Last week, I had the pleasure and thrill of attending an event where Joan Benoit Samuelson was speaking. Joan is a prolific runner who won the first women’s Olympic marathon in Los Angeles in 1985. She also won the Boston marathon twice – once in 1979 (before she graduated college) and again in 1986. She has set many records in her career. Getting to hear her speak and meet here was a highlight for me.

During Joan’s talk, she told a story about how, after having her first child, Nike wanted to shoot photos for a future ad campaign. The tagline of the ad was “There is no finish line.” This tagline struck a cord with me. It is so true! There is no real finish line in life. OK, I guess there is one true finish line – when we leave this earth and pass on to whatever is after.

The idea that there is no finish line changed how I look at a lot of things, and made some things make sense for me. We tend to focus on getting to a certain point – crossing the finish line of a race, our wedding day, the birth of a child, finishing school, reaching a goal weight. All of those things are finish lines, but life continues on after. There are more finish lines to come.

With the start of the new year, I’d like to encourage you to focus on your finish lines, or goals, for the year. But, while you are planning on successfully crossing each one, also think about what is next. Where will your next finish line be? And the one after that? And the one after that?

Last week, I talked about how the period from the beginning of October through New Year’s is a calorie and weight “Danger Zone.” This is also true for endurance and ultra-endurance athletes. Triathletes have finished their training and racing and are entering the off-season. They are ready to unwind and enjoy some time without the rigors of training. On the other hand, marathon and ultra-runners are starting to gear up. The fall marathon season starts in October and goes into the spring.

For those of us training for fall and spring marathons, it is really, really, really easy to use our training as a way to over-indulge in holiday foods. For those entering their off season, it is really, really easy for them to use the holiday foods as rewards for all of the hard training they have done over the past few months.

Endurance athletes have to watch the holiday season just like everyone else to avoid weight gain that negatively impact performance. Yes, maybe you did just run 18 or 20 miles. That doesn’t mean you can have a whole pumpkin pie! And, just because you did a Turkey Trot the morning of Thanksgiving, doesn’t mean you can eat like it is Thanksgiving day all weekend long. If you are in your off season, you do not want to gain extra weight over the holidays that you then have to work harder to get off the first couple of months of the year. If you are training, you don’t want to put on extra weight over the holidays you have to carry during your race or have to worry about losing before the race.

The trick I use is to only use the “I just did a (fill in the blank) workout. I get to eat (fill in the blank).” once a day on the day that is not race day. If you just ran a marathon, go ahead and celebrate that day, but follow the rule for the two following days. Starting on the third day, return to your normal eating. If you do a long workout, you can use the excuse once a day for a maximum of two of days. It is easy to eat as much or more calories than we burned off by telling ourselves it is OK to indulge because we worked out. And, yes, I deal with this, too.

As the Halloween candy starts to appear, remember to not use your workouts as an excuse to over-indulge. Yes, if you have a long or hard workout you can indulge some. You just can’t use it as an excuse to indulge all the time through the holidays.

This post was originally published in 2009. However, I think it is worth repeating. . . with a few minor changes.

October, November, and December are what I call The Danger Zone time of the year. Within these three months we encounter all sorts of eating challenges. October is the time of CANDY! Candy seems to appear just about everywhere – in offices, on desks, in kids’ backpacks. However, just because candy is around does NOT mean you have to eat it. A previous post had some tips for dealing with Halloween candy. I have two tactics to add this year. The first is to mentally label the Halloween as “not my food.” The candy is for other people, or the kids, or the trick-or-treaters. Every time you think of or see the candy, tell yourself “that’s not my food” and find something else to do. Second, if you do have more candy than you had planned, do not use that slip as an excuse to keep slipping the rest of the day (or week, or month). Recognize that you made a slip, but tell yourself, “that’s OK. I can make better choices the rest of the day that will help me stay on track.”

Once we’ve made it through Halloween, we are faced with Thanksgiving, then Holiday Parties, Christmas, Hannuka, Kawnza, New Years, etc. These holidays and parties are typically food-focused, family-focused and filled with stress. One way to make this year easier and less stressful is to start thinking now about how you will handle any food challenges that come your way.

For example, do you have a hard time (like me) staying away from buffets at parties? You can start thinking now and visualizing how you will deal with the buffets this year. Perhaps make a rule that first you will put fruits and vegetables on your plate then small bites of other items. Or, that you will only make one trip to the buffet. If alcohol is a challenge, make a rule that you will alternate each “beverage” with a glass of water. Do you over-eat at Thanksgiving dinner? Start visualizing how your plate will look this year – with half filled with fruits and vegetables, a quarter with protein, and a quarter with complex carbohydrates or starch (you can also review the Quarter Your Plate newsletter for more information on how to do this). And, don’t forget to visualize what your dessert plate will look like, too.

The last three months of the year do not have to be filled with scary food situation. You just need to plan ahead for how you will deal with them so you are prepared when they happen.

Have a healthy day!

In this crazy busy season, it is important to take time to enjoy – no relish – each day. I can hear you saying “Enjoy! Relish! You are crazy! Too many things to do. Too much shopping, cooking, wrapping! I’m busy trying to keep all my relatives and kids from fighting! Enjoy the day?!?!??”

Yes, things are crazy and busy. But, there will only be ONE 2010 holiday season. I would suggest that you take a minute or two out of each day, sit down, take a deep breath, let it out slowly and clear your mind. Take a look around you and see what is going on. Do it as a third party observer – one outside the situations and hustle bustle. Find something to smile about – even if it is just that everyone will be gone in a couple of days.

This is also a time of special foods. Foods that we only get once a year. When you get one of those favorite dishes, take a minute and relish it mindfully. Look at it – take a snapshot in your mind. Smell it. When you put it in your mouth, notice the textures and how they change as you eat it. Think about all that went into making it and putting it on the table for you. Not just the making but all the way back to the production of the grain, chocolate, coffee, etc. Take your time relishing that food. You could turn this into a family affair. Have each person choose their favorite item and go around the table describing what they like most about it – and talk about how it looks, smells, feels as you cut it with your fork and in your mouth, how it tastes and how the taste changes. Rather than just shoveling in the food and not tasting it, have everyone slow for a minute and enjoy the bounty on the table.

You can do these things any time of year. Relish every day, every week, every month, every year. We only get each day once, why not relish it?

I wish you and yours a holiday season filled with love, joy, happiness, and fun!

• S = Specific
• M = Measurable
• A = Action-oriented
• R = Realistic
• T = Timely

If the goal is “lose weight” it isn’t a SMART goal (doesn’t really meat any of the SMART guidelines except, maybe, realistic – we’ll presume it is realistic).  Let’s try again: lose 15 pounds.  Still not completely SMART.  One more time: lose 15 pounds by June 1 by working out at least five times a week and reducing my calorie intake by 500 calories per day.  That one is a bit longer, but it is also SMART.

• S = specific: has an amount of weight, due date, and details for working out and calorie intake
• M = measurable: weight, date, number of times to workout and calories to cut are all measurable
• A = action-oriented: the workout goal and calorie amounts are both actions to help achieve success
• R = realistic: we’ll presume all of the items listed are realistic
• T = timely: has a due-date to help with accountability

Second, big goals – like the one above – should also be broken into smaller goals.  These smaller goals help make the big goal achievable.  The smaller goals should also follow the SMART guideline.  Smaller goals can cover any timeframe from a day to a couple of weeks.  Continuing with the previous example, a couple of smaller goals could be:

• Go to bed by 9PM to be able to get enough sleep and get up at 5AM Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday to work out for an hour for the next three weeks.
• Pack lunch and snacks for tomorrow and include choices such as yogurt, fruit and light string cheese.

Both of these smaller goals meet the SMART guidelines.