Snooze and you lose

For the endurance athlete, winter is no time for a fitness hibernation

The thought of riding her bike less because it's getting colder, the days shorter didn't occur to Lizzy Torrone, a 33-year-old grad student in public health at UNC.

"I'm planning to do the AIDS ride," she says of the four-day benefit ride that goes from Raleigh to Washington, D.C. "I need to ride as much as I can."

That's the kind of talk Robert Dannegger of Raleigh likes to hear.

As a running coach, he knows that what Torrone does over the next few months has a lot to do with her 330-mile ride in June.

Wait 'til warm weather returns to resume those outdoor workouts? Ha!

"As far as I'm concerned," says Dannegger, who is 67 and coaches the N.C. Roadrunners Club, "what's winter got to do with it?"

It wasn't long ago that avid recreational athletes -- the cyclists who do benefit rides, the runners who feast on 5Ks and marathons, the triathletes who run, bike and swim for hours on end -- viewed winter as downtime.

Cyclists were done with their last big, carrot events: Cycle North Carolina in early October, Habitat for Humanity's Halloween Ride in Durham. Runners had crossed the finish line at the Old Reliable Run in November. Triathletes had completed the Beach2Battleship in Wilmington.

"I don't want to see a bike or pair of running shoes until next year," was a common refrain.

"The problem is," says Dannegger, "if you take time off, it takes you longer to recover. Even just five days can make a difference. Even three days."

Adds Dave Williams of the Triangle Multisport coaching service, "What you do in the offseason dictates how good your season is going to be."

Which isn't to say you need to keep putting in the time and the miles, say local trainers, coaches and athletes.

You just need to keep moving.

Many types of recovery

On election night, three days after the Beach2Battleship and two days after the City of Oaks Marathon, Daren Marceau was leading 11 cyclists, mostly triathletes, through spinning class, the first of the season at Cary's Cycling Spoken Here bike shop. Their bikes mounted on stationary trainers, Marceau kept the group moving for a full 60 minutes, which made his pronouncement a couple of days later curious.

"After the race period ends in the fall, athletes need some downtime," said Marceau, who coaches athletes in a variety of disciplines and is perhaps best known as coach of the N.C. State Triathlon Team.

"Despite so many Type A's complaining that they can't stand to be away from the pool, off the bike or not out running, this time is critical for the athlete to pay attention to physical, mental and relationship recovery." (Don't pooh-pooh that last one, he advises: "Significant others and family members may appreciate a weekend or four with no traveling to a charity ride or race.")

So you needn't stay away, says Marceau. But you should think about where your efforts will do the most good.

"This is when we dial back our overall training load a bit and focus on the area in which the athlete needs the most improvement," says Marceau. "For example, the cyclist who came into triathlon a few years ago may need to focus on running over the winter, with a bit less cycling and swimming during this time."

Another good option this time of year: Hitting the weights.

"It's a good time to do some strength training," says Williams, "both for injury prevention and for overall fitness."

If you're the type who goes hard all the time, try altering that as well.

Many recreational and elite endurance athletes use a three-week cycle: They increase their effort for two weeks, then back off on intensity and endurance for the third week.