Guide · Pace and effort
Easy pace: how slow is easy?
What "easy" means in our plans, the pace the planner assumes with and without a recent race, and what to do when an easy pace feels hard.
In our plans, most of the running is easy. So how slow is easy?
Easy is a feeling first
Every easy run in our plans is described by effort: easy and conversational, about 3 to 4 out of 10. The practical test the plan gives is to run at a pace where you could speak in full sentences. Walk breaks are fine. If you cannot talk comfortably, slow down.
A pace is only a stand-in for that feeling. In general, the same effort works out to a slower pace in heat or on hills, and a faster one on a cool, flat day. That is why the plan tells you to let effort win when the clock and the feeling disagree.
What the planner assumes
With no recent race, the plan shows no pace targets. Distances and times are estimates that assume a deliberately slow easy pace chosen from the mileage and runs per week you entered, not from the experience label alone. They are slow on purpose, so that a day when you feel good does not push you faster than the plan intends.
With a recent race or time trial from the last 8 weeks that fits your training, the plan predicts your times at other distances with the Riegel formula and sets your easy pace as a range from 125% to 140% of your predicted 5K pace, rounded to the nearest 5 seconds per mile. Tempo runs span your predicted 10K to half marathon pace. A result that is much faster than your stated training would suggest is not used, and paces stop once the result is more than 12 weeks old at the time of the run; the plan then goes back to effort guidance. The tables below show real examples.
Why a range, not a number
A single easy pace invites you to chase it. A range, plus the effort description, lets conditions decide. If you finish an easy run at the slow end of the range and feel like you could have done more, that is the plan working as intended.
If easy feels too hard
General advice, not engine output and not backed by a cited study.
- Slow down further. The plan sets no minimum pace for an easy run.
- Take walk breaks. The plan allows them.
- Check the result you based your paces on. Results older than 8 weeks are not used, and a hard race effort on a good day will give optimistic paces.
- Remember it is a planner’s estimate, not a lab measurement. Adjust for heat, hills and how you feel.
What this does not claim
The numbers here describe our planner’s rules and are not a claim about the best way to train. Other coaches and methods define easy differently, and none of this is medical advice. If running feels painful rather than just hard, stop and talk to a doctor.
What this article is based on
Engine statements. Statements about what the planner does come from its published rules and outputs. See How It Works and Our method.
General advice. Passages marked "General advice" are common training guidance, not engine output. They are not backed by cited studies and are not medical advice.
Written by the Milewell team and published on the site owner's approval. The owner is not a credentialed coach or clinician, and this article has not been reviewed by one. See our editorial policy.
This plan is general training information, not medical advice and not clearance to exercise. Stop and get professional advice if you feel pain, dizziness, chest discomfort or unusual shortness of breath. If you have a health condition or are unsure whether running is right for you, talk to a doctor first.