Heading out the door for your easy run, but feeling sluggish and tired after your hard workout from the day before? Before you hit the start button on your watch, go ahead and throw on your headphones to turn your recovery session into tune-filled miles.
That’s a key strategy professional runner Sara Hall swears by for checking off her own easy runs during the thick of her marathon training. On a recovery day following a tough workout, she’ll skip the morning caffeine, put on some low-key songs, and even sing out loud to make the easy miles much more enjoyable.
We recently tapped Hall, who won the master’s division at the Boston Marathon last month, to build our May running playlist, and she explained why she consistently uses music to power her training—especially her easiest days. Singing in particular, she said, helps her ensure she’s holding a steady, manageable pace during her laid-back miles.
“I do like to sing out loud during my easy runs,” Hall previously told Runner’s World. “I feel like that’s a really good benchmark. If I’m running at the right effort, I can sing even at altitude, but my voice is not anything that would be considered musical.”
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Now, we’re not saying that you have to turn your run into a sing-along like Hall, but you can use music to your advantage on your recovery runs. Hall’s playlist—which is similar to the one she uses during her marathon builds—includes 25 songs spanning a variety of genres, from chill Ed Sheeran tracks to Eminem raps. It’s the perfect mix for easy days, quality workouts, long runs, and every other session in between.
And while you don’t have to carry a tune to have a successful easy run, it’s important to keep your effort at a conversational pace. As previously reported by Runner’s World, you should be able to speak a few sentences while on an easy run. If you can only muster out a couple words here and there, it’s time to slow down. For more tips on conquering your recovery runs, without pushing the pace too hard, explore our easy run checklist.
Go ahead and fire up Hall’s playlist, and tackle the upcoming easy run on your training plan just like the marathon veteran (and for even more playlist options, peruse through our full collection). To unlock even more tips and guides you can use to navigate your running journey, become a member of our Runner’s World+ community—you may even discover what’s next for you in running, whether it’s mastering the 5K, running longer than ever before, or anything else in between.
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Ashley is Editor of Content Hype at Hearst’s Enthusiast & Wellness Group. She is a former collegiate runner at UNC Asheville where she studied mass communication. Ashley loves all things running; she has raced two marathons, plus has covered some of the sport’s top events in her career, including the Paris Olympics, U.S. Olympic Trials and multiple World Marathon Majors.