Why Do My Easy Runs Feel So Hard?

Assuming you're not trolling, your easy runs should feel "easy". The standards are being able to have a conversation while running. If you can't do that then you're not conditioned enough to keep whatever pace your running at as an easy run.

There's alot of things that effect easy running as well as other types as runs such as humidity, dehydration, heat, injuries, to name a few.

My suggestion would be to focus less on pace and go more by feel for your easy run for a couple of weeks and see how your body responds.

You said your calves are burning(assuming it's only during your easy runs you experience this and nothing else), maybe you're breaking while running at a slower pace too.

you have a problem if your muscles are burning. carry a fire extinguisherin all seriousness, you do probably have a problem. Muscles are over-fatigued or some over-training or immune system deal. i'd have some blood levels checks, take a couple weeks off, eat some red meat or iron, take magnesium and spend time in the sun while you rest. do your legs feel dead when walking up stairs? sex drive? sleep and diet ok?

Struggling runner wrote:

Hey Letsrun!

I have a question on easy running. I think I have a harder time than most running my easy runs. I am from the wejo school of thought on easy runs and generally run 2 to 2 and half slower than 10k pace and even 3 minutes sometimes if I feel really tired. The problem is that these never feel particularly easy, my calves start to burn early in most runs and I never feel comfortable. My breathing and HR are fine but It always feels like a struggle to get the runs done. Anyone have ideas why this is or have a similar experience with this? Any advice would be appreciated.

Generally I would say its right if you are tired on your easy days but then feel rejuvenated on workout days.

It sounds like you have taken this to an extreme. I would back off and skip a couple of workouts and see if you are still feeling this when you run easy for a whole week. If this fixes the problem, maybe you need to back off a little on workout days or change your recovery afterwards.

Easy is easy.

Hard is hard.

If your hard days are not hard, your easy days are not easy enough.

Or go ahead and get into shape to run every day fairly hard, be the workout king. Come on, you can do it!

I am usually tired the day after a workout. This is normal. The point is to feel good on the next workout, even if that means going very slow on recovery days.

Doing short strides on the grass might alleviate sluggishness.

Who are you? How long have you been running? how old are you? are you a person who attempts to be a forefoot striker by prancing on your tip-toes and not running?

more info needed wrote:

Who are you? How long have you been running? how old are you? are you a person who attempts to be a forefoot striker by prancing on your tip-toes and not running?

I'm male 24, running 5 years and no.

In reply to the poster who asked about diet and sex drive etc. Everything is fine and I had blood tests done two weeks ago and all the results plus a few extras I requested came back normal. I am just coming back from a long injury and rest which makes me think the problem is not over training. I have had this problem all the time and causes me to be very inconsistent.

To the other posts

I am not a workout warrior anymore and have embraced effort. I do not run my easy runs by pace but was using that as an example of just how easy I run on those days. Runs at 60% heart rate feel just as difficult as 75% or runs at 7min pace feel as difficult as 10 min pace, it does not matter what pace I run as my calves hurt anyway. I take it really easy as it is a part of my running I am trying to figure out. The only time I feel really comfortable running is during speedwork or tempo runs, speedwork feels easier on my calves than easy running and I am not trolling when I say this.

My calves are really strained and feeling of pressure when I run at AeT or slower and I don't know why. The sensation is very similar to a strained muscle.

Have you tried incorporating a good warmup routine with active stretching? (even for the slow days)

Let's dig deeper for more in depth information..

How long has this been going on and do they hurt at rest as well or only on the easy runs? Was this a sudden pain or a gradual build up? How does your calves feel after a long run same or better than your easy runs? Is it your calves only or also your Achilles tendon aching as well? What treatments have you done so far to help your calves out? What about your gear, how's your shoes? Do you alternate different shoes between the speedwork to easy run days?

I had a period when my calves hurt for several weeks after training my butt off for a good half PR, I just rolled them out and deep tissue massaged them to death. It went away eventually.I also replaced my shoes which only had a low 350 miles on them, turns out the shoes I bought then were known to wear out faster then most.

Confused! wrote:

Have you tried incorporating a good warmup routine with active stretching? (even for the slow days)

This + add a 10-15 seconds sprint once in 10-15 minutes, to refresh yourself a bit.

I'm with you on the slow yet struggling easy runs.

My 10k pace is ~ 6:00 and I typically run my first mile in 9:30-9:45, sometimes even 10 min+ if running early morning.

After a mile or two I can sub sub 9:00 and typically finish the run at 8:00 pace, which feels like flying on an easy run. And that's still kinda struggling.

Yet the next day I can do a 10 mile tempo at 7:00...I think it was to do with the brain knowing "today is easy to we can be lazy" and not recruit all the good stuff.

Not sure. This has always troubled me too, but honestly, do what the body feels like. If you start super slow, so be it. On an easy day being within 2 min of 10k pace would be straining it for me.

Good luck! Not sure about the calf burning either, all I want to tell you is that you're not alone being really slow on easy days!!! May try starting even slower, and only speed up as you warm up. Most of my runs are de facto progressive.

Get the book Trigger Point Therapy Workbook. It's here on Amazon:

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You'll be able to keep all your muscles feeling good. No more calf burn. Hope this helps.

Did you switch to lower drop shoes recently? I had an issue with that. Tried to run an easy day in my "speed day shoes" and my calves felt wrecked during and afterwards. Drop in those shoes was 6mm vs. my everyday trainer drop of 12mm.

If I were in your shoes I would take a week off and do a lot of calf stretching (which should always be part of your routine after a run, and a couple more times a day, given your issue) and hit the yoga classes two to four times during the recuperative week. Yoga does wonders for issues regarding muscular tightness. You don't need to be a pretzel to go into one of those classes, the range of the ability of attendees is all over the map. Wish you the best.

My thoughts are this is a fairly simple problem with an easy fix.

1) Fact thay you are hurting on easy days is a good sign. Your hard days are sufficiently hard. This is a good sign. Recovery days dont make you faster, your workouts do.

2) Easy days arent actually supposed to feel easy. Yoi have hard days and recovery days. You are hurting because you ran a hard workout the day before. If you are feeling comfortable on your "easy" days that means you arent doing your workouts properly. That being said, generally if you are in base building phase then you shouldnt be having this problem at all and most days should be comfortable.

3) You need to speed up recovery, thats all. If you get in better shape this will happen quicker, but right now you are not there.

Suggestions to speed up.recovery so your recovery days arent as painful:

1) SLEEP more

2) Eat really well after your workouts. Protein shake, meat, carbs, veggies. Watch your diet on your recovery days. On workout days, splurge.

3) Ice bath your legs or at least spray them with cold water asap after youre done cooling down and stretching.

4) Wear calf compresspr socks when you sleep and consider elevating your feet on a pillow.

Are you changing your form? More on the toes...more in the mid-foot...flat on the heel?

Are you wearing different shoes?

Are you running too hard on the non-easy days?

Are you warming up enough?

Are you running at a different time?

This is pretty much my routine as well. That said, it makes it hard to find others to train with, as not many 38min 10K runners want to do 9:30/mi on easy days. As you said, I think my brain registers it as an easy day, so I hit a slow pace and anything quicker seems like an actual effort. If I get within 2min of my 10K pace on an easy run, it feels like I'm moving pretty quick.

It troubles me as well, until it's race day. Watching others' training, I think I should be running quicker all the time, in order to race quicker.. And that may hold some truth, but as long as my races are getting better, I ain't changing a thing.

You are likely iron deficient. Go get a blood test and check your feritin levels.

Then if you are iron deficient-

take iron AND vitamin C together

lay off the ice tea and coffee

stay away from a multi vitamin that has calcium

stay away from running on the concrete & pavement