Staying Fit in the Off Season

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.

Comments

[Jen]

Love the self imposed weighted vest!