Running For Trevor

Your last two sentences are spot on. Everyone is different, and everyone thinks they are right.

I agree with your philosophy, primarily because I enjoy running too much to be pressing all the time. I'm sure I could handle running my recovery runs faster (physically), but I'm not sure I want to (mentally). And you also tend to go with what has given you success in the past - I run a lot of 8+ minute miles, and I've hit the women's OTQ standard every time out :-)

I think ultimately, you have to just do what makes you enjoy running on a day to day basis.

I realize this is Tri and not strictly running but a few months ago I was on a conference call with Mirinda carfrae/Linsey Corbin and their coaches. Both ladies run in the 2:50's off the bike. Both ladies recovery days are 9+ and easy days are 8+. Made me a believer to slow the heck down :)

As you said... everyone is different and responds differently, but I thrive off of legitimately slow recovery. The harder and longer and more gut-busting the workouts, the more I need the slow recoveries, and I don't get injured.

At least for me...I get just as much aerobic benefit from 8:30 miles as I do 7:30 miles...with much less wear and tear. That said, there is such a thing as balancing a time crunch and sometimes there is such a thing as running faster just to squeeze a few extra miles in!! Besides, I love social running and recovery miles are the best to run easy, catch up with friends, and talk about life!

I think lower mileage runners can handle a faster recovery day pace. I always admit to being a pace pusher, but I have tried to make a concerted effort to slow my pace down. It has allowed me to handle more mileage and kept me healthier. I do best when I leave the watch at home on recovery days.

Sally Kipyego, Olympic Silver medalist runs 8:30 pace on recovery days. She is a mid fourteen minute 5k girl and sub 31 10k.

Camille Herron runs lots of 8:30 to 9:00 recovery runs. 2:37 marathoner.

Esther Erb, US marathon champion runs 8:30 to 9:00 miles on.her recovery. 2:33 marathoner.

Deena Kastor ran an 8:30 per mile run the day aftersetting the world half marathon record.

I definitely agree that it all kind of comes back to what you enjoy and what has worked for you. I love recovery when I have someone to run with but I get incredibly bored with it when I'm running alone.

I think Emily brings up a good point about the difference between low mileage/high mileage runners. Jen has always been a low quality mileage runner and I'm the opposite. As she trains for the marathon for the first time ever really I'll continue to argue my case with her. Because In my opinion the easy/recovery days become even more important when you are training for the marathon. Oh and did I mention I just really like to argue. :)

Great conversation going on here, the never-ending debate of how fast to run on easy days. I've certainly done both methods before and had success with both AND gotten injuries with both.

In college easy days were 6:00-6:30 pace. It was tough to switch off that mentality when I wanted to increase mileage for the marathon. But it's almost a necessity if you want to hit 80+ miles a week. But with time at higher mileage I could bring the easy pace down a bit again. Then the question is keep bringing easy pace down at 80 mpw or keep pace easy and increase mileage to 90?

I think there's certainly a trade-off between the two. Goals, personal preference, and how your body responds all have to play a role. Nowadays I try to just run what my body wants. Maybe one easy day that's 7:00, but the next easy day maybe it's 8:00.

I think it is POSSIBLE to run too slow, but you wont find anyone who is guilty of it :-)

I've been thinking a lot lately about easy running and good form, which was mentioned in the most recent magazine-version of this debate in Running Times. I can run 10 minute pace, but my form gets pretty sloppy, my glutes don't really fire, and so on.

My easy pace is faster during base building and lower mileage (obviously), but I think increasing easy pace during a taper for a marathon is beneficial but I am just guessing on what is likely a combination of too many other factors.

I used to run with a guy who ran 25-30 miles a week at 6:15-6:30 pace, a guy who ran 50-60 a week at 7:15-7:45, and I ran 75-90 at 7:45-8:30. I would be trying to slow them down, the 6:15 guy was itching to speed up. Group running is like a Ouija board sometimes. I think folks should try to keep things sensible for everyone, but other times if people are running too fast, I let them go.

Everyone has some good points here. Intensity plus mileage and variability from day to day equals overall training load. ST/FT combination, mechanics etc. One thing I'll throw into the mix is that recovery pace can be a bit faster pre- race season. Then as workouts become more specific and racing comes into play, you will definitely want to slow down more on non-workout days. Just my experience for what it's worth.

good topic.

i used to have a big pace pushing problem, which is one of the main reasons why i stopped using time/pace/beeping devices.

i'm now a big believer in slowing down on easy days. some days, my easy is 7:45-8:00 and some days it's 9:00+. it all depends on the mileage and intensity of the days surrounding it.

i personally think refusing to run slower than x:xx pace is in error, especially if you have to force it down on days that you feel more tired. it sort of defeats the purpose of a recovery run.

Incredible runners here with great advice and I'd tend to agree with them. Higher mileage and more intense workouts necessitate slower recovery. Less miles you can increase recovery pace. I'm all about slowing down :) but I am by far the slowest runner practically on the blog, so take that for what it is worth...