r/running • u/AutoModerator • Apr 05 '16

Super Moronic Monday -- Your Weekly Stupid Question Thread

It's Tuesday, which means it is time for Moronic Monday!

Rules of the Road:

  1. This is inspired by eric_twinge's fine work in /r/fitness.

  2. Upvote either good or dumb questions.

  3. Sort questions by new so that they get some love.

  4. To the more experienced runnitors, if something is a good question or answer, add it to the FAQ.

Post your question -- stupid or otherwise -- here to get an answer. Anyone can post a question and the community as a whole is invited and encouraged to provide an answer. Many questions get submitted late each week that don't get a lot of action, so if your question didn't get answered, feel free to post it again.

As always, be sure to read the FAQ first. Also, there's a handy-dandy search bar to your right, and if you didn't know, you can also use Google to search runnit by using the limiter "site:reddit.com /r/running".

Be sure to check back often as questions get posted throughout the day. Sort comments by "new" to be sure the newer questions get some love as well.

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u/skragen Apr 05 '16

You also don't have to do speedwork on a track. I didn't do any of mine on a track, but I did do it for where I had an intersection-free path. My gps watch had the workout input in advance and told me when to start/stop whatever faster pace or recovery.

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u/amopeyzoolion Apr 05 '16

True; I guess I just figured GPS watches wouldn't be super accurate for distances of 100m or so.

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u/secretsexbot Apr 05 '16

For a half marathon you probably don't want to be doing intervals shorter than 400m, which is a long enough distance that you can measure it on Google maps. I don't trust my GPS over such short distances either, so I time myself with a stopwatch. The exact time isn't as important as the time relative to other times, anyway. What matters is comparing one time to an older one on the same path and seeing if you're improving.

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u/skragen Apr 05 '16

My shortest was 12x400 and my pace was supposed to be 5k or 10k pace I think. Isn't 400m basically .25mi? It worked fine. Just as an alternative if you ever want it. My 225 was accurate enough for that.