Finding your easy pace is a lot harder than it sounds. Easy runs are the foundation of endurance training, and the most effective way to develop and improve your aerobic capacity and cardiovascular system. If you run your easy days too fast, you risk entering the “grey zone” where you build fatigue instead of fitness and increase your risk of injury instead of minimizing it.

During easy runs, you body undergoes a series of adaptations that don’t happen during high-intensity training—and they all help build your aerobic base so you can run longer, faster and more efficiently. Your heart grows stronger and pumps more blood, you increase your mitochondria (the powerhouse of your cells), and you strengthen your tendons, ligaments and bones to help you stay injury-free. There is a place for fast running in training, but it’s super important not to neglect slow running. Here are the easiest ways to find your comfortable pace, and stick to it.

The talk test

If you’re hitting the correct intensity, you should be able to speak in (mostly) complete sentences without gasping for air. The talk test is an indicator of your aerobic state. If you can speak comfortably while running, it means your body is meeting its oxygen demands through aerobic metabolism. It also means that you are best equipped to build endurance.

If you’re running with company, try to maintain a conversation throughout your run. If it’s a solo effort, you can try singing along to your music or hopping on the phone to chat with someone. If you’re too breathless to do this, you need to slow down.

Should you use your watch?

If you’re accustomed to using your watch to monitor your running, it might be time to try intuitive running. Ditch the GPS and social apps to avoid the trap of running too fast. When you’re not trying to produce impressive Strava results, you’ll have an easier time committing to your easy pace.

Runners can be data-obsessed, but resist the urge to check your split times. Focus on how your body feels and use your intuition. Pay attention to your breathing, a comfortable perceived effort and ability to hold a conversation. Those can be more helpful indicators than the pace displayed on your wrist when it comes to keeping things easy.

Go slower than you think

The ideal pace for an easy run is roughly 60-90 seconds per kilometre slower than your goal race pace, or your most recent average pace during a race effort. But that’s just a guideline. Easy is a feeling, and other factors like weather, terrain and your own physical state can affect your pace.

Your heart rate should stay within 60 to 75 per cent of its maximum, which is 220 minus your age. This will put you comfortably in the Zone 2 range. If you are 20 years old, for example, your max heart rate is 200 and you will be in Zone 2 if your heart rate stays within 120-150 bpm.

Most easy runs end up too fast because they feel slower than what you may think you should be running. Many runners will speed this up and end up in Zone 3, where fatigue starts to accumulate but you’re still not working hard enough to get any of the adaptation benefits of Zone 5.

Do more easy runs

Many runners underestimate how much of their weekly running volume should be at an easy pace—about 80 per cent is the goal. If your goal is to bring down your race times, making the remaining 20 per cent high-intensity workouts like intervals, tempo runs or speedwork, will likely bring you the results you are looking for.

Your aerobic base is built by volume at a low intensity. If it’s any consolation, Eliud Kipchoge famously spends about 85 per cent of his weekly milage in Zone 2. His typical easy pace ranges from four to six minutes per kilometre, significantly slower than his marathon pace, which has been as fast as 2:52 per kilometre at the 2022 Berlin Marathon. Despite running marathons at an extraordinary pace, much of his weekly mileage is considerably slower.