The Offseason

I just got back from a 14 mile run at Horsetooth in the unseasonally warm temperatures we've been experiencing lately, and I feel great! Since the race I've gotten in three short to medium distance runs and they've all felt really good. Mostly this can be attributed to the five days off after the race, but also to the fact that since I'm no longer training, running isn't an obligation. It's fun and unhurried. I can go out and enjoy myself without having to worry about preparing for a race.

By the end of my training for the TNF 50 I was pretty burnt out. Training takes over life pretty easily, and finding the time to do things beside running (like, you know, studying) is hard when running routinely takes two or three hours per day, or more. Obviously it's possible to do both, but I'm not exactly motivated in school, so too often I'd find myself reading novels or looking at the internet while my schoolbooks lay idle. But more than that, I was getting sick of the constant grind of training. For a race as important as the TNF 50, every workout counts, and knowing this I gave it 100% of my energy. This left little time for friends or other fun things, like climbing, that I wanted to do but just didn't have the time. Don't misinterpret the message here: I love training and would far rather go on a long adventure Saturday morning that get drunk Friday night, but after nearly a year of training I just was ready for a break. Or, I should say I am ready for a break, since I'm certainly enjoying one right now.

Taking time off is important because it keeps our minds and our bodies fresh. It also separates (for me) the training done during one year from the next, and therefore provides a starting and ending point for each season. A break allows us to relax in comfort and relative ease of exercise before beginning the next year's workouts. I love being able to sit on the couch with a hot chocolate on a Saturday and read a book without worrying about when/where/how long I will run that day. Taking time off provides a pause in our training for us to reflect on other parts of life too often ignored in the face of other priorities, and lends an importance to the training we do during the rest of the year through reflection.

But even though it's my offseason, I still go out for runs. I ran today where I spent most of my long runs preparing for the race, and the contrast between my energy levels today and those of my training period were highly noticeable. I felt fantastic! No lingering fatigue in these legs; just a lot of energy that needed to be spent. I mean, we have to work out somehow right? How do other people work out? In the gym? No way, I'll stick to running. But only when I feel like it, because why run if I don't want to?