[OC] Visualising 12 months of running with Strava

Submitted by detalbruh t3_yc7ybf in dataisbeautiful

I started using Strava just over 12 months ago when I switched from NRC.

The cornerstone of my running this year was a marathon training program & I was keen to see how my metrics changed as a result. I am also learning R so this was a good exercise is data cleaning, manipulation & visualisation.

Running takeaways The data broadly matched up with what I expected, with a purposeful pullback in pace to enable me to run longer. This was then accompanied by an improvement in heart rate and increase in cadence/form - which was a key goal of mine from February on.

Next steps I've got some more data on the way which will look beyond time-series analysis - I love the fact that Strava is significantly more open with its data than other providers!

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tropadise t1_itkoqab wrote

Awesome, the heart rate is cool to see.

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detalbruh OP t1_itkqe80 wrote

Thanks, yeah I was surprised to see how linear the improvement was!

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fortuitous_monkey t1_itn0xqb wrote

I've used a linear regression of heart rate to calculate that you will be dead by 50 based. /s

Great improvement in fitness and really interesting data.

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OpieRugby t1_itlq8h8 wrote

Even as the pace stayed flat the second half, the heart rate still goes down. Very cool

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detalbruh OP t1_itknmrh wrote

Source: activities output from my Strava page
Tool: R / ggplot

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Essersmith t1_itmu18q wrote

I may contact you in half a years time for some help with a similar plot. I hope that's OK.

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MikeTakrelyt t1_itkqd29 wrote

Oh my.... Now I feel bad again for even not beeing able to push myself to run for 30 minutes every day...

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detalbruh OP t1_itkqlm8 wrote

Nah you shouldn't at all, everyone's situation is different! My first year of running was just 2km-5km runs only, and not every day. COVID gave me the time to run more and it sort of snowballed from there.

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MikeTakrelyt t1_itkqumx wrote

Yeah I know, but my situation totally provides enough time to do some sports, so I for sure should feel not too good about the fact that I prefer playing games and eating tacos instead 😁

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GirthMcGraw t1_itl2wec wrote

Everyone prefers eating tacos and chilling over exercise in the moment but being active feels better in the long term

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mattttb t1_itkuae3 wrote

The main advice I’d give is if 30 mins of running is hard, start with a 25 min walk, 5 min run (try 5 mins walking, 1 minute running - repeat) and then gradually week by week increase the running periods until you can comfortably run for 30 mins.

Depending on your circumstances it might take you a couple weeks to get there, or it might take 6 months. Most important is to keep staying active.

Little known fact, walking and running the same distance burns a similar amount of calories. If you can’t run 5km, walk 5km!

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imbisibolmaharlika t1_itl2vbg wrote

I'd also like to add that even if you think and feel that you can do it, it's better to gradually progress into running. The mind is stronger than the body but if you push your body too much, you'll get injured and have to start all over again. Patience is key.

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aftenbladet t1_itkto79 wrote

If its because of your weight, please understand that you dont need to go for a run to get lighter. Its all in your diet.
Then, when you reach a better weight you can start to think about running etc

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MikeTakrelyt t1_itku684 wrote

No, 37 years, 80 kg on 185cm,no problem at all. Just not fit and feel old :)

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aftenbladet t1_itkz4ik wrote

+3yrs and thats me :) I jog and exercise 2 times a week and still feel old, lol

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Essersmith t1_itmv3he wrote

I'm 64 kg and 177 cm. Otherwise that's me ~1 year ago.

Let me tell you what. Don't do like me and start after having 2 back surgeries. I'm fine don't worry. But seriously. Treat yourself to some better physical andemtal health by running or exercising regularly. Consistency is the key. Speed does NOT matter.

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Grumzz t1_itkwnxi wrote

Remember that your body needs rest too! I'd recommend at running every other day at most in the beginning.

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DEN0MINAT0R t1_itmvv6q wrote

My advice: Don’t. Instead, push yourself to walk 30 minutes 3 days a week. Then 5 minutes of running, 25 minutes of walking, then 10 minutes, etc, etc.

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with starting slow. In fact, I’d argue it’s by far the best way to start. When you’re first starting something, it’s almost never necessary or desirable to push yourself to the point of failure, or even significant discomfort.

When I started lifting weights, I estimated what I could actually lift for reps, and started out doing half of that much. When I recently re-started running after several years off, I knew I could do 3 miles at 8:00/mi. I started by doing 1 mile at 12:00/mi. I recently ran my first half-marathon. Slow and steady wins the race, because slow and steady actually makes it to the end.

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Regular_Zombie t1_itl4ywp wrote

Why does your pace decrease? You start off running 4:30/km and end up at around 5:15/km despite presumably being in much better condition.

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Snooberrey t1_itl5rik wrote

In my experience with long distance training it’s much easier to get through runs if you figure out how to pace yourself throughout the course of a run. I could finish a given training run faster but feel worse and have long we recovery after which isn’t ideal for the long consistent training program needed for a marathon.

EDIT: also since marathon training involves ramping up distance over time keeping a consistent pace is good so you’re not pushing yourself by improving on two metrics at once. If you tan the same distance every time I’d expect your pace to increase over time.

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Regular_Zombie t1_itleu73 wrote

I appreciate that running longer distances is going to result in slower average pace, but there is only a small uptick in distances in January before falling back in February, yet by March the average pace is 45s/km slower than it was in October.

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PMurSSN t1_itlgsii wrote

There's also greater variation in pace as the race approaches. Probably due to the varying distances ran in the higher volume weeks. In September, there's 1 run that is below the 4:30 pace which is presumable a short run focused on pace vs the ~5:45 pace run in the same month which was likely a much longer run.

In the beginning (October) it seems that all runs are cluster around the ~4:40 pace, so they were likely more consistent in effort/distance and much shorter.

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Fango925 t1_itmoabf wrote

I'm a cyclist but I imagine it's similar in all endurance cardio sports - a lot of time training is spent in a lower heart rate deliberately. Somewhere like 80% of your training should be spent ~120-140bpm (obviously varies depending on the person.) Could be that they're slowing down to deliberately lower their heart rate in order to have better endurance/faster paces over time rather than a faster first KM

It's not always productive to be running as fast as you can

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detalbruh OP t1_itn4smz wrote

Yeah these comments and bang on - I researched / talked to some running friends and was not going to be effective to continue running at 4:30-4:40 if I wanted to build endurance and form to run a marathon.

The variation in runs is also correct - that was part of the mara training program. I guess what I found interesting was that my interval/fast runs in late 2022 were at a lower HR than late 2021, meaning at a rudimentary level my fitness had improved.

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theshaqattack t1_itpahpy wrote

I run marathons.

A generally accepted training methodology involves slow runs being the bulk of your weekly mileage. Most plans involve three key workouts. A speed day, a threshold day, and a long run day. The first two are faster efforts while the long run can be uptempo if you want but also slowed to ensure adaptation is occurring over the build.

Looking at OP’s cumulative weekly km’s, I feel they’re not exactly running a lot during the week relatively to a typical marathon plan. But imagine these three sessions take up 20k in a week, the remaining 40km being slower would reduce the average pace overall.

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detalbruh OP t1_itn4efr wrote

Thanks for all these comments. Similar to some of the replies here I basically was running 5km distance exclusively between July 2021 and late 2021. These were also done at a pace that unfortunately I could not keep up for a marathon.

So made the conscious decision at the start of the year to try and slow down while also trying to focus on improving my cadence/efficiency. So maybe the "average pace" metric/line isn't the best, but included it as it helped me decipher what happened

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patricksaurus t1_itl47cz wrote

We get it, you ran the Melbourne Mararthon. Jk

Did you get injured mid-July?

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detalbruh OP t1_itn33qk wrote

Lol I did originally post this in r/Strava and got directed here 😅

Yeah I had pneumonia which knocked me around for 3 weeks unfortunately

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patricksaurus t1_itn3qhi wrote

Damn. Nice recovery!

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detalbruh OP t1_itn6ahm wrote

Yeah thankfully it wasn't the worst and I was cleared after 3 weeks! Some people had it much worse

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kesslkaserer t1_itlf51z wrote

OP this looks awesome, did you by any chance open source it? I'd love to visualize my strava data like this.

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mrjeffcoat t1_itmnheb wrote

Smashrun will give very similar data (plus lots of over useful visualisations), and syncs with Strava, and is free.

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detalbruh OP t1_itn3zz7 wrote

Yeah there are a bunch of free platforms that you can hook Strava into. I am learning R and tend to do a lot of data viz so took this on as a experiment! Happy to provide the R code though, there's a few similar examples online too

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anon2282 t1_itlepl2 wrote

Did you do anything specific with your cadence to improve your performance? Help to explain that graph to me 😊

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detalbruh OP t1_itn582d wrote

After doing some research on marathon running and talking to some friends who are advanced runners, I realised that my form was probably a little bit inefficient and my stride length was too long.

I found at a faster pace I could take more steps per minute but not as slower paces. That's why when i pull my pace back in early 2022 there is a big drop in cadence. I then worked (very slowly) for the rest of the year on taking more/shorter steps at slower paces.

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anon2282 t1_itna1kv wrote

This is so interesting. I suck at running and would love to learn more about how to run properly so I can go faster and not ruin my knees.

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detalbruh OP t1_itnc1cc wrote

I honestly think with enough training anyone can do it. I'm no expert but I would start by walk/running short distances at a low heart rate. I wouldn't worry about cadence or anything that technically initially.

If you are comfortable with that then I would say that speed is built through interval/tempo runs

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anon2282 t1_itnn1ec wrote

I'm fine up to 5-7k but my pace sucks... About 6:45/km. This is a comfortable jogging pace... Heart rate maybe 85% of max. Stride doesn't feel natural to me.

Will try the temp runs I knew that was the right strategy for improving cardio capacity but didn't know it was good for speed too.

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detalbruh OP t1_itnttfq wrote

Interesting, does your stride just feel like its not working? Also have you got proper running shoes? I noticed they made a big difference for me.

Yeah when I started doing interval runs, I noticed that my pace during normal runs started to slowly improve too.

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anon2282 t1_ito6v8j wrote

What's a good running shoe? I have Nike Flex maybe a couple years old.

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theshaqattack t1_itpapkr wrote

I run marathons; typically you’ll see elites will high cadences across races (for marathons I’ve heard it’s around 190 for elites). For us mortals, running a higher cadence reduces the force from a long stride going through your legs when impact on the ground occurs. It also promotes faster turnover which drives efficiency in stride.

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anon2282 t1_itpk80z wrote

That's interesting because I can remember having a longer stride (I think) when I was younger and could run faster. I can distinctly remember running 1.5km in about 6-7 minutes so that's around 4.5-5m/km and I'm way slower now.

So I was thinking my stride seems shorter now and that might be the culprit.

I don't have anything to measure my cadence but perhaps I can do it manually this morning.

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theshaqattack t1_itrpts0 wrote

It’s likely not your stride at all tbh. It’s probably more fitness than anything right now that determines how fast you run that 1.5km in. But faster speed work as part of a training program generally just pushes your cadence higher anyway.

But manually measuring cadence when you’re talking about 170-190 steps per minute will be extremely difficult. Give it a go though.

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anon2282 t1_itrq6eg wrote

Counted 80 steps in 30 seconds so my cadence is 160. Should be a bit faster then?

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theshaqattack t1_itrqpcl wrote

160 is a low cadence when running but so much plays into it. Fatigue at that moment, whether you’re actually interested in what you’re doing, what you’ve eaten and how that makes you feel.

Cadence shouldn’t be measured over 30 seconds and extrapolated though in my opinion. Measuring it over the course of your run, then seeing the trend is really the only concrete way to know what it is. Could you have kept that up over 5 minutes? 20 minutes? Too much plays into that short moment.

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anon2282 t1_its30ps wrote

Yeah great points. It was just a 2.5 km run with some decent hills. Pace was pretty constant at 6:40/km or so, I'm really shit at running downhill so I think I'm actually faster uphill, about 160 avg bpm.

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theshaqattack t1_its96yh wrote

Haha I know quite a few people who are much quicker uphill than down, easier on the quads.

At a 6:40 pace I’d be suggesting just to shorten your stride a little, almost feels like skipping along the top of the ground a bit and keep it up, it’s hard to do it at the start. And really just focus on doing more distance but slower. Aim to do 80% of your weekly mileage at a heart rate between 115-140 and see how your body feels.

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Snooberrey t1_itlfqaf wrote

I’m curious as to why your cadence picks up but pace is pretty consistent. Did you alter your stride for any specific reason?

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marigolds6 t1_itloyl5 wrote

They mention in the lower part that they specifically worked to improve form and cadence. This might not result in a faster pace, but would result in a more efficient run that would both bring down heart rate and enable running more distance without losing pace. If you look at the distance chart, OP did run longer and longer distances (culminating with the marathon) without a loss in pace.

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detalbruh OP t1_itn5es3 wrote

This is spot on. At the start of 2022 I ran slower but with lower cadence - my stride length was probably too long. I then worked very slowly to increase steps per minute at slower paces.

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kornkob2 t1_itlfrkb wrote

great to see the heart rate coming down! do you use hr zones to train with? also nice to see a long buildup before throwing yourself into 3 months of marathon training

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detalbruh OP t1_itn5sq6 wrote

Yeah I did two half-marathons in early 2021 but due to life had to drop my running to only 5km runs late last year.
I did try to track my HR, particularly with the one long run and one interval run during the program

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nautilus_red t1_itls4yw wrote

Awesome, you yould derive so much insight from this data. Heartrate charte definitly says a lot about how amazingly you orogressed!

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detalbruh OP t1_itn5ufb wrote

Appreciate the comment - I was glad to see that you can get it all from Strava!

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V1per41 t1_itlx5t5 wrote

Really impressive to run that time with so little training!

Do you have plans to train more for another one or was this more of a bucket list item?

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detalbruh OP t1_itn5za1 wrote

Thanks - I should clarify I did two half marathons in early 2021 but due to life circumstances could only do 5km runs for the better part of the last year.

Planning to go again next year given I felt I missed my full potential on race day!

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V1per41 t1_itna3ea wrote

Good luck!

If you're running sub 3:40 on less than 45km a week, you could probably get under 3:00 with full training. Of course there's a lot of sacrifice to get there as well. Not always possible.

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detalbruh OP t1_itnaxr5 wrote

Thanks! Yeah I would love to hit 3:30 - big aim for next year! You are right, alot of time to sacrifice haha

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gonzo8927 t1_itly0ol wrote

Were you in the Melbourne Marathon?

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detalbruh OP t1_itn60ws wrote

Yeah correct that was the event I trained for

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carltonBlend t1_itmhwrt wrote

Só, If I get it right, a higher pace means less speed?

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detalbruh OP t1_itn62tv wrote

Yep so in this context speed and pace are inverse!

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daveshow93 t1_itmnavv wrote

Did you run the Melbourne Marathon? You should have said!

But seriously, nice work.

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Special_kisses t1_itnc1r7 wrote

The progress in your heart rate is impressive

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Hopeful_1768 t1_itozght wrote

if your heart rate keeps dropping like that you'll be dead in 2030

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SoakedSeahorse t1_itlanmx wrote

Route change Aug to Oct? Sudden increase in elevation gain.

HR is interesting though.

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marigolds6 t1_itlp4sh wrote

Looks like most of the elevation gain is from an increase in run length?

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detalbruh OP t1_itn5i2u wrote

Bit of both - my 5km route is basically flat whereas the longer runs extended my route into a more hilly area, hence the greater elevation

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DaBBall t1_itldude wrote

How’d you get the mass export of data from Strava?

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Bruncvik t1_itlgumc wrote

Settings -> My Account -> Download or Delete Your Account. Not sure that's for GDPR-only countries or worldwide, though. For more advanced users, Strava also has an API that lets you download the data, and I suspect that old-fashioned cURL calls may work as well.

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detalbruh OP t1_itn5lwl wrote

Correct - luckily I could request my data via this method. However there are a few tutorials online if you need to use the API

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