The Case for Quitting Workouts

I've seen a lot of conversations lately about the whole #nodaysoff campaign Tracksmith has going on, particularly around whether or not it's maybe an irresponsible message given that so many runners are competitive, super-driven Type A's inclined to git'er done no matter what the cost.

Personally, I don't see it that way; to me, #nodaysoff means not "no days off from running" but "no days off from focusing on your goal," which doesn't always include running, or even cross training. It means making the best decisions for your training every single day, and sometimes the best decision is "You know what, the training plan says xxx, but I'm most likely to get to the starting line healthy if today I sleep in, stretch, & maybe do some PT intead."

Not usually. But sometimes.

I think it's the same with quitting workouts. I've been injured or about to get injured often enough in my running career that it's an extremely familiar mental conversation with myself--"Hmm, that doesn't feel good. Maybe we should quit before something disastrous happens? Eh, I'm probably being dramatic, just freaking get it done. But what if I can't run for the next week as a result?? Won't it feel soooo good to just get it done? I mean, yeah, but how bad can it be to miss the last interval or two just to be safe? I mean??"

Et cetera. I'm definitely not the type to, mid-workout, go, "Eh, this sucks, I don't feel like it anymore" & just quit for that reason. If I am considering cutting a workout short, I am either in an unfortunate time management situation, or something is physically wrong. In the latter case, the decision is mostly about weighing the pros and cons and trying to figure out whatever it is that doesn't feel good is something I should ignore or not. Am I being over-cautious or reckless? I think I've gotten better at making the right decision, but I still don't always know.

So, after a sort of comedy of errors work trip to NY ended up basically delaying the start of my training cycle by a week, I was more than ready to get started on Tuesday the 15th. I flew to Long Beach that morning & after an early dinner with co-workers had plenty of time for my run.

The location meant a treadmill run, so there was no question of trying to do the 200m's that were on the schedule; my options were an easy run, or Friday's threshold run. I went back and forth about whether or not I wanted to keep this run easy (only my third since my 12/16 race) or jump right in with a workout, but in the end figured I should at least *try* to stick to the spirit of the training plan if not the literal day-to-day of it (which...is just impossible with all the travel). So, I decided to do the threshold run (2 warm up, 2 x 2 @ HM pace / 3:00 jog, 2 cool down).

Can't even tell you how many hours on the road spent in tiny rooms just like this.

Guys, I hate this workout. It's a pretty common one I do, usually starting at 2 x 2 @ HM pace at the beginning of a cycle, and then depending on the distance I'm targeting and how my training has been, slowly ramping up to 3 x 2, then 2 x 3, 4 x 2, etc. It doesn't sound that bad on paper but inevitably feels way harder than I think it should. I can't tell you the number of times I've gotten a mile or so in and thought "OMG HOWWWWW did I EVER manage to run 13 straight miles anywhere NEAR that pace????"

Towards the end of the first interval I started to feel like I might actually die. Did I seriously run over THREE miles in a row nearly forty seconds per mile faster than this less than a month ago??? I found myself thinking. How the holy hell is that even *possible*??

As soon as I finished the interval and slowed the treadmill down to an easy jogging pace, I felt terrible. Like sick to my stomach, jello-legs, 11:00/mile-is-WAY-too-fast-for-the-recovery-jog, someone-get-me-out-of-here terrible. I slowed to a walk, then stopped the 'mill altogether, then had to stumble off of it and out of the hotel fitness center and out into the 40F pouring rain before I started to feel even a little normal again. It wasn't end-of-a-race awful but it was pretty close.

It was about ten minutes I think before I stopped feeling like I was about to barf & like my legs could function again. OK, just one more interval, we've got this! I headed back into the fitness center and climbed back on the 'mill, trying to mentally prepare myself for the misery I knew was coming. Yes, it's awful, but we've done it tons of times before! I cranked the thing up to 7:30 pace & took off.

And...promptly started to feel like I was about to die again, like I might fall of the back of the 'mill while comically barfing on myself at any second. I tried so hard to keep pushing, to tell myself it wouldn't get any worse, I could handle 15 minutes of this, but after just a tenth of a mile it was clear that this wasn't just a matter of mental toughness; my body simply was not having it.

OK then, just the mileage! I thought. Just four more easy miles!

But no. Even at 11:00 pace I couldn't shake the nausea/jello legs/about-to-collapse-at-any-moment feeling. I made it to about half a mile and though, You know what, no. I don't understand why, but in a way it doesn't even matter; my body was giving me red flags, here, and I honestly felt like it was stupid to keep trying to push through them. No point in overdoing it on the very first day of the cycle.

So, I called it with 4.5 in all, & just 2 very, VERY tough threshold miles. And you know what? The world didn't end. I ran 8 easy miles the next day, an 8-mile track workout on Friday, and a 12 mile long run on Sunday, for a very solid first week. It all felt fine. Is one fewer two-mile-HM pace intervals going to make a real difference in April's 5K? I doubt it! But it kind of doesn't matter even if the answer was yes. There are times when it makes sense to cut a workout short, and Tuesday was one of those days.

(Of course, those days should be exceedingly rare; if you find yourself getting those physical red flags on anything like a regular basis, you should definitely check in with a coach or a doctor or someone to be sure that a) nothing is seriously wrong physically and b) whether maybe the plan you're on is too aggressive for your current fitness level. But a couple times a year or so? Older, wiser, grown-up me has finally learned not to worry about it.)

~*~*~ STOW LAKE STAMPEDE: Week 1 of 14 ~*~*~
Grand Total: 32.5 miles

* 14.5 easy
* 4 speed
* 2 threshold
* 12 long

Monday 1/14: Work like 14 hours. No really. I'm not kidding about that.

Tuesday 1/15: Fly to Long Beach, work a little, & get my treadmill on. 2 warm up, 2 @ HM pace, .5 abandoned second internval/"cool down"/whatever = 4.5 total

Wednesday 1/15: 8 easy

Other than the fact that I had to do it on the treadmill and play all the dumb mental games you have to play when you're trying to trick yourself into just.getting.it.done, this run wasn't too bad. My left foot, hamstring, and lower back all felt good, which is a huge improvement over last fall!

Thursday 1/17: Rest / Travel Day

Friday 1/18: 2 warm up, 4 x 200m / 200m jog, 2 @ MP, 4 x 200m / 200m jog, 2 cool down = 8 total

Ah, 200m's, how I have not missed you. Definitely started out too fast (in the 0:41-42 range) because the second set dipped into the 0:43-45's with what felt like the same amount of effort; I'm clearly out of practice at pacing these. But they felt good (or, as good as 200m's can ever really feel) & I was also happy to find that the MP miles felt fairly easy.

Ah, 200m's in the dark. #winter

Saturday 1/19: Rest

Sunday 1/20: 12 long

A cold, wet one in GG Park! This was one of those runs that just felt great pretty much start to finish. I was just happy to be out in my city enjoying the moody weather and greenery, with my body cooperating.

Not too far from Stow Lake where it's all going down in April!