How is hard is easy?

This week, on one of my runs, I got to thinking about what I mean by the terms easy, tempo and hard when it comes to your programs, and then, just like it was fate, I got an e-mail asking exactly that question.

So, without further adieu, here’s my take on what I mean.

First off, it is important to remember that easy does not mean slow.   An easy effort will be a different speed for everyone, so one person’s easy is not likely the next person’s easy.

That said, a particular effort  is very relative to the duration.  Let’s say, for example, and easy run pace is 6min/km.  For 40min, that may truly be easy, but for an hour or two, it becomes less and less easy, and eventually, downright hard.  At the same time, if you were doing an interval workout with some hard kilometers with 1min easy running between them as recovery, the easy 6min/km will not be easy or allow you to recover enough to give your next kilo repeat a great effort.  You would need to go much easier than that to allow for a good enough recovery.

So, the main thing with the term easy is that you finish whatever it is feeling refreshed and rested.

The same logic works for tempo and hard—the shorter the workbout, the higher the effort.

I encourage you to go to http://www.mcmillanrunning.com/mcmillanrunningcalculator.htm and use the pace calculator he provides to get a really, really good idea of how fast easy or hard should be for you, based on your level of ability.

It is important to realize, though, that sometimes, it is just fun to go harder or easier than suggested.  There is nothing wrong with that, as long as two conditions are met:

1. you hold it together to the end of the workout, and
2. you can still train the next day.

Hope this helps.

Rick