Everybody starts out too fast.
Never actually beating it.
When you start, you have two speeds.
Running is fast; walking is slow.
If thats the case, you have done well and you have come far.
Now you have one further mission:slow the fuck down.
How should a normal run feel?
A normal training run should feeleasy.
I blame couch to 5K for a bit of this confusion.
A 5K is a race distance.
Probably their three-mile training runs were 30 minutes or more.
On reddit I often see people asking about how to run farther.
If this is your problem, you aredefinitelyrunning too fast.
You should not be going at a pace that poops you out that quickly.
Occasionally you may do a fast run in training, but thats not your bread and butter.
Take a look at any training program for experienced runners.
For programs at the beginner level, that pace may be 100% of your mileage.
The easy runs are building up your fitness.
Theydont have to be hard to do their job.
Slow runs are easy to do and easy for your body to recover from.
Okay, how slow is slow enough?
There are a couple of ways you’re able to measure this.
The classic is: could you hold a casual conversation while running?
If you cant speak in full sentences, youre probably running too fast.
Are you worried about keeping up with your training partner?
Constantly picking someone ahead of you and pushing the pace so you catch up with them?
You dont want a pace that you have to push yourself to keep.
You want a pace that feels like you could keep it up forever.
That means an easy run pace is one you could keep up indefinitely.
Can you look around and enjoy the sunshine or the scenery?
Are you breathing heavy and looking forward to the end or to your next water break?
Are power-walkers passing you?
Believe it or not, thats a good sign.
It means youve managed to slow the fuck down.
But I cant run that slow!
There are two things I want to say to you.
First, yes you’re free to.
I recommend a little exercise to figure this out.
Youre going to alternate running medium speed for one minute, and then slow for one minute.
Or use city blocks or telephone poles.
Anything thats spaced relatively close together will do.)
It may feel maddeningly slow.
Remember, if a walker passes you,thats a sign you are starting to figure it out.
If you cant find the right pace, try keeping the same cadence but shortening your stride.
Keep your overall effort level to one where you could carry on a conversation.
When you notice yourself losing your breath, walk.
Forget your speed and aim to keep your effort level easy.
You are learning to be a better runner
Almost everybody goes through this process.
I ran my first 10K race in a series of sprint/walk intervals.
But it still counted!
I still covered the distance.
It really is a counterintuitive process, but it pays off.
On easy days, you really cannot run too slow.
Keep it up, and soon youll be able to run youractualraces faster.
