deleuze wrote:
Good article that speaks to both sides of easy runs too easy and easy runs too hard.
http://www.logicoflongdistance.com/2013/01/what-is-easy-run.html
Interesting. If I run my regular easy/steady runs at the sort of pace I ought to in theory, say using a heart-monitor, other than on days where I'm really tired, I would have to consciously hold back.
It might be a bit different because of age (62), and years of training (45+), but if I'm fit and don't look at my watch my 5 mile steady run is going to be in the 7:30 region. If I'm just doing steady running and no 'workouts' I can pretty much do that day in day out. I do run a lot slower on long runs, as I switch them from road to trail, specifically to slow things down and not focus on pace. If I go on the local trails and do an hour and 30 minutes, it might be more like a glorified hike.
I was always more a fast-twitch guy - 3000m was probably my best distance, and I could hold on and run a reasonable 5000m or 10000m (17:30, 37:04 in my mid-50s), but my half-marathon and marathon were very slow, with my marathon being about 1:15 per mile slower than my 10k pace (and that was an even paced marathon, not blowing up).
Consequently, all the stuff about easy/steady pace relative to marathon pace is way off for me, and I's say I'd be about 1:15 per mile off my 5k pace. At that, I'm generally about 80% of HR reserve at somewhere around 125-127.
I recently did 6 miles with a 3 mile tempo at 6:50 in the middle and the HR only went to mid 140s (max of 165).
I think it's part of the old guy thing of LT pace and Vo2 max pace getting close together with age, and part being a fast-twitch guy with a big cardio.