Why Some Time Off From Training Is A Good Thing

I am in the glorious space between training periods when I’m running easy and just having a lot of fun with it. Previously I’ve had some anxiety about not having a formal training plan (even though the point of these in between periods is to not have a training plan!), but this time there’s been no worry at all.

I think part of the reason that the off season is so important is that you need time to recharge and reboot. Here are some tips on how to enjoy running just for the fun of it:

1. Do more of the things you love, fitness-wise. For me, that’s trying new classes and getting lots of Pure Barre time. When I’m in training, I pretty much can’t try any new studios and can only get to Pure Barre a couple times a week, so I try to take advantage of the off season and get in more classes.

2. Do some fun running. One of the things I love about the off season is the pressure free running opportunities. I just got back from running camp and it was four days of fun running. Not that we didn’t work—we did but it was such fun. I love running without an agenda. It’s so freeing.

3. Do more of the things you love, non-fitness wise. Let’s be real. Training can be very time consuming. Sometimes life is sacrificed.I definitely don’t go out much when I’m training and am pretty committed to going to bed at 9:30 on Friday nights. It’s not exciting but it works. So during the off season, I take advantage of having a bit more flexibility in my schedule and not having to wake up at 5am on a Saturday morning to run.

All of these things leave me feeling excited about my next training cycle. What do you do in the off season to take advantage of it?

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