Take it Easy
Trail Runner|Fall 2021
How to stay at aerobic pace when you live in the hills
By David Roche
Take it Easy

I know that the goal for easy running is to maintain a conversational pace, but I live in a pretty hilly area. The only way to get my heart rate down is to take walk breaks, but I don’t want to do that every time. What do you recommend? —Stefanie

This question gets at the heart of what makes running training so delightfully complicated. We all know that most of your training (likely around 80 percent, with variance based on background)should be easy. But, sometimes, easy running is close to impossible based on hills, heat or training partners. When the math equation breaks down, training theory is pushed to its limits. And all the fun happens at the limits.

First, a step back.

What is easy running? Loosely, “easy” can be approximated as any effort below aerobic threshold, the range when the body switches primarily from using fat for fuel to primarily using carbohydrates. Exceeding aerobic threshold involves a slight pick-up in breath rate, maybe some minor resistance in the legs. You can even approximate it with a heart rate monitor and a afield test. I prefer the “Friel Test”—a 30-minute hard effort (after a warm-up), taking the average of the last 20 minutes to approximate your lactate threshold heart rate, and multiplying that by 0.84-0.89 (lower for high-mileage or advanced athletes, higher for low volume or beginner athletes) to get a feel for a loose cap on your easy runs.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة Fall 2021 من Trail Runner.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة Fall 2021 من Trail Runner.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

المزيد من القصص من TRAIL RUNNER مشاهدة الكل
You Cannot Erase us
Trail Runner

You Cannot Erase us

Over the years and through thousands of miles of running, I have thought about the words that marked the beginning of colonialism on the land and the end of Indigenous sovereignty.

time-read
2 mins  |
Fall 2021
Inside The Adaptable Mind
Trail Runner

Inside The Adaptable Mind

How Courtney Dauwalter uses adaptability to stay cool, calm and collected when the going gets tough.

time-read
4 mins  |
Fall 2021
Take it Easy
Trail Runner

Take it Easy

How to stay at aerobic pace when you live in the hills

time-read
4 mins  |
Fall 2021
Here Comes the Sun
Trail Runner

Here Comes the Sun

Where pessimism meets its match

time-read
3 mins  |
Fall 2021
Connecting the Dots
Trail Runner

Connecting the Dots

How Laura Cortez uses her passion for trails to build community.

time-read
4 mins  |
Fall 2021
Carbohydrate Confusion
Trail Runner

Carbohydrate Confusion

When it comes to food and nutrition, we tend to overcomplicate things. Eat this, not that. Run fasted, restrict sugar. Unfortunately, much of the controversy stems from observations and sensationalized media headlines vs. actual data, leaving the consumer more confused from their Google search than they were before.

time-read
2 mins  |
Fall 2021
This Wild Life
Trail Runner

This Wild Life

ONE MAN’S 92-MILE RUN OF GRIEF AND SELF-DISCOVERY.

time-read
5 mins  |
Fall 2021
Our Town
Trail Runner

Our Town

Trail running is all about the community it fosters and the beauty and diversity within the community. Here’s a look at seven places, and the faces that call them home.

time-read
10+ mins  |
Fall 2021
Fueling for Females
Trail Runner

Fueling for Females

Here’s how female runners can use recent research findings for performance breakthroughs

time-read
4 mins  |
Summer 2021
Lose Weight with a Shake
Trail Runner

Lose Weight with a Shake

Being a health and nutrition correspondent means that companies frequently send me their products, and ask for my stamp of approval.

time-read
3 mins  |
Summer 2021