Changes

In an ideal world, we'd be able to easily measure our [[Running Economy]] and see if things are improving. If we could measure our breath, find out how much O₂ we consumed and how much CO₂ we produce, we'd know how much energy we burned (and from fat or carbohydrate). Such testing would require controlling the time of day, day of the week, diet, and footwear for each test<ref name="Pereira-1997"/> as well as specialist equipment that is not available to recreational runners. (Systems such as Cosmed's K5, PONE, and VO2 Master's VM Pro are becoming available, but cost thousands of dollars. Because this is not practical, the best measure we have of energy consumption is our [[Heart Rate]]. This is far from perfect, as [[Heart Rate]] [[Heart Rate Drift| can vary for other reasons besides supplying O₂ for energy production]]. However, I believe it is a useful approximation and so I developed the simpler "Relative Running Economy."I've created an improved version called "HR-Pwr" which used the power estimate from [[Stryd]] to give a more useful estimate. =HrPwr Estimate of Running Economy=My initial approach was to use heart rate to estimate energy cost and distance covered to measure the effort. This works okay on the flat, but is thrown off by changes in elevation. The [[Stryd]] footpod estimates the power output based on pace and elevation changes, which solves this problem nicely. It also gives the possibility of comparing data from running with cycling, though I've found the Stryd power estimate to be much higher for a given perceived effort than cycling. The formula I use is milliwatts per Kg per heartbeat, which I've called [[HrPwr]] (It's available as a [[Connect IQ]] data field.)

Given the difficulty of measuring Running Economy, I have developed a simple alternative that provides a relative value for Running Economy. This Relative Running Economy calculates a value based on how many heart beats are used for the distance covered. The formula that is shown below and there are more details at [[Relative Running Economy]]. <blockquote><code> Total Beats = (Average [[Heart Rate]] – [[Resting Heart Rate]]) * Time in Minutes<br> Work Per Mile = Total Beats / Distance in Miles<br> Efficiency = 1 / Work Per Mile * 100,000<br></code></blockquote>

The calculated [[Relative Running Economy ]] cannot easily be used to compare different runners. It can be used as to track how your running economy is improving over time, though it is also influenced by changes in fitness. Over the weeks and months of training your Relative Running Economy should gradually improve. For instance, I've seen my RRE go from 110-120 to 130-150 over a period of a few months. Sadly, I've also seen my RRE drop when I put on body fat (see [[Weight Loss and Performance]].) This evaluation of my fitness this proved to be remarkably useful to me.

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