Big Bands

Before your run, try on the latest workout accessory for long-haired athletes: SweatyBands. The fashionable sport headbands help keep sweat out of your eyes while wrangling those annoying flyaways that break free from your ponytail. Their secret is a non-slip underside that keeps them comfortably in place all workout long. Plus, they come in an endless variety of colors and patterns. Available exclusively in the area at Fleet Feet Sports, fleetfeetsarasota.com.

Listen up! The average person gains a little more than one pound between Thanksgiving and Christmas. But 85 percent of those people will still be carrying that extra weight come Thanksgiving 2011. — National Institute of Health

Allergy Season?

Summer may be over, but don’t put away the Benadryl just yet. “What happens in Florida is different from places that have a real winter,” says Sarasota allergist Dr. Eva Berkes. “Nice weather influences bad allergies.” Late-summer ragweed season may stretch into early November, and dust mites—which undergo an annual “winter kill” in colder, drier climes—can even multiply in the winter as we Floridians close up our homes, turn on our heaters and drag out our down blankets. (Oh, and watch out for down allergies, too, Berkes warns.)

While patients often confuse wintertime colds for allergies (and vice versa), Berkes recommends the same initial treatment for either: saltwater nasal rinse and an antihistamine in the evening “to help dry out the nose.” (But save the antihistamine for before bed, Berkes warns, because it will make you sleepy.)

Fit Talk

Sarasota’s Kristen Horler, 36, is a certified personal trainer who founded Baby Boot Camp in 2001 after having her first child. The “stroller-fitness program,” which Horler continues to oversee, now offers more than 1,000 classes every week through nationwide franchises. Horler also owns and teaches at Karna Fitness Studio, 665 S. Orange Ave. Her new book, Baby Boot Camp: The New Mom’s 9-minute Fitness Solution, was released this year and features Sarasota moms as models.

What can moms expect from Baby Boot Camp? Pre-natal and post-partum fitness with your child in a stroller. We have kids everywhere from six weeks to six years. Some women come pushing their two-year-old and pregnant with their next. We’ll do strength training—biceps with strength bands, squats, push-ups—in between two minutes of power walking or jogging.

Benefits for new moms? There‘s a lot of challenges for them—sleepless nights, irregular feedings, dealing with this new body. Baby Boot Camp is a great opportunity to get in shape after having a child, and you meet other moms who are also focused on having an active and healthy lifestyle. And bringing your child takes away that “mommy guilt” about doing something for yourself. You can do what you need to do for your child. We’re right there when you’re done. And the kids’ social interaction is great, too.

Tips for new moms who want to get back in shape? Consistency. It’s not about how hard or how long you exercise, just try to do it every other day. You tend to fall into a slump once you take two days off.

New moms can’t leave and go to the gym for an hour, but they can put the baby in the stroller and walk around the block. And there’s so many positive things you’re going to get out of that walk: sunshine, fresh air, just getting your body moving and energized.

Also, it really helps if you’re accountable to someone other than yourself. Baby Boot Camp keeps you accountable—not like going to the gym. Classes are limited to 12 women, with one instructor. And the instructors are expecting you to show up.

What’s your personal exercise routine? Right now my teaching schedule is very busy, but I still schedule one workout a week, minimum, where I just tune out, by myself, no friends or anyone. I might run the [Ringling] bridge, plug into my iPhone and shut off. That is really important to me. Working out for me has never been about weight loss and looking good; it’s about feeling good, both physically and emotionally.

Up next? I’m completing my sixth half-marathon in November.

Turkey Burn

What better way to take care of those Thanksgiving calories than a 13.1-mile run? The inaugural PAL Half Marathon takes place Nov. 28—the Sunday after Thanksgiving—over a scenic course that winds through Palmer Ranch and includes a section of the Legacy Trail. For more information, or to register individuals or two-person teams, visit palhalfmarathon.org. Online registration ends Nov. 20, but runners can also register in person at the packet pick-up Nov. 27.

Traveling for the Holidays?

“A long plane flight is almost like a little incubation spot,” says registered nurse Gail “Dee Dee” Elderidge, executive director of the new Passport Health Sarasota, part of a national franchise. Whether you’re headed to Antwerp or Zaire (domestic travel, too), Passport Health utilizes an up-to-the-minute database of international health concerns to offer a range of services for travelers—from incoming and exit requirements to geographically appropriate vaccines and immunizations to kits for combating “traveler’s diarrhea” (the No. 1 traveler’s ailment, according to Elderidge). They even communicate with your primary care physician to ensure medical continuity. passporthealthsarasota.com