Now that your race season is done or almost done (best of luck if you are still racing a late fall/early winter goal race), it’s time to turn your thoughts to the off -season. If you live in a climate like I do in the Northern Hemisphere, our race season is just that….seasonal. Fall and early winter are generally the time that we start to take a look back and a look forwards at our running achievements and goals. You may be thinking, what do I do from here?? I will be lost without my goal to get me out of bed in the morning or finish off my day. What will I do with all this extra time and energy? Here is an off- season primer.
Take some active rest. I find there are 3 camps of runners. Camp #1 finishes their goal race, hangs up their running stuff, stops watching their dietary intake and sits on the couch until spring. Camp #2 takes maybe a day or two off, cheats on their diet a little bit, then gets right back into training, signing up for their next big goal race, returning to the track for speed work. This camp takes little time to give the body the time it needs to recharge (yes, I have been a camper in this group in past….I’m not that proud of it!). Camp #3 takes a week or so off of running, maybe a bit more, cross trains some in this time, is pretty flexible with the dietary intake, then decides on what they may do come spring, late winter, or summer. This camper lets their body do the talking, and listens quite well.
Here’s my take: no one person recovers the same way as another. So the key is to listen to what your body says to you and not your want and need for your mental health. If you find that returning to a plan soon after your big goal event is necessary for you but your body is not ready, then find an alternate activity to keep you happy. If you had any niggling injuries, this is also the time to address those concerns with focused work on the area both actively and passively. Perhaps seek a sports minded health professional to help you get back on track.
Look back at your season. Many coaches will sit down with their athletes at the end of the season. They want to assess each goal race and determine what worked and, what maybe didn’t work so well. How did you handle the schedule with all the other life commitments? How was your nutrition? How did the shoes you chose work for you? Did you get enough stimulus from the training and enough recovery? These and more are questions you can ask yourself. Answer them honestly then make any changes you think you may need in order to improve. If you coach yourself and found that you were not great at giving yourself advice, perhaps seek out a run club or personal coach to help you reach your goals successfully next season.
Enjoy a break from a schedule. Going back to our camps of runners above, if you are part of camp #1 or #3, enjoy the downtime. I am now recovered from a 4 month injury hiatus from running.. After being on a training plan for oh….about 18 years+ I actually enjoyed not having a plan. It’s really interesting that having that workout plan written out can be both a blessing and a curse. If you stick religiously to a plan, give yourself a month or two or three to just do what feels good when you want to do it. You will be pleasantly surprised at how mentally and physically freeing it can be. Then you come back to your next training cycle refreshed and ready to work hard again. The most important piece of advice is to stay active in some way. I have always wanted to be that athlete who can shut it down for a week or two or four post season. Now I know the importance of that is invaluable. It’s hard for us Type A personalities!!
Try something new. The off- season is a great time to try something you may have wanted to do while in the throes of heavy training. With the colder weather approaching, there could be many options. Cross Country Skiing, Showshoeing (I want to try this!), Hot Yoga (which I imagine will feel great in the cold weather!), Rock Climbing, Strength Training, Bootcamp, Spinning etc etc. The options are endless. Take a jump out of your comfort zone and take up a new activity while you think about what you want to do next season. You may be pleasantly surprised to find it helps your running too.
And finally………
Start training again. Now that you have given your body and mind the time it needed to rejuvenate and recover, start your new plan according to the timing of your goal race. Do you want to jump up in race distance? Do you want to jump back and work on speed? Do you want to participate vs. race? Do you want to do a destination race? Tailor your plan or seek out the assistance you require to achieve this goal. Replace your running shoes, get some new gear to add some extra motivation and excitement and then get started.
Enjoy your offseason!!!! See you on the roads/trails come spring!
Elise Yanover
Elise is a long time competitive amateur triathlete and Physiotherapist with 20+ years experience treating runners and athletes of all kinds. She also has an online coaching business for runners and triathletes looking to reach that next distance goal or PB. She is very passionate about biomechanics in running and does gait analysis and shoe recommendations as part of her practice. Elise also has a self admitted running shoe and apparel fetish. She is mom to an active 10 year old girl and is married to a man who also runs and races. Follow me on twitter (@eliseyanover) or email me (elise.yanover@gmail.com) if you have any questions!