Steady makes you ready.

Especially for people who run every other day. As a 51 year old going close to LT1 twice a week brings big rewards with low risk.

I LOVE steady runs, the slow recovery stuff just drives me crazy by the end of my runs. But a steady run, I feel engaged the whole time, try to lock into a pace that puts me in the HR area I want to be in, and just cruise with that solid level of effort for as long as I feel comfortable.

This kind of steady run reminds me a bit of what's called a "foundational run" in Matt Fitzgerald's 80/20 book. It's above a recovery run and below a tempo or threshold hold run and always falls around the middle of the week in a hard day, recovery day, foundational day sequence. I love doing these runs because they get your heart rate and sweat going without exhausting you too much before your hard day the following day. I try to work one of those runs in a week and maybe more in the base phase.

I appreciate all the effort and you’re putting into your videos. I’ve been doing more steady runs after one of your videos after a year of little progress from the “easy most of the time” mentality. 1, I’m making huge progress compared to previous 2, runs are less frustrating trying to keep my heart rate down (live in a hilly area and I’m heavy) 3, I’m much better at pacing, now I have more ‘gears’ to use (obviously still go off too hard though) …so yeah. Thank you very much

Your comments resonate with me. As I’m getting back into running after 20 years I’ve been listening to all these “run slower to run faster” videos and as a former competitive runner it seemed contrary to how I trained when I was younger but from where I’m starting I understand I need to build a base of slow runs to build a base. However, as I progress if I want to run faster I will absolutely gradually add steady runs to my routine.

Absolutely brilliant thank you so much Steven. Everything you talk about is precise and valuable to me. You have brought my running on leaps and bounds to the point where i have broken my parkrun pb 3 times now at 50 years old. So thanks to you Steven, keep up the brilliant teaching, you are the best at it on youtube by a country mile😊

Love your stuff, keep it up!

Amazing video, love the footage. The information and explantions are excellent. This has answered the question run slow to run fast i never understood that. Keep up the good work thank you

I have incorporated steady runs into my current block on those second easy days. 💯 thanks for the clarity

Such great advice thank you thank you! Been running long distance steadily since 1983 and training for my 10th marathon this Fall. I actually still find it challenging but the challenge is up to me and therefore I look forward to all my runs!

That's a great presentation Stephen. I think you have become much clearer on the explanations, the footage is superb and 15 mins duration is spot on for high quality content - in my view anyway! And, steady is great. You get home knowing you could have pushed more, and also feel that the running form has been nice and smooth.

Not really related to the content but I'm jealous of this route you've got. Gorgeous straight dirt-packed path with plenty of trees, love it.

Thanks for this awesome video and advice!

Thank you very much for your effort, Steph!

My 2 peak weeks of my marathon block, my coach had me doing 3 easy days, 2 aerobic runs (steady) with strides, 1 session day and long run day with race pace section near the end. I can't handle 2 sessions a week running 7 days at 50yrs old. But this balance of hitting the whole spectrum of power/HR zones has really been giving me huge fitness increases, hitting mileage numbers I never thought possible, and I'm staying healthy. I never really thought about the balance he was getting me to do, but your explanation made it click!

The way I’ve always felt you put it into words. Thank you man! 🙏🏾🙏🏾

This was very helpful. I’m glad to have recently found your channel

Brilliant. Totally agree with everything and you nailed it when you talked about advice on running slow paisses you off. That's been my trouble these last 2 years. Too many easy runs. At 68 back in the game and working on my speed again. ❤❤❤

Amazing video. Very beneficial. Thank you

Amazing video. Very clear . Thanks

Exactly. I’ve also been realising that that trail shuffling at 70% max hr, has a way different body posture than doing a race at say 90%max. HR based training has its place, but I like to think there are runs like posture training; discomfort training; getting to know your kit etc.

Great video bro! I’ve just completed my 1st Hyrox event. I entered Men’s Pro and recorded a time of 1:25 which is not to shabby for a 41 year old 1st timer. The issue was that under fatigue my running pace “defaulted” to the speed that my legs are most used to… Easy Zone 2 pace. I’ll spend significantly more time at faster paces as I move towards my 2nd attempt. Fingers crossed that saves some valuable time come race day. Please keep the vids coming… Your content is invaluable!👊🏿

Quality production ❤. Great content ❤.

I love this explanation. It makes it so clear. Steady runs work. The grey zone training is something a hear about and it would be good to understand why steady runs aren’t in this zone. Love the camera work here, shows the cadence and quality of your running style.

Thank you for this. I have come quite far with just slow running 80% of the time, a tempo or intervals now and again chucked in. I needed to hear this and believe it's ok to run steady. Was 100% missing out on the whole fitness curve.

Another great video, I have been running easy runs (hr120) 6 days out of 7 and my 3 marathon times in 18 months have all been 3:05, 49 marathons never broke 3 hours, at 59 I do this to avoid injury, my long run include hill intervals, I will include some steady runs to see if I can improve I find recovery is key at my age.

Great stuff!👍

Such a great video, thanks

Love this vid. Never understood the importance of steady run

Thank you so much for all your tips Stephen, they are so useful and motivating. Cheers :))

Love all your videos, thanks for sharing, bro❤❤❤

This is excellent, and makes perfect sense. My last marathon, I went for the mostly easy (80/20) approach that so many seem to be following, and I was never convinced that it was the way forward. I think the whole premise for that is for volume of miles, and mostly geared towards aerobic fitness, than getting some speed in the legs. I feel if anything my fitness deteriorated, as I wasn’t testing the whole range as you said ( mostly under 140bpm, with 2 harder sessions). The sessions are beneficial of course, but they are only a small fraction of weekly volume. That steady run pushes the heart to work that little bit harder. Thanks for posting!

your videos are just next level, it aligns with so many things I‘ve been thinking about internally. What‘s your mindset on hard sprint session in the morning and a steady in the afternoon as an overload kinda day. I would do it rarely, just seem to have more fuel in the tank today or possibly my body adapted nicely to the sprints over the past weeks

Good video. Thank you 🙏🏼

I’m new to your channel. Thank you for the content!

I love your video. Because I’m 75 I always run steadily, slowly but I’m training for a 10 k

I’m so compelled to agree here. I’ve been running progressively 30+ miles weekly at the moment and there are day that I simply want to go faster. This morning I went for a 9 mile long run and the planned session was easy pace (for me it’s 10-11’/mi but no, not today, I wanted to have a steady run and finished my 9 miles at 8’56” /mi average. I felt great afterwards. Legs a bit tired but fresh nonetheless. Steady is the way to go. Tomorrow I’ll shoot for a slower easy run to have an active recovery session, but believe that I’ll be picking up the pace ever so slightly. Listen to your body. A gps watch or health tracker won’t do it for you, you have to learn your body’s language. Great video!

I only wish I had your fitness! Fair play to you. I had those times 30 years ago as a youngster at sea level for steady running. I'm trying to make a comeback as a Super Master but still looking for those superpowers back 😉 I have to say much has changed in how it's all done and you're doing a great job teaching us old dogs new tricks! Keep it going.

Great video 🙏

Mannn exactly to the point, i hate slow runs because its impossible to practice good biomechanics!!

nice jk wrangler :) love to see another jeep runner here. i'm sure there are plenty of fun trails to hit out there in AZ!

Hey Stephen, great video! That aerial footage is amazing! May I know how you did that? is that from a drone that automatically tracks you?

Awesome Content !!!!’

I'm age 67 run 45 miles per week ave. I think I'm stuck in stats from my garmin and taking too much notice of people telling us run slow to get faster. In 2019 aged 64 i was running 41 mins 10k, 1:28 HM didn't know anything about, HR mhr%, etc, etc just ran. Now my watch says easy rec, not slept enough, training readiness low. Four years later im lucky if i run 46 min 10k, 1:45 HM. Say's it all i think. Thank you for saying run slow to get faster pisses you off. BTW in 1991 at 36 i ran London in 02:39:53 with a casio watch (no gps or stats), no supershoes only racing flats, no gels just water every mile from mile three. We are brainwashed by media.

That's what helps me to crack the marathon even if the interval/tempo workouts are not perfect during the preparation cycle. I do steady runs whenever I feel like it. I just had a warm and hilly marathon on 14th of May (2h58min).

Very helpful around 09:00 in showing effort level while running and talking.

Great video Stephen :) . I agree an Athlete should atleast 1 Steady Run a wk or 2 per 10days etc. Even Arthur Lydiards trained Runner Barry McGee, used to implement 1 to 2 Strong Aerobic/Steady runs 40min up to 60min in the 10wk Aerobic Base Phase before their 12-14wk Specific Pyramid. I think these runs were reffered to as Comfortably Fast but not Easy, and were essentially close to Marathon Pace or slightly slower depending on the Feel of the day. Barry said these were the bread & butter of a Marathon buildup. Alot of folks think Lydiard was only about slow running or jogging but as you say the whole spectrum can benefit from being trained inc the Zone 3 "Steady" which some advocate to avoid because its often labelled "grey". Cheers & excellent content. Appreciate your attitude & committment from qld aus.

Awesome advice. Gave you a follow on strava.

I find steady a great level. Great confidence builder. I like a steady segment on the end of a long run. Say 60-80 minutes easy followed by 40 steady. Or bumping an interval session and replacing with 40 steady on a double day... although i am definitely guilty of finding excuses to avoid the 2x15-20 min threshold sessions.

Thank you.

I fell into the MAF craze during a winter down spell when I was stuck on the treadmill. 3 months of MAF definitely improved my base fitness and practically eliminated my exercise induced asthma- i haven't needed my inhaler since- but my form went to crap and I added THREE MINUTES PER MILE to my pace! These videos are so helpful in learning to reintegrate speed work in a healthy way. I've got a new appreciation for a relaxing easy run, but that's not how I want to race!

Yes, "run slow to get fast" is just BS. To get faster, we need to train at a variety of paces which includes fast, slow and something in between. Thanks for the great presentation.

I'm a big believer in steady running, but I also know that I have a limit to what my body can do before breaking down, but I improve better in a training block if I do less slow running! go figure!

Video is world class ❤

I enjoy running videos made while running.

Thank you 👌 Have a seat!

Love this

Thanks 👍

Love your videos, my son is 18yrs old and he runs everyday and is coached but he doesn't stretch every day or do activation exercises, how often would you recommend doing these things? Keep up the great work 😊

Thanks Mr. Ewan McGregor!

This sounds a lot like how Klaas Lok structures the Easy interval Method which I've been reading recently

Nice warm-up routine! I am training at an altitude of around 1,760m, somewhere south of the US border wearing a sun hoodie…and wonder how you manage to not get a bad sunburn running shirtless?

Great video. I suppose the day after steady is again easy?

Great video as usual, I was curious about steady run. Is it an intensity like what is mentioned by Dr. Sam Millan. (I hope you have heard about him). Are you familiar with his training zones etc. Moreover, it is nice to see a great example of the talking intensity test, by looking at you talking and running with this "comfortable hard" intensity. could you share what is the hr% of your maxhr at which you where in that steady running while talking.

Great run and awesome video Stephen, but I had a few questions: is the steady run basically in zone 2? Meaning you’re not reaching heart rates close to threshold heart rate? Or can your heart rate end up in the threshold range (160s for you I believe) towards the later stages of your steady run?

Need to add more steady runs 👍. And yep, Maffetonian method sucks if you want to get fast.

It's funny when I run a steady run...then get to the cool down, it's amazing how fast my "easy" becomes!

you should post all your UA UnderArmor product links. Very stylish.

for me /i am just beginner/ i can improve my pace over time only with using maff method , i am using this method from january 2023 and now i can run some small race s up to 12 km with 5 min/km , nothing fancy. On my traning days i am running only 7 min/km @ 12 km distance ,which is quite slow pace .

I think I've inadvertently made most of my "easy slow" runs into steady runs. I'm not the fastest runner in the world, but I don't think I'm the slowest, either. I'm 39, and I've only been running for just over a year. I didn't take care of my body at all for most of my life. I smoked for many years, ate and drank whatever I liked, just didn't try to take care of myself. I started running last March, I couldn't finish a kilometer, yet alone a mile. I did my first half marathon in November and finished at 1:53:49, just did my first 10k a week ago and finished at 46:10. Throughout my training, I've had so much difficulty running slow, even with mental effort. My watch and the training plan I use keep trying to get me to do my slow runs at around a 10:30 mile pace. I just can't. I just naturally find myself going at like 8:30-9:00, which is probably just a bit slower than I'll run my first marathon at in November. Or maybe I'm just doing it wrong. It's probably that.

What type of spandex shorts are you wearing? Looks comfortable!

Basically you’re describing pyramidal beats polarised, this has been pretty much proven in cycling already. Easy still matters, hard still matters, but there’s no junk zone in the middle. Even Sieler’s accepted this now.

I will try to do it short but I can't promise that!:) Hey Stephen, my questions for you: What's your RPE for your steady runs, in 6to20 scale? and What do you consider a steady run in the Ingebrigtsen brothers schedule? First of all I would like to wish you good luck and all the best for PARIS24!!!! About the video and what triggered me to write down my first ever comment on youtube is you being pissed off about the 'run slower-get faster' approach. Probably this was not your best day mentally:), because in most of your other videos you kind of teach exactly that - you tell people to be cautious, to add just a little, to explore first the low ranges of Threshold, for example and so on. In my opinion, sorry to disappoint:), but you preach the 'run slow-get fast' mentality! For me, this approach means exactly this - being cautious, patient, not greedy for paces, results etc. - these are all important messages coming from you too!;) As you like to say - we are not 15-20+ years seasoned runners! ;) Take myself for example. Back story: I always loved running, I need to be moving and to run in order for me to feel good mentally. Been always on and off, 4-5-6 months running(70-75k tops), then a break or an injury for 3-4 weeks, or even 2-3 months. So, consistency was not a friend!:) This year I decided I've had enough with the ups and downs and wanted to be consistent, very slowly and surely to increase my mileage, to do the necessary everything around the running which will allow me to reach high double digits in mileage in the next 2-3-4 years and basically reach the top limits of my running potential in the future. After a 2month break I started the first 6 weeks (till the end of February) with running only 3 days a week! Then another 4-6weeks with 4 days/weekly which I didn't realise how they became 5-6days. These were all made at a max intensity only for a couple of minutes reaching 77-80% of my HR max. Then I said, ok, 12 weeks till the first race you want to do. I included only 1 LaThreshold session every other week!!(800m reps)and focused on the long run (I know, pretty much, my HR max and my HR ranges for a LaT session cause I've had a lab test couple of years back). And I slowly progressed from a 10-12k long runs to a 16-18-20-23-25-28k long runs which felt great and not tremendously hard to do ONLY because I did slow down even more and did them at top range ZONE1!!!. Which means @ around 70-72% of HRmax average for the whole run and not going above than 73-74%HR max!! The benefits of a 2-2,5 to 3 hour long rung for me + the easier recovery because ot the lower stress are enormous! And because I did slow down, I did follow some of your advice, Stephen, especially regarding everything around the running as you say, now I am able to do my runs 60-90sec per km faster than in the beginning, keeping the same HR!!! I am still only avg-ing 60-65k (for the last 4weeks). But I will continue to do most of my runs between 70-77% HRmax, which is ZONE1&2, long runs in ZONE1 for sure and without accelerating, I'll do my recovery runs below 70%, I will do my only 1 LaThreshold session every other week, I WILL keep progressing and CANNOT wait :) for my races and the moments when my leg muscle strength catches up with the aerobic engine and I will be able to do 100-120-160 and more kms per week!! And for sure I WILL be watching your videos! :D Lots of support, best wisches and smiles from beautiful BULgaria! ;)

Yeah i unfortunately got injured doing too much intensity too quickly. I didn't even feel like i was pushing that hard. Running is such a learning process. It's very frustrating.

I am an injury plagued, older individual. All of my runs are steady to faster (no zone 2 here). I can only average about 2 good running days per week without breaking down and cross train for an equivalent zone 2-3 base with additional 3-4 workouts per week (bike, swim, Versaclimb) plus 2 days of strength conditioning worked in spaced away from my running days. This allows me to continue to make gains after recently ramping up the intensity recently to get my 5K-10K PRs down before the inevitability of age catches up to me. Also, slow running feels like walking and I don't prefer it.

Thanks man. Great videos. Do you think run slow to get fast can apply to new runners? Steady stuff sounds great, but I still have that heart rate creep at slooooow paces. In other words, is this something to add at the beginning of training for new people or maybe once we have some level of aerobic base?

and... what a about the day after? should be easy? or can it be a track session (speed like 800´s reps) ?

I run always steady... Never got injured. I have to put in threshold sessions as well as easy jogg to build speed and recovery . My Problem is that I also love cycling.. Do you think there could be a benefit of cross Training ? Or should a recovery day be no cycling and vice versa ?

steady run is like in a garmin load focus zone - aerobic high

0:12: Is this a video from the future? I'm watching this on 03/05/2023, the video was released 2 days ago (according to the info provided by KZfaq) and it's showing me footage from 29/05/2023. That's spooky... 0:31: Even spookier, we've now plunged into antiquity. I swear they had no video cameras back on 29 April 203!

7 days out from my first marathon

Ive been doing high Zone 2 runs (29 yo max HR about 188) at a pace of about 8:30/mi on a moderately hilly course as my “easy runs”. I think you would characterize that as a steady run? My 5k PR is 19:15 and 10k is 41 for reference

Can anyone help a clueless runner? How much below race pace would steady be? What is the difference between tempo and threshold? What percentage MHR would steady be compared to tempo? Ty

What are you using to record yourself from a distance? I assume it is a drone. :o

Excuse me sir, such beautiful place to run. Where is it?

Drone shots give me GTA vibes

I love sprinting fast so I stick to jogging slow and sprinting.

So if we do majority of our runs as easy, say Z2 runs, and 1 speed workout per week is near the top of Zones, would a steady run be the higher end of Z3??

Would you recommend a steady day before a workout day?

When I go a easy run that is my current 5k pb is 18:57 so my easy pace is around 5:20 to 5:40 so when I do the easy runs in these paces then my Garmin says the heart rate above aerobic zone and they go the threshold zone so is it good or Garmin says wrong?? I really confused about it

How about steady on a treadmill at 1% or 2% incline? Would that work?

Is steady run same as tempo run?

The run slow to run fast cult is, I believe, originally meant for newbies who think they should set a PB every time they run and then it got propagated to the rest of the running community, to the folk who have been running for years. Most, if not all, intermediate(?) runners know we shouldn't run fast every time we run. We know the value and meaning of easy, steady, threshold, tempo, VO2max, etc. Always looking forward for your next video.

Just never know what to think. Plenty of other very qualified runners and coaches generally call these steady miles “junk” miles and that polarizing the training is better. Plenty of elites do little to no “steady” runs and solely do easy days and workouts (tempo, intervals, thresholds). Confusing.

Would you say strady is like high zone 3/low zone 4 roughly?

Great video bro thanks.... #torvstv

I get injured everytime I run slow😂 I've been doing steady run all my life

Sometimes I find it’s easier than running slow…

I mean, its similar to a Progression/Regression run