What should I do during the “Off-season”?

Sorry for the extended lapse in putting content on the website.  My life got very busy (with all good things) in a short amount of time.  Now that the racing season (for triathlon, at least) is pretty much over, things are settling down around the Pointy Helmet Coaching “office.”

November has arrived.  In most of the United States, that means the return of cold weather, indoor cycling, layered sweaters and hot cocoa.  It’s an exciting time of year if you’re into frostbite and icy mustaches.

On the other hand, here in Gainesville, November means it’s time to break out the arm warmers on a cool morning.  November is a great time of year for athletics in Gainesville, as the climate is enjoyable for all outdoor activities, including swim/bike/run.

However, if you’re a triathlete, despite the nice weather, November marks the beginning of the off-season.  Here’s what you should be doing:

1. Take some time off! This is the MOST IMPORTANT thing you can do during the off-season.  Without extended periods of rest, your body simply can’t recover from the extended periods of hard training you put your body through during the summer.  Recovery happens on a micro (day-to-day) scale, macro (week-to-week) scale, super-macro (month-to-month) scale, and super-duper-ultra-macro (year-to-year) scale.  So take some super duper ultra time off and enjoy the holidays. Note that taking time off doesn’t mean that you have to stop training altogether.  I recommend a 40-50% reduction in volume, and a huge reduction in intensity, from your peak training week.  So, if you hit 20 hours in your biggest week, you should be training no more than 10-12hours/week during the offseason.  This will help to maintain fitness and keep your weight in check.
2. Take stock of what you accomplished this season. Did you reach your goals?  Did you increase your fitness?  What did you learn from your training and racing experiences?  Write all of this stuff down for future reference in your training log.
3. Set some goals for next season. These goals should be specific, measurable and attainable (with hard work and dedication).  They should build off what you accomplished this season, and improve upon it.  ”Get faster” is not a good goal.  ”Finish Miami Man in under 6 hours” is a good goal.  So is “Ride the 40k TT on May 15 in under 61 minutes.”  Focus on your “limiters,” the aspects of your racing you could most improve.
4. Closely related to #3 is: choose your important races for the upcoming season. You don’t need to choose every race you’re going to do, but outline the important races, of which there should be three at most.  These are your “A” priority races, for which you’ll focus your training specifically.
5. Working backward from your “A” races, schedule your training periods. Most athletes benefit from “periodization” of workouts, or putting your body through different training stresses depending on where you are in relation to your target races.  (Specific periodization techniques are the topic of another post).

Avoid the temptation to hammer your off-season training rides, runs and swims.  I can’t stress this enough!  Best case is you’ll be in great shape for that Christmas triathlon that doesn’t exist.  Worst case is you’ll injure yourself and be out of commission completely for an extended period of time.

Lastly, the off-season is a great time to remind ourselves why we enjoy doing this endurance sport stuff.  Go for a nice easy ride and enjoy the scenery!  Go for a late afternoon run and watch the kids playing in the park!  Go for a relaxing swim to blow off steam after work!   After a long, hard season of grinding out one tough workout after another, you deserve it.