Pace Counting??

[ACMarina]

When I was in high school I was really good at measuring distance (read - band geek) but as an adult I've kinda lost some of the skill I had. I'd also like to work in international standards and go metric. I need to find somewhere that I can practice pacing to get my count down, and said place needs to be 100 meters long. I can't get onto the track at the school right now, it's locked up being winter and all.

Any ideas??

 

[Watchful]

I'm not sure I can help here, but are you...

(a) working to judge distance by identifying a 100m length (range),

or

(b) working toward accurately pacing out a 100m distance?

Your note suggests the latter, but I'm not sure. If so, are you in an area with sidewalks? Many sidewalk squares in the US are 5' x 5', meaning there's about 66 sidewalk squares in 100m. Measure a typical to ensure its actual size. If you're not in area with regularly squared sidewalks, you might need the following method to get a 100m range quickly.

If you're looking to practice measuring "eyeball" ranges up to 100m, all you need to do is locate some objects with known heights off in the distance... these could be vehicles, doorways, or anything that's plus or minus a few inches of what you'd normally expect.

For example, at 100m, a 6-foot-tall person is about the height of your thumb nail, with your arm extended. A 2m tall doorway is about 1.5cm (.6") tall at 100m.

The formula for this is a little quirky, but relies on basic fractions. Take a ruler, hold it at arm's length, and measure the apparent height of the known object. The height of object X at a distance of Y is the same as the height of the object as you see it (a) over the length you see it (b). Or:

X a
- = -
Y b

X= height of object (2m)
Y= distance to object (unknown, in meters)
a = the height as it appears to you (1.5cm, or .015m)
b = the distance between your eye and the ruler... about .75m, but you should measure since arm lengths vary quite a bit

Multiply X times b (2 times .75 = 1.5)
Divide that by a (1.5 / .015 = 100)

Result? When a 2m doorway looks to be about 1.5cm tall, you're 100m away from it. Obviously, you don't need a doorway... take anything with a known height and substitute it for X. Just be sure to remeasure a.

I hope this helps.

 

[pict]

ACMarina,

Go to a shooting range. Most of them are 100 meters. Every time I'm at the range and I go to change targets I count paces, I can't help myself. Mac

 

[ACMarina]

I'm looking to accurately pace 100M. I don't have sidewalks, and the only shooting ranges are indoor with no forward target access. The only thing I've come up with so far is walking a 25M pool 4 times back and forth. .

 

[BlueyM]

Most Australian military parade grounds in training establishments have markings called the "pace ladder"
These are simply short lines painted on the ground at the of the parade ground at the regulation pace distance of 30 inches, over a length of about 20 yards. The method is for an instructor to direct the recruit to march at the regulation timing (116 paces to the minute) while the recruit looks down (unlike normal march procedure) and places his heel on the painted line in succession. (Australia is metric, but the 30 inch paces and 116 paces to the minute are governed by the tempo of military band music)

After enough practice at this (30 minutes is usually plenty), the body's "muscle memory" comes into play, and the recruit will normally be able to march close to the required length of pace without either looking down or using the pace ladder.

The one proviso of all this is that it must be practiced regularly to be able to maintain the correct pace.

A little squirt from a spraypaint can on the edge of a quiet road to improvise a "pace ladder" might be the answer.

If you need to march at a given rate, then download an MP3 metronome at the required rate from one of the many metronome websites available, and plug in while you are walking the pace ladder.

Google should find you heaps of them.

Good luck.

 

[nocomment]

I need to find somewhere that I can practice pacing to get my count down, and said place needs to be 100 meters long. I can't get onto the track at the school right now, it's locked up being winter and all.

Never heard of anyone locking up a football field...try the local high schools until you find one:
* There's probably an outdoor track around it, so there may be markings
* Failing that, converting meters to feet says that 100 meters is just under 330 feet (328.08 feet, to be exact). Goal line to goal line is 300 feet, plus the end zones are 30 feet each, so start at the goal line and walk to the end of the end zone.

 

[ACMarina]

Hmmm, well, I was thinking of the football field, where it's locked up (and gated, we're in a really wealthy area now instead of the rural farmland I'm used to) but I forgot they have a practice field! I'll use that. Thanks for the math, nocomment!

 

[mccuistion]

I don't have sidewalks.

The Church parking lot lines (at our location) are 10 feet apart, and go on for 150'+. I train my Scouts on them, since it makes for easy math.

Maybe you could go to your local K/Wall-Mart etc parking lot and use those lines, after ascertaining their standard width.

 

[Bear]

I used a quarter-mile track to determine how many of my paces made a mile. I enjoyed reading the other suggestions, particularly the idea of training my body to walk to a standard pace length.

I wanted to comment on an unexpected (for me) side effect of counting paces.

When stealth camping, I like to be able to report (via cell phone) my final location for the night in case of emergencies. So I often count paces as I walk along trails or through the forest.

On more than one occasion, to my surprise, I found myself continuing to count in a steady rhythm well after I'd stopped and made camp. There's just something about the rhythm of counting that's calming and soothing, like a meditation.

I find that allowing myself to continue the mantra of the count makes it easier for me to let the stillness of the forest enter my mind when I finally stop.

Bear

 

[IlikeSA]

Hey, dont forget two side notes about pace counting...
1: people tend to drift left or right in wooded terrain
2: hills and brush will change your pace count, one needs to take more steps in that kind of terrain.