The high season of marathons is coming to an end and the last big races are practically over. Some have achieved new personal records, others, for various reasons, did not. Now comes the time to draw conclusions and plan new challenges for the upcoming seasn. At the same time, after many months of preparation, making improvements and finally participating in races, our body should get some rest, the off season recovery serves the very reason. But is it really necessary for everyone? And how to get through with it?
WHAT IS OFF SEASON RECOVERY AND WHO NEEDS IT
Even the pros need a vacation after all! Off Season Recovery is a time when we take a full break from running, or at least reduce it to a large extent. It’s a kind of holidays for our legs. Regardless of whether you’re tired or you feel unsutisfied, you really need this – trust me, I know what I’m saying. If you don’t give yourself a break now, you will suffer sooner or later – both your body and your head. Constant functioning at full speed leads to this and even if everyting seems to be in perfect order, overtraining waits just around the corner. It’s better that the break is your own decision rather than it is forced by an injury, isn’t it?
Similarly to an overloaded operating system that needs an occasional restart to run smooth and fast again, so you need a a couple of days off to be able to attack the new season at full strength and reach new peaks of your shape. Off Season recovery aims at reducing muscle tension, regenerating all the microdamages in the muscles, bones and tendons. The fact that we do not feel the damage, does not mean it isn’t there. Moreover, the lack of training stimuli settles down our endocrine system, which throughout the season worked in continuous tension.
If you enter the new season „overloaded”, you won’t achieve expected progress. Is it worth risking to waste the whole year for a few days of rest?
THE „WHEN” AND „HOW”
The best time for off season recovery for most runners is the Fall. Most races have come to an end, and if you take the time off immediately, you can quickly begin preparing for spring races season. This is not of course the one and only correct moment. Off season recovery can be done at any time, but it is best to do it after the last scheduled competition in the individual annual training plan.
What to do during the recovery? Generally everything you want – except running. This is a great time to sit down and analyze the whole season, draw conclusions and plan further challenges and competitions in the upcoming season.
It is good to let your head rest a bit as well. During this period we can loosen our normally strict diet a bit. Probably a few extra kilos will appear, but we will make sure that your body got everything it needs, and after returning to training our weight will quickly come back to normal.
Several sauna or massage sessiong won’t hurt as well. Let the body and mind relax completely. You cond make up for some neglected social contacts – meet up with friends and do everything, you didn’t have time for during the training season.
As for physical activity – there are various approaches. I do not recommend to cease any and all activity completely. You might end up renewing old injuries that were kept in check due to constant muscle tension. It’s better to recall yourself other sports that might once have been close to you. You could make friends with your bicycl againe or visit the swimming pool. Of course, if you want to jog, go ahead – but remember! THIS ISN’T TRAINING!
HOW LONG SHOULD IT TAKE
Everything depends on the degree of your shape and weekly volume. For people practicing 3-4 times a week, it’s probably enough to take 10-14 days off. However, the heavier was the season, the longer the rest should be. Some runners need even 8 weeks of rest to fully recover. The best, as usual, is your own estimation. When you start feeling hungry of running, it is probably a sign that you can get back on track. In my opinion, the optimal time for off season recovery for most of us it 2-3 weeks.
LOSS OF SHAPE
Oh yes – your shape will certainly fall a bit. However, as discussed earlier, to reach new peaks duringnext season, there must be a system restart. Just as it is with climbing a summit, first we have to descend from the previous one to climb another, so it is with training. Don’t worry, however. Muscle memory remains and it will help you quickly return to the previous level.
Studies show that after 3 weeks without training, following changes in the body appear:
VO2max – reduction of 4-10%
Blood volume – reduction of 5-10%
Resting heart rate – increase of 5-10%
Muscle glycogen levels – reduction of 20-30%
GET BACK IN SHAPE
First and foremost, do it with ease and care. You have a higher resting heart rate, less glycogen and your heart pumps a little less blood. On the other hand, compared to the end of the season, you’re like a new born baby – you’ll catch up in no time. You need more or less tha same ammount of time to return to shape to how long a break you took.
Take it slow to come back to traning – say 1/3 of your normal weekly volume. If you ran 60 km a week, now let it be approx. 20 km and gradually, week after week add some more kilometers. Run with a slower pace as well. When you get back to your normal volume, you can begin to work on the pace – you should not tweak both things simultaneously.