One of my favorite channels on TH-cam I'm a beginning Runner I only do about 3 or 4 miles a day but damn it's inspiring to see a great person doing great things keep up the good work
I’ve been running for 14 years and only in the last two years have I discovered the importance of running easy. It’s not only the base...it’s the bread and butter of training. 👊🏼 Good going, Seth! 💪🏼
Question of the day. I don’t think about easy days as much as I do harder efforts. I try to alternate easy and hard. I never go hard more than 2 days in a row. Sometimes I run easy twice in a row. I find I always feel pretty good after running doubles. Keep it up Seth. Don’t stop reminding us about foam rolling. I have a bad habit of only doing the extras if I’m hurting. When my legs are crying out I’ll do cold warm soaks. I bet I would be further along if I did them every day regardless of how I’m feeling. Because at this moment. One week out from a 30k race. Was going to do a 3 week taper. Talked myself out of it. Turned into a 2 week taper. And has now somehow transformed into a one week taper and now my legs are feeling a little overworked. Lesson learned. Seth knows best.
QD: I use my HR to stay in zone 1 on the real easy days which equates to about 6min/km or 9:40min/mile. After about 6 months now I am pretty dialed in to how easy feels in both body and pace. But i really needed the watch to learn where easy is. I don't run much volume (~25 miles or 40 km) so would run faster if I was going purely by feel. I do like the "easy days easy, hard days hard" apporach to running, a good and simple summary to training.
I agree that touching your toes is a big deal! 🏆 I’m not there yet, but working on it! 👊🏼 Wifey and I are also working on getting our splits.....so there’s that. 😂
I started distance running at age of 39yrs 9months as rehab after my accident and now having short off after Jan 16th repairing operation but after turning 41yrs few weeks ago I went 10K race in 44:23 which is satisfying PB. I always need watch to go slow enough as being very light legged basically sprinter type native. My target for easy run in previous prep was 5-6km distance pacing 6:30-6:40/km range and usually average heart rate was around 113-118bpm according Garmin, not sure is it easy enough but always felt like that :-)
QD: I have been following the 110 km/70 mile per week plan from "Advanced Marathoning". This week looks like this: Tuesday 10k @ 6:00/km in the morning and another 6k @6:00/km in the afternoon. Wednesday 23K @ 5:35/km. Thursday 8K @ 5:35/km. Friday 16K (6K @ 5:35, 10K @ 4:35). Saturday 10K @ 6:00/km. Sunday 32K @ 5:35/km. My goal is to run 3:25 at the Hamburg Marathon.
QD: I generally just run 8:30ish first mile and go off that... sometimes I speed up, sometimes I slow down, but generally, I’m able to speed up to around 8:00
QOD: Easy runs - keep short 3-5 miles, Zone 2 HR. Easy days should almost feel like a day off. After the run, I do a modified yoga practice including sun salutations, hamstring and hip openers, and rest/breathing exercises. Gets me ready for the next days work out (tempo/interval/hills and strength training). Cheers!
QOTD: Calling all easy runs 7:00 pace regardless of how fast we go. So basically we just run off time. We may go 7:30 pace for 35 minutes which is less than 5 miles but we call it 5 miles in our logs. Also helps that the GPS on our trails is always very wrong and says we are hitting 9:00 miles so we can't really look at our watches.
QD: I'm really trying to work on building in more easy days. I always start at a slow pace but finish to fast. I am working on staying at a slow and steady pace.
BJ Schreib It’s very easy to increase the pace throughout our easy runs because everything feels better after a few miles! Don’t just judge your run by pace, judge it by effort! 👍
QD: The best thing I ever did was doing a week in my pre training block called 'the Week of Slow'. The idea being you go out like you would usually buy going at a slower pace so that it doesn't feel as awkward on your easy days
QD: By increasing weekly millage I'm forced to slow down. January was my first 400Km + month, and I made a point in running slower. I do leave my watch alone and I even talk out loud (alone) to make sure my effort is compatible with having a conversation.
QD For easy days: I set my watch to alarm if my HR gets higher than I know would be an "easy" BPM. I also set my watch to alarm if my step cadence gets too low, to help me keep good running form. I ignore pace and distance, I set a total time goal, whatever mileage that ends up being is what it is.
QoD.. my strategy in easy days is to plog (pick up litter while running). It forces me to go slower and also adds in stretches (bending down to pick stuff up)
QD: Easy Day strategy...always by feel. Great advice about covering the watch, Seth! I even take it one step farther and cover the watch on hard days. Most of my racing is on trails and “effort” is much more important than pace. Easy days can even be run without a watch, but hey, I like Strava and the data, etc. 😀😀 Often runners who run by “feel” are pleasantly surprised at their pace at the end of the run due to the relaxed nature of the effort leading to more efficient running.
When I was in highschool I had one week that was wild. While I was running very fast. Ran 4:11 mile. Where I all the sudden realized I could touch my toes easily. I could put my fingers flat on the ground. Being 6’ tall this was very unusual. Sadly my newly found flexibility faded by about 2 weeks later. Back to normal. Where I could barely reach my shoe laces. One of the most puzzling events of my existence.
Man, I'd be on cloud 9 too if i can touch my toes. I have the same problem as you. I will make that my goal to be able before the end of the year. Studio is looking amazing!!! Good job!👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Thanks Seth! QD: I'm very new back to running, and just in the past two weeks I've been able to maintain a jog at a "low" HR. With so many factors - gradient, wind, temperature, fatigue etc etc, I'm finding it invaluable to just decide on a max HR for each run and stick to that. Pace fluctuates wildly but I'm maintaining a constant effort and my HR reflects that :)
I don’t look at my watch until half way and will sometimes set the auto lap to the specific distance I’m wanting to run, that way I don’t get obsessive over pace and race myself. I typically will run whatever speed feels aerobically easy and mechanically fluid.
Great vlog topic!! I start my easy runs 2-2.5 minutes a mile slower than current 5 km pace and go from there, sometimes it will go a little quicker towards the end but nothing faster than 8 mins a mile
Vouching for easy days easy. Ran my fastest times off of this. The part where I would mess up is not keeping a log and running high volume on easy days. Happy running y'all. Shooting for 4 days easy, 1 aerobic pace, and 1 between easy and aerobic.
I like to use easy days basically to get the blood flowing, get the muscles warm and get some good stretching in. Goal is to have legs feel better after the run than before.
My easy day is generally a social run. Having a conversation going helps me keep my breathing easy and to forget about my watch. If all my buddies bail on me, I will listen to a podcast or audiobook. I'm only a 25-30mi/week guy.
QD: Since turning 58 (five years ago) I have adopted a practice of only wearing a watch on hard effort days (or occasionally during long runs - for me 10 miles plus) On easy days I just run by feel. I usually run a variety of familiar local loops all of which I know the distance down to the 1/10 of a mile - so I am not reliant on GPS to figure out how far I have run.
QOD : Very interesting, thank you Seth ! I would like to increase my mileage without getting too tired, and that probably means "more" easy runs in order to improve my aerobic capacity. To do that, I think I'm going to give a go at the Maffetone method. I've just done my first MAF-test during my lunch break today (6 km at or under 142 bpm). As expected, my pace slowed down from 5:19 on KM 1 to 6:04 on KM 6. If I understand the method well, the goal is to do all your runs at or under that heart rate during a few months, without any speedwork sessions, and check your progress every month by doing the exact same MAF-test under the same conditions. I can't wait to see if that gets me somewhere and if it really helps my aerobic capacity.
QOD: I just started setting an alert for max heart rate on easy runs (Garmin app). Annoying but helpful. Big learning is that heart rate creeps up over the run, so I have to get slower as the run goes on to stay below that target. As a newer runner, going by feel meant that I was going to hard on easy days.
QD: I will often substitute a run for a cross training session on my easy days, such as a walk, walk/run, bike ride (in my case on the exercise bike as my road bike was stolen years ago and I never replaced it) or a swim etc. I read that an incline walk on a treadmill at 12-15% and around 6.5kph works similar muscle groups to running without th pounding. I guess you need to know what the purpose of each run is for in order to decide if easy days or cross training should be something you do.
QD: on those easy days I try not to look at my pace too much. When I finish I sometimes I realised that I went a bit faster than I should or wanted to, but I think is a good sign when your legs feel faster even when you want to go easy.
QD: My current weekly mileage is lower (25-40 miles) so my easy runs are usually 2-3 miles. I breath easy enough that I don't need a 4/4 inhale/exhale rhythm and just breath smoothly. When I get home I have warm muscles for some good slow deep stretching and some light balance/ankle/yoga work.
QD: The biggest factor for me for easy days is stride length. On easy days I want to put as little stress on the musculoskelatal system as possible regardless of the actual length of the run so shortening the stride and paying really close attention to how the body feels to me is a much more important factor than length or even speed of the workout.
For the last six months of 2019, I tried to use MAF heart rate as a guide, though I didn't follow the Maffetone method exactly. But I found it difficult to stay below the threshold heart rate. Recently I read (on RunnersConnect.com) that easy pace should be between 55% and 75% of your heart rate. For me, 5k pace is only around 6 min/km so that works out to between 8:00 and 11:00 min/km (12:48 to 17:36 min/mile). I have found that if I keep my pace between 8:00 and 9:00 min/km and average cadence around 165-170, it feels like a good easy pace and my average heart rate stays below 130. To me, it feels easier to run by pace and feel than to chase a certain heart rate. Once I set that rhythm, I try not to look at my watch for the rest of the run.
QOD: firstly, absolutely agree on not looking at your pace on easy days, but I'm a HR guy 🤣 and I'm tuned into my MAF/LHR range, so I DO have my watch on display but only two fields HR + DISTANCE. Keeps me focused alongside listening to the legs. Just my approach, I like it 😁
Thanks for the answer to my question. I do cover my watch on my easy days and go by feel, maybe I need to have a look at my strategy. Maybe my easy days aren't actually easy days as you would call them as I don't run every day, I'm trying to run more days in the week, but after a "hard" workout I usually take the next day off as recovery, and it's no different after my long, slow run. The purpose of this run for me is to build my aerobic base and increase my distance. It sounds to me, although you didn't say it, that I'm not fit enough to cover the distance that I'm covering, and that I should cut down the miles for this run. It's just that if I don't do one run a week, say half marathon distance, then I don't feel as though I'm building up my mileage. So my follow up question to your answer would be if I cut my slow running workout down should I still do a longer run, but one that is pushing it a bit more and isn't classed as an easy day? Am I just misclassifying this run and it's really a harder day and not a long slow run (even if I'm just going by feel)? Hope that made sense? Thanks for the answer though, it does all help.
Matt Potter hi . I think it’s important to get that long run in too. However it has to be at an easy pace...low heart rate and speed, to train your aerobic system. Any faster or at a greater effort and you’re training something else. May I suggest you look up Jack Daniels’ Running Formula...I’m sure @Sethdemoor would approve... and check out the way he explains the difference in purpose of various types of training and their appropriate corresponding paces. I can highly recommend it as an approachable and helpful resource. He’s funny too. Clips on TH-cam too.
@@michaelormondrobinson Thanks for this. I'll check this out. It's much appreciated. As far as the long runs are concerned I don't run at a particularly fast pace and do try to keep my HR low so that isn't my concern. It was just the fact that at the end of it I do feel as though I'm done and just wanted to know how others in the community felt at the end of their long runs, and get Seth's take on this. To be clear I'm not dying at the end of these runs or bent double like I would be at the end of a fast 5k race, just that I'm spent, which may be more to do with energy reserves than anything else. I do also ache a little the next day, although I could maybe run, but it would be a recovery run, nothing fast, and it'd be short so as not to overdo things. Thanks for the advice and I will check these out. I'm off to do my Saturday Parkrun. Catch you later!!!
QOD-it's been easy for me to get into a rut and do every road run at the same pace. It's slow and my heart rate is low ala' the 80/20 rule. This year, I'm trying to run really slow for easy days, do hill repeats on the trails for speed instead of the track where I keep injuring my hamstrings and do more stretching and foam rolling.
QOD: my easy days (slowest pace), is when I run usually do my longest run. By backing of the pace I’m able to run for longer time without exhausting my legs. This is important as I’m tall and have very huge muscular legs that tend to fatigue unlessI back of the pace on my long run.
This year I gonna make a decent effort and follow a marathon plan. So yeaster day is was" easie run" I always run to fast on my easie run. So yeasterday I just jump on my treadmill. hold steady on speed 8 at the treadmill. Feel great. heart rate Zone on 2-3 all the way for 10,5 km
QD: Easy days are absolutely essential in order to recover for your faster tempo runs during the week, IMO. The only reason I look at my watch is to make sure I’m not going too fast! But I go mostly by feel.
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I actually look at my watch just to make sure I'm running slow on Easy days :) I tend to run a little bit faster by feel, so I'm making sure I slow down :)
QD: I always listen to podcasts, or a book on my easy runs. the goal is normally absorb what I'm listening to all while focusing on looking forward and keeping my form.
If you turn around as quick as you can you can trick your mind and your muscles. Theydont make the connection that quick with your mind and you can reach even to the ground! please show us on the next vid it would be fun for me to see! It really works no joke ( like if you tried)
Seth, I need help!! I Love this topic. Especially for ultra training!! My easy/ recovery pace “should” be around 5:00/km (8:02/mi), or slower according to you. I’m training for a 3:00 marathon. BUT. I feel so sore after a long and easy run at those paces. I can’t seem to find a good form at those slower paced runs. Things seem to fall apart. Give me a 4:30-4:45 pace, and I feel like I could run all day (but that’s too fast for an easy run). Any tips for getting that slower pace to feel more natural?? In fact, I think I can place the blame for a few injuries (ITB, calf pain) on slower runs..
QD: I just try to keep my heart rate very low, like heart rate zone 1. Some days that's a 9 minute pace, sometimes its over 10. When I try to go purely by feel, I usually end up a bit faster and into HR zone 2, which doesn't seem like much at the time, but I can definitely tell the difference in freshness the next day.
I try and run easy days purely on feel. A pace that I could keep going for hours and hours. If I had to describe how it feels I would say it's a 'plod'. It can be a struggle to not get lazy though and start landing with heavy feet through the heel etc but if you stay mindful it's ok.
I go by hr and only have that showing on my watch. I am 36 and usually keep it under 145 but now that I am getting fitter I think I will lower that to 140 and hopefully down to 135 at some point.
QD: for easy runs, I have a data screen on my Garmin showing only Power (from Stryd) and HR (from Polar armband). I try to keep Power in zone 1 and HR between 60-70% of Max. Before I did this, I tended to “rush” my easy runs to get the miles in and ended up with tired legs on the day of my next workout...
seatownfan Your slow pace will gradually get faster if you stick to it. Remember the point of easy days is to recover from your hard efforts. Keep it up and don’t worry about your speed when you don’t have to! 👌
friends are shocked at how unflexible i am. Every since i was a child, if my legs a straight, I can only get my hands down to about knee level, no where near my toes. Would love to know tips for becoming more flexible?
Chris Keene Runners are notorious for being inflexible, that’s why it’s such a big deal for Seth to touch his toes. Wifey and I are currently working on being able to do the splits. If you couldn’t guess, it’s hard! 😂
I try to keep under 150bpm for my heart rate on easy days. I’ve ran completely by feel before and quite often I’ll run a lot faster than I think I should be, probably more of a medium effort than easy.
QD: I cycle my watch to the HR screen and try to keep it 148 bpm or below (for me, that's easy). I wear my long run shoes (so I'm less tempted to go fast) and try to do run during a relaxed time of day where I don't have to rush.
I do most of my training in a week in my base miles maybe 70% and of that all of them are easy miles based on low heart rate with zone 2 at a goal of 140 as being my easy run I than spread maybe a long run and than a day of either temp or something like that
I'm sure you've talked about this elsewhere, but what kind of stretching did you get to your goals of touching your toes? And could you see slow steady improvment? If so, how did you measure it?
@GucciPlayz YT I'm super inflexible always do about 10-15 mins of light stretching at the end of practice, but haven't really seen much progress. Like mid shins is my furthest right now just reaching straight down. It's sad
I just listen to my body before and during my run, I never wear a watch. I usually give a 15 minute window on the time/milage I want to hit. All depends on my body....
The difference between a segment being easy v. hard often has nothing to do with you. It could be cold one day, hot on another. Also, depends on whether or not you're running dry. If you're more keto --- you have to carry water and if you're burning carbs run dry. Sometimes it helps to add sugar. It's easiest to get dehydrated when it's cold, you're into an episode of ketosis, and you don't bring water (some places have water fountains, some don't) --- it's a one-two punch that you can walk right into if you don't understand your metabolism. That can be a hard effort at a slow pace. Sometimes running form activates different muscle groups and that's where you can get a faster pace with an easier effort. Also, impact to the knees will be a bigger factor when you go slow, because you will likely use fewer foot and toe muscles with a flatter strike. This is where quad v. calf dominance matters. Calf dominance can teach you to use your toes which is needed for speed, but quad dominance in more technical terrain gives you endurance.
A really simple thing to do for your easy days is use an EASY DAY SHOE - something heavy and really cushioned .. something that is really hard to run anything other than easy in.
Seth, great video. Can you tell us why you do not run or train with a HR monitor? I use one and find it really helps with keeping me from overtraining. Would love to hear your thoughts. Thanks,
QD: again, congrats on the touching of your toes! this is truly a case of: WAY BETTER LATE than NEVER! it only gets more sacred as you continue to click off those PR's in your suppleness! As the mind loves and craves calmness, our bodies? love and crave SPACIOUSNESS, not compaction. in Wholistic Fitness, we really don't DO 'easy days' rather, we use that day for yoga, meditation, the softer disciplines. great vLog! THANK YOU! head bowed,
Hey Seth, so I’m a high school XC/track athlete and currently I’m around 45mi per week and my long runs are around 7:00-7:15ish pace and my easy days have been around 7:40, do you think I should go even slower on easy days?
Hi Seth. Great vlog as usual. I agree with your approach. Curious to know if you lived at sea level if you would still run more or less the same pace for easy days?
QOD: Seth! Do you run on HR? For my tri training I'm doing an 80/20 training plan and I've been doing it based on HR. I feel super fired up and good after my Z1/Z2 run days... almost too good. Do you recommend doing it based on pace instead?
Can I just ask if the original questioner used “Easy” runs and “Long Slow Days” as meaning the same thing? My understanding has been that a “LSD” might be at an easy pace but the distance was not easy. eg. A marathon training plan might include 1 LSD per week, building up to 32km or similar, but we don’t call that an easy day. I know that’s distance training 101, but I wonder if some people conflate the two types of session?
Paul Donlan I think Long Runs at Easy pace aren’t easy.... Once a week as the prime workout in a program and should be challenging because of the time on feet. Easy Runs during the week ...sometimes also called Recovery runs... always at Easy Pace.... these should always be easy to perform, not challenging and not long. It is really difficult isn’t it, when terminology and methodologies blend; coupled with, in some cases translations? I hope people are keeping Easy days easy and Hard days hard then we won’t get hurt so much and get to line fit and fresh.
michael ormond robinson ☝️ 100% I see too many friends just run hard every time and say that “runnings not for me”. It’s like a Eureka moment when you get people to slow down and go a bit further. Good luck with your running 👍
Hi did I see in a previous vid that you have a rolling stick for your calves? Could you please post a link I do not see it with your other gear. Thanks!
Question: would it be wise to alternate weekly long runs re: intensity? One week a slow easy long run, the next...a long run including race pace miles?
I think that's a solid approach in training. Not every long run should be simple and easy pace, but not every one should be harder with effort miles etc 👍
Nick Berkel thanks for the response. Running my first full in June and my concern with the easy paced long runs, is that if I don’t push it on the long training runs from time to time, how will my body respond when I try it on race day( don’t want to risk injury, early exhaustion, etc).
You got it. Having done a few I can say there is absolutely a benefit to not having every long run as easy pace. That's all fine and dandy for building aerobic base, so if you've done that then no reason to not push it on some. Stay healthy and rock the first full 👍
Claire Sweter-millar I’m on the same page, Claire! Most of my runs are easy. I coined a profound phrase in one of recent videos: “Easy is easier than difficult!” Who knew! 🤷🏻♂️🤣
Same here Claire, I am on the 4-5 easy days a week schedule. I am just starting an 8 week training block for a Spring Half and only run 1 “uptempo” day a week. My long runs are even at easy pace right now (plan to pick that up a little in a few weeks). I have found that, even in a training block, I can run the majority of my miles (85% or more) at 8:45-9:45 min/mile pace and still race a Half around 7 min/mile pace (hopefully a little faster this Spring 🤞). PLUS, at the end of the day running is supposed to be fun and that’s how I personally enjoy training!
Matt Ponzer it makes so much difference doesn’t it.?. I’m also enjoying it more it’s not supposed to be a chore it’s supposed to be fun. Since doing this I’ve been more consistent and I’ve completed every session.
Ive had a slight flare up of plantar fasciitis and took 2 weeks off and it felt perfect. Came back and ran a couple short easy runs but my heel has that little feeling again. Any advice?? Idk what to do
I have had pf myself, and rest alone did not get rid of it. It took me many weeks of doing exercises given to me by a physiotherapist before I fully recovered. I was advised to do some running during this period to help with recovery. My advice would be to see a professional. If you prefer to try to treat it yourself, I would recommend finding some relevant exercises online, and doing those consistently (daily, even possibly more than once a day) over a period of several weeks (and maybe months). Pf is notorious for taking a long time to disappear, so don’t expect it to go away completely very soon. Good luck!
Sorry on the late publish, I selected “5 pm” accidentally. Onward.
I was thinking the baby must have come!
Thanks Seth!
I sat down to eat breakfast and was immediately worried when I didn’t see your upload! 😂
No worries. Timing was perfect here in Denmark :)
You are so consistent!! You had people worried!
Just finished my first 100 mile month, celebrating with some ice cream!
Davis He 👊🏼 Congrats on the mileage milestone! Great job! 🎉
People take these milestones for granted sometime and I hate that. congrats and keep on logging them miles.
QD: I just aim for low HR. Running by feel would be ideal, but I often find myself going faster unless I check myself. I'll get there sometime...
Terrence Huey Exactly my thoughts and easy day strategy
It depends far too much on the accuracy of your heart rate device
QD: Cover my watch also, keep to a conversational pace, I run alone and can sometimes be seen muttering to myself just to check my pace 😂
A common and effective strategy!
...that's bob on about taking during this type of run 👍
I sometimes sing to check my pace. 😹
I live a rural area and often talk to cows and horses as I cruise by. I get a fright when sometimes they talk back!
One of my favorite channels on TH-cam I'm a beginning Runner I only do about 3 or 4 miles a day but damn it's inspiring to see a great person doing great things keep up the good work
Malcolm Monero 3-4 miles a day is fantastic! Keep it up, my man! 👊🏼
@@its_Matt_B_ thank you sir
I waited for this video for so long
Seth I've been watching for 2 years now and you are really inspiring. Like always another perfect video🔥
I’ve been running for 14 years and only in the last two years have I discovered the importance of running easy. It’s not only the base...it’s the bread and butter of training. 👊🏼 Good going, Seth! 💪🏼
QOD: i like to sing while i run on easy days. (Only when nobody is around). If i can sing comfortably while running i know im in the comfort zone.
thomas Petalino Yep, there’s not much better way to ensure easy running than singing! 👊🏼
Ok. Another update to the shoedio. Loving it 😍. Looks great!
Question of the day.
I don’t think about easy days as much as I do harder efforts.
I try to alternate easy and hard.
I never go hard more than 2 days in a row.
Sometimes I run easy twice in a row.
I find I always feel pretty good after running doubles.
Keep it up Seth.
Don’t stop reminding us about foam rolling. I have a bad habit of only doing the extras if I’m hurting.
When my legs are crying out I’ll do cold warm soaks. I bet I would be further along if I did them every day regardless of how I’m feeling.
Because at this moment. One week out from a 30k race.
Was going to do a 3 week taper.
Talked myself out of it.
Turned into a 2 week taper.
And has now somehow transformed into a one week taper and now my legs are feeling a little overworked.
Lesson learned.
Seth knows best.
QD: I use my HR to stay in zone 1 on the real easy days which equates to about 6min/km or 9:40min/mile. After about 6 months now I am pretty dialed in to how easy feels in both body and pace. But i really needed the watch to learn where easy is. I don't run much volume (~25 miles or 40 km) so would run faster if I was going purely by feel.
I do like the "easy days easy, hard days hard" apporach to running, a good and simple summary to training.
I agree that touching your toes is a big deal! 🏆 I’m not there yet, but working on it! 👊🏼 Wifey and I are also working on getting our splits.....so there’s that. 😂
I started distance running at age of 39yrs 9months as rehab after my accident and now having short off after Jan 16th repairing operation but after turning 41yrs few weeks ago I went 10K race in 44:23 which is satisfying PB. I always need watch to go slow enough as being very light legged basically sprinter type native. My target for easy run in previous prep was 5-6km distance pacing 6:30-6:40/km range and usually average heart rate was around 113-118bpm according Garmin, not sure is it easy enough but always felt like that :-)
QD: I have been following the 110 km/70 mile per week plan from "Advanced Marathoning". This week looks like this: Tuesday 10k @ 6:00/km in the morning and another 6k @6:00/km in the afternoon. Wednesday 23K @ 5:35/km. Thursday 8K @ 5:35/km. Friday 16K (6K @ 5:35, 10K @ 4:35). Saturday 10K @ 6:00/km. Sunday 32K @ 5:35/km. My goal is to run 3:25 at the Hamburg Marathon.
QD: I generally just run 8:30ish first mile and go off that... sometimes I speed up, sometimes I slow down, but generally, I’m able to speed up to around 8:00
QOD: Easy runs - keep short 3-5 miles, Zone 2 HR. Easy days should almost feel like a day off. After the run, I do a modified yoga practice including sun salutations, hamstring and hip openers, and rest/breathing exercises. Gets me ready for the next days work out (tempo/interval/hills and strength training). Cheers!
QOTD: Calling all easy runs 7:00 pace regardless of how fast we go. So basically we just run off time. We may go 7:30 pace for 35 minutes which is less than 5 miles but we call it 5 miles in our logs. Also helps that the GPS on our trails is always very wrong and says we are hitting 9:00 miles so we can't really look at our watches.
QD: I'm really trying to work on building in more easy days. I always start at a slow pace but finish to fast. I am working on staying at a slow and steady pace.
BJ Schreib It’s very easy to increase the pace throughout our easy runs because everything feels better after a few miles! Don’t just judge your run by pace, judge it by effort! 👍
QD: The best thing I ever did was doing a week in my pre training block called 'the Week of Slow'. The idea being you go out like you would usually buy going at a slower pace so that it doesn't feel as awkward on your easy days
QD: By increasing weekly millage I'm forced to slow down. January was my first 400Km + month, and I made a point in running slower. I do leave my watch alone and I even talk out loud (alone) to make sure my effort is compatible with having a conversation.
QD For easy days: I set my watch to alarm if my HR gets higher than I know would be an "easy" BPM. I also set my watch to alarm if my step cadence gets too low, to help me keep good running form. I ignore pace and distance, I set a total time goal, whatever mileage that ends up being is what it is.
QD: I always run by feel with no schedule. Listening to the body.
Rokutaro it’s a great way to just enjoy your run! 👊🏼
QoD.. my strategy in easy days is to plog (pick up litter while running). It forces me to go slower and also adds in stretches (bending down to pick stuff up)
QD: Easy Day strategy...always by feel. Great advice about covering the watch, Seth!
I even take it one step farther and cover the watch on hard days. Most of my racing is on trails and “effort” is much more important than pace. Easy days can even be run without a watch, but hey, I like Strava and the data, etc. 😀😀 Often runners who run by “feel” are pleasantly surprised at their pace at the end of the run due to the relaxed nature of the effort leading to more efficient running.
When I was in highschool I had one week that was wild.
While I was running very fast.
Ran 4:11 mile.
Where I all the sudden realized I could touch my toes easily.
I could put my fingers flat on the ground.
Being 6’ tall this was very unusual.
Sadly my newly found flexibility faded by about 2 weeks later. Back to normal. Where I could barely reach my shoe laces.
One of the most puzzling events of my existence.
Man, I'd be on cloud 9 too if i can touch my toes. I have the same problem as you. I will make that my goal to be able before the end of the year. Studio is looking amazing!!! Good job!👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Thanks Seth!
QD: I'm very new back to running, and just in the past two weeks I've been able to maintain a jog at a "low" HR. With so many factors - gradient, wind, temperature, fatigue etc etc, I'm finding it invaluable to just decide on a max HR for each run and stick to that. Pace fluctuates wildly but I'm maintaining a constant effort and my HR reflects that :)
I don’t look at my watch until half way and will sometimes set the auto lap to the specific distance I’m wanting to run, that way I don’t get obsessive over pace and race myself. I typically will run whatever speed feels aerobically easy and mechanically fluid.
On easy days, I take a 6-8km stroll or an hour bike-ride. Idealy I would do some soft stretchy yoga too. Maybe a little core to spice it up.
Great vlog topic!! I start my easy runs 2-2.5 minutes a mile slower than current 5 km pace and go from there, sometimes it will go a little quicker towards the end but nothing faster than 8 mins a mile
Vouching for easy days easy. Ran my fastest times off of this. The part where I would mess up is not keeping a log and running high volume on easy days. Happy running y'all. Shooting for 4 days easy, 1 aerobic pace, and 1 between easy and aerobic.
I like to use easy days basically to get the blood flowing, get the muscles warm and get some good stretching in. Goal is to have legs feel better after the run than before.
My easy day is generally a social run. Having a conversation going helps me keep my breathing easy and to forget about my watch. If all my buddies bail on me, I will listen to a podcast or audiobook. I'm only a 25-30mi/week guy.
QD: Since turning 58 (five years ago) I have adopted a practice of only wearing a watch on hard effort days (or occasionally during long runs - for me 10 miles plus) On easy days I just run by feel. I usually run a variety of familiar local loops all of which I know the distance down to the 1/10 of a mile - so I am not reliant on GPS to figure out how far I have run.
QOD : Very interesting, thank you Seth ! I would like to increase my mileage without getting too tired, and that probably means "more" easy runs in order to improve my aerobic capacity. To do that, I think I'm going to give a go at the Maffetone method. I've just done my first MAF-test during my lunch break today (6 km at or under 142 bpm). As expected, my pace slowed down from 5:19 on KM 1 to 6:04 on KM 6. If I understand the method well, the goal is to do all your runs at or under that heart rate during a few months, without any speedwork sessions, and check your progress every month by doing the exact same MAF-test under the same conditions. I can't wait to see if that gets me somewhere and if it really helps my aerobic capacity.
QOD: I just started setting an alert for max heart rate on easy runs (Garmin app). Annoying but helpful. Big learning is that heart rate creeps up over the run, so I have to get slower as the run goes on to stay below that target. As a newer runner, going by feel meant that I was going to hard on easy days.
QD: I will often substitute a run for a cross training session on my easy days, such as a walk, walk/run, bike ride (in my case on the exercise bike as my road bike was stolen years ago and I never replaced it) or a swim etc. I read that an incline walk on a treadmill at 12-15% and around 6.5kph works similar muscle groups to running without th pounding. I guess you need to know what the purpose of each run is for in order to decide if easy days or cross training should be something you do.
QD: on those easy days I try not to look at my pace too much. When I finish I sometimes I realised that I went a bit faster than I should or wanted to, but I think is a good sign when your legs feel faster even when you want to go easy.
QD: My current weekly mileage is lower (25-40 miles) so my easy runs are usually 2-3 miles. I breath easy enough that I don't need a 4/4 inhale/exhale rhythm and just breath smoothly. When I get home I have warm muscles for some good slow deep stretching and some light balance/ankle/yoga work.
QD: The biggest factor for me for easy days is stride length. On easy days I want to put as little stress on the musculoskelatal system as possible regardless of the actual length of the run so shortening the stride and paying really close attention to how the body feels to me is a much more important factor than length or even speed of the workout.
Patiently waiting for the in-depth review of the Nike infinity
For the last six months of 2019, I tried to use MAF heart rate as a guide, though I didn't follow the Maffetone method exactly. But I found it difficult to stay below the threshold heart rate. Recently I read (on RunnersConnect.com) that easy pace should be between 55% and 75% of your heart rate. For me, 5k pace is only around 6 min/km so that works out to between 8:00 and 11:00 min/km (12:48 to 17:36 min/mile). I have found that if I keep my pace between 8:00 and 9:00 min/km and average cadence around 165-170, it feels like a good easy pace and my average heart rate stays below 130. To me, it feels easier to run by pace and feel than to chase a certain heart rate. Once I set that rhythm, I try not to look at my watch for the rest of the run.
QOD: firstly, absolutely agree on not looking at your pace on easy days, but I'm a HR guy 🤣 and I'm tuned into my MAF/LHR range, so I DO have my watch on display but only two fields HR + DISTANCE. Keeps me focused alongside listening to the legs. Just my approach, I like it 😁
Thanks for the answer to my question. I do cover my watch on my easy days and go by feel, maybe I need to have a look at my strategy. Maybe my easy days aren't actually easy days as you would call them as I don't run every day, I'm trying to run more days in the week, but after a "hard" workout I usually take the next day off as recovery, and it's no different after my long, slow run. The purpose of this run for me is to build my aerobic base and increase my distance. It sounds to me, although you didn't say it, that I'm not fit enough to cover the distance that I'm covering, and that I should cut down the miles for this run. It's just that if I don't do one run a week, say half marathon distance, then I don't feel as though I'm building up my mileage. So my follow up question to your answer would be if I cut my slow running workout down should I still do a longer run, but one that is pushing it a bit more and isn't classed as an easy day? Am I just misclassifying this run and it's really a harder day and not a long slow run (even if I'm just going by feel)? Hope that made sense? Thanks for the answer though, it does all help.
Matt Potter hi . I think it’s important to get that long run in too. However it has to be at an easy pace...low heart rate and speed, to train your aerobic system. Any faster or at a greater effort and you’re training something else. May I suggest you look up Jack Daniels’ Running Formula...I’m sure @Sethdemoor would approve... and check out the way he explains the difference in purpose of various types of training and their appropriate corresponding paces. I can highly recommend it as an approachable and helpful resource. He’s funny too. Clips on TH-cam too.
@@michaelormondrobinson Thanks for this. I'll check this out. It's much appreciated. As far as the long runs are concerned I don't run at a particularly fast pace and do try to keep my HR low so that isn't my concern. It was just the fact that at the end of it I do feel as though I'm done and just wanted to know how others in the community felt at the end of their long runs, and get Seth's take on this. To be clear I'm not dying at the end of these runs or bent double like I would be at the end of a fast 5k race, just that I'm spent, which may be more to do with energy reserves than anything else. I do also ache a little the next day, although I could maybe run, but it would be a recovery run, nothing fast, and it'd be short so as not to overdo things. Thanks for the advice and I will check these out. I'm off to do my Saturday Parkrun. Catch you later!!!
QOD-it's been easy for me to get into a rut and do every road run at the same pace. It's slow and my heart rate is low ala' the 80/20 rule. This year, I'm trying to run really slow for easy days, do hill repeats on the trails for speed instead of the track where I keep injuring my hamstrings and do more stretching and foam rolling.
QOD: my easy days (slowest pace), is when I run usually do my longest run. By backing of the pace I’m able to run for longer time without exhausting my legs. This is important as I’m tall and have very huge muscular legs that tend to fatigue unlessI back of the pace on my long run.
This year I gonna make a decent effort and follow a marathon plan. So yeaster day is was" easie run" I always run to fast on my easie run. So yeasterday I just jump on my treadmill. hold steady on speed 8 at the treadmill. Feel great. heart rate Zone on 2-3 all the way for 10,5 km
QD: Easy days are absolutely essential in order to recover for your faster tempo runs during the week, IMO. The only reason I look at my watch is to make sure I’m not going too fast! But I go mostly by feel.
I actually look at my watch just to make sure I'm running slow on Easy days :) I tend to run a little bit faster by feel, so I'm making sure I slow down :)
Lukáš Moser I’m the same way sometimes my “easy” pace can creep up a bit!
QD: I always listen to podcasts, or a book on my easy runs. the goal is normally absorb what I'm listening to all while focusing on looking forward and keeping my form.
I don’t understand why people hit the “thumbs down” on this video. Haters going to hate I guess. Another great video Seth. Onward!!
If you turn around as quick as you can you can trick your mind and your muscles. Theydont make the connection that quick with your mind and you can reach even to the ground! please show us on the next vid it would be fun for me to see! It really works no joke ( like if you tried)
Seth, I need help!! I Love this topic. Especially for ultra training!!
My easy/ recovery pace “should” be around 5:00/km (8:02/mi), or slower according to you. I’m training for a 3:00 marathon. BUT. I feel so sore after a long and easy run at those paces. I can’t seem to find a good form at those slower paced runs. Things seem to fall apart. Give me a 4:30-4:45 pace, and I feel like I could run all day (but that’s too fast for an easy run). Any tips for getting that slower pace to feel more natural??
In fact, I think I can place the blame for a few injuries (ITB, calf pain) on slower runs..
QD: I find the hilliest routes on my easy day - a natural slow down! Thanks Seth - I enjoy these videos :-)
The shoes look good lifted up like that!!
Rachel Nguyen The angle of the shoes caught my eye too! I wondered where he got the shoes stands! 🤔
sometimes I will strap my watch around my ankle to make sure I don't look at it and it promotes me not to stop because its at my ankle
QD: I just try to keep my heart rate very low, like heart rate zone 1. Some days that's a 9 minute pace, sometimes its over 10. When I try to go purely by feel, I usually end up a bit faster and into HR zone 2, which doesn't seem like much at the time, but I can definitely tell the difference in freshness the next day.
I try and run easy days purely on feel. A pace that I could keep going for hours and hours. If I had to describe how it feels I would say it's a 'plod'. It can be a struggle to not get lazy though and start landing with heavy feet through the heel etc but if you stay mindful it's ok.
QD: I do the same as you Seth, tuck the watch away, and let the body roll as it needs and naturally does.
I go by hr and only have that showing on my watch. I am 36 and usually keep it under 145 but now that I am getting fitter I think I will lower that to 140 and hopefully down to 135 at some point.
QD: for easy runs, I have a data screen on my Garmin showing only Power (from Stryd) and HR (from Polar armband). I try to keep Power in zone 1 and HR between 60-70% of Max. Before I did this, I tended to “rush” my easy runs to get the miles in and ended up with tired legs on the day of my next workout...
So, how do you like that arm band and would you recommend it over a chest strap?
I do the same thing. I cover my watch and I make sure I don’t feel like I’m working hard.
I definitely need to slow down on easy days, just that my pace seems so slowww if I do!
seatownfan Your slow pace will gradually get faster if you stick to it. Remember the point of easy days is to recover from your hard efforts. Keep it up and don’t worry about your speed when you don’t have to! 👌
friends are shocked at how unflexible i am. Every since i was a child, if my legs a straight, I can only get my hands down to about knee level, no where near my toes. Would love to know tips for becoming more flexible?
Chris Keene Runners are notorious for being inflexible, that’s why it’s such a big deal for Seth to touch his toes.
Wifey and I are currently working on being able to do the splits. If you couldn’t guess, it’s hard! 😂
I try to keep under 150bpm for my heart rate on easy days. I’ve ran completely by feel before and quite often I’ll run a lot faster than I think I should be, probably more of a medium effort than easy.
Seth, I’m twice your age and I still can’t touch my toes. But I keep trying!
QD: I cycle my watch to the HR screen and try to keep it 148 bpm or below (for me, that's easy). I wear my long run shoes (so I'm less tempted to go fast) and try to do run during a relaxed time of day where I don't have to rush.
I do most of my training in a week in my base miles maybe 70% and of that all of them are easy miles based on low heart rate with zone 2 at a goal of 140 as being my easy run
I than spread maybe a long run and than a day of either temp or something like that
I'm sure you've talked about this elsewhere, but what kind of stretching did you get to your goals of touching your toes? And could you see slow steady improvment? If so, how did you measure it?
@GucciPlayz YT I'm super inflexible always do about 10-15 mins of light stretching at the end of practice, but haven't really seen much progress. Like mid shins is my furthest right now just reaching straight down. It's sad
I just listen to my body before and during my run, I never wear a watch. I usually give a 15 minute window on the time/milage I want to hit. All depends on my body....
Hey Seth can you elaborate a little more on how to include doubles in the training schedule ? Greetings from Brazil 🇧🇷
The difference between a segment being easy v. hard often has nothing to do with you. It could be cold one day, hot on another. Also, depends on whether or not you're running dry. If you're more keto --- you have to carry water and if you're burning carbs run dry. Sometimes it helps to add sugar. It's easiest to get dehydrated when it's cold, you're into an episode of ketosis, and you don't bring water (some places have water fountains, some don't) --- it's a one-two punch that you can walk right into if you don't understand your metabolism. That can be a hard effort at a slow pace. Sometimes running form activates different muscle groups and that's where you can get a faster pace with an easier effort. Also, impact to the knees will be a bigger factor when you go slow, because you will likely use fewer foot and toe muscles with a flatter strike. This is where quad v. calf dominance matters. Calf dominance can teach you to use your toes which is needed for speed, but quad dominance in more technical terrain gives you endurance.
A really simple thing to do for your easy days is use an EASY DAY SHOE - something heavy and really cushioned .. something that is really hard to run anything other than easy in.
Seth, great video. Can you tell us why you do not run or train with a HR monitor? I use one and find it really helps with keeping me from overtraining. Would love to hear your thoughts. Thanks,
Are you going to do a video on the alpha fly zoom air ps great videos and info
Always useful video ! 👍
I aim to keep my HR rate in zones 1 and 2 below 150.
QD: again, congrats on the touching of your toes! this is truly a case of: WAY BETTER LATE than NEVER! it only gets more sacred as you continue to click off those PR's in your suppleness! As the mind loves and craves calmness, our bodies? love and crave SPACIOUSNESS, not compaction. in Wholistic Fitness, we really don't DO 'easy days' rather, we use that day for yoga, meditation, the softer disciplines. great vLog! THANK YOU! head bowed,
Hey Seth, so I’m a high school XC/track athlete and currently I’m around 45mi per week and my long runs are around 7:00-7:15ish pace and my easy days have been around 7:40, do you think I should go even slower on easy days?
When I go by feel and don’t check my watch, I end out naturally at like 6:30 pace. My mileage is really low though
My 5K pace is not even close to your easy day pace. 🤪🤪. Makes me very envious! 😄
😁🏃🏼 keep rolling!!
Hi Seth. Great vlog as usual. I agree with your approach. Curious to know if you lived at sea level if you would still run more or less the same pace for easy days?
QOD: Seth! Do you run on HR? For my tri training I'm doing an 80/20 training plan and I've been doing it based on HR. I feel super fired up and good after my Z1/Z2 run days... almost too good. Do you recommend doing it based on pace instead?
Can I just ask if the original questioner used “Easy” runs and “Long Slow Days” as meaning the same thing? My understanding has been that a “LSD” might be at an easy pace but the distance was not easy. eg. A marathon training plan might include 1 LSD per week, building up to 32km or similar, but we don’t call that an easy day. I know that’s distance training 101, but I wonder if some people conflate the two types of session?
Paul Donlan I think Long Runs at Easy pace aren’t easy.... Once a week as the prime workout in a program and should be challenging because of the time on feet. Easy Runs during the week ...sometimes also called Recovery runs... always at Easy Pace.... these should always be easy to perform, not challenging and not long. It is really difficult isn’t it, when terminology and methodologies blend; coupled with, in some cases translations? I hope people are keeping Easy days easy and Hard days hard then we won’t get hurt so much and get to line fit and fresh.
michael ormond robinson ☝️ 100% I see too many friends just run hard every time and say that “runnings not for me”. It’s like a Eureka moment when you get people to slow down and go a bit further. Good luck with your running 👍
@Seth James DeMoor, congratulations with touching the toes! Be carefool not to overstretching hamstring or back
Easy days, run with my wife real slow. Trying to run 80% easy and 20% hard in 2020.
Ian Britton Great goal for 2020!
Like just for touching your toes!
Jason Wood Yep, he deserves a like just for that!
What do you think about mark wetmores emphasis on doing high volume on singles as opposed to doubling? From what i read in running w/ the buffaloes
congrats!
Hi did I see in a previous vid that you have a rolling stick for your calves? Could you please post a link I do not see it with your other gear. Thanks!
In your opinion, do you think flexibility like touching your toes could help prevent hamstring pulls?
QD: On easy days I also dont look at my watch, so I can be surprised with the stats at the end.
Easy peasy, just make it at comfortable as possible. I listen to the body ''same thing''
Question: would it be wise to alternate weekly long runs re: intensity? One week a slow easy long run, the next...a long run including race pace miles?
I think that's a solid approach in training. Not every long run should be simple and easy pace, but not every one should be harder with effort miles etc 👍
Nick Berkel thanks for the response. Running my first full in June and my concern with the easy paced long runs, is that if I don’t push it on the long training runs from time to time, how will my body respond when I try it on race day( don’t want to risk injury, early exhaustion, etc).
You got it. Having done a few I can say there is absolutely a benefit to not having every long run as easy pace. That's all fine and dandy for building aerobic base, so if you've done that then no reason to not push it on some. Stay healthy and rock the first full 👍
Easy days should be enjoy able without worrying about pace
QD: I do the same thing as you, I cover up my watch and resist the temptation to look at it.
QD: I listen to podcast and naturally just end up running so much slower!
Most of my runs are easy!. I’m trying to keep my heart rate low. 😀
Claire Sweter-millar I’m on the same page, Claire! Most of my runs are easy. I coined a profound phrase in one of recent videos: “Easy is easier than difficult!” Who knew! 🤷🏻♂️🤣
Same here Claire, I am on the 4-5 easy days a week schedule. I am just starting an 8 week training block for a Spring Half and only run 1 “uptempo” day a week. My long runs are even at easy pace right now (plan to pick that up a little in a few weeks). I have found that, even in a training block, I can run the majority of my miles (85% or more) at 8:45-9:45 min/mile pace and still race a Half around 7 min/mile pace (hopefully a little faster this Spring 🤞). PLUS, at the end of the day running is supposed to be fun and that’s how I personally enjoy training!
@@mrpfvc This is great, Matt! Although I know it to be true, it still seems counterintuitive that we can train so slow and still race fast!
Matt Ponzer it makes so much difference doesn’t it.?. I’m also enjoying it more it’s not supposed to be a chore it’s supposed to be fun. Since doing this I’ve been more consistent and I’ve completed every session.
The day I can consider a run as easy, will be an accomplishment lol
Ive had a slight flare up of plantar fasciitis and took 2 weeks off and it felt perfect. Came back and ran a couple short easy runs but my heel has that little feeling again. Any advice?? Idk what to do
I have had pf myself, and rest alone did not get rid of it. It took me many weeks of doing exercises given to me by a physiotherapist before I fully recovered. I was advised to do some running during this period to help with recovery. My advice would be to see a professional. If you prefer to try to treat it yourself, I would recommend finding some relevant exercises online, and doing those consistently (daily, even possibly more than once a day) over a period of several weeks (and maybe months). Pf is notorious for taking a long time to disappear, so don’t expect it to go away completely very soon. Good luck!
@@Jameswmin thank you sir! I appriciate your thoughts and I'll integrate them into my recovery! 🙏