I have been running for a little over a year now, but really didn’t get serious about it until recently. I have been following a structured training program for about a month now. I have a question for you all about what an easy running pace for me should be. To establish my running pace zones for my training program I did a 5K time trial and then punched my numbers into runbayou.com’s VDOT calculator. It listed my easy running pace as an 11:48 minute mile. An alternative way to calculate training zones was to take a percentage of your maximum heart rate. For an easy pace, it is 65%-79% of your max HR, which works out to be a little slower at about a 12:30 minute mile.
My question is, should I train based off of the calculated pace (11:48 minute mile) or should I pace myself by staying within the HR zone (12:30 minute mile)? Is there a benefit to either? I’d appreciate any input/suggestions you all have. I’m new and still learning. Thank you!
Most people have the opposite scenario from you - that is, their easy pace, as defined in VDOT looks way too slow to them. Your VDOT easy pace has you running faster. Since you are new at this, your heart rate (I think) is going to be a bit high for an easy pace run. At the end of the day, pace does not matter when easy running. One day, 12:30 will feel way too slow for you, and another day, 11:48 will make your heart scream.
If you took the garmin off, went for an “easy” run, then your pace would probably somewhere in-between 11:48 and 12:30. And, defining those easy runs as a pace-range, instead of a cold hard locked-in-stone pace is better. Listen to your body, and just run easy. The more you do it, the easier those easy runs get. I would take VDOT, and add something like 20 seconds slower OR faster as your easy pace-range.
I’d also HIGHLY recommend reading Daniel’s Running Formula. I believe he invented VDOT, and that book has some good wisdom. Good luck!
Much agreed with previous poster. I’ve taken off the Garmin and HR monitor for 80% of my runs that don’t require specific interval targets, and just run based on RPE.
My day-to-day running ability changes significantly, as the time I do my workouts, how much I sleep I get, how much I’ve fueled, how stressed I am, etc. all vary, and a 7:45 easy pace one day might take the same effort that an 8:00 might the next.
I’ve read Mark Allen’s article on training with a HR monitor. He suggested taking 180 minus your age (+ or - 5 bpm depends on how much you exercise) and run at that range. For me that wound be keeping my HR at 142. I train with my HR ranging from 140-150. I run twice as long (10-15 miles). My pace is now at 10:30 mile at that HR. I just started 2 months ago with this training strategy. I want to see what my mile pace would be after 6 months and 1 year.
Most people have the opposite scenario from you - that is, their easy pace, as defined in VDOT looks way too slow to them. Your VDOT easy pace has you running faster. Since you are new at this, your heart rate (I think) is going to be a bit high for an easy pace run. At the end of the day, pace does not matter when easy running. One day, 12:30 will feel way too slow for you, and another day, 11:48 will make your heart scream.
If you took the garmin off, went for an “easy” run, then your pace would probably somewhere in-between 11:48 and 12:30. And, defining those easy runs as a pace-range, instead of a cold hard locked-in-stone pace is better. Listen to your body, and just run easy. The more you do it, the easier those easy runs get. I would take VDOT, and add something like 20 seconds slower OR faster as your easy pace-range.
I’d also HIGHLY recommend reading Daniel’s Running Formula. I believe he invented VDOT, and that book has some good wisdom. Good luck!
Thank you for your response. I really appreciate your help, me being a newbie to all of this. It’s funny that you say I’m opposite of most people. Maybe that’s only true when it comes to the easy pace. When it comes to the marathon and threshold paces, my average times are a bit faster than the suggested. (I’ve listed them below.) I know you mentioned at the end of the day, pace doesn’t matter when it comes to easy running. Is this true for the M and T paces as well?
Suggested VDOT paces:
E - 11:48
M - 10:14
T - 9:33
HR Paces:
E - (65-79%) 12:00 - 13:20
M - (80-90%) 9:40 - 10:00
T - (88-92%) 8:34 - 9:13
By the way, I am definitely going to purchase Jack Daniel’s Running Formula, just haven’t gotten around to it yet. I’m so backlogged in other books I’ve been meaning to read. haha Thanks again!
I have been running for a little over a year now, but really didn’t get serious about it until recently. I have been following a structured training program for about a month now. I have a question for you all about what an easy running pace for me should be. To establish my running pace zones for my training program I did a 5K time trial and then punched my numbers into runbayou.com’s VDOT calculator. It listed my easy running pace as an 11:48 minute mile. An alternative way to calculate training zones was to take a percentage of your maximum heart rate. For an easy pace, it is 65%-79% of your max HR, which works out to be a little slower at about a 12:30 minute mile.
My question is, should I train based off of the calculated pace (11:48 minute mile) or should I pace myself by staying within the HR zone (12:30 minute mile)? Is there a benefit to either? I’d appreciate any input/suggestions you all have. I’m new and still learning. Thank you!
Suggestions and questions:
Rather than just going with your own self motivated time trial, enter and race a reasonably flat 5k race. Use this value with the VDOTER Disclaimer- If your doctor says its OK
I’d love to hear how you came up with your max heart rate! A calculated value is just complete garbage. Being able to drive your heart rate to its max is a bit of an
aquired skill and does certainly require some technique. That said, I’d recommend using pace over heart rate for training on reasonably flat courses.
If you are not running the maximum miles you are capable of then for anything other than your fast days (tempo, track) I would run as fast as you want to run and still be able to complete your next workout.
I see no need to run slower than you feel capable of unless you are maxed out on milage.
The trouble with that advice is being able to identify when you are exceeding that pace. Often I can tell I went too fast in retrospect, like the next morning when I am overly tired or sore, or worse, the next week, when I find myself injured or sick and realize I overdid it the week before.
One of the greatest values to me of a program like barryp’s is that it forces you to train with the very long term in mind. Trying to anticipate how I will feel only tomorrow while I am in the middle of a run today may be a helpful rule of thumb for some, but isn’t anywhere near the long term vision I think it’s beneficial to have.
It’s similar to the Vdot, but he gives a range, which I find a little more helpful. Look at the easy runs and long runs (and there’s a 3rd one bt I can’t remember what it’s called). As long as you are between the high and low end you’re doing okay.