Is a 12 minute mile too slow?
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I just started seriously walking a week or so ago and my minute miles "run" between the 15's and 20's, so no, you are fine at 12 as a beginner, in fact, I believe, that is exceptional. You will be between the golden 9 to 10 mark in short order. Remember, you are teaching your body, it takes time to learn. Keep going.0
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No it is not, especially if you're new to running! You can be working at your optimum THR at that 12 minute mile. You will know when you are ready to pick up the pace. I started running 10 years ago and I started out slowly, I would run 1 lap around the track fast, then briskly walk the other 3. Over a month's time I'd increase that speed until I was able to run all 4 at 12 minutes. Over time I was able to get my mile down to 8 minutes. So keep up the good work! Kudos to you for getting out there!0
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A 12:00min/mile is a lot faster than most people can run. You're doing awesome! That being said I feel it is a dangerous practice to be comparing your speed and abilities with others. It should take time to build up your speed and distance as a runner. Trying to go too far too fast will result in injury.0
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Lol, I still run a slow 14 minute mile. :laugh: I don't run for endurance or racing though. I do it just for the cardio benefit and to burn calories.
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Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition0 -
I just started the C25K program and I can only maintain a mile "run" at 3.5 mph - about a 17 minute mile.
I can walk at 4.0 - 4.5 easily. I can run up to 5.0, but I can't maintain it over a minute.0 -
Absolutely not. I started running at the beginning of August. I was running about a 13 - 14 minute mile then and I hated running. I kept with it and it clicked this time. My best 5K now is at a 10:30 minute/mile. Stick with it and in time it will get better. Do intervals and slowly increase distance. I'm working on intervals now and hope that will help my endurance and pace. I'm trying to work my way up to a 10K. Nothing to be ashamed at with a 12 min/mile!!0
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Certainly not. The speed will come as your body adapts and becomes more efficient. Finish up your couch to 5k (which is excellent) then look for a next stage plan. A good mix of easy runs and interval work later on will bring it along nicely.
Your 12min mile is a lot faster than the people sat on the couch are achieving......
This is great to hear! I'm doing the C25K - am supposed to "jog" 9 minutes straight today. My "jog" started at a 4.5mph, then i was doing around a 5-5.2. But this last week stuck to the 4.5mph again - i know i couldn't sustain a 5.2 for 7-9 minutes :-P
but its good hearing that the place to pick up speed is afterwards.0 -
As everyone else has said, "you do you, doll," but I also want to point out that for *every single person on earth except one,* someone is faster. And that fastest person is fastest by like a hundredth of a second.
You run. You enjoy it. You do you.0 -
Too slow for what?
Too slow to run away from an 10 minute mile angry bear? Yep, you're boned.
Too slow to run away from a 15 minute mile mile brain-eating zombie? No way, you got this.
Seriously, your pace is a personal thing. Unless you are planning on going to the Olympics, your pace means approximately squat, and should not be compared to any other runner. You say yourself your friends have been running for years. They probably didn't start at a 9 minute pace. And if they mock you tell them your friend stumblin' from MFP has been running for a year and runs a 7 minute mile - they may find the comparison game is less fun when they are the slower ones.
My pace goal is always simply 'faster'.0 -
I have been running for a few months now. I run 5 miles and average an 11 minute mile. Maybe it is slow but, to be able to run the whole time I have set a slower pace. So 12 min is fine. Just keep up the running!! Great job!!!0
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Nope, it's about my pace now. But the first time I did 5k without stopping last year, it took me over 40 minutes.
There's no point comparing yourself to other people; my husband is a long distance runner and when racing runs about a 6 min mile, yet he often tells me that he's far from the fastest at his running group. There's always someone faster, except, as others have pointed out, those on their backsides.0 -
Well you said you are a beginner, so of course it isn't slow. If you have been doing it for a long time, then yeah a 12 minute mile is slow as heck. It really depends on your physical ability and your overall level.
Don't bother comparing your time to other people's times.0 -
Too slow for what?
Als what distance runner runs a 6 minute mile? I mean, how much distance is that?
I middle of the road trail runner can do fine at 17 min miles about and I'm thrilled to run a marathon at a 15 minute mile pace at this point, actually, I have no desire to go faster. Faster isn't really better unless you are competing.0 -
OMG NO!! I would kill to be able to maintain a 12 minute mile pace. I am a slow runner and am lucky if I can maintain a 15 minute mile consistently. That is awesome!!! You should not compare yourself to others, we are all built differently and have different conditioning.
Just keep going and you will eventually get better / faster!!0 -
Its a good time for starting out. Try to get faster as you get in better shape though! Unless you are comfortable with it. You are getting exercise and that's what is important!0
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Who cares what your time is as long as you just do it! Stop comparing yourself to others. I also run a 12 min mile and that is the way it is.0
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I've been running on and off for years and still run a 12 minute mile (admittedly often uphill)- but even on the flat I struggle to get much above that and I consider myself reasonably fit. I can trek for days. I've always been a slow runner! I've never done interval training and I expect that would help, but I just do my lazy 5K 3x/week...0
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12 min mile.......................I can only wish..............I think that's pretty good!
Me too! I'm aiming for a 12-minute mile!0 -
I've been running for two decades. I've run something between 15 and 20 marathons. I still run an 11 to 12 minute pace. I'm just extremely grateful that I have the ability to run at all. Your 12 minute pace is fine. If you get faster that's great. If not, that's great too.
Don't worry. Be happy!0 -
I think its more about what your hear rate is doing than how fast you are going exactly. I do a 12 minute mile right now, I started running a few weeks ago, and my heart rate is pretty high (around 170) at that pace, so I think it fits for me right now. Check how fast your heart is beating and if it is slow, you could consider speeding up, but if its right in that sweet spot then keep your 12 minute pace!0
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Unfortunately a twelve minute mile is pretty slow. If you can't do better than that, you should consider saving your self the trouble and just staying on the couch. It's really not too different when you think about it, ha ha. If you insist on wasting your time trying to run but can only manage 12 minute miles, maybe try running with weights or only using one leg. Something to make it slightly challenging. Anyway, best of luck!0
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OMG NO!! I would kill to be able to maintain a 12 minute mile pace. I am a slow runner and am lucky if I can maintain a 15 minute mile consistently. That is awesome!!! You should not compare yourself to others, we are all built differently and have different conditioning.
Just keep going and you will eventually get better / faster!!
This. I'm thankful I can complete a mile without dying.0 -
I suggest you get a heart rate monitor and train by heart rate, and completely ignore your pace. Here is a good site to calculate what your target heart rates should be:
http://www.runningforfitness.org/calc/heart-rate-calculators/hrtp?minHR=60&maxHR=177&Submit=Calculate
Insert your own resting and max heart rate and recalculate. I am a beginner as well, so I generally try to keep a slower pace until I build up my leg muscles and tissue structure to support harder running in the future. At an average heart rate of 145 today, I ran 11 minute miles, and it really didn't seem like a whole lot of cardio effort. I'm just trying to build up legs right now to prevent injury.0 -
There is no "too slow!" You can't compare your speed to anyone other than yourself, since every one is at a difference fitness level. As your fitness improves, then you'll be able to up your speed. I go by the "breathing test." If I'm getting comfortable enough at a pace that I can sing along with whatever music I'm listening to… then it's a little too slow for me. That's when I up my pace. I aim to be able to talk, but not sing. Personally… I would love to be able to jog a 12 minute mile! But I'm not there yet. It'll come in time.0
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if you are trying to qualify for the olympics, yes, it is too slow.
if you're out there running for fun and fitness, no. no it is not too slow.0 -
Twelve minutes per mile is way faster than anyone on a couch. The fact you are enjoying yourself and getting fitter is all you need to know.0
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It depends, but to Usain Bolt,, yes.
To you, depends are what your aspirations are, but it is always good to want to improve on any performance and comparing where you are now to where you were before. I spent my entire 30's over 2 bills, am happy to say that I never was over 200 40 yrs on.
Though at times, I get curious to see how measure to the rest of the crowd. If you break it down the population (especially in N America), you are way ahead of the curve. If you want to break it down to smaller groups, enter a race and your results will show your percentile for all entries and for your sex/age group. I find that the bigger the race, the lower my percentile is because popularity attracts elite runners.
Fitness-wise, before I couldn't play full court basketball, but now I can keep up with the 20 years old in a fast pace pickup game (noted that this is running up and down playing man-to-man defense, but I still shoot at a 10% proficiency). I know that I am one of the fastest guys in my rec softball league, but that's D level. Sometimes I am curious how I measure up to a MLB catcher or NFL offensive linemen. In a short sprint, they probably blow me away, but stretch it out to a 5K/10K, I think I can hang.
Ultimately, it is about y you now vs you then. Curiosities are fun and games.0 -
if 12 min miles are too slow, I'm screwed. I've taken my mile time from 22minutes to 13 minutes 13 seconds, AND what's better is I can do TWO whole miles at that pace without stopping. Most people are faster than me, and hell I know some people that can almost walk at my pace. But it's about my health and my improvement and I can't compare my time to anyone but myself.0
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