Is there really such a thing as an "easy run?!"

quilteryoyo

I have been running 3 days a week, consistently, for 9 months and worked up to running 30+ minutes without stopping. I have ran a 4 mile and two 5K races so far this year, with another planned in a couple of weeks. I recently bought Runner's World's book "Complete Book of Women's Running." I am following one of the schedules in there for intermediate training. It calls for 4 days a week of running and following an easy run with a hard run. Right now, there is no such thing as an "easy" run for me. I still have a hard time breathing from the very beginning, no matter how slow I run. I have no problems with tired legs, just breathing. Anyway, I was wondering, is there really such a thing as an "easy run?"

ixap

Yes, but it may take a few more months of training to really feel easy. I didn't feel like any runs were easy until I'd been running nearly two years and was up to 6+ mile runs. Once I could do that, a 3-mile slow run did feel easy.

scottb81

RIght now easy may be a relative term for you. Hard is a run that feels close to race effort. Easy is a couple of minutes per mile slower than that.

MtnKat

Boy, I feel ya.

I ask myself that a lot while I'm running. I often wonder if this is ever going to get easier lol.

Scottb81 is right...it is a relative term. What is easy for you or for Scott or for me is different based fitness level and experience.

Keep at it...it has gotten easier...you just don't give yourself credit for it. You said you can run 30 minutes straight....were you able to do that a year ago?

Keep practicing your breathing....it takes time to master that.

quilteryoyo

Thanks all. It will be helpful to think of it in relative terms of effort and not necessarily "easy." I plan to keep it up and hope, one day in the distant future, to run a marathon.

bubmaster

guess it depends on how fit someone is !

xTenaciousJx

after a few months of just running NOT training with will seem fun and easy. it did for me just going at a slower pace and enjoying it. stick with it and some runs just do slower those ones will still build endurance and stamina. keep at it!!

SteveTries

It's exactly what scottb (above) said.

It sounds like you are running all workouts at the same pace, probably up there in the aerobic threshold zone, maybe at 80-85% max HR would that be right?

If you mix up your workouts so that you are doing some at a lower heart rate (longer distance) and some at a higher heart rate (much shorter distance, such as intervals) you will affect different aspects of your fitness.

I've done this same thing myself and it does make you faster and have greater endurance overall.

Back then to the Easy Run. This for me is a short run (5kms) at a pace I would normally go at for much longer distances (16kms+)

jillybeanruns

Yes, but a lot of it has to do with fitness and base mileage. Easy runs are about 2 minutes slower than you would run that distance in a race, breathing shouldn't be a challenge and your HR should be within a certain range. Easy runs also allow for recovery.

You will get there in time, try to knock back the pace a bit on your easy days.

chivalryder

If you have a HRM, then "easy" would be at 60-70% max HR, also known as the "recovery" zone. Anything about 70% and you're getting a workout in.

Of course, you can also go lower than 60%, but, depending on your level of fitness, that could be a slow walk.

mdbs2004

My boss goes on easy 7 mile runs. I laugh. That would kill me. For me there is no such thing as an easy run. I've been running since about Febuary.

Dark_Roast

Some runs are easier than others, but running is never 'easy' for me. Usually about 1/2 a mile in I start to feel better and catch my breath but sometimes I never do, and those runs are miserable.

BobbyDaniel

Kind of. If I run under 6 miles at a slow pace, yeah, it is "easy", but it still leaves me hot & sweaty after a good calorie burn, even if it is 3 miles. So, it does get easier after while, but "easy" is a relative term.

brandyk77

Yes, if you are running at the correct speed/effort, you'll know. You shouldn't have an issue breathing if you are doing so.

jsj024519

Easy runs should be between 2 to 3 minutes under race pace.

gjulie

well I started running 3 months ago for the first time in my life Im 44 I started at 20 seconds building up to a minute then 2 and so on,Im up to 20 minutes now and Im doing 3km at 8.5km I dont know how good or bad this is it but its what I can do Ive an aching muscle in my right leg so Im thinking Ill take it easy,I never thought I would see a time when I thought running 1km would be easy but it has happened for me I guess Im like the tortoise,slow but steady lol:laugh:

quilteryoyo

It's exactly what scottb (above) said.

It sounds like you are running all workouts at the same pace, probably up there in the aerobic threshold zone, maybe at 80-85% max HR would that be right?

If you mix up your workouts so that you are doing some at a lower heart rate (longer distance) and some at a higher heart rate (much shorter distance, such as intervals) you will affect different aspects of your fitness.

I've done this same thing myself and it does make you faster and have greater endurance overall.

Back then to the Easy Run. This for me is a short run (5kms) at a pace I would normally go at for much longer distances (16kms+)

You're right. I am running at about the same pace all the time. Today I ran about 45 sec slower pace than I did for my "hard" run on Tuesday, but I was having a hard time doing anything today. Just couldn't get my breathing down. I have a hard time pacing myself when I run outside. And, I guess mentally I feel like I'm not getting a good workout if I don't get my HR up there. Sounds like I need to change mindset.

jellebeandesigns

I'm a year into running. My easy runs are about a half hour, they cover 2 1/2 miles they are at an easy pace for me so no problem breathing or challenge for my body. I run 5 days a week and hike one. A little background on me though- I'm 25 and have had asthma my whole life, I hav scar tissue in half of my left lung and I was told a) I would never run and b) I never should try. I had intercostal pain for ever and finally one day I didnt

jellebeandesigns

For pacing if you have an iPhone or iPod download seconds free and use the hiit trainer I run 45/15 so run 45 walk 15. It helps me pace myself so I'm not dead from running too fast for 5 minutes

scottb81

You're right. I am running at about the same pace all the time. Today I ran about 45 sec slower pace than I did for my "hard" run on Tuesday, but I was having a hard time doing anything today. Just couldn't get my breathing down. I have a hard time pacing myself when I run outside. And, I guess mentally I feel like I'm not getting a good workout if I don't get my HR up there. Sounds like I need to change mindset.

You don't need to run all that hard to build aerobic fitness. In fact, running for a longer time at a slower pace will build it more efficiently than running hard for a shorter length of time. Running hard has its place once or twice a week but if you run hard all the time you will undercut your aerobic development. (hard, easy, fast, and slow are all relative to the individual and their current fitness level. With training, what is hard now will be easy later)

What will happen in the long term if you do most of your training at an easy pace is that when it comes time to race you will find you will have the ability to hold a faster pace for a longer time and your race times will drop.

cdprouty

I might think of "easy runs" differently that many. Here's my calculus.

An easy run for me is the time (duration) when biochemical changes in my brain (through naturally produced opiates) nullify the effects of running at my lactate threshold (LT).

Every person will be different but I know, after years of running, that i can do a 2-2-20 at my LT (running where my respiration marries with my cadence, 2 strides inhale, 2 strides exhale, for 20 minutes) and not feel a thing, gaze straight ahead with a smile on my face. This typically corresponds to a 7 minute and change mile, YMMV.

My LT telling my body to slow down but the opiates block that message from getting to my brain.

Complex? Maybe. But I certainly ain't gonna tell you to jog.

nickhuffman74

You might try getting an app for your phone, I prefer Run keeper on my adriod but I really loved Nike+ on my old iphone. Set it to alert you of your pace and average pace every 1/4 so you can get an idea of how fast you are going and get a feel for your splits.

What will happen in the long term if you do most of your training at an easy pace is that when it comes time to race you will find you will have the ability to hold a faster pace for a longer time and your race times will drop.

I don't understand your logic here. You are saying that if I run at my comfort pace when it is time to race I will be able to hold a faster pace for longer? That sounds wrong. I run two ways,

No race in site, run for speed and then the last mile crank it up faster.

Race on horizon - train at my anticipated race speed for long distance runs, Train at a further distance with a faster speed for 5ks

scottb81

I don't understand your logic here. You are saying that if I run at my comfort pace when it is time to race I will be able to hold a faster pace for longer? That sounds wrong. I run two ways,

No race in site, run for speed and then the last mile crank it up faster.

Race on horizon - train at my anticipated race speed for long distance runs, Train at a further distance with a faster speed for 5ks

Well, it works. If you build your aerobic capacity high you will be able to run faster before you shut down. My own experience last winter shows that. I spent last Dec running around 320 miles all at a pace from 8:00 to 9:00 min per mile. Some days were even slower. None were any faster. I did no speed training. At the beginning of Jan I ran a half marathon in 1:35:25 with a pace of 7:17 min/mi.

Between Jan and Mar I added a weekly tempo run but nothing faster than around 7:00 min per mi. I kept my mileage about the same as in Dec. In March I ran a 5k in 20:10 at a pace of 6:30 min/mi, 30 sec per mi faster than any run I had run to date.

Could I have run faster with speed training? Maybe, but then again my mileage would not have been as great and my aerobic base would have been smaller.

Ideally one would have time to build a big aerobic base and then add speed on top of it. But if the time isn't there because one hasn't been running long enough to build that base and add speed training they can certainly race faster than daily training paces.

nickhuffman74

I got a half coming up in Oct. I will try this out.

stephcthomas

Scott that is some great advice. I have been running as a hobby for almost 2 years but had to take a break and now I'm about 4 months back into it. I actually found that I was over training at first going to far too fast. I ended up injuring my hip and could barely walk for 3 months and it took 6 months to heal. At that time I always had difficulty breathing for all my runs too.

I started back up taking a clinic and I realized that to get faster I needed to run slower and further. For my "easy" runs, I do LSD runs on Sundays. It's long slow distance. I run as slow as I need to where I can carry on a conversation with someone while running and consistently increase the distance.

froeschli

I find that 'easy' may well depend on my daily form. If I try to quantify it, I'd say an easy run is heart rate 135-150, a hard one is 160-170. Those are my personal numbers, another persons would very likely be different.
Some days these numbers don't apply though, I can feel energized running at 160, or completely exhausted at 140 even just a few minutes in. It depends a lot on diet, rest, temperature and a bunch of other things I have to still figure out.
Being able to talk easily and comfortably would be an indicator of an 'easy' speed.

You mention having difficulties breathing. Do you count and time it with your steps? (2 steps in, 2 steps out, or whatever number works for you) That has helped me a lot. Also, working on inhaling through my nose, not mouth (unless my allergies are really bad).

natalie412

Definitely. I have been running since January, and I really enjoy my long easy (slow) runs on Saturdays. I am up to 9.5 miles - they are not cardiovascularly challenging. My legs just get tired! I run a minute or more slower per mile on my long runs. My two during the week runs are usually 4-5 miles at around 10 - 10:30 min per mile, and the long ones are over 11 - last one was 11:18 per mile.

A few weeks after I finished C25K, I realized my lungs weren't burning anymore. Now, if I really push it - like a recent 5 mile race at 9:40 per min, they do, but as I get more fit, I have to run faster to get to that point.

Just run slower!

quilteryoyo

Thanks everyone for the advice. Slower it is!

ModoVincere

RIght now easy may be a relative term for you. Hard is a run that feels close to race effort. Easy is a couple of minutes per mile slower than that.

That would be walking then....for me anyway.

ixap

I don't understand your logic here. You are saying that if I run at my comfort pace when it is time to race I will be able to hold a faster pace for longer?

Sort of. It's a little complicated.
I don't know if you have time to read this long manifesto, but this wonderful essay by Arthur Lydiard explains how training within your aerobic threshhold is the cornerstone to improving your running.
http://www.runbayou.com/ArthurLydiard.pdf

One caveat is that the "steady state" aerobic runs he recommends are at about 70-90% of VO2max, which will NOT be a jog for a well conditioned runner. (For a new runner, this may be a jog or even a slow jog with lots of walking breaks; totally fine at that stage.) There's "comfortable" and there's "reeeeeeeally comfortable" - you're aiming for the former. He describes the feeling of a steady state aerobic run as "pleasantly tired" - if you're half dead, you went too fast, but if you know you could have run another hour at that pace, you should pick it up a notch next time. This is rarely the problem for a new runner, though; the temptation is usually to try to go too fast.

The other caveat is that anaerobic workouts, where you exceed your VO2max (running very fast, at a pace you can maintain for only a minute or two), are an important part of race preparation. They will take you to your full potential and shouldn't be tossed out entirely. However, you don't need to do them all year round, only when preparing for a race, as they are taxing on the body.

ixap

RIght now easy may be a relative term for you. Hard is a run that feels close to race effort. Easy is a couple of minutes per mile slower than that.

That would be walking then....for me anyway.

Exactly, so, for a long while, there may not be such a thing as a truly easy run. Don't hesitate to take walk breaks though especially if it's supposed to be an easy day. You will still benefit from the exercise while saving a little bit of power for the next day when you have a harder workout scheduled.