Restarting Exercise Routine

Question
I've just restarted my exercise routine, which includes lifting weights. I used to run regularly, but stopped doing that, and now (since I've gained a few pounds), I'm going to try to do it again. I'm just wondering what a normal time/distance I should go for.

I am 165 pounds, 5'9, and 20 years old.  I'm going to try to run three times a week (Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday or Sunday). I've only done this two days, and on those two days I walked a quarter of a mile, ran 1 mile, and then  walked another quarter mile.

Any help would be appreciated!

Answer
There are no 'normal' times or distances to shoot for, since everyone's different in their fitness capacities at different times in their life.  I have never seen any such charts or age/time comparisons for running.  You may be fine with running a mile's worth for starting out, but sooner or later, you're going to have to shoot for 2-3 miles in a running workout.  You can keep it shorter, you just have to go harder in your efforts if you want to keep it short.  In fact, many of my personal runs are for 10-15 minutes, with short, hard & fast efforts put into the 1.5 to 2 miles worth of running in those times.  I mostly do those runs in 4-5x/week frequencies during the summertime and wintertime, in-between my coaching seasons of track in the spring, and XC in the fall.  Now that I'm done with coaching, I'll do about 3-4 workouts for 20-30 minutes, and toss in some short & hard stuff as I like, depending on time.  I also like mostly doing short stuff in both summer & winter months, because of the heat & cold conditions in each season.  Its easier for me to recover with short & hard workouts done in those extreme conditions around here.

I'm not sure how much I've helped you out here, but keep at it, and with time, I'd suggest shooting for a 5K running schedule if you want to add some recreational races to your agenda.  5K's make a great, self-built goal to help push you into higher fitness levels with each race, and allow you to do short workouts in preparation for it.  A 5K by the way is 3.1 miles.  

Cheers,

Rick Karboviak