Everything is going to be ok. I have solutions to the problems! Most of them involve eating, drinking and resting. Let’s get started!

As you may know, I’m handing out high fives for Friday again with one of my best bitches – Angela of Happy Fit Mama. She’s got 99 problems but tight hips are not one! Seriously, you need to check out her yoga poses for loosening tight hips because I know that is a big problem for a lot you, and when I say “you” I mean “me.”

Let’s continue by checking out my top five problems of the week, followed by my resourceful solutions…

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ONE

Problem: Drinking too much during the holidays and especially on New Year’s Eve

Is that an angel you see before you? Why yes, that is my oldest son (by one minute) last New Year’s Eve. He had a little too much sparkling grape juice and partied hard until 9:30pm. If you want to start your year off better then Vaughn did last year, check this out:

Solution: Plan workouts you will want to do and get a jump start on January!

Be Original with Your Workouts in 2016 | Treadmill Reviews

For you city dwellers, it’s easy to try out the trendiest workouts around like Daybreakers, City Row and The Mile High Run Club. That last one is a treadmill class you creepy weirdo. However, if you live in the middle of nowhere like I do, I offer some tips in the article on how to recreate these classes on your own.

Invite friends, have some mocktails and happy New Year to you!

TWO

Problem: You need to get a ton of shit things done for the holidays and suddenly, everyday things like parenting become overwhelming. 

While we were picking out our Christmas tree on a very inconvenient Monday night, the boys decided it was infinitely better to play hide and seek in between all the rows of trees, and do sprint drills up and down the hill the tree farm was located on, instead of patiently choosing the perfect tree. Of course I gave up trying to corral them and just joined in.

Solution: Have one night with your girlfriends where you drink wine and belt out Adele tunes and commiserate on the hilarity that is parenting.

 

Three

Problem: Dismal workouts. We all have them. Mama said there would be days like this. Except my mama would have just had a cigarette and a Tab on our front porch with the neighbor. #NotAnOption

I took this shot after a less then stellar run. Just one of those runs when nothing really feels good and you start counting the miles until you’re home. Instead of being in a funk, I chose to take this picture and just be grateful for the run. Grateful I can run and have a family to run home to in a warm house filled with food and decorations and a lot of other things I sometimes take for granted. It was a moment.

Then I realized that I probably just needed a rest day.

Solution: Tis the season to have dessert, not go the extra mile and take a few extra rest days.

The Other Transition: The Importance of Rest for the Free-Living Athlete | USA Triathlon Website | Deanna Pomfret

I absolutely loved this article and Pomfret’s concept of the “free-living” athlete. She talks about how making one small change, like your head position in the pool, can change everything for your swim. Similarly, in life, small changes can make all the difference as well.

Rest days. Not just for Christmas anymore.

Rest days. Not just for Christmas anymore.

FOUR

Problem: Anxiety

Solution: Running

Ok, so maybe it’s not that simple but, if you’re a runner then you know running is a “cure” for a lot of life’s problems, even serious ones like dibilitating anxiety. I should know since I have suffered some pretty major anxiety attacks in my life. Alisha Perkins also knows and decided to write her first book, Running Home based on her experiences with anxiety and how, becoming a runner helped her to better manage it.

She Runs: Alisha Perkins: How the wife of a famous baseball player overcomes her anxiety disorder, one race at a time. | Zelle

I was so happy to have read and reviewed this book for Zelle and I will be sharing more about how it personally affected me on the blog soon. Get your meds ready.

 

Alisha Perkins and friend Alyssa finish the Red, White and BOOM half-marathon in 2014.

Alisha Perkins and friend Alyssa finish the Red, White and BOOM half-marathon in 2014.

 

FIVE

Problem: I hate bananas but they are practically the perfect running fuel.

Solution: Eat dates!

In addition to the whole wheat fig bars I love, I also found the fig preserves shown in picture five. My favorite way to eat it? On a whole wheat English Muffin with Teddy’s Natural Peanut Butter.

Swap Your Pre-Run Banana with This Food | Kim McDevitt

Remember when I attended the Runner’s World Half and Festival weekend where Deena Kastor herself confessed to not loving bananas? Well, I think that may have had something to do with it.

Just two banana haters hanging out.

Just two banana haters hanging out.

Now that all your problems are solved, go forth into the weekend and be merry! Oh, but first, tweet this out as a pay it forward, because it’s the holiday season and all…

[Tweet “5 problems, 5 solutions and 5 great articles. What more could you want from Friday? #HighFiveFriday”]

How many problems do you currently have? Any solutions?

Will you try figs instead of bananas as a pre-run snack?

Try any good fitness classes lately?

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