I am a sophomore in high school have been running for about two years now and have always been very interested in the different training paces and how they correlate to perceived efforts. This is especially true about the concept of easy runs. I have always run my easy runs at a pace that has felt physically easy, and it has always been relatively slow to the pace at which my team mates run. My coach shares this philosophy, and simply advised me to run easily on easy days. This however has come under scrutiny by my teamates who state that easy could mean anything, and that an extremely slow jog is easy and so is a slightly faster jog. The point is that they assert that the term "easy" refers to to many possibilities. They set a definitive pace for their "easy" runs and stick to running that pace on easy days, even if it does not feel easy to them. I am currently a 4:50 miler and a 17:35 5000m runner, and my easy runs average from 5:40/km to 6:00km, whereas that of my teamates averages from 4:10/km to 4:40/km. They have pb's within 10 - 12 seconds of mine, faster and slower, and are of a similiar fitness. Is their really a definitive correct verdict on this issue, or is it truly just a matter of individuality and what works for each runner?