I was pretty happy to set a personal best for the run at the 70.3 World Champs in South Africa.
Previously, my standalone-half marathon personal best was 1:43. This was done in the tropical heat of Singapore. I had tried to beat it a few times in similar conditions but both times only achieved 1:44s.
So how did I hit a 1:38 after the swim and ride? The obvious answer was that I benefited from the cooler weather and of course more training.
But to be sure, I did an analysis of my past five 70.3 runs.
Objective:
Determine why my WC run was so much faster than my previous personal best.
Hypothesis
The run was fast due to the cool weather and my bigger base of training, which included speed work.
Items to look for
In the chart above (broken up into two for easier reading) it is clear that the variable contributing most to the faster run, is indeed the weather.
I can't find any correlation between other items (see list above).
Definitions
RPE: Rate of Perceived Exertion, on a scale of 1-20. 20 = being so hard that you leave nothing in the tank. Basically, you are in a world of hurt.
HR: Heart rate
VI: Variability Index. This shows the smoothness of your power output on the bike. It is calculated by dividing Normalized Power by Average Power. A VI of 1.05 is considered the highest acceptable for the ride segment of a triathlon. Anything higher shows that you 'burned too many matches' or made too many power spikes, which will detract from your run.
CTL: Cumulative training efforts over the last 42 days. The higher this is, the more trained you are.
ATL: Fatigue over the past week.
TSB: Form. TSB = yesterday's fitness - yesterday's fatigue. The higher this is, the more rested you are.
Previously, my standalone-half marathon personal best was 1:43. This was done in the tropical heat of Singapore. I had tried to beat it a few times in similar conditions but both times only achieved 1:44s.
So how did I hit a 1:38 after the swim and ride? The obvious answer was that I benefited from the cooler weather and of course more training.
But to be sure, I did an analysis of my past five 70.3 runs.
Objective:
Determine why my WC run was so much faster than my previous personal best.
Hypothesis
The run was fast due to the cool weather and my bigger base of training, which included speed work.
Items to look for
- Do the VIs from the bike leg prior have any affect on the run?
- Was there any correlation with heart rate?
- How did the CTL, ATL, and TSB affect the run, if at all?
- Did nutrition play a role?
In the chart above (broken up into two for easier reading) it is clear that the variable contributing most to the faster run, is indeed the weather.
I can't find any correlation between other items (see list above).
Definitions
RPE: Rate of Perceived Exertion, on a scale of 1-20. 20 = being so hard that you leave nothing in the tank. Basically, you are in a world of hurt.
HR: Heart rate
VI: Variability Index. This shows the smoothness of your power output on the bike. It is calculated by dividing Normalized Power by Average Power. A VI of 1.05 is considered the highest acceptable for the ride segment of a triathlon. Anything higher shows that you 'burned too many matches' or made too many power spikes, which will detract from your run.
CTL: Cumulative training efforts over the last 42 days. The higher this is, the more trained you are.
ATL: Fatigue over the past week.
TSB: Form. TSB = yesterday's fitness - yesterday's fatigue. The higher this is, the more rested you are.
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