60-75 percent Effort Is Important

Repeat after me – Endurance. Aerobic Endurance. Gotta have it or you won’t have any fun out there.

Face it. A half-marathon or a marathon is a long way. Pacing yourself evenly throughout the race is the fastest way to the finish line. Guaranteed. But most importantly, you need the endurance and the patience to cover the distance. Running at 60-75 percent effort on most days will extend your aerobic endurance. With aerobic endurance you can teach yourself to pace accordingly on race day.

Think about it in these terms: Let’s say you have to drive 13.1 miles one way to work each day. Would you get there on time if you had to get out and push your car the last half mile or so? Veering out of that aerobic zone and going too fast on your easy days will rob gas outta your gas tank. Our bodies are not equipped with a visible fuel gauge. It won’t be apparent that you are out of gas until the moment you realize you are. You wouldn’t want to show up at work looking like you had to push your car a half mile to get there. Don’t do that to yourself on race day either!

60-70 percent effort is CONVERSATION pace

60-75 percent effort is important. You’ll know you’re there when you cover miles upon miles chatting, laughing, giggling, singing – and breathing deeply – as you run. Those runs when you feel as though you really aren’t doing much, but the miles just roll by. Those easy – seemingly effortless – days provide lots of oxygen and fresh blood flow to your muscles, tendons and joints. It’s like taking a long aerobic bath with your running buddies. Your body loves that stuff! Keep your easy long runs easy!

That’s why 60-75 percent effort is important too. If your goal is to run your best half marathon or marathon possible, most of your training days should be in this range. We follow this philosophy in our Team GFR Training Plans. Take a look at our training plans and join us.