Easy runs are slow compared to PRs?

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  • Confused Runner
    3 years ago 07/27/2016 11:24pm CDT
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    I'm a rising high school senior boy. I'm 6'1" and 160ish pounds.
    My PRs are 50.2 for 400, 1:53.7 for 800, 4:21.2 full mile, and 15:52 for 5k XC.
    From all the research I've done on training and from every pace chart or calculator I've ever seen my training paces are much slower than what a person with my PRs is usually capable of. My recovery runs are 7:30-8:00, normal easy runs are 7:00-7:20, tempo runs (usually 4 miles) are 5:30-50 pace. And these are my training paces when the whether is good, when it's hot and humid they get signifigantly slower. Is it weird that I've run as fast as I have only training with these paces?
  • Devastator
    3 years ago 07/27/2016 11:26pm CDT
    re: Confused Runner
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    Maybe you should do every single run at your race pace. Let us know how that goes.
  • Juggers
    3 years ago 07/28/2016 12:10am CDT
    re: Confused Runner
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    What is your mileage like?
  • Big Stuff
    3 years ago 07/28/2016 12:22am CDT
    re: Juggers
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    160 is on the big side of running. I am bigger, naturally junk miles would be slower. Check out your heart rate and you will see that you are in easy zone.
    Probably the same with LT pace. It's slower than training pace calculators would predict. Be glad you have speed.
  • DoritosLocosTacos
    registered
    3 years ago 07/28/2016 1:14am CDT
    re: Confused Runner
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    Pretty good actually. Maybe 10-15s faster per mile, but not necessary. Point is to have good WORKOUTS.
  • you're a speedster
    3 years ago 07/28/2016 5:05am CDT
    re: Confused Runner
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    Comparatively speaking your times are much, much better for shorter distances than longer, so it's not surprising that your training paces are slower and it's likely not something you should worry about. Those training paces are just about what you'd expect for the 15:52 but slow for someone running 4:21. Base your speedwork off your short distance times and endurance pace off the 5K time.
  • 6769679fg
    3 years ago 07/28/2016 5:32am CDT
    re: Confused Runner
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    Confused Runner wrote:

    I'm a rising high school senior boy. I'm 6'1" and 160ish pounds.
    My PRs are 50.2 for 400, 1:53.7 for 800, 4:21.2 full mile, and 15:52 for 5k XC.
    From all the research I've done on training and from every pace chart or calculator I've ever seen my training paces are much slower than what a person with my PRs is usually capable of. My recovery runs are 7:30-8:00, normal easy runs are 7:00-7:20, tempo runs (usually 4 miles) are 5:30-50 pace. And these are my training paces when the whether is good, when it's hot and humid they get signifigantly slower. Is it weird that I've run as fast as I have only training with these paces?

    Do what's best for you and stick with it if the results are good.

    I know a sub-8:50 HS 3200m runner who did at least half of his runs at 8 min pace.
  • 800 dude
    registered
    3 years ago 07/28/2016 7:03am CDT
    re: Confused Runner
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    Don't worry about your easy run pace, especially when you're still in high school and when you're in season. Easy run pace naturally gets faster over the years.

    Also, I have a rule of thumb that I've found very useful. When you're a long ways from your goal races, you should be running your easy runs faster on average. You still do workouts, but they're not that tough--only at about 50% of the volume that you'd do late in the season. As you move close to your goal races, you do longer and harder workouts, and your easy days become as easy as they have to be in order to recover. That might be as much as a minute per mile slower.
  • slow fast formula
    3 years ago 07/28/2016 7:40am CDT
    re: Confused Runner
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    Keep em slow. You're doing it right. A real slow twitch runner will go quicker on an easy run, but you are faster than those guys at shorter distances, so you should run slower than them on slow runs, endurance runs, tempo runs.
  • Eleven
    3 years ago 07/28/2016 8:34am CDT
    re: Confused Runner
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    Those calculators are based on EXACTLY the same conditions, so unless all your easy runs are run on a track, there will be significant differences..
  • BMORE SPICY BOIZ
    3 years ago 07/28/2016 8:41am CDT
    re: Confused Runner
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    I have a friend who runs 2:24 in the marathon and runs a lot of his normal runs between 7:30-8:00
  • mark b
    3 years ago 07/28/2016 8:47am CDT
    re: Confused Runner
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    What's the purpose of an "easy run"? To aid recovery from harder sessions. Consequently, don't bother with pace; - think effort and keep this very low. Your actual pace will vary a lot from day to day but you should be unawre of this. Just keep the effort very low.
    An aerobic conditioning run - one where you are looking for some training effect, an increase in fitness, is a different thing altogether and should never be "easy". It should be far from all out but it should require some effort/concentration to maintain the pace at some stage of the run.
    You need to be clear about the difference between the two very different runs.
  • fred
    registered
    3 years ago 07/28/2016 8:51am CDT
    re: Confused Runner
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    Confused Runner wrote:

    I'm a rising high school senior boy.

    I'm 6'1" and 160ish pounds.
    My PRs are 50.2 for 400, 1:53.7 for 800, 4:21.2 full mile, and 15:52 for 5k XC.
    From all the research I've done on training and from every pace chart or calculator I've ever seen my training paces are much slower than what a person with my PRs is usually capable of. My recovery runs are 7:30-8:00, normal easy runs are 7:00-7:20, tempo runs (usually 4 miles) are 5:30-50 pace. And these are my training paces when the whether is good, when it's hot and humid they get signifigantly slower. Is it weird that I've run as fast as I have only training with these paces?

    You say that you are 6'1" and rising. When do you think you will be 6'6"

    50 speed; and your mile sucks.

    You might want to give up the jogging and shift to what McBride is doing.

    Or give Tinman a call.

    Or periodize the training, high end aerobic now, and short and fast later.
  • Llewyn Davis
    3 years ago 07/28/2016 8:52am CDT
    re: Confused Runner
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    If you've been training consistently for several years at those paces then it's normal.
  • SlowFatMaster
    registered
    3 years ago 07/28/2016 8:57am CDT
    re: Confused Runner
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    What you're a speedster said.
  • fred
    registered
    3 years ago 07/28/2016 9:04am CDT
    re: fred
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    Here McBride says that he was racing 400 off of just strength work.

    http://www.flotrack.org/article/41535-q-a-brandon-mcbride-after-historic-1-44-63-800m
  • ClonedDuck
    registered
    3 years ago 07/28/2016 9:42am CDT
    re: Confused Runner
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    15:52 is good, but your 400 and 800 are exceedingly better marks. Just shows that you're naturally a bit more speed.

    Leave paces to your workouts. All other is just aerobic running. With those marks I assume you're looking to run in college. Just keep doing what you're doing so you have room to improve in college. Don't start burning yourself out.
  • midlife crisis
    3 years ago 07/28/2016 11:38am CDT
    re: Confused Runner
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    Enjoy it while you're young. Just wait 20 years, when your "hard" days are only a few seconds per mile faster than easy runs. And you run 800s, miles, and 5ks are all run at the same pace.
  • CycloneAlum
    3 years ago 07/28/2016 1:09pm CDT
    re: ClonedDuck
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    ClonedDuck wrote:

    15:52 is good, but your 400 and 800 are exceedingly better marks. Just shows that you're naturally a bit more speed.

    Leave paces to your workouts. All other is just aerobic running. With those marks I assume you're looking to run in college. Just keep doing what you're doing so you have room to improve in college. Don't start burning yourself out.


    Or, it shows he weighs 160 pounds and is an athlete. Probably plays some basketball or soccer or would have been fairly explosive in those sports had he done them.

    He would probably benefit from fewer miles at a faster pace and more focus on the 800 allowing branching to 400+1600. But, he appears to be on the XC team as well, so the extra miles at the easy/slow pace are helpful.
  • numbers mumbo jumbo
    3 years ago 07/28/2016 1:14pm CDT
    re: Confused Runner
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    Don't get caught up in what your easy pace should be. Easy pace should feel relaxed and easy. If it's 7:20 pace so be it. If it's 8 minute pace so be it. If you're forcing a certain pace for easy runs, you're not doing it right.

    I had the most improvement in my race times when I scaled back the pace on my "easy runs" and stopped trying to push it so much. That let my body recover more so I could actually get better. Save it for the speed workouts.