I've had a problem for years with running that has hindered me majorly from getting anywhere near my potential, I find running easy solo runs too hard. An example is I will run 4miles at 8minute pace and have a heartrate of over 160, my breathing will feel pretty tough and I will feel the urge to stop occasionally, however, if I go out with other people I can do an easy 8miles at 7minute pace, with a similar if not better heart rate, and better breathing, at conversational pace. I've had this problem for years and have tried many fixes, many different paces etc etc, its not as bad on workouts or tough long runs but its still a slight problem, it's almost like theres a mental block that forces me to stop running easy, but then my heart rate proves that it is not only mental. I've tried music podcasts etc, and nothing changes, most of my miles have to be done alone, and so most of my runs are scuffed stop start slow but hard work runs, which then in turn puts me off running, leading to low mileage weeks of <30 max (mostly workouts). I feel I have so much more to give and have run low 16s on this mileage, but this problem makes me mad and want to quit. Any advice/experiences similar/discussion would be highly appreciated.