Jancouver

Whats the best/your approach to mid season break? Season in California started back in January and and my main goal is behind me. For last 10 days I have been just resting and did just some super easy Z1 riding. So how do you recover completely and take extended mid season break without losing all fitness so you can do some more racing later?

waterrockets 

I look back at a couple off-bike injuries I've had. I can take a few weeks completely off, then start a short (3-week) base period, and build a training peak from there. I'd say 10 weeks after the break started, I was faster than before the break.

Note that this seems to not apply to illness time off, vs. injury...

sdgrannygear

Jancouver, if it were me, I'd wait until july/august to take a break if possible. In may/june, the weather hasn't gotten too hot, but come later, it will be very uncomfortable riding. That's when I would take my break.

carpediemracing 

I'm still trying to get my season going. My mid-season break will be in December or something.

gsteinb

My mid season break is a pint of ice cream and a burrito. Then it's time to get back to it.

Jancouver

Thats was the plan as I will be on vacation July/August. I wanted to just take few days off and do more racing in June and maybe beginning of July (Manhattan Beach) but even though I have been off the bike since the state TT I still feel very tired and probably need more rest ... just worried that if I do another easy week it will be all gone in June ....

efficiency

That does not fit with the racing schedule in SoCal. May is the best month to take a midseason break, unless you are targeting SCNCA Road Race Championships, then you should take a break immediately after that. There is a lot of racing in late July and August (San Marcos, Brentwood, Ladera Ranch).

I just finished my 2 week mid-season break. I did not do any riding and I did not worry about losing fitness. You will not lose a ton of fitness from a two week break, and the mental recovery you get is worth the lost fitness.

efficiency

It won't be, don't worry about it.

Creatre

Last year I took 9 days off the bike, and came back extremely strong and motivated after a huge base block following the time off. This year I am planning on taking 6 days off the bike (just because I did not have as hard of a season as last year and honestly last year I was overseas so didn't have much choice). Then start back with an easy base block followed by some hard racing blocks to finish strong through the racing in July/August. Just waiting on the RR Championships I should have good form at, which is in a couple weeks before I take the days off.

shovelhd

I take several breaks throughout the long season, but I'm old.

AzTallRider

I'm old, too, and I live in fear that any break will erode my improvement. So any attempt at a 'mental break' backfires.

shovelhd

You have to get over that fear. Breaks set you back a little, but they recharge you. I hit my peak power PR in my last race after a 1.5 week break.

Racer Ex 

My break was because I got broken.

I can usually tell when I'm ready for a break...mentally I tend to implode a bit before I do physically. Rest, ride for fun when you feel like it, and don't start back till the though of racing sounds more like fun and less like work.