How long did it take you before 7 minute pace was your easy pace?

About 5-10 years of consistent training.

14:25 5k pr

30: 55 10k

66 minute half

Wot

I guess once I started running sub 17 5k's, 1:20 halfs 7:00 pace became "easy."

However even as a mid 15s, 1:10 half guy a true "easy" day will still be 7:20-7:30s.

No shame in actually allowing your body to recover, whatever pace that is for you.

big HONKING birds wrote:

I guess once I started running sub 17 5k's, 1:20 halfs 7:00 pace became "easy."

However even as a mid 15s, 1:10 half guy a true "easy" day will still be 7:20-7:30s.

No shame in actually allowing your body to recover, whatever pace that is for you.

Agreed

S. Canaday with some words of wisdom. Great insight.

If you wont take his word for it check out the NAZ Elite training logs. All of the men are taking their easy days around 7:00 pace. Matt Llano has a marathon PB of 2:12 or 5:02 pace. So that's about MP+2:00.

https://www.finalsurge.com/NAZElite

Yuki Kawauchi is an interesting guy. Self coached. Not sponsored. Consistently fast. He says his easy runs are around 5min/km (8:02 pace). Ok, that actually seems really show but that's what he claimed in an interview with Deadspin. It's also interesting to see that he runs low volume, does all singles, and only does two workouts per week... but that's not really pertinent to this discussion. Anyway, he has a PB of 2:08 or 4:52 pace. So that's MP+3:10.

https://runningscience.co.za/elite-athletes-training-log/yuki-kawauchi/

Then there's this Eliud Kipchoge guy. Apparently he is pretty fast. His easy days were around 6:30. He has a PB of 2:03 or 4:41 pace. So that's about MP+1:50.

http://www.sweatelite.co/eliud-kipchoge-full-training-log-leading-marathon-world-record-attempt/

Seems like the MP+2:00 rings mostly true for the elites... it should probably be true for you too. So I run 2:11 marathon I'll start doing my easy runs at 7:00 pace.

Am I cherry picking facts? Yes, maybe. Apparently Mo Farah ran his easy days at 6:00 (no idea when this was published). He as a PB of 2:08 or 4:52 pace. So that's about MP+1:00.

https://runningscience.co.za/elite-athletes-training-log/mo-farah/

still dreaming of that day

ItsOnlyRunning wrote:

Seems like the MP+2:00 rings mostly true for the elites... it should probably be true for you too. So I run 2:11 marathon I'll start doing my easy runs at 7:00 pace./

Spot on for me. I have always though that Daniel's E-pace (~ MP + 1:10) is a bit fast.

This is such a hobby jogger question. You are focused on the wrong thing. They don't give awards for improving easy pace. Your average runner including most high school kids run too fast on easy days.

too fast on easy days wrote:

Your average runner including most high school kids run too fast on easy days.

In that case maybe this isn't such a hobbyjogger question because it could be in reference to how long before you were comfortable SLOWING DOWN to that pace.

too fast on easy days wrote:

This is such a hobby jogger question. You are focused on the wrong thing. They don't give awards for improving easy pace. Your average runner including most high school kids run too fast on easy days.

Indeed, it is framed in a very "hobbyjogger" way.

About 6 months. I was 14 at the time and hitting around 30 mpw and a 4:50 mile. On jack daniels this equivalent to 7:00-7:25, but I was doing my easy runs around 7:30-45.

However, a 7 min easy pace never truly felt 'easy' until I was 16 and running about a 16:30 5k on 45mpw in the summer.

Mike from San Diego wrote:

After six years of consistent training I finally managed to push my easy run pace down to 7 min/km.

Nice!

It took me 4 years to run a 7 minute mile, with the help of my father in heaven. I was very over weight and lost 160 pounds. I avoided a double knee surgery. Was in perfect health. Ten these last four years of homelessness I was unable to run and put a damper on my health and I was so desperate to get back to running I signed paperwork blind since nobody would listen. I am at a 10 minute mile and my health I am still questioning but don't trust any doctor in this world. All I can do is keep my faith with my child and father in heaven. I am so depressed it is Christmas and nobody gives a hoot about anything.

Never. 7 minute pace is quick for 14:45 5k runners

7:30 was the slowest I would do in high school. It was usually in the 6:45-6:20 range. Now my easy days are 8+ minute mile range. I'm faster now than I was in high school.

Jan Danil wrote:

How long have you been running?

Average mpw?

Highest mpw?

It's truly easy for very, very few people. It's borderline easy for people with perhaps 1:10 half ability. It's only truly, everyday easy for guys well below 1:05 ability.

Most people mean "not hard" or "comfortable" by easy. There are a few exceptions, but if you look at most good pros, they are running lots of stuff 6:30-7:30 pace, only going faster on workout days. If you're a 4:30 mile threshold guy, then yea, 6:30 is easy. Almost no elite runs faster than low 6s on a regular basis (on non workout days). Rupp is the fastest I've ever heard of, and he was claimed to do 5:45's sometimes.

That's about 75%, at 6 flat, the speed of your threshold (HMP). Adjust that for a 17:00 5k guy with a half around 1:20 and you have 8:00 pace as the absolute TOP end you run on your easy days feeling your best, with most days being between 8:30-9:30 perhaps. Most 17' guys aren't doing that. They are running way too hard. All ego.

Or for a 20' guy (1:30 half ish), that's a max of 9:00 pace, with most falling closer to 10:00 pace.

This is moving in the right direction, yes. But flat numbers or only work in the elite range. Use percentages like I did in the post above. I'd also argue that easy paced should be based of aerobic capacity (e.g. threshold) and not off fatigue resistance, but that's nitpicking.

Anybody in here running 16' or 17' claiming that 7 flat pace is "easy" just doesn't understand what easy means. Easy does not mean "comfortable" or "not hard". All good elites do their easy days damn easy. That's one of the reasons they are good. Easy days get easier, leaving more in the tank to consistently hit challenging, quality workouts.

Pedantic maybe but... wrote:

too fast on easy days wrote:

Your average runner including most high school kids run too fast on easy days.

In that case maybe this isn't such a hobbyjogger question because it could be in reference to how long before you were comfortable SLOWING DOWN to that pace.

Sorta pedantic, but that's not a question of ability, it's a question of ego. Most guys don't have the ego to do easy runs at 65 or 70% of threshold / 65% of HRmax. When you have ego, slowing down to a pace you know lots of chubby out of shape people can huff and puff along at gets you.

It's amazing the improvement one gets with athletes when they can get through to them to put their ego aside a bit and make their easy efforts work for them, not against them.

14:45 5k wrote:

Never. 7 minute pace is quick for 14:45 5k runners

Easy days easy like super easy wrote:

7:30 was the slowest I would do in high school. It was usually in the 6:45-6:20 range. Now my easy days are 8+ minute mile range. I'm faster now than I was in high school.

These guys understand. It's surprising more people don't recognize this given Wejo's article. 8:00 for a 28' guy is a bit extreme, but the point is there. He, like every athlete that does so, improved tremendously when he chilled out. He probably could have run at 7:00 or 7:30 instead of 8:00...but it matters little. It allows you to handle more work, gives nearly the same aerobic benefits, and allows you to be much better rested for hard efforts for effective workouts.

Exception if you're a really quick, more speed oriented 800/1500 guy some training styles seem to work well with harder easy runs. Every good elite distance runner 5000 up runs VERY easy on their easy runs.