Managing the Off-Seasons Blahs

Today's #TheWerk post is brought to you by Pedro Gomes (@pedrogomestri). As a professional triathlete, Pedro started ITU course racing in 2012 and has since garnered multiple IRONMAN distance titles. Today Pedro is a Phoenix, AZ based multi-sport coach who inspires athletes through mentorship programs, training camps, and endurance training/nutrition insights. 

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Personally, I’ve never struggled with the “off-season”. It’s an important piece of the puzzle for our mental health in sports and if anything, I look forward to hitting the master reset button for a week or two, just so I can rebuild into the next season. Maybe because I know how long it takes to get better at something, I always look forward to getting back to work. 

A lot of athletes struggle with the off season, end up taking too much time off and/or find themselves in deep valleys of motivation, which then becomes an overwhelming obstacle to getting into the new season.

Here’s some advice for overcoming these "off-season blahs":

Do your training first thing in the morning before life gets in the way and your brain has time to process it. Stick to a routine and get out early. Doing the opposite may lead to an even worse state of mind. As an athlete, I have always found having someone tell me "what to do and when to do it" to be a lot easier than me trying to self-manage my time. The off season is not the time to be strict with training, but having some structure is a big step ahead into the new year. 

Remind yourself of everything you did right during the last year, and where you failed. In 99% of the cases, you excelled after consistent blocks of training and failed due to lack of it. You felt strong and confident when you were on top of your strength training and felt weak when you skipped it. Ultimately, training during ‘on season’ is never enough, as we never have time to truly focus on blocks for any sport because there’s only so much we can handle. I have always used the off-season/winter months to focus on swimming, running and strength/rehab, because it’s a lot less time-consuming than big mile bike weeks.

Ultimately find someone or something really big to hold you accountable: a spouse, coach, your friends or a HUGE goal that is too scary. Tell your partner/friends what you want to achieve in 2025 and ask for their help if/when you struggle to take the first step. If your goal is scary enough, then you'll can probably see the big picture and realize you really don’t have that much time left. And don’t take being healthy or young for granted - use it wisely while you can!

If you would like Pedro's help with off-season training, please see tricoachingservices.com or email him care of hello@tricoachingservices.com.