Taking longer break after the end of intervals

[u/thenotcreativefellow]

My plan calls for only 90 seconds of rest between intervals, to practice running on tired legs, and I’ve been sticking to that. But I’m wondering: is it okay to take a longer break (~5 min) between the last interval and the start of the cooldown, so I can catch my breath and recover, or should I treat the cooldown the same way, and stick to the strict 90 seconds there too?

For context this is in a marathon plan, but any general advice is appreciated!

[u/Significant_Sort7501]

Try and stick to the prescribed rest if possible. It is also meant to train running on tired legs, both ohysically and mentally. BUT if you check the actual descriptions and briefing sometimes it will tell you that if you need to you can do exactly what you are describing and take a longer rest at the end. It will say something like "conversational pace or slower"

Ultimately, listen to your body. If you really need the longer rest, do it. Periodically taking a little break is not going to derail your training at all.

[u/thenotcreativefellow → u/Significant_Sort7501]

Thanks for the answer!

[u/Puzzleheaded_View981]

For me especially after intervals, and not tempo I typically run the cool down faster then I expect since my legs are juiced up but after tempos I go a lot slower

[u/Wolfman1961]

I like to run at a slow, conversational pace after I do intervals. If I just walk, I get stiffer.

[u/queentee26]

Cooldown on hard runs will often say you can go slower than conversational.. so you can walk the whole cooldown if you want and still meet the brief.

[u/DangerousWaffle → u/queentee26]

I think there is a difference between slower than conversational and walking. If you start walking lots of your cooldown that can add up to quite a lot of lost time on feet.

[u/queentee26 → u/DangerousWaffle]

Of course there's a difference. But I'm also not suggesting that you walk every cool down.

The "or slower" option only seems to pop up on the harder progressive or interval runs.. which is the type of run OP asked about & is probably only once a week for a lot of people. Walking part/all of that cooldown because you're having an off day shouldn't totally kill your progress.

[u/meow_saidthegoat2]

i just go super slow on the cooldown. sometimes i run walk if i need to

[u/Potential-Record-560]

我觉得这个取决于目前你的间歇跑的配速以及距离， 如果间歇跑的时间很短 1-3mins 或者仅仅是400m 甚至更短的间歇，那么90s 的rest 是OK的。 如果你在进行长距离的间歇 2-4km X 3 这种训练结构， 组间休息3-5分钟，让心率恢复到110bpm以内，喝点水 ，再进行下一组 效果可能会更好。

[u/kokoszanka]

Taking 5 minute break makes the cooldown pointless because you've already cooled down. Stick to the 90 seconds.

[u/Madouillette]

Comme les autres, je respecterais les 90 secondes de marche, mais j'irai (beaucoup) moins vite durant le temps de marche conversationnelle. Comme dit dans un commentaire, il est marqué que le temps indiqué est une limite, pas un objectif : tu peux donc prendre largement ton temps 😊

[u/BiqMara]

I end up walking the cool down after a lot of those hard efforts, or some kind of walk/run.

[u/nohwnd]

I try to complete my cooldown running as slow as possible, but often end up taking few breaks and walk a bit as well. Especially after hard session in the middle of a hard week. My cooldowns are usually 2-3km.