9 Questions You Must Ask Yourself Before You Bail on a Workout

Knowing what you’re trying to achieve “is critical for the runner to know ahead of the workout,” says Greg McMillan, who has coached everyone from beginners to 2:10 marathoners. Having a goal of “running hard” isn’t enough. Are you trying to practice running at a certain pace? Or are you trying to accumulate a certain volume or duration of work at a given effort level, such as VO2 max or lactate threshold?

“When you can say what the stimulus should be from the day’s workout, then you have a starting point for deciding what to do if the workout isn’t going as you hoped,” says Pete Magill, author of The Born Again Runner and holder of three American masters records.

Take, for example, the workout of six 800-meter repeats cited above, in which each repeat gets slower. “If the purpose is goal-pace practice, then running slower is not good at all, and the workout should be stopped immediately,” says McMillan. “If the purpose is to boost VO2 max (aerobic capacity), then it’s okay to keep going as long as the effort is appropriate.”

In the second, more common scenario, where running at a certain effort is the goal, consider not timing your remaining repeats. Simply focus on maintaining an equivalent perceived exertion level. If you do time the rest of the workout, and find you’re still slowing by a couple of seconds per lap, “chances are you’re not ready to do that workout and it might be time to pull the plug,” Magill says.

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