The Off Season
for runners (and the rest of us): health first!
I trained my butt off this fall, building my running up through the summer to prepare for a 50k trail race at the beginning of October. All that training carried me over the finish line of a super challenging goal event feeling strong. It felt awesome. Then I ate a burrito, slept in the car on the way home, and thought about how nice it would be to have Saturday mornings free again. After that huge build up of back-to-back weekend long runs, I felt tired, accomplished-- and ready for a break.
Why seasons matter (for athletes and everyone else)
If you grew up playing sports, you had a built-in structure: fall, winter, spring. Maybe it was football, basketball, soccer. Or cross country, indoor, outdoor. You focused on something for a few months, you had a little break, then you focused on something else. Maybe you even took the whole summer off and just did whatever seemed fun (cannonball!!).
As adults, though, we seem to just drift through the year, trying to stick to a routine. Maybe we train for a race, then another. Maybe we just keep grinding it out with no particular direction. It turns into a lot of same old, same old.
And we wonder why we can't stick to it. Why we lose enthusiasm. Why we stop seeing results. Why we get injured and burned out. Why we're feeling so BLAH.
Our brains and our bodies respond well to periods of planned work and planned rest. Focus on a project, then regroup. Peak for a race, then recover. Despite the constant messages we get about always optimizing everything and striving for peak productivity all the time, this isn't the way we function best. We adapt (read: grow) when we get the right combination of stress and rest.
Seasons are an intuitive and practical way to implement this structure over the course of a year. As kids, this was often built in to our lives. As adults, though, we might have to be deliberate about it.
Think in years, not days
So, how do you regain the rhythm of the seasons as an adult? Here's an idea: leave room for your focus-- and your fitness-- to ebb and flow a little throughout the year. You might develop your fitness with intense focus leading up to an event, then back off a little. You might do scaled-back workouts for a few months while you're working on a big project at work, then get back at it after that deadline's over. You might work on increasing your endurance one year. You might feel better focusing on strength another year. There's room for all of this, and you don't have to do it all at once. You don't have to keep stacking one thing on top of another-- it's OK to put some things on the back burner sometimes.
It's easy to fall prey to the messages of grind culture-- if you're not moving forwards, you've moving backwards, they say. If you ran a 2 hour marathon, you should shoot for 1:50. If you ran a 50k, you should do a 50 miler. No rest for the wicked. More, more, more. I call shenanigans. Widen the lens and think about your health and athletic development for the long haul. Where were you a year ago? Where do you want to go in the next year? Five? Twenty? Why are you doing this, anyway?
What else fits in the frame?
As the big fall races trickle off and winter looms, many runners will feel at loose ends. Now is a great time to zoom out! Without the singular focus on a race, what else can you find room for? What might contribute to your overall health and well-being (and maybe get you ready for the next challenge, when it's time)?
Rest! Actual, honest-to-goodness rest. Especially if you trained and peaked for a big event, but even if you just had a busy few months at work or at home. Try taking a few weeks without any intense training. Try sleeping more than you usually do. Try reading trashy novels. What does rest feel like for you? Do that.
Get your shit together. It is totally OK to focus on a goal to the detriment of some other areas of your life. When the goal is done, though, go pick up the pieces. Did you skip a teeth cleaning? Postpone date night a few times? Get that stuff in order now.
Brain training. The brain is a huge part of both the performance side of exercise and the health benefits side. One thing that bridges them together? Mindfulness. Do some reading, take a class, try a meditation app. Find a way to explore these practices that resonates with you.
Nutrition. I will never not talk about nutrition. What needs replenishing? What needs building? What do you LIKE? This is a great time to look at the staples in your diet and review what your needs are. Maybe get some bloodwork if it's been a while. Refresh your recipe rotation with some seasonal stuff (brussels sprouts, winter squash, citrus!). Eat some foods you love-- enjoyment is an important part of nutrition, too.
Root out imbalances and underlying movement issues. Are you prone to niggles in a particular area? Notice anything that's always tight? Wondering how to fix that issue that seems to crop up every time you overdo it a little? Your off-season is the perfect time for some sessions with a PT, strength coach, trainer, or other movement expert.
Work on strength, mobility, and balance. We all know these are important, but show me a runner who doesn't skip them sometimes. Now that there's less pressure to stick to a training plan, or to get in all the miles, maybe some of these practices fit back in. You can steal ten minutes from your run. You can get them in first thing in the morning or right before bed. With a little breathing room in your training schedule, your excuses start to dwindle.
Diversify your portfolio. When you focus hard on one activity, as you likely do if you're training hard, you get strong in some areas-- and likely under-develop others. But there are benefits to all different kinds of fitness. So it's a great idea to round things out. Try out some fun fitness classes. Try other sports you've been meaning to explore (Cross-country skiing? Swimming? Rowing?)
Like you did on summer break when you were a kid-- focus on FUN. What sounds cool? Do that. Let fun, not your GPS watch, drive your decisions for a while.
So, that's a lot! You won't be bored. You won't languish. You won't lose all your fitness. And chances are, after a few weeks or months, you'll start to feel refreshed and inspired.
