You are Literally Still. Running. Your. Easy. Runs. Too. Fast.
“A lot of people run a race to see who is fastest. I run to see who has the most guts.”
I was on my run commute home after teaching yesterday from Back Bay in the cold, wearing a big puffy jacket, sweatpants, a full running backpack with my laptop and a pair of sneakers, cruising along when I could hear a pack of runners quickly gaining on me. I had no idea what pace I was moving at because my Garmin was tucked under layers of clothing and gloves, but knew I was probably moving two to three minutes slower per mile than whatever these runners were pacing at. I moved to the side as they blew by me, decked out in carbon-plated shoes, expensive matching outfits, and were… gasping for air. Yes, they were hauling ass, but looked like they were absolutely suffering. Their form was off, their breathing was ragged, and above all, they all kind of looked pretty miserable. And all I could think was, why are they training so far out of their comfort zone?
Don’t get me wrong, I have no idea who these people were and what their end goal for the run was. Maybe they were doing a 5K test. Maybe their coach had them going all out effort on their last mile. But this brief encounter reminded me to remind you all that a LOT of you are still running your “easy runs” WAY TOO FAST. And while you may think this makes for a pretty picture of your watch on social media or gets you a lot of kudos on Strava, doing this is only hurting your training.
So how are we going to fix this issue? And for those of you reading that are thinking, I never have the issue of running too FAST on my long runs (myself included), have no fear—this blog post absolutely applies to you as well. Today, we are going to master the art of running by feel—and discuss how to build in RPE, how to ditch the watch, and how to make the most of your training by slowing way the hell down!
So let’s break this down. I tell my runners all the time to “run by feel” or run at “comfortable pace”—but what does that really mean? If you are used to running based on your pace and rely heavily on your watch or treadmill to set the pace for you, the words running by feel can sound foreign. Like anything in training, learning how to run based on feel is a skill that requires practice and getting familiar with how your body feels when slowing down. Some questions you may have about running by feel may center around, how to tell if you’re running in the “sweet spot”—is this too fast? Too slow? Just right? Without a watch or others around you to give you a sense of your pace, this can make you feel like you’re running blind. But instead of relying heavily on outside factors, practicing your different paces can help you train your body to know what an easy pace feels like. Your body will let you know if you’re running at the right pace—you just have to tune in!
Some key indicators of pace and effort include your breathing (can you hold a conversation or are you gasping for air); how tired you feel (are your legs able to comfortable hold the pace, do you feel like you are keeping your running form intact), and how this effort compares to other runs (do you feel like you are really working hard to hold the pace).
In addition to tuning into these signals from your body, you can also base your runs by the RPE (Rate of Perceived Effort) scale. RPE is a metric used to gauge how you feel, or your experience, in an effort, as opposed to real numbers like your pace. While the original RPE was designed on a 6-20 scale, the running modified RPE scale is based on a 0-10 scale rating. According to @runningexplained, the runner’s version of the RPE scale is as follows:
0: No effort - standing still, complete rest
1: Ultra easy - barely any effort while moving forward
2: Very easy - effortless jogging, “I could do this all day”
3: Easy - conversational, can hold this effort comfortably
4: Comfortable, but noticeable effort—can talk but starting to feel a little work. Still sustainable
5: Moderate - “comfortably working,” talking in full sentences but needing a deep breath between them
6: Somewhat hard - talking is possible but not preferred, working to maintain effort
7: Hard - talking is difficult, working hard
8: Very hard - can only say a few words at a time
9: Extremely hard - very difficult to sustain, only single words possible
10: MAX effort - cannot talk, full sprint
So now we know the scale, but now what? How do we apply this to our runs? In order to truly test out and get a sense of how your body responds and feels to each range of run (which by the way, all serve a very important purpose in your training), you need to practice the full spectrum of paces. For instance, as a coach, I assign a lot of “comfortable pace” runs. For these runs, you should aim to be in RPE range 2-3 for medium, midweek comfortable pace runs (like a 4-6 mile recovery run, not a workout) and RPE range 3-4 for long runs. For the midweek recovery runs in the 2-3 range, you should be able to have a conversation the entire time and these build your aerobic base and endurance. MOST OF YOUR RUNS SHOULD BE IN THIS RANGE. I repeat, MOST OF YOUR RUNS SHOULD BE IN THIS RANGE! For the long runs in the RPE 3-4 range, you should still be comfortable, but not able to hold a full conversation.
This should be a sustainable pace for the entire run - again, this builds endurance and long run fatigue resistance.
For your tempo runs and your workouts, this is where we start to get into the RPE 5-6 range. In race pace work, think of your effort as comfortably to moderately hard. You would be able to talk, but would have to take big deep breaths between sentences. These efforts, according to Running Explained, improve “lactate threshold and endurance.”
For speed work—like track repeats or hill workouts—the RPE range starts to push 7-8. This is a tough to very tough effort and if you are speaking, it’s limited to only a few words. These hard runs build speed and power.
Finally, the 9-10 RPE scale is reserved for sprints and max effort workouts, something that is fairly limited in distance training. This is all-out; forget talking!
Now that you have a sense of the range of efforts and when to practice them, make sure you take notes of how your body feels during each effort and how you respond. Like anything in training, practice makes perfect. Also take note of how outside factors can affect RPE! For instance, if you are running on a hot day or on limited sleep, for instance, efforts may feel harder at the same pace. Make sure you listen to your body and trust your training.
And last, but certainly not least; SLOW DOWN ON YOUR EASY RUNS. No one is impressed by fast splits on a long run, especially if you are running out of your comfort zone and outside of your training. It is a known fact that even marathon champions run their long runs FOUR MINUTES slower than their marathon race paces. The only thing that will happen if you run fast on every long run is a one-way ticket to overtraining, fatigue, burnout, and injury. Remember: slow down to speed up. Your body will thank you for it!
Xo