Arthur had given up. He was told he would never walk without assistance again. That was his reality, until he decided to change it.

Has anyone in your family given up on running? Have you?

Anyone who has given up needs to watch this video. And then start taking the first steps towards making a change. The only reality you have is the one you allow yourself to live.

Your reality won’t change unless you decide to change it.

What’s stopping you?

If you’re like most runners, you know how good running makes you feel and you probably wish that you could get more people to run so that they could experience it too. But, just like me, you probably have a ton of family members and friends that just don’t get it.

“You run that far on purpose?”

“I don’t want to punish my knees.”

“I don’t see the point, unless someone is chasing you.”

These are the comments I get from most of my extended family. I’m sure you’ve heard similar ones from yours.

The last quote in particular is something that a cousin of mine would say. Now don’t get me wrong — he’s no couch potato. He does all sorts of outdoor activities, including hiking, bicycling, and paragliding. He just doesn’t run.

Until now.

His brother is a runner. He’s been trying for years to get his brother to run, and kept hearing the same response — “I don’t understand the point of running, unless someone is chasing you.” So he challenged his brother with the Run For Your Lives.

In this race you get to negotiate 12 obstacles along a 5K running course — while being chased by zombies! My formerly non-running cousin is now inspired to evade the zombies, defeat the obstacles, and while he’s at it also run 5K. So now he’s pulled together a training plan, laced up his shoes, and has become a runner!

Now this type of event may not appeal to running purists, is not RRCA certified, and will most definitely NOT land you a 5K PR. But it is a heck of a lot of fun, very unique, and attracts people to running who may not otherwise have ever given running a try.

As more and more people flock to running as a way to stay healthy, they are finding more and more ways to make running enjoyable. Whether you’re a Tough Mudder, a Princess, a Warrior, a Fairy, or a Perp, chances are there’s a unique race out there just for you or someone you know.

So find a unique event near you that would inspire someone else in your family to run, and then invite them to join you!

Because at its heart, running is not about PR’s and intervals and VO2MAX — running is about staying healthy while having fun. Enjoy!

I was pumping gas the other day when an advertisement at the pump caught my attention. Some NASCAR driver was promoting that particular brand of gas, backing his recommendation with the quote, “I know more about how my car works than I do about my own body.”

Now I guess for a NASCAR driver that may be a fair thing to say, but it got me thinking — how many Americans do you think could say the same thing? I have no research to back this up, but I would guess that you’d find more Americans would say the same thing rather than the other way around.

And that’s just wrong.

There’s no reason for people to not know how their bodies work, and even less reason for people to take better care of their cars than themselves. When is the last time you gave your body a tune-up?

We worry about putting premium fuel into our cars, but we eat junk at McDonald’s. We worry about changing the oil every 3000 miles, but we’re afraid to go to the doctor for a routine checkup. We rotate and change our tires regularly, but we walk around in old worn down shoes with slanted heels.

And yet, you can replace a car. If it breaks down, you can get another one. A better, newer, faster, and stronger one.

What will you do when your body breaks down?

Yes, that time of year is upon us again. The time of year that no matter whether you run early in the morning, or later in the evening, chances are that if you run outside, you will be running in the dark. And with family life as it is, there are seldom times to run other than early in the morning or later in the evening, so for me this time of year means that practically every run is in the dark.

For many, this means the end of running outside and the start of “treadmill season,” but it doesn’t have to be that way. By taking just a few safety precautions, you can continue running your favorite outside routes — even in the dark!

Stick to what you know

It’s important when running in the dark to stick to familiar territory. Try to run on routes that you know well. Exploring new terrain is a good way to get injured. Small potholes, uneven sidewalks, cracks in the pavement, and sticks and stones in your path can cause you to twist an ankle or take a spill. Don’t risk injury by running on unfamiliar ground.

Stay nimble on your feet

Even if you run familiar routes, you’re bound to step on something unexpected. The other day I was out running in the dark. It had been raining for the previous few days, but the roads had dried off. I had been running on dry pavement and had forgotten about the soggy ground. I cut a corner, ended up stepping in a huge mud puddle. Fortunately, I was running with a light stride and was able to quickly jump back up onto the pavement. When running in the dark, try to keep your weight on the balls of your feet, and be ready to react to unexpected footfalls.

Don’t sweat the pace

When you’re paying extra attention to the ground in front of you, you shouldn’t be pushing the pace. It’s easier to run responsively and react to surprises when your pace is a little slower. It’s more important for you to finish your run without injury than it is to keep the same pace you keep in daylight. Stay safe on the darker stretches of road and save your speed for the well-lit areas.

Use your peripheral vision

The human eye works differently at night than it does during the day. You may have noticed when you walk into the dark that at first everything seems really dark, but after a few minutes you can see better than you did initially. This is because your night vision has set in. When running in the dark, give yourself a few minutes before starting to allow your eyes to adjust.

One your eyes have adjusted, you need to use them correctly to maximize your night vision. In daylight, we are accustomed to looking directly at something for the clearest focus. In the dark, however, this is the worst thing to do. The part of the retina that is used when you look directly at something is optimized for daylight vision, but is in effect a blind spot for night vision. The areas just around your center of focus are the most sensitive to light and contrast and offer the best night vision. The technique to use to optimize your night vision is to look at the horizon and keep scanning your eyes from side to side so you don’t focus on one specific spot. While doing that, pay attention to what you can see just below your center of focus. In this way, you will be able to better see the path in front of you than if you look at it directly.

You may see them, but they can’t see you

Runners are very difficult for drivers to see. Your eyes have adjusted to the dark, but a driver’s eyes have not. A driver is looking into the area in front of them that is illuminated by their headlights. This light prevents drivers from developing night vision, so everything on the side of the road — including you — is extra dark and difficult to see. Your best bet for safety is to wear something reflective. Here are a few options.

Reflective Vest

A reflective running vest is the most versatile, because you can wear it in warm and cold weather. Just make sure you size it so that it fits over your cold weather running gear.

Reflective accessories

If a vest isn’t quite your style, then consider using reflective accessories to make yourself more visible to drivers.

Reflective jacket

Of course, if you’re running in the cold, a reflective jacket is the way to go. Check out these options.

So don’t let the dark keep you indoors! Stay safe, and welcome to the dark side!

Do you remember your New Year’s Resolutions?

Were any of them related to running, health, or fitness?

How are you doing with them?

Most people forgot their resolutions by February or March. But a few, the intrepid and persistent ones, hung on at least into the summer. And that’s when the one-two punch knocked the rest of us out.

First, the ‘lazy days’ of summer filled with vacation road trips and backyard barbeques both gave us excuses to stray from otherwise healthy diets and to cut back on exercise (“I’ll be active at the beach, and we’re packing so much already, so I’ll leave my running clothes behind and catch up when we get back…”).

Then, before we could recover from the “summer effect,” school started. And with the start of the school year came all the extracurricular activities – fall soccer, small-fry football, music lessons, scouts, Sunday school, etc.

And that’s where life gets the best of us. We’re no longer thinking about our New Year’s resolutions from nine months ago. We’re no longer thinking about doing what’s good for us. At this point in the year, we just want to make it through the day without going insane. So we skip a run here, grab a fast food lunch there, and little by little end up backsliding into inactivity. Before we know it the holidays are here, we’ve gained 10 pounds at holiday parties, and we approach the New Year with ambitious idealism and renewed vigor to really keep our resolutions “this time.”

But you know what, it’s not too late! There are still three months left in the year. Now is the time to climb back on the horse and recommit yourself to your running and fitness goals. Then, when New Year’s Day rolls around, you won’t have to resolve to get back on track with your health again, because you’ll already be back on track.

Also, if you make the effort to find a routine that works for you now – when life is at its busiest and most hectic – then you’ll know that you have a running and fitness schedule that will work anytime. Not an ambitious and idealistic New Year’s Day resolution schedule that you are constantly compromising, but a realistic day-to-day schedule that you can stick with all year.

And remember, your family wants you to be healthy too. So for your sake and theirs, resolve to get back on track now!

What are you waiting for?

Do you ever wonder why kids grow up wanting to be Michael Jordan, but not Ryan Hall? Or if distance running will ever be able to match the popularity and advertising budgets of MLB?

The article then goes on to speculate how showcasing events online through new media or making races more spectator-friendly can lead to an upsurge in popularity for running.

Interesting ideas, but they’re based on the flawed assumptions that more popular equals better and that professional athletes who can be idolized by the masses are a necessary ingredient for attracting the masses.

This connection to athletes and spectators is vital in creating a growing and loyal fan base. … “There is an obvious connection between the masses and the professional athletes, some of whom began as mid-packers.”

Bigger isn’t better

For all the millions and millions of baseball fans out there, how many of them actually play? Maybe they played in little league or scraped up stickball games when they were kids, but I would speculate that the vast majority of adult baseball fans are spectators — and that spectating does nothing to advance the sport. Sure, it brings in billions of dollars of revenue and gives people something to talk about at work the next day. But it also creates problems like the Barry Bonds steroids scandal.

Is this what we want for running? As it is, running is already plagued with its share of blood doping and other scandals. Fortunately, if you Google “running scandal” you find lots of scandals, but nothing related to running until you get to the bottom of the page. Try the same thing for “baseball scandal” and you get pages and pages of examples of exactly what we don’t want to happen to running.

Don’t spectate, participate!

The other downside to the media glitz and high profile image of professional sports, like baseball, is that it actually reduces family participation. Kids no longer want to play ball with Dad. Dad isn’t good enough anymore. They’ll sit on the couch or in a stadium and watch a ballgame with Dad while he drinks a [few] beer[s]. But instead of playing ball as a family in the backyard, Mom and Dad shuttle their kids off to endless T-Ball and Little League games in hopes that they can be good enough to make Varsity in high school, and then play ball in college. And while Junior has dreams of getting drafted and growing up to be just like Barry Bonds or Sammy Sosa, Mom and Dad continue to watch from the sidelines.

I think the beauty of running is that it isn’t spectator-friendly. The only way to enjoy running is to participate! And through participation, we turn an individual endeavor of striving to achieve milestones of new distance records and PR’s into a community event where it’s more about supporting each other than competing against each other.

I don’t expect my kids to grow up being active and fit because they want to be just like Usain Bolt. But I do hope that in time they will emulate my commitment to running and physical fitness because I can set an example for them that may show them how to live happier and healthier lives.

And it is in this way that Running gives each of us the opportunity to be better role models for our kids and our families than Barry Bonds could ever be.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Running in the Family would like to wish all Moms, whether running mothers or mothers of runners, a very happy, wonderful, and joyous Mother’s Day!

All the wonderful moms out there go the extra mile every day to keep our families running. But with all the running around moms do to keep their families running, there’s not much time left to get the right info to keep yourself running. So with you in mind, here’s a selection of running resources for moms to help you get more out of your running. I personally follow each of these and hope that you’ll find them as useful and enjoyable as I do.

Healthy Mom Blogs

You may or may not live in a community where there is a group of active moms who support each other. Even if you don’t, you can tap in to a virtual community of fit moms. Check out some of these mom-friendly fitness blogs.

• Training for Fun — Training for fun, by Luann Abrams, shows you how to stay fit with your kids, instead of in spite of them. The site is packed with great ideas for turning workout time into playtime with your kids, and at the same time helping them to grow up healthy and share in your fitness values.
• Bookieboo — Bookieboo is a place where moms into fitness, weight loss, and healthy living get together to share. Among other things, it features the Bookeiboo blog with health and fitness tips, tons of resources, and Mamavation — a group of moms helping each other to reach their fitness goals together. Created by Leah Segedie, Bookieboo includes a bunch of contributing moms and a very active community. (free registration required to access most site features)
• Workout Mommy — Workout Mommy, written by Lisa who was a personal trainer and group fitness instructor, features other fit moms and shares the joys of challenges of staying fit with little kids. Workout Mommy is also a community moderator on Bookieboo.
• The Well Mom — This blog, written by Heather Cabot features a wealth of articles helping moms to stay well-nourished, well-centered, well-toned, well-pampered, and well-connected.
• Active Kids Club — Active Kids Club started as an outdoor playgroup in Toronto, and has turned into a fantastic website with tons of articles, resources, and information for how to stay active with your kids, and how to form outdoor playgroups of your own!

Recommended Family Blogs

While not specifically fitness-related, these are blogs that all moms can relate to. Some are insightful, some are funny, and hopefully you will enjoy them all.

• Zen Family Habits — This minimalist blog shows you how to enjoy your family life more by simplifying and focusing on the things that really matter to you.
• The Bad Parent — The Bad Parent is a column hosted on Babble.com which features “taboo-breaking confessions” from parents who either didn’t quite do things by the book, or who perhaps even completely ignored the book and forged their own path. Definitely worth a read!
• Rocks in my Dryer — Hilarious takes on family life that we all can relate to. For a good sampling of what you’ll find there, check out the posts on the Best Of page.

Running Resources

Here’s a list of my favorite running resources. Although these aren’t “just for moms,” I think a list of resources for moms would be incomplete without these.

• RunAddicts — Fabulous professional blog for runners with great tips and articles.
• John “The Penguin” Bingham — I miss reading “The Penguin’s” column in Runner’s World, but you can still follow him online! A definite “must read” for all non-elite runners (like me).
• Runner’s World — The ubiquitous runner’s magazine online.
• Road Runner Sports — The World’s Largest Running Store. This is where I buy all of my running shoes and running gear! (affiliate link)

If you know of any great running resources for moms that you would like to share, please let us know about them in the comments section!

I hope you find these resources to be useful, informative, and enjoyable. But most of all, I hope that you find the opportunity this Mother’s Day to do something that makes you feel special. Happy Mother’s Day!

Along with planning beautiful themed resorts and wonderfully manicured landscaping, the Disney Imagineers have also included a network of walking/jogging trails around the resorts that you can run on. My favorite area is the Epcot Resorts area, home to the Disney Beach Club, Disney Yacht Club, Disney Boardwalk, Disney Swan, and Disney Dolphin resorts. These resorts are beautifully set around a lake, tucked away behind Epcot’s World Showcase, with canals that connect both to Epcot and to Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

Lots of people are out running every morning, so you’ll have plenty of company (or competition) to keep you motivated. I ran in the afternoon while the kids played at the Beach Club pool. There were less runners out then, and more casual strollers to look out for and avoid — especially on the boardwalk.

There are three sections of running trails in this area. One runs along the canal to Disney’s Hollywood Studios and then back on the other side (after crossing on an overpass) to the Swan and Dolphin resorts. (photo 1) If you’re lucky, you’ll get to race one of the Friendship boats down the canal (I won).

The largest section is a running/walking path along Epcot Resorts Boulevard, which circles around all of the resorts. (photo 2) You have to watch out for one tricky part where the path stops as the road goes under the canal, but the length of this path makes it easier to get some distance in.

Of course the most popular is running around the lake. (photos 3 & 4) This stretch includes a section on the Disney Boardwalk, and you can find runners here at almost any time of the day.

If you want to plan your course before you run you can do so on MapMyRun. Or you can use RunKeeper to track your time, pace, and distance on the fly.

So along with your Mickey Mouse ears, don’t forget to pack your running shoes, and have a magical run!

Losing focus on your running goals?

How are you doing with your running and fitness goals? How is the rest of your family doing?

As the Holidays pass and we become re-absorbed into the activities of our daily lives, it gets easier and easier to find excuses — especially at this time of year. It’s too cold to run outside … It’s too dark to run in the morning … It’s too dark to run in the evening … I’m getting tired of the treadmill and wish I could just run outside … I’ll just skip today … I’ll get back on track tomorrow …

Publish your running goals and keep track

One of the best ways to make sure you don’t slack off is to publish your running and fitness goals and track your progress. It doesn’t have to be complicated. One technique is to just post your goal in big letters on the fridge or the family bulletin board — DADDY WILL RUN 3 TIMES A WEEK. Then keep a log sheet handy and write down each time you complete a workout or otherwise make progress towards your goal.

You can also use some great online tools to make your goals public.

• Daytum.com is a simple and attractive site where you can post goals and track metrics for free. This is the site I’m using to aggregate and track my Run 48 States progress. Create your page in a few minutes, then post it on Facebook, Twitter, or email it to friends that you know will keep you honest.
• MapMyRun.com (affiliate link) is a comprehensive site that lets you log workouts, publish them to your Facebook and Twitter accounts automatically, and view metrics in a variety of different ways. Better yet, if you get your running friends on it as well, you can link your profiles and see what your friends have been doing to keep each other honest.
• Runkeeper.com is another online option that is a bit more streamlined than MapMyRun. It has less functionality, but is much easier to use and is better designed. You input your workouts on your iPhone (support for other devices coming in the future) through the RunKeeper app available through the App Store for free. RunKeeper then charts your progress both on your iPhone, and on their website. It integrates nicely with the GPS capabilities of the iPhone, plotting your course on a map during your run and providing statistics for distance and pace. It also integrates nicely with Facebook and Twitter, and allows you to build a network of running buddies called your “Street Team.”

There are plenty more out there. These are just the ones I’ve used. If you have a great suggestion, let us know about it by leaving a comment!

Rely on your family for support

Believe it or not, your family wants you to be successful in your running and fitness goals. Think about how you feel about them. Don’t you want your spouse to be healthy? Don’t you want to help your spouse find time to work out? Don’t you want your kids to be healthy and to realize their goals? Well your family wants that for you too.

You should have shared your fitness goals with your family when you set them. If you didn’t, share them now. OK, maybe not right now, but do it today. Make sure your family knows what you’re trying to achieve, and that they understand why.

Then ask them for help. If you are starting to find yourself struggling to keep up with your commitments to yourself, tell them what your challenges are. While you’re at it, don’t make it all about you. Ask them how they’re doing on their fitness goals. Work together as a family, as a team, to really understand what each of you wants to achieve — and then support each other and help each other be successful.

Working together and keeping your lines of communication open helps your entire family support each other. You can celebrate each other’s successes. You can help each other deal with challenges as they come up. You can use your running and fitness goals to bring your family together, and keep each other on track.

Winter running really is beautiful, especially when the snow is fresh.

Proper cold weather running attire was key for my run. Take a look at my winter running post for tips on how to enjoy your winter runs, and enjoy your next run in the snow!

The Santa Shuffle — Chicago, IL

If hundreds of runners in Santa suits don’t motivate you, then I don’t know what will!

When you’re running a family, it’s hard to find time to run. And it’s easy to make excuses not to.

“I have an early meeting, so I can’t run in the morning.“
“I don’t know what people at work will think, so I can’t run at lunch.“
“I’m too tired, so I can’t run in the evening.”

Finding or forming a group (like the “Lunch Ladies”) is a great way to keep yourself from falling prey to your excuses. If you know other people are expecting you to be there, you’ll be less likely to wimp out. (if you didn’t click the Rachel Ray Show link earlier to watch the video, now would be a good time)

And even if you don’t run with a group, you can use friends and family to keep you on track. Tell them your fitness goals. Tell them how often you want to work out. And then ask them to check in on you and keep you honest. Of course, if they’re good friends, they would never make you feel bad for missing a run here and there. After all, running should be a way to improve fitness and relieve stress — not add to your already high stress level. But just knowing that they know you want to run, and that they support your fitness goals, will make you run more and run better.

Finding a wacky race is also a great way to shake it up and add some fun to your routine! There are lots of great local races like the Santa Shuffle all over the place. All you have to do is find them, and then sign up! Sometimes they can be tricky to find, so if you know of one go ahead and post it in the comments!

Then take your family along with you, and have a great time together!

After we finished a wonderful shrimp and risotto dinner this evening, my wife said, “You should go to the gym tonight.” I was feeling rather full, but it was my turn to work out — and I was excited to add some mileage to my Run 48 States endeavor. So I changed into my running clothes, and off to the gym I went.

My plan was to run an easy 10K. I didn’t want to push it after dinner, but I really did want to start racking up some miles.

The reality

But once I started, my “easy” pace didn’t feel so easy. I told myself that after a mile the dinner would settle and I’d feel better. A mile passed and then I told myself that after two miles I’d feel better.

The second mile was harder than the first. By 2 1/2 I was just hoping to be able to make a 5K. I finally did make 5K (barely), and then I had to stop.

At first I was really disappointed.

Disappointed that I didn’t run the whole distance. Disappointed that I ran 5K at such a slow pace. Disappointed that I felt so tired and spent.

But what was my alternative? To not have run at all?

The realization

Sometimes any run is better than no run. A slow 3.1 miles is better than 0 miles. 300 calories burned is better than 0 calories burned. And trying and making an effort is better than not trying at all.

So what if I didn’t run 10K? I ran. And it wore me out. And then I listened to my body and stopped.

There’s nothing wrong with that — and I got home in time to help put the kids to bed.

That’s good enough. In fact, that’s great!

I was talking to two single friends at work who were comparing notes with each other on their P90X fitness plan. They were going on and on about how much of their time it takes up, how much grocery shopping they need to do to prepare the prescribed menus, and how complicated the workouts are with pushups (many variations), pullups (many more variations), kenpo x, yoga x, plyometrics, x stretch.….

Fitness doesn’t have to be that complicated!

I have a family. We barely have time to eat dinner together some days. I don’t have time for P90X or whatever else the latest fitness craze is. I also don’t have time to balance tempo runs, speed intervals, hill intervals, and complicated running programs which require me to measure VO2Max, Max Heartrate, Target Heartrate, Lactate Threshold, and who knows what else so that I can reach my new PR. I haven’t had a PR since 1997.

Calories in <= Calories out

The formula for fitness is easy. Make sure you burn as many or more calories than you consume. Keep the calories you consume as healthful as possible. Make the calories you burn as enjoyable as possible. That’s the long term solution to health and fitness — and it’s a lifelong commitment, not the latest exercise or diet fad promising to get you lean and trim (or buff, or strong, or fast…) in 90 days.

Now if you’re an elite athlete, it’s different. Maybe that’s what it is. Maybe we all want to be elite. Maybe if we train like the elite athletes do, maybe if we follow the complicated and rigid training programs, maybe if we make our workouts more scientific, then maybe we too can be elite someday or at least be able able to move forward a few feet in the pack at the starting line because now we’re in a different pace group.

Or maybe we’ll just create more stress for ourselves, not enjoy running as much, and not enjoy as much time with our families as we otherwise could.

Keep running simple and enjoyable

I’m a big fan of Leo Babauta’s Zen Habits. He knows how to keep things simple. Sometimes de-cluttering and simplifying helps us to rediscover the joy and wonder in activities that at best we have started to take for granted, and at worst have become a chore and a burden. Leo has a great post on simple fitness on his site. Check it out, and leave a comment below to share your thoughts.

And then for your next workout forget about all the complicated stuff. Lace up your shoes, leave your watch and heart rate monitor at home, and just run for the fun of it. You’ll be glad you did.

Recently I wrote about how winter can be a great time for indoor cross-training for runners. But just because it’s cold outside doesn’t mean you have to hide out inside for the entire season. Winter is a wonderful season for running, as long as you are prepared.

Dress for the weather

First things first. If you want to enjoy winter outdoor activities, you have to dress appropriately. For folks in warmer climates this is obviously less important, but if you live in a snowy area this is absolutely critical. RoadRunner Sports has a good guide on winter apparel that you should check out.

What is comfortable for one person may not be comfortable for another, so you may need to experiment a little to get to know what layers to wear in which conditions. I find the following to be comfortable for me (temperatures are with wind-chill taken into account, not ambient):

• 40 to 50 – lightweight running tights and a long sleeve shirt
• 30 to 40 – add a short sleeve shirt and fleece gloves to the above
• 20 to 30 – add a windbreaker and a fleece hat to the above
• 10 to 20 – add an extra pair of shorts (for wind protection) or windpants and a fleece top to the above
• Below 10 – Shorts and a short sleeve shirt indoors for me

Small safety note — Any time the temperature drops below 20, make sure you watch out for frostbite and be sure to cover up your ears.

What I love about cold weather running

Photo credit: kettu from morguefile.com

I think what I love most about winter running is the air. I find that hot weather running, especially when it’s humid, can feel stifling for me. I feel like it slows me down and that the air is too thick to breathe. At the end of a run in hot weather, I pant and pant and can’t seem to cool down.

Winter running air, on the other hand, feels refreshing to me. I love being able to run without getting completely drenched in sweat. I love the clarity of the air on really cold days, and how the views during my run are that much clearer and that much crisper than in the hazy humidity of summer. I love breathing out steam at the end of a run, and having the cold air filling my lungs help to cool me down quickly. Most of all, I love running while it’s actually snowing!

What bugs me about winter running

Of course, nothing is ever perfect. I don’t like needing to change the parts of my regular routes that go over grass when the snow gets too deep. I don’t like the slush and mud on roads after the freshness of new snow has worn off. And I don’t like having less shoulder to run on as more and more snow accumulates on the sides of the roads. So in the winter I tend to run outside on the crisp clear days and when the snow is fresh, and then I take it indoors or try other activities when the roads aren’t so nice.

So don’t let the winter trap you inside! Gear up, pick a nice cold day, and experience the joys of winter running for yourself!

For the first post, I’d like to point to you an excellent post on the Running / Jogging Blog by Christine Luff about running while visiting relatives. What I like most about her post is this part:

“Ask family members to join you. See if anyone in the family wants to run with you. You may have to run a slower pace than you’re used to, but use it as a recovery run. … You might be surprised to find out that other family members are looking for an excuse to get out of the house and be active. Going for a run or enjoying the outdoors together could be a great bonding experience.”

What better way to kick off running in the family than to invite your family to join you for a Thanksgiving run? You could even look up a nearby Turkey Trot and do a race together.

Thanksgiving is one of the best holidays ever. It’s a wonderful opportunity to spend time with family, reconnect, and recharge. And if you regularly run to recharge, then go ahead and start incorporating that into your Thanksgiving holiday. You never know, you may even start a new family tradition!