GPS, a beginners question!

[teally]

So here I was having a jog and hoping that the route is about 5k... but how are people measuring how far you actually travel? I have my ipod and a bit reluctant to strap my huge phone to my arm to gauge it via a phone. Any suggestions? Is your aim to run for 30mins without stopping or to run the 5k regardless of time?

[ViaM Graduate]

Until you "graduate", you should only worry about the duration of your runs and not at all about the distance covered.

If you really really want to know, you could plot your run on mapometer.com/

[teally in reply to ViaM]

That's great, thanks! just plotted it and was surprised at getting 4.5km... not bad

[ViaM Graduate in reply to teally]

You are welcome!

It's fabulous, well done!!!

[John_W Graduate]

Very easy way ... use Google Maps once you're finished and us the Measure Distance feature (right click on your start point).

It's VERY accurate - in fact, a lot more accurate than most GPS watches and the GPS on smartphones.

[Rignold in reply to John_W]

assuming you are just sticking to roads, that is.

[John_W Graduate in reply to Rignold]

actually, no - Google Maps Measure Distance let's you draw your line over water, mountains, buildings, anything.

Try it

[ViaM Graduate in reply to John_W]

Doesn't it give flat measurements only?

[John_W Graduate in reply to ViaM]

I'm not sure actually - good point.

[ViaM Graduate in reply to John_W]

Just looked and it says it gives distances "as the crow flies so travelling in real life will normally involve larger distances".

[teally]

Yup, sticking next to roads!

[davelinks Graduate]

Googles just straight distance, cuts across bends & corners, so not correct distance to that runned.

So use iPhone or sports watch with GPS tracking, dedicated sports watch is supposed to be most accurate...

[davelinks Graduate]

teally,

It depends on what you want to use your running for, just to keep fit & healthy? Then all you need do is run constantly for 30 mins 3 times a week forget distance, but you will cover more distance in 30 mins as you get fitter.

Or if you want to go further, then build up to 5k and beyond, that can come naturally if you run often and want to progress further.

It took me a little while to get to 5k after I graduated, due to my overall fitness & age.

I recently started using the hrm on my Garmin to train by, which tells me how well or how bad I'm performing..

[teally in reply to davelinks]

Sounds silly but it was my NY resolution to start running (yup I know it was 12 months ago but better late than never hehe!) I Just wanted to say that I could do it but also to become fitter and loose a muffin top or two!

[ashishkulkarni Graduate]

As everyone before me has mentioned, until you graduate, please don't worry about the distance. Just concentrate on running for up to 30 mins.

Since you are running outdoors, you have my full respect as I finished my C25K on treadmill and am now starting to run outdoors.

I use FitBit Surge which has it's own really good GPS. And for planning, I use the mapometer website.

Different people use different websites. For example, some people use mapmyrun.

I like the tools mapometer provides - and for free.

Good luck with C25K!

[teally in reply to ashishkulkarni]

The shear cost of hiring a treadmill prevented me from using one, hence the good outdoors (headphones on loud so not to hear anything negative and never looking at cars in case someone recognises me!). But on a plus point I like having a nosey at the houses on my route, seeing people and getting away from the kids and chores for 30 mins, a bit of me-time!

Thanks for your help.

[Coddfish Graduate]

As everyone has said, the focus of c25k is duration, not distance or pace. But I can understand the desire to benchmark performance and also see improvement. If you have a smartphone, there are a number of free apps that can track your run and give you comparative data from one run to another - Runkeeper is an example, quite a bit cheaper than buying a gps watch.

[Rlear Graduate]

I use Nike running app on my phone. I really like it. Although I would love a gps watch eventually.

[Hidden]

Only thing I would say about using an app on your phone is to be careful about it's accuracy. I've used Endomondo on my Android phone in the past, and I know it adds on quite a bit of extra distance sometimes, especially where the GPS reception is poor under tree cover, in valleys etc. I wouldn't rely on mine at all now - hence why I use my husbands Garmin watch - much better GPS

[Lina_lou Graduate]

I run 'map my run' in the background on my mobile. Not quite at 5k yet but like others have said its about running for the duration. I do like to look at what distance and times etc I have covered and also for comparison as it shows uphill and downhill. Not bad for a freebie app!

[ridingstar Graduate]

I use geodistance.com it has been very accurate I have mapped out a few 5k and 10k routes with it! I'm getting a watch for Christmas and really can't wait As others have said don't worry about distance yet, the aim is to run 30 mins not 5k once you graduate is the time to work towards 5k ! Happy running !

[Hidden]

My aim is to run the minutes, i know my route is just short of 5k & that includes the warm up/down but the running part ( so far) fits in, but i now know when it comes to the later runs i will need to extend my route as my current is too short.

[Curlygurly2 Graduate]

I eventually splashed out on a GPS watch, but I still carry my phone in case of emergencies...you could of course put your music on your phone and download one of the apps like Runkeeper, that should cover everything. x

[Big-Andy Graduate]

I have a fitbit surge that I have been using for walks, also plan routes in Map my Walk.