How do I know if my easy runs are easy enough?

Use the talk test: on a truly easy run you can speak in full sentences without gasping. If you can only manage a few words at a time, it's too hard. Breathing through your nose comfortably and finishing feeling like you could go again are other good signs.

What heart rate should easy runs be?

As a rough guide many use roughly 70% of max heart rate, or comfortably below their aerobic threshold, but the exact number is personal. The conversational effort is more reliable than chasing a single HR figure, because heart rate drifts with heat, fatigue, caffeine and stress.

Why are easy runs supposed to feel slow?

Easy running builds aerobic base and lets you recover so your hard sessions can be genuinely hard. Run easy days too fast and you blur the line — every run becomes moderate, you accumulate fatigue, and both your easy and hard days get worse. The slowness is the point.

Ask Tempo

Are my easy runs actually easy?

By Dylan, founder of Tempo · 4 min read

Short answer: the simplest test is talking. On a genuinely easy run you can hold a conversation in full sentences without gasping. If you can only get a few words out between breaths, it's too hard — and you're far from alone. Most self-coached runners run their easy days somewhere in the moderate "grey zone," which quietly costs them on both ends. The fix isn't complicated; it's just humbling.

The talk test (no lab, no gadget)

Try to speak a full sentence out loud while running. If it comes out smoothly, you're in the right zone. If it's clipped — a few words, breath, a few more — you're working harder than "easy." Some people prefer the nose-breathing version: if you can breathe comfortably through your nose, you're genuinely easy; the moment you need your mouth to keep up, you've stepped up an intensity. Both get you to the same answer without staring at a watch.

If you do want a number

Heart rate is a useful cross-check, not a master. A common rough guide is around 70% of max heart rate, or comfortably under your aerobic threshold. But treat it loosely: HR drifts with heat, dehydration, caffeine, sleep and stress, so a "too high" reading on a hot, tired day may just be the day. The conversational effort is the more honest signal, day to day.

Why easy has to be properly easy

Easy running does two jobs: it builds the aerobic base that underpins everything, and it lets you recover enough that your hard sessions can be genuinely hard. Run easy days too fast and you collapse that structure — every run drifts to moderate, fatigue accumulates, your quality sessions lose their edge, and you plateau while feeling vaguely tired all the time. The slowness isn't a compromise. It's the mechanism.

Why it feels wrong (and that's normal)

Truly easy pace feels almost embarrassingly slow at first, especially if you're fit enough to push. That discomfort is ego, not physiology. Give it two or three weeks and two things usually happen: the pace stops feeling so slow as your aerobic system adapts, and your hard days feel noticeably better because you're actually recovered for them. You don't have to take my word for it — try capping a fortnight of easy runs at conversational effort and judge the hard sessions yourself.

Quick answers

How do I know if my easy runs are easy enough?: The talk test: full sentences without gasping. A few words at a time means too hard. Nose-breathing comfortably is another good sign.
What heart rate should easy runs be?: Roughly ~70% of max or comfortably below aerobic threshold as a guide — but effort (the talk test) is more reliable than any single number.
Why are easy runs supposed to feel slow?: They build aerobic base and protect recovery so hard days can be hard. Too fast and everything blurs to moderate — both ends suffer.

Tempo checks your easy days against your own data

It can show you what your "easy" runs are really costing in heart rate and load — then let you decide what to change.

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