Making the most of the off-season

I believe that everybody should have an off season.  When you work hard and push yourself physically most of the year it's good to take a break.  That's kind of obvious.

But when you have a lot of day to day stress and busyness, getting a mental break is really important too.  I struggle with this since I tend to get busier at work and around the house during my off season in the Fall.

What I have always done a fairly good job of is taking a real break from training and racing!  For 2-3 solid months I ride for fun (only about twice a week) and do a little random cross training and let go of the training plan I have the rest of the year.

If you're like me and a typical type A when it comes to your training, here are a few things you can do to make the most of the off season:

1. Drop the plan.  Don't have a plan for every week or every day.  Do what you feel like that day.  Most of the time I ride fairly easy this time of year, but I put in some hard efforts or a big endurance day here or there.  Only when I really feel like it.

2. Get rid of your heart rate and power meters.  I literally uninstall the power meter from my road bike and don't use a heart rate monitor this time of year.  This mental break from the numbers is really important.

3. Do something different.  You have to ease into it, but doing some running, swimming, or other exercise is super good for you.  For 5-6 weeks in a row I was running 1 night per week with Cameron in the jogger.  We would run to a nearby park where I would do some core work and she would play, then run home.  Make the most of your time!  

4. Work on your core and flexibility.  If you're a typical cyclist I bet your core strength and flexibility aren't very good.  It's not too hard to put together a solid 20 minute routine that works both and can be done at home a couple days per week.  At this point this is a good New Years resolution - do it!

Seasons are good for you!  Plus your family, friends and co-workers will appreciate it when you're schedule is a little less obsessed around bike riding for a change.  Now that I have a little girl at home the off season is more important to me than ever.  This Fall I went almost 3 months without any set training plans and will go about 5 months without actually racing.  That's what works for me at this point in my life.  I can still go big at the races, but my season needs to be a little shorter. 

Time flies and for those of us in places like CA and TX it's already time to start getting serious again.  Make the most of it!