I got to the end of a run, panting, approached my car. Another runner who had also just arrived at his car, asked me how far did I go? My answer: "To the bridge and back." His eyes narrowed. I could tell he was trying to figure out what I meant or picture where that bridge was. I had given a visual answer. I think he expected an answer measured in miles. I quickly added, "My goal is to run for 30 minutes. I don't measure the distance." His eyes returned to normal and a smile broke out on his face, "Keep at it! You'll get there!" We each turned to our cars and headed our on separate ways. I smiled at his encouraging words.
How I measure a run is evolving. I started out using the songs on my
iPod to measure how long I was running. Six to eight songs was a good run. Warm up to the first two, then pick up the pace with a long tune by
Queen or
Aerosmith. Slow it down again and then pick it up for another long tune at the end.
I'm working up to miles, but not until I can make the entire 30 minute run without walking. That's the new metric.