Running slow

you have to take into account the pr of the people posting on the rw's forums.

I think of it as just getting my body used to running a lot of miles, towards the eventual goal of increasing the volume of my hard workouts.

Personally though I think the related common refrain of "you can't do your long run too slow" is very stupid, however. If the runner's goal is to train for a half or a full or whatever and they just want to finish without walking then sure take it easy on the long run, but when training to maximize performance I think the long run should be above an "easy" pace most of the time.

I was good in HS (no college) with a big gap and recently got back into running for real. After years of trying to run nearly as fast in training as when I was younger and always getting hurt, I started taking my runs very slow. It's helped me stay injury free for two years, something (100% my fault). It's also brought back speed with no wear and tear.

I'd say run slow until ideal racing weight and then ramp up the speed - depends on your goals though. Just Imo.

average mid d wrote:

you have to take into account the pr of the people posting on the rw's forums.

This. "Slow" is relative and means entirely different things to different people. I think the point is to understand your range. Many recreational runners don't get the idea of "easy" and try to gut out their fastest pace (even if that's not fast by your standards) every single time, invariably getting hurt in the process. That's the idea behind these guidelines.

have you thought about training with a HR monitor and on your easy days keep it under a certain level? I find it helpful in the summer time to keep an eye on it so I don't die too early in my runs (its very hot and humid where I live - DC). you'd be surprised at how high it can get even if you don't feel like you're pushing it very hard.

That might be an easier tool to use than just some arbitrary 9 min/mile = easy number. I'm not very fit or fast anymore and I am not training for anything and 9 min/miles are very slow for me.

Thanks for all the advice. I think my problem right now is I have no idea of my fitness level. I have way better prs then most of those runners world guys but a lot of them are probably in better shape then I am now. Ive only been running again for a little over three weeks, and and am 170-175lbs and was 145 when I was fast in my early 20s. Id probably be lucky to break 21:00 for a 5k. Right now I just want to stay healthy and see if I can train for a year, and get competitive in the local masters races next year.

Take your 21min estimate for the 5k and get your recommended training paces off a website, RW world and McMillan have them, I think.

Start using those paces but with walk breaks. So a long run might use the recommended pace but walk some when HR of effort climbs too high, tempo recommend pace but do intervals at pace only until it starts to get hard, and don't strain at all, keep all these workouts in the " i could EASILY do more if I wanted to zone. This way when you want to be serious about running you will be ready to use the proper range of motion and turn over, your body will be built for it. Slogging and then jumping into a plan is not a good idea. You will be thin and have some endurance, even at speed , but you will get hurt using it.

I'll second the HR recommendation. It's helped me get back into running after 12 years off. I doubt I was as fast as you, but I was faster than most of the classic Runner's World readers.

But the other thing I'll say is, it sounds like what you're doing is working for you right now. So you could just keep it up and pay really close attention to how you feel. Don't be afraid to drop down to 8:30 or 9 minutes every once in a while. You might be surprised how well it works for you.

As others said, though, don't arbitrarily pick a number. Base your pace off a mix of feel, HR (if you want to) a 5k race, etc. You can probably find a local race in a week or two with a cheap entry fee and just run it to see where you are at. It could help with your current training paces and with setting a goal for some fall races when you get your mileage up.