Alright so today I gotta share this running speed thing I finally figured out. Kept seein’ people online talk ’bout “mph” this and “pace per mile” that. Total headache tryin’ to wrap my head around it myself. Felt stupid just guessin’, ya know? Time to get real about trackin’ my jogs.
Step 1: Gettin’ My Butt Out the Door
Pulled on my worn-out sneakers—the ones with the grass stains—grabbed my phone and that cheap stopwatch I found in a drawer. No fancy track or anything, just did my usual loop around the neighborhood. Started the stopwatch the second my feet left the driveway. Kept it simple: just ran steady like I always do, didn’t try to sprint or nothing. Felt the sweat drippin’ halfway through, classic. Hit stop on the watch the moment I stumbled back onto my driveway. Boom. Time: 28 minutes flat. Okay, cool. Got the time.
Step 2: Figurin’ Out How Far I Went
This part always tripped me up before. How the heck do you measure a running route? Ain’t no ruler big enough! Remembered folks talkin’ ’bout mappin’ apps. Opened up that free runnin’ app I downloaded ages ago but never really used. Tapped “New Route,” walked my lazy self back down the driveway and started tracin’. Slowly walked my exact running path, tap-tap-tappin’ at every corner I turned earlier. App spit out a number: 3.1 miles. Wait, is that right? Did it twice more just to be sure. Yep. Three point one it is.
Step 3: Time for Some Basic Math (Hold On!)
Math ain’t my best thing. Got my time (28 minutes) and my distance (3.1 miles). Wanted miles per hour, right? Gotta make that time unit match. Here’s where the calculator app saved my bacon:
- Turned minutes into hours. 28 minutes ÷ 60 = 0.466 hours. Looks messy, but the calculator gets it.
- Plugged into the simple formula. Speed = Distance ÷ Time. So, 3.1 miles ÷ 0.466 hours.
- Hit equals. Saw that number pop up: 6.65. Huh. So that means… roughly 6.7 miles per hour? Seems kinda slow? Maybe. Who cares! It’s my number!
That “Oh!” Moment
Stared at my scribbled note: “3.1 miles / 0.466 hrs = 6.65 mph.” Realized how easy it actually was when you break it down: Measure the distance you ran, measure how long it took you in minutes, convert the minutes to hours (just divide by 60!), then divide distance by that hour number. No magic gadgets needed, just the stuff I already had lying around. Felt pretty good knowin’ exactly how fast I was pokin’ along out there. Definitely gonna keep track like this from now on. Makes the whole runnin’ thing feel more… real. Maybe next time I’ll even try to bump it up a notch!
