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

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  • nickhuffman74
    nickhuffman74 Posts: 198 Member
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    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
    scottb81 Posts: 2,538 Member
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    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
    nickhuffman74 Posts: 198 Member
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    I got a half coming up in Oct. I will try this out.
  • stephcthomas
    stephcthomas Posts: 78 Member
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    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
    froeschli Posts: 1,292 Member
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    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
    natalie412 Posts: 1,039 Member
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    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
    quilteryoyo Posts: 6,024 Member
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    Thanks everyone for the advice. Slower it is!
  • ModoVincere
    ModoVincere Posts: 530 Member
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    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
    ixap Posts: 675 Member
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    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
    ixap Posts: 675 Member
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    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.
  • TexasRattlesnake
    TexasRattlesnake Posts: 375 Member
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    I'm not an expert, but what is working for me is to really focus on proper breathing when I run.

    Depending on my cadence I'm usually breating in for 3-4 steps and then out for 3-4 steps. Doing this has allowed me to run longer and easier than I have in the past.

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