returning hobbyjogger wrote:
I think using a percentage of MHR to determine easy pace is a great starting point, but it’s not necessarily gospel.
Using a chest strap HRM, I’ve had easy runs where I can take six steps per breath, sit at 67–70% MHR (around 55% of 5K pace on flat ground), and feel completely fine—if not a bit bored. I’ve also had runs at 65–70% MHR that felt too fast despite feeling fresh.
As others have said, in winter I can run upwards of 1:00/km faster than at other times of the year while still being at 65–70% MHR (around 67% of 5K pace). On the other hand, if I go out after a double espresso or try to squeeze in a quick 30-minute run at lunch, I can struggle to stay under 70% MHR at much slower paces—well below 65% of MAS. If I had a lactate meter, my hunch is that lactate would actually be lower in those latter scenarios.
There’s likely nothing wrong with relying on the talk test or RPE, as long as you’re being honest about the effort.
That said, I’m not advocating for anyone to intentionally run their easy runs faster, and I’m not in a position to make training recommendations—just sharing that there are likely some nuances here. I’m also well aware that the 70% MHR cap is a useful guideline, as it probably prevents most easy runs from drifting too hard.
Nothing massively to disagree with here. But the reason 70% is so useful for practical purposes, is that it puts probably 99.9% of the running population under LT1, most of which is by a wide margin.
In that sense, its job done ✅.
You have to consider there's many average hobby joggers, who probably think easy is an effort at, or even slightly above Lt1 if you left them to their own guaging of efforts.
One thing that NSM has taught me is easy running is actually so much easier than i had ever thought.