A Triathlon Coach’s Comparison of Race Results

I asked my triathlon coach, Jon Farber, to compare my recent running races…see chart below for data. I find what he said about hills particularly interesting. I will have to explore that concept.

My Question:
How would you compare my performance in those two races? Did I get any better? Seems like it’s comparing apples to oranges…also, I suppose it depends on how accurately they measured the coarse. Other than tracking my progress over time, what do I do with HR data from races?

Jon’s Comments:
Yes, to only lose 10 seconds/mile going to a hilly course is a substantially better time. If it were me, I know I’d be attributing some of the discrepancy to less tightness running on a warmer day, unless I’d had a really good warm up run and stretched well after the warm-up.

I think your avg HR is right where it should be for both races, at about 95%. You were pushing your cardiovascular system to the limit. I don’t know much else you can do with the HR data, unless there were LONNG hills, long enough for your HR to stabilize on the way up, where you could ask whether you’d gone hard enough or too hard on the climbs, and try to figure out what the ideal climbing hr for you, looking for the highest you can handle without falling apart afterwards. But we don’t have that data from these races.

The Data: