Well, I Guess the Off-Season is Coming to an End ... Maybe

January - the beginning of  the year to normal human beings, the beginning of a "new season" to endurance athletes - is here. I know this not because I have looked at the calendar, but because I took a peak at both my scale and heart rate monitor last week and noticed the numbers are a tad bit higher than they were a few months ago. If I were a lot of other people I might find this tragic. Both numbers indicate I am "out of shape" ... or "fat" ... or OMG BOTH!!!!

Tragic .............

Or not so much .............

The whole idea of an off-season is built on the assumption that there is an IN-season, or a time where you are shooting for (your) peak fitness. And peak fitness, by definition, is something you cannot hold onto for very long. Peak fitness is why you ask yourself how you ever did a marathon or Ironman three weeks ago when today a 5 mile run feels hard.

Getting "out of shape" enables the body to do two things: destress (is that even a word?) and heal itself. Over the course of months of hard training the body starts to get nicked up at the micro level, regardless of your awareness or denial of the situation. Taking some down time allows the body to heal the trauma it has had to endure while simultaneously keeping the athlete (you) from pushing yourself further down the path to injury. We all on some level believe we are the exception and can beat our bodies endlessly without repercussion, but deep down we should all know this is just not true. The desire to keep pushing and not back off is more about our own insecurities ("I'll lose my fitness forever") or simply ego.

Circling back to me, I feel like the off-season has been a success. After peaking for Ironman Florida on November 1 I stopped training and cut way back on the amount of exercise I do on a daily/weekly basis. The result of all this is I have had more free time on my hands, I have slept more, read more books, and have given my body a chance to heal itself after a rather interesting year. The other side has been the 7-8 pounds I have put back on along with the loss of pure fitness that comes with more couch time.

Right now at the beginning of the new year I feel good. Mentally I am fresh; Physically I am starting to come around. After a week of doing nothing, followed by a few weeks of doing close to nothing, I have slowly morphed back into a general routine. I have a rule for the month of December where I only do what I want to do, when I want to do it. So if I don't feel like getting up and going for a run, I stay in bed. If I get up then decide I would prefer to read and stretch instead of sitting on the trainer, I read and stretch.  In the past few weeks the desire to do more has been there.

The one consistent over the past few months has been the move back into the weight room, something I quite enjoy. A year ago my goal was to get stronger for the 2014 triathlon season, which never happened due to injury followed by surgery. I am very happy with being able to race like I did in 2014, but never felt like I physically was where I wanted to be. Last year became more about getting back than moving forward. For 2015 the goal of being a stronger, better athlete remains.

SOOooooo here we are the first full week of the new year and time to start some serious training ... or maybe not. For 2015 I am almost 100% sure I am not going long (read: no Ironman) and not even sure about the 70.3 distance (other than racing Eagleman in support of my buddy Ant). I have never concentrated on shorter racing - Sprint and Olympic distances - or doing some straight up bike racing. Realistically I'm starting to get freaking old, which mean if I want to get a fast season in I need to do it sooner rather than later. And if I want to race my bike, no better time than the present.

I haven't given a whole lot of thought to my race schedule other than targeting the Philly Triathlon as my A-race for the fist half of the year. Being that it is the last weekend in June, January seems a bit early to start cranking things up. No need to be "in shape" in February or March.

Bottom line: Yeah, I'm back in the rhythm of working out but not real serious. For now, sessions will be short and intensity moderate at best. There will be a time to start cranking. That time is not now.

Thanks for reading.

Train hard. Stay focused.
Jon

Rule #11: When It's Time to Take an Off-Season, Take an Off-Season

For longer than I can remember, I have a New Year's Eve run that I do with anyone who is open to running it with me. It is a 10 mile out-and-back which starts and ends at Sand Island in Bethlehem. Unlike a normal run on the trail, this run travels over South Mountain with a total of 3.5 miles of serious climbing. A great run to talk about for sure, but the main reason we started the tradition has nothing to do with "starting the new year off right" and everything to do with off-season training.

Seems really strange that I would be writing about the off-season rule here in early September as I prepare myself for a half Ironman and my A-race (Ironman Florida) in less than two months time. Here it is crunch time and what rule do I whip out of my back pocket? Take an Off Season.

You might just start to think my head isn't in the game ...

I assure you, my head is in the game. I write this now as I have had a number of conversations with friends who, like me, are prepping for their big race of the year who, quite frankly, fear the off season. Do they fear the lack of training structure? Maybe ... but probably not.

Me thinks that what the fear is all about is fitness. Or more to the point, losing some fitness.

Before I go on I want to make two things perfectly clear. First, when I talk about the off-season I make a distinction between off-season and early season. The off-season is designed to heal the body and get your mental mojo back. The early season is about base building, building strength and skills, and consistent training. For me, the off-season is generally the time from my last race of the year to about Christmas. The early season is from New Years Day through the end of March. If you don't live on the East Coast, the timing of your off-season could be different than mine.

Second, when I talk about losing fitness it is a relative thing. After completing Ironman Florida on November 1 I will be taking my down time. Come January 1, I promise you that I will be in no shape to complete an Ironman. I'll still be able to swim and bike and run, just not as fast and as far as I could on November 1, when I should be in peak condition for the year.

And I am good with it. Been doing this for years without issue. In fact, it makes the early part of the year feel great as I can feel the fitness coming back.

Seriously. No bull$hit. It's really true.

Still, I can feel your skepticism seeping through the computer screen. It is hard, for the most part, to just stop training. Which, really isn't NOT Training ... it's just not nearly as much volume as you have become addicted accustomed to doing.  And really, when compared to the average human being, is still quite a bit of training. Still, you fear losing all that fitness you gained over the last 10+ months of training AND YOU ARE SURE IT'S NEVER COMING BACK. EVER!!!

So here's the deal: when you stop training like an animal you will lose fitness. But, and this is a big but, if you allow yourself to get "out of shape," taking the time to concern yourself with health and well-being as opposed to just race fitness, your body will heal itself and you will come back stronger in your next training cycle.

Here are the rules for a true off-season:

• Continue to workout, just not structured or on too regular a basis. If you feel like getting up and doing something, do it. If not, go back to sleep.
• Train different than you do in-season. When you do train, swimming is better than biking and biking is better than running, although maintaining a base level of running is important. The less stress you put on the joints the better.
• Strength train. This is the best time of year to strengthen up the body and work on any weaknesses you may have.
• Keep intensity low. Remember those social runs you used to take? All runs should be social (or social paced).
• Gain some weight. Yeah, you heard me, gain some weight. Staying at your race weight year round is great for the ego but isn't so good for the body. Come January 1 I will be 5-10 pounds heavier than I was on the morning of my A race.
• Work on your nutrition. Yes, it is more than OK to partake in holiday festivities, but that doesn't mean your diet should go to complete crap. If there is something you have been thinking about changing - going Paleo, eating more vegetables, whatever - now is a good time to start integrating it into your routine.  
• Do non-triathlon/sports related activities. Take the extra time you have from lower training volume and do things you don't normally have time for, like reading, writing or taking care of things around the house (Note to The Queen: please don't read this to mean that I should be doing things around the house).
• Plan out your new year of training/racing. While your training load is low and you have extra time on your hands, reflect back on your past year and look forward to the next race season. Are there any destination races you are ready to check off the bucket list? A new distance you want to step up to? What limiters held your performance back and need to be addressed? 

What the off-season comes down to is balancing the desire to continue to hammer your body and the desire to become a lazy bum. You will continue to workout, just at lower volume and intensity, and not so regimented. Keep in mind, even when you are "barely training" you are probably more active than the average human being.

In reality what I have found is that in the first few weeks after my final race of the year it is easy to get back into the gym for strength training while the desire to swim is about zero, and sitting on my bike in the basement isn't going to happen. Running easy and short is a pleasure as it is running for pure pleasure of running. If I can get outside on the bike on a weekend I'm good as well. By about day 30 my desire to train starts to come back and things get more consistent. I do make sure that I'm not overdoing it, which is kinda a strange thing in this sedentary world we live in. By the time Ryan Seacrest is standing in Times Square rockin' in the New Year I'm asleep on the couch ready both physically and mentally to get back into that training routine.

Getting back to the New Year's Eve run ... that run has never been about just starting the New Year out right or anything like that. I may have said that out loud to people. If I did it was a lie. Really, what that run represents is the chance to go out and see just how out of shape I am to start the early season. Some years I can run up both sides without stopping to walk, while other years have been a bit of a disaster. Either way, I know where I'm at.

Moral of the story: If it is the end of your race year, it is time to rest!!!

Thanks for reading.

Train hard. Stay focused.
Jon

Related Posts:

Rule#1: Hard is Hard, Easy is Easy

Rule #2: Be Consistent

Rule #3: Don't Become a Slave to Sports Technology

Rule #4: The 20 Minute Rule

Rule #5: Harden the F#$k Up

Rule #6: Don't be "That Guy" ... NOBODY likes him

Rule #7: If You Are Out Training in Horrible Weather, You Are a Badass. Period.

Rule #8: Don't Think, Free the Mind and the Legs Will Follow

Rule #9: When You Train or Race, Dress Event Appropriate

Rule #10:  It Doesn't Suck, It's a Challenge, It's an Opportunity

Off-Season Training Done ... Bring on 2014

After completing the Philadelphia Marathon on November 17th I consciously shut down my training and racing in a very real way with a simple goal - refresh the body and mind. For the first time in a long time the plan was to embrace the off season. I have a big agenda for 2014 (separate post for that) and I wanted to make sure I started the year in a good place, ready to put in the work.

In order to put the Type-A personality aside I had to consciously deal with the reality of being "out of shape," a bit heavier, and without the endorphins associated with my normal workout routine. And deal with it I did. As I write this, I am nowhere near peak fitness and five pounds heavier than I was six weeks ago. So, congratulations to me, I can successfully get out of shape!!! As for the feel-goodness that comes from training ... let's just say I'm ready to get out there and get 'er done.

Source: www.illustriationsource.com

But just getting "out of shape" wasn't the point. The point was to get ready for racing in 2014. These six weeks were not just the end of 2013  but also the beginning of 2014. There were four things I wanted to accomplish in my down time - heal the body, take a mental break, get other stuff done, get stronger. How did I do?

Letting the body heal itself - With one exception my body feels better than it has in a few years. My legs are the exact opposite of heavy; most all of the minor aches and pains have gone away; I haven't needed the services of my chiropractor for 5+ weeks and counting. Even the shoulder strain that happened while moving a desk at work in late November is long gone. The problem is, the one exception is a recurring calf issue that has me away from running for almost two weeks now. It's a whole lot better but not 100%. Thus, I'm not running and will continue to fight the urge to run until it is completely healed. Better to miss a few weeks of running in December and January than in April or May. Due to injury I give myself an Off Season Mark of C.

Taking a mental break - For 5 weeks I trained when I felt like it with little or no intensity. I swam a little, ran a little, and rode outside whenever I could. Last week I started to get it together and did keep to a truncated training week schedule. On Thanksgiving morning I ran the Pumpkin Pie 5k in 27:xx, with no Garmin and no heart rate monitor. The only "mistake" of too much intensity was at the xMas City 5 Mile Run where I ran faster than I promised myself I would. It didn't feel bad and it was maybe 90 seconds slower than I could have done if I really pushed it. Being that I am ready to get to work, I give myself an Off Season Mark of A.

Getting other stuff done - I'm a pack rat. For years I've held onto stuff that I really didn't need to and this off season I changed most (some) of that. Over the past six weeks I went through the mess in the basement closet and got rid of a lot of the unnecessary clutter. Along with the cleanup I managed to read a few books, get caught up on my Feedly read list, visited the Weavers Way Co-op Grocery Store, better organize my digital life, got my money's worth of my Netflix subscription, and get caught up on my sleep. Not everything I want to do, but more than I realistically expected. Off Season Mark - A

Time to focus like it's game 7 of the World Series

Get strong - A few days after the marathon I got back into the gym and started the process of rebuilding some strength. As a former gym rat doing this has never been a problem. Over these last 6 weeks I have slowly increased the workload, sticking with mainly the big, multi-joint exercises. I'm stronger than I was last year at this time and almost back to where I was in 2013 when the strength work took a back seat to more specific triathlon training. Off Season Mark - A+

Overall - Starting the year feeling genuinely refreshed is a good feeling.This calf thing is a real bitch. I really find that I'm fighting my inner urge to just start training, assuming that it will just work itself out. Because that always works. Overall Off Season Mark - A-.

So here we sit at the beginning of 2014 and I enter my base training feeling really good, but not yet running. While it sucks, I'm trying to be ok with it. It feels like taking a step backwards will help me move forward and reach my racing goals this year. Time to focus like Andy Pettitte in Game 7 of the World Series.

Train hard. Stay focused.
Jon

The Joy of Running

Before I called myself a triathlete - and after my weight lifting days - I viewed myself as a runner. Training for a marathon I would follow Pfitzinger or Jack Daniels (the coach, not the whiskey) in my pursuit of whatever the time goal was this time around. Chasing a goal is motivating. Running in heat, cold, rain, snow was fine with me, just get me to the race fit and with happy legs. Training for a race gives purpose. Training for a race gives focus. There are goals, both big and small.

And then it happens ... the race arrives and the season ends. All of a sudden there's not a race on the schedule. Well, not a "real" race anyway. After the big goal race, racing becomes more a social thing. More like a hard workout than something I was training to do. With no structure, nothing to point at for motivation, motivation can be hard to find. At this point in the season, many people have trouble getting out the door. I am not one of those people.

As I have discussed recently this is my off season, which I describe as a time for easy workouts, when and if I'm motivated to do them. Every year, so far anyway, a strange thing happens. Every year I'm motivated to run.

This morning I left my house at 5:45 am in the dark of the morning for a run. It was early, but it didn't bother me one bit. The pace was casual. I wore my Garmin, but didn't look at before hitting the stop button. I ran my favorite route; the one I am most comfortable with;  the one I refer to as my "home course."

If you don't have one of these you should. My home course is 8 miles, but I can shorten it to as little as 5 miles or extend it to 10 miles.I know these roads better than the township road crews that care for them. I know the tangents and I know ever mile marker. I run these roads enough to have a waving relationship with the school bus drivers as well as the regulars on their way to work. There's even a long distance runner who drives to work about when I'm out there, Dunkin Donuts coffee in hand, who raises his cup to me when we pass.

I'm not the only regular out there either. "Old Man Ed" was out walking today, as was "Bike Guy" on his way to work. "Bike Guy" made me think for a second that I should be on my Madone. That feeling quickly passed.

Funny thing about these roads - I think of them as mine. I got really upset when the chipped and tared a section a few years back; I cheered out loud when they properly paved that same section six months later. Come springtime, when the fair-weather athletes start to hit the streets again, I admittedly get a little offended that they are on MY ROADS. Where were they on that cold, windy days in February?

Running is my gateway drug and the reason I ended up an Ironman.

Don't get me wrong, I love riding my bike and I (for the most part) enjoy hitting the pool. But at the end of the day, it all comes back to the joy of  running ...

Train hard. Stay focused.
Jon

Off Season Triathlon Training

A few days ago I started talking about my off season training and how I want to make sure I don't screw up next year before my annual New Years Eve South Mountain Run. I am embracing the down time from triathlon specific training. If you missed it, you can find that post here.

One of the first things I thought about after I crossed the finish line at the Philadelphia Marathon was getting back into the weight room. While you would never know it looking at my 160 pound body, I really get an enjoyment from lifting me some weights. Back in the day I was quite strong and almost 40 pounds heavier. My roots are old school, going back to the days of Ottmer's Iron Den in Lakewood, NJ. No heat in the winter, no AC in the summer, the most advanced machine in the place was the cable crossover. I was "the kid" and we lifted barbells and dumbbells. Back to the present day, as an "old guy" I'm still in love with some free weight fun.

One of my goals in the off season is to get stronger. If you hit the magazines and the interwebs there are a number of thoughts on getting strong for triathlon. I'll let you find that on your own. I know what has worked for me in the past - basic, multi-joint exercises. And in my world that comes down to a basic routine that focuses on two exercises: squats and deadlifts.

This may or may not be what I looked like in a past life.

I know, I know, I know ... these are great for overall strength, not so good for sport-specific strength. I agree. The strength you gain now, with the right training, converts over nicely to swim/bike/run when you add in the specific training. No way in hell am I doing big pull sets or riding/running up the side of mountains in the month of December. And I love, love love to squat and deadlift.

Seriously. True story.

Sorry for the side story. Focus Jon. Focus.

If you haven't figured it out yet I am a big believer in rules. By calling them rules it forces me for some reason to stick with the plan. So even an unstructured period like I am in right now has a set of guidelines (RULES!!!) that I will stick with the best I can. And truth be told, there ends up being more structure there than I care to admit. As I get closer to January 1 my training does start to migrate from goofing around to something getting close to structured. I'll go into that as well, but first the rules:

Rule #1: No racing. You'll see me a a number of races in the next few weeks, you just won't see me racing. On Thanksgiving morning The Queen and I will be at the annual Pumpkin Pie 5k in Nazareth. Not sure who I am running with yet, but it should be an 8 minute mile pace if I'm pushing it. Might even run with The Queen. Using it as a chance to support a good cause and hang with some friends, not looking to win a pie.I like pie, but not enough to break my body down.

This was right before I fell on my a$$!!!

Rule #2: Don't do anything you don't feel like doing. If you wake up and don't feel like running, don't do it. Same with biking and hitting the pool. This is predicated on two things I know about myself. First, I am prone to over-training, not under-training. If my mind says "no" I need to listen to it. Second, once January comes around I suck it up if I'm not so motivated for a workout.

Rule #3: Stay active and cross-train, but do NOT obsess over triathlon. I took a yoga class last night and plan on hitting Ants spin class a few times this December. So looking forward to taking the mountain bike out this weekend.

Rule #4: Get strong. Not only is this hitting the weights, but also core training. Speaking of core, I'll be reviewing the book Foundation by Dr. Eric Goodman soon, which will change the way you think about core.

Rule #5: Work on correcting any muscular imbalances that last season produced. Eventually this happens to all of us. Better to take care of it now than have to deal with the injuries next race season.

Rule #6: Eat and gain some weight. It makes no sense to stay at your racing weight so I don't. The body is more durable a bit heavier and, honestly, I really, really like to eat. Besides, you're just kidding yourself if you think you will make it through the holiday season without partaking in cookies, candies, etc. For me, the normal 90% good /10% not-so-good eating becomes more like 75/25. By January 1st I should be about 5 pounds heavier than I was on November 17 and teh diet will tighten up.

Rule #7: Avoid training in poor weather conditions. I have no problem running in a 35 degree rain or riding when temperatures are in the 20s. But, not in the month of December. There is no reason to be out there when the whole point of training is to recover and take a mental break.

Now that we have the rules set out, how do we proceed for these 6 weeks? It will look something like this:

Week#1 - Almost complete rest. For me this was last week and I ran once, swam once, and sat on my trainer to spin the legs out right after the marathon. Intensity for everything was nil. I hit the weight room but made sure to ease into it, concentrating on good form. No need to get overly sore.

Week #2 - Do something every day. Most every day there will be something swim/bike/run related with a cap of 60 minutes, all at a recovery intensity. I will make sure to run 3 times during the week. Strength training continues and the weight used increases.

Weeks #3 through 6 - The intensity remains low for swim/bike/run. Over these weeks the total hours each week will increase, as will the number of workouts (which still remain short). For the run I will be back at base mileage by week #3 and increase that mileage slowly each week. Years ago I read an article in Triathlete Magazine by Mark Allen on off season training. The one recommendation he had was to continue running during this phase, due to its pounding nature. He argued (correctly) that the body loses the ability to absorb the abuse that running puts on the body when you take an extended vacation from the activity. This advice has stuck with me. Bike volume stays low and I'll visit the pool with more frequency. Strength training continues.

Of course there is one big caveat. The goal here is to be 100% physically ready for base training come the new year.  If there are any lingering issues that need fixing I will back off and fix them. So if there is some compelling reason to not run I will stop.Time off in December is no big deal, while time off running in May could be huge.


So that's the simple plan. Train easy, don't race, and make sure the body feels great when it is time to start base training. Giving the body a break allows old injuries to heal, any overuse issues to subside, while working to prevent next year's potential injuries. I have no desire to be a January national champion, so I save the hard work and energy expenditure for when it is needed closer to race day.

Train hard. Stay focused.
Jon

The Off-Season

Here we are at the end of November and the only race I have on my schedule is the xMas City 5 Mile Run on December 8. And by race, I mean I paid some money to get a shirt and run the same route, at the same time, as 4-500 other people. I promise you I won't be fast and have little if any chance of placing in my age group ... even if nobody shows up. My "A" race (Augusta 70.3) of the season was on September 30 and my attempt at a late-season marathon didn't pan out as I expected. It's the off-season and I have embraced it.

From January through my last big race of the season there is a plan in place. Week in and week out my training is about a series of goals throughout the year. Some are training goals and some are racing goals. There are good weeks, there are not-so-good weeks. Occasionally there are really, really good workouts and really, really crappy workout. All of this happens within the confines of a larger plan.

After that last race everything changes. The end of the year, for me, has become about training for the enjoyment of swim/bike/run. I do what I want to do when I want to do it. Generally, this has translated into more running ... but easy running. I swim enough, but not too much. If the weather is better than average on a Saturday or a Sunday I am out on the road bike. Because riding a bike is awesome, and riding without "having" to ride hills, or intervals, is even better.

The off-season is also about healing the body. With training volume at a low level and training intensity pretty much non-existent, I make sure the legs get the rest they need. I also make sure I get to the massage therapist to work out any lingering issues from the hard months of training and racing. There was a time, many years ago at a much younger age, where this was unnecessary because the body always felt good. While I am not old, I am no longer young.

Back to the xMas City 5 Mile Run. This is a race I have been doing for so long I cannot remember how many times I have done it. In past years we have gone fast and we have gone slow. Every time we have raced it we have had a good time. What's not to like about running with friends for the sake of running, followed by breakfast at a favorite local diner? In the off-season, that is the only thing that matters.

Last year The Queen joined me here for the first time. It was her first go at a race distance beyond the 5k. She ran the hill at mile four like a champ. I know this because a group of us backtracked and ran her in, distracting her from the work she was doing. She'll be back at it next weekend as well.

Gotta love the off-season.