Am I normal?
Probably! And probably not.
Normal is a statistical term. It means typical, average, expected.
Normal does not define an individual; it defines a group.
To report normal, we start with an attribute to measure.
The attribute could be age, strength, endurance, VO2 max, weekly mileage, BMI……
For example, a researcher picks VO2 max and recruits 50 healthy people.
You and I both agree to be part of the research.
The researcher measures our VO2 max. Does the same for all the runners.
Not surprisingly, the researcher gets a lot of different results.
The researcher adds up all the results and divides by 50. Gets the average.
Several measurements are close to this average, but the rest are spread out from quite a bit less to quite a bit above the average.
If this distribution is evenly spread out it is “Normally distributed”
Probably none of the 50 measures is exactly average.
Probably you and I aren’t average (or normal). But all 50 of us are healthy!
So, while you contributed to the average, you are not average! Or normal!
For context, running is also not normal! Only about 15% of Americans participate in weekly running or jogging.
It's not typical.
Be special. Be unique. Be healthy.
But don’t be normal.
Happy Running!