Fitness Progress, 2009 vs. 2010

One way to measure my fitness progress is to compare some data from this year to last year. I have a plethora of data available for this year due to my iBike and associated software. Last year I was using my G1 phone with the My Tracks app. Interestingly, while my G1 certainly wasn't as accurate for the elevation gain numbers, it did keep track of my overall time in addition to moving time. I wish my iBike did that! Also note that the 2010 season is not yet over, so those total values will grow a bit more.

FITNESS PROGRESS
Metric	2009	2010	Comments
Total Distance	4,304 miles	4,182 miles	The next row explains the lack of mileage increase.
Total Elevation Gain	183,369 feet (34.73 miles)	239,290 feet (45.32 miles)	We made a concerted effort to ride lots of hills this year. Our favorite training ride is a variant of the Vancouver Bicycle Club's Throbbing Thigh Thriller. We rode it most weeks in 2010.
Overall Average Heart Rate	129 bpm	137 bpm	My cardio system has been doing considerably more work this year. That's a good thing. I've been riding at a higher pedaling cadence, which means a more efficient pedal stroke, less reliance on leg strength, better overall endurance, and my feet are not as sore after a long ride.
Average Moving Speed	14.98 mph	15.07 mph	The values are basically the same, which is saying a lot with all the extra climbing in 2010.

EDIT: The above chart has been significantly expanded here.

Perhaps a better way of assessing fitness progress is to compare our speed on identical rides from year to year. And remember that last year we often drafted but this year we made it a point not to draft.

It would probably be enlightening to compare overall average speed (which includes rest stops) instead of average moving speed, but since my iBike doesn't track that data I am limited to comparing average moving speed.

RIDE COMPARISON
Month	Ride	2009 Average Speed	2010 Average Speed	Comments
May	Lewis County Historical Ride	15.09 mph	16.70 mph	In 2009 this was our first century, and it was a struggle. In 2010 I pushed harder on this ride than I normally would have and discovered my body handled it fairly well.
June	Strawberry Century	16.91 mph	17.03 mph	2009 was way higher than our normal capability due to catching a ride on the tail end of a very fast (for us) peloton for around 20 miles.
July	Tour de Blast	13.96 mph	13.71 mph	Not sure what happened here. I remember wondering the same thing during the 2010 ride. Could be the extra CamelBak weight due to being self-supported in 2010. Or just that some days you're simply not as fast I guess.
Aug. & Sept.	2009 Rides Up and Around Bachelor vs. 2010 Cascade Lakes Super	14.78 mph	15.15 mph	2009 was the same route, but separated into two different rides with a rest day between. 2010 was still faster, and only had 40-minutes off-the-bike compared to almost 2 hours for 2009, not to mention the 2 nights of rest!
Sept.	Ring of Fire	12.95 mph	14.18 mph	Progress is progress, even if I had long undesirable off-the-bike stretches both years.

EDIT: Added the 2010 Ring of Fire data after-the-fact.

Of course the real measure of fitness will be this Saturday's Ring of Fire. I'm hoping for average overall speed numbers in the 15 mph range or maybe higher, which would put me at 180+ miles for the day, and would have placed me at 2nd for 2009 or 3rd for 2008.

The key for me is to rein in my early effort so that I still have enough to ride hard at the end of the 12 hours. The 140-mile, 10-hour Cascade Lakes Super gives me confidence. Not as much climbing, but at a higher altitude. At the end of that ride I still felt strong. My average heart rate was 142 bpm. The only time I went above my climbing zone (heart rate between 138 and 157 for me) was when I struggled on a climb in the heat. According to the forecast that won't be a problem on Saturday.

Bottom line, I just need to stick to my heart rate zones (Zone 3 for climbing, Zone 2 for flats, Zone 1 for descents) and I should be fine.