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Snow miles
runningowl
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in Clubhouse
Ok question - snow miles: been having a debate. I reckon each mile in the snow equates to 1.5miles of effort but a friend reckons its more like 2-2.5miles of effort. It is harder to run in the snow but twice as hard?
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we were debating this on fridays run..can't be twice as hard as it doesn't take twice as long to cover the mile.......
I was saying that I think its worth 1 and a half times..but to be honest i train in time not miles so it doesn't matter how tough as its the time on my legs that counts
How deep is the snow ?
a mile is a mile in my book. If you are running in the wrong shoes (ie roadies) in/on snow/ice then yes it will feel harder as you will slip backwards, but it's still a mile and that is what will get logged in my log. Get your trailies on and discover your local footpaths/woods/fields/etc - much more fun than slipping over along the road.
I wouldn't log more than the miles I ran but the effort to do those miles was more. He thought it was twice as hard(wearing mud claws) but he was sliding all over the place and I was only 3min slower over the 10miles than when there is no snow.
I ran 16 today on snow and ice, in trail shoes and feel like I've been hit by a bus, wrong shoes of course make it harder but agree with above a mile is a mile
I ran 16 miles on trail in trail shoes, a little harder on the hills due to the cold air on the lungs but defo easier than running 16 miles on the road as i did for last years marathon training. And much easier than the mud...only a bit tricky where the snow was thin and the hardened ground was frozen with rutted mountain bikes tracks and horse hoof imprints. And man does that snow sting your eyes...swimming goggles next time?!
agree with popsider: it depends how deep the snow it. I remember running through 4-5 inches of fresh snow last year and it was loads of fun but loads harder (though perhaps not twice as hard) because of having to really pick your feet up the whole time. The extra difficulty seemed more to do with using different muscles, though.
Today I did my 20-mile long run mainly on compacted snow, which felt a bit less comfortable underfoot because I was in trail shoes with less cushioning and the ground was pretty hard, but it wasn't significantly more difficult than normal running. Except the bit with the icy cold headwind.
I did 20 miles yesterday in Yaktrax - is was definitely harder work in the deeper snow - a bit like running on sand. But still only 20 miles
Was going at 10 min miles where I would usually go at 8. Legs are certainly feeling it but a mile is still a mile. By the figured given by the OP that means I did 30 miles.
Actually I'm coming round to the idea of the 2.5x calculation. Would it make me an ultra runner?
FIVE
I ran 10 miles this morning - I'm not sure your friend is correct, as I didn't feel like I'd run 20..
"Actually I'm coming round to the idea of the 2.5x calculation. Would it make me an ultra runner?"
Not far off!
Running owl, those calculations are way off and too flattering to your totals.
If the snow isn't that deep, the mile won't come out that much slower anyway.
I'd be more inclined to switch things around a bit, and do sessions to TIME rather than mileage.
So instead of doing 4miles, do say, 30mins. That way you get the same pro-rata workout.
As Stevie G said. It`s all good for the legs.
I ran 5.5 mi training run in 42.25 in the snow whereas I had done the same run earlier in the week with no snow in 39.38. The snow made a small difference for sure, but it was different and fun.
1 snow mile = 1 non-snow mile, only slower.
I'd read somewhere it was around 10% slower but I guess there are factors like snow depth, ice or no ice, running on treated or untreated roads or even pavements etc to take into account
I thought I'd seen the back of my slower post Christmas times finally last week but I went out and did 7 miles on Saturday morning that would normally take me around 58 minutes and I was around 9-10 minutes slower
Quite demoralising until I considered the affect of the snow or the fact that I might still have the remnants of this virus
I guess the key is how I get on this week, now the snow has gone and it's the first "rest" week in the Manchester Marathon training
A mile is a mile. Simple as that.
you dont measure 'miles run agsinst the wind' differently to non windy conditions-so why does snow ofer up a great debate?
1 mile in snow= 1 mile