Last Sunday, I concluded my season with a historic half marathon (literally called the Historic Half Marathon).

I think I’ve often looked at this year’s races as somewhere within the ‘B’ tier, with no standout results, no podium finishes and no ‘A+’ days.

I’m inevitably hungry for what’s to come in 2026 and to put that right. But I also know that it’s extremely important to give the body some time to decompress and deload.

Trail running seasons can range anywhere from February to November (January to December if you really want). April is a very typical starting place in Canada once the snow has disappeared. But you can extend the season earlier or later either by racing on the road or internationally.

And that’s a really long season. That’s a really long time to be trying to be the best at something. Physically and mentally.

The best thing to do after anything like this is to give the body and brain time to think about anything else.

For the next little while, I’m still going to be training, doing the strength work, and eating all the food, but I’m also going to be thinking less about what’s next.

Truth be told, I’m racing next at the end of February. I have a little over two months until the season restarts, and probably only a month before training becomes really race-specific again.

But in that time I want to be focused on other projects as much as possible. I want to write, maintain healthy relationships, and take care of life maintenance tasks that become harder under heavier training loads.

I want to be more intentional about checking in with myself on a day to day basis and adapting training where necessary. And I want to make sure I ease back into heavier loads of trail work and elevation gain, especially given that I’ve mostly run on flat ground for the past two months.

I think it’s important to have that next goal and to know what you’re working toward next. But it’s also important to be patient.

All of the athletes that I work with right now are in a period of building toward 2026, without any pressure of being there right now. Even those that are really fit right now know that they’re only scraping the surface of what’s to come in April and May when they kick off their seasons.

If there’s an injury or a sickness or any kind of doubt, it’s important to remember that there is still time to get there. There is still time to have two entire weeks off if it really came to that.

In 2023, I started running seriously on trails in April. A month later I ran 3 hours 45 for a trail 50K.

The foundations and the building blocks that you build right now and in the next few months are important. But they are less important than prioritizing physical and mental health when that needs to be the priority.

So for my own running and racing, I haven’t really started thinking about February and Run Ridge Run. I’m just running, trying to heal a cold, and getting my body back into a good place to start slowly building again.

I’m writing a ton of fiction for the first time in awhile, and focusing on maintaining a clean space at home. I’m also waking up with other thoughts on my mind, before letting thoughts of exercise and running rule the world.

After such a long season, the mind needs this as much as the body.

It doesn’t need to be a full-blown off-season with two weeks off or significantly reduced mileage. But if it is, I know that’s only going to set me up for success when it matters most.

Thanks for reading and see you soon!