[ Removed by moderator ]

[u/Equivalent-Bee3883]

[u/Liability049-6319]

It should feel easy

[u/Comfortable-Habit242 → u/Liability049-6319]

Yeah, I think when I decide my easy pace I frequently end up not running an easy pace. Maybe it’s my easy pace some days, but other days it isn’t.

I think I do my best when I hide my pace from my watch and go purely based on feel. Some days that’s faster. Some days that’s slower. But it’s what feels easy in the moment.

I don’t really decide.

[u/idkwhatimbrewin → u/Liability049-6319]

Big, if true

[u/Littlebastard930 → u/Liability049-6319]

You’d think it’d be that simple yet i follow runners on strava where their “easy” pace (like they actually tag as “recovery”) is faster than their marathon pace sooo…
Me on the other hand, i can drop my ego and actually run slow and dgaf how slow easy runs look on strava lol.

[u/whippetshuffle]

The pace at which I can hold an easy conversation. If I am alone, a pace I can breathe through my nose with my mouth shut. Check the pace - that's easy today.

It isn't a set in stone pace for me, but a range. Life happens - sleep, stress, kid shenanigans, etc.

[u/syphax → u/whippetshuffle]

Respiration doesn't lie

[u/EyeOrRay → u/whippetshuffle]

If you don't want to go by effort or feel,  in min per mile, my paces are

5km 6'00 10km 6'40 Half  7'00 Full 7'32 Easy Pace/Recovery Pace 9'30

Everyone is different but huge difference in Pace for me and that's a Pace that I can run, and need zero recovery from, have run twice same day with no issues

[u/vanillacalumny]

I don't care about easy pace and go based on feel completely, which I think is pretty much a requirement.

That ends up with my easy pace being 2+ minutes slower than MP (miles). Recovery pace is even slower. I'm able to consistently crush my workouts and race much better than people with faster "easy" paces, so this works for me.

[u/Mannymal]

If you really want a proper easy pace, Dr. Bakken recommends first figuring out your max HR (run an all out 5k with a chest strap HR monitor), then run your easy runs no faster than 70% of your max HR. The pace is kind of irrelevant, some days it’ll be faster some slower. I don’t even have my watch show me my pace during easy days, just heart rate and elapsed time. People struggling doing this because you have to put your ego aside and your Strava won’t be impressive. But this easy pace produces virtually the same aerobic benefit as running at, say, 75% of your max heart rate. While also reducing muscle tone and enabling you to recover so you can do harder workouts the next days. 

[u/running_writings]

Shameless plug here but if you want a quantitative / research-based estimate for a "do not exceed" speed for easy runs, I built a calculator that lets you get an upper limit for your easy run pace based on a recent 5k time. Note that speed is an upper limit; it does not mean "do all your runs at exactly this speed."

If you know you tend to go too fast on easy runs, flip the toggle to 95% confidence instead of the default 90%.

[u/ceduljee]

Generally, "easy" means below LT1. So you can breathe through your nose, and overall, the effort feels low stress. You can look around, chat with friends, and not have to focus on the running itself.

Note that if you're new to running, this may not actually be achievable with continuous running. You may need to incorporate walking breaks, including when going up hills, or try biking instead.

Comparison with other people's paces is generally useless. You have to identify it empirically, and the biggest hurdle for people is wanting to keep up with others or not admiting how slow they really have to go.

[u/Capital_Historian685]

I use numbers for certain runs, but for easy runs, I don't care at all what my pace is. If I'm doing my other days correctly, my legs are usually a little tired, and I just run easy enough to not be uncomfortable.

And the pace will be different on different easy days (I do still have a watch, so see my pace afterward). For example, the day after a threshold run, easy will be slower than, say, the day after my rest day. Unless my long run was really long with some hard parts (20+ miles, with a progression, e.g.), in which I case, I might still feel that in my legs even after the rest day.

Conversely, if for whatever reason I'm feeling good on an easy day, I'll pick up the pace for some of it, even going up to sub-threshold maybe (not overdoing it, though).

In short, I don't use pace because pace isn't useful for easy runs.

Edit: but I'll admit, yeah, I can feel bummed if the pace is ridiculously slow, and I might start thinking something's wrong. But I get over it.

[u/FeedbackOk8806]

Easy run for me is 5k pace +2 minutes per mile. Recovery run (day after interval workout normally) just whatever, normally like 10 minutes per mile or so lol.

[u/dillinjl]

Easy runs: as slow as you want, or as fast as you want as long as it doesn't slow down your workouts or lower your overall mileage.

[u/Siawyn]

Easy is a feeling. You'll hear that a lot, but it's really true. This is why my easy pace in the offseason can be 8:15-8:30/mile where as now at the peak of marathon training, it can be a full minute slower or more. Mileage/training load matters, a lot.

My starting point is the VDOT calculator though. The fast end is perhaps a little aggressive and is more of a "well rested" easy pace, the slow end is more realistic during typical training.

I also differentiate between easy and recovery runs (Pfitz terminology) or as John Davis splits it, easy vs very easy. Recovery/very easy is the day right after a workout or long run and it really does not matter at all what the pace is. I can be as slow as 10:00-10:30/mile sometimes, but this is right after a 18+ mile workout where I averaged 7:49.

[u/LeftHandedGraffiti]

The entire point of an easy run is to get some aerobic conditioning while allowing your legs to recover from the last workout and be ready for the next workout.

That differs from person to person. If you are negatively impacting your next workout you're running too fast.

[u/SleepDepriv8d]

Heart rate and feel. My current MP is 6:35 my easy ranges from 8:30 to 9:10 depending on the day.

[u/OkCantaloupe3]

Basically no quicker than 70% max HR unless it's really hot or hilly. HM pace is like 4:15pkm, easy pace usually sits 6:00-6:20 to make it truly easy. I could always run this 30s faster and it still feel easy, but it would affect my overall fatigue too much. I follow NSM so mirrors that.

[u/peepumsn4stygum]

“Conversational” pace where you could comfortably speak a couple sentences to a friend without gasping for air. I sometimes count my steps per breath too - I can go 6-7 footfalls per breath on an easy run, compared with 3-4 on a middle-effort run or 2 on a harder pace. It’s also described as the pace where you feel you could keep running forever. Temperature & humidity play a role too; my summer easy pace is a lot slower than in cool weather. I’ve been enjoying the Tread Lightly podcast this year & they talk about Zone 2 running a lot!

[u/Dr_geo]

I just raced a half marathon on Sunday and managed a new PB (1.23 -3.56min/km) These are my typical training runs during the week

Tuesday: 15km total with 6-8x1km @ 3.30 /90s standing rest. Warm up and cool down are in the 5.00-5.15min/km

Wednesday: easy recovery run 8km@4.45-5.15 range

Thursday 18km total with typically 12-15km threshold work. This could be something like 4x3km @ 3.48-3.55 range with 2min jog recovery. Warm up and cool down like Tuesday.

Saturday long. 30km @4.45-5.00. occasionally I'll do a shorter easier Thursday and add something like a 10km marathon pace (4.10-4.15) block in the long run

Sunday super easy recovery run 6-8km no faster than 5.15

Averaging 70km/week this year with peaks of 100km/week

[u/PeteH2000]

By HR and breathing. But it's not a pace. It's an effort. The pace varies a lot. Anyone trying to hit a pace on an easy run is doing it wrong.

[u/splitsguy]

I agree with what others have already said, that it should legitimately feel easy. Not some abstract, “well this pace means easy for someone in X shape,” “X heart rate means easy for someone with X fitness.” It should feel like you can run that pace for hours. Having a full conversation should be extremely easy.

BUT, I understand that learning how to actually run easy is more complicated than that. I ran too quickly on easy runs for many years.

Once I figured out what truly running easy meant, I was running 7:45-8:30 per mile for most easy runs, but sometimes 9:00+. I was running 5:35 pace for HM, 5:00 for 5k. Didn’t run a full but I imagine it would have been between 5:50 and 6:00.

So I was mostly going 39-52% slower than HM pace for easy runs.

I also like to use rate of perceived exertion with my athletes. I generally tell them an easy run should be a 3/10 max. Most often 2/10.

[u/FreedomKid7]

2 plus minutes slower than my goal marathon pace. About a solid 3 minutes slower than my 5k pace rn

[u/X_C-813]

Full conversation pace.
5k pace plus 2:30-3 min/ mile

[u/mediocre_remnants]

You have to go by feel. Easy is easy. It should feel easy. Easy is a feeling, not a pace.

The pace value on your watch is completely irrelevant, it won't tell you if you're running easy or not.

If you have to look at some number, look at your heart rate, but even that isn't totally reliable.

[u/IMMARUNNER]

Run slower than you think. I don’t care what my easy pace is as long as it feels easy and I’m recovered enough to hit my next workout hard.

[u/marklemcd]

Back when my marathon pace was 6:05 pace I was doing easy days between 7:30 and 8:30 depending on how I actually felt. Today as an old guy who has a marathon pace around 7:00 my easy days are between 8:20 and 9:20 depending on how I feel. Today I ran 8 miles at 8:55 pace for example. The way I determined it over time was to think 1) if it feels taxing it's too hard, 2) if it feels pretty easy it's too hard, 3) if it feels easy it's too hard, 4) if it feels too easy I should probably slow down a tad.

As long as your heart rate is somewhat elevated you're getting the benefit.

[u/AdventurousLow2478]

I feel good, I feel great, I can communicate. In one breath at a normal cadence

[u/Definitelynotagolem]

Idk how people get the paces close together for easy vs workout. Most of my workout paces are in the 6:10-6:55/mile range and my easy days are in the 9:15-10:20 range depending on how I feel that day. I can’t imagine trying to call something at like 7:00-7:30/mile “easy.” Maybe it’s “easy” if I do like 3 miles of that every other day, but no way could I run 50 miles per week like that.

[u/andyxc13]

This is great advice from your coach. The purpose of easy running is recovery, time on feet; running faster than necessary isn’t inherently bad, it’s just the benefits are poor versus the added fatigue. It’s not a good trade off.

I’d wager that most runners run too fast on easy days, thus failing to avoid the middle. It’s not intentional; it’s just failure to truly recognize what’s easy in a physiological sense. I know I almost certainly ran too fast back in my college team XC/track days.

Anyways, my two cents is to get a HR monitor (armband or chest strap - wrist watches really just aren’t reliable enough), determine your approximate max HR, and aim for 60%-70% of that.

And if the corresponding pace seems “too slow” yeah, that would suggest you are on the right track. When you’re consistent at it for a long period of time, your workout days will benefit from feeling fresher and your easy day pace will increase despite staying at the same HR.

[u/ForwardBound]

When I was starting out, I read that easy pace was the pace at which you could hold a conversation. I mostly ran alone, so I made sure I was going slowly enough that I could recite the general prologue to the Canterbury tales while jogging

Easy pace has mostly stayed the same for me even as my marathon pace has gone up and down by at least a minute per mile

[u/Jazzlike_Text_8629]

I, too, need numbers to do easy. Specifically, I force myself to run in Zone 2 or Zone 3. The goal becomes holding my heart rate low and slowing down more whenever it isn’t low enough. 

[u/buttscarltoniv]

depends on the day, but in this current heat, usually about 3-4 minutes slower that 5K pace, or 2 minutes slower than marathon pace.

[u/Asquaredbred]

it's below VT1 which is no more than 80-82% of your max (heart rate or speed).

so first calculate your max, then your VT1.

For most runners it is far slower than they think. for a 45 min 10k runner it's about 9:39 /mile. I run a slower 10k than that and just can't do my easy runs slow. But i'm working on it.

[u/RaptorsRule247]

It's the pace you can do a full conversation at without struggling to get any words out.

[u/bebefinale]

I run at a pace that feels easy. My breathing is under control, I can talk, I don't feel like stopping.

That pace varies day by day, depending on how tired I am, how hilly the route was, whether I did a hard workout or long run the day before, how hot it is, how windy it is, who I'm running with, etc.

[u/Type2Gear]

I run an AeT test on a track a couple times a year.

[u/hebronbear]

I use a HR monitor and stay in zone 2 for easy pace.

[u/Sandbox_Hero]

Garmin told me.

[u/IWearClothesEveryDay]

My marathon pace on long runs for this block is 6:22-6:23 per mile. I run my easy runs 60-90 seconds per mile slower than that depending on the weather and how hard I went the day before. I don’t think “Easy Run” is actually a good term. They’re just less hard and don’t add to recovery debt. I don’t think you can actually run with proper form and have it be genuinely “easy” the whole time in the way a walk is. A better term in my mind would be “runs that are not hard.”