Jogging Speed

What is the best jogging speed? The answer is it depends on your goals and what you're trying to achieve. You need to ask yourself is distance more important than the time traveled to cover the miles your jogging?

Developing Your Speed

When you begin jogging and especially if you haven't jogged before, speed is an element you will gain over time. There is no reason to rush acquiring speed since it will only lead to injury and disappointment. It's more important to build a foundation that allows your body to comfortably adjust to the demands your placing on it.

Naturally if you're a 25-year-old your speed will likely come along much sooner than someone who is 45 years old. Younger bodies adapt to physical strain sooner than older ones and if done correctly with less injury. As we get older we tend to feel the aches and pains more than when we were younger.

Age and Prior Injuries

Your age and any prior injuries you've suffered will affect your jogging pace. I've noticed that as I've gotten older I can't jog the same speed without pain in my left hip. I certainly was never running like the speed of a hare, but I did not experience the hip pain that I now do whenever I try to push myself faster. Not having suffered any prior injuries, I find it's really important to listen to my body and accept its limitations. Otherwise injuries await you and sometimes those injuries take a long time to overcome and they can set you back for a long while.

It's prudent to build speed over time by first determining the distance you want to travel. Are you training for a 5k for example and want to make your best time? Then think about the distance you need to complete (in this case 3.1 miles) and decide if you want to finish in 30 minutes. If so, you need to adjust your jogging speed so that you can finish each mile in ten minutes.

Incremental Adjustments

Make incremental adjustments to your speed so that you don't get hurt. Plan to pick up the pace for a minute or two each day that you jog to build endurance and over time you will be jogging at the pace that is comfortable for you while also allowing you to meet your goals.

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