Should I Run By Time or Distance?

Question: Should I Run By Time or Distance?

I'm new to running and I'm not sure if I should be measuring by running routes by time or distance. Which is better?

Answer: Personally, I'm one of those runners who loves to know how fast and far I'm running. It's definitely helpful to have an idea of what kind of pace you run, so you measure your progress and pick realistic race goals.

But it's also 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. To avoid overtraining and injury, it's important that a majority of your runs are at a conversational pace.
• It makes running on vacation (or during other traveling) much simpler because you don't have to measure unfamiliar running routes.

So try to vary your measurements -- you can sometimes run by distance and for other runs, just go for time.