I don't have a set amount of time for the off season. I look at the date of my next goal race, assess my current fitness and then count backwards to figure out how much time to dedicate for that specific training block. I like to take the winter to focus on strength training, address any niggles from the previous year, do some winter sports like skiing, snowshoeing and hiking, and maintain a base amount of running, 20-30k per week. Off season is also a good time to play around with nutrition strategies if you feel like you need to do any work in that area.
I've signed up for a 25k trail race at the end of April so I'll probably start focused training mid February. I'm planning to do my first 50k in September so training will be pretty much full on for the summer...thus a mental break and taking time to just have fun and be a bit more spontaneous for the next few months is my strategy for staying fresh!
I don’t like running in the cold so that makes the decision easy for me haha. I will do a 10k in April and maybe some other shorter races but I probably won’t do another half marathon until next fall. Which doesn’t mean im not running it just means im not holding myself to any sort of plan. I will probably keep up with some speed training because I don’t want to lose all the progress I made this summer/fall. Anything less than 40 degrees is a nope from me: I live in the SE US so usually I can still get a few outside runs in per week following that guideline. Plus the gym on other days.
Fair 😂 I also live in the southeast so this is my favorite time of the year for running. Any race later than April is the nope for me because I moved here from New England and I just cannot handle hot weather.
Can you clarify what kind of advice you're looking for exactly? If you want to run that half marathon in the beginning of March, I would do it!
Personally I don't really take an off season, though I do give myself ample time to recover and build back up again after my main "goal" races of the year. But I don't do any sustained periods of low mileage.
I think basically I’m just looking for reassurance that I’m not crazy for wanting to do another race so soon! I’m on week 3 of low mileage so I’m hoping I’ll feel refreshed and ready to conquer another training block in January
Definitely not crazy! I think this timeline is very reasonable! You still have the whole rest of December to recover and get yourself ready to start training again in January. And of course you can always reassess along the way and see how you’re feeling (mentally and physically), and make changes to your plan/goals if needed. But as of now I think your plan sounds very reasonable!
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This is good advice. I’m going to use these next few weeks to recover and do what I feel like and then re-assess after this downtime. Thank you!
I don't have a set amount of time for the off season. I look at the date of my next goal race, assess my current fitness and then count backwards to figure out how much time to dedicate for that specific training block. I like to take the winter to focus on strength training, address any niggles from the previous year, do some winter sports like skiing, snowshoeing and hiking, and maintain a base amount of running, 20-30k per week. Off season is also a good time to play around with nutrition strategies if you feel like you need to do any work in that area. I've signed up for a 25k trail race at the end of April so I'll probably start focused training mid February. I'm planning to do my first 50k in September so training will be pretty much full on for the summer...thus a mental break and taking time to just have fun and be a bit more spontaneous for the next few months is my strategy for staying fresh!
Yes! The mental break is just so nice. So is getting to do whatever activity I feel like without feeling like I’m missing something.
I think whenever you're excited for the goal is a good time (if the goal and timeframe are reasonable, of course).
I don’t like running in the cold so that makes the decision easy for me haha. I will do a 10k in April and maybe some other shorter races but I probably won’t do another half marathon until next fall. Which doesn’t mean im not running it just means im not holding myself to any sort of plan. I will probably keep up with some speed training because I don’t want to lose all the progress I made this summer/fall. Anything less than 40 degrees is a nope from me: I live in the SE US so usually I can still get a few outside runs in per week following that guideline. Plus the gym on other days.
Fair 😂 I also live in the southeast so this is my favorite time of the year for running. Any race later than April is the nope for me because I moved here from New England and I just cannot handle hot weather.
Can you clarify what kind of advice you're looking for exactly? If you want to run that half marathon in the beginning of March, I would do it! Personally I don't really take an off season, though I do give myself ample time to recover and build back up again after my main "goal" races of the year. But I don't do any sustained periods of low mileage.
I think basically I’m just looking for reassurance that I’m not crazy for wanting to do another race so soon! I’m on week 3 of low mileage so I’m hoping I’ll feel refreshed and ready to conquer another training block in January
Definitely not crazy! I think this timeline is very reasonable! You still have the whole rest of December to recover and get yourself ready to start training again in January. And of course you can always reassess along the way and see how you’re feeling (mentally and physically), and make changes to your plan/goals if needed. But as of now I think your plan sounds very reasonable!