The Importance of Taking an Off Season

Happy Monday!

I had an awesome weekend full of lots of adventures which is exactly the way every weekend should be.

I hit up some local (and well named) trails with a KW ultra running group for some morning miles on Saturday. On Sunday, I spent some time filming for some upcoming segments on FitFriday which is a project I am working on to share a new workout video with you every Friday!

I am absolutely loving my off-season and even though with work, social and some new projects I actually don’t have extra time, it is a lot of fun to do DIFFERENT things and mentally refocus for another season.

I think an off season is a vital part of every year for every athlete and even though this one came earlier than I expected this year, I am enjoying every second of it. Rest and recovery are a fundamental part of proper training for athletes.

What have I been doing?

• I have done a number of races where I just had fun and didn’t worry about the result which was a refreshing mental reset.
• I have focused on therapy instead of training and have gotten lots of acupuncture, done lots of stretching and rolling and have focused on staying as healthy as possible.
• I have aimed for 7-8 hours of sleep a night to recover and restore my body for hard training.
• I have become super relaxed about my diet and have indulged in burgers, beers, home made treats and whatever gets in my way.
• I have allowed my routine to fluctuate and have read a lot more and watched a lot more movies. Right now, I am blazing through The Girl in the Spiders Web and watching Season 3 of Orphan Black. 
• I’ve gotten back to Goodlife Fitness and have begun lifting heavy weights to put back on some of the muscle weight I have lost and to build a strong and balanced body for training.

I am anticipating to not return to any semblance of formal training until January 2016 but in the mean time, I will be participating in some races and events for fun, completing regular cross training and strength workouts and resting when I think my body needs it.

Remember, rest and recovery is as much a part of training as a workout is.

Do you take an off season? If so, when and for how long?