Watt is Running Power?
By K10 Patel / Dec 4th, 2023
The common unit for measuring power is Watts, therefore, it makes sense that running power is also measured with the same unit. But what is running power? It is the amount of work you are putting into your run. Running power is very different from your pace, effort, and heart rate. Running power is your actual output whereas the other metrics I mentioned are based on …..
To put this into perspective, I may have a consistent running power of about 200W during the first five minutes of my flat-terrain run but if I come across a hill and still have consistent running power of 200W on that incline, this means that even though my running power stayed consistent, I slowed down on the hill because on an incline the elevation increases and uphill’s require more effort, more oxygen, and more leg muscle usage than flat elevations. Let’s say I ran uphill for one minute and was at an increased 250W running power for the full one minute – This means that I expended more energy. In general, the higher the Watts, the harder you are working.
Some question how running power can go from 200W to 250W in an instant and the reality is that it can. Running power is measured instantaneously – It is a real-time metric which is giving you your running power every second of the run. I use a fitness watch app called Coros to give me all my useful parameters after I’m done with my workout. See the chart below from my recent 3.5 mile run (31:42 mins) which shows an average of 237 Watts.
Why Should I Care About Running Power?
People who consistently bike and elite cyclists use this parameter a lot since cycling is the most common sport where power is used to evaluate performance. Running power adds another dimension to the metric since we are consistently moving unlike cyclists who are stationary.
Going back to my previous example about running on a hill, your pace won’t tell you much is you are running three miles at a consistent pace. During the uphill, you will be working a lot harder than the flat portions.
Heart rate is another common metric used and gives you some idea of how hard you are working. However, this metric is how your heart is responding to the physical activity you are doing in beats per minute (bpm). More specifically, heart rate measures your body’s response to the cardio activity but doesn’t take into consideration external factors such as how much you slept, slippery running conditions, stress, air temperatures, etc. All of these factors affect heart rate, therefore, heart rate should not be used by itself to tell you how performed on a run.
Pace and heart rate are two of the most common metrics used to evaluate running performance, however, there are many others as well such as cadence and stride, VO2 max, and lactate threshold, just to name a few. Running power should be one of the metrics used to evaluate running performance over time. By itself, running power won’t tell you the whole story, but it provides a real-time stat that tells you how hard you are working.
For example, here is data from the previous three mile workouts:
Last month: Pace: 9:00 mins/mile, Heart Rate: Approx. 170 bpm throughout run, Running Power: 220W
Last Week: Pace: 9:00 mins/mile, Heart Rate: Approx. 168 bpm throughout run, Running Power: 220W
Today: Pace: 9:00 mins/mile, Heart Rate: Approx. 166 bpm throughout run, Running Power: 220W
What does the above workout data tell you?
The data is limited, but you can see that the distance, pace, and running power were consistent. Heart rate dipped slightly in consecutive runs, therefore, I can see an improvement in my efficiency. This might require evaluation of running form, cadence, or something else, to determine what that efficiency is attributed to. If the running power also decreased in consecutive runs, then I cannot conclude that there was an efficiency improvement because I’m putting in less work with each run.
Final Thoughts
Used in conjunction with heart rate and pace, running power provides a useful tool in evaluating running performance. The measuring tool can give you a more complete picture of what you need to do to identify an area for improvement or modify your training plan.