SportTracks running data

I had to stop running from April-December in 2008 due to inflamed toe joints so the more interesting SportTracks data is for 2007. How's my pace now? OK: a recent run was 3.52m, 7:38min/mile pace, 26:55min, 169bpm average heart rate.

In 2007 my mileage looks pretty consistent - a mixture of running with friends from work at lunchtime but mostly running from home.


August looks like I took a break but I cycled 179 miles that month so maybe that's why I don't have much running mileage.

Below are my runs sorted by pace but the hard ones were those with a high average heart rate: 177bpm for 32:07 at 7:44min/mile pace for 4.15m (Hurlsey - Port Lane sign and back).

But one month later I ran further, faster, with a lower HR - 164bpm for 36:31 at 7:43min/mile for 4.73m. I must have gotten a bit fitter in that month (and the route was a little flatter).

SportTracks cycling data

I fired up SportTracks this morning and looked at some Activity Reports. The cycling data covers both fun rides from work with mates on my mountain bike, commuting on various bikes, and going out on my road bike.

Distance first:


And average speed second. These are all on my Orbea Orca - I can't go this fast on a mountain bike.



I'm pleased with the 20mph average over 15.57 miles. It is a route that avoids steep hills. Average heart rate over 46.8 minutes was (only) 157bpm. (In 2007 I averaged 177bpm for 32:07 whilst running 4.15 miles, 7:44 pace). In the graph you can see the correlation between gradient, speed and heartrate.

Fartlek training

As someone getting back in to running I've done a few multi-mile gentle runs and I thought I'd mix it up a bit with a Fartlek-like run.

I wore my Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS + heartrate watch and my intention was that whenever I felt I'd recovered from one sprint I'd go again.

My average pace on this 2.64m run was 7:34 min/mile which is much faster than it would have been if I'd done the usual constant-effort run.

The graph nicely shows me running faster every time my heart rate dropped to 170, including at 16:00 where I was going uphill finding it tough going but I checked my HR on the watch and it said 170 so I made myself run.

Would I ever have done that without the HR watch to let me know, and the promise/threat of seeing my performance on a graph? Probably not.

My Carbon Fibre Bottle Cage

For Christmas I ordered a Planet X carbon fibre bottle cage. I initially found it on ChainReactionCycles for £20, and it says it weighs 24g - confirmed by their photo.

I then googled for it to find alternate vendors and Planet X themselves were doing it cheaper, plus their photo says it is a 22g version.

I ordered from Planet X. The actual price charged was less than the price listed on their web page.

And when it turned up there were 2 of them in the box. I've looked again and I don't see anywhere that says that they come as a pair, although I do have 2 mounting points on my bike. But there was no mounting kit (2 screws basically). So I've used the screws from the old one and kept the other cage as a spare for now.

I weighed the cages on an electric balance and the old one weighs 64g, the new 22g. Which will send me soaring up the hills with far less effort, ahem.

There's a review on RoadCyclingUK.com which gives it 10/10 for value, 9/10 overall. Sounds about right to me.