Like most things in running, I was originally inspired by Coach Bennett. This is taking the advice to “run with an effort that is easy to give” and putting my own spin on it.
The biggest thing I’ll preach to anyone who runs is: run how you feel. There will be days that it is easy to run with sustained effort, just for fun, and then another day (maybe even the next day) where even an easy pace feels harder to give and the idea of picking it up further than that just seems impossible. So pick it up on the day you feel great and dial it back on the day that you don’t.
So how does it work?
If you look up a lot of training plans you’ll often see the 80/20 rule. 80 percent easy runs, 20 percent hard. This means that if you are running 5 times a week it means that only one run should be a workout, or a hard effort. This is often measured by heart rate or pace but if you listen to your body, over time, you’ll know what these different efforts feel like.
What does this look like in terms of pace?
Here is a breakdown to file away in your head. I say this, of course, as something that has worked for me but you may need to tune things to your personal preference. After all, we are going to run how we feel, right?
So, your easy pace should be anywhere from a 45 seconds to a minute per mile less than your marathon pace. Further it can be 45 seconds to 1:15 per mile less than half marathon effort and 1:30 to two minutes slower than your 5K pace. Keep in mind I’m saying YOUR PACE. Your paces are unique to you. Because you are unique. Your mileage will vary. When it comes to speed, I personally do better with long sustained efforts than shorter distances. With 5K distances and below I almost always go out too fast and have nothing left for the end whereas in longer distances I’m better at metering out my energy (though in my marathon I did go out too fast, even though it didn’t feel like it at the time).
Obviously there are training plans out there that call for different paces and efforts out there but the majority of runs should be by feel. Even if those easy runs and recovery runs are calling for paces, I’d still recommend keeping it to feel. It is better that you can get out of the door to do the run tomorrow than hitting quicker, called for, paces on an easy run and feeling like crap the next day. Because guess what, you aren’t going to be able to hit those paces then either.
Even when it comes to your speed runs, if you aren’t able, don’t force yourself to hit “called for” paces. There are going be those days. That’s okay. Forcing yourself is a path to injury. If you keep listening to your body and continue to use the structure of your training plan, you’ll hit your paces more often than not anyway.
But don’t run lazy.
There is a difference between running easy and falling into a rut. Form gets lazy when you fall into a rut. This is yet another path to injury. Just getting in the miles isn’t going to keep you in shape. You have to keep your form together and if that is easier to do on a shorter run then start short and build from there. This is one of the hardest things to recognize, especially for myself. This past summer I found that I was putting in miles just to get them in but I didn’t recognize that I was just putting in junk miles. I wasn’t benefitting from them and I ended up with Achilles tendonitis just from the overwork. And yes, on some of those miles I was falling into a rut. I wasn’t running with intent. I was just doing it to do it.
Remember to ask yourself, when you are running, “Is this a run that feels easy or that feels lazy. Am I driving my arms and making sure my feet fall below my body (not ahead or behind). You can run easy with good form. Something I learned from Coach Bennett is to throw in some speed on your easy runs so that you aren’t “falling asleep in the middle of the run”. This can be up to 30 seconds to a minute. Your form will fix itself. Think about that form, recognize how your arms are driving and how your feet are falling and then fall back into your easy pace.
Do you need a day off?
Running how you feel might also be recognizing when you might need a day off, or need to cut the run short. This is probably the thing that I personally lack discipline in the most. I love to get out there for a run so the idea of losing it or missing it is almost too much to bear. So on my easy days, I run easy so that I can run the next day without running out of gas.
But why can’t I run like them?
Lastly, don’t compare yourself to others. It is only going to result in you beating up on yourself mentally or physically. Another Coach Bennett ism is that you should be looking forward to your next run. If you are always putting the gas to the floor you are going to burn out. You’ll hate running or think it isn’t for you because you weren’t able to sustain the effort you thought that you should be able to.
TL;DR
The TL;DR of it is this: run how your body feels. Put forth the effort you can give that day, nothing more. Your run will thank you for it.
I hope to see you out there.