December in review: Healthy holidays with plenty of training

Lots of trainer riding for December.

December was a good training month. I had some time off work, and squeezed in a few more miles on the road and minutes in the saddle. I was as consistent as I've ever been, maybe more so, with getting into weights and yoga routines. I did a LOT of PT and mobility work. I swapped out a run for more bike trainer time. And I took on a 12-day strength and mobility challenge.

That consistency seemed to the name of the game at a macro level as well, as I only took two days off training: Christmas and the Friday before, when there was a complete work meltdown that led to a complete brain meltdown. As a result, I ended up with the most number of workout sessions I think I've ever done in a month, and the second-highest volume month of the year, only behind May, and by less than 20 minutes.

I did cut way back on running this month. I think my winter training time is better spent on the bike, so I swapped in an extra bike trainer day in place of a running day for December. It's cold and dark, I got snowed and/or rained on multiple times, there aren't any races coming up, and I don't feel comfortable using a public treadmill right now, so ... running's on the back burner for now. But that's OK. I got out when I could and still logged 67 miles. Which, I just realized, is a metric century plus a 5K, so yay me! It's more important to me right now that running is feeling good and I'm not suffering.

My extra strength/mobility challenge was 12 Days of Strengthmas, hosted by a triathlon coach I follow on Instagram. I wrapped up the challenge feeling pretty good about where my weights routines are now, since I had trouble doing very few of the exercises, EXCEPT the day we focused on core work. I was suffering the next day for sure. So, I'm taking that as a sign that I need to work at least one more focused core day into my weights routines.

One other minor victory was that I consistently did yoga twice per week. This is something I know I need to do, yet I have such a hard time making myself do it. But, this month I just got into a Wednesday/Sunday yoga routine and stuck with it. I'm hoping to expand my routine a bit to do yoga every day I run, but, baby steps.

If there was any drawback to December, it was that dog walking went severely down, much to the disappointment of one of my hyperactive mutts. It was just too cold and too dark to get out there for too long safely. Unfortunately, January and February probably won't be much better, so I'll make it up to her in belly rubs and treats.

Disappointed dog or no, December worked out to be:

An excellent trainer riding month for me.

Bike: 18 trainer sessions for 338 fake trainer miles in about 22 hours, 8 minutes. I spent more time on my actual bike while 70.3 training, but I am 99.9% certain this is the most time I've ever spent on the trainer. This was an experiment of riding two days in a row, figuring out which rides worked best on which days, and doing a LOT of laundry. Santa is bringing me a late delivery of more bike shorts, so hopefully I'll be better prepared next month.

PT/Pre-hab: 26 sessions for at least 12 hours, 35 minutes (I am going to better track actual time next year). This is a GREAT amount of sessions for me. I'm not running as much, but I am sure it's not hurting anything.

Still a decent running month through dark, snow, cold ...

Run: 11 runs for 67.05 miles in 11:17. I did the extra 0.05 to end on an even number for the year. These were almost all easy runs — I think I did a tiny bit of speed work during one, and didn't go any longer than 8.5 miles all month — which was fine with me, considering I was often battling rain, snow, cold, and/or lack of daylight.

Weights: 10 times in a good mix of videos, online barre classes, my usual heavy/body routine, Strengthmas routines, and an extra core session I threw in at the end of the month; it all worked out to be about 9:35.

Yoga: 9 sessions for about 2:15. This was mostly me doing what felt good, with one Down Dog app session at the end of the month. This is a good amount of yoga for me.

Total: 76 sessions for about 57 hours, 50 minutes. This is a LOT for me! It was a good month. I took advantage of the time off and prioritized what time I did have.

I didn't do any other workouts other than dog walking, and I didn't make it to the pool. I'm just not feeling safe enough for me to make it worth the risk right now. But that's OK. Even if I don't do anything other than bike and lift all winter, it'll be enough to keep me busy. I am already looking forward to more daylight in the evenings, even if it's too cold to get outside.

I hope your December was also a healthy holiday and that you finished out the month and year strong.