Run time inconsistent
 

About three weeks ago I started running ago, and something's been driving me crazy. Sometimes a run will take me a few (2-6) seconds longer than my last run. This pisses me off for obvious reasons; I guess my question is this: is this normal, or am I just a slackass? Does this happen to you guys?

Thanks in advance.

I imagine that you are sprinting, else 2-6 wouldn't be that big of a deal (in my mind). I run 1.5 miles every other day, at least try to, and I would say that you aren't giving yourself enough down time to recuperate or doing proper stretching before and after. I don't know your routine well enough to give many practical possibilities.

Knowing some statistics, I think you might be impressing too much on the minimum of your times, and not realizing that can't be expected every run. I would suggest you look at the average of your run times, and compare your times from that. If you know your statistics, you can even look at the standard deviation to get a better idea of what you should expect your times to be. I'd recommend keeping a log of info--date & time of run, hours of sleep, time since you last ate before your run, and what you ate--which might help you understand what makes your run times best.

2-6 seconds is running on the outside of the pavement, taking a corner a little wider, looking behind you, any kind of rubbish. sometimes you run faster, sometimes you run slower, fact of life.

Chill :)

See this is why I quit running.

I always had to stop to pick up my Camel Lights that would fall out of my pocket.

You're being ridiculous about the "deviations" here. Fluctuations of a minute or more are possible unless you're really OCD with a GPS run tracker.

...

Skip the stats bullshit... just run. Consistency is the key to getting better. Push yourself each time. Your body lets you know when it's challenging, right?

If you're running 100 metres then I'd be worried about 2 to 6 seconds. If you're running in terms of miles and kilometres, however, I wouldn't be worried about it in the slightest.

I've been a runner for three weeks exactly. From here out, every Saturday until the middle of December, when I run my first half-marathon, I'll be running the furthest I've ever run in my life.

I'm doing LOTS of runs each week that are pretty close to the same distance. So far my pace varies by as much as a minute and a half, depending on what time of day it is, what the temperature is, what I've eaten and when, what sort of music I'm listening to, what the traffic is like, whether it's windy, whether my wife kissed me goodbye before leaving for work, whether my shoelaces are tied tight enough, whether the last page of the book I'm reading was even or odd-numbered, etc, etc, etc.

I imagine that if your tolerance for timing is in the seconds range, you're not talking much distance. Say some more about the kind of running you're doing.

I always keep a log when I run. I run when I get home from work (during the week) and early afternoon on the days I have off.

At this point I'm running one mile every day. My best time is 5:43, my worst time is 6:22, and my average is 5:55. My average is kind of misleading, as only my first two runs took longer than 5:49. I probably am just being obsessive compulsive, but to me taking even one or two seconds longer than last time seems like a failure. I stretch before and after every run. (Fifteen to twenty minutes of warming up and stretching)

It is also easy to have fluctuations one day due to what you did the day prior.

If your body is still tired and you run again, you will likely run a little slower. But that doesn't mean the run isn't good for you because it is, you will still get the cardio benefits and fatigue forces you to rely on slightly different muscles.

If you take a day off and then do the same run again, you will probably run your personal record for that run.

Wait... I reread the thread... and did I miss the Six Million Dollar Man part where we all run the same distance in the same time every time?

I don't know, I was just a dumbass Joe Nobody. I never had a PT test that came up with the same run time... ever... not even close.

I'm doing it wrong, aren't I?

Fine fine, okay, I'm crazy. I used to run every other day, but I switched to get a better workout.

You mean like 2+ miles twice a day?

Do you wear the same clothes and shoes on each run? Do you eat the exact same food every day preceding your runs. Do you monitor temperature, wind speed, and humidity? Because any of those could be a factor in inconsistencies, especially considering the minutiae of the differences.

Pfft, fuck no. I just started running three weeks ago. I'm doing one mile a day; back in the day I variously tried 1.5 miles every other day, 3 miles every other day, 2 miles every other day, and everything in between-every other day.

This time I did half a mile every day for almost two weeks, now I'm at 1 mile per day.

Try to run twice a day, if possible. According to some of these bipedal contest types, running twice a day is a much quicker way of building endurance. Generally speaking, your body gets more out of running two shorter distances than one longer distance. You'll get into shape faster this way.

You're gonna laugh at this thread when you get outta boot camp.

dude ur crazy....2-6 seconds....fuck it could be that the wind is blowing harder or in a different direction one day...if i wanted to get the same exact time everyday i would just sprint at the end or slow down to time it right....

Crompsin has it right. You are human (I imagine), get used to it. You have multiple variations each day from sleep, energy/vitamin levels, arousal levels, through to variations due to circadium rhythm. Measure your speed weekly, not daily and don't worry about seconds unless you are an olympian running 400 metres.

You...started running 3 weeks ago...and you're running a fucking 5:43?!

Seriously, that's a damn good time.

Even more seriously, that's a stupid training program. Even assuming you're doing cross training, you should be varying the distance a bit, if by no other reason than running different routes. And you should NOT be going full-bore every single day. If you want the chance to go balls-to-the-wall, do it over about a half-mile in the middle of your run (assuming a 2 mile run). That's called a threshold run, and it can teach you to scald dogs and run down deer for your dinner. But you should still only do it 3 times a week - two if your racing and once if you're doing a fartlek or something.

Also I moved this to Tilted Life since that's more where it belongs, what with the new stuff over there and all.

The reason I go balls out everyday is so I can get used to doing so at boot camp. My idea was to build distance over time. Today I ran 2.5 miles at a mild pace (didn't time it), and it wasn't worth a shit for cardio; it blasted my calves and shins though, so I guess it was still worthwhile. Another reason for sprinting one mile is that I'm a construction worker, and when I get home I'm often times too tired for a long run.

...You will need a good cardio base more than you will need sprinting ability in basic.

You will need to be able to run for longer distances and carry a ruck for hours, though the ruck will be light and the pace slow.


To train for that (and to bring your overall cardiovascular fitness up) you need to keep your heart rate elevated for an extended period of time. If you started mixing longer, slower runs into your routine it will help you for a number of reasons.

Well, that's not a very efficient way of doing it. You're honestly more likely to be doing harm than good here, and you're not increasing your VO2 max if you're not giving your body an opportunity to recover.

Seriously, saying that you ran 2.5 miles at a mild pace and it "wasn't worth a shit for cardio" tells me that you've got your head completely spun around. IF you want to be a good runner, you need to realize that Long Slow Distance is the base upon which all other accomplishments are built. You're trying to do this with no base. You are going to injure yourself, quite possibly severely, if you keep this up. You can cause stress fractures, all sorts of connective tissue damage (like plantars fascitis, IT band irritation or back spasms) and muscle tears (not pulls - tears), not to mention that by running at 100% threshold every day without real training can do all sorts of cardiovascular damage.

In short, you're approaching this like it's weight lifting. Which it's not. Each run is a part of a larger cycle, which itself is a part of an even larger cycle. What I mean is that things go up and down over time, including times and distances.

Try varying your distances and speeds. What you're attempting is actually based in solid running theory (the African model, of which I'm a huge proponent), but you need to dial it back from 100% to like 80%. You should be able to hold a long conversation easily on slower days and short ones with some effort on faster ones. Trying to run a course as fast as you can is fine once a week, but every day is going to get you hurt.

Hmmm. I've heard of LSD running, but I never really gave it a try. What I meant about the 2.5 mile run was that I wasn't huffing and puffing, my heart wasn't pounding; it really didn't feel like much.

Run time errors can be caused by many things:
1. Confliction with TSR or other running program
2. Software issue
3. Computer Virus
4. Memory issue

What?

Consider the victim.