Exercise question????

nakabi

For those of you who exercise, running in particular, do you set a goal to run a specific distance, time, or amount of calories burnt? I'm trying to decide which is recommended.

Thanks in advance for any help you can give!

HMonsterX

Errr...expect this thread to get moved to the Fitness and Exercise forum.

1myfit

I shoot for distance.

babyblake11

I go by calories my goal and limit is 300 but i try to get faster and push myself harder each time

PatientBearTiger

Varies. Sometimes I go for distance and sometimes for time. Usually distance though.

RdySetGO11

Mine is distance. Then once I can run say 3 miles, then I'll try to run it quicker.

mbrewster2010

I go for time and calorie.

JNick77

<--- A.D.D... Time for sure or I lose focus. LOL

kassied09

I sort of go for all three...Most important to me is calories, though. If at the end of my workout and I still don't have enough I will keep pushing until I reach my 800 goal. Resistance is important, too though. And that ties in with time and distance...so it all fits together for me.

BECav0602

Distance. If I can run 3 miles without stopping I say I will do half a mile more next time or run it faster. I do like to do at least 30 min of cardio though so if it is less than that I may walk longer for a cool down.

CakeFit21

I run for distance and time, but distance first.

New runners should be running for time.

Nikki582

Depends on what I'm wanting, today it was distance, I wanted to push out 5km, but normally I'm just doing it for 30 minutes or 35.

foodluver27

I go for distance..just because I am a slow runner. It takes me almost 40 minutes to run 3 miles...time is a factor too. But it just feels so much rewarding when I know how many miles I have ran

jmo28

I was never a runner but now I run 30-35 miles a week and doing a half-marathon in a month I usually set up my tentative run schedule for the week. I found that it worked the best to set up a weekly goal and do runs in the week to check miles off. Say you feel really great on a Monday and crank out a long run, but come Tuesday or Wednesday you feel shot so you make it a short day, focusing on pace, form, and breathing, etc. working your way toward your weekly goal. This way i don't feel the need to beat myself everyday, giving my body time to rest and have a break.

Using mapmyrun.com is helpful because the have a monthly calendar that shows your milage for the week and month and breaks down the stats and breaks down distance by week. It feels good to see a distance percentage increase at the end of the week

But running is a personal thing, what works for me may not work for you. I ended up using tips from friends who do marathons to start my own running plan

DannyMussels

I used to trail-run just for a bit of cardio. An old friend of mine in med school got me into it. He liked goin for 20-30 mins, just enough to get the heart goin he'd say. Sometimes we'd run the trails twice, sometimes a bit longer , sometimes shorter. Always about 20-25 minutes though.

Along with the heart benefits, it got me below 200lbs for the first time in probly 8yrs.

fromaquasar

Hey - when I first started I would run for time (e.g. I'm just gonna run for 20mins). As I got fitter I started running for distance (e.g. today I'm going to run 8k) and now I am combining both (e.g. today I'm gonna run 5k in under 28 mins)

Spitfirex007

I always go for short distance. Maybe 1-3 miles. When I run I tend to run at a fast pace. Can't seem to just jog.

xraychick77

i usually only run for like 20 mins

shauna121211

Time or Distance, never calories. You never know if the treadmills are accurate and my HRM shows my calories after I finish the workout.

glockster972

I am just beginning to run a little and I go for time. Eventually, at least I hope, I will be more concerned with distance.

Qarol

I'm a figure skater, and you've never had to deal with my coach in a dream about not rehearsing your steps. She's scary!

jetscreaminagain

I follow a plan on Micoach from addidas. Like others it uses my phone and GPS to track distance and pace and they have plans for different goals to choose from. My runs are time and pace. I might go for a 30 minute run with four intervals of yellow effort with green recovery in between. The colors correspond with how much effort it takes to go a given pace. That way I also learn to run slow enough to go long.

I'm gonna finish my current beginner plan and then start a 10k plan.

AlsDonkBoxSquat

Depends on my mood. Usually I go for a 5K, but last night I tacked on an extra 2.5 miles because I wanted a greater calorie burn, and just to see if I could do it. I didn't realize until I tracked it the distance I added on, I just knew I was adding distance and time.