Which days to skip - planning training?

Life happens — whether it’s due to illness, travel, fatigue, or unexpected obligations, there are times when you'll need to miss a scheduled workout. The key to maintaining momentum is knowing how to skip smartly without derailing your progress. Here’s how to determine which days are safest to skip and which ones you should try to preserve.

1. Identify the Purpose of the Workout

Each workout in your plan serves a purpose:

• Quality Workouts: These include intervals, tempos, long runs, or race-specific efforts. They target fitness adaptations and are usually the backbone of your week.
• Recovery Runs or Easy Days: These support recovery and aerobic development with low intensity.
• Cross-Training or Strength Workouts: Important for overall athleticism and injury prevention, but more flexible in timing.

Tip: If you’re going to skip, lower-priority days like easy runs or auxiliary work are usually best to drop.

2. Keep the Quality Sessions If You Can

If your training week has 2–3 "quality" sessions (e.g., Tuesday intervals, Thursday tempo, Saturday long run), do your best to maintain these. They create the biggest stimulus for improvement and are typically spaced with purpose.

Skip example: If you’re slammed with work on Wednesday, it’s better to drop the easy run than try to replace your Tuesday intervals or Thursday threshold.

3. Avoid “Stacking” Workouts

Don’t try to “make up” a missed workout by doubling up the next day. This can lead to:

• Increased injury risk
• Reduced effectiveness of both workouts
• Poor recovery and performance later in the week

It’s often better to simply let the workout go and continue with the rest of the plan as scheduled.

4. Listen to Your Body — Not Just the Calendar

If you’re sick, overly sore, or mentally drained, forcing a key workout might do more harm than good. Recovery is part of training. Skipping a day to rest can actually benefit your progress.

5. Talk to Your Coach or Adjust the Plan

Message a coach via the Final Surge Mailbox and ask for a expert opinion.