Weekly Training Notes: What “Easy” Actually Means
Practical training advice, athlete highlights, and lessons from real training blocks.
Each week I send a short newsletter to my athletes with training tips, coaching notes, and shout-outs. The goal is simple: share things that actually help people train consistently and stay healthy while working toward their goals. Below is an excerpt from a recent newsletter.
Training Tip: What “Easy” Actually Means
We’re getting to the point in the training block where fitness is building and paces are starting to feel smoother.
That’s a good thing.
It’s also the point where easy days quietly start drifting faster.
Most runners don’t struggle with working hard. They struggle with holding back.
As mileage builds and workouts get more specific, the temptation to turn easy days into “pretty solid” days gets stronger. You feel fitter. Paces are improving. The weather cooperates. It’s easy to justify creeping a little quicker.
But this is where discipline matters most.
Workouts create the stimulus.
Easy runs allow you to absorb it.
If we blur that line too often, we don’t recover as well, workouts lose quality, and progress flattens out.
The goal of an easy run is recovery.
Workouts create stress. Long runs create fatigue. Easy runs restore muscle function, maintain aerobic volume, and help you show up ready for the next quality session.
When the pace creeps up, the purpose changes.
What You’re Sacrificing When You Go Faster
When an easy day turns into a moderate day, you’re usually giving something up:
- Recovery quality
- Sharpness in your next workout
- Long-term consistency
Instead of absorbing stress, you’re layering more on top of it. That doesn’t always show up immediately, but over time it flattens progress.
You’re trading tomorrow’s performance for today’s small ego boost.
Easy Pace Guardrails (Not Goals)
If you’ve raced recently, here are starting ranges.
Half Marathoners
Easy pace is often 1:30–2:30 per mile slower than half marathon pace.
If your half pace is 8:00 per mile, easy might fall around 9:30–10:30 per mile.
Marathoners
Easy pace is often 1:00–2:00 per mile slower than marathon pace, or about 2:00–3:00 per mile slower than half marathon pace.
These are ranges. Not targets.
On tired legs, poor sleep, or high stress weeks, expect to be on the slower end. Sometimes slower than that.
Effort is always the final authority.
If you can’t speak in full sentences, it’s not easy.
If you finish feeling drained instead of refreshed, it wasn’t easy.
The best runners aren’t the ones who win their easy runs. They’re the ones who protect them.
Easy days are not wasted days. They’re the reason workouts actually work.
As mileage builds and workouts sharpen, discipline on easy days becomes more important, not less.
Let the hard days be hard.
Let the easy days be easy.
That separation builds durability over months, not just fitness over weeks.
If you’re unsure about your individual easy range, reach out. I’m always happy to help you dial it in.
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