Miles vs Minutes

bsmith404

I have seen several half marathon training programs. All different which kinds of drives me crazy but found one that suites me. I saw some that were all in minutes, some that were all in miles and some that was in minutes but the long run in miles.

Which do you prefer and why?

LaurenAOK

I haven't done a marathon training program but I did a 5k training program, Couch to 5k. It had the program listed for both minutes and miles. I think that's because for some people it's easier to measure one than the other. For example, I dont have a pedometer or anything, just a stopwatch; so I can't measure distance when I run, but I can measure time.

scottb81

When training, minutes are a better measure. The body adapts to training stresses of specific intensities applied for specific time periods. A faster runner may cover more miles than a slower runner but if they are doing the work at the correct training intensity they will receive the same training stimulus.

runchris63

Personally, I like miles better. However, if I am training for a longer distance, the longer I am out on the road and on my feet, my body gets used to the time spent. If I want to do a half marathon in 1:50 and run for over two hours in training, running a 1:50 on race day is easier. But, ultimately i want to know how far I have gone and my pace.

ValerieMomof2

Personally, I like miles better. However, if I am training for a longer distance, the longer I am out on the road and on my feet, my body gets used to the time spent. If I want to do a half marathon in 1:50 and run for over two hours in training, running a 1:50 on race day is easier. But, ultimately i want to know how far I have gone and my pace.

I am training for my first 1/2 now and this is exactly my thoughts. I look at the time some but my distance and pace is what I look at after each run.

Liz_Mfp

I train by minutes, not distance
:-)