It's October, and for many the racing season is coming to a close. Coaches are starting to look at the off-season training of their athletes, and how best to ensure that everyone enters the upcoming season refreshed, and with the best preparation possible.
For many athletes, their primary question is: "What do I do during the off-season?"
The off-season is an overlooked, and undervalued, part of your training periodization. You've raced and trained hard all season. You can't train hard twelve months out of the year. You risk overtraining, burnout, and not getting the full recovery you need both mentally and physically to start the next season fresh.
This isn't to say that you should take two months off. Take too much time off and you risk losing your base fitness, and thus starting your pre-season back at square one. Two to three weeks of downtime is great. You can rest, and reenergize yourself, without losing your base aerobic fitness. You should follow this period of time with two to three weeks of unstructured training provided by your coach. Then you can begin your pre-season refreshed, energized, and ready for more intensive training.
For many, the off-season is an overlooked or undervalued, time of year. You have to take time off at some point. You've raced and trained hard all season. Now it's November, and your still training like you have been? You risk burnout, overtraining, and not getting the recovery you need both mentally and physically.