Easy pace is a relaxed, conversational running speed used for the majority of training miles, well below race pace. It should feel comfortable enough to talk in full sentences without gasping for breath. Most of a runner's weekly mileage, often 70 to 80 percent, is meant to be run at this pace.
It's a comfortable, low-effort pace where you could hold a full conversation without struggling for breath. It's typically 60 to 120 seconds per kilometre slower than your race pace.
If you can't speak in full sentences, or your heart rate is climbing close to race effort, you're going too fast. A simple check is whether you could keep the same effort for another hour.
It builds aerobic fitness and endurance with much lower injury and fatigue risk than running hard every day. It also lets you recover enough to perform well on the days that do call for speed.
It's fine to glance at it, but effort and breathing should guide the pace, not the number on your wrist. Terrain, heat, and fatigue all shift what an easy pace feels like day to day.
Not really, running slower than necessary on an easy day rarely causes harm. Running too fast on easy days, on the other hand, is one of the most common training mistakes runners make.