-


 

Offseason Thoughts + Winter Miles


I wanted to write something because for a lot of runners these cold, rainy, icy winter months are considered the “off-season.” All local marathons are done by end of October, and aside from a few Turkey Trots, it’s quiet until the upcoming spring. 

If you trained for a marathon and peaked at 30+ miles per week, you shouldn’t just pack it in and record 0 miles for the next 3 months. If you do that, you’ll lose a huge amount of fitness over the winter and will have to start back at square one when you start running again in the spring. 

Although it’s normal and recommended to take a few weeks off after a huge effort, you should view the off season as an opportunity to reflect on the previous year, identify things to improve upon, and set goals accordingly. In all the while, try to maintain whatever aerobic base you can. Going from 50% mileage to peak mileage is much easier than starting back from scratch. Additionally, it will give you several weeks of extra time to stack more of “quality miles”. Consistency, combined with the stacking of those extra quality miles is what PRs are made of. 

Last summer, I took almost a month off due to some mild runner’s knee. This off season, I have two goals: 1) more resistance training to prevent injury and 2) more structured speed work. 

So, this winter, I’m lifting heavy during the week and when going outside is not an option, I’ve been cross training on my row machine. As for structured speed work, I’m going to include more track work and mile repeats. As winter turns to spring, I’ll transition those 400m and 1-mile repeats to more threshold efforts and training at around marathon race pace. 

Even though I won’t be coming close to mile pace during a marathon effort, it’s beneficial to maintain my speed at all the different paces, since it builds running efficiency. Marathon effort should feel almost *too easy* for the first few miles. Training at those faster paces help with endurance especially during miles 18 and beyond when it starts getting… uncomfortable.

Another thing I’m experimenting with is nutrition. Normally I make homemade GU but because of laziness I instead went with maple syrup and a pinch of salt. It turns out a lot of runners swear by maple syrup as fuel. It’s a little on the sweet side, but it might be a good change of pace for long races. I might consider keeping one flask full of Gu and a second flask with maple syrup.

Winter running – even at 19 degrees -- didn’t feel *cold*. Typically when I’m the coldest it’s because its windy. Our bodies can trap a very thin layer of warm air close to our skin, but when it’s windy, we lose that ability, and everything feels *that* much colder. On those days, I usually end up staying inside. The same logic for ice and snow. I’m not really concerned about running on snow – I just throw on trail shoes. But if the roads are icy, then there’s too much of a slip hazard and I stay home. 

I’ll close this blog post with some useful cold running tips in no particular order:
  1. Safety is paramount. If you’re not confident you can return to your house safely, then it’s better to skip the run for today.
  2. Don’t expect to run as far or as fast as you normally would, take what the weather gives you.
  3. Find ways to protect your extremities. I like wearing gloves to protect my hands and a nice beanie to keep my ears warm.
  4. Bring water and fuel if you’re going to go somewhere far.
  5. Preferably, stay close and find a loop so you can cut the run short and return home if the weather gets bad. Even better if the loop has a water fountain. Still bring water anyways if the fountain ends up being frozen over.
  6. Wear layered clothing so you can adjust to the temperature. Be sure the layers are breathable so that sweat has a way of escaping into the air.  The outer layer should be a shell that helps to break the wind.
  7. If it’s windy, then it’s preferable to run *into* the wind on the way out, then run with the wind at your back on the back home. The wind stinks, but it’s even worse after you’ve warmed up and worked up a sweat. The wind will freeze your sweat and will make your run back home that much worse. Yowsers!
 
That’s all for now. See you next time!


Popular posts from this blog

My Summer Training Block Part 1: Starting off with a fresh PR

-
    Hi everyone! Its been a minute. Work has been slow so I've been spending much of the summer running. The summer is going to come and go anyways, so might as well spend it building up a massive aerobic base 😎 In the interest of not being too long winded, I'll break this into parts. I've been meaning to post something about my Half Marathon anyways, so I'll start with a race report about the Foot Traffic Flat on July 4th.   My Training :    I didn't have any particular training for this race. I wanted to start incorporating track work , specifically 400m repeats when I can . Its summer but I guess the kids at the high school still do practice for sports on the field . If the track is being used , then I end up going the "Kofuzi " workout , which is 6x1 mile repeats with about 90 seconds of rest . (Kofuzi is this guy ) I wanted to train some speed in before I started slogging through marathon pace work .     Outside of the 400 m repeats or the 1 mi...
Read more

Stumptown 50K Race Report

-
Image
  Coming off the back of the Vernonia Marathon and a solid performance in the Lake Oswego 10k, I approached this race as a “B” level event, meaning that I took it seriously, but I didn't put in a full 18 training block in the same way I treated Vernonia. Here’s a detailed account of my preparation, race day strategy, and the lessons I learned along the way. Training and Preparation In the six weeks leading up to the race, I maintained a steady training regimen, peaking at around 40 miles before tapering down. My taper wasn’t as restful as it could have been; I prioritized keeping my legs active rather than taking extended rest periods. One crucial aspect of my preparation was stretching. After attending a stretch lab demo, I learned my hamstrings and hips were particularly tight, which is common for runners. With a week to go, I integrated nightly hamstring and calf stretches to address potential knee pain, a recurring issue for me. Race Kit My race kit was assembled with comfort a...
Read more

The Brugada Challenge

-
Image
How the Concert Started How My Evening Ended I wanted to write something clever for this blog post, but I think the pictures do a good enough job getting your attention. Here’s how i ended up in the hospital. I had collapsed in the middle of June at a Death Cab for Cutie concert. When the medics checked me out, they noticed an irregular heart rhythm suggesting that a heart attack was imminent.  An ambulance came and a second set of EMTs performed another EKG. Since it was at a concert venue, they thought maybe interference from the music or the instruments was skewing the measurements. I t wasn’t. The second EKG confirmed the irregular heart rhythm so they treated me as if I was at risk for a cardiac event. It was puzzling for them because I was an otherwise healthy middle aged man. How could I be at risk for a cardiac event? My evening went from “ Death Cab for Cutie ” to “ Really Expensive Cab to Hospital ”  Upon arrival at the ER they perform a third EKG, which was no diffe...
Read more