Not being able to discern between a long and short labour is very telling.
There is a thing called 'long latent phase'. The latent part of labour (as opposed to active) is when your contractions are effective but not timed as regular. They may be working to get the baby into the right position, without actually dilating your cervix.
With my fourth child, I had a very long latent phase - it started a week before active labour (with a bloody show). When active labour finally kicked in, she was born within 90 minutes (which was a shock).
On Day 1, I was very deflated when an old-school midwife declared that I was not in labour (with all this pain!!!), but the young midwife talked about latent phase and multip os, which was much more comforting (and less embarrassing when you are such an expert with no. 4).
If you are having a long latent phase, or strong Braxton Hicks, be comforted in the knowledge that each contraction is one that you don't need to have again. They are all working to get the baby into the right position for birth, so that the actual event will be much easier (ie my 90-minute labour).