graphs of progress
Below are two graphs. Each show my “easy” 90 minute runs from February 1 to March 1. I have filtered out recovery runs (runs done intentionally at much lower intensity) so you can see progress for equal efforts over the month. The first graph is the pace of the runs – the second is the average heart rate. Click on each picture below for full-size versions. It’s pretty easy to see how much I’ve improved in only the past 30 days. The progress among my “hard” runs shows pretty much the same progress.
Note: The paces are in decimal format. e.g. 8.08 is equal to an 8:05 minute per mile pace. If you want to convert the decimals to seconds, multiply them by 60.
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Sunday March 04, 2007 @
Love graphs. Love how you can see the numbers that much more clearly with a picture. Just an idle thought… Do you think it’s possible your body is coming out of a winter ‘hibernation?’ Not that your training isn’t the reason for improvement, but I’m just thinking out loud here…
Since I just started running at the end of Dec, I can’t apply the same hypothesis for my improvement. The cause and effect is obvious for me. But since you’ve been consistently running for quite a while now, I’m curious if you think the winter has much of an effect on your performance? Or more likely, do you think the natural cycle of the year (the winter off-season) is just the body’s way of giving itself a rest?