The Off-season

It has been about a month since Hallucination. The weather is getting colder. The days are getting shorter. My motivation to run is waning with each passing day. Each year, I seem to go through what can best be described as psychological burn-out. Each year, I try different strategies to combat it. This year, I think I am going to resign myself to the fact that I need some time off from running. I plan on doing an occasional long trail run to help maintain my endurance base, and I will do a few runs during the week when the mood strikes. Instead of forcing myself to run, I am going to focus on some other cross-training endeavors. The next few months will be filled with the following activities:

• Swimming- My new gym has a pool. Even though my swimming form is horrible, I like the relaxation that comes from a few laps around the pool.
• Weight lifting- Throughout my 100 miler training, weight training was a secondary concern to running. Since I will have greater access to our gym mid-week, and I will occasionally work out with out advanced P.E. classes at school, I will have the opportunity to get back to the routines I did throughout 2008. Time to dig up the old Gym Jones-esque workouts! I'm especially excited to tackle Pete Kemme's crazy variation of the famed "300" workout... the "1000" workout!
  
• Wrestling- I plan on working out with out wrestling team at least once per week throughout their season. This will provide a perfect full-body workout.
  
• Indoor soccer- I may play an occasional game with a group of former students. For some reason, they keep asking me to play, even though my soccer skills rank well below my swimming skills and only a hair above my basketball skills. Still, the sprinting and direction changing will be an excellent method to help maintain some of the running skills. I'm still not quite sure what I will do about shoes...
  
• Running- Of course, I will do SOME running. After this week, I will probably join Mark Robillard and the group he runs with at Hoffmaster State Park in Muskegon. Their subtantial trail running skills will require me to work hard enough to maintain my trail running skills throughout the late fall and winter.

These activities will keep me in shape throughout the winter. They should provide enough variety and intensity to prepare me for next year's running season while still maintaining my base from this year. It should be my most ambitious ultrarunning year to date. My tentative plan calls for a 12 hour race, a 100k, a 10-person 270 mile relay, one or two 100 milers, and a marathon.