Off-Seasoning

You guys, it's November. How did that happen? I swear it was August just yesterday. The weather has quickly changed from warm sunny days to brisk days with decreasing sunlight. We have been pretty lucky here in the Mid-Atlantic with relatively mild temps, making it somewhat easy to get outside for some miles. This past weekend was the first time that it really felt like fall, and honestly I'm pretty torn about it. In a non-training sense I love everything about fall from the leaves changing to the food to all the stereotypically cheesy activities.

For running, I think fall is pretty perfect. What I don't like is it being too cold to bike outside. Over the past year and a half I have fallen in love with cycling and hate to be stuck inside on the trainer. So fall has its ups and downs if you ask me. I do plan on investing in some cold-weather riding gear, but still, I would rather it be 75 degrees any time I'm on two wheels.

Sunday morning I woke up just in time to watch the NYC Marathon and it did not disappoint. Watching the race really reminded me how much I love racing and training and this crazy world of endurance racing. My next big race isn't until July so sometimes I find it hard to find the motivation to keep training. Watching my favorite race reminded me that regardless of your goals, you have to train because you love it. I went from wishing I could sleep in to excited to go run through the leaves.

I'm a big believer in listening to your body and your mind and not relying too heavily on data or training plans. Don't get me wrong, they certainly have their place in training. I think it's important to do those workouts you really don't want to do because they make you mentally strong. When training becomes no longer fun is when I start drifting from training plans. So for me, fall is about doing the things I love without regard to how it will affect my races.

With the cooler temps I have been transiting to more workouts indoors, like yoga and strength training. While I do truly love running outside during fall and even winter, sometimes I would just rather stay inside. I love having my off-season match up with the cooler temps so I don't have to stress about getting in any certain workouts.

How are you staying in-shape this fall?