This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/running by /u/s_dalbiac on 2025-08-21 15:26:26+00:00.

I’ve got myself back into running in the past couple of months. Last week, I set a new PB of 22:31 for the 5km. I’m looking to try to bring my time down towards the 20 minute mark over the next few months with a mixture of interval workouts and easy long runs.

I’m doing my easy runs on an 11km route, with the aim of doing 5:30/km pace. I wear a watch to try to maintain that pace, but any time I stop looking at it and try to run for a couple of minutes, I start running 5:00-5:10/km pace and then have to consciously slow myself down again. I barely notice that I’m doing it, it just happens.

I’m finding it frustrating because I’m really not chasing speed or times on these runs. They’re purely about getting kilometres into my legs and I do them without the added risk of fatigue, but it’s almost as though my body/brain thinks I should be going faster unless I’m spending the entire run staring at my watch.

Does anyone have any methods they use to keep the pace down on easy runs and control their speed? I just want to enjoy them more without having to consciously apply the brakes every couple of minutes.