Tuesday, April 27, 2010

By a factor of M

I don't have a power meter, and I found I really wasn't using a heart rate monitor to any useful effect. I would look at the numbers after a ride and say to myself "Yep, I was working hard". My perceived effort told me as much.
So how can I judge my progress from year to year?
At the risk of seeming like a crazy stalker and confessed math geek I have come up with the following method to judge "form".
The Factor of M.
MM actually, as in Mike Montalbano.
Monte does the same early season races as me and my 503 Cycleworx mates, so a little of the old cross multiply and divide and I can find how we are doing. Conditions can change year to year but Monte is a constant variable.
Monte = FAST.

Here is the data I've compiled:

2009
Hopbrook
James= M+4%, Charlie=M+16%

Winsted Woods
James= M+14%, Josh= M+8%, Charlie = M+16%

Singlespeed-a-palooza
James=M+10%, Josh=M+9%, Charlie=M+22%

2010
Hopbrook
James=M+.3%, Josh=M+5%, Charlie=M+13.5%

Winding Trails
James=M+.01%, Josh=M+2%, Charlie=M+9%

SSAP
James=M+2%, Josh=M+3%, Charlie=M+13%

So what does this all tell us?
I am showing some signs of improvement, James is getting F'ing fast, and Josh should ride a singlespeed all the time.


I must admit I did take a liberty with the data; I assumed I could do an extra lap at the same pace at Winsted Woods and Winding Trails to come up with a figure for me on those races, but HB, and SSAP, I raced the same length, so going from +16-22% to 13% does suggest something.

3 comments:

Mookie said...

Anyone >.80M is pretty damn fast. I'm liking your math, buddy.

Rigidnsingle said...

I like your math, As long as we dont start going into the red I'll be okay. Then again did you factor my later peak plan this year? LOL

James said...

What?