Gathering Energy

Chris Palmquist, December 26, 2019

The holiday weeks are a chance for everyone recover from year of working, training, accomplishing, battling and achieving. Over the years, I have found this time to be critical for mental health and emotional and physical energy. Here are some things that athletes can do to be primed to start 2020 off with energy and enthusiasm.

Family/Friends First

If you are lucky enough to spend extra time with family and friends over the holidays, make those experiences your top priority. Go for a walk with everyone rather than that solo run - it may feel like a sacrifice today, but you won’t regret the opportunity to talk with your teenagers or reconnect with a relative when you look back on this in the future. Slow down and play a game with your kids. Eat the holiday food and enjoy it. Do the things that you don’t have time to do in the thick of a competitive season.

Reflection

Take some time to formally reflect back on 2019 (and the decade). Go through your calendar, training log and notes. Remember the races, the key training sessions, the workout buddies, the successes and the misses. What worked well? What accomplishments make you proudest? Write all of this down in a journal. How does this reflection effect your 2020 goals? Celebrate and learn from the past.

The best athletes and coaches have a strong reflection practice. Now is a good time to start this practice if you have not reflected formally and regularly in the past. Get a journal and start writing your reflections. This can be one of the most powerful tools for endurance athletes.

Effective Goal Setting for 2020

As you may have heard, resolutions usually do not work. They are often grand ideas for self improvement that are simply too lofty to keep for long. Instead, create some 2020 goals that are based on the daily processes that you can control, measure and build on over the year to great success!

Examples of process-oriented goals include:

I will swim 2 times per week in January

I will eat 5 servings of vegetables and/or fruit per day when possible

I will do my easy workouts at a true, easy effort so that I can crush the hard training days

I will find and commit to some training days with workout buddies

I will get 7 hours of sleep when possible by setting an alarm to shut down the electronics and get to bed on time

The above goals, are examples of process goals - controllable, achievable and measurable. When met regularly, these processes will add up to success at races and in overall health later in the year.

Recover, Reprioritize, Reflect and Set Good Goals

Use these last days of 2019 and the decade wisely. Recover and reflect deeply. Enjoy family and rest. Set process goals for January. Do these things well and you will have energy and a plan for success in 2020.

My family will be doing the same and wish all of you a Happy New Year! I am so thankful for all of you!

So much good food. So many fun gatherings!

Appropriate Endurance Athlete Holiday Behavior

Chris Palmquist

For summer-sport endurance athletes, it is time to restore our bodies and enjoy the holidays. How do we get through the next few weeks with our health, 2020 goals and priorities intact? What is appropriate endurance athlete behavior during this very different season? Here are my recommendations for your last few weeks of the decade.

Training “Do’s”

· Be more unstructured. Unless you are a winter-sport endurance athlete, this is the time of year to enjoy some freedom from structured training. Be active on as many days as you can but follow your heart and enjoy whatever feels best on any given day. This is the time to hike, snowshoe, cross country ski, rock climb, dance, ice skate, group exercise, fat-bike, holiday run or whatever sounds like fun on any given day. Prioritize any chance you get to be active with friends. Heal your body and mind from a long season of training with different motions and new experiences.

· Get outside. Get some fresh air on your face – it will help your head and your health. Fresh air is still fresh air after dark too, so don’t let daylight hours limit you. Wear reflective, warm clothing and attach some bright, blinking lights, then find a safe place to walk, run or bike with your dog or with friends.

Training “Do Not’s”

· Don’t perform race-specific workouts. Post-season is your time to transition from peak fitness (and fatigue) back to rested, recovered and ready to rebuild for next year. When you swim, bike or run, your workouts should not resemble your last race in distance or speed. Go easy, go shorter, be “playful.”

· Don’t train with pain. Now is your chance to heal those lingering aches and pains. If it hurts to run, do not run. Spend a few weeks healing now so that you can run pain-free next year.

Eating “Do’s”

· Drink enough water each day. Take your body weight in kgs and drink that same number of ounces of water each day. Staying hydrated is critical for staying healthy and feeling good during the holiday season.

· Eat your vegetables. Vegetables are the most nutrient-rich foods that you can eat. Don’t let a day go by without several servings of vegetables, especially green leafy vegetables.

Eating “Do Not’s”

· Don’t overeat added sugars. This is hard with treats, drinks and cookies everywhere you turn. Treat yourself occasionally to high quality treats and skip those that are not truly delicious.

· Don’t overdrink alcohol. Savor one drink while at a party rather than several. Then get back to hydrating with sparkling water for the rest of the evening.

Lifestyle “Do’s”

· Sleep. Most of us need 7-8 hours each night to have strong immune systems, support good eating habits and function well as adults.

· Enjoy social occasions, family and friends. Connect, gather and laugh with the people in your life.

· Schedule regular restorative periods during busy days. Take a walk each day. Get up from your computer every hour or two. Practice mindfulness, meditation or deep breathing each day (even just 5 minutes can help).

Lifestyle “Do Not’s”

· Don’t try to be perfect. Perfection is unattainable and unimportant and unenjoyable. If you are a “Go Big or Go Home” person, you may really struggle as you will get frustrated by your lack of consistency during the holidays and just quit all together. Instead, ditch the perfection and try for a more attainable goals such as getting in at least a few minutes of stretching or moving each day.

Enjoy these next five weeks and the friends, family and gatherings that come with this time of year. Your priority as an endurance athlete preparing for 2020 is to restore your body, mind and energy.