Running for an hour question

La_Amazona
La_Amazona Posts: 4,855 Member
edited November 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
About 3 weeks I accomplished running for an hour straight. I do it twice a week now- Wednesdays and Saturdays around an awesome lake here in my city.

I have NEVER been a runner. I could hardly run a block a year ago, no kidding. So for my body to do it for an hour straight, well it's amazing.

Yesterday I tried out my Nike+GPS for the first time because I wasn't sure how far I was actually going. I knew how many calories and time but not distance. Well in my hour I ran 4.6 miles.

What is a good goal (as far as distance) to have for my hour? I really need to work on speed, as I'm a slow one. So that's what I'll focus on now.

For now, I'll be working on making that 4.6 a good 5 miles in an hour. Just want some feedback on what's a good distance goal for myself.

Thanks!

Replies

  • kmaas802
    kmaas802 Posts: 19
    Good for you for running for an hour! On the treadmill if I'm doing that long of a run I set the speed at 6 mph, or a 10 minute mile. That's 6 miles in an hour. I think 5 is a good goal to shoot for!
  • 987Runner
    987Runner Posts: 209
    Any exercise for an hour is fantastic, you ought to be proud for being able to run that long! So many people can't.

    I use mapmyrun.com to track my mileage and pace. I don't have any fancy GPS gadgets to track my mileage so being able to map my route and enter in the time I did it has been really useful.

    As far as getting more out of your run and/or improving your time, I highly suggest tempo and/or interval runs. Tempo runs you start with a mile warm up or so, then run a moderately fast mile or two and then another cool down mile. Interval runs are moderate pace to fast pace to moderate pace and keep going for your goal distance. I'm not an expert so I may be a little off in explaining that but that's how I train. Google tempo and intervals runs, that's how runners who want to improve their time do it. I'm training for a 12k and my first half marathon this May!

    I suck at running on the treadmill, it's so boring, I struggle to keep a ten minute mile, but when I'm outside, I average more like a 9:20 mile. The fresh air really does me good.
  • cat_1977
    cat_1977 Posts: 79 Member
    Hi there and congrats! What an amazing achievement.

    I'm really not sure what to tell you about times and goals etc as different people run at different paces. What's slow to one person could be record breaking to another. The most important thing is that you're out there in the fresh air running!

    An initial goal might be to run 5 miles in an hour. Once you've achieved that, and the more your body gets used to running you could think about changing your goals. If you're looking for tips to improve your speed, have a look here: http://www.helium.com/knowledge/1266-best-training-methods-to-improve-your-running-speed

    Hope it helps and well done again!
  • SinIsIn
    SinIsIn Posts: 1,865 Member
    I think 5 is a pretty good goal too. I do 6.2 miles in about 1:05.. that's my usual time. For me working on my stamina was more important than my speed. :smile:

    Will you be signing up for an K's? They are super motivating!!
  • scott091501
    scott091501 Posts: 1,260 Member
    If you keep this up consistantly I promise in a month you'll have another quarter mile in an hour. Building a running base is tough, but as you do and as you stay more consistant you will be able to go farther, faster.
  • La_Amazona
    La_Amazona Posts: 4,855 Member
    I think 5 is a pretty good goal too. I do 6.2 miles in about 1:05.. that's my usual time. For me working on my stamina was more important than my speed. :smile:

    Will you be signing up for an K's? They are super motivating!!


    Once I get more confident I will sign up for a 5K at least. Some days it's harder than others so I want to at least feel steady.
  • La_Amazona
    La_Amazona Posts: 4,855 Member
    If you keep this up consistantly I promise in a month you'll have another quarter mile in an hour. Building a running base is tough, but as you do and as you stay more consistant you will be able to go farther, faster.

    Two times a week.. is this good enough?

    I work out 5 times a week with other types of cardio and strength training but really want to give running at least twice a week.

    And I completely agree.. something about running outside with other runners (who pass me up but eh lol) is amazing. I can't do it on a treadmill!
  • hope516
    hope516 Posts: 1,133 Member
    I think 5 is a pretty good goal too. I do 6.2 miles in about 1:05.. that's my usual time. For me working on my stamina was more important than my speed. :smile:

    Will you be signing up for an K's? They are super motivating!!

    You do 6.2 in a minute and 5 seconds?!?!?!?!?

    Im assuming thats an hour and 5 mins
  • scott091501
    scott091501 Posts: 1,260 Member
    If you keep this up consistantly I promise in a month you'll have another quarter mile in an hour. Building a running base is tough, but as you do and as you stay more consistant you will be able to go farther, faster.

    Two times a week.. is this good enough?

    I work out 5 times a week with other types of cardio and strength training but really want to give running at least twice a week.

    And I completely agree.. something about running outside with other runners (who pass me up but eh lol) is amazing. I can't do it on a treadmill!

    It's a good place to start. I run 3-5 but started out at 2. Watch out. Don't catch the bug. :P
  • La_Amazona
    La_Amazona Posts: 4,855 Member
    I think 5 is a pretty good goal too. I do 6.2 miles in about 1:05.. that's my usual time. For me working on my stamina was more important than my speed. :smile:

    Will you be signing up for an K's? They are super motivating!!

    You do 6.2 in a minute and 5 seconds?!?!?!?!?

    Im assuming thats an hour and 5 mins

    God I swear I'm so dingy sometimes. Oops. My bad.
  • ItsMeRebekah
    ItsMeRebekah Posts: 909 Member
    i honestly dont care how fast i run. i go for endurance and how long i can keep it up! but thats just me
  • BerryH
    BerryH Posts: 4,698 Member
    I agree that a 5K then a 10K would be a great goal. Why not have one of your runs seeing how far you can go in one hour and speeding up a little each week, and the other building up distance slowly to 10K (6.2 miles). I'd recommend another shorter run mid-week concentrating on speed, perhaps doing intervals or fartlek.

    Don't worry about speed too much - it takes me 1 hour 20 to get round a hilly 10K, and I'm never last!
  • scott091501
    scott091501 Posts: 1,260 Member
    I agree that a 5K then a 10K would be a great goal. Why not have one of your runs seeing how far you can go in one hour and speeding up a little each week, and the other building up distance slowly to 10K (6.2 miles). I'd recommend another shorter run mid-week concentrating on speed, perhaps doing intervals or fartlek.

    Don't worry about speed too much - it takes me 1 hour 20 to get round a hilly 10K, and I'm never last!

    Just for an opposing viewpoint. I'd say build your base first. IMO speed work without the base is a recipe for an injury.
  • La_Amazona
    La_Amazona Posts: 4,855 Member
    I agree that a 5K then a 10K would be a great goal. Why not have one of your runs seeing how far you can go in one hour and speeding up a little each week, and the other building up distance slowly to 10K (6.2 miles). I'd recommend another shorter run mid-week concentrating on speed, perhaps doing intervals or fartlek.

    Don't worry about speed too much - it takes me 1 hour 20 to get round a hilly 10K, and I'm never last!

    Just for an opposing viewpoint. I'd say build your base first. IMO speed work without the base is a recipe for an injury.

    What do you mean by base? Where I'm steady at a certain distance/ time?
  • scott091501
    scott091501 Posts: 1,260 Member
    Just until your comfortable running for an hour to hour and a half without being totally spent or really sore the next day.
  • L00py_T0ucan
    L00py_T0ucan Posts: 1,378 Member
    Just until your comfortable running for an hour to hour and a half without being totally spent or really sore the next day.

    When establishing base mileage, though, do you mean to do the above x a few days a week? How many, for example...
  • BerryH
    BerryH Posts: 4,698 Member
    When establishing base mileage, though, do you mean to do the above x a few days a week? How many, for example...
    While you're building try three times a week so you're not running two days, err, running! This can be as slow as you like, say 6 on a personal scale where 1 is strolling and 10 is hard as you can go.
This discussion has been closed.

Categories