Miles or Minutes

Discovery USA wrote:

This is how they did it in Kenya:

Am - 60 minutes

Pm - 60 minutes

And I believe the great Henry Rono still trains this way, by logging minutes...

I go by minutes and then, at the end of the week, estimate my mileage based upon conservative paces. So if I've run 700 minutes of aerobic running I might divide it by 7 for 100 miles if I've been taking it easy.

Minutes and effort is a much more accurate way of determining how much work you've put in. If I go for a 70 minute recovery run on a hilly course versus 70 minutes at the same effort on a dead flat course I think of these 2 runs as equal in terms of work even though I may have run only 9 miles on the hilly course compared to 11 miles on the flat course.

One thing I've run into a "problem" with on minutes is feeling the need to keep the same number of minutes (50-60) per day even as my runs get faster (returning to shape after injury). i.e., today I did my 3.6 mile course in 25:21, a minute faster than I did two weeks ago. This meant I "had" to do an extra minute of cross-training stuff to make my (self-imposed) quota. It seems sort of...counterproductive.

Extra OCD wrote:

One thing I've run into a "problem" with on minutes is feeling the need to keep the same number of minutes (50-60) per day even as my runs get faster (returning to shape after injury). i.e., today I did my 3.6 mile course in 25:21, a minute faster than I did two weeks ago. This meant I "had" to do an extra minute of cross-training stuff to make my (self-imposed) quota. It seems sort of...counterproductive.

That should be a good thing. I train all of my newbie runners by minutes because they will run farther as they get into better shape. If you were running for 26 minutes for your course and are now doing it at the same effort level in 25, keep running for another minute.

I tend to run various loops or out-and-back for time. Head out for 30 minutes. When the watch beeps at you, turn around and come home. Chances are you'll come back faster because the going out part included warming up to the task.

Running by time has lessened the stress of running for me. I'm always in a time-crunch, so running for an hour is running for 60 minutes no matter how far I go. If I head out to run 8 miles, a bad run could leave me late for another appointment.

I run by minutes, much simpler, especially if I'm traveling.

Extra OCD wrote:

One thing I've run into a "problem" with on minutes is feeling the need to keep the same number of minutes (50-60) per day even as my runs get faster (returning to shape after injury). i.e., today I did my 3.6 mile course in 25:21, a minute faster than I did two weeks ago. This meant I "had" to do an extra minute of cross-training stuff to make my (self-imposed) quota. It seems sort of...counterproductive.

your self imposed quota is 26:21? how did you pick this value?

Miles, minutes, average pace for easy runs, and average heart rate for easy runs. This way I can see my self get faster, even though I'm running at the same effort level.

I have a few measured loops that I run so I know what my typical easy run pace is. Since I know what pace I run at, it's easy to convert minutes to miles. If I run 7:00 pace, I know that 63 minutes is about 9 miles whether I'm on one of my running routes or on vacation. A change of even 20 seconds per mile is only going to make about a half-mile difference, so I don't feel bad about the slight inaccuracy. I figure it probably all balances out anyway.

Plus, 90 miles sounds more impressive than 10 hours.

Am I the only one that uses a Garmin or the like?

I use the Garmin 305, so I collect these data fields and more.

Distance

Speed

HR

Altitude

I like the software that it comes with too log it all too.

I always record a weekly total in distance (km) terms but quite often run for time, almost always on easy runs and sometimes long runs. Generally take 14km/h (approx 7min/mile for you Americans) to convert to an approximate distance - some days might be a bit further, some a bit less, but this is probably about right over time. Doing this for easy runs helps not to go too fast IMO - you just run until the time's up instead of pushing to get the run over and done with.

For hard efforts or sessions I prefer to have a set distance and a time to gauge how it went, though don't mind fartlek sessions and sometimes doing simulated speed sessions based on time eg 6x3mins instead of 1k's. This really helps when tired or stressed as it you just put in the effort and go by feel.

Smoots.

No, I use a 305 too. After a couple of years of OCD logging-in of data, though, I now only wear the HR strap on longer runs, not during my half-hour recovery jogs. I've also learned the distances of some of my commons runs.

Most people, when they guestimate, are a little overoptimistic about how fast they are. The Garmin keeps you honest.

I run the first few miles at least 30-60 seconds slower than my overall average pace. That's the best way of running easy mileage, as the Kenyans know, and as John Kellogg advises. But it tends to rub some seconds off your cumulative pace and total miles/hour. Those who estimate tend either to overestimate, for this reason, or else start pushing too early in an effort to hit the mark in terms of average pace.

Smoots.......gotta love that on the bridge.

So is the story about smoots that it was the last name of a student that they measured and used his body as a measuring device?

I've been running by minutes lately. It's a nice change. I don't have a gps and without it, I was slave to a specific course so the mileage would be precise.

Speedwork is measured in miles.

Now, I run whererever I want. I can pretty much guess the mileage off of time.

I think easy runs should be done in minutes. That way, you don't have that "hurry up and finish" mentality. It really gets you to slow down.

Discovery USA wrote:

This is how they did it in Kenya:

Am - 60 minutes

Pm - 60 minutes

This is how I did it later (more diversity):

Am - 90 minutes

pm - 45 minutes

There's still diversity in those two 60min. runs. In Kenya normally the first 60min run is very slow (8+ min. per mile), while the second 60min run will be done very fast (close to 5-flat per mile)

my best summer of training came when i just built up to doing 60 minutes in the afternoon and 30 min at night after work (i was a bartender). much easier to wrap your head around, relax and just get a consistent couple fo months of training in.

Used to be miles ANDminutes, when I was in racing mode. Now it's minutes, since I quit measuring miles and go more by scenery and reminisces.

they have these amazing things that group minutes together - they are called hoursmost people will know what you are talking about if you say 6 hours and 37 minutes

busy runner wrote:

minutes are too much to keep track of i mean its easier to remember 80miles then 124minutes or whatever. plus it sounds cool if you tell a non-runner that you did 80 or 100miles and watch their jaw drop

I go by number of steps. I try to keep my long runs in the 21,000 range, but there's a little room on either side of that. Also, if I ever lose count I have to start over.