My personal Do’s & Don’ts during off-season
Off-season is the time after I finished the last race or challenge of my season. This phase is typically between 1-3 months long. It’s the time to really let my body and mind recuperate because training and doing ultra endurance challenges takes a toll on the body and mind. So it’s crucial to have a proper reset after a strenuous season. This may sound heavenly to most people but for me it’s actually challenging. I love having a routine, knowing what workout I’m going to do the next morning and prepare everything the evening before.
In the beginning, I struggled a lot to reduce my training volume and fell into an off-season blues. So I developed my own toolbox with Do’s & Don’ts during the off-season that work for me. Perhaps there are a few ideas that will also work for you. Give it a go.
Here are my personal Do’s & Don’ts during the off-season:
Do’s
Change watch strap to a different colour (the colour of my watch straps symbolises the phase I am in; i.e. yellow means off-season, white means I’m on a training block and turquoise means taper and race day)
Train and move as I feel like; sometimes I just feel like dancing so I dance for an hour at home
More cross training; i.e. bouldering, cycling, and I’ve always wanted to try kayaking (I’ll give that a go soon)
More weight lifting sessions in the gym
Simply having fun during training and not looking at my watch if I’m hitting my training goals
Having only a very rough idea about my weekly training volume to maintain my fitness level
More socialising and evening activities
Re-arranging my vision board so it shows the new focus during off-season
Participating in retreats to reflect, reset and connect with myself and others
Still getting up early because I simply love it
Don’ts
Track training progress; I only add my typical journal notes to Strava and notebooks because I love journaling but I don’t use my usual, comprehensive tracking spreadsheet
Being on a training plan
Thinking about the next race or challenge
Undernourishing; I easily can fall into the trap of thinking because I’m not on a training plan, I have to eat less. Absolute non-sense. I’m still training a lot and I need to make sure to nourish by body properly so it can recuperate
Having a specific training goal in mind
Watching too many inspiring and motivational trail running and triathlon documentaries because I really need to let my mind recuperate too and not think about upcoming challenges
Listening to workout specific playlists (I have different playlists for each challenge, race and workout types)
Have you booked your off-season retreat yet?
After a strenuous season of running, it’s time to soothe both body and mind. I partnered up with the wonderful Grace who will guide you through a beautiful heart opening yoga flow, starting with breath work followed by sauna and supper.
View all the retreat details here and secure your spot.