Why should easy runs feel slow?
Short answer
Because most of your fitness comes from running easy, often. An easy run should let you talk in full sentences. Running it harder makes you more tired without making you much fitter.
Key points
- Easy means you could chat in full sentences.
- Most of the week's running should be easy, with only one or two harder sessions.
- Easy days are what let the hard days be hard.
The talk test
If you can speak in full sentences, you are at an easy pace. If you can only manage a few words, you are running a harder session. Easy pace often feels slower than you expect, and on hills or hot days it may mean walking for a while.
Why it works
Endurance is built by time spent running. Studies of successful endurance athletes describe about 80% of their training sessions at low intensity, with the rest dominated by harder work. Running every run hard leaves you too tired for the sessions that are meant to be hard.
The common mistake
Easy runs drift faster week by week, especially when running with others or chasing a pace on a watch. If your easy runs feel like a struggle, slow down.
In your plan
Your plan marks most days as easy. Run them by feel, using the talk test, rather than by a pace on your watch.
Related questions
What is a tempo run?
A tempo run is a steady, comfortably hard effort: a pace you could hold for about an hour in a race, where you can say only a few words at a time.
Read the full answerWhy are rest days part of the plan?
Because fitness is built while you recover, not while you run. Training is the signal; rest is when your body responds to it. Rest days also lower the risk of the overuse injuries that end many training plans.
Read the full answerWhat is a taper?
A taper is the last part of training before a race, when you run noticeably less but keep some faster running, so you arrive rested rather than tired.
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