Fleet feet wrote:
No not anyones pace. Just a handful world class athletes (even though most don't run this pace for 'easy' runs) or people lying to themselves that are not elite runners.
6:00 pace is pretty common for people running in the low 14's for 5000m.
I am not sure if that is where he is at this point in his career, but if not, he is probably just getting dragged along at that pace because the guys on his team are in that kind of shape and they are all running together.
It is cliché, but I have to agree with the sentiment expressed by others: Easy pace is a feel, not a time. If I can comfortably hold a conversation, then I am running at easy pace. Sometimes that is 6:40-6:50, sometimes it is 7:20-7:30. For my first mile the morning after a hard workout and with a hangover, it might be near 8:00. But it is always a pace at which I can comfortably maintain a conversation.