When should you cut an interval workout short?

When you can't maintain the same times or get faster then you should cut the workout. It would have been better to start with 2:54 and finished with 2:39. You simply went out too fast and never recovered. It was hot so why stick to a predetermined pace? You should have just went with effort level. If you're thinking 3k or 5k effort then go out at that race effort and the times will be what they are.

Alan

I think you were right to cut the workout short. Only you know when it's so bad that you need to cut it short, use your judgement and be smart - especially in the heat. If you're not getting any further benefit from the workout, what's the point? Would it give you more confidence to do a few more intervals at a slower pace? Or would it give you more confidence to cut it short and leave yourself a little more fresh for your next hard workout or upcoming race? I don't think there's a correct answer except for whatever would leave you feeling most confident.

I agree with the previous post that you went out way too fast and paid the price in the heat. You went out too fast even if it wasn't hot. If your I-pace (J. Daniels charts) is based on a recent race, that race probably wasn't run in such bad conditions so you would want to adjust your I-pace for the conditions. Remember also that the I-paced 3-5 min. intervals are just about the toughest workout you can do - especially if you haven't done them in a while. You will be able to tolerate them much better after doing them once/week for a few weeks.

Put down your pride and begin to train smart. There is no shame and not finishing what you set out to do....the shame is being injured from stupidity.

The Roc

SpartanCC04, Mama said there'd be days like that. Bag the workout and pick another day.

Question, why one tempo run a week? If you are doing them correctly you can do 4 or 5 of them a week. You could have also changed the workout to 200s with a short rest and have made it through it. No matter what, hot and humid days are going to beat you down.

Another thing I've noticed over the years is that many of you somehow equate your masculinity with "toughing it out" in a workout or slogging through a races no matter what. Death marches are anything but tough. Shitting your pants and stumbling in a race is not tough, it's downright dumb. If you are seeing spots while running then go ahead and bail. There will be other days.

It's only July, most big CC meets aren't for another 3 months or more. It's no big deal

i find it helpful on certain ugly condition days whether it's hot or windy to toss my watch after the first couple intervals and just run a hard effort. on some of the hot days, i'll take more recovery and usually shorten the workout if needed. on days where i feel like garbage, i'll start the workout and give myself two miles to start feeling better. if it's not working, then i'll cool down and go home. i don't get too worried about these bad workout days unless they start to pile up. then i'll back off my training volume and intensity until i feel better. i think you did the right thing and you'll be back at it next time out.

never cut it short, it just makes you week, walk the last repeat if you have to. dont quick it will just make it easier to quit next time, stay tough.

as wrote:

never cut it short, it just makes you week, walk the last repeat if you have to. dont quick it will just make it easier to quit next time, stay tough.

okay, tough guy. i'm guessing your running career has been short and you haven't done many workouts in your lifetime. or maybe you run 6 months out of the year?

Everyone has bad days, bad weeks, hell I've had a bad year. Nothing but bad luck that lead to freak injuries and subpar times. What is important is to know that you put it all on the lone. If you start a workout going to fast in hot weather, tough it out as long as is HEALTHY not as long as you can.

The problem is determining when a run or a workout starts becoming harmful. It is hit and miss, but I believe it is better to leave a workout knwoing you could do more but happy you don't have to, rather than leaving a workout in pain and pass the level of exhaustion you know you can handle. Just remember, you are supposed to hurt in a workout, all workouts hurt, but don;t injury yourself, and you should know when you are hurting yourself more than you are helping yourself.

In short, I think you made the right decision, but I would suggest that next time a workout is going bad, instead of doing the last 2 800's incredibly slow or not at all, try to do 2 more 400's at slighlty faster pace.

i have been racing for a good amount of time, train 12 months a year, and my senior year of hs i ran well under 9:20. quiting works outs is a bad idea, i have heard a number of elites say the same thing,i.e. carrie tollefson, jim ryun. and they have some pretty good careers. plus if you quite one it makes the next one easier to quit.

Dont quit unless you are injured, being tired because you went out to fast is no excuse finishing and feeling like shit will make you really thinkn about what you have done and you will learn not to do it next time.

Arthur Lydiard always had his athletes decide for themselves when they had had enough during a workout. He hardly ever gave a specific number of intervals to complete during a workout. He trusted his athletes' intuitions to tell them when enough was enough.

Snell was "tough" enough to win a few gold medals in his day. True confidence is knowing when to stop because you know you are fit enough anyway, and continuing just does harm. If you need to grind through every workout past the point of benefit to increase your confidence, then you have a looooooong way to go as a runner, both mentally and physicaly.

John Walker was another "great" who thought nothing of bagging a workout when he didn't have it that day. Went on to have a WR, Oly Gold and one of the longest careers in the business.

SpartanCC04 wrote:

Had some trouble on my workout today. Planned workout was 8x800 at VO2max pace (2:50) with 400 meter recovery jog (about 1:50-1:55). Ended up only doing 6 repeats, with splits of: 2:39, 2:43, 2:47, 2:49, 2:50, 2:54.

Is that a fast-paced recovery jog?

I suspect even with the weather conditions you would have been able to finish the workout if you had paced your 800s evenly.

Next time try and run 87 for the first 400, you should be strong enough to run 83 for the second and still get that 2:50. Personally, I have found anytime I do long intervals the workout gets significantly harder if the first is too fast.

Malmo is on the mark again. You learned much about yourself that day. One thing to learn is that you were probably in trouble after the first lap of the first effort. If you make this mistake again, stop after make the mistake and recover with a long recovery jog and start again at the proper pace. Young runners often make this mistake as well as not doing a proper warmup before the workout. Be sure that the pulse is at least 120 before the first effort.

You're OK.

JOhn walker - NZ miler always said that if he never felt like running or hurting himself during a session he would take off his spikes and go home - he said mentally that did him far better than struggling through and not enjoying any of his sessions - bad sessions build self doubt. Too many good athletes punnish themselves through sessions when actually its a better option to pack it in - listen to your bodies!!!

Cutting the workout short was fine, but you suffered from a lack of pacing sense. If your goal pace was 2:50 and it was hot/humid, the 1st interval should have been 2:50-2:55. You missed the target by 11 seconds (under). What did you go through the 1st 400m in? That would have told you too fast. Start by ruinning 2:55 and work down. Malmo offered another good alternative: cut the distance down to 200m or 400m at the end. That's a good strategy, especially when humidity saps you of your strength.

You probably came across similar advice already, but some of the best advice I've gotten from training partners was never to finish a workout without thinking you could do at least one more interval at the last pace you ran. Obviously, in cases where you're doing time trial stuff, that's not applicable, but for repeats I think it's relevant, if not as scientific as advice Jack Daniels would give. It was either Matt Holthaus (a 3:54 miler) or Rich kenah who told me this, I can't remember which (sorry for the name dropping but I don't want people to think this is just random advice). So if you're scheduled to do 8 at 2:50, you were smart to stop when you did. If you had tried to add another repeat, it would have taken you much longer to recover from the workout (not to mention damage to confidence). A good coach will often shorten the workout if you go fast on early intervals so that you don't feel like you're being a wimp. Of course, a good coach would also make sure you didn't run 10 seconds faster than your goal pace. (Not that I can talk, I pushed myself way too hard in many a workout--much better to save it for race day, and doing an extra interval in the heat is a sure way to kill your chances of running well when it counts.)

scott anderson wrote:

It was either Matt Holthaus (a 3:54 miler) or Rich kenah who told me this, I can't remember which (sorry for the name dropping but I don't want people to think this is just random advice).

Holthaus a 3:54 miler?.....technically yes (3:54.96)