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Training tips: Survive and thrive in the off-season

With the racing season behind us, now is the time to take a few weeks (or months) and worry less about running and training and focus more on rest and recovery.

Sleep and exercise

The “off-season” presents a unique opportunity to focus on other areas important to runners such as sleep, nutrition and supplemental fitness.

Sleep is the easy one. You just need to find time to get a bit more of it. Rather than aim for a specific amount of total sleep each day, try to get between 15 and 60 minutes more than you currently do. Getting more quality sleep will help you feel physically and mentally refreshed as well as aid in muscle recovery.

Nutrition (i.e. your diet) is another area that can make a big difference to your running and training. Eating a well balanced diet complete with vitamins and nutrients will go far in keeping you well fueled for fitness, help your body recover and stay injury-free as well as keep you mentally sharp. With more time to consider your own unique diet, try and add new foods and recipes to your repertoire and cut back on less healthy options that were quick and easy during training. Experiment with seasonal foods. Losing weight should not be your main goal but shedding a few extra pounds before your next training season (not easy we know) can also make a difference when you start training seriously again.

healthy food

Finally, with less time devoted to running, there is more time to work on and build your supplemental fitness. Speed and endurance may be the main concern for runners in training, but strength, flexibility and agility are other areas that can benefit one’s running long-term and are improved primarily with non-running activities.

The following list represents a mere selection of activities and options for building and improving your overall fitness.

  • Take a yoga or mat class to improve flexibility as well as enhance your focus and concentration
  • Hit the gym and use free weights or machines to build muscular strength, particularly to the upper body
  • Stay at home and commit to calisthenic exercises such as squats, push-ups, pull-ups, lunges, jumping jacks and more
  • Do a core workout using crunches, sit-ups and planks
  • Try cross-training activities such as swimming, pool-running, cycling/spinning, rowing or the elliptical to maintain your cardiovascular fitness

plankThere is no shortage of options and opportunities to stay fit while not running so choose the ones you actually enjoy. Better still, recruit a friend or two to keep staying fit fun and social. Also remember that you don’t need to commit as much time to other activities as you often do to running. Aiming for 20-40 minutes 3-5 times per week is enough to maintain your base fitness and will set you up nicely for when you return to running. Remember, the mental break from the monotony of running is as important as the physical break.

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