Carmichael says:
- Don’t take too much time off from training: You need a break from structured training periodically, but many athletes take way too much time off. It’s better to take mini-breaks throughout the year – one week here, two weeks there – than to hang up your wheels or just noodling around for a month or more in the Fall.
- Don’t overeat: Sounds simple, but most people don’t do it. As your workload decreases, your caloric intake has to decrease as well. But you’re in the habit of eating like a high-workload athlete because you’ve been doing it for months. If you back off your workload but continue eating like you’re training, you’ll pack on pounds quick. Try cutting back on caloric intake before cutting back on workload; for a while you’ll be riding a bit hungry perhaps, but at this time of year that’s not a bad thing.
- Don’t skip hard efforts: Maybe you’re going to reduce the amount of structure in your training to get away from the regimen, but don’t skimp on the intensity. You’ll lose power at VO2 max and lactate threshold rapidly if you do. You worked hard to gain that power, and it will take weeks and/or months to get back once it’s gone. So keep doing the hard group rides, hitting hills at your max sustainable effort level, and throw in some short (1-2minute) all-out efforts on short hills.
- Reinforce good eating habits: Now is a great time to focus on your eating habits, remove the wasteful and needless calories, and increase your intake of vegetables (especially filling, high fiber ones). During the season when training load is really high, athletes get sloppy with their nutrition because they can get away with it. As CTS Coach Dean Golich likes to say, “If the fire is hot enough, anything will burn.” Now that the fire is not as hot, it’s harder to justify dessert every night, or the second glass of wine, etc. Cut out the clutter in your diet, strip it back to the core nutrients you need for performance and health. You may find that instead of gaining, you actually lose a bit of weight between now and Thanksgiving.
Personally, I don't take any time "off" in the Fall. I just reduce volume, weekday intensity, add in some weights and cross training, move the focus to technique, and start the ramp up for next year from a low level. The group rides are shorter now too, though no less intense. Some pros have been famous for taking time off in the fall and winter, and then getting their power back up in the spring with a little blood doping.