Speed or distance?

aaaaaamy
aaaaaamy Posts: 24
in Fitness and Exercise
I just went for my first ever jog! It was pretty pathetic - 1.2km in 7 minutes (about 7 miles per hour). Feeling great that I got out and did it (what is it they say? I lapped everybody on the couch) but obviously there is some serious room for improvement. So my question is - should I be working on being able to get that 1.2km down to 6 minutes, then 5.. or should I be working in being able to run 1.4km, then 1.6?

Replies

  • CarsonRuns
    CarsonRuns Posts: 3,039 Member
    What's your goal?

    Lose weight?
    Be the best runner you can be?
    Run a 5K?
    Run for fitness a couple times per week?
  • twinmom_112002
    twinmom_112002 Posts: 739 Member
    My experience has been that with distance comes speed.
  • jayche
    jayche Posts: 1,128 Member
    Do you want to run faster or run for longer?
  • imtrinat
    imtrinat Posts: 153 Member
    Depending on your goals, I would say go for endurance (distance) first. 7 mph is actually a pretty good run time! If you burn out at 1.2 km while running that fast, then try to slow it down some and go for a longer distance. You can improve both time and distance by doing HIIT. Interval training is also really good for burning calories.
  • aaaaaamy
    aaaaaamy Posts: 24
    My overall goal is to lose weight but I'm aiming to mostly do that by changing my eating. My goal for jogging is more about fitness/general health/self-esteem.
  • Loftearmen
    Loftearmen Posts: 380
    My overall goal is to lose weight but I'm aiming to mostly do that by changing my eating. My goal for jogging is more about fitness/general health/self-esteem.

    If your goal is weight loss, you should focus on heart rate and duration of exercise rather than speed or distance. Just focusing on the first two will eventually pay off in the latter.
  • sophieclarev
    sophieclarev Posts: 55
    For weight loss go for long runs. My weight really dropped when I could run for over an hour. Slow but loooooong.

    Good luck
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
    Distance first, you need a base of endurance, then work on speed. In fact, in the beginning while working on distance, you should be running slower than even feels right- lik ethe kind of shuffle you do when you're crossing the street and pretending to hurry up for a car.

    Once you have an endurance base, doors are open in every direction- you can work on faster, farther, more hills, whatever your goals are.
  • manhn1
    manhn1 Posts: 137 Member
    1 mile in 7 minutes is pretty damn good. If you could keep that pace up for a half marathon, that'd be a little over an hour and a half. Everyone has their own personal goals, but no need to feel so discouraged about it.

    And you want to go to 5 minutes? World record times are in the very low 4 minute range. Depends on your goal, do you want to have a really fast mile or have a fast per mile time while completing a longer distance?

    If your goal is to lose weight, then it's neither speed nor distance. It's duration (assuming you maintain a certain level of exertion). 30 minutes at 7 miles per hour 4 days per week (a long with strength training) would be plenty.
  • dmkoenig
    dmkoenig Posts: 299 Member
    Anal point, but 1.2km in 7 minutes works out to about 6.4 miles/hr which translates to about a 9:30 minute mile. For someone starting out, that's actually a very good time as brisk walking is probably somewhere around 3.5 to 4.5 mph.

    @CarsonRuns very good questions notwithstanding, if you are a complete novice at something the first step is to just get conmfortable with the new activity. Don't worry about either speed or distance at first, just do it for a specific duration and slowly build up. Start with a target of 20-30 minutes, alternating between jogging and walking, increasing your jogging as you get stronger.

    Once you're able to jog for the entire duration, then you can start coming up with a more focused improvement plan based on your goals.
  • rogerbosch
    rogerbosch Posts: 343 Member
    1 mile in 7 minutes is pretty damn good. If you could keep that pace up for a half marathon, that'd be a little over an hour and a half.

    The OP said 1.2 km in 7 minutes, not 1 mile. For half a marathon that would be little over 2 hours.

    Nevertheless, still, pretty good.
    For weight loss/fitness I would say give interval running a go, for example run very hard for 30 seconds, then walk or jog for 1 minute. Lengthen the time for speed and shorten the time for walking as you get more used to this. Don't forget to get plenty of rest.

    Good luck.
  • bluefox9er
    bluefox9er Posts: 2,917 Member
    I just went for my first ever jog! It was pretty pathetic - 1.2km in 7 minutes (about 7 miles per hour). Feeling great that I got out and did it (what is it they say? I lapped everybody on the couch) but obviously there is some serious room for improvement. So my question is - should I be working on being able to get that 1.2km down to 6 minutes, then 5.. or should I be working in being able to run 1.4km, then 1.6?

    If that was my first ever 'jog', i'd be high fiving strangers and buying rounds of drinks. whats more important is that you have toughed out a starting point for yourself as a runner..where you go from here is entirely up to you.

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