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Personal speed test

Suezoled

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Sep 20, 2003
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Okay, I tried to sprint a mile. It took me 7 minutes, 30 secons. I am 5 feet tall. Is this a crappy time?

It might be a crappy time. I run 5 miles in 45 minutes. An x-marine I met can do 10 miles in 60 minutes. He can sprint his miles in 5 minutes, or even 4 minutes 30 seconds.

Dang.
 
It depends - were you in a wheel chair or on crutches? ;)

I can't really comment much, running is not my bag. Ran a 10K once and my knee almost blew up. I've stuck to weight training and martial arts since. However, I believe I used to average an 8 min. mile for 30-40 minute runs - sure I could do better if only went for 1 mile.
 
I've been somewhat tempted to try Red Bull, but I don't want to get stuck with the idea I need it to run better.
 
The only time I get up from behind this computer is when I need to adjust the DeathRay™, so I have no idea what kind of mile I could run...

(5 feet tall?!... That's about the size of your average pygmy... you know, most achondroplastic dwarves - or midgets - average about 5 feet... Hows the weather down there! [/Evil])
 
I run every weekday ~2 miles in exactly 14 mins on the treadmill for warmup. I can do much better but I shan't. Too catabolic.

Marathon runners are unbelievable. They run at about 20km/h for >2 hours. Just try 20km/h on the treadmill and you'll see what I mean... Even professional footballers can't follow them for more than 500-600m.
 
[smacks Yahweh upside the head with DeathRay™]

...watch it kid. I don't need to be tall to put the smackdown on cheeky sons like you. :p
 
It's not a great time, if world-class competition is what you're after.

However, being able to run a mile in 7.5 minutes is probably beyond the capacity of a large portion of the population. Whether this is a good time depends on your age, as well as height, and whether you've been training. If you've been bedridden for the last 6 months, that would be a great time. If you've been cardio-boxing 3 hours daily for the last 5 years, you probably need to work on your running form. I'm guessing that if you can run 5 consecutive 9 minute miles, you should be able to take some time off that one mile if you work at it.

Did you puke when you finished? If not, you can probably run harder.
 
Okay! Gonna go for puke-worthy status then!

(note: I'm 27. I've been concentrating on distance running. I've only decided to start on speed for shorter distances)
 
ps: is it mandatory to puke afterward? Cuz, well, I only have a treadmill in a gym, and I don't wanna be rude, you know?
 
Suezoled said:
Okay, I tried to sprint a mile. It took me 7 minutes, 30 secons. I am 5 feet tall. Is this a crappy time?

It might be a crappy time. I run 5 miles in 45 minutes. An x-marine I met can do 10 miles in 60 minutes. He can sprint his miles in 5 minutes, or even 4 minutes 30 seconds.

Dang.
Click to expand...
I find it hard to believe anyone can sprint a mile. Even the elite milers (1600 meters) don't sprint the distance, though they push themselves to the limit for portions of the race.

Still, yours is a good time for a mile. You can shave off time, but be proud of 7:30. It's a very good pace.
 
The current world record for the mile (where they don't do the metric length) is some seconds under 4 minutes.

When I was in the army, you would "pass" the mile-run part of the PT test if you came in under 12 minutes. (You can almost walk that fast)

Marathoners (top competitors) strive for 5-minute miles, as I recall.

I don't run at all, having bad knees, bad low back, and bunions.
Bicycling allows me to work as hard as I want pain-free.

Successful running, like other sports, is dependent a great deal on body type, build, lung capacity, anerobic threshold, and the percentage of your muscle-mass that's fast or slow-twitch.
 
El Greco said:
...
Marathon runners are unbelievable. They run at about 20km/h for >2 hours. Just try 20km/h on the treadmill and you'll see what I mean... Even professional footballers can't follow them for more than 500-600m.
Click to expand...

Try it for 4.5+ hours. Three times. In about a year. I was working just about as hard as some of those elite runners that came in twice as fast.

I might do it again.

(btw, my initial perception of this topic was that it was about typing speed. Just tried a game from POPCAP games online called TyperShark. Got 50+ wpm -- when sober. 35+ wpm when not.)
 
The womens mile record is 4:12.56; the mens is 3:43.13 (source).

A 7:30 mile is nothing to be ashamed of at all; as someone said, it's far better than most people can do. At my best in high school, I ran a 5:00.6 mile, but I also remember being thrilled to run one in 7:50.

If you decide you care about your mile time, training for that is very different from training to do long distances - you'll do less endurance training and more middle-distance speed training (like 400m repetitions). You'll do better if you find some other like-minded people to train with, too.

did
 
Suezoled said:
ps: is it mandatory to puke afterward? Cuz, well, I only have a treadmill in a gym, and I don't wanna be rude, you know?
Click to expand...
I think that not puking in that case would be a good call.

You did that time on a treadmill? I've never really run on a treadmill. I don't know if it's harder or easier than running over the ground.
 
Running on a treadmill is probably better for your knees than running on the road. Running on an appropriate surface (such as the recycled tires they use on tracks) is also much better.

Generally, I think I can run a faster treadmill time than one on the road. I haven't run on a track in years. My quickest mile time was in the low six-minute range, I might have even been below the six minute mark a time or two. Nowadays, it's low sevens, but I haven't actually tried a timed mile in months.

7:30 is a very good mile. Being able to run three miles keeping an average time of 7:30 is even better. But running isn't everything; it builds cardio strength but not much else. You can work the muscles in your legs just as good walking, or using an elliptical trainer. Running on the road, over the long term, destroys your knees from the impact (the president just had an MRI for his knees, probably because he has messed them up running over the years).

If you are going to run on a track, or on the road, get a running buddy and run together. It's a lot easier to stay motivated that way. I prefer bicycling, but to each his/her own.
 
Running until you puke is just silly. You ever see a professional athlete do that when competiting? Nope. It's also probably putting your heart-rate up to its maximum, which is not overly clever.

Going up to the human maximum of 200 beats-per-minute, collapsing in a heap and then puking sounds stupid enough to have originated from the military.

You should get heart-rate monitors so you can exercise sensibly and efficiently, just like people like Lance Armstrong use. Polar is a good brand. You put the senser around your chest and it transmits to a watch. Most adults would be aiming for the 130 to 160 beats-per-minute range.

This is what serious athletes do, as as you get fitter and fitter, you have to run harder and harder to get to that heart-rate level.

That's the professional puke-free approach. :p
 
Just for the record, running faster and faster after you achieve a certain VO2max and after you have got used in running close to the lactate threshold, requires to lose a good amount of weight. Assuming that a runner is already lean enough, the extra weight can only be muscle mass. Look at how undermuscled the best runners are.
 
Hehe- I remember one excercise guru maintaining that running should be considered a sport rather than an excercise system.

His reasoning was that it was too specialized; limited body movement, limited stride, etc. Doesn't promote upper-body strength, flexibility, etc.
 
Suezoled,

Suezoled said:
Okay, I tried to sprint a mile. It took me 7 minutes, 30 secons. I am 5 feet tall. Is this a crappy time?

It might be a crappy time. I run 5 miles in 45 minutes. An x-marine I met can do 10 miles in 60 minutes. He can sprint his miles in 5 minutes, or even 4 minutes 30 seconds.

(note: I'm 27. I've been concentrating on distance running. I've only decided to start on speed for shorter distances)
Click to expand...
Sprint

Yes, I think "sprint" is the wrong word for a mile. I would call it a run. The style is different and the muscles you use are different.

1 mile in 71/2 minutes

I mile in 71/2 minutes is good. You say you are 5 foot tall and 27 years of age. Well I am 5' 5" and a bit older. I haven't tested myself for a mile run but I usually run 12 km in just over or just under 60 minutes. That's equivalent to about 1 Mile in 8 minutes. So, I think you're doing well.

5 miles in 45 minutes

My 12 km in 60 minutes equates to about 5 miles in 40 minutes. I'm ahead at the moment but I've been gradually building up to this distance ever since Nov 2002 when we moved house (too steep where we lived before). So, again, I think you are doing well.

regards,
BillyJoe.

PS: Don't become a fanatic, it dries up your sex drive. (No, I'm serious)
 
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