Question: If the prescribed intensity of a workout is just not happening, should I just go easy?

Rich Strauss: Rather than going easy, don’t be afraid to just pull the plug, take a day off and not do anything, especially on the bike.

We like to see our athletes get in 4-5 runs per week and we’ll _sometimes_ have them go out and “just run easy” in order to maintain that frequency. However, on the bike we like to see our athletes hit it hard on just about every ride. If it’s just not going to happen, I’d rather have that athlete bail on the ride, take a day off, regroup, and move on with the training schedule.

In our experience, there is value in running easy, for the sake of maintaining running frequency, building resilient legs, etc, but there is little value in riding easy. Feel like you need to ride easy to just get through the session? Consider bailing on the session and take a day off.