running for time

When we approach our daily training, most of runners set out to accomplish so many miles, or whatever measurement of choice. But the goal is useually a distance. "I'm going to run 6 miles today", etc. With GPS watches so prevelant now a days, this is the case more than ever, I would surmise. Yet, I read somewhere recently that the body doesn't know distance, as much as it knows time. If you go to run, say, 6 miles, you could be across the board as far as how much time you are out there training - where your time could be really good (short, 36 mins) or really bad (long, 54 mins). And of course completing the goal of distance can give you an aray of time on the feet, and overall, exercise.

So what I was reading was that in normal training runs, it's better, says the author, to run for time. If you go out to say, run for 40 mins, your differentiation will be in distance, where you could have had a fast run (7 miles, quicker pace) or a slower run (say, 5 miles, slower pace). But despite the difference in distance, your body is out there working up to run for certain periods of time, and getting used to being on the feet longer, and becoming more efficient in giving the body oxygen, and working the cardio/pulmenary system for longer periods of time. I think you get the idea.

But he was saying that aligning our training based on time, where the body can get used to being on the feet and running that period of time, and where we can up the time, rather than up the distance...well he was saying that the body is more in-tune in this fashion, and will eliminate some of the vagaries of our upward trending endurance.

It was an interesting perspective, none-the-less. Something I think I might try and implement. It will be easier for me since I don't have a GPS watch, and therefore am not slave to looking down and feeling as if I have to hit certain round numbers of distance.

Anycase, as I ran for 35 mins yesterday on an out and back, I decided to hit my normal neighborhood 4 mile loop, and tack on until I hit 40 mins. I hit one mile in 745, and pretty much stayed right at that pace for the rest of the run. Legs were a little tired, but I could tell my body actually began to feel like it was getting looser and recovered as I clicked off the last 10 mins of the run.

Time: 40 mins
Miles: 5+
Pace: 745ish