Should beginners be running mostly easy miles

Should beginners run mostly easy miles? Yes, definitely. That said, you can go overboard with this and I think all this stuff about zones and heart rates is stuff beginners should avoid paying attention to. Easy is a feeling, not a number and unless you're pretty old or have some physical disability there is no reason to be running 11;00 minute miles no matter what a heart monitor says.

My grade school's back entrance was exactly a mile from the front steps of my house. In sixth grade a cousin who lived next door and was in eighth grade there and I got interested in seeing how fast we could walk home. We timed ourselves for most of walks that year and got into the upper or mid 10's. There is no reason a healthy adult's easy pace should be slower than a chubby sixth grader's was. You say the effort at 11:00 pace feels like walking. It should. Ignore the heart rate for now. Maybe check it after you run if you're just dying to know. But don't let it dictate your run. If it feels easy it is.

You have no business scoffing at an 11:30min/mile pace if that's already putting your HR between 140-150BPM, and it's the last thing from "useless". Your aerobic base is simply poor. Doing runs at 10:15 is going to give you little benefit over doing them at 11:30, but will wear you out faster and increase your risk of injury. Keep running at 11+/min. At such a slow pace your gains will be fast once you start building up to 8-10 mile runs and soon you'll be able to do them at 10:30 then 10 then 9:30/min. Good luck.

The problem is 'easy' is too relative. I've seen people say runs are 'easy' because they didn't puke at the end. That's the nice thing about HR, it at least gives some objective measure of effort. it's not perfect. But if OP is running 11:30 miles and is approaching 150BPM, I'd hesitate to recommend running faster than that for now.

At 11;00 or slower he's almost not running. If keeping his HR down is a concern he'd be better off running at a "normal" speed and stopping to walk at times. Or he could use Lydiard's15 minute test. Find an out and back course where the turn around is at basically the same altitude as the start/finish, i.e., a course where you aren't running mostly up hill one way and down the other, Run out for fifteen minutes and check the time. If you can run back in about the same time as you went out you were fine. If you need maybe five minutes or more to get back you went too fast and if you come back much more than five minutes faster than you went out you started too slowly.

Breaking 20 for 5k is the start of real running. 4 min per kilometer or 6:25 per mile pace.

You need to run almost twice as quick as you are, and unless you are starting from 300lbs with an arrhythmia, you need to stop this 11 min pace nonsense. I would set aside your watch and just run everyday aiming to reach 30-40 minutes most days and an hour once a week. Find a flat grass area to do strides so you can start to feel used to increased leg turnover. Then start increasing your cadence at the end of your daily runs, increasing the length of time you run faster over time. Bring out your watch for 400 and 800m intervals, where the goal is to run fast but maintaining aerobic effort

Literally just pick any strategy besides what you are doing. Plodding around at 11min pace is obnoxious

Unless you’re an 80 year old, you should never run slower than 8:00 pace

RunningFromTime wrote:

Breaking 20 for 5k is the start of real running. 4 min per kilometer or 6:25 per mile pace.

You need to run almost twice as quick as you are, and unless you are starting from 300lbs with an arrhythmia, you need to stop this 11 min pace nonsense. I would set aside your watch and just run everyday aiming to reach 30-40 minutes most days and an hour once a week. Find a flat grass area to do strides so you can start to feel used to increased leg turnover. Then start increasing your cadence at the end of your daily runs, increasing the length of time you run faster over time. Bring out your watch for 400 and 800m intervals, where the goal is to run fast but maintaining aerobic effort

Literally just pick any strategy besides what you are doing. Plodding around at 11min pace is obnoxious

It could be the watch is off or it could be HR is unusually elevated from the adderall. The watch also says my cadence is around 170 for those 11 min miles and around 190-200 for 8 min mile.

I ran 5km for around 8 min pace on the roads about 7 weeks ago in a time trial. Around the same time I did an 800m time trial in just over 3 mins(died in the second lap). I'm sure I could go faster now not sure how much at this point but at least a bit faster. Today for example I ran 1.5 miles at 7:30 towards the middle of a 5 mile run with the rest being 8-10 min pace which was like a medium effort not killing myself but not conversational at least in the 7:30 part. So yeah I have a ways to go but it's not completely twice as fast.

I'm not running many 11 minute miles right now. Like I said I might run one at the beginning of a long run to warm up.I'm asking if I should be running more of them which I'm getting some mixed signals but I'm leaning towards no here.

My easy days are 4-5 in the 10-10:20 pace range on average. Harder days I will put some miles in the 8s or 7s. Longer runs (10-12km) I will run 9-10pace on average usually starting those at a jog and doing faster intervals in the middle but they usually average out in the 9s

They should focus on consistency and not getting injured.

No. Slow running is defined by fast running. Plan a 7-8 day cycle with 2 hard runs of some type and run as many easy miles as your legs will allow in between. Learn the value of different types of workouts and let it evolve.

I would run your general distance days without that watch, which I'm not convinced works right based on the metrics. Just run based on perceived effort. If you feel good and, say someone runs up alongside you, could you have a brief talk and not sound like you're dying? Probably good to go. If you're winded, slow down. Some days it'll be faster, some slower, which is why there is usually a range listed for "easy" days. Your 10 something miles easy days don't sound excessive, but I just wouldn't worry too much about pace vs just being out there regularly.

Go easy 20-30 min. 3-4 times a week. Enjoy the process and the scenery.

You can start thinking about pace after you’ve established a consistent routine. You can also go on longer walks in addition to your runs.

XXXX wrote:

Go easy 20-30 min. 3-4 times a week. Enjoy the process and the scenery.

You can start thinking about pace after you’ve established a consistent routine. You can also go on longer walks in addition to your runs.

I have been running 5-7x per week since late may. At the time I was 35 lb heavier and much slower even compared to now. Of course my paces are still slow but I'm at least consistent already. I haven't run less than 30mpw since July. My average for the past 4 weeks is 53.8km and ran every day in those weeks. I was considered increasing it to 60km/wk soon

I WISH I could have a heart rate in the 140s for an easy run. I had an easy run today, and once I got a half mile in, my heart rate range was 160-182. I regularly have it get above 190 if I run even moderately hard...never experience any chest or arm pain, and I don't have shortness of breath. All data comes from my Garmin watch.

I am 55, so these higher heart rates should are not typical for a guy my age. I assume you are younger than I am?

Before someone tells me to see my doctor, that is scheduled for next week. I will mention this to him again.

For most people who are new/out of shape/overweight/old/whatever, it is not possible to do a genuinely easy run. So, do your runs at a running pace, and when you need a recovery day, crosstrain, or go for a walk, or take the day off.

I don't think 80/20 makes unless you're well trained. Frankly, it's an accomplishment just to reach the point where you can run steady at ~70% max HR.

Flagpole wrote:

I WISH I could have a heart rate in the 140s for an easy run. I had an easy run today, and once I got a half mile in, my heart rate range was 160-182. I regularly have it get above 190 if I run even moderately hard...never experience any chest or arm pain, and I don't have shortness of breath. All data comes from my Garmin watch.

I am 55, so these higher heart rates should are not typical for a guy my age. I assume you are younger than I am?

Before someone tells me to see my doctor, that is scheduled for next week. I will mention this to him again.

There's always the possibility that the numbers on your watch are not actually reflective of your HR. Personally, I never had luck with wrist-based HR monitors. I would often get "cadence lock".

BILL SLOWSKY wrote:

XXXX wrote:

Go easy 20-30 min. 3-4 times a week. Enjoy the process and the scenery.

You can start thinking about pace after you’ve established a consistent routine. You can also go on longer walks in addition to your runs.

I have been running 5-7x per week since late may. At the time I was 35 lb heavier and much slower even compared to now. Of course my paces are still slow but I'm at least consistent already. I haven't run less than 30mpw since July. My average for the past 4 weeks is 53.8km and ran every day in those weeks. I was considered increasing it to 60km/wk soon

See, this is the actual useful information. You're not a complete beginner. You've been at it for 5+ months already.

At this point, the answer for you is: No, you do not need to run easy every day. You can have a longer day and a faster day. Move up to 60 kpw as planned.

But you should still throw out the HR limits and run by feel on your easy days.

+1

I assume the OP confirmed his HR, but I thought the same thing...

I can imagine that 11 minute miles might only produce a "fast walk" cadence in the 140s while a "real running" cadence would start moving into the 170s and upward. I think that's true of a broad swath of the population. So, OP, if you are using a wrist monitor, make sure that you manually check your HR against the number on the Garmin. Cadence lock is not an uncommon thing. It is probably the #1 reason why people hate their wrist monitors. Your numbers make this explanation plausible, but you'll have to check.

You must be in your early sixties. For you, take it easy. Young people need to learn how to sprint properly first. If there is a track & field club for nine or ten year olds, take your kids there and have them learn how to sprint.

How about this: try running it at 9-10 pace, but take a walking break when it gets above 150. Start running again once it drops below 120. This way you don't have to plod along at a brisk walking pace while aerobically you're still in zone.