Is it ok to take a break during runs?

Also would like to know. My team usually takes a minute break during every long run in the base phase because we do an "out and back" trail so we take the break when we turn around

Absolutely its OK. Its an easy run. Heck, I used to walk my easy runs and it never hurt me.

My little rule of thumb is keep it under a minute. Too long and you essentially split the aerobic development into 2 runs. Don't know any actual science behind it, but obviously if your teammate is taking a crap and will be in there for a few minutes, jog around at least, don't just stand there.

is it?. wrote:

During an easy run today I ran 5 miles easy with some teammates after a workout yesterday. We paused for a minute during it to drink some water. will this hurt the run?

I'm also curious if this matters.

I'll stop like about 4-5 times per 1.5-hr. to 2-hr. long run for about 10 seconds at a time to dump stones in my shoes that have accumulated from running on the trails. Is this hurting my development?

is it?. wrote:

During an easy run today I ran 5 miles easy with some teammates after a workout yesterday. We paused for a minute during it to drink some water. will this hurt the run?

No. Staying hydrated trumps your pause.

bump

stones wrote:

is it?. wrote:

During an easy run today I ran 5 miles easy with some teammates after a workout yesterday. We paused for a minute during it to drink some water. will this hurt the run?

I'm also curious if this matters.

I'll stop like about 4-5 times per 1.5-hr. to 2-hr. long run for about 10 seconds at a time to dump stones in my shoes that have accumulated from running on the trails. Is this hurting my development?

The more breaks you take, the more beneficial, as long as they are less than about 25-30 minutes. You are benefiting aerobically on your breaks, essentially get more aerobic minutes. Remember, aerobic work should be measured by time, not distance (or effort)

For every 10 seconds of break, at a stride to the end of the run. 6 minutes means 6 X 100 strides at the end. This will ensure no loss of development occurs.

Wah Wah wrote:

For every 10 seconds of break, at a stride to the end of the run. 6 minutes means 6 X 100 strides at the end. This will ensure no loss of development occurs.

Completely agree, brah.

Easy runs probably fine, but it will definitely hurt you on the "faster" end of things.

My general rule is to never stop during a "workout".

So that means obviously a big no-no during intervals or tempo runs or long runs (unless you are having serious hydration issues), as the point of these runs is to condition your body to running continuously for [x] pace. Also, I wouldn't "stop" during the faster easy runs, or what someone may consider "MP pace running" or "steady state" - although these are not workouts per se, they are harder running.

I see a lot of runs posted on social media from guys I run with, saying they ran something like 10 miles at [x] pace, but I know they stopped for 1-2 minutes at a stop sign, or stopped to take a bathroom break or whatnot, and I know they cant actually run those same 10 miles at [x] pace continuously without stopping because their HR shoots up and they develop too much lactate.

In other words, in the above case, they "fool" themselves into thinking they are capable of running faster than they are. While they are still benefitting aerobically as the others here have pointed out, it can lead to very unrealistic expectations about ability and may indicate that said athlete is running his easy runs much faster than he should be (hence the need for breaks).

ClonedDuck wrote:

My little rule of thumb is keep it under a minute. Too long and you essentially split the aerobic development into 2 runs. Don't know any actual science behind it, but obviously if your teammate is taking a crap and will be in there for a few minutes, jog around at least, don't just stand there.

what about shits in the middle of your run?

Stopping during runs/workouts is the #1 sign of hobby joggers. Hi hobby jogger.

Great points thanks

Stopping for a few secs-couple mins for water is fine. Stopping for water trumps bonking a run because you're so dehydrated or hampering recovery. When it is stupid hot I'll stop by the water fountain as often as every 1.5 miles (usually nowhere near that frequency). The key is to train smart, not hard, and training yourself into a severely dehydrated state is not smart.

I don't think it has any detrimental effect on easy runs of any length.

Obviously you shouldn't stop 5x in the middle of a tempo run, or it becomes an interval workout.

runningshits wrote:

ClonedDuck wrote:

My little rule of thumb is keep it under a minute. Too long and you essentially split the aerobic development into 2 runs. Don't know any actual science behind it, but obviously if your teammate is taking a crap and will be in there for a few minutes, jog around at least, don't just stand there.

what about shits in the middle of your run?

Definitely best to stop running if you need to take a shit.

graceful_admin wrote:

I don't think it has any detrimental effect on easy runs of any length.

Obviously you shouldn't stop 5x in the middle of a tempo run, or it becomes an interval workout.

I completely agree. I used to stop at lights, to stretch, and for water when necessary. Now I do for all of that and to take photos (run with my phone in waist pack) since my real training days are over. I don't think stopping hindered my development as I was able to run some good marathon times and decent track times. Then again, maybe those short breaks kept me from sub-2:10. ;)

Runners tend to be OCD about things like this. I'd run another minute (before GPS) at the end of a run to ensure my run was _.0 miles and still do that now, but don't have any qualms of stopping on an easy run. And even if you're doing a tempo and have to stop for traffic or to $hit, there's not much you can do except stop at the bathroom (unless you wanna pull an Uta Pippig) and continue your workout after.

Also, in college I used to run with a dude sometimes who had to stop on EVERY run to drop a deuce due to stomach issues. Didn't cause him any problems as he ran low 29's for 10,000m.

mr. rager wrote:

Also, in college I used to run with a dude sometimes who had to stop on EVERY run to drop a deuce due to stomach issues. Didn't cause him any problems as he ran low 29's for 10,000m.

So you say he stopped during his 10,000 PR too. Impressive!