Beginners and Beyond

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How much does your easy pace vary? (Read 259 times)

clintmorningwood


    I am asking about day to day, and in within runs 

      Within 40 seconds per mile, about. Some days, 11:00 is no problem. Some days, I feel like I'm running the same effort and it's closer to 11:30.


      sugnim

        A lot.  Sometimes, I'm around 9:30, and sometimes I'm around 11:30 both on the same run & with the same perceived effort. 

        runfoolery


          Assuming similar weather and terrain, it seems to vary between 9mpm to 10:30mpm depending on factors like sleep, time from last hard workout, etc...

           

          MTA - within a single run, it seems to have about a 20-30 second variation per mile, but I think much of that is slight variations in terrain.

          Love the Half


            That's a more complex question than it first appears.  On really hot days, my easy runs may be 45 seconds slower per mile than on cool days.  Windy days can have a fairly negative impact as well.  Did I race a few days ago or are my legs relatively fresh?  Also, it takes me about three miles to get zoned into my pace.   Assuming that weather is not an issue and that my legs are relatively fresh and that I'm past the three mile mark into my run, my pace won't vary much.  I'll be within about a 5 second window of 7:40.  

             

            Again though, all those other factors can come into play.  My first run after my half marathon was an 8:34 pace.  Looking at my log from July shows a lot of stuff in the 8:00-8:15 range.

            Short term goal: 17:59 5K

            Mid term goal:  2:54:59 marathon

            Long term goal: To say I've been a runner half my life.  (I started running at age 45).


            Jane

              Add me to quite a bit both day to day and seasonally.  In the GA summer running 9:30 is taxing in the winter sometimes I have to slow myself down from 8:10.

               Never run, if you want to never run, don't start because you'll never stop.

              Docket_Rocket


                Mine depends on HR and weather, so I would run 11:30 or slower for 9 months, followed by 3 months at 10:30-11:15. Same effort. Within my runs, first mile is close to 12mm while the last mile is close to 10mm.

                Damaris

                 

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                Nakedbabytoes


                levitation specialist

                  My natural cruising & not thinking about it speed is always around 8:20. Cold might make it 10 secs faster, heat and humidity might make it up to 20 secs slower. I have been at that  speed for about 6 months with no huge change in numbers. More miles on my feet and more frequency brought me down from a cruising speed of 9:15 earlier in the year. I am still increasing mileage, although frequency won't change. I wonder if I will still see a jump at some point in easy cruising speed. Will be interesting.


                  delicate flower

                    For me it can vary by about 50 seconds depending on how tired or rested I am (all other factors being equal).  If I'm rested, 8:50 pace feels easy with little effort.  If I am tired, 9:40 pace is the same amount of work.

                     

                    I ran hard but short both days these weekend (6.8 miles and 4.5 miles).  I anticipate tonight's easy run to come in around 9:10 pace. 

                    <3


                    Dr. Cornsitter

                      If your easy pace varies greatly, either from run to run or within the same run, should you try to correct it to reel it in? Or is it more about effort than actual pace?

                      Quote from BeachRunner3234 on 6/25/2013 at 8:20 PM:

                      So I'm currently sitting with a bag of frozen corn in my ass.

                      Luke79


                        I actually wore a watch on my run yesterday.  I mostly just timed from beginning to end so I could average out a pace (9:21), but I did clock myself from mile 4 to 5.  I was just under 9 minutes.  I can tell you that my first 2 miles are always going to be slower.  I'm sure they were around 10:00 ish for that run. 

                         

                        I always start out slower until I really get warmed up, which is after about 2 miles.  My pace probably picks up by 45 secs to a minute.  I would imagine this is fairly typical with runners. 

                         

                         

                         

                         

                         

                         

                          I run by effort, but take note of the time at turn-around points when I remember, so my splits aren't uniform. I generally start around 10 and end around 9:30. Assuming similar weather conditions across days, my "warmed up pace" varies by 10 seconds or so, but it may take me longer to feel warmed up on some days than others.

                          5k - 25:15 (11/18/12)

                          10k - 1:01:51 (2/14/15)

                          10mi - 1:33:18 (3/2/14)

                          HM - 2:06:12 (3/24/13)

                           

                          Upcoming Races:

                          Benched until further notice. :/

                           

                          Everything you need is already inside. [[Bill Bowerman]]

                          Hipfan


                          Proud Calgarian

                            My easy pace can be all over the map, granted even if it feels easy and is getting too fast, I put it in the category of a GA run for me. LRs, now those ones I make sure I keep in a specific range regardless of how easy or good things feel.

                            2015 Goals and PRs:

                            5k - 17:59 (18:05);  10k - 35:59 (36:42);   HM - 1:19:19 (1:19:59);   FM - 2:49:59 (3:05:46)


                            Mmmmm...beer

                              Mine will swing across about a minute range, but that's run to run, I'm usually pretty solid within a run. 

                              -Dave

                              My running blog

                              Goals | sub-18 5k | sub-3 marathon 2:56:46!!

                              MJ5


                              Chief Unicorn Officer

                                Mine can vary by about a minute depending on lots of the factors people already mentioned. A "good" easy pace for me is around 8:30. A "slow" (again, for me, not for everyone!) easy pace would be about 9:30. That would make me say to myself "it's not a great day." I would note that my McMillan easy paces are somewhat faster than what I actually do--I don't put a whole lot of stock into those particular suggestions by McMillan. I think it's more important to make sure easy pace feels easy than to get caught up in a prescribed number.

                                Mile 5:49 - 5K 19:58 - 10K 43:06 - HM 1:36:54

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