Down time

Well, Busso is all done and dusted. Similarly, my racing season of paddling is mostly done too. For me and most of my athletes there are no races on the immediate horizon, at least not for a few months. So, what to do now?

My answer to that question is simple. Resting.

Often at the end of intense period of racing you are pretty pumped. Other times, all you want to do is put away the equipment and never look at it again. Whichever end of the spectrum you are, I always feel it is important to give yourself a bit of downtime when the season allows it.

The purpose of the downtime is twofold. If you have just done a race like an Ironman or a 70.3, your body is going to need a bit of time to get over it. After a 70.3 it might only be a week (but more likely two) and for an Ironman it could be four to six. However long it takes though, it is important to give yourself that recovery time. Overuse injuries and similar are a risk if you don't give yourself sufficient time to recover from the effects of a tough long course race. In my experience if you try to push your body too far too soon, it wont' respond well and simply force you to take the rest it requires anyway, so you might as well play along and save yourself the pain.

Probably more importantly than the physical recovery though is the mental. It takes an extraordinary amount of self discipline and focus to prepare for racing, whatever type of racing that is. Getting yourself up and out the door, day in, day out. Sometimes depriving yourself of social gatherings, tasty treats, family contact, down time etc. It can be a big ask and after a while it always wears thin. It might take 4 months, it might take 18 months, but eventually you will get sick of the work and the sacrifices if you don't give yourself a chance to let your hair down once and a while.

Once you have had some down time you can come back recharged and ready to attack the next block, focused and keen. Without that break though I find that the motivation starts to wane mid season, which then effects the build to the next A race. In my opinion you are much better giving yourself a break early, then coming into the next block recharged and fully committed, rather than push through race after race until eventually you crack.

Athletes always struggle with the idea of having a short rest, I know I always do. But using this approach I find athletes are able to sustain consistent training for much longer, which will always produce a better outcome in the long term.