My season is nearing its end and I’m looking for recommendations on what to do in the off season to maintain my conditioning and improve. I’ve done a number of sprints and Olympic races this year but will be transitioning to a 70.3 in June. I had been on a strict 18 week training regimen leading up to each race but now don’t really know what to do as it will be my first off season. Should I just continuously repeat the previous training program until I reach the time for my 70.3 program to kick in? Thanks for your advice.
Maintain your fitness in your strengths and build on your weaknesses.
Try raising your FTP in the off season, and fill in the endurance closer to your race. What people have told me many times, raise the left, fill in the right. Raise your power now with more intense efforts for an hour or so, and then fill in your time closer to the race. I’m an Endurance Nation fan, and their Out Season plans really worked for me this season, and you don’t put in crazy hours. I did 5 days a week, 3-4 days of biking, and 1-2 of running until about 6 weeks prior to my race, and started filling the time with longer rides/runs at race specific pacing. Good luck.
I’d suggest checking out some of the challenges here on ST like the 100/100 run challenge that starts in December, I believe… there are other swim, bike challenges ongoing to help stay motivated. Anything to build up consistency and volume gradually in the off-season will help you for next year. Speedwork might only be necessary very late in the process, if at all, depending on what kind of races goals you may have. This was the year I added a couple half-iron distances races after doing mostly sprint / OLY races for several yrs. prior, and I had one of my best seasons ever / and stayed injury free to boot.
Your OP doesn’t say what your strength(s) / weakness(es) might be, but the off-season also can be a time to focus on a single sport for a period of time to change things up. I know I need to find a decent swim stroke this winter as well as build strength on the bike to get to where I want to be next season in half-distance races…
I’m doing the same thing…moving from Oly to HIM next season. I decided to train for a half marathon on Oct30 and intend to do another in Feb or March. During the winter I will also swim x2 week and take a spin class. So when spring gets here, I’ll start concentrating on the bike, up the swim to 3x and try to maintain my run conditioning.
These are all helpful! Thank you
Dan mentioned our protocol above. You can learn more about it by signing up for this free “virtual seminar” we put together last year. Registration include a free Four Keys of Ironman Execution DVD and 10% training plan discount code. Good luck!