Every year, right around the time spring starts whispering that maybe—just maybe—the season is about to change, endurance athletes start to wake up.
It’s almost April. The sun’s sticking around a bit longer, the trails aren’t frozen anymore, and you’ve spotted someone running in shorts and thought, “Maybe it’s time I lace up too.”
If that’s you? Welcome back.
But let’s get one thing straight: how you start matters. A lot. There are two paths in front of you: one leads to progress and performance. The other? Straight to injury, burnout, or just another year of wondering what went wrong.
Let’s talk about both.
The Wake-Up Call: Why Starting Late Doesn’t Mean Starting Fast
There’s a unique challenge to starting your season when others are already deep in theirs. You see race dates looming. Your friends are already posting their weekend ride stats. That urgency builds up and tells you to “catch up.” That’s a trap.
Here’s what too many athletes do when they start late:
- Rip into a long or hard workout the first weekend.
- Skip nutrition planning, assuming short workouts don’t “need it.”
- Re-run the same old routes from last year, chasing old PRs and ego-driven paces.
All three of these are mistakes. Your fitness is dormant. Your equipment is dusty. Your nutritional habits are probably more aligned with Netflix marathons than real ones. And most importantly, your body isn’t ready to absorb serious training stress. Not yet.
What to Do Instead: Smart Re-Entry for Long-Term Wins
If you’re getting back into training now and still have a race on the calendar, you need to take a measured approach. It starts with mapping your time to race day.
Let’s say you’ve got 16 weeks until your A-race. Here’s the math that matters:
1. 25% Rebuild Phase (4 weeks):
This is your foundation. The goal here isn’t to get faster; it’s to get consistent. That means:
- Establishing a training rhythm
- Reconnecting with your equipment
- Testing your body for weak links
- Checking your nutrition strategy
This window is often skipped, but it’s critical. It gives you permission to move slowly and evaluate: is your body holding up? Are you adapting? This tells you how aggressive (or conservative) you can be in the weeks ahead.
2. 25% Volume and Consistency (4 weeks):
Now you’re layering in more work. Your body’s adapting. The goal is to build durability and frequency across all three sports (or two, or one—depending on your discipline). You’re not doing race prep work yet; you’re creating the base that will let race prep stick.
3. 50% Race-Specific Prep (8 weeks):
This is where benchmarks live: long rides, brick workouts, race rehearsals, nutrition tests. But this only works if you’re ready. Shortchange the re-entry period, and this window gets shorter. That’s not just a loss of fitness—it’s a loss of learning. Most athletes get only 10–12 meaningful race-prep workouts in a year. When you miss those, you miss the reps that teach you how to race.
A Few More Do’s and Don’ts for Returning Athletes
Don’t chase your old routes.
They hold pace memories you’ll subconsciously try to beat. Find new roads and trails. Build new benchmarks.
Don’t neglect your fueling.
Your metabolic systems detrain too. Fueling is a skill—and it needs practice just like FTP or cadence. Whether it’s gels in your gear bag or calories on your ride, get intentional now.
Don’t go solo.
Find a 5K, a local group ride, or a training buddy. You’ll be humbled, but the accountability and energy will help you push through this tough stretch.
Why This Window is the Most Important of the Year
Starting your season isn’t about catching up. It’s about building forward—on your terms, at your pace. The athletes who consistently get better year after year aren’t always the fastest. They’re the ones who build smarter, learn faster, and show up race-ready more often.
If you’re just getting started, good news: you still have time to do this right. But you don’t have time to waste.
Before you sprint into your old training plan, take one deep breath, step back, and build a plan that gives you the best chance of success—not just this season, but next year too.
You don’t need more miles. You need more intent.
Train smart. Finish strong.
Want more?
Check out our free training guides, race prep resources, and how-to videos at endurancenation.us. Ready to get serious? You can join the team risk-free and start building your season with a coach and a community behind you.
