weight .v. speed calculator

[Deleted User]

Somewhere on this forum I've seen reference to a race time predictor showing the effect of weight loss.

ie. you enter a recent race time and your current weight. It give predictions of race time if you lose/gain weight.

Can anybody can give me a pointer in the right direction?

Yeh, I know I'm too heavy, but I'd like to know how much effect its having on my running!

Boniface Earl Jones

Is this what you're after?

[Deleted User]

Thanks JEJ - that's precisely what I was looking for. Will bookmark it so I don't lose it again. It confirms that shifting some weight is a good idea.

Pugheaven™

or use this one..

Click For Linky

Tom.

This tells me that for every two pounds I lose my HM time will fall by 55secs.

This seems like another one of those over simplified, something for everybody efforts. Like most people my body weight varies on a day by day basis - to the extent of a couple of pounds either way. I don't think that it will have much effect on my racing speed.

Right, that's the restrained, sensible answer. However this sort of thing, really p*sses me off. Another magic formula. Loosing weight per se, won't make you runner faster. Training hard will, the more miles you can run and the faster you can run them, provided that the effort/recovery is sustainable, is what makes you run faster - the weight loss is a probable by product of training hard, but its the training, not the weight loss that will make you run faster.

[Deleted User]

Tom...I think you are mostly correct...however, my experience was, that training hard (well highish mileage) both helped me to get much fitter and also lose weight (result of BT approach) - both of which helped me to run faster,,

However, I would agree that the training effect - i.e. increased mticondria numbers and size, increassed capiliarisation etc..... contributed the most to my increased fitness....pre-injury obv

bye the way.....you missed out Josef K, Orange Juice, The Scars, and Win from the all time Scottish band list...sory to jump threads

Pugheaven™

Well, I'm currently on a mission for weight loss starving myself and training the same, so I'll let you all know how I get on! You lose 18lbs of weight, you'll be faster, simple! However, yeah, it's a two way thing, however, losing weight will let you train harder as well, as your not carrying all the crap around as well ;-)

[Deleted User]

Yep, I think we are all in agreement on this. The way I like to put it is 'weight lose alone probably won't make you any faster but carrying extra weight will probably slow you down'.

Research has shown there to be some degree of correlation between weight and height for world record holders but it's definately not about just losing weight - the magic height/weight ratio is a bi-product of many things including long-term training, high training loads, diet and the big 'G' (Genetics). The 'danger' of these weight/speed 'gadgets' is that novice runners interpret them as advocating weight loss as the silver bullet for performance.

Pugheaven™

True, and I've lost a stone... done the following:

26/06/06: Previous week, 51.6 mile (13st 11lbs)
02/07/06: Previous week, 60.8 mile (13st 11lbs)
09/07/06: Previous week, 50.1 mile (13st 11lbs)
16/07/06: Previous week, 50.6 mile (13st 9lbs)
23/07/06: Previous week, 33.5 mile (13st 6lbs)
30/07/06: Previous week, 64.8 mile (13st 7lbs)....
06/08/06: Previous week, 0.00 mile (13st 5lbs)
12/08/06: Previous week, 55.0 mile (12st 11lbs)


I went out today and ran the quickest training run I've ever done for 4 mile... and I felt weak and floppy and tired... yet... battered my previous training time... there is a balance... and it's hard to get...

I know for myself, once I close in on 12st mark... that's around when I'll be flying... well, when I say flying, I mean 33 ish 10k's... I can do the training, but when I ran my PB's at 14st, it's hard to push 14st around a half marathon faster than 1:24:50...