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Mornings are getting cooler, daylight hours shorter, and
triathlon season is winding to a close. For many athletes,
this can be a difficult transition. After following a regimented
training plan and gaining fitness during the spring and summer,
suddenly, you are without a goal race to train for. Sure,
downtime is essential to maintaining a healthy and well balanced
life, but after a few weeks of active recovery, then what?
Some people take recovery to the extreme, their bikes acquire
cobwebs, and running shoes become buried in the back of closets
among a sea of shoes. Unfortunately, when Spring rolls around,
these athletes must start from scratch in rebuilding their
fitness.
More seasoned athletes know that the key to maintaining year-long
fitness, and seeing improvements in race times, is through
a year round commitment to a healthy lifestyle.
The “off” season is a great time to have fun with your training:
-
Plan easy weekend bike rides throughout the Fall. This
is a perfect time of year to view foliage changes, bring a
knapsack to go apple
picking, enjoy the
falling leaves and cool weather.
-
Sign up for Fall and Winter road races.
What better way to reconnect with training buddies and get
in some speed work then to sign up for
local 5 and
10k races.
-
Brush up on your off road biking skills. Mountain biking
or Cyclocross is a great way to maintain bike fitness and
add variety to your training.
-
Take up cross country or skate
skiing. Include the whole family, or plan a trip with your
non-tri friends who don’t
get to see you as often during triathlon season….plus
it’s a great cardio workout.
-
Head to the mountains
for some hiking weekends with friends.
In addition to
these fun activities, the off-season is a great time to build tri-specific
fitness:
-
Hit the gym and make weight training 2-3 times a week
a priority; your dedication will pay off come race season.
-
Dedicate
a month to your weakest sport. Decide that December is going
to be your big “swim” month, hit the pool
3-4 days a week while biking and running take a backseat. Make
sure to vary your workouts, focus on technique
and endurance. Feel like a fish out of water? This is a great
time to take a lesson or two so you have plenty of time to
perfect your
swim before tri season
begins.
-
Maintain a training plan. By far, this is the best way
to stay focused on your long-term goals throughout the
long winter. Either
with your coach,
or
by yourself,
sit down and map out a base building training plan for the
off season. This will allow you to prioritize limiters to work
on,
and keep you focused on
the season
ahead.
Most of all, remember that staying active year round is not
only healthy, but fun!
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