Womens' Health: Alcohol?

(Editorial comment: In the interest of seeing my hypertension and my weight better-controlled, I've worked to cut back my beer intake to no more than two a day. That, tracking my food intake, and continued running...fingers crossed for better results when my lab work comes back after the new year. MB)


I Gave up Drinking Alcohol (Mostly)—Here’s What Happened
One woman explores how the “mindful drinking” movement is helping people get high on being dry. Joy Manning/Women’s Health/December 27, 2017


A glass of wine at the end of a workday. A cocktail before a social event. For 20 years, my drinking had been moderate. But maintaining moderation was a struggle. There were plenty of nights I’d promise myself I wouldn’t imbibe but end up indulging, or have four drinks instead of the planned one.


These behaviors are red flags for problem drinking, and they’re alarmingly common. Between 2002 and 2013, the number of women engaging in high-risk drinking (four or more in a night) rose by nearly 60 percent. The spike may be driven in part by the quest for gender equality: keeping up with men in politics, careers, and even alcohol consumption, says psychologist Sharon Wilsnack, Ph.D., a professor of behavioral science at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks. That's dangerous, since women are more vulnerable to alcohol-related health problems...


(Link to article)

Runner's World: Prognostication for the Running Nation

The 8 Trends, Events, and Phenomena We’re Watching in 2018
From the women’s marathon to a hot hashtag (seriously!), the new year of running looks like an exciting one.
Runner’s World/December 20


Here at Runner’s World, we’re pretty excited for the New Year. How could we not be, given everything that happened in 2017? We saw Eliud Kipchoge almost break the two-hour marathon barrier, and we saw American runners win for the first time in decades at Chicago and New York. But what will 2018 bring? We’re hesitant to make out-and-out predictions (as runners, we know anything can happen!), but here are eight things—call them trends, phenomena, events, whatever—we’ve got our eyes on in the next 12 months...


(Link to Article)

Active: Dead Leg Day No More

9 Ways to Help Your Legs Recover in 24 Hours
Jennifer Fox/Active.com


If you've been a runner long enough, you've inevitably encountered a workout or run that's left your legs (and body) totally drained. Think: yesterday's hilly tempo or Saturday's 12-miler.


Part of success in running is consistency--the ability to get out there day after day and put in the work. When your legs are so trashed that you have to take unplanned days off, it can impede your progress.


But here's the good news. You can take steps to mitigate post-run soreness, so you can get back to training ASAP...


(Link to article)

Training Peaks: Fruitcake or Fast-Pace Work?

3 Ways to Motivate Yourself to Train This Winter
December 15, 2017/Andy Blow, Training Peaks


On the whole endurance athletes are a pretty self-motivated bunch. But even endurance athletes are only human, and as a result we suffer from the same fluctuations in “get up and go” as everyone else from time to time. These dips in motivation can range from the nagging desire to skip training for a day or two to full on slumps where you lose your workout mojo altogether for extended periods of time.


And this time of year can be particularly challenging from a “mojo” point of view because, for the most part, the “A” races for the year have disappeared into the rear view mirror but next season is still a good way off over the horizon. There are also dark mornings and evenings with often colder, wetter weather to contend with (for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere at least). At this time of year it’s easier than ever to just skip training altogether.


Don’t get me wrong, I do believe in taking a decent end-of-year break if you’ve had a long, hard season. This is crucial for mental and physical recuperation. But, assuming that your planned downtime is coming to an end sometime in the near future, I thought it might be a good time to offer up a few tips gleaned from more than 20 years of tricking, cajoling and persuading myself to go out and train when frankly I’d much rather have hit the snooze button or spent more time working on the Homer Simpson-esque butt indentations in my sofa instead.... (link to article...)