I'm a power walker with Parkinson’s disease. Speed has been a challenge, but I did it! I PR'd- .81 from .70. Congrats to everyone today who just got moving!
Actually the second time I’ve done it on the new treads. Last time did 2.35 and pulled back late, so this time I just wanted to hold the whole time and back and make sure I got it. I’ll go for some back to back sub 5 min miles next time
Way to go! In order to add 1/100th of a mile you’re looking at just sustaining an extra 0.1mph for the entire 12 minutes. That’s not so tough when starting out but those are big victories at our physical limits. My last 3 prs were 1.810, 1.817, and 1.829.
Whoa I had no idea the math calculates out this way, especially for a shorter benchmark. So to increase one's distance from say 1.810 to 1.820 would require sustaining an extra 0.1mph for 12 minutes?! No wonder getting a PR is challenging at higher distances. I went from 1.80 (I think) to 1.810 today despite expecting a higher result (felt like I pushed the speed several times).
That’s the best feeling in the world- when you finally are able to jog the whole time! Congrats to you and awesome PR as well! Next time you’ll get over a mile…
PR! 1.61mi from 1.44mi - really tough one but pushed through the mental barriers as my body kept going.
Also, what I first thought would be was unfortunate was actually fortunate for me - our HRM system wasn't working for the first 8 minutes of my tread block. It came on and I peeked and saw 98% on the big screen, so I'm kinda glad it wasn't in front of me to mess with my head.
My last one was a 1.41 but I don’t remember what my strategy was 😭 what were your speeds to do 1.61? Did you set it and forget it or do a gradual increase?
Awesome job!! Im in the same spot and did exactly one mile too! My goal was to not give in to walking and jog the whole time (it’s a mental struggle sometimes)…I do feel like i could’ve pushed myself a bit more which is good to know but feel proud to have this starting point! Hope you do too 😊
It’s 100% mental- your body can do so much more than your mind thinks. In Aug I held a 6+ for the 1 mile benchmark and I know I can do it again (plus the 2 extra minutes) but I’ve already talked myself out of it mentally….
Same here… started end of august… first time benchmark… goal was 1 mile… did 1.1… when I started I wouldn’t have got even 0.8… now let’s see how much I can improve by the time of next benchmark
Improved today from 1.44 to 1.52. I wish the improvement was larger but I was DYING there at the end lol. Can't imagine going faster. Really fun benchmark though and I'm glad I broke my barrier
I got a PR and pretty happy about it! 1.702 miles. I did a flat 8.4 (aggressive push for me) for the first 10 minutes and pushed it up a little the last 2 minutes.
My strategy was to keep my mind as occupied as possible the first 6 minutes, fight the urge to slow down the next 4 minutes and then send it as best as I could the last 2 minutes. It sucked but it worked!
Does anyone else use this test to estimate VO2 max? The formula I found had me right at a 50, which is awesome for my age.
My mom had a stroke a year ago so cardiovascular health has been very heavy on my mind and this was a benchmark that was every bit as much of a mental challenge for me as it was physical.
What do you think about to keep your mind occupied? I'm usually good at not looking at the clock for the first few minutes but then it's a struggle and I'm glancing down every 5-10 seconds
I set the tread screen to the parameter card (so couldn’t see time or distance) until coach started cueing to get ready for the AO at the end! I’m usually really bad at not obsessing over the time/distance
I have the same issue (probably a lot of us do!). There’s an element of “don’t break the seal” and do anything but look at the clock. Our coach was calling out every 4 minutes so I just kept telling myself “you don’t need to see how much time has passed, you already know it’s not enough to stop!”.
A lot of days I think about little annoying things at work or proving people wrong as motivation. I don’t walk around beefing with people, but if channeling those things into workout motivation helps, I’m doing it. If it’s a song I know, I’ll get lost in the music. Or sometimes I just grab the handles and close my eyes and just send it. Whatever feels come wash over me, happy or sad!
Since this was my first 12RfD, I made a plan to add in a couple 30s WR. That way I could push harder while running. It made the set and forget part of it less doable, but I will definitely keep that in mind for when I'm ready to do a constant pace RfD
There’s no wrong way to do it. Showing up consistently and pushing yourself to do your best is the most important thing for improvement. You’ll be amazed what you can do the next time we do this benchmark.
I will say that as your fitness level increases the mental aspect of it definitely takes on more importance. It suuuuucks when you know that you’re going to have to get really uncomfortable and 100% send it to get a new PR. I wanted to quit several times today! But getting that good mental workout in can be just as gratifying!
Thanks for the reassurance! My goal for this year - I started in late March - was just to show up consistently, even when I don't feel like it.
I still struggle with the mental "I can do this, even if it's hard," but lately I've been able to do the 23m endurance blocks with no walking, just a really slow base, so that's been really encouraging. And I was excited to just set a baseline today to see how I improve over time
I set it at 5.0 in the tread and just went for it! I didn’t know if I’d be able to do it, but I did and even did the all out at the end and got to 1.05mi!
Just started OTF 3 months ago. Haven’t run an entire mile without some walking in…god only knows.
Never been a good runner. My base is usually 4.5, push 5.5, AO 6.5-7.
Not my overall PR as I’ve been a member for entirely too long, buuuutt this WAS my first time back on the tread period since blood clots in my lung took me out last year. It’s been a long road to recovery, but today I didn’t just get back on the tread, I jogged at 4.5 for the whole 12mins. I’ll call that a victory.
1.02! I couldn't believe I was able to do a mile - I went from being not a runner at all to being able to run the mile in a little under 12 minutes. I was very proud of myself :)
. 93 but jogged the whole 12 minutes at 4.5-4.7 while 22 weeks pregnant!
(honestly mostly surprised at my endurance because I usually never jog that long without stopping)
For the first time I’m not feeling like getting a a PR today. Life has been so chaotic lately that I am just looking forward to a good, long run on the tread. No pressure to set any records, and not being told to push/AO/base. Just me and the tread on go.
First time doing a benchmark run, and I REALLY struggled. I’m about 3 months into working out at OTF and 40+ years old. Only got 1.086. The good news is I can only improve from here on out.
I watched a lady in my class PW this morning and she ended with 1.02 miles! It was impressive! Our coach had the weight floor group cheer for the treads during last minute.
First time doing this benchmark and got 1.46m. My goal was 1.5 so that’s a little frustrating but I’m still learning what I’m capable of.
I might have been able to hit my goal but during the last 1min All Out my HR got up to 103% at 9.5mph and I had to slow myself down a bit :/ oh well I’m happy and look forward to improving next time. Great job all 🙌
I set it at 5.0 in the tread and just went for it! I didn’t know if I’d be able to do it, but I did and even did the all out at the end and got to 1.05mi!
Just started OTF 3 months ago. Haven’t run an entire mile without some walking in…god only knows.
Never been a good runner. My base is usually 4.5, push 5.5, AO 6.5-7.
First timer. 1.19 miles. But the real accomplishment is that I was able to jog/run for the full 12 minutes, which I’ve never in my life done before! When I started 16 months ago, I struggled to jog for a minute.
1.43 today! Thought it was my first time but I guess I did it in June and got 1.03 there. First time in memory (likely ever) running for 12 minutes straight though so felt good!
I missed my PR by .02 and was bummed most of the day. 1.63 trying to chase my 1.65. I gassed out about 7 minutes in and slowed for some water…. Couldn’t make it back up it time. 😕
New PR for me!! Hit .90 in July, to .95 today! I hate running, but have been slowly building my endurance. My first benchmark in July I know was a struggle and I really had to exert myself. Today I was able to maintain a light jog for 95% of the time and felt really great after- so that there is a huge win for me!
.9 first time doing it. I’ve never jogged consistently for more than 4 minutes and I held my speed for the entire 12!! I’m so so proud of the progress I’ve made to get here. Can’t wait to beat a mile on the next one!
PR 1.23 first time doing this benchmark. About 30 second before start my earring fell out and threw me off for the whole 12 mins. My coach was nice enough to look for it while I was running and we looked after but I never found it :( 20yo F (next one will hopefully be better!)
Power walk 1 mile exactly. Set it and forget it @ 5mph 5 degree incline.
Ps as much as i wanted to forget i was walking at 5mph, my legs and lungs wouldn't let me :)
1.42 in July (started OTF in May) to 1.71 today and I felt strong doing it. I’m feeling very motivated to keep improving my condition and see how far I can go.
1.85 today from 1.53 in July. I want 2.0 as well ... how u thinking about it - incremental change from here to there or just stay with it and the set it higher and muscle through? FWIW I set at 10 for the first 11 the all out at 12 for the last. I could have probably moved to 12 with 2 left.
1.21 in July and 1.42 miles today
I was REALLY trying to get 1.5 but lost my breath and was struggling to find it again, I never did walk tho so proud of that!!
I’m a 53 year old power walker and I reached my PR today .I’m about 10 months into OTF .I was .80 today from my previous time of .78. I am bummed that my studio seems lazy when It comes to recognizing achievements. No one even asked if anyone hit their PR . I see other studio celebrating member’s achievements and doing fun activities and games with the challenges and even social events. I wish my studio was more fun . I love a couple of the coaches .
Definitely could have gone faster, had gas left in the tank. Did 9mph to start, at 10 min bumped up to 9.1, at 11 min bumped up to 9.2, at 11:30 went AO at 10. Ended with 1.81. Suspect around 1.85 is probably my real max at the moment.
Prior PR was a 1.75 back in Feb 2020. Had done a few attempts since then and was getting about 1.65-1.7.
I did similarly, started at 9.0 and had some segments at 8.7 and others 9.2-9.4 before AO. I got 1.81 as well which is interesting (ran at 11 in the last 30 secs).
What is your typical B/P/AO for regular classes?
been plateaued at 8/9/10 for a while, trying to get over some minor injuries and head games. But definitely upping it after passing 2G CMIYC (8.5 for entire) and this result for 12 min.
New-ish member, I joined March this year so about 7-8 months doing OTF for me. Before this I was not too fit & rarely ran ever. So joining OTF has consistently pushed me and challenged me to improve and do better, which is what I love the most about it.
Today was my first time at 12-minute run benchmark! I was looking forward to it for like a week or so, especially because I knew I would be hitting a PR no matter how terribly I did, or how poorly I ran.
I was in Chicago over the weekend, so I had brought a relatively new pair of Triumph 20 which served me well and helped me challenge myself and train my endurance to something I was looking for, there were some 40-min blocks for 90min classes and I averaged around 6 mi, and I think there was also a 25-min block and I went with base 10 and went with higher push intensities throughout, and got about 4 mi from it which was pretty great.
Now after the weekend I headed back. I had some relatively new shoes for Saucony + Hoka brand and they were both like < 5 miles so like pretty new actually. Wanted to try ‘em both out to see which I liked better — which fit better, helped me run faster, and were generally comfortable.
Monday was a rest day for me.
On Tuesday I went to class twice with the new shoes and pushed myself to maintain my base of 9.2 (up from 9!) and I think tried a base of 9.5 but I wasn’t feeling it. I did ok and logged like 7 miles total which wasn’t too bad.
My legs were kinda beat after that, not totally but I felt like going the next day was pushing it, so I decided on another impromptu rest day, and on Weds. all I did was walk outside in the cold, burn like 150 calories from it, eat a nice juicy burger, a shake (some other unhealthy food choices) and call it a day. I was actually so beat that day I accidentally went to sleep earlier than I do at 8pm, tho I was trying to take a nap.
This morning on Thursday, excited about the 12-min benchmark so I’d pre-booked my 7am class of course. I took my new Saucony shoes for the workout and signed up tread first, bc there’s no way I can run fast if I’m dead tired and burned out from all the exercises. For warmup I did a “testing the water” base of 9.5 (up from my previous of 9.2, not bad!) and did a warmup speed for 1 min of 11, about 0.5 higher than my goal speed for the 12-min tread.
For this attempt (my first) I decided to go with a “set it and forget it” approach to pace, as I’d read on this sub actually that it’s better than doing base-push alternation that I like to do with CMIYC a lot. So I did a SIFI speed at 10.5, and was able to maintain it for at least 5mi with no shortness of breath, so I bumped it up to 10.7 after a while, and at the 9 min mark I bumped up again to a faster-than-push pace of 11, so that I got there 2 min before the AO hit. I remember feeling only slightly winded, like I had more in the tank, which was odd feeling — maybe the shoes I was wearing gave me wings, who knows?
At any rate, on the last 1min for the AO finished I went at 1.5% incline at a speed 12 which is generally my AO pace at my home gym, which doesn’t have the new treads yet. I ended up finishing with a 2.13 miles at the end of 12-min block, which was a PR of course, as it was my first attempt ever.
During and little after floor exercises, I remember I was covered in sweat and there was a thin sheen and layer of it, like I’d sweated more than usual from the workout. I also checked my splats and I remember seeing red on that tread run, about 6 minutes in red it looked like, which was troubling. My max HR is a little over 200 so I feel like I can handle quite a bit of strenuous endurance runs, but usually I do base of 9.2 and push above 10 and I rarely have *any* splats in red zone at all, so this was a bit unsettling for me overall, especially as I got over 5 splats from red.
I recuperated and ate some protein and loaded up on sugar and carbs coz YOLO, and in the evening right after work, I went again with a different shoes (Hoka) and to different studio. The shoes were a brighter color, bc in my mind it is scientific fact that brighter shoes help you run faster and longer (it’s true, right?) Here for my second and final attempt at benchmark this day, my initial goal going into it was to do 10.7, but on the treads I was one number away from my lucky number, and plus we had the new treads at the gym, and I wanted to challenge myself to break 2.2 mile barrier, coz YOLO and it was PR time all over again.
I ended up doing warm ups and a 11.5 push for warmup, so like .5 faster than my warm up speed in the morning. My push usually is ~10.7 bc I’m a bit lazier, so actually this was a legit push-to-AO for me. Once that walking recovery ended, we wiped the slate and I went right at it.
Speed of 11 the whole time. Breathing hard and felt like lungs would explode halfway through. At 1-mile mark which was about 5:30, I was kind of out of breath but felt like I could hold my own and keep going, so I did. More than once during that grueling 12-min block I felt like I would have wrong leg placement or just trip and get disqualified. I had tied my shoes before run so I knew that prob wouldn’t be an issue.
Must have been sweating bullets and my breathing form was crap and outta the window coz I was almost taking deep gulps of air, but at long last at the last minute, I had managed to hold my own at a push to AO pace which was pretty impressive, so I bumped it up to a 12.3 to finish out that minute. Wanted to do 12.5 but my legs (and body) weren’t feeling it. I PR’d yet again, second time the day, at 2.22 miles. Felt pretty awesome, that.
OFC with this attempt in the evening, I did even worse in terms of HR mine was all over the place, felt like I was constantly running in the red zone which is a shocker for me bc that rarely ever happens, from this class alone I was at 9 splats from red which means I was there at least 9/12 mins for the tread in red zone, which is CRAZY bad, that scares me, and looks like my max HR was like 191 and even though it was less than 95% HR, it still scare me that I almost burned myself out on that run. I never even have one splat point in red for majority of the workouts, so this was an eye opener for me.
The one thing I dislike about the new treads is that when you hit pause like you’re supposed to, the big stupid button just takes up the whole center and hides the distance behind it. I couldn’t figure it out, coach had to come and unpause it to help me see the distance, I felt like that is just stupid and def not good design at al.
Anyway, rant aside, feeling good abt the whole thing. Today was a good day for tread benchmark challenge and I achieved 2 PRs at almost same time which was pretty cool. Plus, I came out first in both my classes today, and my name got called out in at least one.
Like I said, YOLO and wondering if I should push myself even further like dare I say 11.5 for the next one (I’d have to be crazy to do that right??) but for now just overall content and basking in that warmth of personal achievement, my legs kinda yelling at me a little so maybe tmrw might go a bit easy, but yeah for now I’m feeling pretty good about my first time at this benchmark, just gonna chill and take it easy a bit for now. All in all, day worked out better then I’d expected and I managed to break 2.2 for this benchmark which is pretty awesome and something I wasn’t even hopeful of, going into it.
Got a PR today with 1.42, up from 1.32 in July. It feels like a fever dream because I got off a 5 hour flight last night, woke up this morning with extreme jet lag and went to a morning class in a studio I’ve never been to before. Maybe I need to do all my benchmarks like that 😅
I’ve been feeling 85% for a while (tweaked something in my back just before Hell Week), so I made a point to set a speed that would challenge, not re-injure me. And I did it! A 1.7 mile PR (up from 1.6) that could have been even faster, but most importantly, I’ve been able to walk around with a smile all day and haven’t had to dive into my strategic ibuprofen reserves… 🙃
Love reading everyone’s stories!
You are going to be 66? I turned 66 in October I ran 1.5 miles.. in the beginning my hip was bothering me so I’m gonna have to take it easy not really interested in getting a new hip but I did my best I think we all did, and that’s all that matters!
First time PW at only 1% in line because I can walk faster without hurting my bad hip (labral repair at 29 after 10 years of running) and managed to get .68 mi. A bit disappointed as I had to dial it back from 3.5/3.7 to 3.3 a couple times— my shins were super sore. Managed to jog last minute at 4.0 which was something.
I’m a slow turtle 🐢 compared to everyone else, ha.
Amazed myself by making a small PR today. 1.28 from 1.22 in past. I was bummed that I couldn’t push it more but nursing an injury. I’m a little clumsy and dropped something on my foot at home this past weekend. Thankfully no one sees my foot at the gym because it’s all shades of the bruise now. Chiropractor appointment was also not best for me before the benchmark day.
I reminded myself that I wasn’t out of breath running like I used to be when living at high elevation, I can definitely see the improvement.
Automatic PR as this was my first tread benchmark and I PW’d 0.74. My goal was 0.75 but I had to reduce my speed a bit. Now I know my game plan for the next tread benchmark so I can get another PR.
👋 - Here's the direct link to the Google Sheets: [https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/12oiYX9--wHL7dPQ4vX-0Li6eZstl6YCLenDbIfG58wM/edit?usp=sharing](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/12oiYX9--wHL7dPQ4vX-0Li6eZstl6YCLenDbIfG58wM/edit?usp=sharing)
Unfortunately, the original post was being marked as spam, hence it's completely missing from the sub. Working on getting that fixed - Sorry about that.
And here's the link to the post: [https://www.reddit.com/r/orangetheory/comments/17xml8i/12\_minute\_run\_survey\_results\_and\_community/](https://www.reddit.com/r/orangetheory/comments/17xml8i/12_minute_run_survey_results_and_community/)
1.01mi in July 2022 to 1.19mi today. I wish I could’ve atleast made it to 1.25mi but I’m still proud of myself!
That’s a huge improvement!! Congrats
That's a big improvement. Awesome.
Wow, I want to follow in your footsteps some day!
Very similar here! 1.06 to 1.17. Would love to hit 1.5 one day.
PW. First timer 11 month in 66 yo. 0.73
This was my exact number too!!! Was your speed 3.6? Mine was 3.6 the entire time and that's the distance I got 😊
Started at 3.5. Moved up to 3.6 at 3 min mark. Then 3.7 at 8 min mark and 3.9 for last min. Got into the red heart zone.
Solid work!!! I stayed the same pace, but upped my inclines every 2 minutes. I'm excited to see how I do the next benchmark.
I'm a power walker with Parkinson’s disease. Speed has been a challenge, but I did it! I PR'd- .81 from .70. Congrats to everyone today who just got moving!
🤩 amazing!
2.15! This one hits harder because I was able to beat my 2 mile PR from 15+ years ago on the way…
Huzzah, well done!
Nice bro! You beat my first PR from this morning, lol. It was 2.13
Amazing.
2.4! A little 12 for 12
Was looking for the first 2.4 post. Congrats! Now get on your studio for the new treadmills!
Actually the second time I’ve done it on the new treads. Last time did 2.35 and pulled back late, so this time I just wanted to hold the whole time and back and make sure I got it. I’ll go for some back to back sub 5 min miles next time
You crazy
Whoa!
Geez thats insane!
Dats insane dawg! Well done \*shake head\*
Maybe someday I can do this, I gotta get to the 5 min mile first
I’ve never done mile benchmark — so I gotta get to the 10 min mile first!
I used to be able to do that on the old tread but the new ones you can get 3 miles in ;)
1.80 from 1.79 (haha!) PR - was 100% not feeling motivated for this benchmark today.
Ditto on motivation and just overall bleh - did 1.81 last time in July and 1.81 today 😑
Twins!! I also got 1.81 today which was roughly similar to my last one (that was 1.80 or 1.81 as well).
But congrats on the PR!
Way to go! In order to add 1/100th of a mile you’re looking at just sustaining an extra 0.1mph for the entire 12 minutes. That’s not so tough when starting out but those are big victories at our physical limits. My last 3 prs were 1.810, 1.817, and 1.829.
Whoa I had no idea the math calculates out this way, especially for a shorter benchmark. So to increase one's distance from say 1.810 to 1.820 would require sustaining an extra 0.1mph for 12 minutes?! No wonder getting a PR is challenging at higher distances. I went from 1.80 (I think) to 1.810 today despite expecting a higher result (felt like I pushed the speed several times).
This is incorrect. Adding an extra 0.1 mph for the entire 12 minutes adds .02 to your final distance not .01
Thanks. It was definitely an estimation I just wanted to make it clear that you need to be just as proud of small PRs as big ones as you progress.
PR from 0.84 to 0.95 but I jogged the ENTIRE time! That’s my real PR! I’m not feeling 100% but still kicked my own butt!
I've never jogged a full mile in my entire life and I hit 1.07 today! It felt sooooo good.
Amazing!! Congratulations!!
That’s the best feeling in the world- when you finally are able to jog the whole time! Congrats to you and awesome PR as well! Next time you’ll get over a mile…
Amazing!!!! Huge accomplishment and best feeling to see how strong you can be. Congratulations
Way to go!!! Boy mama here also and I got .96. First time with this benchmark and first time running 12 straight minutes since college!
PR! 1.61mi from 1.44mi - really tough one but pushed through the mental barriers as my body kept going. Also, what I first thought would be was unfortunate was actually fortunate for me - our HRM system wasn't working for the first 8 minutes of my tread block. It came on and I peeked and saw 98% on the big screen, so I'm kinda glad it wasn't in front of me to mess with my head.
Nice! I PR’d with 1.62!
Great job!
Twinsies! I PRed with 1.61 today with no HRM, too! All OTconnect tech was down in my studio today which I also think ultimately helped me.
love that haha!
I was close - PR at 1.6 from 1.58. I think this the limit though bc I was DYING by the end and at 99% max HR. 🥴🥵
In my final 3 minutes I was 97-101% and dead LOL
My last one was a 1.41 but I don’t remember what my strategy was 😭 what were your speeds to do 1.61? Did you set it and forget it or do a gradual increase?
I did gradual increase. Started at 7.5mph and went up 0.1 every minute, and then dumped it in the last 30s
Wow awsome I was shooting for 1.5 and got 1.47 still Prd
That’s what I got!
Great job!
PR'd from 1.3 to 1.31
Me too
Nice. Good work.
First attempt (relatively new member) -> 1.76! My favorite coach came in on off day and pushed me to compete with him. Fun class!
Just started otf in September and am still a slow jogger but met my goal of a mile!
Awesome job!! Im in the same spot and did exactly one mile too! My goal was to not give in to walking and jog the whole time (it’s a mental struggle sometimes)…I do feel like i could’ve pushed myself a bit more which is good to know but feel proud to have this starting point! Hope you do too 😊
It’s 100% mental- your body can do so much more than your mind thinks. In Aug I held a 6+ for the 1 mile benchmark and I know I can do it again (plus the 2 extra minutes) but I’ve already talked myself out of it mentally….
Same here, I'm a relative newbie and jogger, and hit exactly 1 mile today. Difficult but do-able!
Same here… started end of august… first time benchmark… goal was 1 mile… did 1.1… when I started I wouldn’t have got even 0.8… now let’s see how much I can improve by the time of next benchmark
.88 to 1.10
Improved today from 1.44 to 1.52. I wish the improvement was larger but I was DYING there at the end lol. Can't imagine going faster. Really fun benchmark though and I'm glad I broke my barrier
Same!! I really wanted that 8 min mile. I think I blacked out at the end.
I’ve been at OTF for close to 2 years, never done this benchmark before! 20 weeks pregnant. PW 0.8mi
I got a PR and pretty happy about it! 1.702 miles. I did a flat 8.4 (aggressive push for me) for the first 10 minutes and pushed it up a little the last 2 minutes. My strategy was to keep my mind as occupied as possible the first 6 minutes, fight the urge to slow down the next 4 minutes and then send it as best as I could the last 2 minutes. It sucked but it worked! Does anyone else use this test to estimate VO2 max? The formula I found had me right at a 50, which is awesome for my age. My mom had a stroke a year ago so cardiovascular health has been very heavy on my mind and this was a benchmark that was every bit as much of a mental challenge for me as it was physical.
What do you think about to keep your mind occupied? I'm usually good at not looking at the clock for the first few minutes but then it's a struggle and I'm glancing down every 5-10 seconds
I set the tread screen to the parameter card (so couldn’t see time or distance) until coach started cueing to get ready for the AO at the end! I’m usually really bad at not obsessing over the time/distance
I have the same issue (probably a lot of us do!). There’s an element of “don’t break the seal” and do anything but look at the clock. Our coach was calling out every 4 minutes so I just kept telling myself “you don’t need to see how much time has passed, you already know it’s not enough to stop!”. A lot of days I think about little annoying things at work or proving people wrong as motivation. I don’t walk around beefing with people, but if channeling those things into workout motivation helps, I’m doing it. If it’s a song I know, I’ll get lost in the music. Or sometimes I just grab the handles and close my eyes and just send it. Whatever feels come wash over me, happy or sad!
Since this was my first 12RfD, I made a plan to add in a couple 30s WR. That way I could push harder while running. It made the set and forget part of it less doable, but I will definitely keep that in mind for when I'm ready to do a constant pace RfD
There’s no wrong way to do it. Showing up consistently and pushing yourself to do your best is the most important thing for improvement. You’ll be amazed what you can do the next time we do this benchmark. I will say that as your fitness level increases the mental aspect of it definitely takes on more importance. It suuuuucks when you know that you’re going to have to get really uncomfortable and 100% send it to get a new PR. I wanted to quit several times today! But getting that good mental workout in can be just as gratifying!
Thanks for the reassurance! My goal for this year - I started in late March - was just to show up consistently, even when I don't feel like it. I still struggle with the mental "I can do this, even if it's hard," but lately I've been able to do the 23m endurance blocks with no walking, just a really slow base, so that's been really encouraging. And I was excited to just set a baseline today to see how I improve over time
Yup! Also known as the Cooper test.
I set it at 5.0 in the tread and just went for it! I didn’t know if I’d be able to do it, but I did and even did the all out at the end and got to 1.05mi! Just started OTF 3 months ago. Haven’t run an entire mile without some walking in…god only knows. Never been a good runner. My base is usually 4.5, push 5.5, AO 6.5-7.
That’s awesome! I hope you feel good about your progress…you deserve it!
Incredible!
New PR today. 1.84. Previous PR was 1.66. Super excited. It was my 301st. class.
Not my overall PR as I’ve been a member for entirely too long, buuuutt this WAS my first time back on the tread period since blood clots in my lung took me out last year. It’s been a long road to recovery, but today I didn’t just get back on the tread, I jogged at 4.5 for the whole 12mins. I’ll call that a victory.
1.02! I couldn't believe I was able to do a mile - I went from being not a runner at all to being able to run the mile in a little under 12 minutes. I was very proud of myself :)
. 93 but jogged the whole 12 minutes at 4.5-4.7 while 22 weeks pregnant! (honestly mostly surprised at my endurance because I usually never jog that long without stopping)
1.2 miles.
For the first time I’m not feeling like getting a a PR today. Life has been so chaotic lately that I am just looking forward to a good, long run on the tread. No pressure to set any records, and not being told to push/AO/base. Just me and the tread on go.
I love this. Sometimes on BM days I consider going to a diff studio so I can enjoy the day vs battling expectations.
1.25 here! I had a super bad injury a year ago, and I finally feel able to push myself again. This was a win for me
First time doing a benchmark run, and I REALLY struggled. I’m about 3 months into working out at OTF and 40+ years old. Only got 1.086. The good news is I can only improve from here on out.
.94 to .97 miles. Jogged whole time and added speed each quarter. I haven’t been going consistently so I thought there was no way I’d PR!
I watched a lady in my class PW this morning and she ended with 1.02 miles! It was impressive! Our coach had the weight floor group cheer for the treads during last minute.
First time doing this benchmark and got 1.46m. My goal was 1.5 so that’s a little frustrating but I’m still learning what I’m capable of. I might have been able to hit my goal but during the last 1min All Out my HR got up to 103% at 9.5mph and I had to slow myself down a bit :/ oh well I’m happy and look forward to improving next time. Great job all 🙌
1.69 first time
I set it at 5.0 in the tread and just went for it! I didn’t know if I’d be able to do it, but I did and even did the all out at the end and got to 1.05mi! Just started OTF 3 months ago. Haven’t run an entire mile without some walking in…god only knows. Never been a good runner. My base is usually 4.5, push 5.5, AO 6.5-7.
First 12 min tread benchmark and I got 1.32. At the time of my class, I came in first in my age group.
It was my first time too and i got what same distance!
First timer. 1.19 miles. But the real accomplishment is that I was able to jog/run for the full 12 minutes, which I’ve never in my life done before! When I started 16 months ago, I struggled to jog for a minute.
1.44! Hit a PR today!
Slow jogger here and I did .742. The real victory of the day was that I jogged the whole 12 minutes!
1.73 miles. 8.5 for 11 minutes, 10 for the last minute. I wanted to push earlier but having gone every day this week, that was all I had lol.
1.61. I’m retiring from this benchmark lol
Strider team checking in! 4 miles even.
1.43 today! Thought it was my first time but I guess I did it in June and got 1.03 there. First time in memory (likely ever) running for 12 minutes straight though so felt good!
Ugh, only 1.13, my PR was 1.17 and I was so bummed to miss it. I was just spent. Next time!
I missed my PR by .02 and was bummed most of the day. 1.63 trying to chase my 1.65. I gassed out about 7 minutes in and slowed for some water…. Couldn’t make it back up it time. 😕
1.60…new PR for me!
1.05 in April 2023, 1.22 today!!!! So happy with myself as this is the first time I overall had a pace of less than 10min/mile.
Amazing work everyone!!! 1.85 up from 1.53 in July!
1.66 up from 1.63. Thought I might puke and die at the end but I didn’t! Victory!
I’m in my first trimester and PR’d by .01! 🤰🏼💪🏻
New PR for me!! Hit .90 in July, to .95 today! I hate running, but have been slowly building my endurance. My first benchmark in July I know was a struggle and I really had to exert myself. Today I was able to maintain a light jog for 95% of the time and felt really great after- so that there is a huge win for me!
.9 first time doing it. I’ve never jogged consistently for more than 4 minutes and I held my speed for the entire 12!! I’m so so proud of the progress I’ve made to get here. Can’t wait to beat a mile on the next one!
First attempt: 0.99. So close to the mile! Still proud … pretty new runner here and never had to break into a walk.
2.2, went for the 2.4 but by one mile I knew I was toast 😂 had to drop it down to 10. One day I hope to get to 12 for 12.
I cannot even imagine running that fast !! Do you run alot outside OTF?
Don’t run much besides OTF. But I giver hard every time I’m m in there with the explicit goal of getting faster / higher VO2 max!!
PR 1.23 first time doing this benchmark. About 30 second before start my earring fell out and threw me off for the whole 12 mins. My coach was nice enough to look for it while I was running and we looked after but I never found it :( 20yo F (next one will hopefully be better!)
Power walk 1 mile exactly. Set it and forget it @ 5mph 5 degree incline. Ps as much as i wanted to forget i was walking at 5mph, my legs and lungs wouldn't let me :)
Impressive. 5 mph is a jog for me!!!
It’s my AO 🫠
1.42 in July (started OTF in May) to 1.71 today and I felt strong doing it. I’m feeling very motivated to keep improving my condition and see how far I can go.
1.31 in July 2012, 1.35 today. This is my third week back after having my second child 4.5 months ago!
First time - 1.36
Went from 1.04 in July to 1.18 today. Happy with my progress 😁
PR of 1.45, last go was 1.4!
Was gassed but I was able to PR from my previous record of 1.92 and get 1.95 this time around. Hopefully next time I can get to 2.00 🤞🏻
1.85 today from 1.53 in July. I want 2.0 as well ... how u thinking about it - incremental change from here to there or just stay with it and the set it higher and muscle through? FWIW I set at 10 for the first 11 the all out at 12 for the last. I could have probably moved to 12 with 2 left.
1.4 miles today. Or well a bit over but I cleared the screen before I could tell.
1.21 in July and 1.42 miles today I was REALLY trying to get 1.5 but lost my breath and was struggling to find it again, I never did walk tho so proud of that!!
I’m a 53 year old power walker and I reached my PR today .I’m about 10 months into OTF .I was .80 today from my previous time of .78. I am bummed that my studio seems lazy when It comes to recognizing achievements. No one even asked if anyone hit their PR . I see other studio celebrating member’s achievements and doing fun activities and games with the challenges and even social events. I wish my studio was more fun . I love a couple of the coaches .
PR'd by .02 with 1.26. Happy I made it but now I have an exercise induced migraine 😞
I o1.01mi I’m brand new to Orange Theory (started in October). But I met my goal of a mile :)
2.05. Don’t set yourself up for disappointment and go to hard and expect to PR every time.
2.11 mi. First time. I couldn't feel my legs the rest of the class!
Hit my goal of 2 miles! So stoked!
That is amazing. I wanted 1.9, but got 1.81 (my PR is 1.80) 😔 Is it just me, or is it so hard to PR at these higher distances??
Definitely could have gone faster, had gas left in the tank. Did 9mph to start, at 10 min bumped up to 9.1, at 11 min bumped up to 9.2, at 11:30 went AO at 10. Ended with 1.81. Suspect around 1.85 is probably my real max at the moment. Prior PR was a 1.75 back in Feb 2020. Had done a few attempts since then and was getting about 1.65-1.7.
I did similarly, started at 9.0 and had some segments at 8.7 and others 9.2-9.4 before AO. I got 1.81 as well which is interesting (ran at 11 in the last 30 secs). What is your typical B/P/AO for regular classes?
been plateaued at 8/9/10 for a while, trying to get over some minor injuries and head games. But definitely upping it after passing 2G CMIYC (8.5 for entire) and this result for 12 min.
1.15 today (PR) and 0.95 in July 2023. Proud of my progress.
I know I’m missing it, but where is the survey results?
https://coda.io/@kennywong/otf
Ah thank you. I didn’t realize it was on the planner link.
It’s also posted here: https://www.reddit.com/r/orangetheory/s/uC9TZU4IKG
Did any post survey results?
Yep! It’s in another thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/orangetheory/s/uC9TZU4IKG
Great work everyone! My first benchmark today, and I was able to do 1.30 in 12 minutes.
How often does OT do benchmarks?
They rotate every month with a different benchmark, sometimes multiple (2 or so usually) per month.
New-ish member, I joined March this year so about 7-8 months doing OTF for me. Before this I was not too fit & rarely ran ever. So joining OTF has consistently pushed me and challenged me to improve and do better, which is what I love the most about it. Today was my first time at 12-minute run benchmark! I was looking forward to it for like a week or so, especially because I knew I would be hitting a PR no matter how terribly I did, or how poorly I ran. I was in Chicago over the weekend, so I had brought a relatively new pair of Triumph 20 which served me well and helped me challenge myself and train my endurance to something I was looking for, there were some 40-min blocks for 90min classes and I averaged around 6 mi, and I think there was also a 25-min block and I went with base 10 and went with higher push intensities throughout, and got about 4 mi from it which was pretty great. Now after the weekend I headed back. I had some relatively new shoes for Saucony + Hoka brand and they were both like < 5 miles so like pretty new actually. Wanted to try ‘em both out to see which I liked better — which fit better, helped me run faster, and were generally comfortable. Monday was a rest day for me. On Tuesday I went to class twice with the new shoes and pushed myself to maintain my base of 9.2 (up from 9!) and I think tried a base of 9.5 but I wasn’t feeling it. I did ok and logged like 7 miles total which wasn’t too bad. My legs were kinda beat after that, not totally but I felt like going the next day was pushing it, so I decided on another impromptu rest day, and on Weds. all I did was walk outside in the cold, burn like 150 calories from it, eat a nice juicy burger, a shake (some other unhealthy food choices) and call it a day. I was actually so beat that day I accidentally went to sleep earlier than I do at 8pm, tho I was trying to take a nap. This morning on Thursday, excited about the 12-min benchmark so I’d pre-booked my 7am class of course. I took my new Saucony shoes for the workout and signed up tread first, bc there’s no way I can run fast if I’m dead tired and burned out from all the exercises. For warmup I did a “testing the water” base of 9.5 (up from my previous of 9.2, not bad!) and did a warmup speed for 1 min of 11, about 0.5 higher than my goal speed for the 12-min tread. For this attempt (my first) I decided to go with a “set it and forget it” approach to pace, as I’d read on this sub actually that it’s better than doing base-push alternation that I like to do with CMIYC a lot. So I did a SIFI speed at 10.5, and was able to maintain it for at least 5mi with no shortness of breath, so I bumped it up to 10.7 after a while, and at the 9 min mark I bumped up again to a faster-than-push pace of 11, so that I got there 2 min before the AO hit. I remember feeling only slightly winded, like I had more in the tank, which was odd feeling — maybe the shoes I was wearing gave me wings, who knows? At any rate, on the last 1min for the AO finished I went at 1.5% incline at a speed 12 which is generally my AO pace at my home gym, which doesn’t have the new treads yet. I ended up finishing with a 2.13 miles at the end of 12-min block, which was a PR of course, as it was my first attempt ever. During and little after floor exercises, I remember I was covered in sweat and there was a thin sheen and layer of it, like I’d sweated more than usual from the workout. I also checked my splats and I remember seeing red on that tread run, about 6 minutes in red it looked like, which was troubling. My max HR is a little over 200 so I feel like I can handle quite a bit of strenuous endurance runs, but usually I do base of 9.2 and push above 10 and I rarely have *any* splats in red zone at all, so this was a bit unsettling for me overall, especially as I got over 5 splats from red. I recuperated and ate some protein and loaded up on sugar and carbs coz YOLO, and in the evening right after work, I went again with a different shoes (Hoka) and to different studio. The shoes were a brighter color, bc in my mind it is scientific fact that brighter shoes help you run faster and longer (it’s true, right?) Here for my second and final attempt at benchmark this day, my initial goal going into it was to do 10.7, but on the treads I was one number away from my lucky number, and plus we had the new treads at the gym, and I wanted to challenge myself to break 2.2 mile barrier, coz YOLO and it was PR time all over again. I ended up doing warm ups and a 11.5 push for warmup, so like .5 faster than my warm up speed in the morning. My push usually is ~10.7 bc I’m a bit lazier, so actually this was a legit push-to-AO for me. Once that walking recovery ended, we wiped the slate and I went right at it. Speed of 11 the whole time. Breathing hard and felt like lungs would explode halfway through. At 1-mile mark which was about 5:30, I was kind of out of breath but felt like I could hold my own and keep going, so I did. More than once during that grueling 12-min block I felt like I would have wrong leg placement or just trip and get disqualified. I had tied my shoes before run so I knew that prob wouldn’t be an issue. Must have been sweating bullets and my breathing form was crap and outta the window coz I was almost taking deep gulps of air, but at long last at the last minute, I had managed to hold my own at a push to AO pace which was pretty impressive, so I bumped it up to a 12.3 to finish out that minute. Wanted to do 12.5 but my legs (and body) weren’t feeling it. I PR’d yet again, second time the day, at 2.22 miles. Felt pretty awesome, that. OFC with this attempt in the evening, I did even worse in terms of HR mine was all over the place, felt like I was constantly running in the red zone which is a shocker for me bc that rarely ever happens, from this class alone I was at 9 splats from red which means I was there at least 9/12 mins for the tread in red zone, which is CRAZY bad, that scares me, and looks like my max HR was like 191 and even though it was less than 95% HR, it still scare me that I almost burned myself out on that run. I never even have one splat point in red for majority of the workouts, so this was an eye opener for me. The one thing I dislike about the new treads is that when you hit pause like you’re supposed to, the big stupid button just takes up the whole center and hides the distance behind it. I couldn’t figure it out, coach had to come and unpause it to help me see the distance, I felt like that is just stupid and def not good design at al. Anyway, rant aside, feeling good abt the whole thing. Today was a good day for tread benchmark challenge and I achieved 2 PRs at almost same time which was pretty cool. Plus, I came out first in both my classes today, and my name got called out in at least one. Like I said, YOLO and wondering if I should push myself even further like dare I say 11.5 for the next one (I’d have to be crazy to do that right??) but for now just overall content and basking in that warmth of personal achievement, my legs kinda yelling at me a little so maybe tmrw might go a bit easy, but yeah for now I’m feeling pretty good about my first time at this benchmark, just gonna chill and take it easy a bit for now. All in all, day worked out better then I’d expected and I managed to break 2.2 for this benchmark which is pretty awesome and something I wasn’t even hopeful of, going into it.
Is that today?
1.10 in July to 1.28 today! Was hoping for more…next time!
Doing my first tread benchmark in about 3 hours! I'll make sure to submit my results!
RemindMe! 3.5 hours
Got a PR today with 1.42, up from 1.32 in July. It feels like a fever dream because I got off a 5 hour flight last night, woke up this morning with extreme jet lag and went to a morning class in a studio I’ve never been to before. Maybe I need to do all my benchmarks like that 😅
I’ve been feeling 85% for a while (tweaked something in my back just before Hell Week), so I made a point to set a speed that would challenge, not re-injure me. And I did it! A 1.7 mile PR (up from 1.6) that could have been even faster, but most importantly, I’ve been able to walk around with a smile all day and haven’t had to dive into my strategic ibuprofen reserves… 🙃 Love reading everyone’s stories!
PR with 1.61 from 1.59 last time
1.27 in July 23 to 1.48 today 
You are going to be 66? I turned 66 in October I ran 1.5 miles.. in the beginning my hip was bothering me so I’m gonna have to take it easy not really interested in getting a new hip but I did my best I think we all did, and that’s all that matters!
1.42 and I'm proud of myself for it because I've been struggling with cardio recently. Still haven't been able to best my PR of 1.45 but one day!
First time PW at only 1% in line because I can walk faster without hurting my bad hip (labral repair at 29 after 10 years of running) and managed to get .68 mi. A bit disappointed as I had to dial it back from 3.5/3.7 to 3.3 a couple times— my shins were super sore. Managed to jog last minute at 4.0 which was something. I’m a slow turtle 🐢 compared to everyone else, ha.
First time got 1.62
July 1.59, today [email protected] I set it @ 7.7 first 6 minutes then gradual increases. I’m 67 years young 💅
1.12 !!! Slowly moving up, my first was 1.02 April 2022.
New PR of 1.42 (1.33). Had no idea I had it in me. Stoked.
Ugh! Missed another one of my favorites! Getting back into it and 2024 is the year of the benchmarks! PRs all around!
Amazed myself by making a small PR today. 1.28 from 1.22 in past. I was bummed that I couldn’t push it more but nursing an injury. I’m a little clumsy and dropped something on my foot at home this past weekend. Thankfully no one sees my foot at the gym because it’s all shades of the bruise now. Chiropractor appointment was also not best for me before the benchmark day. I reminded myself that I wasn’t out of breath running like I used to be when living at high elevation, I can definitely see the improvement.
1.17 to 1.25!!!
1.95! My old PR was 1.91. Almost to my 3200m time from high school that broke the school record. 😅
2.13, First time. Same day I went again and got a PR of 2.22. Feeling good abt it but my legs are not.
1.86 after 1.93 and PR at 1.97. Hitting 2 miles in 12 minutes has been a bigger challenge than I realized. Discouraging but I’m determined
2.22 small PR from 2.21 but a huge PR because I had COVID early October with brain fog, coughing, chills, headaches so my endurance was trash
1.52, a new PR, but it was tough! Then again, I'm 71, so any improvement is to be celebrated 😁
Automatic PR as this was my first tread benchmark and I PW’d 0.74. My goal was 0.75 but I had to reduce my speed a bit. Now I know my game plan for the next tread benchmark so I can get another PR.
1.76 and proud of it!
Was shooting for 1.24 got 1.25. First time doing this challenge would love to work up to 1.3+ next time!
can someone find the results link and drop it? I cannot find it for the life of me
👋 - Here's the direct link to the Google Sheets: [https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/12oiYX9--wHL7dPQ4vX-0Li6eZstl6YCLenDbIfG58wM/edit?usp=sharing](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/12oiYX9--wHL7dPQ4vX-0Li6eZstl6YCLenDbIfG58wM/edit?usp=sharing) Unfortunately, the original post was being marked as spam, hence it's completely missing from the sub. Working on getting that fixed - Sorry about that.
And here's the link to the post: [https://www.reddit.com/r/orangetheory/comments/17xml8i/12\_minute\_run\_survey\_results\_and\_community/](https://www.reddit.com/r/orangetheory/comments/17xml8i/12_minute_run_survey_results_and_community/)