Splits? An explanation please

[itselenax]

Hi! I've recently gotten back into jogging after a bout of Covid-19 during December. I've been doing 20 minute jogs three times weekly in an effort to build back my lung capacity etc. I went for my first 'proper' jog yesterday (I went to a park instead of my usual back garden) and ended up managing just under 20 minutes. I used RunKeeper for the first time and saw that 'splits' was a thing?!

I did 2.42km in 18:44, with a pace of 7:44min/km. My splits were:

1) 7:27

2) 7:51

3) 8:07

I just wondered if someone could please explain what these mean (and if these are really bad?? it was a slow, horrible run)

[roseabi]

Runkeeper divides your run up into 1 km sections, called "splits". In the case of your run, your first km split took 7 minutes and 27 seconds, the next one 7 mins and 51 secs, and the final split was 0.42 km [edited] for which it has calculated an average pace of 8:07 min/km.

This shows that as you ran your pace got a bit slower as you ran, which is hardly surprising since you have been on sick leave! Please take it easy and don't worry about your splits. Splits analysis can be used a tool to help you train to get fitter and faster, but that is something to think about when you are fully recovered.

xxx

[itselenax Graduate in reply to roseabi]

Thank you so much! Makes a lot of sense now. I suppose you're right, I shouldn't be worried about splits yet then, I'm just trying to get back up to 30 minutes but really struggling. xxx

[roseabi in reply to itselenax]

Really, don't struggle! If it feels hard to run for 20 minutes rein it back until you feel better. I suggest you try just mainly walking for now, it's still a great exercise, but it is much gentler on the body!!

[itselenax Graduate in reply to roseabi]

I know I shouldn't push myself but it's so frustrating that my legs and lungs aren't working as well anymore. I do a lot of walking to be honest, Leslie Sansone videos are my lifeline lol Thanks x

[roseabi in reply to itselenax]

I know how you feel, but don't worry, you will get there!! xxx

[Zip54 Graduate]

I'm guessing that these are your average speed in each km. So it looks as if you started faster and slowed down. As to judging whether it's good or bad that needs to be a personal thing depending on what you are targeting for that run.

[itselenax Graduate in reply to Zip54]

Lovely thank you x

[Cmoi Graduate in reply to Zip54]

Just to clarify: those figures are for pace, not speed. Pace is the number of minutes and seconds it takes to run 1 km, speed is the number of km you can run in an hour.

[IannodaTruffe Mentor]

roseabi has explained splits well.

Elite athletes, trying to maximize performance, generally aim for negative splits on a run. Which means running the second half of the run faster than the first half. For us non pros, the benefits of negative splits are that we are not battling against the Toxic Ten at the start healthunlocked.com/couchto5... and we can save something in the tank for a final push to the finish line if we are chasing a pb on that run.

Your splits show that you slowed quite considerably on what you describe as a horrible run, so you would probably benefit from consciously starting slower and aiming to maintain the same pace, rather than use up too much energy early on.

While splits can be informative and enable us to work at achieving a steady pace throughout a run, they are not something to worry about and applying subjective terms such as good or bad to your splits is rarely helpful.

[itselenax Graduate in reply to IannodaTruffe]

That's really helpful thank you. I think I'm going to ignore splits on my app for now and just focus on increasing my lung capacity and stamina.

[IannodaTruffe Mentor in reply to itselenax]

That's great, but do remember that running at an easy conversational pace will satisfy those aims better, at this stage, than running faster.

[itselenax Graduate in reply to IannodaTruffe]

Yes that's the plan. I'm going to take my reliever inhaler beforehand and wear a mask during the run because I think they're my biggest detriments at the moment. Thanks for the help

[Dodgylungs Graduate]

This is awesome and times similar to those I’m still doing (6 months after C25K). One person’s slow, horrible run is another person’s PB. Don’t be so hard on yourself, especially after Covid. I’d be more than happy with those times.

[itselenax Graduate in reply to Dodgylungs]

Thank you! I hope I didn’t offend you, I honestly had no idea what the numbers meant! Retrospectively I’m pleased with the times, just hoping I can run for longer next time.

[Dodgylungs Graduate in reply to itselenax]

Not at all, I was just emphasising that the times weren’t bad at all, especially after recovering from the dreaded. Keep on keeping on!!