Mile Time

T1DCarnivoreRunner

myfitpqlstan136 wrote: »

midwesterner85 wrote: »

I won't pretend to be an expert, but I have always struggled with pacing. As a result, I end up starting out way too fast and then walking, then running way too fast, and repeating. Since you are only doing 1 mile, this might actually be a worthwhile strategy. In fact, I even saw an article about this method a few months ago (I think Runner's World, but might be wrong). The strategy is to sprint, then slow down and catch breath while walking, then sprint again once you have caught your breath, etc. My sprints are usually around 6-7 min. miles (though occasionally go as low as 4-5 min. miles), then walk for a bit, then start running (sprinting) again. Usually the first mile comes in around 8-8.5 min. It's harder to maintain an average speed using this method for longer distances, but since you are doing only 1 mile...

ETA: Surface makes a bit of a difference as well. I can sprint faster on even surfaces like roads (the 4-5 min. mile sprints) than on dirt trails (6-7 min. miles) because of the terrain... need to be more attentive to rocks, tree roots, etc. and it is more dangerous in those conditions to be running faster than you can look for things and process information... when things start to look blurry (due to speed, vertical movement, and heart rate/blood flow/O2 deficit), it can start to become dangerous.

I used to have the same problem, and as I got older I couldn't recover fast enough. Garmin helped me slow down to go faster.

I could do 90 second 1/4, but only got around 14 minutes on my 1.5 mile test. Slowing down to a 2:06 mile helped me get under 13 minutes

I've gotten better over the past year or 2, but still struggle. Sometimes I intentionally go faster (strides or whatever you want to call them), but often I'm just starting out way too fast still. My first 5K (April 2015) was at 30:00 (yes, exactly) and included a lot of walking... second 5K was May 2015 at 28:53 and also included walking. It didn't seem to hurt my total times at all, just meant that I pass other racers, then they pass me, and back and forth to the end. Since I'm now trying to train for longer runs, I'm really trying to make an effort to slow down most of the time.

autumnblade75

myfitpqlstan136 wrote: »

As you get faster, you can reduce the duration of the recovery and increase the number and speed of your training laps. The purpose of the recovery laps is to recover. Walking briskly and running slowly work equally well. Jogging can cause damage to knees/hips/ankles over time and is generally contraindicated.

Could you please define jogging for those of us who are confused?

MeanderingMammal

questionfear wrote: »

There's lots of great advice here...one thing you could also try is to really "kick" at the end of one or two runs a week; in other words, when you have a small amount, like 1/10th of a mile to go, just push it into the highest gear you have and GO.

Fast finish is a good way to deal with the psychological aspects as well.

I appreciate that it's somewhat different to what the originator is after, but a 9 minute mile is my half marathon pace, and being able to get the final mile in faster is hugely beneficial.

Pays off a huge amount in shorter distances as well. My last fitness test was about a month before an ultra, so all my running was long, steady paced work with no speedwork. Mile and a half time was 10:40, which I was very happy with. Once I'd run the warm up mile then first mile of the test I treated the last half mile as a fast finish, which brought me down an age band.

stanmann571

autumnblade75 wrote: »

myfitpqlstan136 wrote: »

As you get faster, you can reduce the duration of the recovery and increase the number and speed of your training laps. The purpose of the recovery laps is to recover. Walking briskly and running slowly work equally well. Jogging can cause damage to knees/hips/ankles over time and is generally contraindicated.

Could you please define jogging for those of us who are confused?

In this context, jogging is that slow run short stride shuffle that many people do when tired, or transitioning from a run to a walk. There's usually a heel strike vs a mid foot or toe strike that occurs with running.

autumnblade75

myfitpqlstan136 wrote: »

autumnblade75 wrote: »

myfitpqlstan136 wrote: »

As you get faster, you can reduce the duration of the recovery and increase the number and speed of your training laps. The purpose of the recovery laps is to recover. Walking briskly and running slowly work equally well. Jogging can cause damage to knees/hips/ankles over time and is generally contraindicated.

Could you please define jogging for those of us who are confused?

In this context, jogging is that slow run short stride shuffle that many people do when tired, or transitioning from a run to a walk. There's usually a heel strike vs a mid foot or toe strike that occurs with running.

So, basically, you've recruited the word to mean sloppy, slow running? That definition isn't in my dictionary - but I can see the benefit in making sure you don't get lazy with your form just because you're going slow. Thanks.

stanmann571

autumnblade75 wrote: »

myfitpqlstan136 wrote: »

autumnblade75 wrote: »

myfitpqlstan136 wrote: »

As you get faster, you can reduce the duration of the recovery and increase the number and speed of your training laps. The purpose of the recovery laps is to recover. Walking briskly and running slowly work equally well. Jogging can cause damage to knees/hips/ankles over time and is generally contraindicated.

Could you please define jogging for those of us who are confused?

In this context, jogging is that slow run short stride shuffle that many people do when tired, or transitioning from a run to a walk. There's usually a heel strike vs a mid foot or toe strike that occurs with running.

So, basically, you've recruited the word to mean sloppy, slow running? That definition isn't in my dictionary - but I can see the benefit in making sure you don't get lazy with your form just because you're going slow. Thanks.

IME, most people(myself included) get sloppy when they slow down. For me it's because it's easier to be sloppy when I'm going slower.

When I'm not hurt, I can walk a 5 Mile per hour pace. For short distances, I can get to 6 mph.

Just MHO here, but If you're doing less than 5 mph, just walk it out.

In my youth(some 20 years ago now) I was part of a "formation run" at about 4.5 mph. I got bored with the pace and the pace setter wouldn't pick it up to a pace that was running so I broke into a brisk walk.

Pace Setter-"You're not running"
Me-"Neither are you, I'm just being honest about it"

ritzvin

For me, the gait changes enough at ~10-11min/mile that I will have knee pain - I cannot jog. When I couldn't run continuously, I would run/walk in intervals rather than jog. If I get tired/out of breath and see my pace slowing to slower than a 10 minute mile, I will take a walking break.

ritzvin

..and that is with being careful about my form and not being sloppy (just something about the different mechanics of jogging does not play well with my knee - it also doesn't particularly like dancing charleston either).

autumnblade75

ritzvin wrote: »

..and that is with being careful about my form and not being sloppy (just something about the different mechanics of jogging does not play well with my knee - it also doesn't particularly like dancing charleston either).

What changes about the mechanics of your slow, not sloppy run when your pace drops to 10-11 minute/miles? Are you defining jogging by pace? I have to tell you that I am definitely running at a 10 minute mile. But I can't walk any faster than a 15 minute mile for any length of time, either. I'm short, and have short legs.

ritzvin

I'm not sure what exactly bothers my knee - maybe just the increased vertical oscillation (which is hard to avoid at such a slow pace). Stride length decreases, cadence decreases, longer ground contact time - but these are of course also true of walking. I just know I always wind up with knee pain whenever I try to jog.

MeanderingMammal

ritzvin wrote: »

For me, the gait changes enough at ~10-11min/mile that I will have knee pain - I cannot jog. When I couldn't run continuously, I would run/walk in intervals rather than jog. If I get tired/out of breath and see my pace slowing to slower than a 10 minute mile, I will take a walking break.

I'm very much in the space of walking vs running being binary. Jogging is not a thing.

Many people seem to struggle to maintain an adequately high cadence at slower speeds. Slowing the cadence leads to greater vertical oscillation, a longer pace, that leads to increased biomechanical loads.

So for me the transition point to walking is when my cadence drops below about 160 steps per minute.

Heel vs mid vs forefoot strike isn't a big deal. Everyone has the best footstrike for them, so it's not an indicator of injury risk, in isolation.

Again, for the originator, aiming for a single mile at a nine minute pace little of that is all that important.

autumnblade75

ritzvin wrote: »

I'm not sure what exactly bothers my knee - maybe just the increased vertical oscillation (which is hard to avoid at such a slow pace). Stride length decreases, cadence decreases, longer ground contact time - but these are of course also true of walking. I just know I always wind up with knee pain whenever I try to jog.

In the spirit of a joke: Is that how you determine whether you're jogging or running slowly, then? Whether you knee hurts?

I agree with @MeanderingMammal that this is all off the topic of striving for a single mile at a 9 minute pace.

I also think that jogging and running aren't well defined. A jogger probably isn't training for a distance greater than 5 miles, (that seems to be the upper limit [to me] of what someone might say they're going out for a jog) but a runner might jog, (or you might call it a long, slow run) for distances much greater than 5 miles.

I also understand the argument that jogging, running and sprinting are all "running." If you're speaking in that context, I understand that you're referring to exertion.

I reject the notion, however, that jogging defines a sloppy, slow run. That's not an idea that I've ever run across anywhere else, and even when looking, I can't find any support for it. Sorry.

Back on topic: I found that more slow miles definitely helped develop speed for an intense single mile. But I don't claim it's the "best" or "only" way. And one single fast mile was never my primary goal.

MeanderingMammal

Joggers are the ones that find dead bodies in the woods.

Hence, don't jog

autumnblade75

MeanderingMammal wrote: »

Joggers are the ones that find dead bodies in the woods.

Hence, don't jog

No fear here. I don't do much of my running outside. It's INCREDIBLY unlikelly that I'll find a dead body on my treadmill. So, I'm not a jogger...