Have you ever noticed how fast time moves, and how each year seems to go faster than the year before? The time spent running is perceived in the same way: the second half of a race always seems to go faster than the first. And while some races seem to fly by, others seem to crawl. This change in the perception of time when running can be explained in part by the relationship with effort.
We can all plan their workouts by time or distance, but each has its advantages. Here’s how you can decide whether to run for minutes for miles. Runners tend to think a lot about mileage. In fact, it is the number of miles you run each week that often defines your status as a runner. The more you run, the more validated you will be. Others will ask you how many mms you run in how long.
Because the amount of time spent running, however, is more important than the number of kilometers. It is the duration of the effort that represents the amount of stress in training. A faster runner will cover the same amount of distance in less time than a slower runner, or to put it another way, cover more miles in the same amount of time.
How to decide whether to run for time or run for distance
What matters when it comes to measuring what is better, running for minutes or for kilometers is stress. If a slower runner tries to run as many miles per week as a faster runner, the extra time it takes will increase the amount of stress and therefore puts the slower runner at greater risk of injury.
To reach the optimal point of stress if you are a slower runner, you will have to adapt the number of kilometers to be done, so as not to go overboard and run the risk of training injury. If your goal is to run 10k a day, you should start with a light workout and increase the distance as your fitness improves.
The reason why time is more important than distance is because the body has no understanding of what a kilometer is; you only know how hard you are working and how long you are working. So the length of your running runs is one of the key factors. Based on this, biological signals are awakened that induce physiological adaptations that, ultimately, will lead to improvements in our running performance.
In an effort to equalize the stress of training between runners who train by the minute or by the kilometer, here is a hierarchy of strategies:
Decrease the duration of each work period for slower runners, or increase the duration of each work period for faster runners. In this way, the duration of each work period is the same between both types of runners.
Reduce the number of repetitions for slower runners, or increase the number of repetitions for faster runners. In this way, the total time spent running at a specific intensity is the same.
Increase the length of the recovery period for slower runners, or decrease the length of the recovery period for faster runners. So the work / rest ratio will be the same.
If you stop training by mileage and start training by time, not only will you be doing the right amount of training for you, but you can even change your perception of time.
Follow these tips so that you have no doubts whether to run for time or for distance. You already know the fundamentals necessary to perform the best exercise that provides you with the most optimal physical condition.
