Enjoy the offseason

December may very well be the most wonderful time of the year, at least according to Andy Williams, but I’ve found it to be one of the worst for running - and that’s OK.

We’ve had a long year. I did six ultramarathons and a few other races, including two half marathons and a turkey trot. And December is a time to celebrate.

It’s fine, in other words, to have an offseason.

You don’t have to get fat like Santa on milk and cookies. I still believe it’s important to run, both for our physical and mental health. But this a time to recover, run easy and enjoy being outside, even when it’s cold or snowy.

Here are some tips to enjoying a good offseason:

• Do other activities — The snow brings us opportunities for skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing or sledding (whether you have kids or not). You can run in the snow, too, preferably with your dog, or do you wanna build a snowman? All of that counts as training.

• Continue with a long run, but every other week — You don’t need to do a dozen miles or so every weekend. Running a half-dozen every other weekend is perfectly fine for a month or two.

• Set the speed work aside — Maybe you can do some tempo runs, if you’ve never tried those before, or run up some snowy hills during your sledding adventures. But you don’t need to visit the track right now. I try to work on my endurance and strength during the winter and sharpen that work in the spring.

• Work on your resistance to the cold — A little mental training is good for the soul. There’s nothing like running during a snowstorm or a really cold day. Those tough days pay mental toughness dividends during a hard summer race. Dress for the weather, but once you’re out there, try not to focus on the cold, and instead focus on the fact that you’re tougher than Old Man Winter.

• Splurge a bit — It’s fine to have some good meals, drink some good beverages and have a piece of pie or two. You don’t have to earn it by running that day either. You’ve already earned it all year.