Does anyone have any good info as to the incremental fitness benefit a recreational runner derives from running at various speeds?
I run 3-7 miles with a couple of guys 3-5 times a week. I’m 47, and have no interest in ever running a race. My sole desire is to stay in some kind of decent shape. (The only other “exercise” I do is push-ups and sit-ups at least every other day.)
Of the 4 guys I run with most regularly, 2 like to run faster than I feel comfortable - say 8 min/mile pace, and 2 like to run slower - maybe 10 min/mile. For me, 8.5 min/mile is pushing it pretty hard - I’m most comfortable around 9 min (especially when temps get over 80). When I push myself to run 8.5 or faster, it really wears me out and I feel exhausted afterwards. Instead of “building myself up” I feel as tho running that fast “tears me down.”
Do any of you have any information concerning the fitness benefit I might derive from running 5 miles at 8 min/mile, compared to the same distance at 9 or 10 min pace? On one hand, I believe at the faster pace I am pushing my various body systems harder, which seems to me would make them stronger. But at a slower pace I would be maintaining effort for a longer time.
Here’s an extreme example - whether I run 4 miles at 10 min pace, or 5 miles at 8 min pace, I’m exercising for 40 minutes. What different benefits am I deriving from these 2 workouts?
I’m within a couple pounds of the weight I’m comfortable with. And I don’t really need my times for my training runs to decrease.
My own anecdotal evidence is that speed is everything. I’m a pretty serious runner, and before a marathon I like to get down to about 150 pounds (I’m normally around 160). To do it, I don’t run more, I just do intervals (bursts of speed for about a minute) within my runs. Generally, I’ll do a one minute interval of speed and a two minute interval of jogging. Repeat until exhaustion. The pounds come off fast, and the increase in stamina is impressive.
In addition to anecdote, the data seems to back it up.
I have stats on this somewhere, but I think it’s at my bookmarks at home. There are benefits to running faster because it elevates your heart rate more. For example, for some age groups a heart rate of 140 would be in the “fat burning” level and 160 would be in the “cardio training” level.
The faster your heart is going, the more calories you are burning and the more fat you are burning despite what that little light on the machine says! Even if a lower percent of calories is from fat at lower intensity (“fat burning”) training, a higher total number of calories is being burned at high intensity (“cardio”) workout. So the net number of calories is from fat is more the higher intensity you work.
Cite (though I’m sure I can find a more authoritative cite!):
Thanks for the responses. But I think I’m having a bit of trouble figuring out exactly what fitness “benefit” I need/want.
At 47 my approach to fitness is a lot different than it was at 27 or 37. In the past, whether I was running, lifting, or anything else, the goal was to get better, run faster and longer, lift heavier weights for more reps… Now my sole real interest is to maintain something close to my current state of fitness for as long as practical. I’m 6’2"-3", and weigh just over 200#. I just want to be fit enough to do basically whatever I need/want to do around the house or for recreation. And I’d just as soon not get too fat to fit into my current clothes!
I spent many years exercising myself to exhaustion - tearing myself down to build myself up. But as I pile on the years I find I’m having more trouble bouncing back from exhausting workouts. Tearing myself down with a hellish workout just incapacitates me, rather than making myself feel as tho I’m getting stronger as I recover.
And I have nothing to prove to myself or anyone else in terms of races or other competitions. So I don’t see myself doing sprints, fartleks, or hills. Just trying to keep the carcass moving.
Most studies seem to show that exercise that equals about 30 minutes a day is what’s needed to maintain fitness. I’ve seen elsewhere that weight training and stretching should be part of the exercise, but other sites said that wasn’t the case so I’m not sure. Point is, I doubt that you need to push yourself any harder; you’re already doing much more than an awful lot of people.
Well yeah, but an awful lot of people are out of shape slobs who can’t bend over to tie their shoes, get out of breath climbing a flight of stairs, and look like they could drop dead of a stroke or heart attack any minute! So I’m not sure I want to set as my standards what a lot of people do!
At times I have joked that I hate exercising but do it in the hopes that it will increase my lifespan and the quality of the time I have. But I hope that I get enough additional time to outweigh all the time I’m spending exercising! If not, instead of building up a sweat I could be spending that time eating burgers, drinking beer, golfing, and napping!
I used to run quite a lot as well. In general, I got the best results when I ran hard and fast one day, then took it easy and slow the next. That way I stayed challeneged and got faster in the long run, but didn’t run myself to dropping every single time I ran. It’s kind of like lifting weights - it’s good to have a day on then a day off immediately after.
There’s already been some good definative answers given, but try looking at it from the opposite angle. Take that same 40 minutes of exercise you were talking about. Would you feel that you’d burned the same amount of calories if you walked for that 40 minutes instead of ran it? Of course not.
I’m in about the same type of exercise mind-set as you. I’m not looking to run the Boston marathon or anything, I just want to be fit, not look terrible, and be able to play with my kids. So for me, running gives you the best “bang for the buck” so to speak. And if I can run faster then it means I can run further in the same amount of time…therefor burning more calories. Or I can run the same distance faster and get the damn run over with already and go do something I enjoy.
But if you don’t feel like trying to run faster, then don’t? You’re already at a very good fitness level. So do what you’re comfortable with, and ignore the guys that like to sprint the entire run.
Yeah, but one of the main reasons I run is because I enjoy the social aspect. It is kinda awkward that these 2 guys prefer to run faster than me, and these other 2 slower. So I find my pace largely dictated by who is running on a particular day. If left to myself, it could easily be the burger and nap at my desk…
This is one of the reasons I’ve run several marathons. The fitness is definitely a bonus, but more than anything, the time I get to spend with my friends and the time I get to spend alone is important to me.
I used to be in the same boat as you - not quite fast enough to keep up with the guys I ran with who had been in track in high school and college, but wanting to run faster than a couple of my friends who were new to our group. So I ran on my own a lot and enjoyed the quiet time I got, which is even more rare than the time I get to spend with friends. Plus, at the end of the run, we all hung out, stretching and talking and drinking water, so I got all the solitude plus all the interaction I needed.
If this is the reason you’re running, just enjoy your running and the fact that you get to hang out with your friends.
Yes, exactly. Sorry, I was in a rush before (at work, stuff to do). What I meant to say is that if you are seeking just a general fitness level and you just want to slim down a bit you probably don’t need to work at a really high intensity. If you do work out more intensely then of course you will trim even more. Bottom line, the intensity of your workout (the speed you run) will make a difference.
Today was a perfect example. I showed up at the locker room at 1, and there were 2 other runners there. One wanted to do an easy 3, and the other a hard 5. I would have preferred to do a hard 3 or an easy 5…
I generally do a hard 3-4 (under 7 minute miles) every morning before I lift weights. Then I do an easy 7-13 once or twice a week. I throw a few miles of intervals into those slower runs every 2-3 runs.
Switch it up easy and hard, and you should be fine. The biggest motivator for me was when I stopped putting my goal as time, and started having it be distance. If you get on the treadmill and say that you will work out for 40 minutes, you have no incentive to push yourself. If you say that you will run six miles, then you will want to run faster to be finished sooner. Worked like magic.
Have you looked into the Hash House Harriers? If there’s a group in your area, it might give you the social aspects of running you’re looking for, yet still give you a good workout. That way you could use that as your anticipated “social run”, and just concentrate on what you want to do during your daily runs.
FWIW, I’ve never been able to find someone that was right on my same level…no matter what level I was at. Either I’m too slow, or they are. So maybe just run with the guys once or twice a week, and the other days beg off.
It sounds like you’re meeting your goals, so I wouldn’t fret. But, if you want to be faster, you got to run faster.
I know a lot of people who bike who think if they can hold 17 miles per hour for 2 hours, they ought to be able to do 18 mph for 1 hour.
In a one-hour race, I’d bet on the guy who can go 20 mph for 30 minutes.
That said, I’d try mixing in at least one really hard workout per week. It make keeping the weight off easier in the long run, I think. I’ve always felt that my body becomes too comfortable and efficient if I don’t stress it out from time to time. And consequently, I don’t burn enough calories.
Yeah, there are Chicago hashers. But I’m sober these past 3 years, so I don’t think that’s something I want/need to take up.
Also, the main/only reason I run is becasue it is easy/convenient to do over lunch. I’ve tried doing various machines, but I find them boring (altho undoubtedly kinder on my aging joints than pounding the pavement!) And the good thing about having running/workout partners is they encourage/shame me into working out more often than I might if left to my own devices.
In my experience (in cycling), as I gain fitness I need to increase my pace later in the season to get a decent workout. For instance, I find a good heart rate for me on a steady ride is about 160 bpm. Early on, a 20 mph pace might do that for me, but a few months later I can do the same pace and only have a heart rate of 135. Obviously, the ride isn’t as challenging as it once was, and I need to pick up the pace a few mph to get the heart rate back to 160.
Sprints, intervals, and hills will get my heart up into the 180’s, and have thier own benefits. If you don’t want to do these, that’s fine, but you probably need to run faster to get the same workout that you did before. Your heart will not work any harder than it has to. A heart rate monitor will allow you to track your actual effort. I’m often surprised to find out that while I think I’m riding hard, the monitor tells me that I’m not.
