Are You an Athlete or an Addict? How to Plan Off-Season the Right Way
Most athletes cap off their season with a big race, whether it’s a late-season Ironman (like us at Ironman Arizona a few weeks ago) or a fall marathon. But once that’s over and you find yourself looking at the last page on the calendar, what should you do now?
It’s time for an off-season.
Sounds self-explanatory right? You just take some time off. Hit snooze on your alarm, eat Christmas cookies, and sit around in your PJs all day. Now, that’s not exactly what taking an off-season means. But even so, doing nothing isn’t the biggest mistake athletes make…
The biggest mistake athletes make is not taking an off-season.
Does this sound familiar?
“I can’t take time off because I don’t want to lose fitness.”
“I need to stay motivated so I have to keep training.”
“I don’t want to lose the gains I’ve made this year.”
After a year spent building fitness, many athletes will continue on their current path, doing exactly what they’ve been doing all year long. They don’t adjust their training and keep right on rolling through winter, expecting that their fitness will keep going up forever.
Spoiler alert: It won’t.
If you don’t take some much-needed time off, it can result in a few things that you really don’t want to happen.
Overtraining syndrome
Your body may stop responding to training stimulus
You might get sick, repeatedly
You might get injured, possibly chronic
You might suffer burn-out or depression
In addition to taking some time to rest, off-season should focus on building a strong foundation for the upcoming year. I’ve always believed that the results we see during race season are thanks to the work we do during the off-season.
But it can be hard to figure out exactly what to do, or how much to do, during off-season, especially if you don’t have a coach. So today we’re going to talk about how to approach off-season in order to start 2025 more rested (and more fit) than you are right now.
Including:
An explanation of overtraining syndrome
What happens if you don’t take an off-season (bad things…)
How much time to take off training after racing
How to structure your off-season
What’s Overtraining Syndrome?
Have you reached a plateau in your training? Putting in the work and not seeing any measurable results or improvement? Just finished a big year of racing?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, you probably need an off-season. But it’s so hard to do. As athletes, we like to be in control. Taking time away from training (to rest) feels like that control is being taken away.
I follow a lot of triathletes on social media. Some are my friends and some are complete strangers. Regardless, I’m always surprised to see the posts that pop up in December showing how people approach their “off-season.”
Here are a few examples:
A beginner triathlete who does his first Ironman and 1 week later starts a “run 5 miles a day challenge” to stay motivated through the end of the year.
A triathlete who races sprints, Olympics, a few 70.3, and doesn’t plan to take an off-season at all, just starts training for next year.
A triathlete who races 3 Ironman and 1 Olympic over the course of 3 months while nursing an injury. (Not joking…)
I makes me cringe to see these posts, because it’s clear these athletes don’t understand how training + recovery works, or they’re getting bad advice.
Do not believe/trust everything you see on social media.
Just because a professional triathlete does it, that doesn’t mean you should, or can, do it. Are you a professional triathlete? With the exception of a select few of my subscribers (hi guys) the answer is probably no. Therefore, stop thinking you can train and recover like a pro.
“If you can’t take a few weeks off, you’re an addict, not an athlete.”- Campfire Endurance
So what happens if you continue on this path of too much racing and too much training for too long? Overtraining syndrome.
Overtraining syndrome is a medical condition that occurs when an athlete exceeds their body’s ability to recover due to repeated or strenuous physical activity. It’s more than just being sore and tired. It causes physical, mental, and emotional symptoms, and recovery can take anywhere from a few weeks to several months. Symptoms can include: muscle pain, poor sleep, sickness, unexpected weight loss, insomnia, mood changes, tachycardia (high heartbeat), loss of motivation, extreme fatigue, depression, and bradycardia (slow heartbeat).
While the symptoms of overtraining are bad, the complications that can result are even worse, including muscle strain, tendinitis, cartilage tears, and joint injuries. How common is it? Studies estimate that 2/3 of elite runners and 1/3 of all runners experience overtraining syndrome at some point.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, sports that track performance based on races are more likely to cause overtraining syndrome. Those sports are: swimming, cycling, and running.
Crap. Triathletes are in TROUBLE.
So how do you fix overtraining syndrome? Depending on the severity, it might involve backing off high intensity exercise, reducing training volume by 50-70%, or complete rest.
What happens if you don’t take off-season seriously? (bad things…)
I want to tell you a story. In 2023, I did my first full distance race at Ironman Florida in November. Afterwards, I felt great. Amazing even. I wasn’t sore or tired. Motivation was very high, so after about two weeks of recovery with easy workouts, I jumped back into regular training.
Interestingly enough, week three is when things started going downhill. Once I was fully back into a regular training cycle, things just didn’t feel quite right… I wasn’t excited about the things that normally made me happy. I felt cranky all the time. I got angry easily.
So I had to back off training again. I took a week off over Christmas doing easy activity, whatever I felt like that day- walking the dog, going for a hike, ect.
The thing is that even if you feel recovered after a big race, like a 70.3, Ironman, or marathon, and all the metrics show you’re recovered, there can be deep-seated fatigue that doesn’t always present itself on the surface.
Many of you know that my husband, Matt, is a doctor, and he explains it this way. Racing an Ironman causes a flood of adrenaline in the body. It’s incredible, hard, exhausting, and exciting. It’s an emotional roller coaster. It can take up to 10 days for that adrenaline and other hormones to fully leave your system. That’s why taking a rest period is so important.
You might feel recovered soon after a big race. But you’re probably not.
How much time should I take off training during the off-season?
This is a hard question to answer because it’s specific to you as an athlete. For example, if you’ve spent the year doing sprint and Olympic triathlons, your recovery time will be much different than an athlete who did two 70.3 and an Ironman.
Also, there are differences depending on whether you’re a professional, elite athlete or an age group athlete. But, make no mistake. There are general guidelines that both pros and amateurs should follow.
“Everyone, pros and age-groupers alike, need a quality break from their most favorite addiction, one that lasts three to four weeks in total.”- Training Peaks
So how much time should you take off training during the off season? Here are a few guidelines as based upon the input from several different coaches and triathlon outlets.
If you’ve done mostly sprint and Olympic distances races- at least 1-2 weeks of no training.
If you’ve done an Olympic, a 70.3, and a marathon- 7-10 days, up to 2-3 weeks
If you’ve done an Ironman or Ironman plus a 70.3- 10 days to 2 weeks, up to 2-3 weeks.
This can be hard because athletes are creatures of habit. We like our schedules. We don’t want to waste the fitness we’ve worked so hard to gain. Also, swim-bike-run is fun! But look at it this way. Are you dedicated enough to do anything it takes to improve in your sport?
If so, you need some time off.
Here’s a personal example to show you where we are currently in our recovery/off-season. Matt and I raced Ironman Arizona on November 16th. We did an easy hike at the Grand Canyon the day after and took the rest of the week off entirely. The next week, we walked the dog, went for a hike, and worked in the garden.
Our first easy bike ride back was November 30th. (30 miles)
Our first easy run was December 1st. (4 miles)
Our first easy swim was December 4th. (1,700y)
Now, it’s a gradual easing back into our regular routine.
How to structure your off-season
Think of your fitness like a building. You can’t keep adding more and more levels to the top, because it would result in a building that’s unbalanced and unstable. During the off-season, we need to strengthen the foundation of the building, which may require knocking down a couple of levels to rebuild. This is necessary if you want a strong athletic foundation that can withstand fatigue and injury.
Here’s how to structure your off-season.
First, conduct a year in review.
Ask yourself a few questions.
What were the best parts of the year? What made you the most happy?
What mistakes did you make that hurt your training or racing?
What things did you do well? These are the things you want to continue doing in 2025.
What things do you want to change or get rid of?
Next, set actionable goals.
We’ll be talking about this in the coming weeks, but it’s important to know that goals must be measurable, clearly defined, have a time frame, and a detailed plan of action with steps to follow.
What are your big goals for 2025? Once you figure out what you want to accomplish next season, you can shape your off-season around those goals.
For example, last year, I wanted to improve my run efficiency and endurance, so I did an 8-week aerobic training block during the off-season.
If you want to get faster at swimming, you should focus this time on technique and form. Learn how to do bilateral breathing and sight in open water.
If you want faster transitions, set aside time to practice those skills.
If you want to get better at climbing hills on the bike that might include dedicated strength sessions and pedaling drills.
Now, take a break.
Your off-season should not only include a period of rest after the last race of the year, but also 2-3 weeks of easy, unstructured activity. A good way to approach this is to wake up and decide what you feel like doing that day. If you find yourself getting tired or losing interest, cut it short or skip a day.
Easy activity might look like walking the dog, going for a hike, or working in the garden. It might also be an easy swim or a fun spin, so long as the focus isn’t on gaining fitness, but just moving for the sake of enjoyment. Don’t look at metrics. Just have fun and do what feels right for your body.
Finally, work on building a foundation.
Now, it’s time to get back to basics. This is a good time to focus on swimming, because it’s a great way to maintain cardiovascular fitness, while being lower impact.
Use this time to address deficits in your swim. Learn how to breathe bilaterally. Work on sighting. Develop better stroke timing. Try to fit in short, mini-swims at least 3 times a week. An important aspect of the off-season is functional training, which includes strength and conditioning. So set aside time to go to the gym.
We focus on multi-plane exercises like single-leg balance, rotational movement, plyometrics, and even heavier weighted squats. We strive to do strength twice a week, as well as a brief 10 min. mobility session every morning. Off-season is the perfect time to try an alternative sport. You can also maintain endurance and work different muscles by doing indoor climbing, hiking, skiing, yoga, or paddle-boarding.
Matt and I like riding our gravel bikes and doing trail runs. These are both great for improving balance, bike handling, and strengthening different muscles than you use on the triathlon bike or when running on a flat road surface.
Remember, the work you do in the off-season will set you up for success next year. But putting in the work means doing what’s best for your body, and that also means taking rest. That’s why I always advocate having a coach, who can monitor progress, keep an eye on metrics, and help save you from yourself when necessary. ;)
Happy off-season!