Sample: How to Read Your Metrics

Use this page as a walkthrough

This is a sample way to interpret a single run using a few common metrics. It’s meant to show how to think, not to prescribe a single “good” number.

Step 1 — Set context (what type of run was this?)

Write down:

• Intent: easy / workout / long / recovery
• Surface: road / track / trail / treadmill
• Shoes: model (and if they’re new)
• Conditions: hills, wind, heat
• How you felt: fresh / normal / fatigued

Step 2 — Start with the big picture

Overall Score (summary)

• Use it to quickly spot “today was different” runs.
• Don’t chase it during workouts; use it to compare similar easy runs over time.

Efficiency (how costly your stride was)

When Efficiency moves:

• If it improved (higher): you were doing more with less wasted effort.
• If it dropped (lower): fatigue, hills, heat, or form changes often explain it.

Step 3 — Diagnose with a few supporting metrics

Pick 2–4 metrics to explain the story behind the big picture.

Braking (energy lost on landing)

If Braking is worse and Efficiency is worse:

• Likely: overstriding, downhill sections, late-run fatigue
• Try next: shorten stride slightly, increase cadence a touch, keep landing under hips

Impact (how hard you’re hitting the ground)

If Impact is worse:

• Likely: stiffness, fatigue, harder surfaces, shoes, downhill
• Try next: soften landing, check shoe choice, reduce intensity if you’re accumulating fatigue

Sway (side-to-side motion)

If Sway is worse:

• Likely: hip/core fatigue, uneven surface, instability
• Try next: reduce pace slightly, focus on “run tall, hips level,” add stability strength work

Cadence + Contact Time (rhythm + reactivity)

Use these together:

• Higher cadence with shorter contact time often shows a quicker, more reactive stride.
• If cadence stays the same but contact time gets longer, fatigue may be increasing.

Step 4 — Look for patterns (not perfection)

Ask:

• Did 3–5 similar runs show the same direction of change?
• Do changes appear only late in the run (fatigue signature)?
• Do changes appear only on certain terrain (downhill, trail, treadmill)?

Step 5 — Turn insights into a tiny experiment

Write one hypothesis and one small change for the next 3 runs.

Example:

• Hypothesis: “My Efficiency drops when Braking rises on downhills.”
• Experiment: “On downhills, keep steps quicker and avoid reaching forward.”
• Check: Efficiency + Braking on 3 similar routes.

Quick examples (what these combinations usually mean)

• Efficiency ↓ + Braking ↑: often overstriding or downhill fatigue
• Efficiency ↓ + Sway ↑: stability breaking down
• Impact ↑ with everything else stable: surface/shoe/leg stiffness change
• Contact Time ↑ late-run: endurance/fatigue limiter is showing up

Notes

• This page is intentionally generic. You can duplicate it later and tailor the examples to your product’s exact scoring model and UI labels.