For the last eight years (2012-2019), I’ve been keeping tracking of my daily steps and miles using a pedometer.  I realize there are better gadgets to do this: Fitbits, watches, and phones that will do this job with more data and better graphics. I like to “roll my own” and I thought I would write up what I have been doing. I welcome constructive feedback; my goal is to maintain and improve my fitness as I age through data analysis.

I record my mileage data daily and analyze my results weekly, monthly and yearly.  Here is a link to my monthly and yearly mileage data in a Google Sheets file. In Table 1, I want to look at my mileage results on a yearly basis; I’ve also included my age. I can see that my mileage increased significantly after 2013, one reason for this is a greater emphasis on hiking and running. I can also see a drop in yearly mileage in 2016; this was due to some medical problems that required surgery, I had some months were I couldn’t exercise very much. In 2017 and 2018 I was training for ultra marathons and had increased my annual mileage. I find having yearly goals, such as races or long distance hikes, motivates me.

Table 1: Yearly Mileage

Year	Miles	Age
2019	3174	61
2018	3387	60
2017	3286	59
2016	2754	58
2015	3117	57
2014	3008	56
2013	2634	55
2012	2470	54

Here’s a summary of the mileage I’ve done month by month. Table 2 provides a monthly view of my mileage.

Table 2: Monthly Mileage

Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
2019	301	241	289	242	238	250	273	269	276	280	274	242	3174
2018	318	271	315	252	304	315	272	338	229	301	240	232	3387
2017	256	296	298	259	286	295	288	283	214	291	281	240	3286
2016	187	188	193	215	206	225	238	267	267	305	269	194	2754
2015	245	258	260	244	266	281	247	306	255	250	237	269	3117
2014	224	211	239	206	212	253	282	302	265	267	275	273	3008
2013	210	190	208	229	243	238	256	220	221	209	199	211	2634
2012	147	201	184	192	242	238	245	190	200	213	202	214	2470
Mean	236	232	248	230	249	262	263	272	241	264	247	234	2951

For example, in the first three months of 2016 my mileage was lower than usual, these were months when I was recovering from surgery. Looking at the monthly mileage data, a high mileage month for me has been greater than 300 miles. For each month, I have computed the mean monthly mileage. My mileage tends to be lower in the shorter winter and early spring (December through April); the most likely cause is the dreary Pacific Northwest winters I manage to slog through each year. There are some exceptions such as 2018 when I was training for a 100 miler in the winter and 2019 when I spent time in South America during the winter.

Another way I like to view the monthly mileage data is a cumulative view. Table 3 shows the cumulative monthly data over the course of a year.

Table 3: Cumulative Monthly Mileage

Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
2019	301	542	831	1073	1311	1561	1833	2102	2378	2658	2932	3174
2018	318	589	903	1155	1459	1774	2047	2385	2614	2915	3155	3387
2017	256	553	850	1109	1395	1690	1978	2261	2474	2765	3047	3286
2016	187	375	569	783	989	1214	1452	1719	1986	2291	2560	2754
2015	245	502	762	1006	1272	1553	1800	2106	2362	2612	2849	3117
2014	224	435	674	880	1092	1345	1627	1929	2194	2460	2735	3008
2013	210	400	607	837	1079	1317	1573	1793	2014	2223	2422	2634
2012	147	348	532	724	966	1205	1450	1640	1840	2053	2256	2470

The sum of all the yearly mileage is 23,831 miles over 96 months or 248 miles per month. Now, how does this compare to my goal performance?

In 2014, I decided to set a goal of 3000 miles in a year. A yearly goal of 3000 miles works out to an average of 250 miles per month or 8.22 miles per day. Before that, I had goals but they were haphazard. Here are my monthly goals for each year (adjusted for leap years.

Table 4: Cumulative Goal Monthly Mileage

Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
2019	255	485	740	986	1241	1488	1743	1997	2244	2499	2745	3000
2018	255	485	740	986	1241	1488	1743	1997	2244	2499	2745	3000
2017	255	485	740	986	1241	1488	1743	1997	2244	2499	2745	3000
2016	255	493	748	995	1249	1496	1751	2006	2252	2507	2754	3009
2015	255	485	740	986	1241	1488	1743	1997	2244	2499	2745	3000
2014	255	485	740	986	1241	1488	1743	1997	2244	2499	2745	3000
2013	255	485	740	986	1241	1488	1743	1997	2244	2499	2745	3000
2012	255	493	748	995	1249	1496	1751	2006	2252	2507	2754	3009

Once I had my goal and actual monthly mileage, I can compute the difference. A negative number indicates that I am less than my goal. Figure 1 shows the cumulative difference from goal over eight years.

Figure 1 shows five trends that are significant to me.

1. January, 2012 to May, 2014 there is a negative slope: every month my actual monthly mileage was generally less than my goal of 250 miles per month./li>
2. June, 2014 to December, 2015 the slope is mostly positive; my actual miles were greater than my goal of 250 miles per month.
3. January to July, 2016 the slope is again negative; this is the period of time when I was recovering from surgery.
4. mid-2016 until the end of 2018 I have been (mostly) exceeding my goal of 250 miles per month; the slope is positive with a few wintertime plateaus.
5. For 2019, the slope is still positive but not as steep, I haven’t been traing for ultra marathons; only a trail marathon and lots of hiking

Keeping track of my monthly mileage difference from goal provides me some useful month to month feedback. Of course, I am motivated by numerical metrics; not everyone is. I have discovered there is a quantified self community; that discovery came just a few years ago. I welcome feedback from everyone. It’s good to learn from others!

I find that this feedback, along with yearly specific hiking or running goals such as run a 100 mile race or hike the Appalachian Trail (a 2020 goal) keep me on track and motivated.

In part 2, I will add my daily and weekly hiking and running goals and tracking methods.

• aging
• fitness
• Hiking