Running advice, distance or time?

3 miles is a good workout. When I run outdoors I tend to go by miles (at least 3) when I run at the gym I usually go by time (30 minutes). There's no method to my madness though...just what I'm used to.

Just keep going. Try to keep a steady pace and increase your distance slowly. Speed will come later.

It depends on your goal. Are you training for a 5K race or something similar, or are you just wanting to improve?

When training for a goal, you will typically alternate your runs. Once a week go for an easy pace but longer distance, once or twice a week you train for speed by doing interval runs (aka fartleks), and then any other runs are mid distance at an easy pace.

That routine will build both your running stamina and the speed you can run. The only caution here is not to push too hard to fast because you can injure yourself.

A new runner!!! WOOOOOOOOOT!!!!!!!! Congratulations not just on 3 miles, but on 3 miles and wanting to do it again. That's the spirit! So what do you want to do? Do you want to go fast? Or do you want to go far? Or do you simply want to see where it all takes you? If you're doing 3M then you're already at a 5K (3.1M) race distance. Which is great! You can work on your distance and try to expand to 10K (6.2M), which also has many races. This should take you a while to reach. You can work on trail running, with all the birds and squirrels and trees and roots and rocks and such. Some runners really groove on the serenity of trail running. Your options are as endless as the routes you can run. Again, congratulations, and keep enjoying it!

Do most of your runs slowly. You will build up your endurance with less chance of injury. Speed will come with more miles even if they are done slowly. Only do a faster run about once a week, and warm up well before you start running faster. (i.e. 1/4 mile walk, 1 mile slow jog, then do some faster intervals.)

That's kind of how I started running. I was 60 days into P90X3, and decided to run on the treadmill. Just felt like running! I fully expected to have to do a run walk combo, but I ran the entire 3 miles without stopping (although it was slow).

Since I only had 30 days of P90x left, i didn't have time to add in more runs. So, I ran 3 miles once per week and worked on increasing my speed for small durations. After P90X3 was over, I gradually started adding in more running days. I got up to running 3 miles a day, 3x a week. At some point, I moved from the treadmill to outside. From there, I increased 1 run a week by 1 mile. I remember being ecstatic when I ran 5 miles straight. Now, my 1st marathon is 4 weeks away.

If you really enjoyed running, I would recommend following a plan so you don't get injured. Although I didn't do C25K personally, I hear a lot of people rave about it. There are also free training plans you can find on the internet. You'd want to look for a beginner 5K plan. The more your body gets used to running, and the more miles you log, your speed will naturally increase. You just need to take small steps so you don't get injured.

Welcome to the world of running...it's addicting! Lol!