020 December Crunch
• Merry Miles 2020
• Zooma Holiday Challenge
• Run the Year Holiday Streaker Challenge
  

I can see the end of the road for my Run the Year goal of 2020 miles in 2020.

And, at November’s end, we will complete the Stepping Up for Heroes Challenge, produced by Fort 2 Base in conjunction with Fitness Bank.

You can track my progress and find additional information on these challenges by looking in my blog sidebar. (Mobile users: Choose WEB VIEW to see these.)

(Full disclosure: I am a race ambassador for Fort 2 Base, Stepping Up for Heroes, and Zooma.)

Related Items:

• 10 favorite pre-run breakfast foods
• A feud with food
• Cold-weather running: 10 ways to save face
• Despite MS, sometimes we just have to take it to the limit
• How many miles does it take to burn off Thanksgiving dinner?
• MS makes me wanna cheer anyone struggling to exercise
• Relapse Perhaps

 Image/s: Adapted from public domain artwork

Feel free to follow on Twitter. Please visit my Amazon author page as well.

Social Distance running is a whole new game

 It seems like everyone wants to be a runner, now that social distancing has become a thing.

Regular runners definitely took the lead on this. Keeping up with running and avoiding contact with others (and possible Coronavirus / COVID-19 exposure) is something of a balancing act, isn’t it? From race cancellations to gym closures, runners are taking to the trails (and streets) to keep moving. Virtually every race director is coming up with virtual races to offer the running community at-large.

Hey, we’re still free to lace up our sneakers and go pound out as many miles as we want.

In these crazy days of pandemic uncertainty, scores of other folks are stepping into sports shoes and hitting the bricks or tracing out trails to escape cabin fever and burn off some of those shelter-in-place calories.

If we’re heeding the warnings, we’re running (or walking) solo. Or we’re pairing up, but trying to stay 6+ feet apart (per federal guidelines). Maybe we’re wearing face-masks or stretching neck gaiters / buffs or lycra headbands over our noses and mouths.

Then there are those devil-may-care hotshots, who think they’re tougher than anything Covid-19 can throw at them.

Those are the hard-core runners who still post Instagram photos of their running crews with arms draped over each others’ shoulders. They’re the ones who jog three or four across on single- or double-track paths.

Take a look at these photographic examples. (Disclaimer: These stock photos were taken before the pandemic hit. So these individuals were not violating any current health standards.)

An active worldwide pandemic makes running a whole new game.

Tons of runners have posted photos depicting the lack of social distancing in favorite running spots. Chicago's mayor has now closed the city's scenic lakefront paths, for example. On the other hand, Wisconsin has waived fees for state parks and trails, urging people to practice safe social distancing.

Experts tell us COVID-19 can spread like wildfire. Would you run through wildfire?

Have you encountered others along your running routes, who crowded your Coronavirus-avoidance personal boundaries? How did you handle this?

I have darted into the street to cross and put appropriate space between me and them. Two days ago, a pair of runners came up behind me and passed me on a local trail. One actually shoulder-bumped me, as he crowded past.

Seriously, folks?

Call me germophobic. OK.

I just want to stay healthy, so I can keep running and doing the rest of life well (or reasonably so). I battle a chronic medical condition daily, which threatens to sideline me, if a serious illness throws my immune system into overdrive. I have family members and other loved ones who could likely not weather such a storm, if they became infected.

Bet we all do, if we think about it. Because when it comes right down to it, it’s not just about us. It’s about who our lives might impact.

Images:

Photo collage created  by this user from public domain images

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zippy

Ever been a race no-show because of weather? Just did.

Wild winter weather is sort of getting on everyone’s nerves around here, right about now. We’ve had a crazy season, with temperatures soaring into the 50s before plunging to way below zero. We’ve had more school closures than we can count (especially with the new math techniques they’re teaching kids these days). We’ve had winter weather warnings, travel advisories, and polar vortex scare stories.

I’m not a quitter, and I wouldn’t even call myself a winter wimp. 

I’ve been out there running a fair amount, despite the crazy meteorological stuff we’ve had. Hey, I don’t have a choice. I have a Border Collie and a Lab Mix, who bounce like dodge-balls, if we don’t hit the trails at least a few times a week.

But today I pulled a u-turn, about halfway to a winter race.

Here’s the back story. I’ve been battling the flu for weeks. Yesterday, a blistering migraine joined the mix, flattening me for the day. I was down for the count.

But I set my alarm for pre-dawn. I crawled out of bed in the dark and put on my winter running clothes. I climbed into my car and slogged my way through snowy streets to the interstate for the 63-mile trip to the race site.

This event is part of a six-race winter series that I truly enjoy. I’ve run the thing for several years. And I’ve been within spitting distance of placing in my age division for the series. I was looking forward to doing this one.

After an hour, I considered the clock and realized I would never make the race start at the rate traffic and weather were permitting me to travel. Add to that concept the fact that this particular race had off-site parking and shuttle service, which would delay arrival even more.

There was just no way.

The interstate was down to one lane each way, with cars and trucks creeping along in the tracks of those up ahead. And we were all at the mercy of the slowest vehicle in front of the pack. None of the exit ramps were plowed, either.

I didn’t see a single snowplow the entire trip – until I returned to five miles from my home. At that point, I’d been in the car for 90+ minutes.

And I fishtailed in the final turn, about two dozen feet from my own driveway. Oops! But at least I made it home safely.

Now I am seeing social networking posts and photos of today’s event, with lots of (probably more local) runners sprinting and slipping through the race in the pretty snow. I’m trying not to kick myself for not showing up.

But this time, it wasn’t in the cards.

There is a light at the end of this snowy tunnel.

Even though I missed the race itself, the event director already messaged me. They’re saving me the race packet and swag. I can run the thing as a virtual entry (sans points). That’s one of the things I really like about this series. Management is tremendous and very responsive to participant questions. (I’ll be back.)

And lo and behold, a snowplow is finally making its way down our own street!

Images:

Adapted from public domain photo

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