[HCable]

Hi there!

This question is open to anyone. Trying to get some insight into how long folks take for an off season. For reference I just did the following line up of training.

-11/15/2021 to 2/6/2022: Maintenance Plan 3
-2/7/2022 to 5/1/2022: 10k Plan Level 3
-5/2/2022 to 5/8/2022: Very light (>50% volume)
-5/8/2022 to 8/7/2022: A different 10k plan
-8/8/2022 to now: No running, just walking for a week. Started picking up a few short easy runs this week.

My next goal race is a marathon next May and I’m planning to do the Marathon Level 3 plan starting in January. That leaves over 4 months of “off season”. Is that too long? I am considering combining a maintenance plan with a build endurance plan to keep some fitness while working on strength/mobility or throwing in a December half marathon (which would be the half marathon level 3 starting next week).

Any recommendations on either which option would be better and how long an “off-season” should last?

Thanks! 🙂
Heather

[Charles]

Good question. I’d like to hear from one of the coaches how to assemble some to the goal based plans into an annual plan.

I personally don’t have an off season, I’m either training for a race, or I am not. I have used the “Run Faster”, “Build Endurance”, Maintenance” and “Stride Academy” plans. Each plan emphasizes a different fitness factor and is a opportunity to improve any weak areas you feel you may have. These are my off season activities. It is also the time to experiment – run some workouts with power, heart rate, or pace and become familiar with the different tools and how my mind and body responds to each metric and workout.

[HCable]

Thanks for the input, Charles! I’ve read anything from a day off for every mile raced all the way up to 8 weeks off… which I don’t want to do. I like your idea of working on areas that may need some improvement and experimenting. The build endurance or half-marathon plan could be a good way to prep for the marathon distance after a year of racing shorter distances. Definitely interested to hear what one of the coaches thinks too.

[leyla@8020endurance.com]

Hi HCable,

Off-season duration is different for each athlete based on their unique needs, end of season fatigue and time availability. There isn’t a one size fits all for “off season”. I usually term the off season as a completed break from “training” followed by an unstructured period of “exercising”. This can be 2-6 weeks (sometimes more even), after this period of time there can be a shift to post season which is a great time to work on mobility, strength, cross-training and building a strong foundation. This again can last anywhere from 4-12 weeks, after this you can shift to pre-season which start to focus on a strong foundation for your upcoming A races for the season this again can last from 4-12 weeks. So 4 months isn’t too long for off and post season training.
An example for you might be:
7 week run faster + mobility
11 week Build Run endurance + Strength training

That’s 4.5 months of good pre-season training that will keep you fit, build resilience and strength ready for the starting your Marathon plan.
Cheers
Leyla

[HCable]

Hi Leyla,

Thanks so much for your response! This is very helpful insight and a good idea for a plan.

Much appreciated!
Heather

[Author]

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