A "Healthy" Off season

I put the words "healthy" in quotes, because I am not talking about eating healthy, but more so along the fact of how mentally and physically the offseason can be for re-charging an athlete. Yes, The fitness is lost, but to be honest it comes back quick, and its just so plain necessary for every athlete to take some time off.

I still have one more week of  "off-season", and I found myself reflecting on how I have felt, what it has led me to, and how things have changed from year to year. I have not taken a solid off season in quiet some time, and with the long season I just had, and where I would like to go next year, I know its not just necessary, but mandatory.

Alright, alright. So what does "Lizs" offseason look like?
1) The first week after IMAZ I did absolutely nothing. Nothing is a relative term and everyones nothing is different. The first two days I could barely walk, but once I WAS walking, it felt much better. I made it an "unofficial" goal to try to get in 10k steps everyday for the week (but if I didnt it was ok!). This also highlighted the fact that it is indeed hard to get 10k steps if you are not an active person. If we (athletes) go for a run we are usually good for the day, but if someone just depends on walking about the office for their daily activity-- you actually need to get up quiet a bit!

 I also did yoga and lots of stretching. But really the first 7 days were all made of chores, shopping, walking and stretching, sleeping and lots of eating. I found I REALLY wanted to do something by about 4 days but I told myself absolutely nothing for 7 days. Since this is my end of season off season and not just a mid-season break, the time off is especially important for the muscles to recover and hormones come back to normal. I also found I had a headache almost everyday this week because my body seeks movement and those athlete "high" hormones. It may also had slightly to do with eating sugar (and not burning it off)....

2) Post-Ironman you can pretty much have a 48 hr free-for all when its comes to eating. But then lets get real, you are not working out and your body does not need that shti! I resorted back to my normal meals by mid-week. Everytime I ate a cookie or something with a lot of fat I would get a headache or a stomach-ache almost immediately. This off season has actually made me very aware of what my body does and does not like--much like a diet, But I am not on a diet! Also, its important and fairly normal in the off season to gain a little weight, but you still need to be mind-ful of your calorie intake since you are not burning the calories you are used to expending ( this doesnt mean you cant have that cookie--just be mindful how many it is 😛). I really like this article on Off-season Eating: https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Triathlon/News/Blogs/Fuel-Station/2015/December/01/The-Post-Season-Body

3)Second week of off season I was allowed to workout 1 hr a day and was encouraged to do alternative activities. I took a Pure Barre Class (Which was pretty hilarious), I swam STROKE at swim practice, and I aqua-jogged to keep the pressure continuous and off my legs for another week straight. I felt much better this week and every workout I was literally busting with energy but kept everything very aerobic -- NO intensity!! I enjoyed the flexibility of a "do what I want when I want" mentality.

4) I took naps, I met up with friends, I went to happy hour, I got a haircut, I ran saturday morning errands like a normal non athlete person, and I READ alot of books.hey, I am even blogging twice in two weeks! I cleaned my whole moms house and put her Christmas lights up outside. She exclaimed "Wow, Liz this is great!"...I said " I HAVE SO MUCH ENERGY!!". haha.

I have to admit it was kind of weird coming home from work and not having to do another workout, but I was persistent to use my down time and cherish it. I kind of thought that my normal 8-9PM bed time would extend to 10pm since I wasnt working out, but my body has had other plans and is falling asleep even earlier. I will never complain about extra sleep if thats what it needs/wants!

I have one more week of "off season" and then I will start building a little more consistent routine with some fun winter goals already set in place. I have some exciting new sponsors and have sat down with my Coach to develop a great 2017, which has me extremely motivated already! I know I am doing the off season right because of those following comments.....

Stay tuned for my 2017 excitement and Hope everyone has a great holiday season!