Runworks
Welcome, Guest      Blog      Forums      Calculator
     Log in  


Some links below may be affiliate links. BMOW may get paid if you buy something or take an action after clicking one of these.

As an Amazon Associate BMOW earns from qualifying purchases.
 

Return to topic list
 
<< Trying to gear up again! Happy Father's Day! >>
 my running life in a graph
Rickshaw
Runworks 2005 5M Racer
San Francisco, CA
Joined: 26 Nov 2004
Posts: 1157

my running life in a graph Posted: Tue May 30, 2006 11:04 pm 

I geeked-out with Excel this evening, and made a graph of PIH versus time for the races of my running career. PIH is a performance measure used by the runlog Excel log, and is conceptually similar to Daniels' VDOT. Higher numbers are better.

There are three main cycles in the graph:

1. rapid improvement from my first race up to the Austin Marathon, followed by about 10 months of decline where I didn't run much
2. another period of rapid improvement and then semi-plateau, peaking at Des Moines and the San Francisco Half Marathon, followed by about 8 months of decline
3. a third period of rapid improvement and semi-plateau

http://www.runworks.com/templates/runworksClean/images/photos/pih.jpg

The portion from the most recent SF Half up to today's date looks a little worse than it is, since it includes one very hilly race and the two stinky 5K's I ran shortly after Boston.

Some interesting observations:

- Fitness is gained faster than it's lost. Even when I practically stopped running entirely during spring/summer 2005, the rate of decline was less steep than the rate of improvement during retraining.
- Most of the improvement is achieved after about 3-4 months of retraining following a layoff. After that, performance improves more slowly, or hits a plateau.
- After each layoff, the height of the next plateau is higher than the last. (Tough to say for certain-- we'll see where the current cycle ends up!)


OldManRunner
Runworks 2005 5M Racer
Rochester, NY
Joined: 28 Nov 2004
Posts: 262

Re: my running life in a graph Posted: Sat Jun 03, 2006 5:05 pm 

Based upon my most recent experience, I'd certainly agree about the 'regaining your prior level of fitness after about 3 - 4 months of training', but you seem to be hitting a ceiling at about 660 PIH (first I've ever heard of it). Let's hope you can break on through to the other side this time!

View posts:     


All times are GMT - 8 Hours
Page 1 of 1
 


Copyright © 2014 Runworks. All rights reserved.   Powered by phpBB © phpBB Group

Questions or Comments  Privacy Policy