Are You Running Your Easy Runs Too Fast?
“How fast should my easy runs be?”
It’s one of the most common questions I get from runners—and often, the answer is slower than they expect.
Easy runs can be surprisingly difficult to get right. When you’re feeling good, it’s tempting to pick up the pace. When your watch tells you that you’re running slower than usual, you might feel like you should speed up. And when you see everyone else’s runs on Strava, suddenly your perfectly good easy run can feel… not so good.
But an easy run has a job to do.
And running it faster doesn’t necessarily mean you’re getting more out of it.
What Is an Easy Run?
An easy run should feel exactly how it sounds: easy.
For most runners, that means a conversational effort. You should be able to speak in full sentences without struggling to catch your breath. On a 1–10 rating of perceived exertion (RPE) scale, think approximately 2–4/10.
Your breathing should feel controlled. Your stride should feel relaxed. And when you finish, you should generally feel like you could have kept going.
That last part can be difficult for runners to accept.
We’re used to thinking that a workout needs to feel hard to be productive. But easy runs aren't failed workouts because you didn't finish exhausted.
The goal isn't to prove your fitness.
The goal is to build it.
Why Do We Run Easy?
Easy running allows you to accumulate running volume without creating the same amount of fatigue that comes with harder training.
Over time, aerobic training contributes to adaptations that improve your ability to produce energy aerobically, deliver oxygen to working muscles and sustain running for longer periods.
But there’s another important reason to keep easy days easy:
Your harder days need somewhere to go.
If Tuesday is supposed to be a quality workout but Monday’s “easy” run quietly turned into a moderate effort, you may arrive at Tuesday carrying more fatigue than intended.
Do this repeatedly and your training can start to exist in an awkward middle ground: not easy enough to recover well, but not hard or specific enough to provide the stimulus you wanted from your quality sessions.
Easy days create room for hard days to actually be hard.
How Fast Should Your Easy Pace Be?
This is where runners often want me to give them one specific number.
Unfortunately—or fortunately, depending on how attached you are to your Garmin—there isn't one perfect easy pace.
Your easy pace can change from day to day.
It can be affected by:
Sleep
Stress
Previous training
Temperature and humidity
Hills
Wind
Fueling
Hydration
Menstrual cycle
General fatigue
A pace that feels effortless on a cool morning on a flat route may feel completely different on a humid afternoon after a hard training session.
That's why I don't want runners constantly forcing their easy runs into a predetermined pace range.
Run the effort, not the number on your watch.
Some days your easy pace might be 5:30/km. Another day it might be 7:00/km. Both can be completely appropriate if the physiological and perceived effort is where we want it.
What About Heart Rate and Zone 2?
Heart rate can absolutely be useful—but it’s one piece of information, not the boss of your run.
You’ve probably heard that all of your easy running needs to be in “Zone 2.”
The problem is that heart-rate zones aren't always as precise as they appear.
Watch-generated zones may be based on estimated maximum heart rate rather than your individual physiology. Heart rate can also change with heat, dehydration, caffeine, stress, fatigue and other factors.
That doesn't make heart-rate data useless.
It just means it should be interpreted alongside other information.
For easy running, I often care just as much about how the effort feels, how you're breathing and whether you can comfortably hold a conversation.
If your watch briefly says you've entered Zone 3 while climbing a hill but you're still running at a controlled conversational effort, you don't necessarily need to slam on the brakes.
Context matters.
Hills Still Count
One of the easiest ways to accidentally turn an easy run into something harder is to insist on maintaining the same pace uphill.
Your body doesn't care that your Garmin says you're running 20 seconds per kilometre slower.
It knows you're working harder.
When the terrain goes up, let the pace come down.
Shorten your stride, keep the effort controlled and allow yourself to slow significantly if necessary.
The same principle applies to heat, humidity and wind.
Easy is an effort—not a pace.
The Strava Problem
We need to talk about this one.
Your easy run doesn't need to impress anyone.
A runner posts 8 km at 5:10/km. You normally run with them. Suddenly your 5:45/km run feels slow.
So you speed up.
Except maybe they were doing a steady run. Maybe they're in a different phase of training. Maybe they slept nine hours last night. Maybe they're about to make tomorrow's workout terrible.
You don't know.
Your training should be based on your goals and what your body needs that day.
Nobody gets bonus points on race day because their easy runs looked impressive on Strava.
Signs You May Be Running Your Easy Runs Too Fast
You may want to look at your easy-day intensity if:
Easy runs frequently turn into progression runs.
You regularly finish easy runs feeling depleted.
Your breathing isn't comfortably controlled.
You struggle to slow down even when you're tired.
Your legs consistently feel heavy going into quality workouts.
You're frequently unable to hit the intended intensity of harder sessions.
Most of your runs end up at roughly the same moderate effort.
One run that's a little faster than planned isn't going to derail your training.
We're looking for patterns.
“But Running Slower Feels Awkward”
This is something I hear all the time.
And sometimes it’s true.
If slowing down dramatically changes your mechanics or makes you feel like you're shuffling, I don't necessarily want you forcing an artificially slow pace just to satisfy a number on your watch.
Instead, think about reducing effort.
Relax your shoulders. Keep your steps light. Stop chasing pace. Let hills slow you down. And pay attention to your breathing.
For some runners, short walk breaks can also be completely appropriate—especially when building mileage, returning to running or managing very hilly terrain.
Walking isn't cheating.
Save Your Fast Running for When It Matters
There is absolutely a place for running fast.
Intervals should have a purpose.
Threshold work should have a purpose.
Race-pace work should have a purpose.
Long runs should have a purpose.
And easy runs should have a purpose too.
A good training plan isn't about making every run as difficult as you can tolerate. It's about combining different training stimuli in a way that allows you to adapt, recover and continue progressing.
Sometimes the smartest thing you can do to become a faster runner is surprisingly simple:
Slow down.
Want to Take the Guesswork Out of Your Training?
Knowing how hard to run is only one piece of the puzzle.
Nth Degree Running offers individualized 1:1 run coaching built around your goals, training history, schedule and life outside of running.
Because your training shouldn't just look good on paper.
It should work for you.
