The leaves are mostly down, the fall races are in the books, and the Lakewalk has that crisp “winter is coming” feel to it. For a lot of us, that means one thing – the season is OVER!
So now what?
If you’re anything like me, the first instinct after a goal race (once the soreness wears off, of course) is to start scrolling race calendars and dreaming up the next crazy endeavor. I totally get it. Running is fun, and taking time off can feel a little bit like watching all that hard-earned fitness slowly drain out of your legs.
But here’s the thing – rest isn’t the opposite of training. It IS training. And the off-season might just be the most underrated part of the entire running year.
Why Bother?
Your body has been through a lot. Months of building, long runs, workouts, early alarms/late-night headlamp runs, and then race day where you (hopefully) emptied the tank. Research has shown that the cellular and tissue damage from a marathon can take as much as two weeks to heal (here’s a good read on it), and that’s just the physical side of things.
Mentally, a long training block is a grind, even when you love it. The off-season gives your body AND your brain a chance to catch up. Skip it, and those little nagging aches have a funny way of following you right into next year’s training cycle (trust me, they don’t magically disappear on their own).
What It Looks Like
There’s no perfect formula here, but this is the general framework we use with our athletes:
1. Take real time off. Depending on the race, that could be a few days to a couple of weeks with little or no running. A 5k and a 50 miler are very different animals, so adjust accordingly. Walks, family hikes, easy bike rides? All fair game. Just keep the effort low and the fun high.
2. Come back easy. When you do start running again, keep it short and keep it SLOW. This is the perfect time to learn to shuffle – no pace goals, no watch-checking, just easy running because it feels good.
3. Do the stuff you skipped. Be honest…how many strength sessions got bumped during peak training? Same here. The off-season is a great time to build the habit back up. A few short sessions a week is plenty (check out this post for some easy ideas, along with Dr. Joey’s Achilles post for calf strengthening).
4. Go play. Snow will be here before we know it, which opens the door for snowshoe running, cross-country skiing, and all sorts of other backyard adventures. Mixing things up keeps the aerobic engine running while giving your running muscles a break.
5. Look back, then dream. Grab a cup of coffee and think through the season. What went well? What would you change? Which runs did you love the most? Once you’ve reflected a bit, THEN go ahead and start dreaming up next year’s goals 🙂
Your Fitness Isn’t Going Anywhere
This is the part that trips up a lot of runners. Your fitness does not disappear after a few days off, or even a couple of weeks. Years of consistent training don’t vanish because you took some time to recover – and coming back fresh and healthy beats coming back tired and banged up every single time.
This ties right into our coaching philosophy too. We’re committed to your long-term health and happiness, and that long-term mindset means zooming out. One great season is awesome, but a decade of healthy, joyful running is the real goal!
So go ahead – sleep in a little, have that extra slice of pie at Thanksgiving, and enjoy some guilt-free downtime. You earned it! Next year’s adventures will be here before you know it, and you’ll be ready to have a blast when they show up.
See you out there 🙂