Off-Season Reset

The period between the end of the previous season (training/racing) and the start of the next season is called the "off season." For northern hemisphere athletes, this usually occurs in the winter, between November and January. 

The off-season is a very important time for athletes who train and race consistently throughout the year. Never giving your body and mind an intentional break from training stress will increase the risk of burnout, overuse injuries, fatigue, early season fitness plateau and sickness. A planned break provides the ideal stimulus to rejuvinate and repair the body and brain.

Another way to view the off-season is to think of it as a reset. 

For several months, you've placed a lot of stress on your body. Your immune system was compromised, your muscles, tendons and joints were stressed, you were regularly sleep deprived (or never fully rested), you never let your body fully recover, you were constantly rushed, often your body was underfueled or dehydrated, and your diet was not well-balanced. While it may sound like you took horrible care of your body for several months, you are right.....kinda. 

It doesn't matter how proficient you are at taking care of your body while training for an athletic event, training is a stressor. You are constantly intentionally over-stressing and over-reaching your body and mind in order to improve performance. And no matter how much you love to train or how important exercise is in your daily routine, training can be emotionally, physically and mentally draining. 

Although you may recognize that a mental and physical break is needed, it can be difficult to actually take a proper break. It's understandable that you may worry about a loss of fitness or your body composition changing. 

When you are in your off-season, this doesn't mean that you become unhealthy. You are simply giving yourself a break from the structure, the intentional stress and the energy of showing up to a workout.

During this off-season break, you should be intentionally trying to reset your system. Sleep, nutrition, lifestyle.
You can finally feel what it's like to get enough restful sleep by not setting an early morning alarm.
You finally have much more time to prepare nutritious meals and to try out new recipes.
You get to explore different modes of exercise that are refreshing for the mind, body and soul. 
You are able to reconnect with your body and feel what it's like to not be carrying around deep muscle soreness or tightness. 

For the first time in a long time, you get to give your mind and body a full reset. 
It's only through this proper reset that you can begin your upcoming phase of training with a fresh and healthy body and mind. And with this reset, you should hopefully enjoy the feeling of being fully rested, nourished and healed, that it makes you want to maintain those healthy habits as you ease your way back into structured training. 

The off-season is not a time to increase alcohol consumption, forgo restful sleep, live a sedentary lifestyle, skip meals, diet, overwork yourself and not take care of yourself mentally. Building fitness over many months places a lot of psychological and physiological stress on your body. Treat your body with respect in the off-season as you gift yourself a mental and physical reset. 

Keeping perspective on the off-season

For every sport, the season has a start and an end. 

Over the past two weeks, there has been a dramatic shift in my life from setting an early morning alarm, training regularly and living a life of structure and planning to a lifestyle of flexibility and freedom.

From a performance standpoint, the off-season is the foundation of athletic growth and development. To reduce the risk of injury, burn-out or a fitness plateau, the best approach to the off-season is somewhere between a time of leisure and relaxation and staying healthy and active. A good perspective on the off-season is to think of it as active rest while maintaining health-promoting lifestyle habits. As you enjoy some well-deserved physical and mental rest from sport specific structured training, seek out new or different exercises or activities for your body and mind. As a tip, look for exercises and activities that have little to do with your sport you train for you and certainly keep it light and enjoyable.

As you take advantage of your long awaited (or dreaded) off-season, give yourself a 2-3 week break from training and actively rest. With free reign over what you choose to do and when you choose to do it, physical activity is important but you also need to take care of your mental and emotional well-being. Find the sweet spot that works best for you.

When you spend at least 48-50 weeks out of the past 52 weeks preparing for competitions/events, you owe it to yourself to do something different for a short period of time. Remember, being an athlete is physically exhausting and mentally taxing. Although you love your sport, stepping away from it for a short period of time can be extremely beneficial to your health, happiness and athletic success. 

It's time to slow down

Although my last triathlon was Ironman Wisconsin in early September, since returning home from Kona, Hawaii on October 17th, I've done little structured triathlon training. I did, however, participate/race in two events (Hincapie Gran Fondo on 10/21 and the Spinx Half Marathon on 10/27) over the last two weekends in October just to use some of my leftover fitness as my mind and body still wanted to race. While I did keep up with structured swim sessions until Karel raced Ironman Florida on 11/4 (moral support :), it feels like forever ago when I had workouts in my Training Peaks.

Over the past twelve years, I've given myself all different types of an off-season break. I've failed at many and have succeed at several. I've learned that taking "too long" of break didn't work for me (4-6 weeks) but return too soon (1-2 weeks) and well, that didn't work either. In reflection on what worked or didn't work, I think about the season that followed. When I think about when I best peaked for my races, how easy/hard it was to gain fitness and the strength/health of my body, iterestingly, my most successful two seasons of racing have been over the past two years (2017 and 2018). Before both those seasons, I gave myself a ~3 week break from structured triathlon training.

This time around, I'm not deviating from what has been working. While I like to think of my off-season as a "transitional period" with a gradual decrease in training intensity/volume and structure, this past week ended that phase. I've done nothing all week! Well, let me clarify. There's been no swimming, no biking and no running. My "normal" routine is no longer. Aside from 3 light sessions of ECFit strength and mobility work to keep my hips happy, the extent of my daily exercise has been walking - and always with Campy. 

This break from structure has been enjoyable, well-earned and well-timed as we are extremely busy with starting back our athletes (and welcoming new athletes) to our coaching team, I have welcomed colder temps and fall colors (there's something about cold weather that says off-season) and Karel just finished his season so we can enjoy doing nothing together. Since we watch little to no TV over the summer (aside from triathlon, cycling, running and swimming and Ellen), it's been nice to spend an hour or two in the evening being entertained by Netflix. On the weekend, instead of training for hours all morning, we are now exploring beautiful Greenville - by foot. And we can get to a few house-projects such as organizing and cleaning cluttered spaces/closets. To me, this is what the off-season is all about....slowing down, enjoying non-triathlon/extreme activities and being ok with not being a disciplined and dedicated athlete. Nothing has changed with our diet aside from removing the "extra" food that was needed to support higher volume training. And with less time training we can spend even more time in the kitchen cooking. This week was all about chilis and stews with the crockpot. Yum!

Here are some pictures from our hike to Ruby Cliff Falls and the overlook at Caesar's Head. The Ruby Cliff Falls hike was ~4.5 miles round trip and took us about 2 hours. Campy was a trooper and walked the entire hike with no complaints. 

As for what to do or not do in your off-season (if you are an athlete-in-training), everyone is different. What works for one person may not work for you. More so, what worked for you last year or five years ago may not work for you right now in your life. 

However, it's important to remind yourself that your self-identity shouldn't be tied to you as an athlete. While it's great to be passionate about healthy living and physical activity, you can still be a great spouse, friend, family member, community member, volunteer, parent (furry/human), employee and active individual without structured training. So if you are struggling to give yourself permission to take a proper/formal break from training, use your off-season to develop and explore other great attributes about yourself that don't have to do with sport. If you keep registering for races over the fall/winter, this is a red flag that you may be struggling to take a break from training.

On the flip side, make sure you don't get too comfortable with physical inactivity as it poses a great risk to your mental and physical health. While the off-season is an important time for mental, emotional and physical rest, it's very easy to fall victim to unhealthy lifestyle habits. 

If you struggle with a sense of loss or have difficulty finding meaning in your life or self worth without structured training or you don't know how to function in life without training and racing, remind yourself that sport is something you choose to do, it's not who you are.

If you are struggling with a transition away from sport or struggle to find a sense of identity and purpose without being engaged in structured training, reach out to a mental health expert for help. 

The wrong nutritional way to off-season

The off-season is a very important time for athletes. Consistent year-long training with no time off can increase the risk of burnout, overuse injuries, fatigue and sickness. A temporary and planned break can help rejuvinate and repair the body and brain.

Every athlete has her/her own approach as to the best way to tackle the off-season. While athletes recognize that a mental and physical break is needed, it can be difficult for a lot of athletes to worry about the loss of fitness that you worked so hard for during the season. A bit of de-training is needed as your body deserves rest to appropriately recover from the past months of peak training and racing.

As an athlete, you train to make physiological adaptations. This takes many many months. Training is something you need to do day after day, week after week and month after month. Thus, when you are not training, this doesn't mean you do nothing. You simply take a break from the structure, the early alarms, the sacrifices. On the other hand, working out is doing what you want to do, when you want to do it. There's no guilt, tight scheduling or obsession with the details. Whereas training is systematically designed to help you achieve race readiness to perform at your best, working out doesn't necessarily have a purpose. If you are working out to burn calories, to improve health and/or to relieve stress, there are many different ways to achieve those goals. Unlike training, working out doesn't require a plan, a coach, discipline and a rigid schedule to ensure that you develop and peak appropriately.

Sadly, many athletes fall into a trap of compromising health and fitness during the off-season. Either the athlete refuses to take a break from structured training or, in complete contrast, the athlete lets loose and all good lifestyle habits fall out the window.

Keeping in mind that you don't have to be an athlete (training for an event) to live a healthy lifestyle, maintaining healthy lifestyle habits throughout the off-season not only provides you great benefit in prep for your upcoming season but it's a requirement to living a healthy life - reducing risk for disease, maintaining a healthy body weight/composition and improving mental health.

The biggest mistake(s) that I see athletes making in the transition to the off-season is going from being extreme and all-in to being inactive and apathetic for nutritious eating. If this is the case, two things are to blame.

1. You were too disciplined, strict and obsessive with your training and eating during the season. You denied yourself from socializing, having fun and eating certain foods too much during the season that now you feel the need to enjoy those things that were previously off-limit.
   
2. You forgot to establish/maintain good lifestyle habits prior to and during peak training. You failed at meal prepping, planning ahead, learning how to plan balanced meals and creating sustainable habits that will keep you healthy and well. 

The off-season should not be used as an excuse to excessively overindulge in large amounts of nutrient-empty foods such as cakes, candy, chips, ice cream, cookies and sugary drinks. The off-season is not the time in the year when you should increase alcohol consumption, forgo restful sleep, binge on television shows on the sofa, skip meals, diet, overwork yourself, not drink enough water and stay up way past your bedtime.

Bearing in mind that doing something unhealthy often develops into a habit, take advantage of the off-season as a prime opportunity to enjoy a relaxing break from structured training. Be ok with your body changing from "race weight" (the body that enabled you to feel athletically ready to compete - not a number on the scale or a look) to a healthy body (a body that can function well in life, free of sickness and disease - it's not a look or a number on a scale). Take care of your body during the off-season for a healthy, rested and rejuvinated body in the off-season means you've created a solid foundation to build from when you start your training for the upcoming season.

And remember, you don't have to be an athlete to live a healthy lifestyle. Health first, then performance.

To fuel or not to fuel?

                                                

The off-season/foundation phase presents itself with a unique opportunity in your season where training volume and intensity is relatively low and thus, you don't expend a great amount of calories. This is a perfect time to break away from relying on engineered sport nutrition products to get you through your workouts and to see your daily diet as the fuel for your workouts.
In other words, sport nutrition will play a very small role in your training routine. 

However, I feel this is where many athletes eat and train with confusion.

I'm sure you have been told that you don't need to eat before a workout in the off-season/foundation phase or you should avoid all sport nutrition during workouts, to burn more fat, in the off-season/foundation phase.

While there's scientific research to support that working out fasted has an extra metabolic response where you metabolize more fat, improve insulin sensitivity and increase lean muscle mass, it's important to remember that scientific research is great for providing results but not every research study may apply to you.

As an athlete, your best performance enhancement is having consistently great workouts where the body is not limited in energy but also being able to maintain a healthy diet, all day, every day.

There are several types of athletes who I feel will receive no benefit from fasted workouts as they can actually cause a cascade of negative health and performance issues.

Do you/Are you....
-Experience hypoglycemia during a workout
-Overcoming an eating disorder
-Struggling with disordered eating
-Struggling with body image issues
-Overeat later in the day
-Experience great carb cravings later in the day
-Fast for reward food/overindulging after a workout
-Have never trained the gut to tolerate food before the workout
-A new athlete who is trying to develop consistent training and healthy eating patterns
-Struggle to get through workout without feeling lightheaded/dizzy/moody/low energy
-Experience a blackout/foggy sensation during workouts
-Get sick easily (weak immune system) or get injured easily (fragile body)
-Experience great hunger during a workout
-Diabetic athlete
-Health issues (organs, bones, heart, brain, etc.)
-You've tried it before and you feel you perform better and make better food choices when you aren't fasted

Sadly, many athletes in the above category are brainwashed to believe that they must perform fasted workouts to become more fat adapted and thus all symptoms will improve, paces will drop, heart rate will be more controlled and fat will melt off the body. And, if athletes are still feeling issues by performing a workout fasted, they aren't doing it right, they need to give it more time or it's proof that they are a horrible fat burner.

So what do you do if you are one of the above types of athletes I listed and you need to eat before a workout and maybe even take in a little extra energy during your workout?

Will it ruin all of your hopes and dreams for your 2017 season if you chew on a few energy chews during a run or sip on a 100 calorie sport drink during a 90 minute bike ride?

Believe it or not but Karel and I eat before all of our workouts, 365 days a year.
We also continue to use engineered sport nutrition products for our longer (60+ min) workouts (or intense short workouts), throughout our entire season. 

Does this make us unhealthy?
Are we inefficient at burning fat?
Are we overlooking the best way to take our performance to that next level?

Ironically, we don't bonk in workouts or in races, we don't experience GI issues in training or on race day, we never get sick, we don't overeat, we have great consistency in our diet, we have never had a stress fracture and we have great consistency in our training.
I'd say we are doing something right and that's because we have figured out what works best for us. We are one of those athletes in my above list, in that we have better workouts when we eat before our workouts.

I'm not anti-fasted workouts but I believe that it's not for every athlete and certainly, it's most appropriate to apply in the off-season/foundation phase for only the easy workouts.
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NEVER take in calories before or during a workout less than 90 minutes!!!!
I often shake my head when I read statements like this, from coaches and nutrition experts to never ever take in calories before or during workouts less than 90 minutes - "you simply don't need them", says the expert. 

You certainly do not need the same calorie intake before and during your workouts in the foundation phase/off-season as you would peak season (as that is the basis of periodizing your sport nutrition) but statements like this confuse athletes because there could be times during your off-season when it would be of value to take in calories during the workout AND you could be an athlete where fasted workouts will be of no benefit to your body right now in your development.

I understand that the topic is confusing, especially if you are looking to the off-season to change your body composition or to break yourself from a long season of sugary sweet sport nutrition concoctions and there's so much talk on metabolic efficiency.

But you are in control of your body. I say this with sincerity because whatever fuel strategy you choose in the foundation phase, it should help you move closer to your performance goals. And that means training consistently and eating well, on a daily basis.
Never should you "not fuel" for the sake of losing weight or because someone told you not to fuel. If you are an athlete and you want to get the most out of your body, even in the early phase of training, consider using food to help you have great workouts and to encourage healthy eating throughout the day.

Although this blog post started as an off-season topic, I find this "fuel smart" topic more relevant for the Foundation phase or your "post season/first phase" of training as this is often the time of training when you are easing back into structured training, your workouts are specific, you can start training your gut to tolerate food before and during workouts, you need to stay healthy to stay consistent and your focus is on getting stronger and fine-tuning the basics before you next more intense phase of training. 

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picture source

The big takeaway from this blog is to not let scientific research, a nutrition expert or an article tell you what you should or shouldn't do as it relates to nourishing or fueling your body.
While there are many sport nutrition recommendations available, it is important that you listen to your body and understand your own body signals, to figure out what works best for you.
Also, be mindful that a past version of you may be different than a new version of you. So if you are hanging on to old nutrition strategies, you may need a nutrition professional to help you figure out your new/different metabolic needs.

Even if someone tells you that you don't need to fuel before and during a workout, it's OK if you decide to go against the crowd and do what works best for you.
As an athlete, you need to make choices that keep you healthy and you move you closer to your health and performance goals.

If you are still confused on fueling in the foundation phase/off-season, let's work together.
By reviewing your current training and eating strategies, we can quickly figure out which workouts require fuel during and how much to eat before and after workouts.

Trimarni Nutrition Consult

Post Ironman Kona "long" ride

Look...mountains! 

It's crazy to think that it was just a week ago when we were swimming with fishes in the ocean, and sweating in the lava fields.

This past Saturday, we returned back to our mountains (with arm warmers) and explored a new route on two wheels (on road bikes).

I absolutely LOVE cycling this time of the year - the tree leaves are so pretty!

Our route was familiar to me as I had rode it at the Purple Patch Fitness (PPF) Greenville camp but it was new to Karel. It's crazy to think that we have lived here in Greenville for 2.5 years and have never done the  Green River Cove loop together!!

I am absolutely in love with this 20-mile loop! The beauty, the switchbacks, the descends, the climbing, the flat roads, the river views, the nice pavement, the quite roads, the mountains...it has everything a cyclist should love when riding on two wheels!

Seeing that we will ride this loop at the end of the 80-mile Hincapie Gran Fondo next Saturday (following climbing Skyuka mountain and Howard's gap), it was nice to preview it for an "easy" ride. 

3 hours and 15 minutes, 51 miles and around 4000 feet of climbing......so much fun!

Since Karel is always so kind to let me stay (suffer) on his wheel when he is training, I took some of the pulls to help out his tender, post IM Kona legs.

We hardly ever drive our bikes anywhere as we can ride safely from our doorstep to our favorite country roads, but to eliminate an extra 30+ miles of riding, we drove to Hotel Domestique and started our ride around 9:30am from the hotel (it's also a popular place where many cyclists start their group rides - also the home base for the Purple Patch Fitness Greenville camp). 

Here are some of the pictures I took from our ride.

I absolutely love riding here in Greenville - it's hard for me to not take more pictures! 

Karel is slowly recovering from IM Kona. He is slowly getting back to a normal sleep routine, his appetite is in full force and he has some deep fatigue in his quads. His training (exercise routine) is minimal as he is finally able to fully rest (and reset) his body after a long season of training and racing. 

This recovery is a bit different than the last two Ironman's this summer for a few reasons:

It's the off-season.

No more races until next season.

It's a true break from structured training.

Thinking about the recovery post Ironman, there are many factors that contribute to how quickly an athlete can recover from his/her 140.6 mile effort. Factors like racing intensity, nutrition (daily diet), fueling/hydrating (during the race), prior training/fitness, taper, execution, weather and race course terrain can all dictate how well an athlete can recover before he/she can slowly ease back into more structured training. 

But when your Ironman occurs at the end of the season, it can hit you hard - mentally and physically. Karel and I discussed this topic in great detail during our ride (despite 4000 feet of climbing, we kept the ride pretty conversational.....until Karel made me sprint up the last climb up to Hotel D!). There are a obvious and not-so-obvious strategies of how to transition from Ironman in training to Ironman finisher to finally, an athlete in the off-season.....where you instantly don't feel like an athlete anymore!

Don't over analyze your race. Reflect and then move on.

You are not lazy or out of shape. You are an athlete in his/her off-season.

Pick out the highlight moments in your race experience and keep reminding yourself of those successes.

Determine your weaknesses that were evident in your last race and decide your action plan on how you will continually work on them. 

Start planning your next season of racing.

Don't become sedentary - stay active with non-structured exercise that doesn't reflect triathlon "training".

Don't bash your body or diet/restrict calories. Thank your body and establish smart, realistic and sustainable healthy eating patterns that reflect your current exercise regime.

Plan more fun stuff - go for a hike, kayak/ski, travel, vacation, volunteer.

Select fun low stress, minimal impact events (5K, 10K, bike events, swim events, etc.) to keep yourself motivated.

Recruit your favorite (or new) exercise partners (ex. family or friends) to keep you motivated to work out for health benefits and stress relief.

When you recover, don't train for a running race. Start functional strength training.

Keep yourself "in the sport" - follow blogs, read articles, subscribe to magazines. Don't completely "check out" of the sport.

Give yourself a break - you deserve a break from structured training. Create a new normal and enjoy it. Don't wake up and live each day with guilt and a deep feeling that you should be doing more. There will be a time to train hard, set an alarm for an early wake-up, go to bed early and make sacrifices. Your off-season is not that time. 

Be ok with this temporary, but necessary, time to let your body fully recover and rejuvenate.

Preparing for base phase training

There are many names to describe the phase that occurs between the end of a racing season and the start of more structured, specific training stress. 

For the sake of the masses identifying with this blog topic, I used the word "base" phase in this blog post but as you may know, we use the word "transition" as well as "foundation" to describe the first phase after the off-season.

Other coaches have different names for this phase. For example, Matt Dixon with Purple Patch Fitness uses the word "post-season".

The transition (base) phase of training is critical to athlete development. As I mentioned in my previous blog post, preparation for an event is more than just putting in the miles.

As athletes, we are always developing and we are always training in some capacity.
In order to maximize fitness, season after season, it is important to follow a periodized training plan that allows for progression. There must be specific emphasis on peak season training as well as the training to start the season.

Within Trimarni, we create plans that are organized in a way that our athletes are developing skills, endurance and strength before progressing with more intense or longer training.

Therefore, it is important that coaches and athletes see each phase of training as a progression from the previous phase. 

A periodized training plan sets you up for a great performance at your most important events throughout the season. 

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With the off-season emphasizing little to no activity for many athletes, with a combined freedom to indulge a bit more than normal, it is extremely important that you are taking the right steps to prepare your body for your next phase of training. 

I often relate to the transition phase as the beginnings of building a house. No matter the size of the house, the price of the house or the builder of the house, every single house requires a strong foundation.  Without a strong foundation, the house will break apart overtime.

Would you buy a house if the builders rushed through the foundation? How would you feel if the house you have desired to live in for the next 10 years was built by construction workers who liked to take short-cuts, just to get the final product done faster than their competitors?

Regardless of how many years you have been training as an athlete in your sport of choice, we all need an off-season and we all need to follow that part of the season with a return to the basics, addressing weaknesses and of course, laying down the foundation to which upcoming training stress will be placed onto the body. 

For many athletes, the off-season is a challenging time in that an athlete either does too much or does too little. And for many athletes, there is an uncomfortable feeling relating to diet, body image and lack of structured activity.
It's really hard to get the off-season right but maybe that's because there is no right way. But you do need an off-season.
Every athlete is different and the goals of the off-season for one athlete do not have to match the goals of another athlete. Also, each season may follow with a different off-season. This year, I returned to light structured training after 3 weeks of an off-season (after Kona) but in 2014, I took 6 voluntary weeks off with very little exercise. 

So as you think about your next phase of training and perhaps, begin to get excited to train with more structure again, I find it extremely important to encourage you to make sure that your body is in great health before you begin training again.
You do not have to have race day fitness or a race day body image when you finish your off-season but you should be in good health before starting your next phase of training.

Although a mental and physical break are necessary for a smooth progression from one season to the next, it is important that you see the off-season as an integral part of your athletic development. We don't want to make the off-season too long as you do not lose all that you gained in the previous season. And when your off-season is over, it is important to have a smart return to training by building your foundation as you focus on getting stronger before trying to get faster, before going longer.
Not just training where you left off with high volume or high intensity.  

Regardless of what your off-season looks like or what you call your first phase of training post off-season, it is important that you set yourself up for a great start to next season with the following off-season tips:

-Even with the holiday season approaching, it is important that you address your daily diet. Every day, you should be focused on eating a wholesome diet to help nourish your body and keep your immune system in optimal health.

-Now is a great time to work on your relationship with food and your body when the training stress is low. Do not overlook how important it is to maintain a healthy relationship with food and your body throughout the season.

-Be sure to stay hydrated....with water, all day, ever day.

-Focus on good sleep habits and good stress management.

-As you approach your first phase of training (foundation/transition phase), you should not feel as if your training is extremely structured right now. Exercise to maintain a comfortable level of fitness but your lifestyle should not look like you are in peak training (early season is not the time to make sacrifices in life just to train).

-Create a positive workout environment. Be sure your workout space at home is ready for consistent training, you have reviewed pool lane availability times, you consider the days that are best for certain workouts, you are prepared emotionally and mentally for more structure in your day-to-day life (and you have communicated this with your spouse/significant other) and you are ready to make investments to train smarter.

-If you are dealing with any niggles/injuries/sickness - address it, consult a professional and take care of it now. 

As an athlete, you likely live a very structured life and you like to have a plan. 

Preparing for your upcoming season is more than just following a plan and checking off workouts.
There's a lot that you need to focus on between workouts to ensure consistency in training with a healthy body.

As you give your mind and body a break from training, your health is top priority in your off-season.

As you approach your first phase of training, be sure you are prepared for it.
Take care of your body now so it will take care of you next season.

Road bike fun in the off-season

After spending the past 10 years living all over Florida (Davie, New Port Richey, Dunedin, Jacksonville) I welcomed our first experience (in a long time) of seasons when we moved to Greenville, SC in May 2014. By October, the trees were changing colors and the weather was getting cooler.

We are now getting our second opportunity to enjoy the fall season and like most triathletes, the fall coincides with the off-season.

Whereas cyclists often swap out the road bike for a mountain and/or fixie for cross training, the off-season for triathletes is a great opportunity to improve cycling skills and to have some fun on two wheels....without being in an aero position. 

Although it is not required that you rush out and buy a road bike (the sport of triathlon is expensive enough as it is with one bike!), if a road bike purchase is an option or you have been neglecting your road bike in your garage/storage room over the past year, I highly recommend giving your triathlon bike an off-season break as you appreciate riding a road bike in the off-season. 

If you have ever gone on a ride with Karel or seen him in a race, it wouldn't be a shocker to guess that Karel comes from a cycling background. After spending almost 2 decades of his life on a road bike as a bike racer, Karel uses his previous cycling experience when he trains and races on his triathlon bike....now that he has transitioned to the dark-side and rides a tri bike.

Although Karel is still trying to master the balance of being strong on the bike and being able to run strong off the bike, the biggest difference between Karel and many other triathletes is how well he can ride his triathlon bike due to his exceptional bike handling skills. 

Even though I have learned a lot from Karel (relating to triathlon training/racing) in our 9.5 years together, he wouldn't hesitate to tell you how horrible of a bike rider I was when we met. Over the years, however, I improved my confidence on the bike but I am no where near the level of Karel. 

Every season, I find myself more comfortable and efficient on my tri bike which ultimately helps me cycle stronger and run better off the bike. 

But because of the set-up of a road bike (versus a tri bike), it is much easier to control a road bike in all terrain, especially descending and cornering. At all types of speeds and in all types of road/weather conditions, it is much easier to maneuver a road bike on the road versus a triathlon bike.

Additionally, when riding a road bike, you are engaging the hamstrings a lot more than on a triathlon bike and because of the seat position relative to the handlebars, a different hip angle on the road bike works the glutes a bit differently with every pedal stroke to develop stronger glute muscles.  Also, it is easy to work on pedal efficiency while riding a road bike.

Lastly, because of the set-up of a road bike, bike handling skills are easy to work on which translates well to better triathlon bike handling skills. As examples - grabbing/rotating bottles, riding with one hand, riding in the wind, taking corners, descending, etc.

Here are three of our top tips for triathletes who have a road bike:

1) Enjoy your off-season on a road bike. For most triathletes, this will last 4-6 weeks. It's ok if you don't get on your tri-bike during this time but it's also ok if you want to get on your tri bike for a few rides. Use this time to have fun on two wheels and to work on your skills.

Also, consider joining a group ride (at a similar fitness level) for a fun riding experience. If you are riding in a group setting for the first time, let others know as they can give you some tips.

2) When you transition into your more structured training training after the off-season, we suggest to transition back to your triathlon bike to begin to wake-up and train your primary triathlon muscles. Because muscle memory is so important throughout the season, it is important to train on your primary racing bike for the majority of your bike workouts in your training plan.
But because you can still benefit from riding a road bike in the first month or two of your training plan (after the off-season), an option is to dedicate your weekly rides to your tri bike (or set-up your tri bike on the trainer if you typically train indoors in the winter) and to enjoy your road bike every now and then for a longer ride on the weekend Certainly, you can switch this up based on weather and your training regime. Ideally, after 4-8 weeks of more structured training at the start of your season, you will want to dedicate all of your bike training to your tri bike (with the occasional easy spin or group  ride on the road bike). 

3) Work on your skills and get comfortable being uncomfortable. It's far too common that triathletes can get themselves extremely fit through indoor riding but lack the skills and confidence to ride a triathlon bike safely and efficiently in a straight line outside and around other athletes. Allow yourself a break as you don't always have to be on your bike with a mindset to just "train." You can never do too many skill-focused workouts on the bike. Whereas the off-season presents you with many opportunities to change up your normal cycling training routine so that you can exercise on any type of bike, triathletes who need to improve cycling skills should spend at least one or two sessions per week (10-30 minutes) during the season just working on specific cycling skills on the tri bike.

Here is a great video with a few skills to work on (in addition to descending, position and corning) - remember, safety first!!

How's your off-season relationship with food?

The off-season weight debate is a serious topic of conversation at the end of the racing season. Year after year, athletes, dietitians, nutrition experts personal trainers and coaches continue to justify the reasons for intentional (or unintentional) weight gain at the conclusion of the racing season, which is then often followed by the dietary rules and methods of intentional weight loss/maintenance in the early phases of the training season.

Yet rarely, if ever, do we hear about the importance of having a healthy relationship with food and how your relationship with food throughout the entire season affects overall health, sport nutrition choices/methods and daily dietary choices. 

If anything, all athletes should FIRST learn how to have a healthy relationship with food prior to even discussing methods of improving sport nutrition, body composition or overall health.

Before talking about how to improve your relationship with food during the off-season, I would like to discuss two main reasons as to why I feel athletes struggle with their relationship with food (which consequently starts or follows an unhealthy relationship with body image). 

THE START OF YOUR SEASON

It was not even a year ago when social media was flooded with athletes who were gushing over their new amazing "lifestyle" by eliminating gluten and dairy (without a clinical reason for doing so), going Paleo or Whole30 or starting a new training/fueling/diet regime in order to burn more fat and to become more metabolically efficient. I wouldn't be surprised that in less than two months, it will all happen again.

It wasn't too much later in the racing season (but more so this summer) when social media became rather quite as many athletes we no longer enjoying their diet as they felt unhealthy or less fit (as in, performance was not improving or declining). Additionally, many female athletes were experiencing health issues relating to their metabolism, bone and thyroid health.

In other words - the diet was no longer working, helping or maintainable. 

It is very unfortunate how these annual, New Year food trends destroy an athletes' relationship with food. Sure, it may look very tempting (and necessary) to jump-on a diet train when the start of your training plan falls soon after the holiday season as a previously very flexible "off season" workout routine, coupled with splurges and indulges, can leave you ancy for a quick fix.

And to make things easier, much of the world (non-athletes) are thinking just like you in that a drastic change combined with extreme determination is the best way to start the year. Because of this, there is information, a plan and even products to support your dietary/body composition endeavors which is why so many athletes follow a diet plan sometime in the off-season.

But as we all know, these extreme eating habits have the potential to completely disrupt any opportunity of you creating or maintaining a healthy relationship with food during your season and are not beneficial for your performance - so why see them as an option?

If you have a past history with trying diet fads or following extreme diets or eliminating food, you constantly experience great fear of certain foods, food groups or nutrients, worry about eating the wrong things at the wrong times, associate guilt with your eating, feel like no matter how much you workout and reduce calories you can't lose weight or feel like you are constantly unhappy with your body, the off-season may leave you in a very vulnerable position to be a sucker for diet fads/trends at the start of your season.

In the off-season, when training volume/intensity is reduced and you can live a much less stressful and busy lifestyle, this is a great time to develop a healthy relationship with food and to begin to love your amazing body. You can focus on yourself without having to focus on a race but it is important that you do not focus on what other people are doing. 

Would you believe me when I said that there a lot of athletes who eat gluten, drink milk, eat before workouts, use sport nutrition, drink on a schedule (and not to thirst) while working out and not only perform well but maintain a very healthy body composition throughout the season?

It wouldn't be hard for you to find theses athletes too as they do exist - lots of them - and this includes many professional athletes!

I know it sounds crazy (as the nutrition experts don't want you to believe it) but dieting and restrictive eating have no place in an athletes diet (or vocabulary).  

Every athlete must customize a diet and fueling regime that works for individual goals. 

In summary, starting the off-season or New Year by following a mass marketed diet or restrictive eating plan in an effort to lose weight, jump-start a healthier lifestyle or to improve fitness, will only increase the risk that you may have an unhealthy relationship with food during your training and racing season - when food is no longer just viewed as nourishment but also for fuel. 

If you currently have an ongoing struggle (or fear) with food, please avoid any and all diet plans in your off-season as they are simply an easy means so that you can control underlying issues. They do not fix the your food problems, they only exacerbate the issues.

It is time to get to the root of the problem which is likely your current relationship with food and your body as an athlete. 

THE END OF YOUR SEASON

Did you experience an injury at some point during your training prep leading up to your last race?

Did you finish your season burnt out or with a subpar performance at your last race?

Did you feel you reached a race weight that left you unhealthy and improperly nourished?

Did you struggle with your weight throughout the season and still feel as if your body composition is a limiter in your overall health and/or training/racing?

OR

Did you feel comfortable with your body image at the end of the season?

Regardless of your body composition, did you experience a great result at your end of the season race?

Did you feel strong, healthy and fit throughout your season and feel like your composition has not be a limiter all season?

Depending on how you answered the above questions, this will directly affect your relationship with food in the off-season. Because weight is not a simple topic that can be "fixed" with a simple method or strategy for the masses, it is important to ask yourself how the last few months of training/racing or your last race performance may be affecting your current "off-season" relationship with food.

There is a great association between body image, performance and dietary choices in the off season but as we all know, this is not limited to the months when we are not gearing up for a race.

Athletes are constantly bashing and criticizing their body for being the reason for injuries, poor performances and not reaching expectations or goals and this needs to stop.

 It is very important that athletes and "experts" are sensitive to this fact when it comes to chiming-in on the "off-season" weight and diet conversation as an athlete who was injured during the season, has a poor performance at his/her last race, struggles with his/her body image or has struggled with his/her weight all season is going to have a very different relationship with his/her body at the start of the off-season compared to an athlete who had a great training/racing season, feels healthy or in the best shape ever.

Because of this, body image concerns may drive eating choices/behaviors as some athletes will indulge responsibly whereas others will restrict food.

Depending on how you finished your season, it is very important that you take the time to recognize what your body has allowed you to do and to give your body some credit.

Next, identify what's driving your dietary choices in the off-season? Are you allowing your current body image/composition or lack of a training routine from helping you make smart food choices?

 Certainly, it is important that no matter your body composition or performance at the end of the season, you have the power to develop a healthy relationship  with food in the off-season and you always focus on eating for health.

No matter your off-season weight/body composition goals, all foods in your diet should make you feel good when you eat and after you eat.

Next up - I will discuss a few simple steps on how you can improve your relationship with food in the off-season. 

Reflect, Rejuvenate, Refuel - it's the off-season!

I'm currently finalizing the last parts of the newest pre-built plan at Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition. The Trimarni 5-week off season transition phase training plan includes 5 weeks of strength training, hip/core work, specific workouts for swim, bike and run to improve form and efficiency as well as 5 weeks of nutrition tips!! This plan has taken a while to put together but I am so excited to offer it to athletes and fitness enthusiasts in the next few weeks to help everyone improve the chance of having a great consistent 2014 season.

In the mean time...enjoy my latest article from my monthly column at Irongirl.com

Reflect, Rejuvenate, Refuel in the Off-Season
By Marni Sumbal, MS, RD, LD/N
Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition, LLC

Hard works feels amazing when it pays off. Although training for an event can be hard on the body,  the positive energy that you receive at a finish line is worth all the sacrifices.  

It's important that your off-season compliments your racing season. The key to the off-season is to enjoy a well-needed break from structured activity but to not lose the fitness that you gained throughout last year.

Here are a few tips on how you can feel great about your 4-6 week, planned off-season:

Reflect
How'd you feel about last season? Did you try a new event or distance or are you still chasing a PR or podium spot? Address any limiters that can be worked on with strength training, flexibility or with a change in your weekly routine. As you plan for next season's races, consider weather, terrain, time of the year and distance to highlight your strengths.

Rejuvenate
Save your energy for when it counts. You do not need to be "in the best shape possible" 365 days a year. To get faster and stronger, the body needs training stress so the off-season is the perfect time to exercise just for health benefits. Consider trying something new to meet other fitness enthusiasts or, take an active trip. Although strength training, hip and core work is recommend year round, the off-season is the perfect time to reduce risk for injury and improve power with strength training, functional exercises and/or plyometrics.

Refuel  The celebratory post-race foods should only last a few days until your body will request a more balanced, nutrient dense diet. Whereas many athletes fear the off-season for unintentional weight gain due to reduced training volume, I recommend looking forward to the off-season as a time to develop a healthy relationship with food, to discover your culinary creativity and to get to know your body and true hunger signals when you aren't excessively burning calories. Learn to create a more real food diet which is filled with lots of seasonal fruits and veggies and complimented with whole grains and fiber-rich starches, quality protein and heart healthy fats. If you struggled with energy/fatigue, body composition and/or your relationship with food and the body during the past year, consider using this time to work with a dietitian that specializes in sport nutrition.  

  

 Irongirl.com