Easy pace for 19:40 5k runner

Drop your ego and follow the metrics. "Easy is a feeling" guys always have underdeveloped aerobic system.

8:50-9:20 does sound better to me for truly easy days. Varies a bit by runner though.

It’s fine. No need to turn this into a science project.

As slow as you want but 8:30-9:30 is the right ballpark especially if you run on trail.

I think that pace is fine but if you feel you need to start slower especially thats fine. Its summer so heat is always a factor. As you adjusted to increase in mileage you may also be slower for a time etc

For me, easy should be undoubtedly easy, no 'but's. Yes, it'll probably feel too slow, embrace it.

Easy pace for a 19:40 runner is the same as easy pace for anyone else. It's what feels easy and that can be different from day to day. It's a feeling, not a number.

Agree but when only running 45 miles a week the aerobic system will be undeveloped whatever pace they're running at. At least underdeveloped relative to what they could optimally achieve.

If OP was running 100 miles a week it'd be crucial that easy pace was strictly easy on every easy and recovery type run. But on 45 miles per week you can get away with some easy runs being in the grey area without compromising your workout quality too much.

RPE of 3-4 is too high for an easy run. Should be 1-2 for easy runs. 3-4 is a steady effort.

A couple of years ago at age 65, I ran 19:45, and I was alternating Easy Interval Session (3x2000; 6x1000; 12x400; or 16x200) with recovery runs of 3 or 4 miles at 8:00 to 8:15 per mile.

To me, the best guide is "have I recovered enough to do my interval session?" So if you're not recovering for your main sessions, you're running too fast.

Personally, I would find running 9:20 uncomfortable biomechanically.

The only other factor might be that I've been running for 50+ years, and it's possible that makes difference.

Some say that easy is not a pace but a feeling, and others say that I should feel on 1-2 and not 3-4, so maybe I will slow down a bit, thanks gentlemen for your answer.

And at my level, is it worth increasing the mileage to 50-60 mpw or is it better to keep the 45 mpw? Noting my easy pace and 19:40 for 5k? I want to improve from 5k to marathon?

It's always better to increase your milage (within reason maybe at 100+ MPW there's debates to he had). And stop looking at your damn watch on your easy runs. They should be easy, zone 2. I was running at 11:30-12:30 pace today because it was hot outside and it was the only way to keep my HR under 150.

If you're even questioning if your easy runs are too fast, than they are. Remember on easy runs you are training your heart, not your muscles/ lactate (that is for your hard sessions). Your heart has absolutely no idea how many miles you ran, only how long. You want to increase the time on your feet, stop thinking about the pace. At the same time you are trying to use your muscles as less as possible so they are maximally fresh for your sessions.

I'll get down voted for this, but easy is not a feeling, as much as people here like to say it is. With that logic you could literally race some easy days because you feel great and the pace comes easy. That's not an easy run, and it will not help you long-term if you're putting in the appropriate volume.

Even if you never feel "race" pace is a low RPE, you could easily talk yourself into running a sub-T (Z3) every day because you get so used to that effort that you do not know what truly easy (Z1) actually is. And this is the trap most hobby joggers fall into. It doesn't work.

In reality, easy is a lactate number (<2 or more ideally <1.5). And there is a wide range of easy "paces" (effort is what matters, factoring in conditions, course, recovery status, timeline of a training cycle, etc.) depending on the objective of the training session.

No one can give you an exact pace to run but I can assure you for a 19:40 runner doing 45mpw (assuming some workouts), even 10:00-10:30 pace in the summer is not too slow. If you don't believe me, put on a heart rate monitor and figure out your max HR, then run 10:00 pace for 45 minutes and see if you can stay under 70%MHR for the whole run.

I'm not saying you should start doing 10:00 miles every day. But it isn't too slow.

If you're feeling worn down and struggling, yes it would be better to slow the pace. Otherwise I would say that's fine.

I enjoy all the sciencey stuff, but for a lot of people I think it's way more simple. It's fun though to calculate and see the numbers.

I'll help you out. Most of your easy runs should stay at 8:50-9:00 pace when at your present shape to get the best individual boost for your bucks at aerob easy runs.And don't bother how many miles you run per week. Just get sure your easy runs mostly will be 40-60 min and sometimes 70-80 min ( proved to give extra mitochondrials and enzymes for the energy process). Run 5-6 sessions per week and mostly 1-2 of them to be a maxVO2 interval ( e.g 12-20 x 400m @ 5 k pace ) or a threshold interval of 5-8 miles total @ around half marathon pace.Works great whatever runner takes it on.Guaranteed success! Good luck!

🇸🇪The Wizard 🇸🇪

I also run 19:40 for a 5k on similar mileage.

I would say pace is hard to put a finger on and depends on a few different factors. In the summer there is heat and humidity to consider. Also, if it is very hilly where you run then that matters a lot too.

Personally, i live in the south and run before the sun gets up so about 75 degrees and a 70ish dew point. Most of my runs vary somewhere between 70 ft of gain per mile to 120 ft of gain per mile on the roads (so pretty hilly). My easy pace in the summer is around 9:30 to 10 minutes per mile. In the fall, winter, and spring that drops to between 9 to 9:30. If i ran somewhere flat, i imagine this would be like 8:30 to 9.

The important thing for me is that i recover enough for the workouts. If i feel exhausted before i even start the workout then my easy days are not easy enough.

Why not look at heart rate? (If you don't really know what "easy" means, you probably don't know what RPE 2 vs 3 really is, either.)

"Easy" pace will and should vary between different runs. For example, the day after a hard speed session you naturally need to work harder to jog the same pace. (Your body recruit muscles in a less efficient pattern to 'solve' the challenge of moving at a given pace.)

As a old masters runner my current 5k ability is about the same as yours. I do all of my easy running around 130-135 bpm, sometimes 120-130 at the start. That comes with a range in pace, which I don't care about at all.

Usually at this effort I will be moving around 5:30-5:45/km aka 8:50-9:15/mile.

But I run with effort as my guide, and heart rate to confirm I've got it right. The pace is a secondary observation.

I'm in a similar 5k time boat - for me it really depends on temperature and how hilly the route is. Right now, I run mostly in the 90+ degree range and fairly hilly so my easy pace is like in the 9:15s but come fall / winter, it drops to mid 8:30s.

It is hard to be outside 30 minutes let alone run 4-5 miles. So I do what I can. I know wake up early, I'm just not a morning person and I don't want to wake up at 5 am.

Also, I been biking more doing like hour long bike rides to cross train my running and that has made a major difference - less injuries, more strength.

I didn't see this before my post - basically the same thing lol