I ran my last marathon of the year last Sunday at the Hoka Trilogy National Finals. It was my eighth for 2024.

It capped a whirlwind of a year in my running journey, which means it is, finally, off-season now for me.

Time was when I would scoff at the idea of an off-season when one basically takes a substantial break from training. This, of course, does not mean completely no running at all — occasional easy runs are not counted.

But now, I view the off-season as a period to not just allow the mind and body to rest from the rigors of running nearly everyday and following a rigorous training program, but as a period to rethink, recalibrate, and plan the forthcoming year.

A proper off-season means substantially scaling back the intensity of activities and refraining, by all means, from joining last minute year-end races.

For runners, resting is probably the most difficult undertaking.

Days without running just don’t feel right and your body revolts against the idea of potentially losing fitness. This is actually, however, the best time to recover from overtraining, and those little niggles here and there that one feels at the height of each training block.

It is not just the body that recovers because it is mentally and emotionally restorative as well. Non-stop training for a long period of time can lead to burnout which has resulted in some runners falling by the wayside.

If running were to add vigor to our lives, we should not allow it to saturate our waking hours to the point of “umay.”

Think of productive ways you can spend your rest period such as spending more time with your physiotherapist for myofascial release and a host of other maintenance work.

To hasten healing and promote a sense of well-being, one may consider low impact activities like yoga, pilates, barre or swimming.

I find that in this off season spending time as much as I can in the sauna has felt rejuvenating and therapeutic. One can also do cold plunges/cryotherapy and try hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

The off-season is also an opportune time to finetune one’s running form.

A gait analysis can reveal inefficiencies that could be making one injury prone. Since changes in running form take time and should be introduced gradually, the off season is a good period to do it.

Planning to experiment/embark on a new diet, the off season is actually the only advisable time to do it.

I remember that it was after my Tokyo marathon and before my back to back Berlin and Chicago in 2019 that I started implementing a keto carnivore diet which was a dramatic shift from my carbohydrates heavy diet previously.

The transition was not a walk in the park. My body had been so used to using carbohydrates as a primary and easy fuel source that it was resisting tapping into my fat stores.

There were days I felt nauseous and I would crave rice and pasta as any true blooded Pinoy would. But because I was determined to make a change, I dropped the starch and most vegetables in favor of a mostly meat-based diet.

After about two months into the new way of eating, I could not look at rice the same way again.

The off-season is also a time for a runner to strategically incorporate new ways to train strength and conditioning.

Nowadays, am leaning towards functional training — a type of training that focuses on improving your body’s ability to perform everyday movements.

Finally, the off season is a great opportunity to go on a vacation with family and friends.

Training season oftentimes deprives them of your company. This is the perfect time to make up for it.