So it's now 15 weeks out from Wildflower, which means my off season was over a week ago. And it means I had a close to three months where I wasn't doing any serious training or racing. For me, the off season is a chance to be unstructured, eat whatever looks and tastes good, and generally put triathlon at a lower priority.
Taking a Mental Break
Anyone who has tried to do 7-9 workouts in 3 different sports over the course of a week knows that triathlon can demand a lot of structure in your life. Trying to fit it all in around family and work schedules, as well as pool hours and friends' training schedules for group workouts--sometimes it's a little overwhelming.
So during the off-season I relish being able to just "do what I feel like doing." I don't worry about pace, or miles, or hours per week. I still end up with 5-6 swim/bike/run workouts per week anyway, but it's without the stress of feeling like I "need" to do every one.
Reduced Training Hours
During those three months my training averaged out to about 6-7 hours per week, compared with my normal 9-10. I don't think I did any two-a-day workouts, and most individual sessions were shorter than normal. I also backed off on frequency--training 5-6 days per week instead of the normal 6-7.
The Weighted Vest
The book "Championship Triathlon Training" suggests sometimes running with a weighted vest to build strength. Which I find a bit redundant--because by mid-December I had gained about 6 pounds, forming my own natural "weighted vest."
But to me, that's all part of the mental break. I race at a very lean 154-155 pounds, so 6 extra pounds isn't a big deal. And it means I get a few months of indulging my sweet tooth, three Thanksgiving dinners, and more evenings of dining out than normal.
BTW, even though I really like the concepts in the "Champsionship Triathlon Training" book, I think that running with a weighted vest is a really bad idea. Any extra weight increases the shock and pounding on our joints, which just doesn't seem like a good thing...
Improving Technique
The off season is a great time to improve your technique. Any improvements usually take some short-term efforts that can be frustrating. Whether it's swim technique, running form, or bicycle cadence, the initial change will always seem hard because you're using muscles in a new way.
I used the off season to improve my running form. I had been a terrible heel striker, and tended to keep my weight back. So I worked on "leaning at the ankles" and shifting my center of gravity in front of my front foot.
At first it was hard work--I'd get out of breath at ridiculously slow paces. But after about three weeks things finally clicked. My running has improved immensely from it--I'm definitely faster, and it feels much easier.
This video gives a really good depiction of it. While they're advocating Newton shoes, it's applicable to everyone.
