Easy pace
How to Find Your Running Pace
The biggest mistake beginners make is running too fast. Slowing down is the fastest way to get faster — here is how to find the right effort.
Photo by Fellipe Ditadi on Unsplash
- Most of your running should be at easy, conversational pace.
- Use the talk test — if you cannot speak a sentence, slow down.
- Pace per kilometre does not matter early on — effort does.
- Your easy pace will naturally get faster over time.
The problem
1. Why beginners run too fast
When you first start running, everything feels hard. So it is natural to think you should push through that discomfort. But running at high effort every session breaks you down instead of building you up.
- Hard running creates more fatigue than your body can recover from between sessions.
- It makes every run feel like a struggle, which kills motivation.
- Your aerobic base — the engine behind all endurance — is built at easy effort, not hard effort.
Even elite runners do 80 percent of their training at easy pace. If it is good enough for them, it is good enough for you.
Method
2. The talk test
The simplest way to find your easy pace is the talk test. It does not require a watch, an app, or any maths.
- While running, try to speak a full sentence out loud.
- If you can speak comfortably, you are in the right zone.
- If you are gasping between words, slow down.
- If you could sing, you might be going too slow — but that is rare for beginners.
Running with a friend is the easiest way to test this. If you can hold a conversation without stopping for breath, your pace is right.
Heart rate
3. Using heart rate as a guide
If you have a running watch or chest strap, heart rate gives you a more precise way to manage effort. But it is not essential — the talk test works just as well.
- A rough formula for easy zone: 180 minus your age, give or take 5 beats.
- For most beginners, easy running sits between Zone 2 and low Zone 3.
- Do not panic if your heart rate spikes on hills — just slow down or walk.
- Heart rate watches on the wrist can be inaccurate. Take the numbers as a guide, not gospel.
If watching your heart rate makes you anxious or takes the fun out of running, stop looking at it. The talk test is enough.
Mindset
4. Forget about pace per kilometre
Beginners often obsess over their pace — comparing it to others, trying to hit a certain number. This is counterproductive.
- Your pace is affected by heat, hills, wind, sleep, stress, and dozens of other factors.
- Two runners at the same effort level can have wildly different speeds.
- Focus on time on feet, not distance or speed.
- As your fitness improves, the same effort will naturally produce a faster pace.
Progress
5. When to start running faster
There will come a point when you want to push the pace. That is fine — but earn it first.
- Run consistently for at least 6 to 8 weeks before adding any faster work.
- Start with short bursts: 30 seconds quicker within an easy run, then back to easy.
- Keep faster efforts to one session per week at most.
- If adding speed makes your other runs feel harder, you are doing too much.
Keep going
You are building something
Finding your pace is one of the most important foundations of running. Keep showing up, keep it easy, and the progress will follow.