Athletes are tough people. They can push when the body says push no more. They can accomplish a lot before 9am and know how to squeeze a lot into an already busy day. They have this amazing ability to seek out information to make improvements, always reflecting and analyzing as if there are no personal limits but instead, consistent constant improvements. Athletes are smart, hard working, passionate, dedicated individuals but sadly, many athletes do not know how to do the off-season properly. For the first time in 8 years, I have intentionally taken 5 weeks off from any type of structured activity with minimal running (2 runs on the track, gadget free), a handful of short bike rides (gadget free) and a few times a week swimming (after waking up without an alarm, no more than 30-45 minutes of swimming). I say intentionally because I was not injured, sick or burnt out after IMWI so the rest was planned by me and not forced by a doctor. And I still have one ...
3x Author, Board Certified Sports Dietitian, Master of Science in Exercise Physiology, 22 x Ironman finisher, 3x XTRI finisher, 6xIM World Championship finisher, Triathlon Coach, 32-year Vegetarian. Trimarnicoach.com