Estimating Distances for Walking/Jogging?
 

How do you figure out how many miles you've walked or ran in order to log your progress?

I'm having difficulty with this and I always have to guess, or at least estimate time, but then I can never tell how fast the pace is which I'm going. I don't have access to any sweet gadgets to help me, so anyone know any tricks? I try to carry a watch with me to at least log time, but I'm never sure of distance in order to know which pace to put.

Any tips would be much appreciated. I just don't want to over or under log.

Thanks!

I see that you're locared in Turkey, so this may not work, but I usually use Google Maps to map out my route and calculate the mileage. You can easily manipulate the route and start/end points once you enter two addresses. Just divide the total mileage by the time you were out and about and voila -- you have a tracking method. For instance, if I biked to the local University campus and back along Summit Ave, I'll enter in my own address as the start point, the University as the end point (don't even need an address), drag the route off of Grand (the automatic map output) and onto Summit and then double the mileage listed in Google Maps (to reflect the "there" and "back").

There are also a variety of websites out there that allow you to create and share custom walking/running/biking/blading routes and fill in the details at certain points throughout (i.e. "overly friendly dog at such and such a corner -- make sure to cross the street if you want to keep your pace"). Some sites even allow you to upload photos of landmarks, views, etc. If you're tired of your own beaten path, you can check out routes that other folks in your area have uploaded or if you are visiting another city, you can find out where the "scenic route" is.

Hopefully that helps! Happy Trails!!

mapmyrun.com

Wow I didn't realize that there were sites which allowed people to actually comment on the path. That's pretty cool ^_^ Thank you both for the pointers! All I need to do now is figure out the addresses in Turkish lol

I've got your answer!
 

Ok. You need a watch with a second hand. For sixty seconds you are going to count your steps. Pace along quickly. 110 steps per minute is 2.5 miles per hour. Get the rhythm going and keep the pace, which is not overly fast. If you can find a pedometer, getting 10,000 steps a day would insure that you're walking enough for sure.

Thank you for that bit of info. I'm really enjoying the links, but still had difficulty figuring out how fast I was walking. I really appreciate this. ^_^

Math
 

Crimpet-
Easy.

1 Just map out your walk or Run...solve for distance.
2 Wear a watch (any will do) and time your walk.
3 Check the time you start walking
4 Walk/Run
5 Check the time you finish walking/running
6 Math

If your run/walk is 5k. and you have completed in it 30 minutes...well then you walked/ran a 6 minute kilometer.

30minutes/5k=6minutes per kilometer

there you have it

try Runstoppable Running Log for mapping your run if google does not work as suggested.

Cheers!

I drive my usual routes and jot down the mileage. This works better than a pedometer for me because my stride differs.

Has anyone checked their pedometer results against a site like mapmyrun? Mine was off by almost 3 whole miles! :eek: I can't figure out why.

I've just got a cheap pedometer that I got free from work--it's a bit off but I really only count "steps". Mapmyrun is right on with the GPS in my vehicle.

Regards,
Michael

PS I assume you set your "stride" correctly in the pedometer? That can make a hugh difference in the distance it calculates.

The best solution in my opinion is using those GPS running stopwatch, they are smart enough to give very accurate run distances and speed as well as terrain inclination and such.
Some of them are equipped with heart monitor and can record efficiently your health performance i e your heart fitness etc.
They are expensive but they are worth, just make sure to buy those with Genuine GPS censor.
Any cellphone or tablet could do the same job if equipped with GP censor.
I have never owed any GPS stopwatch i was just fascinated by them 4 years ago, but my fascination ended when I stopped jogging so I forgot them.

Amazon.com: GPS Running Watches

I have the galaxy. I'll try that and then compare it to map my run too! Well after I figure out how to use the galaxy! :o

I do exactly what sailordoom does. Google maps is great for tracking your mileage :)

I missed this part before! Yes the stride was set properly. The pedometer (supposedly) is supposed to accurately convert the steps into miles plus show the cals burned when you had it on timed walk or run.

As far as map my run, love it! I have mapped quite a few of my runs, blading and biking routes over the past few years.

I activated the GPS on my galaxy and tried it out with some of the apps. It is so real time and location accurate it kind of creeps me out. I actually walked around a building and it showed exactly where I was the whole time! :eek:

As far as tracking all of my runs with it I am having the same issue I had with MMR and trying to google it. I get a message or error code that says "location can not be accessed, can not understand location or location unknown" which is why I got the pedometer. :mad:

I think I will just use my slowest pace mile to calculate it. :)