I have recently started jogging. I’ve noticed that if I run at a slower pace, the jog over the same distance is easier to complete. I seem to always hear people complain about running with people that go too slow but it seems to me that running at a slower pace is much better for your body. First, you keep your heart rate elevated for a longer amount of time and second, it is much less stressful on the body(you feel much better doing it).
So, is it better to run at a slower pace? Is the stress on the body the only difference? It seems that in running the same distance, your going to burn the same amount of energy at either pace. Or is that untrue?
First, let me say that there’s nothing wrong with jogging slowly. But, having said that, it will not get you as “fit” as running faster for the same time interval.
You will keep your HR elevated jogging slowly, but your HR will not get as high as it would if you ran faster. If you cover the same distance (say, for example, 3 miles) you have done the same amount of work. So, at first glance, you would lose as many calories if it took you 25 minutes or 45 minutes. That is not really true. Because jogging slowly is inefficient, you actually perform more work jogging 3 miles than running 3 miles. So, if it’s weight you want to lose, jogging slowly is actually better. However, as I said, it is not as beneficial cardiovascularly since you don’t get your HR up as high.
Another difference is the fat-burning. Running aerobically will burn glucose as the substrate primarily. If you jog more slowly, your body can use more fat as the substrate. So, that’s another plus for jogging slowly.
Therefore, it depends upon your goals. If you just want to lose weight, jog slowly. If you want to improve your cardiovascular condition, run faster. Most people I know that run also race. So, they do speed work, tempo runs, etc. to be more competitive. If you’re not going to race, that’s not important to you.
Interval training (which is a type of speed work) gets you cardiovascularly fitter faster than any other exercise.
You are right. It is more important how far you go then how fast you go.
The link is a running calorie counter so you can compare.
Well running faster usually means running harder, and therefore you (usually) will burn more calories by going faster. However, everyone’s body is different. I can understand what your friends are saying; for some people running slow is no less difficult than running fast. If you’ve just started running, it is definitely a good idea to start off slow. As you get into better shape, try going a little harder and/or a little further. (It’s not so much the distance, but the time spent exercising.) A big misconception people have about getting in shape is that they think by doing the same thing (distance, energy output)everyday they’ll get into shape.
Boy, I wish I had read your reply before I posted barbitu8. Much more detailed. I just assumed he was running to lose weight. Which was probably a bad assumption on my part.
Welcome to the world of jogging. I’ve been doing it for 23 years! While long slow distance (LSD) does keep your heart rate elevated, it teaches you how to run slow. The calorie counting web sites usually have an exercise calculator that takes factors such as weight, time run, and pace into account when estimating calories burned for a give exercise. The one I think is ok is an Irish site
http://www.react.ie/default.htm?/Health/Healthcheck/Calculator.htm
also, look at http://www.sarkproducts.com/sally1.htm for a discussion of heart rate zone.
An anology I like to use is that running is like a stirling engine, the slower you go the less energy it takes to get from point A to B. The faster you go, the more energy it takes.
Let me give one bit of advice. The usual steps in dealing with running injuries are as follow:
- Skip a day, hoping it will go away
- Run on it, hoping it will just get better
- Self diagnose/treat it
- Go see your doctor
Try instead skipping two days, and if it’s not better, repeat then check in with a “runner-sympathetic” doctor.
Oh, while we’re handing out advice,
If you are trying to lose bales of weight, I highly recommend not going too fast, as your chances of injuries will be greater. And with diet, protein and carbohydrates are real important. Rule of thumb: 100 Calories per mile jogged. I run first thing most every morning, and my personal experence is if I do not drink an electrolyte replacement drink, such as Gatorade, or eat some carb-gel(GU), I suck majorly for the first four or five miles. After that, I get a little second wind, but not much. I also weight myself before and after each run, to replace water, but I’m a bit anal anyway.
Stretch before, and more importantly, stretch afterwards as well. I played around with the AI stretches I saw on the runner’s world site, but they didn’t suit me (Never have lengths of rope handy). My sister, a physical therapist, came up with some real kick-ass stretches for me however.
Shoes are real important too. Find one of the “shoe” issues of runners world(or go online) and try to go to one of the listed shoe stores (for me it’s Luke’s Locker or Run On). Get a runner to figure out what shoe works best for you. I use Brooks Hyperion II’s, cause I’m neutrally pronated. Replace them every 300 miles or so. Don’t go cheap on shoes.
As an older runner and coach, I can tell you that your speed is not important. What IS important is that you run comfortably enough that you can get out there several times a week. When you get in better shape, you will start to WANT to run faster.
There is no hurry. There is no prize for the fastest runner. Let your body tell you what feels good, and you will improve.
That’s very good dec. You must run slow enough that you won’t get defeated. So many beginning runners go out, run hard, stop, and never get back to running, all because they’re running too hard for their condition.
Several posts, contra to mine, stated that the faster you run, or the harder you run, the more energy you expend. The plain fact is that if you run one mile you do the same work, no matter how fast you run it. (As I said before,running more slowly actually expends more calories because it is inefficient.) I think you have to remember this. If you run 3 miles in 25 minutes or 40 minutes, you basically do the same work (except that the slower runner, as I said, does a little more * not less *). However, in the same time frame as the slower runner covers 3 miles, the faster runner will cover over 4 miles, and hence, in the * same time frame * he will have done more work, but not * for the same distance *. If anybody disagrees with this, I’d like to see a cite.
Humm - as your fitness improves, wouldn’t you naturally start to run faster?
I do dance/aerobics - if I go to a beginner class (which goes slower) I don’t even break a sweat anymore - I have to go to the advanced class where people are flailing around a great rate of speed if I want a good workout. I would assume running is the same…
Al.
(Incidentally, I USED to run. Everyday. I did a coupld of 10K’s. Then one day I woke up and thought “I don’t want to run today.” and I haven’t gone since. That was about 10 years ago…)
Up to a certain point. That point for me was age 40.