Not sure if anyone is going to find this interesting, but what the hell, I have the tech, i'm going to use it
I have a 3k loop which I use whenever I feel like running, which has a 20m elevation difference between the bottom and top. Not massively hilly, but enough to notice the up and down bits in the short distance. Over a year ago I bought a Forerunner, used it a couple of times then stopped running as I hated it, I was unfit and it made me feel like crap. Fast forward a year and as mentioned i'm halfway through the couch-to-5k course at the moment, but i'm still using the same 3k loop to run on.
So I have some data, one of the last runs I did when I had no idea what I was doing, and the run I did today on the couch-to-5k course.
Old run:
Distance: 3.05 km
Time: 21:01
Moving Time: 20:26
Elapsed Time: 21:01
Avg Pace: 6:53 min/km
Avg Moving Pace: 6:41 min/km
Avg Speed: 8.7 km/h
Avg Moving Speed: 9.0 km/h
Latest run:
Distance: 2.88 km
Time: 21:28
Moving Time: 20:54
Elapsed Time: 21:29
Avg Pace: 7:27 min/km
Avg Moving Pace: 7:16 min/km
Avg Speed: 8.0 km/h
Avg Moving Speed: 8.3 km/h
So i'm a bit slower than I was before, which is interesting.
However, look at this, top graph is the run from today, bottom is the run from a year ago
[url]
|http://thumbsnap.com/V8FU37ov[/url]
A massive difference in the amount of times I had to stop, the speed at which it hit my limit, and the time it takes me to recover.
The most impressive thing is how long is how much longer it takes for me heart rate to hit peak, and this is only after just over a month of regular running. Quite a distinct improvement I think.