I started running again just over a year ago and have been using RunKeeper for all of that time. I find it pretty motivating to track activities and compare with previous runs. However, RunKeeper doesn’t make it so easy to track your progress over time – at least not in the free version*
While RunKeeper allows you to export your data, they also have an API – so I knocked together a graph (using Flot) of my running history that will automatically update as I do more exercise. Perhaps I’ll write about how I made this in a later blog post and share the code. The graph below shows distance and pace for my running activities – either as raw data, averaged by month or a moving average
When I first made this, I’d run just shy of 200km in 40 running sessions. I’m pretty happy with that! What’s particularly pleasing is that I’ve been managing to run consistently – apart from a blip in January. Over the last few years, I’ve often tried to get back into running but usually had niggly knee issues. It seems that reasonably regular gym sessions have helped to keep other muscles strong – though I should also get back to yoga
It’s also nice to see that my distance has generally been increasing and pace has improved a little. Here’s to the next 200km!
*I suppose the Pro version (which is crazy expensive, but that’s another matter) might have support for this. Since I’m just using this for my own personal data, I don’t think I’m doing against their terms