19, 15, 11, 9, 8, 6, 4, 4, 3, 3, 3, 3

zico10

Anybody able to guess what these numbers represent?

Kurt.Godel

Is it monthly? 2016 monthly?

Grassey

A new niche cassette range from Shimano?

Bambaata

Your weight through the weeks to Mallorca?

EC1000

Finishing positions?

68 lost souls

Number of races done per year the last number of years?

Djoucer

Number of people posting on this forum monthly, beginning in January

05eaftqbrs9jlh

A really bad backwards recollection of the Fibonacci sequence.

sconhome

zico10 wrote: »

Anybody able to guess what these numbers represent?

Number of new threads per month for 2016?

mossym

Djoucer wrote: »

Number of people posting on this forum monthly, beginning in January

Not that.

Might be something like the number of people logging hours in the SBR log

mossym

sconhome wrote: »

Number of new threads per month for 2016?

Thought it might be that too

zico10

mossym wrote: »

Might be something like the number of people logging hours in the SBR log

That's the one; more specifically the drop off in the number of people logging from January through to December. I've no idea how much work you had to do to set up the Google spreadsheet, but it might be worth considering if you're thinking of a similar 2017 log. Had you planned on setting up a new one for next year? Probably worth debating what format it should take if you are.

11, 2, 0, 0, 3, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, ? are the number of posts the log generated in the 12 calendar months. The few of us that still regularly post here didn't partake. I think we'd all agree it was a poor year for the forum and I think the way the 2016 challenge went mirrors this.

Kurt.Godel

A more pertinent number would relate to new threads- pretty much the lifeblood of a good forum. Zico, you only started 3 new threads in 2016. You've got an awful lot more to offer than that!

People stopped posting, thats why the place is dying. The content that is posted is generally quite knowledgeable. I still read it daily, and find it useful. It'd be better if there was more content and more threads, however.

68 lost souls

This forum is still the first thing I check when I go online. It is normal for things to quieten down in the off season but I enjoy reading the things that do come up.

I hope things pick up again.

I stopped updating the training log this year as I also track it on training peaks, strava and Garmin connect and have less and less time with work being so busy it's either fill in my log and the TDAR spreadsheet or use that time to train.

Bambaata

I still check here numerous times a day but am out of triathlon and not likely to return any time soon. Hope it picks up in the new year as its still one of the first pages I load when I go browsing

mossym

zico10 wrote: »

That's the one; more specifically the drop off in the number of people logging from January through to December. I've no idea how much work you had to do to set up the Google spreadsheet, but it might be worth considering if you're thinking of a similar 2017 log. Had you planned on setting up a new one for next year? Probably worth debating what format it should take if you are.

11, 2, 0, 0, 3, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, ? are the number of posts the log generated in the 12 calendar months. The few of us that still regularly post here didn't partake. I think we'd all agree it was a poor year for the forum and I think the way the 2016 challenge went mirrors this.

i'm happy to set it or an alternate version of it up again. it takes a bit of work, especially if we do a major overhaul like we did 2 years ago, and i'd rather do that for a format that people will use.

last year i tried the idea of setting alternate challenges but that didn't take off. as some have said, most are logging their hours in other places that give much more valuable feedback on what they are logging, so difficult to interest people in replicating it here, unless someone can think of a reason to make them want to do so.

tunney

mossym wrote: »

i'm happy to set it or an alternate version of it up again. it takes a bit of work, especially if we do a major overhaul like we did 2 years ago, and i'd rather do that for a format that people will use.

last year i tried the idea of setting alternate challenges but that didn't take off. as some have said, most are logging their hours in other places that give much more valuable feedback on what they are logging, so difficult to interest people in replicating it here, unless someone can think of a reason to make them want to do so.

The alternate challeges - burpies, running up hills etc, just killed it off for me.

zico10

mossym wrote: »

i'm happy to set it or an alternate version of it up again. it takes a bit of work, especially if we do a major overhaul like we did 2 years ago, and i'd rather do that for a format that people will use.

last year i tried the idea of setting alternate challenges but that didn't take off. as some have said, most are logging their hours in other places that give much more valuable feedback on what they are logging, so difficult to interest people in replicating it here, unless someone can think of a reason to make them want to do so.

I thought the Google doc was great when it was first introduced, but it clearly didn't work this year. I think whatever extra challenges are introduced or however flashy it's made, another challenge in the same format will go the same way 2016's went. I'd propose going back to just using a simple table. Forget about the monthly targets and simply log the annual distance covered in the three disciplines. It's what happens over in the swimming forum and so far the thread has had 594 replies, which is far more engagement than any thread here has had.

EC1000

zico10 wrote: »

I thought the Google doc was great when it was first introduced, but it clearly didn't work this year. I think whatever extra challenges are introduced or however flashy it's made, another challenge in the same format will go the same way 2016's went. I'd propose going back to just using a simple table. Forget about the monthly targets and simply log the annual distance covered in the three disciplines. It's what happens over in the swimming forum and so far the thread has had 594 replies, which is far more engagement than any thread here has had.

Here here. Sometimes simplicity is the key to lengevity. When its part of a google doc it somehow feels removed from the board.

mossym

the extra challenges had nothing to do with the spreadsheet, they weren't included, they're not recorded anywhere on the spreadsheet, so i don't get why people are saying they affected it. they were done as a seperate thread, and i only mentioned them as a way of reminding folks that we asked for ways to make it more interesting before, got nowhere with it, tried something ourselves which didn't work.

i think you're wrong on this one zico, i don't think the drop off in people logging is because of the method, more that those that were logging consistently, shotgun, jb, oryx, trig and lots more besides that are no longer doing so in any form. moving back to a table based method won't bring them back.

the idea behind going monthly was to make it somewhat useful for people as they could compare months, but as i mentioned most are using something better than this on other platforms so probably so need.

i've no issue with setting up(or somebody else setting up) a table based thread again, personally it holds no appeal to me, but my logging hasn't been happening here in quite a while. there is a great post from Kurt somewhere where he describes the table as a "mi£key waving excercise" or something like that and i fear thats what this will become, but even if that is the case if it drives more engagement and more people posting then that can only be a good thing.

unless we get any counter suggestions or an overwhelming backlash against the idea of going back to a table based format then we can set something up new years eve/day

Shell to Run

Ok so I am one of the three who has used the spreadsheet this year. Why?
I keep my own record of the training I do and the spreadsheet helps me collate it. I fill it in at the end of the month. That is the only function it serves for me.
I appreciate the work which goes into setting the table up so thank you.
If there was a way to engage more people!
Most people do not take an interest in it because you have to open another link to view it and the information contained in it is about distance only.
If say 5/6 people were willing (and agreed to – signed contract!!!:D) to fill this in once a week, in a more open format (more detail on training) then maybe this would revive it?
Just some random thoughts. :D

The Lost Sheep

I used it a lot. It is my own record of my training. Dont see how you can get more interest in it unless you get more interested in the forum overall.
Getting people to post what they actually did in training quite a bit like the thread in athletics forum maybe might be better as it could help build interest.

catweazle

I am a big fan of the current format as well, I tend to not update 6 months a year as my training falls off a cliff come July. Very handy for me as I tend to start and finish training at the same time every year and its about as scientific as I get with my training. I would like to see it kept

zico10

mossym wrote: »

i think you're wrong on this one zico, i don't think the drop off in people logging is because of the method, more that those that were logging consistently, shotgun, jb, oryx, trig and lots more besides that are no longer doing so in any form. moving back to a table based method won't bring them back.

As far as I know all those people have drifted away from triathlon and as you say aren't logging elsewhere. I'm not proposing a change in format to entice these people back, but in what is often claimed to be the 'fastest growing sport in Ireland', you'd think some newcomers would be logging in their place. The fact that nobody is, raises questions in my mind. I know it's a lot easier log training on other platforms than it is on boards, but was anybody ever truly relying on boards as the only record of the training they'd done? I said the same thing 12 months ago; 'out of sight, out of mind'. I get the feeling, people are less likely to engage with the thread when the numbers aren't visible in the newest post. No harm in trying a new format, I certainly don't think such a thread will be any less successful than this year's was.

RacoonQueen

I wasn't training enough this year to take part - there were more important things in life to be concentrating on

It's a great motivator when your motivation is flagging though...when kurt logs a monster swim and overtakes your total just as you're thinking of binning your session and staying in bed the next morning.

I'd have used it more this year if I had goals etc...but it had no benefit to me to see how little training I really was doing which was why I didn't partake this year.

On the subject of how few posts there have been / how quiet the forum is. Athletics forum is largely the same, it's nothing like it used to be in it's heyday (when both forums were together) - but there are a number of reasons for that probably. Would be good to see the two forums bustling again as I rarely visit either now...and have zero interest in logging myself. I just come in and read a couple of logs every now and again.

Keeks

zico10 wrote: »

I know it's a lot easier log training on other platforms than it is on boards, but was anybody ever truly relying on boards as the only record of the training they'd done?

If i am logging my data elsewhere what is the attraction of also logging it here other that as mossym says and its just a "mickey waving exercise".....

Whats the purpose? As a newbie what would i get out of it?

mossym

Keeks wrote: »

t as mossym says and its just a "mickey waving exercise".....

let me be clear, thats what i want to avoid it being and i believe it can be more than that. getting the format right has always been the challenge. there was strong criticism of the table based approach in the past, and i don't see that a lot has changed to make it different, but if it is what the majority want then lesser of two evils and all that...

zico10

Keeks wrote: »

Whats the purpose? As a newbie what would i get out of it?

It can be seen as a 'mickey waving exercise', whether distances are logged in a Google doc or in tables in the proposed thread. Why you'd want to log your distances here, only you can answer that. Maybe when you see the thread up an running for a week of two, you might decide to start logging. I don't know what it was about this thread that made you post, but the fact you even posed a question here is a good thing in my eyes. The forum needs more contributors and I think the possibility of creating a thread that could potentially lead to such, needs to be discussed.

and still ricky villa

To be honest I never knew this spreadsheet existed
The nerd in me loves all this stuff so I began putting in my numbers but chickened out around August when I started to get uncomfortably near the top (largely due to the drop off in others logging)
It is world class m!ckey waving but what's the harm?
Personally, I took confidence from my consistency however slow and it would have showed a major drop off in everything but running post August so may have given me a kick in the hole to maintain that consistency.
I happily train alone and normally log in Connect but could see the value in seeing what others are doing through something like this

peter kern

Keeks wrote: »

If i am logging my data elsewhere what is the attraction of also logging it here other that as mossym says and its just a "mickey waving exercise".....

Whats the purpose? As a newbie what would i get out of it?[/QUOTE

you could get an idea how much other people train and vice versa.
and as it has been said for some this helps to motivate them

at the end of the day pretty much any post on a forum can be a mickey waving execise. Its up to you to make it valauble or not.

so maybe try it out and then see if you feel weather its useful or not for you.

Kurt.Godel

Any word on whats going ahead mossy? Table or spreadsheet, I don't mind either, but the place is better for having a yearly SBR challenge. If only to get people off their arses in Jan

Simpler the better, is my only real contribution, as I agree that it sort of lost its way with the extra bells and whistles.