The Dastardly Implications of Running Too Fast

For most of us, we run because we enjoy the feeling of getting outside and pushing our bodies to the limit. It’s exhilarating to run fast. It’s an accomplishment to finish a threshold or tempo run and see that you were able to hold an even faster pace over a set distance. As runners, we are obsessed with the idea of getting faster, which can often lead us to run as fast as we can on every run.

While this trait is one of the things that leads many runners to success in training, it can also be something that holds people back when activated in the wrong context. If you haven’t picked up on it yet, I’m talking about one of the key elements of any training plan: the easy run.

A cookie-cutter training week consists of three main elements. These include 2-3 speed or tempo workouts, a long run, and maintaining/increasing your weekly mileage. But if you have two workouts and a long run in your week this leaves at least two, usually three other runs to get in during the week that aren’t high intensity. These are either easy or recovery runs.

There is a slight difference between the easy run and the recovery run. The easy run is sometimes called a low heartrate run and usually takes place around a 1:30 minute slower pace than your 5K race pace. Of course, this will be different for everyone, but this is a good guideline to follow at first. The goal is to keep your heartrate below 150 bpm to expand your aerobic base. The goal is to target your low heartrate zone. A recovery run, though similar, has a different goal. The purpose is specifically to allow your muscles to recover from the previous workout and prepare for the next workout. These runs should be paced between 2:00-2:30 minutes slower than your 5K race pace and do not target the aerobic zone. There is certainly some overlap in terms of goals and execution, but it is important to distinguish between the two types of runs.

One thing that both runs have in common is that they require you to run slower than you would normally run during a workout. While this may seem desirable to some people, it is more difficult in practice. It is too easy to feel good and push harder than you need to, which results in you not reaping the benefits of the run. If you go out on a recovery run and that run turns into a fast-paced workout then not only have you not put your muscles in a position to recover, but you won’t be able to put the most effort into the next day’s run.

Running fast is great and it’s what we all enjoy and work towards, but you can’t sprint every run. It’s counterintuitive, but running slow is essential to running faster and having the discipline to hold yourself back on those easy and recovery runs is imperative to building a foundation for longer, faster threshold efforts and to allowing your muscles to work out the lactic acid before a tough workout the next day.

How do you incorporate slow runs into your training plan? Do you struggle to keep your pace and heartrate down? If not, what tips and tricks do you have for maintaining quality on easy days? Leave a comment below to tell us about your experience with running slow to run fast.

If you liked this article, check out: The Dastardly Implications of Running Too Slow.