{"id":716,"date":"2008-11-13T05:58:48","date_gmt":"2008-11-13T10:58:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.teamcrossworld.com\/running\/?p=716"},"modified":"2008-11-12T19:59:19","modified_gmt":"2008-11-13T00:59:19","slug":"off-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.teamcrossworld.com\/running\/2008\/off-season\/","title":{"rendered":"Off-Season?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"Cross-country<\/a>

Image via Wikipedia<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Do runners really have an off-season?? Does any athlete really have an off-season???<\/p>\n

“Off”<\/strong> might not be the best word to describe what happens between the end of one season and the beginning of the next. Maybe down time or to use a more technical term: periodization.<\/p>\n

Periodization <\/em>is often used in the triathlon world to help them focus on the three different sports within their event.\u00a0 Runners also sometimes use the term in training, such as a base period, a hill period, and a taper period.<\/p>\n

Webster <\/a>defines the off-season as:<\/p>\n

a time of suspended or reduced activity<\/span> ; especially<\/em><\/span> :<\/strong> the time during which an athlete is not training or competing<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

If you tear it apart and redefine it as: a time of reduced activity or a time during which an athlete is not competing, <\/em>then we can have a real off-season.<\/em> Most athletes of all makes and models probably don’t take more than a few weeks off with out any physical activity.<\/p>\n

In college we would take 2 weeks off at the end of cross-country and then start base-building for track.\u00a0 Then when our track season ended we took 2 weeks off and started the process all-over again for cross-country.\u00a0 In our program we had some flexibility but that was the expectation and you suffered the consequences for your action or inaction!<\/p>\n

So what does all this babble really mean to you and me?\u00a0 For the most part we should be doing some type of cardiovascular workout all year long.\u00a0 Lots of research has shown that two-three weeks is a safe amount of time to take off without any real detriment to your overall fitness.\u00a0 For some of us, after our fall races we’ll take some time off and then bounce back up and run all winter long.\u00a0 Most people cut back completely on their running.\u00a0 I think the key is to find a nice balance during the winter down-time.\u00a0 It is important to keep the cardiovascular system strong and healthy all winter long – so any type of cardio work is a must.\u00a0 This is a good time to let your legs, feet, hips, or whatever to completely heal.\u00a0 Use the bike, elliptical, or row machine.<\/p>\n

I ran through the winter last year, trying to avoid the dreadmill at all costs. I was training for an April half-marathon so I needed to be running as much as possible.\u00a0 Beyond running<\/strong> though winter is a good time to pick up some other activities – here in Minnesota many runners cross-country ski to maintain fitness.<\/p>\n

This winter I am really going to focus on building my strength<\/strong><\/em>.\u00a0 During our down-time, off-season, or winter period it is a good time to focus on the other important aspects of running.\u00a0 Things like a strong core that can really improve your running form and stamina.\u00a0 Or what about flexibility?<\/p>\n

YES!! This winter I am going to work hard on my core and maybe hit some weights at the gym.<\/p>\n

I have all the equipment I need at home to work on my body’s core.\u00a0 I just need the focus and determination.<\/p>\n

Will you help hold me accountable?\u00a0 I haven’t decided on what exactly I will do, but just the idea of work.\u00a0 It will probably include push-ups<\/a>, maybe even 100 <\/a>of them.\u00a0 Stay tuned for more details…<\/p>\n

\"Reblog<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Do runners really have an off-season?? Does any athlete really have an off-season??? “Off” might not be the best word to describe what happens between the end of one season and the beginning of the next. Maybe down time or to use a more technical term: periodization. Periodization is often used in the triathlon world […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[34,4,43],"tags":[79,82,297,104,688,88,62,296],"class_list":["post-716","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cross-training","category-information","category-weight-training","tag-athletics","tag-cross-country-running","tag-cross-country-skiing","tag-fitness","tag-health","tag-physical-exercise","tag-running","tag-season"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4iaAv-by","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":224,"url":"https:\/\/www.teamcrossworld.com\/running\/2008\/detraining-and-recovery\/","url_meta":{"origin":716,"position":0},"title":"Detraining and Recovery","author":"crossn81","date":"April 29, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"After 12 weeks of training for a race I'm now taking some time off to let my body recover and heal.\u00a0 When I was first thinking about trying to do a fall marathon I asked my old X-Country coach what he thought about doing a spring half and a fall\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Health"","block_context":{"text":"Health","link":"https:\/\/www.teamcrossworld.com\/running\/category\/health\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":159,"url":"https:\/\/www.teamcrossworld.com\/running\/2008\/5-facts-about-base-training\/","url_meta":{"origin":716,"position":1},"title":"5 Facts About Base Training","author":"crossn81","date":"January 16, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"I believe that most runners are enjoying the doldrums of winter by slogging away at miles, on the treadmill or braving the cold. I know some are fortunate enough to be racing as many completed the Disney World races and the Rock 'N Roll Marathon. For those of us training\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Base Training"","block_context":{"text":"Base Training","link":"https:\/\/www.teamcrossworld.com\/running\/category\/base-training\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":24,"url":"https:\/\/www.teamcrossworld.com\/running\/2007\/favorite-runs\/","url_meta":{"origin":716,"position":2},"title":"Favorite Runs","author":"crossn81","date":"June 27, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Enjoy changing scenery? Like the soft surface of trail running? How about seeing wildlife on every run? Those are all experience you can have at one of Central Indiana's best running spots. Mounds State Park, in Anderson has a little bit to offer every runner. Mounds may be one of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Course Comments"","block_context":{"text":"Course Comments","link":"https:\/\/www.teamcrossworld.com\/running\/category\/course-comments\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":564,"url":"https:\/\/www.teamcrossworld.com\/running\/2008\/marathon-training-week-16\/","url_meta":{"origin":716,"position":3},"title":"Marathon Training: Week 16","author":"crossn81","date":"September 22, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Img from stock.xchn Another week in the bag and only a few more to go.\u00a0 This was a pretty good week, the weather really warmed up which was a little surprising after last week but it still wasn't really hot. Monday: 5 easy miles. 3 miles on a modified Powderhorn\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Marathon"","block_context":{"text":"Marathon","link":"https:\/\/www.teamcrossworld.com\/running\/category\/marathon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"\/running\/images\/16.jpg","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":326,"url":"https:\/\/www.teamcrossworld.com\/running\/2008\/best-of-team-cross-for-july\/","url_meta":{"origin":716,"position":4},"title":"Best of Team Cross for July","author":"crossn81","date":"August 3, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"What a month! Summer months seem to go by so fast! It seems that we were gone pretty much every weekend this month.\u00a0 2 of the weekends were at weddings, we should have gone to 2 more weddings and then celebrating my birthday! Training continues to go well for Twin\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Highlights"","block_context":{"text":"Highlights","link":"https:\/\/www.teamcrossworld.com\/running\/category\/highlights\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1540,"url":"https:\/\/www.teamcrossworld.com\/running\/2009\/resting-3-variations\/","url_meta":{"origin":716,"position":5},"title":"Resting: 3 Variations","author":"crossn81","date":"August 5, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Image via Wikipedia Many runners think that taking a day off is a bad thing.\u00a0 The thought of not running any miles on a given day is ridiculous.\u00a0 There is the saying that when you are running 3 miles someone else is running 4, this type of thinking leads into\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Information"","block_context":{"text":"Information","link":"https:\/\/www.teamcrossworld.com\/running\/category\/information\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Sleeping cat","src":"http:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/4\/48\/RedCat_8727.jpg\/300px-RedCat_8727.jpg","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.teamcrossworld.com\/running\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/716","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.teamcrossworld.com\/running\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.teamcrossworld.com\/running\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.teamcrossworld.com\/running\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.teamcrossworld.com\/running\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=716"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.teamcrossworld.com\/running\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/716\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":783,"href":"https:\/\/www.teamcrossworld.com\/running\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/716\/revisions\/783"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.teamcrossworld.com\/running\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=716"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.teamcrossworld.com\/running\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=716"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.teamcrossworld.com\/running\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=716"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}