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. 

Nailing the off-season

There was a time in my triathlon season when I thought that the off-season meant that I deserved an extended amount of time (4-6 weeks) of no structured training - a complete break from all things swim/bike/run. This extended break from training provided me with a great physical and mental escape from the monotony of training but I came to realize that this break was too long for me - mentally and physically.

My next approach to managing the triathlon off-season was to put all of my energy, focus and time into running. Living in Florida made this easy as there were countless half and full marathon events to choose from in October until February. Although I enjoyed a run-focus block of training, I never found this strategy to be beneficial to my triathlon development. I also discovered that during this time of reduced swim and bike training, I was very prone to injuries and chronic niggles, which ultimately affected my triathlon training come March.

The next (and most recent) strategy that I applied to the off-season was to take a short break (2 weeks) from structured training after my last race of the season and then ease myself into my first structured block of training for the following season (Foundation phase). While this strategy proved to be extremely beneficial for my triathlon development, I didn't really have an opportunity to enjoy the off-season to its fullest. Two weeks was too short of a break.

Ironman Chattanooga was 3.5 weeks ago and I feel healthy, motivated and energized to get back into structured training yet I have refrained from sticking to any structured type of training. Although I have remained very active over the last few weeks, I am still respecting the fact that I am in the off-season and I mentally and physically need a break. I am having a lot of fun during this off-season and although I am still swimming, biking and running, there is little pressure to "have to" train. I have not been on my triathlon bike since IM Choo as I am having a blast on my road bike - no structure on two wheels and just riding for fun with Karel (and friends). Plus, our amazingly pleasant fall weather has made it easy to stay active (Karel is really enjoying his mountain bike). I took seven days off running after IM Choo and since then, my longest run has been about an hour but most of my runs are around 20-40 minutes (with no structure). I am even including some hiking and walking into my exercise regime in an effort to keep the overall stress on my body as low as possible. Lastly, I have been in the pool a lot because well, I love to swim! Not only are we having fun with a new coached group swim at Furman on Sunday evenings (5-6:15pm) but it's been fun to have "short"swim sets around 2000-3200 yards. And once the residual fatigue from the IM wore away, I found myself craving weight training again so we are back in the gym, having some "fun" with weights/machines for 15-20 minutes, a few times per week. Lastly, I am enjoying more time in my kitchen and with so many delicious fall ingredients, I am excited for new food creations.

There have been few alarms set over the past 3.5 weeks as I don't want to feel the pressure to have to get up and train. There's a lot of freedom in my exercise routine which has kept me motivated and excited for 2018 but also not exhausted from the previous season. To be honest, Karel and I both finished IM Choo and a few days later, we didn't feel like we wanted our season to end - we both felt like we had more energy to give to the sport this year. Oh well, I guess we will need to bottle up that energy for 2018.

The key to nailing my off season this year was keeping myself moving after IM Choo. I wanted to feel a nice flow from the 2017 season to the 2018 without a drastic change to my lifestyle. The ongoing exercise post Ironman really helped with my recovery but also helped with my mood and mental health. Although I feel like I am maintaining my fitness from 2017, I also feel like I have escaped from the regimented type of training that got me into great shape this past season.

Every athlete is different and it's important to recognize your own path of self-discovery. I don't feel that I did anything wrong in the past but instead, I learned from my past to figure out what works and what doesn't work. The most important thing that I have learned about the off-season is that athletic development occurs season after season. Consistency is key to athletic excellence. So while every athlete deserves and needs a physical and mental break from training, you don't want your break to be too long that you lose all the fitness that you worked so hard to gain in the previous season. Additionally, I find the off-season to be a great time to improve lifestyle habits (like sleep and diet) instead of seeing it as a time to completely let loose and let all good habits wash away.

Karel and I are super pumped about the Hincapie Gran Fondo on Saturday as it will be so much fun to ride our road bikes for 80 miles without having to worry about saving any energy to run off the bike. We live in a fantastic area for cycling and I can't wait to get out into nature and enjoy the mountain views. Although this is a group event, I can't help but go into this event with a "racing" mindset.

Immediately after IM Choo, I started setting bigger goals for myself in 2018. Because I am not making any extreme changes to my training or diet next season, I look forward to taking my accumulated 2017 fitness into next season. My motivation and excitement is high for next year and I can't wait to get back into structured training in a few weeks as I start building my foundation to ensure strength, resilience and great health for next year.

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