Why Time Off Can’t Set You Back to Zero

Over the years, I’ve watched clients take breaks from running. One thing I notice is how hard it is to take an actual break until it becomes a crisis, when they’re forced to take a break.

Why do we have to be forced to take a break instead of taking one when we need to?

One of the main reasons for runners is the fear of having to start all over from zero.

The fear of losing everything you gained. All that hard work disappearing into thin air.

Getting back to where you were will be so hard and take forever - if you even can.

So you go through the motions:

• Say you’re not training…but keep running big miles.

• Shortcut recovery time from an injury…as you worry about re-injuring it.

• Make family top priority after a race…while you quietly dread losing fitness.

• Take a break because you’re burned out…but feel guilty you’re not signed up for another race.

You invest in time off but miss the benefit.

You never truly take the break you needed before you’re back at it again, pushing hard in training…until it becomes a crisis and you have to.

Not everyone needs to take a break after every race but if you do, you can relax and enjoy it because…

You will never, ever start from zero again.

It’s literally not possible.

You have experience. You’ve run distances you never would have imagined. You know how it feels. You’ve run all night through the woods, and circled a loop for hours on end.

You have knowledge. You know how to pace yourself, pack drop bags. Who to have as a pacer, what and when to eat, how much to drink, how to manage a crew, how to navigate a course. How to prevent blisters.

You have skills. You can climb, descend, run trail meant for hiking, defeat negative thinking, get out of lows and solve problems.

You have muscle memory. Once you start back, the miles feel familiar, then the climbs, descents, and dodging rocks and roots on the trail. Your body remembers how.

Yes, you may have to do some work to get your body back in the same shape it was in but you won’t be starting from the couch.

Ever again.

You will never start from zero again - that moment in time is gone. So make the best use of a break while you have it.

And if you still feel tempted to ‘get a head start back on training,’ try this: list all the experience, knowledge and skills you’ve accumulated in ultrarunning.

These will all still be waiting for you when you get done with your break. You can’t lose them.

If you actually take the break - in mind as well as body - it can become the recharge you needed to come back refreshed and stronger.

Ultrarunning will be there when you’re ready.