3 miles in 35 minutes.

[BRPORSCHE]

Respectable? Been forever since I ran some sort of distance. Just looking for a ballpark of what I should get down to.

Age: 19
Weight: 205
Height: 6'0"

[Jeff Alton]

Depends on your goals. The fact that a non runner ran 3 miles is great! There is a lot of folks who could not run 3 miles in 3 days.

How do you feel at the end? Dead tired? Could keep going? Could have went faster?

If you are tired, but feel good at the end of your run, your pace was good for your fitness level.


If you are just looking to burn calories and strengthen your heart and get into "better shape" any exercise is better than none.



I have been running for 20 years and my "going for a run" pace is between 7:00-7:30/mile. But I have lots of practice. Like I said, just going 3 is good.

I am 38
5'11'
170lbs

Cheers

[IROC]

I'm 43 and am 6'3" and about 210. I am *not* a runner. I typically run a 5k in about 26-27 minutes. IMHO, a 9 minute mile is a good pace. A 7:00 minute mile would kill me. :>)

Edit: I agree - just running 3 miles is an accomplishment. Most people don't realize how far 3 miles really is...

[Jeff Alton]

The time is really not important, as long as you feel like you exersiced when you are done, than it was a good run.

Cheers

[BRPORSCHE]

I just got out of the shower and I feel freash. It isn't like I dont exersize at all. I lift weights about 2 times a week and decided I wanted to get some running into my workout. Give me a day or two to recover and I feel like I could do it again.

[Rick Lee]

I cut out serious running after my 7th marathon (PR 3:40) because I am just not built to be a runner, my knees are getting bad and I had proven what I had set out to do. If three miles makes you tired, then that's a good distance to work with. I don't know if speed or endurance is more important though. I always heard you needed at least 20 min. of an elevated heart rate to start getting a good workout and it usually takes a mile or so before you should even start that 20 min. countdown. When you get into serious long distance shape, three miles will barely get you a sweat and it's no workout at all. So decide if you want speed or endurance or both. If you want endurance, build up to 10 miles on Sunday mornings and do six mile runs three more times in the week. I always felt and performed best at work when I had a hard run before I went to work. Kept me feeling great all day. After work it was a serious effort to get motivated to start a run. First time I did 10 miles, I had a friend follow me in my car, parked it and then drove me 10 miles away from my car. No cell phones in those days and I had to get back. I did a lot of stupid stuff like that, but it really worked and after a while, I thought anything under 12 miles was a waste of my time.

[masraum]

3 miles for someone 19 should be in the 20-25 min range for someone in average shape. For someone pretty athletic, 16.5-20 would be good. When I was younger I ran a 5.0 min mile, but for a 3 miler I'd usually average between 5.5 and 6 min mile. When I was closer to 30, I was running and got down to about 7.5 min miles, but don't know that I ever built back up to 3 miles.

I can easily walk 4 miles an hour, that's 3 miles in 45 mins. I'm 37 and in pretty crappy shape. 35 mins for 3 miles isn't really running, it's jogging.

[BRPORSCHE]

Ok, So I need to shoot for the 23-20 minute window. I'll be honest I wasn't really going as quick as I should of been, but there was room for improvement. I am not really built for distance running. I did a lot of sprinting in high school, and with 8 years of football the farthest I could run was 100 yards.

[Jeff Alton]

My Marathon time is 3:15 now. But I run at all different speeds depending on the training I am doing.

3mi/5k in under 20 is fast, pretty damn small % of the population (at any age) can do that. I have run miles into the 5min range but never broken into the 4's, never will. Even a 6 min mile is very fast. I have gone under 18mins for 5k a few times, but I was given it all I had.

I preffer to run for 1h-1:30 most times and a short run in 10K in 42-44mins. I prefer longer runs because it is my "quiet time" where I can think and not be disturbed. Kinda theraputic for me, not just physical exersice.

Cheers

[ckissick]

I ran cross country in High School and used to run the 3-mile "Crystal Springs" course in Belmont in a little over 17 minutes. I won sometimes. That was my best sport. At 19, I'd say shoot for breaking 20 minutes. That's a worthy goal.

[JavaBrewer]

Ahh to be 19 again...I ran cross country my first two years of college. Now I'm 44, 5'11, 195 lbs, and running more than 2 miles is a huge accomplishment. At 19, just starting out, you should shoot for 7 minute miles and work down from there. Stretch ALOT b4 and after running and get good shoes. Your knees and back will thank you for it...especially when you get as old as me...and trust me you will some day...

[CJFusco]

It depends on how long you've been running and what you're used to. I don't run competitively, but I run over 5 miles a day 6 days a week. I run about 25-28 mins for 3 miles at 26 years old. But I'm in far better shape than I was when I was 19 (145 pounds now vs. about 180 then).

[Gogar]

+1 for "health"? just DOING IT every day or two is great.

I'm your size, and I do it 5 times a week in about 27 minutes.

In a race, 23 or 24 minutes. But it kills.

It's not about how fast. But if you do it every other day or something, you can go to Qdoba or Chipotle for lunch and not feel bad all day long. that's more important for me.

1000 calories, that delicious burrito.

[on-ramp]

don't push yourself because you could die of a heart attack. seriously. check your pulse periodically and make sure it's not running too fast.
overexertion (sp) leads to bad things.

[hm7608]

I've been running consistently for about 25 years. It makes you feel good and the occasional runners high is great. I am age 52 and run 8 minute miles - four miles in 32 minutes. You could probably get to the 8 minute mark within a month depending on body build, commitment and not over-doing it.

[CJFusco]

Howie's advice is sound - as long as you work toward something slowly and gradually, the human body can get acclimated to amazing feats.

For example, when I started running seriously (my last year of college), I simply COULD NOT run 2 miles straight without feeling completely spent. To gradually work toward it, I started by walking 3 miles, then running 1 and walking 2, running 2 and walking 1... before I knew it, by the end of that summer I could run 9 miles straight without resting and without feeling especially winded. Tired and a little sore, sure, but it felt great. I have since backed off my running distance because I was starting to burn off muscle mass and it became difficult for me to build a lot of muscle. Every once in awhile, on a nice day off, I will push myself to 8-10 miles though.

[Tobra]

If you want to increase your speed and endurance you need to do some interval training too. Go to the track, sprint the straights and jog the curves, there are a lot of things you can do.

Hell, I ran a sub 5 minute mile when I was 30 and gave blood earlier that day, had not even been working out at all. At 19 I could do it in 4:10

[Carl Bauer]

Tom,

Give yourself credit if you're running outside here in Houston. Yes it's flat but the air is always so heavy and humid... sometimes I feel like I'm running through hot fog when I'm outside.

If you're running on a treadmill inside, a 10min mile over 3 miles is respectable. You'll be upping the pace soon to 7 or 7.5 mph.

[Superman]

I'm 49, 5'8" and 165 lbs. I occasionally jog slowly to my car in the parking lot. I very frequently carry a briefcase to meetings, that might weigh five to ten pounds. So you see, Lance Armstrong and I have about the same level of physical conditioning.

[M.D. Holloway]

not bad really - if you can do 3 miles in 20 minutes you'll be getting a pretty good workout. 3 miles in 30 minutes? Not bad if you have 2lb weights in each hand...

I applaud your efforts. I wish I had the ballz, discipline and attitude to do that sort of thing.