Sunday, March 3, 2013

Numbers

One, two, three, four
Tell me that you love me more
Sleepless long nights
That is what my youth was for

1,2,3,4 by Feist from the album, The Reminder


So, maybe it is true, maybe we do get faster with age.  I have plotted the completion times of 24 of the 25 half-marathons that I have run since 2005 (I omitted the 2009 DNF). I converted the times into minutes and omitted seconds (e.g. a time of 1 hour, 58 minutes, 17 seconds was converted to 118 minutes). Interestingly, the peaks represent the hypo-half marathon times which are traditionally slower due to the elements. The valleys are fall and spring races on dry pavement.  I then had the program calculate a mathematical trend represented by the black line.  Clearly the trend shows a general decline in time meaning, I'm getting faster! At this rate I'll be running a 1:30 half-mary by the time I'm 90!

My calf is presently tight like a banjo string so I pulled out of this morning's long run and opted for a second coffee instead. This proves empirically that not only am I getting faster as I age, I'm getting smarter too!

It's a great day to be alive, cuddled up around the fire listening to a sweet playlist on a lazy Sunday morning.

Mike

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