Jeroen Peerbolte
Run your easy runs at conversational pace: slow enough to talk in full sentences, usually with your heart rate in zone 2. It will feel too slow at first. That is the point: easy runs build your aerobic base and leave energy for the few runs that should be hard.
Why easy runs should feel too easy
I learned this the hard way. I wanted to get fast quickly, so almost every run became a hard one, and I ended up with shin splints and calf problems. That is common: when easy days aren't easy, there is no room left to recover or to make the hard days count.
Successful endurance athletes do most of their sessions at low intensity, roughly 80%, with a few hard ones on top (Seiler, 2010). Recreational runners benefit too: in one study, runners who kept easy runs easy and hard runs hard improved their 10K a little more than those who trained mostly at a moderate effort (Muñoz et al., 2014).
Building up too fast is a risk of its own. In a study of 874 new runners, those who increased their weekly distance by more than 30% seemed more vulnerable to distance-related injuries (Nielsen et al., 2014). Slower easy runs make it easier to add distance gradually.
What is conversational pace?
Conversational pace is the pace at which you can still talk in full sentences. It is a well-studied shortcut: the talk test tracks your breathing threshold closely (Persinger et al., 2004). If you can only get out a few words, you are going too fast for an easy run.
In heart-rate terms, easy pace usually sits in zone 2, about 60–70% of your max. In pace terms, a rough rule of thumb is 25–40% slower than your 5K race pace. The zone 2 running guide has a table by 5K time, and the zone 2 calculator works out your own numbers.
Eight ways to run slower
- Start slower than feels right. Heart rate lags behind effort, so a fast first kilometre shows up a few minutes later.
- Run by heart rate or breathing, not pace. Pace changes with hills, heat and tiredness; your effort is what matters.
- Walk the hills. Running uphill at the same pace raises the effort steeply (Minetti et al., 2002). Walking is allowed.
- Expect drift. On long or warm runs your heart rate creeps up at the same pace (Coyle & González-Alonso, 2001). Slow down to stay easy.
- Run with someone slower. Talking the whole way is the talk test, built in.
- Pick a flat, quiet route. Fewer hills and traffic lights make a steady easy effort much easier.
- Hide the numbers that tempt you. Segments, leaderboards and an average pace on screen all pull you faster.
- Hear it instead of checking it. Wrist sensors can lag (Gillinov et al., 2017), and glancing at a watch every minute is what makes easy running tedious. Audio cues that only speak up when you drift out of zone let you just run.
It gets easier
Easy pace feels painfully slow for the first weeks. Then your heart rate at the same pace starts to drop (Scharhag-Rosenberger et al., 2009), and your easy pace gets faster without trying. Stick with it: it is the most boring advice in running, and the one I wish I had followed first.
Run slower with ZoneTempo
I built ZoneTempo for exactly this. It speaks your pace and heart-rate zone over your music, stays quiet while you are in your easy zone, and tells you the moment you drift too fast. Why I built it →
Questions
What is conversational pace?
Conversational pace is a running pace at which you can still speak in full sentences. It is a simple way to keep easy runs easy, and it usually lines up with zone 2 heart rate.
Why is it so hard to run slow?
Because easy pace feels too slow at first, especially if you are used to every run being a hard one. Your legs can go faster than your aerobic system can sustain comfortably, so the right pace feels almost like a jog. That feeling fades as your aerobic fitness improves.
Is it OK to walk during easy runs?
Yes. Walking up hills or taking short walk breaks is a normal way to keep your effort easy. The goal of an easy run is the effort, not running every step.
How slow should my easy runs be?
Slow enough to talk in full sentences, with your heart rate around zone 2 (about 60–70% of max). As a rough rule of thumb, that is often 25–40% slower than your 5K race pace.
Sources
- Seiler S. What is best practice for training intensity and duration distribution in endurance athletes? Int J Sports Physiol Perform. 2010;5(3):276–291. doi.org/10.1123/ijspp.5.3.276
- Muñoz I, Seiler S, Bautista J, et al. Does polarized training improve performance in recreational runners? Int J Sports Physiol Perform. 2014;9(2):265–272. doi.org/10.1123/ijspp.2012-0350
- Nielsen RO, Parner ET, Nohr EA, et al. Excessive progression in weekly running distance and risk of running-related injuries: an association which varies according to type of injury. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2014;44(10):739–747. doi.org/10.2519/jospt.2014.5164
- Persinger R, Foster C, Gibson M, Fater DC, Porcari JP. Consistency of the talk test for exercise prescription. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2004;36(9):1632–1636. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15354048/
- Minetti AE, Moia C, Roi GS, Susta D, Ferretti G. Energy cost of walking and running at extreme uphill and downhill slopes. J Appl Physiol. 2002;93(3):1039–1046. doi.org/10.1152/japplphysiol.01177.2001
- Coyle EF, González-Alonso J. Cardiovascular drift during prolonged exercise: new perspectives. Exerc Sport Sci Rev. 2001;29(2):88–92. doi.org/10.1097/00003677-200104000-00009
- Gillinov S, Etiwy M, Wang R, et al. Variable accuracy of wearable heart rate monitors during aerobic exercise. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2017;49(8):1697–1703. doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0000000000001284
- Scharhag-Rosenberger F, Meyer T, Walitzek S, Kindermann W. Time course of changes in endurance capacity: a 1-yr training study. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2009;41(5):1130–1137. doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0b013e3181935a11
ZoneTempo is an iPhone running coach that speaks pace and heart-rate cues over your music. Free to use, with 3 Pro runs on us.
This guide is general information, not medical advice. If something hurts, see a doctor or physiotherapist.