Forums >General Running>My runs are getting shorter
Gang Name "Pound Cake"
I've noticed that as my mileage goes up, my normal easy 1hour run seems to be getting shorter. It used to seem like it took 1.5 hours to run that one hour run. Now it seems like it only takes about 45 minutes. Does that make sense to any of you? On my last 7 mile run, I thought I was at about mile 3, but when I checked the Garmin, I was at 4.75 miles. Time seems to have accelerated as the runs are getting physically easier.
What's your temporal bending experience?
- Scott
2014 Goals: First Marathon - BQ2016 <3:40 (3:25:18) - 1/2M <1:45 - 5K <22:00
2014 Marathons: 05/04 Flying Pig (3:49:02) - 09/20 Air Force (BQ 3:25:18) - 11/01 Indianapolis Monumental
Walk-Jogger
I must have plateaued on my 1-hour runs, because all four of them I've done this past month ended up the same at 60 minutes flat . . .
Retired & Loving It
If a chicken and a half can lay an egg and a half in a day and a half, how much does a pound of butter weigh?
But, sure, it makes sense. You're getting more fit. In that same vein, as my 31-32 minute loop began to fall under 30 minutes, I started running further to "fill out" the 30 minutes. Same for the hour-long runs. Except with the hour-long runs I'd be midway between miles 7 and 8, so instead of stopping at 60 minutes, I'd finish out the 8 miles. And back and forth, inching up in mileage and time. More fit. More miles. Same time.
an amazing likeness
You seem like a worrier...have you tried just, well, running?
Acceptable at a dance, invaluable in a shipwreck.
Ha ha. Not a worrier at all - not sure why you would think that. I'm just pointing out that the one hour run "feels" like it is only taking me 45 minutes instead of "feeling" like a one and a half hour run. Yes, I'm getting faster and running further in that one hour. Used to be five miles, then six, and now about 7.
I'm just trying, unsuccessfully, to start a conversation about what the perception of our runs feel like as we get more fit.
For me, time is passing faster during those runs as I get more comfortable with the distance. Your mileage may vary.
My work-a-say-run route generally takes me about 58 min..so let's call that an hour. Some days the time passes quickly, others it seems like forever before I make it home to dinner. How tired I am, stress of the day, the weather...these all set the tone.
On an easy run (which is most), the various sections of the route seem long. The mental concentration of intervals makes the time pass quickly. Tempo workouts take forever. Cold and rainy, or freezing rain...these are the longest. Little things make a big difference, the first couple weeks of holiday lights make the hour shorter.
Tiefsa
For me, it all depends upon the route. Whenever I'm running on the trails, the run feels short no matter what.
If I'm going for a run where I'm leaving from my house and coming back to it later, it always feels long no matter how many miles I'm running.
Distinctively Juvenile
I actually do one-hour runs on the indoor track, stopping at exactly one hour - I always start off at a very slow easy pace, and let my legs and lungs decide how much to pick it up for that day. I can't say that one hour ever feels even one minute less than an hour, but one day I did 60 laps, and another day I did 70 laps and it felt like the same level of effort, even though that's 54 seconds per mile faster. Those two runs were only three days apart, but I was just getting over a sinus cold.
Evolving body parts
Hey Paul,
I checked out your website and the photos that come up first are taken in Budapest, right? I live about 20 mi from Bp.
It really is a small world, as incidentally I spent a few years in Columbus, where you graduated.
As far as the routes getting shorter. I guess I experience something similar. I restarted running in the summer after a long post-injury period and my runs are getting so much easier each week. Like others have said, I give pretty much the same effort, but both the pace and the heart rate are getting way better.
Hey Paul, I checked out your website and the photos that come up first are taken in Budapest, right? I live about 20 mi from Bp. It really is a small world, as incidentally I spent a few years in Columbus, where you graduated. As far as the routes getting shorter. I guess I experience something similar. I restarted running in the summer after a long post-injury period and my runs are getting so much easier each week. Like others have said, I give pretty much the same effort, but both the pace and the heart rate are getting way better.
Yes, the pics are from Budapest. I spend 5 weeks a few summers ago in central Europe. I really loved photographing in Budapest the most. Wonderful city and so easy to get around on the metro. Most of that Budapest work comprised my graduate school application. Even though I'm a young 53, I'm going for my MFA at Ohio State so that's why I find myself in Columbus. Hope to visit Budapest again someday, perhaps as a professor leading a group of students on a summer study abroad trip.