It's okay but I think the whole purpose of a long run was to do a long run.
I don’t like stopping on a run once I start. People I know do long runs on a hot humid high dewpoint days end up continually stopping and their elapsed time is like two minutes slower than the moving time. Seems like a waste to me. I just do an hour without stopping and wait for a better day.
It's fine to stop for water or wait up for a friend or whatever, it won't really impact anything. But if you feel like you're needing to take breaks just to finish the run, it's probably a sign that you're running too fast for your fitness level
Glycogen lasts for about 90 mins. Eventually you'll run out, even if you stop, so you'll still get the benefit of fat burn if you start back up again because you'll still be all out of glycogen stores.
Mitochondria will continue to increase as you start back up again. You'll still get the benefit of improved cellular function.
Your legs will still be fatigued, you'll still need to move oxygen to your muscles, and your body will have to produce more red blood cells.
All of these things are benefits of the long run.
Actually I have no idea what I'm talking about and you shouldn't listen to me.
It's okay but I think the whole purpose of a long run was to do a long run.
I don’t like stopping on a run once I start. People I know do long runs on a hot humid high dewpoint days end up continually stopping and their elapsed time is like two minutes slower than the moving time. Seems like a waste to me. I just do an hour without stopping and wait for a better day.
I used to stop on every run at a water fountain at my turnaround point and take a breather, quick stretch or re tie my shoes as I took a few sips from the fountain & head back. Probably no longer than 2 minutes. But whenever I would do my weekend long run on my alternate route I could feel the difference of not stopping. My body got used to running 20 minutes, getting brief respite & refueling, and then 20 minutes heading back. Instead of 40 minutes of running I got used to 2 20 minute halves. By 15 minutes in my body got used to feeling like it was about time for a quick rest & refuel. On my long runs at about the 30-35 minute mark I could feel the difference of my body being out of routine. Not awful but I did feel my body was taking on a more difficult cardio challenge. Similar to when I tried training for the 800m by running almost exclusively 200m repeats—my body got used to a rhythm of output, rest, output, rest, etc. so when I got to 500-600m of continuous running in the race I was gassed.
Now I try not to stop unless I need water like in the summer, and even then I do a sip, splash, and go with no break. 10 seconds of water and bounce. If you have to stop at a stoplight it is what it is. Some people do the jog-in-place, I guess it keeps your heart rate up, can’t speak to the effectiveness. Otherwise don’t stop your run if you don’t have to. Continuous smooth effort is the goal of long runs.
It's ok if you feel you have to. Take care of your health and soon you will be able to run without taking a break. Sometimes the weather can be too hot or other factors play in but listen to your body. You can always try again tomorrow but stay healthy so you can have a tomorrow or avoid injury.
Was just looking at my Strava. Lots of good runners I know had 8 min pace as their moving pace but 10min as the elapsed pace. Long runs in brutal running conditions are a sh!t show. Better to cut it short and live to fight another day. “Discretion is the better part of Valor.”
This post was edited 19 seconds after it was posted.
When I ramp up my long run distance, I split it into 2 laps with a water and gatorade break in the middle. IE 11 mile long run was two 5.5 mile loops. I wouldn't be stopped more than like 2 minutes.
Then once I've gotten used to the distance, the next week I'll do the long run continuously and bring the water with me. So I take a bit longer to move up my distance, but in the end I still accomplish the expected distance.
I wouldn't trust myself to run that distance until I've completed a no break long run, so overall don't use breaks and expect to progress properly.
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