On the Topology toolbar in ArcMap, there is two helpful buttons for this.
Validate Topology in Specified Area
Validate Topology in Current Extent
The first one, the user draws a box for the area that need to validate. The second one validates the whole area show in the data frame. I would use these tools with user versions to handle your situation. This way you limit the risk of locks and overwriting saves while still minimizing the area validated.