Most training plans I have used and seen, call for running a certain mileage depending on race distance. A few years ago, my husband was training for a half-marathon and his plan was based on timed running.

I have searched for plans like that, but something must be weird in how I enter the Google search because I always get results that are not what I am wanting.

Researching for off-season running has brought me more luck with that concept in looking at blogs of others who run.

In the running by time plans I’ve seen, you run anywhere from 30-45 minutes on “shorter” runs and up to two hours for the long run.

I am trying to run this way in my off-season while maybe I’m not training for a race and trying to learn how to run by feel.

I’ve set 40 minutes as my running time for Mondays and Fridays, 60 minutes on Wednesdays and 90 minutes on either Saturday or Sunday.

During the marathon/half-marathon season of training I just completed, my plans had me running both Saturday and Sunday which was great for my running fitness, but could be somewhat of a pain socially (hard to get to brunch, basically).

It’s nice to be able to have a full day where I can relax and not think about when I need to get out for a run. On the other hand, I do feel somewhat lazy!

Running by time also makes it very easy to know when is a good point in my day to get out there. If I know I’m going to run 40 minutes on Monday, I can structure my day around getting ready, running, showering and being ready for whatever else I’ve got going.

When we run by mileage, there is less predictability. Obviously, there is some idea of how long 6 miles is going to take. But running by time lets you know exactly when you will be done.

Something I really like about the time concept is it is less tempting to check my watch. I use the Intervals app and it just tell it how long I want the interval to last and if I don’t look at it the only thing it tells me is when I am at the halfway point (useful for turning around) and when I am 5 seconds from interval 2 (which I set for 1 minute).

Without that little bump on my wrist to tell me I’ve hit a mile mark, I don’t know what my pace is and that can be so freeing. If you want to run by feel, running a set time is a great way to accomplish that.

As I’m writing this post and that last sentence, I realize I ran for 40 minutes last night and never even looked at my paces once I was home. Proof positive!!

Without a set pace or distance to reach, having to stop for traffic or dodging and weaving around a crowd of people is also far less anger-inducing, LOL. I’m not worried about fumbling to pause my workout or muttering things under my breath.

I’m changing up some of my routes as well. When you know a place, you can kind of get in a rut when you know what routes cover “X” amount of miles.

Now that I am not running miles, I just go where the wind takes me! Sometimes I don’t turn around at the half-way point and make the run more of a loop.

A blogger/runner that I follow is Tina Muir of Running For Real (she has a great podcast I listen to on my runs, as well). She just posted about running by time instead of distance at the same time as I finished my first week of doing it.

I love how running can connect those of us who haven’t even met. When you dig a little, you will find all sorts of runners from all walks of life…yet in some ways we are all much the same.

Tina suggests in her article on running by time that it is a good option for beginners, which I highly agree with. Especially now that I have done it for a bit, I can attest to the psychology of it for beginner runners.

I feel like I run with better form when I am running without having mileage goals nagging at me. Sometimes I just want to get those miles in, and tend to tense my shoulders and grind away. Especially if it is a hard run, having a distance to cover can seem like forever.

Timed running, though, means that 40 minutes or 90 minutes is going to be the same whether I run fast or slow…so I may as well take it down a notch if I am having a hard day.

That is not to say I will never try to run faster. If I am feeling good, I will want to open it up and run. What’s nice is the pressure is off to try to get through the distance.

Unfortunately, there isn’t much out there as far as “go here and there is a great training plan for running by time”. I know some apps have you do it, and there are some marathon/half-marathon plans out there.

But not everyone is wanting to run those distances.

If you have been running for a while, you know how long you can be on your feet and can probably decide what days and what minutes are good for you.

Beginners may have some trouble deciding what to do.

There is a bit more information on how to do it and what to do and figure out on the Running for Real blog post (see the link above). Tina gives a good explanation of specific times and workouts, which she and her husband (a running coach) are qualified to do.

She also explains the math…not my forte.

If you want to change things up a bit and have been running by distance, I suggest giving running by time a try and see if it makes for a more enjoyable experience.

UPDATE: Now that I have run by time over distance for a few months since writing this post, check back next week when I give my “now” opinion of it and whether it is something I am going to continue to do!