Once you finish your A-race for the year, you may ask yourself, now what? You are entering the time period between racing and next season’s training that some people refer to as “the off-season,” which we refer to this as first the Recovery phase, then the Transition Phase. This is the time of the year where you are able to recover both physically and mentally from an entire season of hard training. Once you move from the recovery phase to the transition phase, this is the time of year that we are able to make serious improvements in sports-specific skills!

So what is the Recovery phase? Workouts during the Recovery phase are less structured, with low volume and low intensity; you can think of this phase as a long active recovery. During the Recovery phase, your coach should guide you through this phase to ensure that you are staying active but not doing too much intensity or volume. Once you move from the Recovery phase to the Transition phase, your coach should be prescribing workouts that are aimed at improving on weaknesses observed over the last season. This is also the time where you and your coach plan your next season’s races and training. Aside from that, this is a great time to take part in activities that you can’t do or may not have time to do during the remainder to season. Here are suggestions to get the most out of and enjoy your transition phase:

• Focus on healing lingering injuries: Since volume and intensity are low during this time of the year, this is a great time to properly heal any lingering injuries. There is nothing holding you back from following your physician’s suggestions completely. Take a week off of running? No problem. Ice & Stretch before or after each workout? Sure. Recovery is the name of the game during the recovery phase.
• Take yoga/stretching classes: You may have read article after article touting the benefits of yoga and stretching in your triathlon training. But if you are like most of us, when do you have time during the racing season? It’s hard enough getting in your planned workouts. This is a perfect time to take a yoga or stretching class.
• Participate in group workouts/clinics: During the more structured workouts of the rest of the training year, it may be hard to participate and enjoy group workouts. Especially if the group you want to train with have different goals and objectives than you have for a particular workout. This is the best time to reconnect and go for a group bike ride or run with friends without focusing on intervals or training zones. Enjoy the thrill of just swimming, cycling, or running.
• Pay attention to weight management: Don’t forget that since you are working out less, you will have to remember to manage your weight. If you don’t pay attention, you may gain some unnecessary pounds.
• Shop for new equipment/upgrades: With the extra time you will have, you can do your research on new equipment or upgrades that you are looking for. Conveniently, this phase is right before the holidays. A great time to get your gift lists ready.
• Learn your sport/equipment: You may know that your watch, cycling computer, or power meter has some great features that you just didn’t have time to figure out during last season. Take this time to read those instructions and learn those features. This is also a good time to read up on different aspects of triathlon that you are interested in. Looking for help in good reference materials? Ask your coach; we have many suggestions for you.
• Spend time with family and friends: What better way to say thank you to your family and friends for putting up with your training, then by spending time with them? Enjoy the light workout load and get back to your life that you missed during heavy training.