Assignment 3

Storytelling with Open Data

Nadia Du 4039758

Introduction and Contents

  • This analysis leverages data from my Strava app, where I track my running performance.

  • Inspired by the 2024 Nike Melbourne Marathon Festival Results, I’m motivated to attempt a marathon next year.

  • To prepare, I reviewed my current performance trends from the app data to set realistic goals.

  • Using linear regression, I projected when I might reach marathon readiness, based on my historical running progress.

Now, let’s look at my current performance…

Let’s forecast my running progress based on past performance to prepare for full marathon

Key findings

  • Looking at my past running progress, I’ve seen consistent improvement across nearly every area — moving time, distance, and average pace.

  • According to the correlation heatmap, a moderate negative correlation between pace and distance suggests that as I run longer distances, I tend to run at a slightly slower pace, reflecting the difficulty of sustaining speed over longer runs.

  • To complete a full marathon safely, Running Department (n.d.) suggest building up to running around 50 km per week. Running less than this can leave runners underprepared and at risk of injury.

  • Using a linear regression model to predict my progress, I found that I am likely to reach the 50 km/week milestone by week 50, which is approximately 40 weeks, or 10 months from now.

  • This analysis omits key factors, like heart rate and physical changes, which could impact running performance. Future analyses should include these for a more accurate assessment.

References

  • Equitable Equations. (2024, January 24). Using Quarto with R and Python for reports, slides, and web publishing [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16V-iX42pxs&t=564s

  • MultiSportAustralia. (2024). NIKE MELBOURNE MARATHON FESTIVAL (2024). https://www.multisportaustralia.com.au/races/melbourne-marathon-2024

  • R for Data Science. (n.d.). Dates and times. https://r4ds.had.co.nz/dates-and-times.html

  • SNG, A. (n.d.). Running Guide: Mileage: The Long and Short of it. Running Department website. https://www.runningdept.com/mileage-the-long-and-short-of-it/

  • Strava. (n.d.). My Activities. https://strava.app.link/zrBE2Gju3Nb

  • The R graph gallery. (2018). Interactive bubble chart. https://r-graph-gallery.com/bubble_chart_interactive_ggplotly.html