Every Fall after a long season of training and racing, I
become overwhelmed with a great feeling.
Something comes over me — the desire to throw my bike in a dark corner,
and never ride it again. Okay,
maybe not never again, but for at least a
month. That’s right, while many are
enjoying arguably the best time to bike in Colorado, I’m thousands of miles
from home “recharging”. No bikes, no
(structured) training, no scales, and most importantly, no dieting! It’s my way of hitting the reset button on my
soul, and reconnecting with my family.
Deep In the hole
When you’re deep in the hole of training and racing, the
mind can become unclear. Any endurance
athlete knows it takes so much more than just getting in the miles. There’s making race weight by tirelessly
logging every calorie, getting in more sleep than a hibernating grizzly bear,
doing yoga/stretching, strength training, and so many other small things. Essentially, being an endurance athlete so
much a part of your being it consumes
every aspect of your life —and we love it!
The love affair of being an endurance athlete is complicated
though. Everything it takes to succeed
also takes a toll on one’s soul — especially after months of grinding. More importantly, it takes a toll on your family. After all, living with your typical
narcissistic endurance athlete isn’t easy.
Alas, the fogginess of the mind can make anyone unaware of just how unbearable
they are to be around. That’s when it’s
time to press the reset button for the sanity of yourself and loved ones.
Pressing Reset
When you’re deep in the hole, there’s only one thing left to
do — fill that hole back in to the surface!
Refocus your energy
Even when you’re not trying to be an endurance athlete, you
can’t just turn off all that energy. The offseason is a good time to refocus all
that pent-up energy elsewhere. For
example, if you bike, run — if you run, bike.
Personally, as an endurance mountain biker I like to run while also
focusing on strength training. Signing
up for an event outside of your field of athleticism can make things fun. One of my favorite achievements as an endurance
athlete is running a half marathon in Lisbon, Portugal.
Another option is to focus your energy on getting things
done around the house, especially if you’ve been neglecting projects amid
training. I once spent a whole month
remodeling a bathroom before the birth of my son — working on the project after
my nine to five and on the weekends.
Although it wasn’t the most fun I’ve had during an offseason, it was
incredibly rewarding.
If you’re an endurance cyclist, and you just can’t stay off
the bike in the Fall then another great option is cyclocross. These fast-paced races are great for
increasing VO2max, and working on corning skills for both road and mountain
cyclists. Working on dismounting/remounting
to get over obstacles is another skill for all those hike-a-bike sections in endurance mountain
bike races. Also, by trading in long rides for shorter all-out rides, you’ll still have more free time with the family!
Putting your main athletic endeavors aside for a while helps
you carve it after a long period away.
By the end, you’ll be itching to get back to it for another great
season!
Indulge
What kind of body type do you have? Can you get away with having a beer and/or
eating badly from time to time during training/racing without much weight
gain? Awesome! You probably don’t need to take a month off
from dieting and can skip this section.
Some of us aren’t as lucky — present party included. For us, we magically gain five pounds
overnight just from one bad evening of drinking and/or eating. This wouldn’t be so bad if it didn’t take
several days to get back on track. When
you have this body type, it’s not feasible to splurge here and there;
especially closer to race season. We
must stay dialed most of the year or
else risk being above race weight.
After months of this, it can become unbearable.
For us fat kids, I
suggest taking a month to say f@*k it!
That’s right, indulge! Don’t try
to hold back, don’t log a calorie, don’t even look at a scale. I usually
do this whilst traveling in Europe where it’s ludicrous to even try to hold
back. After a couple of weeks of this,
you’ll start feeling lethargic. You’ll
remember how much better you felt well dieting properly, and be ready to get
back on it! There is a disclaimer though
— only do this if you know you can
loss the weight by your first race.
A season’s worth of benefits
After a long hiatus, you will be given the gift of a clear
mind. This is a great time to take
advantage of your clarity! I strongly suggest
taking this time to write down your thoughts — especially if you feel you’ve really gone over the deep end during the training/racing season. This aids in not
falling into the same pitfalls you may have had when you were close to the grinding wheel. For instance, write a blog entry — hey, look
at me!
My personal reflections
As the candid author
I am, allow me to share my own personal reflections. In my own clarity, I decided to change up my
race schedule for next year to better suite my family. I was signed up for a seven-day stage race in
the Spring. Although this would have
been an exciting endeavor, the amount of time training would have been far
above my normal pace. In addition, it
would require taking vacation days from work to race my bike. All this adds up to sufficiently less time
with the family.
In my clarity, I realized just how selfish I was being with
my time. Especially true with having a
toddler at home and working a nine to five job on top of training. I may never get the opportunity to do this
race again, but I also will never get to experience my son being three ever
again either. Perhaps when my son is
older and more involved his own life, the old man will get another shot
at stage racing. For now, I know in my
heart this is the best choice.
Remember what’s important
Without clarity, the endurance athlete’s decision making can become irrational. Yes, being an endurance
athlete must be a top priority if you going to succeed. However, there is a point where you need to
recognize that the same athletic drive that makes you great could also be
negatively affecting the world around you.
Taking some time off can help you address these issues, and
give you the clarity to stay somewhat sane into the next race season. Not just for yourself, but for your loved
ones as well. Just remember to cease the
moment of clarity and put your thoughts on paper. I can only say somewhat sane though because we all know
you must be a little crazy to choose the path of an endurance athlete! Stay somewhat
sane out there my friends!
