CEP Compression Winner and an Off-Season Begins!
This past weekend, I completed my final race of the season.
I have never said that sentence with absolute certainty before, but after a year of solid training, racing and physical gains, I know it is time to take a rest before tackling another huge year or racing.
2014 is the biggest athletic year for me so far and I want it to be AWESOME.
I thought it would be good to take a peek at why people take off-seasons and what the advantages and disadvantages are to an athlete.
For me, an off-season is as integral to training as going on a run. If your body is constantly forced to perform, it will not be able to consistently produce quality races and will eventually begin losing speed, distance and ability.
It is a chance to re-evalute why you race, how you did on the races over the past year and what your goals are for the upcoming season. It gives you a chance to spend time with family, friends and stroke things off your to-do list.
Cannot wait to spend a few more hours with these crazies.
It gives you a chance to strength train and cross train with other aerobic activities such as swimming, biking, team sports and exercise classes such as bootcamps and yoga. I have a yoga pass, a rock climbing pass, a ski hill pass, a gym membership and a pass to the local pool. I am using the next month to strengthen and use muscles that are not used regularly in running and to give my legs a much deserved rest.
Over this time, it is a chance to tinker with nutrition and add new foods to your diet. While I am training, I stay pretty consistent because I do not want to shock my system. I will be using a few dietary principles from Dr. Philip Maffetone over the next month or two to ensure that I am feeling healthy, strong and can perform at my maximum potential.
But what happens if you don’t take an off-season? An advantage of this is that you do not have as concentrated of a race season, which allows your body to race throughout the year. This allows you to participate in races that most people who take an off season in November – December and June – July normally are not able to race.
It also allows you to consistently maintain a baseline of aerobic fitness and not need to worry about rebuilding it when the new training season hits.
I for one, am looking forward to taking a rest. I LOVE racing, I LOVE running and I LOVE training, but I am excited to try new sports, activities and switch up my schedule a bit to be mentally, physically and emotionally ready to pick up (almost) where I left off in 2014.
Do you take an off-season ? Why or why not?
Now, on to the WINNER CEP Canada Compression sock giveaway!
I had a race in Michigan this weekend – a 30 mile duathlon and I wore my CEP Compression socks for the race where I was top female finisher, for recovery and the following day when I was mountain biking on the trails. I received so many complements on the colour and style – I highly suggest rocking as colourful a pair as you dare!
WINNER: AUDREY from Mimidawk blog!
Audrey, please send your contact information to lacesandlattes@gmail.com and I will connect you to CEP Canada.
