Remember good old tip number 77, about translating faster runners’ workout paces to race pace to put them in perspective? It’s also helpful to understand elites’ recovery paces relative to race paces. A national-class woman who runs easy mileage at 7:30 per mile is doing those recovery runs more than 2 minutes per mile slower than her 10K race pace. Do you?
Probably not. One of the greatest differences I’ve observed in how elites and other runners train pertains to recovery days. Elites place as much importance on the right effort level the day after a hard workout as they do on the right effort level the day of a hard workout. They know that it’s on those recovery days that their bodies produce the adaptations to the stimulus of hard running that results in greater fitness. Allowing that adaptation to occur via a day of really easy running means they get the most out of their hard work. And why wouldn’t you want to get the maximum benefits from your hard work?