Complete Easy Runs at Conversation Pace
Once your body has adjusted to running, your easy days should be run at a pace that's slow enough for you to have a conversation with a friend without gasping for breath. If you run alone, an easy way to tell if you are running too hard it to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. If you are unable to get through more than a few words without being short of breath, you are running too fast on your easy days.
More: Are Your Easy Runs Slow Enough?
How You Should Feel at the End of an Easy Run
Ideally, you should finish your easy run feeling like you could have run at least another mile or two if you had to. If you finish your easy run feeling like you couldn't have run another step, you are probably running too hard. When your body starts to fatigue as a result of running too hard, you begin to compromise your running form and injuries can result.
More: Prevent Running Injuries for Life
How You Should Feel the Day After an Easy Run
An easy day should not cause soreness or stiffness the following morning. Quite the opposite is true; an easy day is designed for easy movement that circulates oxygen-rich blood through the muscles and flushes out the lactic acid that causes soreness and stiffness.
More: Best Recovery Modes to Ease Muscle Soreness
Too many runners believe that the no-pain-no-gain concept should be applied to distance running when the truth is that a huge key to long term running success is learning how to slow it down on easy days.
If you are just beginning to train, allow your body a generous amount of time to grow accustomed to the heavier workload you are asking of it. Look forward to the remarkable ability of your body to adapt to much more than you thought possible.
More: 10 "Secrets" to Take Your Running to the Next Level
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