Hi folks. Did W6R3 today and used my Nike iPod app to measure the distance I travelled. It said I had run for 6k which doesn't really seem possible. Anyone got any thoughts? What else do people use to track their distances?
Thank you
Hi folks. Did W6R3 today and used my Nike iPod app to measure the distance I travelled. It said I had run for 6k which doesn't really seem possible. Anyone got any thoughts? What else do people use to track their distances?
Thank you
That would be very fast! I use the free runkeeper app but they all depend on GPS so if reception is poor you will get inaccurate readings. Dare I say that you shouldn't worry about distance too much at this point - just concentrate on running for the amount of time and then see how you are doing when you graduate - you could always treat yourself to a garmin as a graduation pressie!
I haven't got any technology yet, so if I run 'off road' I have no idea how far I've travelled. If I run on pavements around where I live, I get a rough idea by later driving my route. I'm going to watch this with interest, I have my eyes on a Garmin.
I run with my iPod nano which I don't think you can out extra apps on (and I don't want to start carrying my iPhone around with me. I run in a park, but would like to get an idea of how far I am running.
Will keep thinking about what to do! Thank you for replying
Lucy
Hello, as a bit of a geek, I've tried every type of gadget! My job is selling all the little chips and sensors that go into these gadgets, so it is kind of my hobby.
In a former running life, I ran with an iPod nano and the Nike+ foot sensor. I have to confess that it was not very accurate, but then I did not follow the 'calibration' routine where you run for 1km measured course. These foot sensors can only really measure the time between your footsteps, and use a guess of your stride length to work out distance. I found that this combination over-estimated my distance [or put another way, over-estimated my speed
].
Of course, what is important is that you get an idea of your performance run to run, and so you can tell if you are getting faster, or running for a longer distance. Absolute accuracy is not so important.
I think more modern iPods (?? Touch ??) have the accelerometer built in and can detect your footsteps without the foot sensor... but again this is not 100% accurate.
Some years ago I bought a Nike SportWatch with a GPS sensor. This tracks my runs in more detail, and I have found to be very accurate, just with a poor battery life now.
Now I am on C25K I have a FitBit Flex pedometer. This is a great thing, and whilst using the accelerometer to track foot steps, it is much more accurate than just the Nike+ foot sensor: the software algorithms have improved and the accelerometers now have inbuilt DSP asics (sorry, got carried away). It is not as accurate as GPS, though.
Now I am on C25K I had to buy some new running shoes. These happened to be Nike Pegasus Air 30's and are Nike+ compatible. Now I have the Nike+ foot sensor in the shoe, my SportWatch on my right wrist and my FitBit Flex on my left wrist (how sad am I??). I only really trust the GPS data from the SportWatch. The foot sensor is helpful when I'm on a track with trees overhead, and the data from the Fitbit Flex gives me a useful count of my steps, and helps to motivate me to keep active on a 'non-running' day. Also, it has a 5-day battery life and records my sleep, too.
My gadgets are a bit old now. If I was replacing them, I'd go straight to a Garmin foreRunner GPS watch. This seems to be the market-leader for runners, and there are a range of models. ForeRunner 10 or 12 have had the most mentions on this site.
Personally, I'm waiting for the fabled Apple iWatch....