Hangovers...Bad for Training. Who Knew?

It's the holiday season, and that means parties and celebrations with friends.  Each weekend is another holiday get-together, fun times with friends and lots of food and drinks.  Having started my training in the beginning of December, I knew that moderation at each holiday party would be the key to keeping up with my training.  And I did great.  This plan worked like a charm through seven holiday parties.

Then I innocently went to have a drink with a good friend to celebrate his new job.  It was perfect becasue it was the beginning of my 12 day vacation, and I had my entire workout schedule planned out.  In addition to the runs, there would be yoga and kinesis, and I'd have all kinds of time to make great, healthy meals, and it would all be perfect.

Six glasses of sparkling rose' and several plates of delicious tapas later, and day one of my training utopia was derailed with a raging hangover. Now I'm not much of a drinker.  In fact, I tend to be the designated driver more often than not, and because I'm an early bird morning person, I'm home and in bed no later than 10:30 most nights.  Because of that, I love to get my workouts done in the morning.

So you can see how a six glass of champagne fueled hangover might change my plans just a little.  Doing my scheduled 3-mile run at 8:00 am as planned was pretty much out of the question.  But I figured I could make it to yoga at 10, especially since my friend Jessica was meeting me there to try out my studio.  Wouldn't be cool to stand her up.  Besides, I figured the yoga would force the toxins out of my body, and then I'd be good to do my run afterward.

As I discovered, the reality was much different.  The problem with yoga is that you spend a lot of time bent and twisted in weird positions, much of the time with your head below your heart.  I learned (the hard way) that when you are dehydrated and operating on champagne fumes, this can cause dizzyness and lightheadedness.  Who knew?  By the end of class, most of the toxins were trying to get out, but they hung on long enough to make my 3-mile run afterward impossible (as well as pretty much all other planned activities except lying on my sofa).

I'm happy to say that I did manage to do the 3-mile run today, and I ran the whole thing, albeit a little slower than normal.  Regardless of having my training thrown a little off track (and making my first full day of vacation a little uncomfortable), I would do it all again exactly the same way.  Because while doing every bit of my training is important to me so that I can succeed at this goal, a fun night with a good old friend is just as precious if not more.  I might just try and limit myself to four glasses next time.