Running Proficiency Chart

In my search to find a way to train while recovering from bursitis I came across portions of a book called 5 and 10k Training by Brian Clarke. In it, he gave some formulas for calculating running proficiency – which is a helpful scale when you have to train slow so your knees can recover, but hate training without some measurable results.

Anyway, I plugged them in to an excel spreadsheet – and if you promise not to laugh at the abysmally slow times (you try training at 135 bpm or less!), I’ll share that sheet here. I’m pretty sure the formulas won’t transfer, so I’ll put them below for you to recreate on your own if needed.

	Running Proficiency
Date	Distance	Min	Sec	HR	Time	Pace	Beats/Mile	Yds/Beat
26-Jul	2	25	43	132	25.71667	12.85833	1697.3	1.44777
28-Jul	2	27	18	134	27.3	13.65	1829.1	1.415505
29-Jul	1.8	23	25	132	23.41667	13.00926	1717.22222	1.442575
31-Jul	1.8	24	26	132	24.43333	13.57407	1791.77778	1.42416

 

Date – Self Explanatory

Distance – I’ve tried mapping my distances using map software, and then driven the route to check accuracy and they aren’t always the same – so… whatever you use, be consistent. I choose to use the car odometer.

Min – Minutes of the run.

Sec – Seconds f the Run

HR – most heart rate monitors will show you average heart rates at the end of your exercise. Just plug that number in here.

Time – Ok, pretty basic formula in excel. What you’re doing is taking your Min column *60 to get seconds and adding your seconds to it. Then you’re dividing the new total by 60. The formula looks like: =SUM(((C3*60)+(D3))/60)

Pace – Just dividing the your time by mileage to get pace. The formula looks like: =SUM(F3/B3)

Beats/Mile – An interesting bit of information, if nothing else. If you averaged x beats per minute, how many times did your heart have to beat to supply your muscles with enough oxygenated blood to cover one mile? You are taking your pace and multiplying it by your HR. The formula looks like: =PRODUCT(E3,G3)

Yds/Beat – This is the “Running Proficency” number you can use to measure progress. You’re going to convert your beats per mile to yards per beat by taking the number of yards per mile (1760) and dividing it by your beats per mile. The formula looks like: =SUM(1,760/H3)

The theory is that you should see progress as you get in shape. Hmmph – we’ll see. J