Exercise! Love it or hate it, let's motivate each other to just DO IT!

Reply
 
Thread Tools
Old 05-25-2011, 07:57 AM   #1  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
ubergirl's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: In La-La Land
Posts: 3,846

S/C/G: 297/198/190

Height: 5'8"

Default How fast can you run a mile?

I just saw this interesting article in the New York Times suggesting that for middle aged people, the ability to run a mile at a certain speed might be just as good a marker for heart health as chloresterol, blood pressure, etc.

Remember that this is for forty year olds, so presumably if you're younger, you have to run faster. I'm just about to turn fifty, so I used the forty-year-old marks.

Very fit: For men: 8 minute mile, for women: 9 minute mile.
Moderately fit: For men: 9 minutes, for women: 10.30
Low fitness: For men > 10 minutes for women >12 minutes

I tried it last night, and I can run a 10.30 minute mile, but not a 9 minute mile, although I slacked off exercise for a couple of months and have only been back to my normal routine for a couple of weeks.

Still, fairly happy with "moderately fit" which decreases your risk of heart disease significantly. My mom had a heart attack at age 62, and 18 months ago when I started running, I could not run 3 straight minutes at a pace of 4.5!

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/0...-heart-health/
ubergirl is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-25-2011, 08:13 AM   #2  
Senior Member
 
joyc21's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: VA
Posts: 289

S/C/G: 225/ticker/158

Height: 5ft 7in

Default

I'm at about 9 1/2 minutes, but I'm only in my 30 so I guess that would put me in the moderately fit category.....Running has never been my thing though.
joyc21 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-25-2011, 11:37 AM   #3  
Argh.
 
calluna's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Alaska
Posts: 1,430

S/C/G: 308/273/175

Height: 5'9"

Default

I think this is interesting...I can run a 9:30 or 10:30 mile, but more often I run 11:00 because I run longer distances. I also can swim 900 yards in 16:50 and bike a mile in 3:00. Most often I don't, as I swim 2000+ yards and bike 15-20 miles on a moderate day. I would say that I am better than moderately fit and consider running my weakest sport. That said, I have huge room for improvement in all three sports, so perhaps they are right.

I can see using it as a rule of thumb, but there's a lot that it doesn't take into account.

Last edited by calluna; 05-25-2011 at 11:39 AM.
calluna is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-25-2011, 11:45 AM   #4  
Senior Member
 
fitness4life's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: WI Northwoods
Posts: 672

Default

Cool to know! I thought as a 41 y.o. fitness instructor my mile was slow! I haven't really tried hard to see what my best time was but after boot camp one day I ran it in 6:57. Yes, the three seconds under 7 minutes is a big deal to me.
fitness4life is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-25-2011, 11:56 AM   #5  
Senior Member
 
tea2's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Canadian Prairies
Posts: 282

S/C/G: 205/188/140

Height: 5' 4"

Default

Interesting: Last year I made 10:30, but then I fell while x country skiing and lost a lot of fitness...so now it's closer to 12.
tea2 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-25-2011, 12:56 PM   #6  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
ubergirl's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: In La-La Land
Posts: 3,846

S/C/G: 297/198/190

Height: 5'8"

Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by calluna View Post
I think this is interesting...I can run a 9:30 or 10:30 mile, but more often I run 11:00 because I run longer distances. I also can swim 900 yards in 16:50 and bike a mile in 3:00. Most often I don't, as I swim 2000+ yards and bike 15-20 miles on a moderate day. I would say that I am better than moderately fit and consider running my weakest sport. That said, I have huge room for improvement in all three sports, so perhaps they are right.

I can see using it as a rule of thumb, but there's a lot that it doesn't take into account.
They didn't mean for it to be a be-all-and-end-all. The point of the article was that it might be a good screening type test for heart disease risk-- comparable to looking at things like blood pressure, and cholesterol.

Still, it got me to thinking, because when I started losing weight and exercising, I swam laps every single day for six months, and I thought I was moderately fit then, but when I started running, I could only do about 1 minute at a time, and it took me almost 6 months just to build up to thirty minutes of continuous running BELOW a 12 minute pace!

I know a lot of people in their fifties who probably think they are moderately fit because they walk a bit who can't run a single mile and would think it was outrageous to even consider it.
ubergirl is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-25-2011, 01:18 PM   #7  
Girl Gone Strong
 
saef's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Atlantis, which is near Manhattan
Posts: 6,836

S/C/G: (H)247/(C)159/(Goal)142-138

Height: 5'3"

Default

Depends on whether I thought something was chasing me.

I'm only half-joking. On the rare occasions when I do run, I never really push myself to see how fast I can go. That feels ... dangerous. In way that I don't feel while sprinting in spin class or using an elliptical. The machine makes me feel safer. Out of doors, what if I tripped & went down hard on the pavement? I am probably a big ole fraidy cat, but those thoughts do go through my mind. My goal was always more like endurance than a sprint -- say, running for 45 minutes in a measured rhythm & seeing how far that got me.

Last edited by saef; 05-25-2011 at 01:19 PM.
saef is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-25-2011, 06:29 PM   #8  
Senior Member
 
CherryPie99's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Northern NY
Posts: 1,921

S/C/G: 344/119/116

Height: 5'1"

Default

I guess this makes sense BUT - what percentage of 40 year olds - general population - can run a mile straight, period?

I run a Sllllowwww mile - takes me about 14 minutes - and I'm in my late 30's. And I know it's slow, although I'll tell you that since I started this journey I'm in much better shape then most people I work with, including some younger then me. Also, I'm 5'1" - doesn't it make sense that someone 5'10" would run a faster mile then me?
CherryPie99 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-25-2011, 07:15 PM   #9  
Embracing the suck
 
JohnP's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: California - East Bay
Posts: 3,185

S/C/G: 300/234/abs

Height: 6'9"

Default

I can do a mile in under 8 minutes easily and I would never say I am "very fit" but definitions can vary. For cardio I would say I'm in above average condtion for a 40 year old. (Well I'm almost 40)
JohnP is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-26-2011, 09:14 AM   #10  
Love me.
 
AshleyLaurent's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2011
Posts: 71

S/C/G: 207/T/135

Height: 5'10"

Default

When I was 16-18 my best singular mile time on cross country team was 5:45. I ran an average of 8-10 miles a day. I have dreamed of attaining the 4 min mile. Now, at 22, after I discovered I hate running, I just walk all the time. Although, I must say, sometimes I can walk a mile faster than some people running it.

Last edited by AshleyLaurent; 05-26-2011 at 09:20 AM.
AshleyLaurent is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-26-2011, 09:33 AM   #11  
I'm Just a Little Crazy
 
SCraver's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Willington, CT
Posts: 1,404

S/C/G: 250/215/170

Height: 5'9"

Default

I can now do a 10 minute mile. I am hoping to get to where I can do multiple 10 min. miles. But it took me quite a while to get up to going a whole mile in 12 mins. I am a little bummed to hear that is LOW fitness.
SCraver is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-26-2011, 09:37 AM   #12  
Senior Member
 
fitness4life's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: WI Northwoods
Posts: 672

Default

Cherrypie, good question about how many people over 40 can even run a whole mile straight.

This is very sad to me. Not only about the state of our nation's fitness, but the mental state, too. Seeing a mile run as nearly impossible speaks to the fact that we've defeated ourselves without even trying.

I bet a lot more people can run a mile but few will ever try.
fitness4life is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-26-2011, 10:11 AM   #13  
Senior Member
 
fatferretfanatic's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Kentucky
Posts: 874

S/C/G: 268/181/160

Height: 5'6

Default

I run about a 14 minute mile-I am very slow, but I really just started a few months ago. I go more for endurance. In 51 minutes, I can run 3.5 miles. Pretty good for a girl of my size, I think.
fatferretfanatic is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-26-2011, 10:23 AM   #14  
Member
 
Trail Runner's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 61

S/C/G: 190/136/133

Height: 5'-5"

Default

Just one mile? Probably 7 something minutes. But I run, a lot. And most of my miles are done at a 10-11 minute pace.

Also, height makes no difference in speed. Most elite runners tend to be shorter, actually.

And don't anyone feel discouraged! The more slower miles you run, the faster you will get! I know that seems weird, but it's true. More miles, slowly, will help you run faster in the long run.
Trail Runner is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-26-2011, 01:54 PM   #15  
Senior Member
 
fitness4life's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: WI Northwoods
Posts: 672

Default

Trail, I totally agree with the slow but more mile training. In training for my 5k, I ran 9 miles slower 5 days before the race. I had my PR that race.

ferret, you totally rock that 3+ mile run at that pace for just getting started! You should be very proud!
fitness4life is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Related Topics
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
How long does it take you to do a mile? Jacque9999 Exercise! 37 06-23-2009 04:01 PM
Becoming a Runner (when you're a terrible runner) Minerva23 Exercise! 35 02-01-2008 10:53 PM


Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off



All times are GMT -4. The time now is 05:28 PM.


We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.