stopping during long runs?

I'm surprised by the responses here. Most seem to be suggesting that stopping is ok or even desirable. Yet when we have discussion of recovery during intervals everyone seems to suggest it is imperative that the rest is relatively short and not standing still or even walking.

So tell me. Why is it ok to STOP during a long run but not walk during interval recovery?

sub_3_is_the_goal wrote:

I'm surprised by the responses here. Most seem to be suggesting that stopping is ok or even desirable. Yet when we have discussion of recovery during intervals everyone seems to suggest it is imperative that the rest is relatively short and not standing still or even walking.

So tell me. Why is it ok to STOP during a long run but not walk during interval recovery?

Watch some of the videos of Eliud Kipchoge running intervals. Between each rep he is either slowly jogging almost a shuffle or is walking his rest.

10 minutes is quite a long time, but if you have to use the restroom or wait on someone it is understandable. However, if it's cause you are tired from the pace then you are probably running way to fast.

I suspect when you use "imperative" you are overstating things a bit.

The simple answer is that you are seeking to achieve different things with different workouts. When you are doing 5k paced intervals, you are seeking to effectuate vo2max adaptations. Those adaptations take place at or near your maximum heart rate. Keeping the recovery periods short and staying active during those recovery periods keeps your hear rate higher and thus allows you to get back to your max hear rate earlier during the next interval than long passive breaks would, so you get more time at your max heart rate overall and more of the adaptation that you are seeking.

Since getting to or near your max heart rate is not a goal of a long run, that line of reasoning is irrelevant.

3200y5000 wrote:

I think it's okay to stop if you need to use the restroom,...

I don't think it's ok to stop if have to take a sht, just go in your shorts like the elites do and worry about the mess after the run

Smoove wrote:

I suspect when you use "imperative" you are overstating things a bit.

The simple answer is that you are seeking to achieve different things with different workouts. When you are doing 5k paced intervals, you are seeking to effectuate vo2max adaptations. Those adaptations take place at or near your maximum heart rate. Keeping the recovery periods short and staying active during those recovery periods keeps your hear rate higher and thus allows you to get back to your max hear rate earlier during the next interval than long passive breaks would, so you get more time at your max heart rate overall and more of the adaptation that you are seeking.

Since getting to or near your max heart rate is not a goal of a long run, that line of reasoning is irrelevant.

But the goal of a long run is to achieve adaptations that take place at sub-maximum heart rate, say 80-85%. If you stop and allow your heart rate to go down then you aren't able to get back to 80-85% as quickly when you start up again. I don't see a difference here. Stopping allows your heart rate to go down in both cases.

As a preliminary matter, for easy distance days, a goal of 65-80% of max heart rate is effective for aerobic conditioning. But aside from the cardiovascular benefits, you are also seeking other adaptations from long runs as I noted above - strengthening muscles and connective tissue, burning through glycogen from various sources, releasing various hormones at different stages throughout the run (I am a little iffy on that last one). So the time spent at your goal heart rate is a smaller part of the equation when we are talking about a long run compared to a vo2max workout.

Moreover, even on the cardiovascular side, we can do some simple math and see the difference. Take a 16:40 5k runner who is doing 5 x 1000 @ 5k pace with 3:00 rest. It will take that athlete close 2 minutes to get to max heart rate for the first 1000. If he jogs for recovery, it may take only 1:00 to get back to his max heart rate in each subsequent interval. So of the time he is running, he would be at his max heart rate for 10:40. Now consider if he stood around for his recovery periods. Even if it only takes him 1:30 instead of the full 2:00 to get back to his max heart rate in each subsequent interval, you are down to 8:40 at max heart rate instead of 10:40, which is a nearly 20% loss of time at the desired heart rate.

Now compare that to someone out for a 90 minute run. First off, the amount of time that it takes to get to 65% of your max heart rate is negligible - maybe 30 seconds, probably less. For most of us, just standing up from a seated position will get us close to that. Lets say the runner takes 3 breaks to make the math easier. In that case, the runner is still a the desired heart rate for 88 of 90 minutes, losing only 2-3% of the time at the desired heart rate.

And again, being in the desired heart rate range is a much smaller part of the overall value of a long run than it is in a vo2max workout in the first place.

I forgot my copy of run to the top at the airport :(

But if I remember correctly Lydiard wrote to avoid stopping for over 11 seconds as it hurts aerobic gains or something. Don’t quote me on this.

I try to limit my stopping time during long runs to 1 minute for water (sometimes to wash down gels) and 2 minutes for pee breaks. I try very hard to empty out my bowels before the runs. Definitely think 10 minute break is too long especially if you are trying to do MP long runs.

I've seen long runs on strava posted with impressive paces but that show a missing 30+ min of elapsed time. Be careful convincing yourself you can run the same sustained marathon pace without the extended breaks for your legs and lungs to reset.

I always run better when I have a small break in the middle (no sh!t right?). Usually the first 20-30 minutes of a run I feel pretty sluggish, but if I take a 1-2 minute break after that I feel great after, and usually have a decent negative split.

I ran 12 miles today but had to take a bathroom break and made a detour into a park to hit the restroom, thus creating a new route. So what I did was I just altered it and added the new leg onto it, then continued the rest of the run. At the halfway point, I ran the same route backwards (except for the bathroom stop) so it was an even distance. I lost 4 minutes due to the rest stop, even though I'd gone to the bathroom before the run.

Did 12 miles in 1:38:06 (with the break).

Without the break, it would have been 1:34:10.

Miles:

1-5.77 (49:25) 8:33.9/mi.;

(with 3:56 break, 45:29) 7:53.0/mi.

5.77-11.54 (45:21) 7:51.6/mi.

11.54-12:00 (3:20) 7:14.7/mi.

jecht wrote:

I ran 12 miles today but had to take a bathroom break and made a detour into a park to hit the restroom, thus creating a new route. So what I did was I just altered it and added the new leg onto it, then continued the rest of the run. At the halfway point, I ran the same route backwards (except for the bathroom stop) so it was an even distance. I lost 4 minutes due to the rest stop, even though I'd gone to the bathroom before the run.

Did 12 miles in 1:38:06 (with the break).

Without the break, it would have been 1:34:10.

Miles:

1-5.77 (49:25) 8:33.9/mi.;

(with 3:56 break, 45:29) 7:53.0/mi.

5.77-11.54 (45:21) 7:51.6/mi.

11.54-12:00 (3:20) 7:14.7/mi.

Putting aside for the moment that you would not be likely to have run the distance at the exact same pace without the break, is there an answer to the OP's question somewhere in your post?

I can't edit my original post and I deleted by accident what I was originally going to add (above my first post), but I'd say this:

It's good to stop during a long run if it's just a training run for an emergency, like a bathroom break. I wanted to hold it today but it wasn't feasible.

I also think had I not stopped I still would have been able to run 12 miles under 1:36, or even just slightly above it (8:00/mi.).

Was going at 40% effort; perfect weather in Cbus (50'F, sunny, no wind, no humidity) between 9:40 and 11:10 a.m.

Good point but I avoid them unless it's a bathroom emergency lol.