The Importance of Easy Run Days

NorthCascades
NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Easy run days are more important in a runner’s training plan than they are given credit for. Easy run days do a number of things to help prepare you for your next race or training season. First and foremost, they give your body and mind a break. You can also take the time during your easy run days to worry less about paces and time and simply enjoy your run. That’s why we all do this, right? Because we enjoy it. Easy run days also help build endurance because you can add distance without the stress of speed work throughout the workout. Depending on the training cycle, it is usually best to do the bulk of your weekly miles at a relatively slower pace and low heart rate. Consider your easy run days just that, a time to get out and forget about the splits and just enjoy running at a comfortable pace so you can build endurance.

http://home.trainingpeaks.com/blog/article/the-importance-of-easy-run-days

With all the HIIT Hype, I feel like this bears repeating.

Replies

  • ronocnikral
    ronocnikral Posts: 176 Member
    If you care about endurance, you train your aerobic base. I would even go as far to say that athlete's like Usain Bolt spend a significant amount of time training their aerobic base. Certainly, they don't spend all their training time just sprinting and lifting weights.

    Another interesting read from Mike Pigg....

    Instead, developing aerobic speed, where an athlete can run much faster with the same effort compared to weeks and months earlier, is an important priority. This not only provides significant speed during training and racing, but it’s accomplished with much less stress, so the risk of injury and overtraining is greatly reduced.

    http://runlogic.blogspot.com/2012/12/mike-pigg-and-maffetone-method.html

    I don't use Maffetone's "180 formula" as I believe it is still too generous when it comes to giving a "HR training ceiling." But, I get that many people may use it or some other generalized formula. But, it doesn't change the point, train at low intensity most of the time....
  • shagerty777
    shagerty777 Posts: 185 Member
    I use the 80/20 (80% at a slow pace, building volume and 20% for speed work) plan in my training and it's working quite well for me at this point. I'm shaving time off each time I run a 5K at this point!
  • eagle_74
    eagle_74 Posts: 13 Member
    I love my easy Run days. Easy days remind why I run in the first place, Because Running feels great when it's not overly taxing.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    eagle_74 wrote: »
    I love my easy Run days. Easy days remind why I run in the first place, Because Running feels great when it's not overly taxing.

    Yes!

    There's nothing better than a run that feels like you could keep going forever! Had that this morning myself, was singing meatloaf songs for the whole 4 miles!

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