Maybe you’ll disagree, but I’ve always looked at the off-season as a state of confusion.  If you follow the rules, you need to take time off.  Do nothing.  Depending on how intense your season was and what you have planned next, maybe 2-3 weeks?  For some it could be until January or later.  There isn’t a “one size fits all” recipe for how much time to take off.  The key is that you give your body a real break to heal.  Additionally and of equal importance is to give your mind the ability to renew as well.  Think of time off as if you were pushing the reset button on yourself. 

It becomes confusing because you’re likely to still have the “in-season” mindset where you feel like you should be doing something.  You begin to feel like a lazy ass, unproductive with rapidly deteriorating physical fitness.  Sloth.  Eventually we get used to it, in fact, once you’ve made it through your time off, it’s as if you just finished a vacation.  Back to business as they say.

My first official week of training for 2010 is nearly complete although it’s nothing to write home about.  Very low intensity, low volume, but with a little more frequency.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, one of my goals is to become a better student of triathlon so I’ve been doing more reading on the subject.  My current book, which I’m nearly through is called Going Long, written by Joe Freil and Gordo Byrn.  I’m very satisfied with the book so far as it has a lot of solid information and theory about racing Ironman distance.  Since I’ve decided to write my own plan for 2010, I want to share what aids me in my planning and preparations.   This is my first stab at a REAL plan and not some hack job that I’ve loosely put together some morning after too much coffee.  

On of the first benefits I received from Going Long is looking at the stages of a training plan.  It’s the bigger view of the plan to help guide you in what you’re supposed to be doing to build and move momentum forward. 

1. Off-Season – rest, heal, and recover.  Transition from you A race to Prep Period.
2. Prep Period – work on skills, technique, & slowly begin stretching endurance.  Transition period from Off-Season to Base Period
3. Base Period – develop endurance, force & speed skill.  This is considered the most critical period of your training plan.   Nearly all workouts are aerobic.  The bigger the base one has, the higher the peak you can potentially attain. 
           Base1                Base2

4. Build Period – this period specifically prepares the demands of the athlete’s choosen A race.
5. Peak Period – develop a psychological edge for a race, focus is on intensity and recovery.
6. Race Period – also known as the Taper.  Ensures you arrive to race at 100%.

The Prep Period and Base Periods can be altered to one’s own desire to prepare.  For example, in my current “plan in progress,” I have a 3 month Prep Period: Prep 1, Prep 2 & Prep 3.  My Base Period is the same as well.  This gets me through to the last week in March where I will then begin my Build Period.  The Build Period is not as loose in that it must begin approximately 12 weeks out from your priority A race.  I’ve got Kansas 70.3 penciled in which would fit the schedule perfect.  After Kansas 70.3, I would then go directly in to my second Build Period for the season which would take me into Ironman Louisville, my other priority A race.  There can be other races or event throughout the season, but you don’t alter your training around them.  In fact, if you’re on top of it, you could use B or C races as speed/interval sessions depending on what you’re after.

Okay, that’s enough triathlon theory for the day.  I’ve never looked at training this way, but so far, I’m pretty impressed.  Everything can be so dialed in it’s amazing.  Funny thing is that these “periods” are part of the macro elements of a training plan.  There is so much more detail with in each period it can almost be disturbing. 

Lastly, I’ve been working on an Excel Training Log that should be pretty cool to use when finished.  It logs and tallies all workouts as well as charts them too.  A notes section and I’m sure I’ll come up with a few other tweaks.  I’ll put it up once I’m finished for anyone to use if they so desire.

PS.  Big football game tomorrow night!  Iowa vs. Michigan! 

LET’S GO HAWKS!!!     Iowa_hel