Should your easy run pace be 3 minutes slower than your current mile shape?

Just run baby, somedays easy runs will be a minute slower than mile pace other days it will be 6 minutes slower. Just run by feel, if you feel good run as fast as you feel, if you feel tired run as slow as you like. Just listen to your body.

According to Jack Daniels' Vdot calculator easy pace for someone with a 6:30 mile pb should be 9:06 to 9:36 so sounds reasonable especially as you are building mileage and you might expect your pace to be lower until you get used to the higher mileage.

The calculator is available online just google

vdot calculator

it is good for getting an idea of appropriate training paces and what times you may be able to run at various distances based off other recent prs.

That sounds reasonable, though I think the science/biomechanics of coaching runners @ those slower speeds is nonexistent. Coaches just take the same science that applies to faster athletes and scale it down to slower times—I have my doubts that that is the correct thing to do.

So percentage-wise, yeah, if you run a 6:50 mile it is reasonable to do your runs in the 9 minutes. But if you run a 4:15 mile, then 7:15 pace can feel a little mind-numbingly boring once warmed up.

However I sometimes suggest to people your speed to just run under 9 minutes at all times, even it is harder. Just run shorter if you tire out. I know my wife gets bad pain in her knees when running really slow, but when she runs in the 8 minutes or faster, the pain isn't present. The form is better. There is less pounding—not so much up and down but more forward velocity. That may just depend on the runner / age / ability, but I think I might be trying that with my slower HS athletes this year—have them running a little shorter but faster so they can practice something practical and not this up-and-down, almost-walking, 9:30/mi pace. My senior athletes I have doing the opposite: mileage and slower aerobic development, but then again their easy pace is 7:15-6:50.

Definitely agree with this. I run a 4:44 mile and my easy pace is 7-7:45 and if I go any slower for too many miles really affects my knees and punds on my body.

I've heard the 3 minutes slower than mile race. Also 2 minutes slower than 5k pace. And 60 to 90 seconds slower than marathon pace.

They'll give you a range of times, but just go by what feels best. Sounds like between 9 and 10 minute pace should work out well for you. But it's ok to start even slower. I run a 5 minute mile, and a lot of mornings my first mile is around 9 minute pace, sometimes the second one is close to that, too. But most of the run ends up averaging around 8ish pace.

Since you're increasing the miles, err on the side of keeping it a little too easy most days. If you do this for a couple months you might find yourself naturally cruising easy around 9 flat. Could be a fun time to retest that mile.

Dezeri wrote:

Like say I run a 6:30 mile all out, should 9:30 (give lr take 20 sec per mile) be the in the ballpark of my easy pace? I run by feel but I just want to make sure I’m not running too fast on easy days because I have only just upped my milage from 25 mpw to 40 and I don’t want to get hurt.

Exact numbers aside, I will throw out there that if you do this type of calculation, the easy run should be based on a % and not a static number. Static numbers make it too easy for the fastest guys and too hard for the slowest guys.

Maybe something like:

Mile pace + 50% of mile pace = Easy run

(haven't thought that thru, just an example... so a 5min miler would have an easy run pace of about 7:30 miles...)

***Actually, that would give a 4 minute miler a 6:00 easy pace and a 7 minute miler a 10:30 easy pace... so my equation may not be that far off, in terms of a general guideline... note that simply adding 3 minutes to those PRs would be relatively easier on the good runner and harder on the slow runner. ***

fwiw, the best answer, OP, has been given: check out Vdot calculator and Tinman calculator (I am guessing you already know about those, and you are just looking for a simpler method than googling in the middle of practice...)

You have a point there the intensity is probably about right I have to admit when I went from doing 9 min miles to try and stay at a low heart rate to running in the 7:30 to 8:00 range for my easiest runs I had a big jump in performance and my form felt better. I guess the larger volume of slower running helped me to get my easy pace up to a better place it did feel like I was plateaued for a few months though.

I follow more of a tinman/Drew Hunter/jk/80-20 type protocol which puts it at about a ratio of 1/1.75, or 9:30-ish for my 5:30-ish fitness (Drew ran 7:00 when in sub-4:00 shape). For a 6:30 runner that would be 11:00 or slower which is what I had to do to let aches and illness subside, and to build a bigger base. So you and I are training the same easy pace yet I am doing much harder workouts with ease with more overall mileage and have no residual fatigue despite being old and having trained for almost five decades.

I have found Daniels to be wanting in this regard for most athletes, especially older ones. I would have to diminish my workouts a lot and would get much less volume at the important speeds for my events (800/1500/3K). Most runners tend to go just a *little* harder on their easy days than their bodies can sustain year-in/year-out, and wonder why they get injured and just kind of hurt all the time.

Dezeri wrote:

Like say I run a 6:30 mile all out, should 9:30 (give lr take 20 sec per mile) be the in the ballpark of my easy pace? I run by feel but I just want to make sure I’m not running too fast on easy days because I have only just upped my milage from 25 mpw to 40 and I don’t want to get hurt.

The past month I've made a serious commitment to sloooowing down my runs, lower HR zone, while still keeping my mechanics and turnover in tact. I am 5:30-5:40ish miler, low 19 5k. For the time being, I've been loving the 10-11 min range very easy runs. I throw some strides in and strength work 3x a week usually. I do a variety of drills and bw work almost daily. I've been feeling amazing lately. This is the most consistent I've been with very easy running while base building. Like some posters noted, some days your easy pace will be a minute faster or slower, don't fret over that too much, keep the effort light and steady, don't stress the body too much this time of year, just keep the aerobic engine burning.

11:00 pace for a 6:30 miler? I would think 9:30-10:00 would suffice, yet not be so slow to mess up form. But I saw another post that said it could vary also due to weather and other variables, so that's a factor. I'll have to read the 80/20 book and see if there's more to it. Good post, thanks for the insight though!

Currently I'm able to do EZ mileage (140-150 bpm) at about 9:35-10:00/mi. with no effort. It feels good to just run.

Yeah, that sounds about right

Be 7 minutes should be everyone’s easy pace.

Farah ran 5:30 easy

No. The difference wouldn’t be big enough for exemple between someone who runs a 4min mile and someone who runs a 4:30 mile.