Doper runners: distance or time?

[etv78]

When you go for a run, is your intention to run a certain distance (say 10 miles) or for a certain block of time (say 1 hour)?

[Telemark]

It depends. If it's a short run (under 5 or so) it doesn't matter so much and I'll generally just go on how I feel. That leads to a time based run but I will often try to end at a nice round number. For long runs, especially if I'm training for a particular race, I have a distance goal in mind.

[runner pat]

I always went by distance. I tended to run too slow when going by time.

[Soylent Juicy]

It depends on what kind of mood I'm in, the weather, how much time I have, if my dog is with me or not...lots of things. Right now my running is based on how long I can stand the screaming pain in my left knee. :mad:

[jjimm]

Both. But time is more important.

This was the big thing I got from the C25K program. Previously I'd tried "running as far as I can" and ended up dying after five minutes or so then going home.

Even though its goal is to run 5 km, C25K educated me that it should be about sustained effort over time, then pitching one's estimated stamina to its maximum within that period of time, by combining walking and running.

Once I'd achieved 5K, it became all about the time. 30 mins sustained running was all I cared about, until I began increasing my run by 5 minutes each day until I was able to run an hour at a time.

Then I stopped and got fat again.

(Thankfully I've started again and am back up to 20 minutes' running within a 30 minute time period and expect to be able to get to 30 minutes sustained within the next week, then beyond.)

[LawMonkey]

Depends. Monday-Friday, time's limited, so I generally do thirty minutes, following the traffic lights. On Saturdays I've started running a six mile loop that crosses the Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges, because nothing is more fun than dodging tourists. That's distance-based. Sunday varies--lately I've not been running at all, in part to recover from Saturday. Sometimes I run with the Hash House Harriers on Sundays, which is essentially distance-based--just someone else is picking the distance.

Ramblings aside, I've historically run by time because I didn't have any particularly good way of measuring distance. Now that I've got a GPS, I can do distances, but it's still usually easier to do time.

[pancakes3]

time. 30-40 minutes to get the heart rate up. for me it's about keeping healthy, not training for half marathons (though i am committed to one in september, which i'm dumbstruck terrified of)

[kenobi 65]

time. 30-40 minutes to get the heart rate up. for me it's about keeping healthy, not training for half marathons (though i am committed to one in september, which i'm dumbstruck terrified of)

I started training for my own first half-marathon a few weeks ago (the race is the day before Easter). The training schedule looks daunting, but I keep reminding myself to do it one step at a time, as it were. ;)

As for my approach, it's almost always distance now. Like jjimm, I started out with C25K two years ago, and, at that point, it was more about the time spent. Now that I can (fairly) easily run 4 to 5 miles, I usually set out to run for a particular distance. That said, most of my weekday runs are also constrained by time -- I only have so long to run before I need to get to work (I run first thing in the morning). So, even though I'm choosing to run a particular distance, that distance is being selected based on how much time I have.

In the training regimen I'm following for the half-marathon, the runs are all structured around distance covered.

[Clawdio]

It depends. I do a lot of trail running, so while i have a rough idea of the distance i've covered, its usually based more on time.

Lately, I try to base my runs on effort. If you're being honest with yourself, you know when you're working hard... and when you're mailing it in. FWIW, i had a huge marathon PR this fall, with training long runs that were primarily based on time & effort, and i'm not exactly sure what the distance covered was (but like i said i have a rough idea... in the range of 20-22 miles for example)

[YoDoc]

Both. (Military).

[Snickers]

Both. I'm training right now for a 7K (but I don't know if I'll make the distance before the race), but I've been away from running for a while. So, I'm now trying to build up both my running time and my distance. I generally run for 30+ minutes, trying to run as much of that time as I can (even if I need to slow down). I'm also trying to run as much of a 5K as I can. Once I've got that down, I'll use the rest of whatever weeks I have left to build up both time and distance.

[mhendo]

Distance, but that's because i generally also have a good sense of how long the distance will take me to cover. I'm not really training for anything, and i don't run races, so for me the run is just about keeping fit and keeping the fat off.

I have a run that goes through the neighborhoods around my house and is pretty much exactly 5 miles, or 8 km. On a good day, i'll finish it in about 37 minutes; on a bad day, about 38. Occasionally, maybe every couple of weeks or so, i'll push myself a bit more than normal and get it down to the 36 to 36 and a half minute mark.

The last couple of weeks i've actually been doing 3.5 miles runs, because i just came back after a 6-week hiatus (sickness, then vacation) and i had to ease back into it. I've started feeling good on the run again, though, and this week i'll crank it back up to 5 miles.

Another reason for me to do distance is that i like (and need) to have a goal, and distance works better. Like runner pat, if i just set a time i tend to slow down; if i set a distance, i have a tendency to push myself to complete it in a decent time.

[leahcim]

Distance. I have a route and I cover it. If I didn't go the distance, I'd end in the middle of the route. :)

[Hoopy Frood]

Distance, but that's because i generally also have a good sense of how long the distance will take me to cover. I'm not really training for anything, and i don't run races, so for me the run is just about keeping fit and keeping the fat off.

Distance. I have a route and I cover it. If I didn't go the distance, I'd end in the middle of the route. :)

Ditto on both points.

[Sleel]

Running isn't my main exercise, but I do run on a fairly regular basis. If I'm running for a distance, I try to get a good time for that distance. If I'm running for a set time period, I'm almost always also looking at a distance or rounds completed goal within that time.

For example, one workout variation I've done a few times is: run 400 m, [insert exercise], repeat for 20 min. The exercises vary. Could be calisthenics like squats, push ups, sit ups, pull ups, box jumps; or could be weighted exercises like kettlebell swings, overhead squats (bar held over your head), push-presses.

Even if I were just running for 20 minutes, I'd probably be keeping track of splits or something. Running mindlessly would bore the shit out of me.

[snowthx]

Weekdays time is short so I go by time - 30 to 40 min before work or at lunch, depending on weather, time of year, etc. Weekends are for a long run - select a distance/route and go - ends up being between one and two hours depending on if I am training for an event or not.

Answer is both, and that is good as you always want variety whether you are training or just keeping fit.

[pravnik]

Primarily distance. I don't usually pay much attention to overall time, but I pay attention to my pace.

[amberlewis]

When you go for a run, is your intention to run a certain distance (say 10 miles) or for a certain block of time (say 1 hour)?

Its depends when i have much free time then go for a run with a certain distance like 5 miles or more.Otherwise i pay importance to time.

[Lord Mondegreen]

For me it was always distance. At any given time I was training for a particular event, so the distance was the important thing. Then again, I wasn't an elite runner (by a looooooooong margin), so maybe that would change things.

[Poysyn]

Training for a course and a race, so both. I want a 25 (or sub 25) minute 5 k and I have a half marathon in May, so both are looming.

[brad_d]

Distance, for the same reason some others have put forth: Ultimately I need to end up back at home, and stopping at some arbitrary location presents logistical inconveniences.

I generally set off on a known-distance loop. I also have a pretty good idea of the pace I'll run, so time and distance are strongly correlated - as kenobi 65 said, the distance I choose is based on several factors including available time.

I could pretty easily do an out-and-back with the turnaround at some particular time (half of my goal time if I want to assume constant speed), but I don't often do that out of what could be called laziness: I like to know how fast I was going, which requires knowledge of the distance. I measure my runs' distances by the (relatively) old-school technique of Google Maps on a PC, which isn't terribly hard but does require a few minutes of effort. I find it easier just to do one of a my already-"measured" loops than messing around online to get the distance of my just-completed run every time.

[mkecane]

brad_d pretty much described what I do. My first goal is to cover a certain route where I already know the distance, and then to do it at a decent pace.