Lost In The Woods Of Satellite Signals

[mrrun]

I have run three kilometres in just over 12 minutes. I have run a half marathon in 1.37hrs. I flew through 1km in 2.23mins. Except that I didn't do any of it. My phone app 'tells' me that I did but I definitely did not. So what's goin' on here then?

I ran 5km, I know I did, my Garmin watch told me I did but my iPhone fed GPS to Map My Run that went artistic and 'decided' that I ran 8.9km, although the picture of the road map was perfectly accurate. I ran 10K, Map My Run 'thought' it was 15.4km. Of course, my split times reduced accordingly and I gained the Olympic qualifying times. Shall I post them on social media with grinning me giving thumbs up? Better not.

Has anyone else experienced wild times with their phone apps? Can't be just me. The only reason I use one is because I've got my phone on me in case I end up in a ditch so I can call for help. And also because those apps have such lovely graphics that appeal to middle aged men like me. Sad, innit...

[AlMorr Half Marathon]

On my old Smartphone when I was doing C25K there was a occasion when it said that I ran 4K in 4 seconds, breaking the sound barrier 😂however, since getting my new Smartphone, no such luck, 5K usually between 32 and 37 minutes.

[mrrun Ultramarathon in reply to AlMorr]

Very true. On one occasion the map showed me 'running' across the Serpentine in Hyde Park like a deity. And yes, I also had supersonic speeds. Now I wonder if those guys who post mad times on Facebook and Twitter are actually for real!?

[GoGo_JoJo Ultramarathon]

Yep! I used to get Strava to remove the times from best efforts but there's too many to bother. I think the worst/best was a 2 min mile...🙄

[mrrun Ultramarathon in reply to GoGo_JoJo]

Now I'm sitting here thinking, have I ever run? Maybe it's all a digital matrix-like illusion, lol. I've heard from some ultras on Twitter who would never touch anything but very expensive running watches. Phones? Where those guys go there's no signal anyway....😜

[GoGo_JoJo Ultramarathon in reply to mrrun]

When I first started I used my phone and the Samsung app, it was way more generous with both speed and distance. I think they all lie. It's just which lie we choose to believe 🤣

[mrrun Ultramarathon in reply to GoGo_JoJo]

In fairness, unless we are competitive athletes, times are irrelevant. What really counts is the ability to cover the distance according to our abilities. That's a mental booster. Nobody can cheat there. 😎

[AlMorr Half Marathon in reply to mrrun]

The man who invented fake news is now gone, however, is there such a run as a "fake run", perhaps they are only reported on Facebook and Twitter.

[GoGo_JoJo Ultramarathon in reply to AlMorr]

There's plenty of fake news all around us, the BBC is full of it 🤣🤣🤣

[mrrun Ultramarathon in reply to GoGo_JoJo]

Cancelling my TV licence coincided with me starting running. That year I was doing all the right things for my physical and mental health. Recently I saw a photo of one of those news guys who I haven't seen in years. God, I've aged better. That's what exposure to news can do to you. 😜😜😜

[HeavyFoot Half Marathon]

My Apple Health App goes a bit bonkers with the distance information it gets from my Garmin. It gets the steps accurately but seems to just about triple or quadruple the distance.

For example, it reckons I ran 34km Thursday. I didn’t. More like 9 km. Similar for the Saturday and Tuesday runs.

All very bizarre.

[mrrun Ultramarathon in reply to HeavyFoot]

I think I've got the culprit. My Garmin watch is not perfect but it's fairly accurate. My app though (Map My Run) gets the feed off my iPhone and those things take satellite accuracy very liberally at times. Today I ran 10k and had the phone and the app switched off. From now on, it's just the watch. And, hey, even the graphics are nice.

[HeavyFoot Half Marathon in reply to mrrun]

Good solution. I now have the phone disconnected on my Forerunner until I download a run. Bluetooth drains both watch and phone.

Still, the Apple Health app (which is on permanently) thinks I’m an ultra runner.

[mrrun Ultramarathon in reply to HeavyFoot]

You should take a selfie on some muddy trail with those fictional miles in the photo, looking like you've just wrestled with a grizzly, then post it on some runners Facebook group and watch those 'likes' mount. There was a lady who posted very fast times and she got caught out by a clever triathlete. It turned out she cycled the route. Oh well. 15 minutes of fame, eh?

[Lifluf]

I found strava was affected by how I carried my phone. Once I put it in my belt pouch upside down and it kept jumping about. I now make sure it's always the right way up and not covered by anything else and it seems to be OK.

[mrrun Ultramarathon in reply to Lifluf]

That's interesting. I'd never think that the way we position the phone would affect the way it receives the satellite signal. Then again, who knows with those things anymore?!......

[misswobble Marathon in reply to mrrun]

Apparently carrying your phone in your hand makes distance go mental

[mrrun Ultramarathon in reply to misswobble]

Dunno. I carried it when covering the marathon and iPhone GPS was in line with Garmin. I only did because I needed to change tunes. Now I stick it in the pouch, switched off. I guess we can always count the steps in our heads, no? That would occupy us.

[misswobble Marathon in reply to mrrun]

I got that from a Nike run club phone conversation when my distances were plain daft. Don’t run with the phone in your hand, was the advice I was doing that when trying to run their intervals on the app.

For the benefit of my mental health I quit both 😁

[mrrun Ultramarathon in reply to misswobble]

Yep. I should've done that straight away rather than waste time scratching my head and going through that customer services business.

[Katnap Marathon]

My Garmin likes to lose height. Very annoying in virtual races as I get time penalties for a nett downhill run when I didn't. I'm not going to be troubling the top racers so I just shrug my shoulders and look forward to proper face-to-face runs!

🐱 Katnap 🐱

[mrrun Ultramarathon in reply to Katnap]

Yeah. The idea is to simply run and rely on things we know. If my marathon time is several hours slower than those of the top pros, mere fact that I can cover the distance will from now on become and remain the imperative.Take that smartphone, take that mobile app, I am free at least! 😀

[SkiMonday Ultramarathon]

I've been noticing GPS issues for a while now. Usually just a hiccup in the displayed pace or a slightly shortened run. I've also noticed on Strava friends who usually log just over a milestone being just under (e.g. 4.9k instead of their usual 5.3).

Additionally, I can't get a GPS signal in the house (not that I'd use that for running). It used to work fine on both tablet and phone but now both can't get a lock indoors.

So, something's changed with GPS. All I can think is that it's either the atmospherics this time of year or the satellite signal has been changed.

[mrrun Ultramarathon in reply to SkiMonday]

I relied too much on those things. As if I was some kind of pro. I would frantically try to stuff the phone in the arm holder in order not to lose precious time. I mean, hang on. What precious time?! Who was I deceiving? The only thing I would find out was that I was days slower than any competitive runner. Not seconds. Days. Now I am keeping the watch but the phone app is gone. And it feels so much better. I'm not stressing out the poor satellite up there any more.