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Christine Luff
Running / Jogging Blog

By Christine Luff, About.com Guide to Running / Jogging

Running By Time vs. Distance

Friday April 25, 2008
I'm one of those people who loves to know how fast and far I'm running. Occasionally, I try to run by time, but I get frustrated not knowing my pace and distance. However, I know that it's beneficial to sometimes run for time, rather than focusing on the miles. Here are some reasons why:
  • If you're not focused on pace, you'll run based on how you feel. So, on days when you're not feeling great or the conditions are lousy, you won't force yourself to go for your miles or feel guilty if you don't cover the distance. Instead, you'll run for your goal time at the right pace.
  • It helps you prevent boredom and explore new routes more easily because you're not worried about the mileage.
  • If you always run by distance, you might be tempted to push the pace and always hit a certain pace per mile during each run, rather than varying the intensity of your workouts.
  • It makes running on vacation (or during other traveling) much simpler because you don't have to measure unfamiliar running routes.
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Comments
May 2, 2008 at 1:04 am
(1) Kailash Agnihotri says:

Madam,
Since I noticed the Beijing Olympic Torch on television being carried by a hep woman, it occurred to me to take the grace of this art to task. On May1 it happened I took to observe a break by making Labour Day useful in brooming lawns to clear them off the husks of rhododendrons. Two bucketfuls to drop at a dustbin convinced me at 7am my jogging time, that, running makes one please oneself while labour is backbreaking and ardous. So that was that. Daily I run and pass on tiffins to destitutes searching the dustbins and living on roadsides to carry water across a traffic road. Once I realized why a lassie paid no heed to a little tiffin because I did not stop my jog to help her carry the water. It looked a nukeful of weight but when I carried it the next day my hand pained me. I realixed people need the exact help and not some throw off gestures. My daily jog takes five miles an hour and it is full of fun with my radio on and lots of stranded people in the Noida, U.P. India region where few care to pass aid of any form. But jogging has made me healthy and find atonement for thousands of miles to have rod for free when a few hundred could tell the truth by running. Thank you for your articles and this is to contribute some psychology to you.

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