Easy running. it's complicated

So, easy runs. Running isn't easy to begin with for most of us, so what does easy running mean. Data wise, you're looking at hitting about 65-80% of your max heart rate. Or, if you're more into the zone training thing, that's zones 1 and 2. If neither of those things mean much to you then consider RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion) as a great guide.

(source: self produced infographic)

So, basically, if you're sitting at 70% of your max, you're in zone 1, just doing some easy recovery runs. These are like the runs you do after a race or a tough session, not really putting much strain on your body or causing any big changes, but allowing blood flow back to the muscles and still allowing non-tired muscles to gain some training. That's something I learned as a key benefit of recovery runs about 4 years ago.

When you train on tired and sometimes sore legs, the muscles that are sore will not fire with the same force, but the supporting muscles then work harder to compensate, so you get the added benefit of recovery for the stressed muscle fibres and new musculoskeletal and neural pathways to be recruited for supporting muscles that normally don't work hard in running. 💡

When you're hitting between 70-80% of your max heart rate, (RPE3-4) that's more of a moderate intensity. For my athletes, these are what I refer to as the 'in-between' days. Usually taking place couple of days after a hard session and the day before the next one. The pace is mostly decent, kind of steady, but still keeping it easy, not even close to lactate threshold.

But here's the thing from my perspective, if you're just jogging at an easy pace on those extra days, you probably are not doing enough to gain benefits. You're not recovering and you're not really adding enough stresses to add adaptations. For experienced runners, that could mean you're not pushing yourself or risk stagnation or reversal based on the loads that enabled your current fitness levels.

So, those runs during the week, or maybe twice a week, just steady, they're golden. Especially if you're training most or every day. Of course sometimes we need extra recovery or we may be capable of extra sessions, but in general I value the benefits of steady state moderate running when recovered and before harder sessions.

So, whatever your routine is, pay attention to how your body feels. If it's feeling too easy or you're just always tired and dragging, you might need to tweak your training plan and get more balance. Sometimes more of that still easier, but steady state running, is what you need.