It got kinda chilly here this weekend. Not like Finland cold, or Siberia cold. But the kinda cold that reminds you to ensure you’ve got colder running stuff at least on deck. In my case, I still ran in shorts…just with a long sleeve shirt and gloves. ![]()
In any case, here’s what I was up to this weekend!
1) Running with all the powers
Saturday late morning I headed out for an easy run in some of the nearby parks. My intention was to record power from the three running power meters I’m primarily using (Stryd, Garmin, and RunScribe Plus). In addition, I was hoping to get a bit more data on GPS & HR from the Samsung Gear Sport.
But as always, the best-laid plans go to crap when batteries are involved. Given I only had a finite period of time while The Peanut was napping, I couldn’t troubleshoot too much.
Apparently I forgot to charge one of the pods, which somewhat doubled-down on my misfortune. Sure, it works just fine in a single-pod configuration, but that’s not really what I wanted to test. Also, both pods wanted a firmware update, and neither had enough juice to do so.
Of course, with a functional pod that was the least of my issues. Meanwhile, the Samsung Gear Sport had decided it was November 1st permanently, and wouldn’t talk to the phone anymore. Given it was cold out and the last time I had to stand outside with my wrist raised for about 10 minutes (since if you put your wrist down for more than about 15 seconds, it’ll assume you don’t want to run), I didn’t even bother to take it with me.
So, I just ran with two watches and…well…still a lot of pods (RunScribe Plus left, then right, Stryd, Milestone). I didn’t connect pods on the insole system, since I didn’t feel like taking my phone. I did take my GoPro though.
Which, is how I took this shot in front of the Pantheon:
And this shot in front of the Senate:
In theory I’ll overlay all this stuff and compare the powers, but I haven’t done so yet since my Vivoactive 3 ran out of battery shortly after the run, and I didn’t open the app to transfer it before that point (the FR935 did transfer via WiFi). Once again…welcome to my battery drained life.
2) So much time on Amazon
If Amazon has a counter for how much time I spent this past weekend searching the site for deals, they’d probably be concerned. The challenge is it wasn’t just Amazon US, but also Amazon UK, Amazon France, Amazon Spain, Amazon Germany, and Amazon Italy. Plus all sorts of other random sites too that had occasional deals.
Much of that time was spent on Friday, but I spent probably 2-3 hours each day this weekend as well looping through the sites. Once you do it enough times you can figure out the patterns. Some interesting things I noticed:
A) Some Amazon sites actually have a specific category called “Sports Technology”, most don’t.
B) Amazon France and Amazon Spain have the least well-structured categories, they often contain irrelevant things.
C) Amazon Germany has very well-structured categories – almost too perfect.
D) In general, Amazon Spain and Amazon Italy get deals on the older/lesser wanted things
E) Except the new GoPro Hero6, which Amazon Italy won that game huge on Friday.
F) Amazon UK gets better deals on newer things, with Amazon Germany close behind
G) Amazon US had some good deals this year, but it was incredibly predictable for almost all of it.
H) Most of the ‘unexpected’ deals on Amazon US were random sub-retailers going off-book for a few hours
I bought a ton of stuff on sale this weekend that I’ve been wanting to pick up, on discount. These include new/updated Nest Cams (Indoor & Outdoor), some wireless charging pads (I opted for the really cheap ones), some Philips Hue kits to toy with in the Cave, and a few other random tiny things for presents and such.
Oh, and I bought a bike.
It wasn’t on sale. Neither were most of the components I bought for it either. I had waited till this weekend in hopes of a deal on some of them, but for the most part, not so much. The specs are all here.
3) Waffles & Wild Boar Ragu
Remember back a month or so ago when I asked how you make those crazy awesome waffles we found in a food truck? Well, you all delivered with specific recipe recommendations. So we ordered up some pearl sugar (we have countless pearly sugary things for the bakery, but not this specific one) and then The Girl did all the work.
End resultant was awesome Liege waffles:
The Peanut was really happy about them, probably too happy in retrospect.
Also, I made fresh pasta later that night. That’s because our friends brought over some wild boar ragu they made (they actually went out and got the boar themselves too).
My plan was to take a photo of the pasta with the wild boar ragu. Except…umm…I ate it all before I remembered I was supposed to take a photo. My bad.
4) Skiing in the city
Each November a number of French ski areas from the Alps and Pyrenees put on a bit of an outdoor ski-themed expo not far from where we live. Its staged in the square in front of the famed Saint-Sulpice church, and is packed full of things to do. Albeit, maybe a bit too packed this year.
Once inside there were little huts for each ski area. My guess is maybe 50 different huts in total. It’s fairly impressive they brought these little wooden huts in, given this was only for a 4-day event.
In addition, they had a gigantic ski jump. Except, instead of skiing you’d go down in a tube. Still, people could line up and catch some serious air before landing on the large pillow. That yellow orb in the air is someone having just launched (and probably also someone soiling their undergarments).
In addition, for kids they had two different skiing areas. One was a biathlon setup, using little laser weaponry and running around on the snow.
And the second was more of a cross-country setup around a portion of a large fountain, perhaps 25 meters in snow length or so:
Oh, and they had a very short fat tire bike course. I’m not entirely clear where the snow came from for all of this, but some questions are better left unanswered.
We didn’t stay too long, since the area was jam-packed as they had seemingly made a bit too small of a perimeter area this year. So moving around was really tough, especially with a stroller. Still, it’s always fun to check out.
5) Parisian Cafes
After a long and arduous time at the ski resort, it was time to sit down and get drunk. Or, at least have some wine and crepes. We went a handful of blocks away to a spot we hadn’t tried before.
They had heat lamps out, and plenty of outdoor seating available, so we were able to find a spot for both the stroller with Peanut 1, as well as Peanut 2 in the chest carrier (in the event either squawked, it wouldn’t upset anyone).
We got some crepes. Me a truffled ham with fried egg, and The Girl seared duck with mushrooms. We’d describe both as so-so. Overrated really. Not bad, but not worth the premium. Lacked depth in flavor you’d usually associate when you mention those ingredients.
The place is well known as one of the top crepe places (at least for out of towners), though we prefer numerous other spots instead. At least we tried it once.
In any case – from there we walked on home and called it a weekend.
With that – thanks for reading!
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You talk about the pods running out of charge and needing firmware updates…are you refering to the Runscribes ? Shame.. but looking forward to an ‘In Depth’ or at a least a ‘Hands On’ soon. :)
I’ve got the Runscribe beta firmware installed, and used the BTLE footpod profile for the first time last night with my 935. Very very accurate according to the fellrnr footpod calibration tool (giving 100.2%!).
Indeed, the RunScribe’s for battery. Not their fault though I don’t think, just a case of having the battery run out of juice at the same moment I wanted to go for a run.
I’m in the process of asking Santa for run pods, but I’m undecided on which ones. Stryd and Garmin have power, and while that seems cool, what I really want are the running metrics from RunScribe – foot landing in particular. And the Milestone pod – well, that provides some interesting data and is pretty inexpensive, so rather attractive. RIght now I’m leaning toward the RunScribe in the older version since I’m not so interested in real time data and my 920XT apparently struggles with signal on these. Plus, they need a special CIQ to accommodate their inadequate memory for the current version of CIQ. SO, who knows how long RunScribe will be willing to continue development of *two* CIQ apps?
I’d double-check the small tweak that RunScribe has made to their pods as of roughly last week that should be resolving the signal issues. I’ve got two of those in the mail along with the kits to fix my other set, and am going to do some side by side testing there.
I don’t see much of a long term issue with managing two apps, after all, Stryd does roughly the same.
Doesn’t it depend on what you want from the pods? I’d like to start using power run training, but can’t justify both the pods and a new watch to use them with. If I did, I’d go for Stryd. They seem to be both accurate and consistent.
I’m not sold on using pods to improve running ‘form’, because all scientific research (i.e. at least likely a bit accurate) has shown that only strength training improves form. Don’t need pods for that. But Runscribe at least have the potential to get a large enough dataset to see if form can be improved otherwise. I’m watching with interest.
Just ordered the runscribe after a nearly instantaneous response from Tim, the founder, to a question I posted about the CIQ fields on their forum. I would expect to see some third party CIQ fields that work with the RunScribe Plus as they appear more than willing to share the source code with other developers for reading the Ant+ data stream.
Also chose runscribe over the Stryd as it could be very interesting to see how various shoes impact form and pronation and how that impacts soreness/injury. Can’t wait to try them out.
For those that want to poke at some power comparison data, here’s a run from this evening: link to analyze.dcrainmaker.com
Note if you scroll down you’ll see the ANT+ developer fields enumerated. For this specific one I’ve set them to the power specific fields.
ANT+ developer field graphing support is something we quietly rolled out in the DCR Analyzer a few weeks back for this very purpose. :) It’s incredible how many fields are listed that you can graph.
Yup, I saw that antenna hack – pretty neat. But I still worry about support for the 920xt in CIQ moving forward (not just RunScribe), just based on my experience with a FR305. I keep my gadgets until they die, but discovered that Garmin just could not give a flip when the FR305 was 3 or 4 generations old. I had challenges connecting (over USB, of all things) and others were, too. Turned out to be some sort of GC thing – basically, Garmin wasn’t paying attention to the needs of older devices as they were updating GC for newer devices. It eventually resolved when Garmin Express showed up, but in the meantime, I bought the 920xt. The 305 worked perfectly (still does!), but I couldn’t upload data with any consistency. So, Garmin’s strategy worked – I bought a $450 replacement for a totally functional 305. So…it’s not clear to me that when CIQ3 or CIQ4 rolls out (presuming, in a year or two) to take advantage of greater storage in current and future devices that developers will be willing to recode CIQ2/3/4 apps for CIQ1 with more limited functionality and for a shrinking installed base.
That’s just the risk you run with pretty much any technology. You can’t expect the vendor to support it for more than 2/3 generations.
If there is a runscribe app that supports CIQ on your 920xt (there is), then I don’t see why you couldn’t just refuse any future updates to that app. But yes, you also risk support being dropped in the dashboard and garmin connect… But all generations will suffer that risk. It’s just progress.
Runscribe are sharing their code for the apps (I think it’s on github already), so if they do drop official support, I’d expect enthusiasts to take over. Or you can have a go yourself…. Indeed, some significant contributions have already been made to the apps by community members who have formed to reduce the size of the app to fit CIQ1 devices.
Hi,
When will the gear sport rewiev be ready?
Cant wait;)
Maybe after I can get the thing to successfully update. Been sitting here for hours trying to get the update to process/finish.
Given that every word so far written about the sport is how much of a pain it is to use as a “sports” watch I think we know the way this review is heading.
I think you may also be having additional issues as IIRC you are an iphone user. While the gear line is advertised to work with iOS even the traditional review sites note that support there is somewhat of a mess.
I got a couple of friends that have had Gear Sport some weeks. GPS locked very quick and when I have running with them the GPS has been as accurate as my Polar watch. They have Android phones. I dont think Ray using a Iphone when testning the watch.
I’m mostly using an iPhone, though some aspects I have to do with my Pixel phone – such as the S Health exporting pieces.
I may switch the pairing over the Pixel phone tomorrow, if for no other reason to see if that’ll solve my update hell.
My friends use Endomondo watch app and GPS is, according, to them accurate and lock very quick. They have 935 on the other arm to compare with.
I just returned the gear sport I had. It was consistently off by more than 1/2 a mile compared to my Garmin 235. Maybe it’s just batches that have bad gps hardware? Nice watch otherwise but I need accuracy/ consistency on my runs.
Why am I not surprised that Amazon Germany has the most structured store? Ordnung muss sein. I (Dutch) wonder how amazon.nl is going to work out :)
Interesting – are they doing an Amazon.nl store?
I know Amazon Australia was supposed to open last weekend, but something held it up.
Yep, it’s Kindle ebooks right now and for the rest a halfhearted translation of the German version. So the Dutch version will probably have:
– no hierarchy
– some illegal stuff, not permitted elsewhere
– upfront descriptions of products (of what it is and isn’t)
– direct criticism in reviews, no jubilant praises of products
Sounds fun :)
Amazon Australia is open now! Another one for your rotation.
Great! Been waiting for that, knew it was any day now.
Looks pretty slim on the products unfortunately. :/
More info on new bike please! Did you end up going with the Canyon frame or the Argon 18?
The Canyon Frame – the Ultimate CF SL electric shifting variant.
I ended up going with the exact components linked up above on the post from a month ago. Canyon’s site says it might ship today! Not I just gotta get the remainder of the parts to arrive.
Hi,
can you please summarize the steps you take to make that delicious looking pasta so that it doesn’t clump into a mess once it goes through the pasta cutter? also, if you don’t mind, what is your basic pasta dough recipe? thanks!
I actually use the default recipe included with the Kitchen Aide. Go figure, and it works really well, very dependably. It’s almost identical to this one: link to thelittlekitchen.net
Roughly though matching 4 cups of flour to 4 eggs, a spoon or two of water, and then some salt.
For keeping it from getting into a big mess, it’s key to go into the cutter phase not being sticky in any way. Meaning, add more flour in the bowl while mixing/beating until there’s zero stick at all. Any stick makes for a nightmare in the cutter phase. I like it like playdough consistency – you can poke and play with it, but it won’t stick to your fingers.
Hi Ray,
any news when Garmin will have the Power app ready?
cheers from Germany
Oliver
Dec 8th.
The implication in your first look article about RunPow was that the Vivoactive 3 could be supported. Do you still think so and have you tried it if so?
I’ve only tried the FR935 variant, since that’s the only app version I have.
I haven’t heard anything that suggests it’s not going to be released for the VA3, after all, the big push for why it’s not on the Fenix 3 is that they’re leveraging a new CIQ version that is on the VA3 but not older units, to access the RD profile.
Hey Ray,
Will the combination of a MilestonePod and a VivoActive 3 report power once the update is dropped?
I know that it’s part of the ANT+ group that are looking to standardise running power, but will it work with a Bluetooth Footpod?
The Milestone pod is Bluetooth only. The Running Dynamics standard is ANT+ only.
I think these things will be sorted out in time — the future is Bluetooth; ANT+ will wither and die — but it’s a bit of a mess for now. Like micro-USB vs USB-C.
Dan is correct on Milestone. That said, it sounds like things are in the works for eventually doing CIQ over BLE.
Personally, I think Milestone is still making a tremendous business mistake by not adding/supporting ANT+. The cost is trivial (a few cents last I checked), but the upside to pitching it to Garmin users is huge.
I think that’s one thing that those Kona device usage stats really show: The massive adoption rate of Garmin devices in the portion of the market segment that actually cares about data and metrics.
I sincerely hope not. Not unless BT suddenly becomes able to transmit to multiple devices rather than needing a 1:1 direct pairing. I have absolutely no interest in BT for anything other than listening to music and easily getting workout data into the cloud off my devices.
Have to agree. Being able to record/track data from one sensor over two devices is a big thing for me – I have an Edge specifically because it’s more useful for tracking cycling data on the road than a wrist-mounted device, even if the wrist device has a bike mount available.
The Varia Vision helps solve that problem, but it’s not exactly cheap. That’s the big downside of Bluetooth for me, although I do agree that it’s the direction the market seems to be headed.
Agree 100%. ANT+ is so much easier to deal with when you are using more than one device.
Adding one more endorsement for ANT+ over BME for precisely the reasons mentioned – I record my indoor cycling HR, power, speed, cadence on an app (Sufferfest, mostly) and also to my 920xt. I *could* grab the Sufferfest file and upload it to GC, but the 920xt does that automagically. I couldn’t do that last step over BLE due to the 1-to-1 pairing…
Ah, BLE not BME…
So if you like to see low power values use a Stryd, high ones a Garmin and a RunScribe for something in the middle? Have you determined yet which metrics are being computed fundamentally differently here to possible account for such differences? If these were cycling power meters you think the offset is wrong on some or all of them and need “calibrating”.
The dynamics graph seems to have identical values for things like VO in both cases so I can’t read much in those numbers.
On a general note I am starting to see more interest in a Stryd as probably the best foot pod for current pace you can currently get and indeed far more talk of that than for power. Or maybe I spend too much time in the Zwift Runners Facebook group. I see next to no talk about the RunScribe and from a cursory glance on their website it does not seem to measure pace. Coincidence?
Pace via the btle footpod profile is currently enable in the beta firmware. I haven’t tested it much yet, but see the screen shot attached from the fellrnr calibration tool.. . This is straight out of the file, calibration set to 100.0 in my 935. Very impressive I’d say. I’m looking forward to testing on the treadmill, at varying paces. I could never get a satisfactory result from the Adidas micoach of that I have been using. It was only ever accurate at one pace.
Ah interesting thanks. Perhaps they need to state the obvious in their marketing! There is certainly a demand for a foot pod that works well without all the “fancy” metrics that I detect most runners could not care less about even if they understood what to do with the data. Indeed Zwift have said “publically” that they are thinking about generating interest in somebody making a sort of “lite” Stryd type foot pod that had its accuracy for pace but was cheaper as it did not have all the “other” stuff. Obviously it would also help with the adoption of Zwift Running.
Still not sure what power in running actually means. Is the definition actually solid enough that there is any way to measure what is really accurate power, even in a lab? As long as the device is consistent seems to be most important. Especially without direct measurement, it would be hard to expect these different devices to be exact.
On a side note, anybody know how trail running impacts these devices, especially more technical trail running with rocks and varied surfaces?
For me, the benefits of runscribe are accurate pace and the footstrike/force metrics. Power is interesting, but a side note of ‘me too’ I think at this stage.
Tim G – I’m sure Tim from runscribe will be reading these forums at some stage, so suggested enhancements should be picked up.
Well I tried with a Stryd on the beach into the wind and behind for a double whammy test of the effect of “hard” conditions. Neither sand or the wind made any difference whatsoever. So into the wind that and the sand had me going rather slowly for high HR but with low power as if I was jogging slowly on Tarmac. So my view is that it is only of much use on a consistent firm surface (i.e. road) on a rolling course when there isn’t much wind about. But it is a great foot pod for use on a treadmill at 0%. I say 0% as it can’t detect the incline of the treadmill short of using their fudge where you tell the app what the incline is but that is not “broadcast” outside the app.
Yes, I totally agree, the limitations make it difficult to use as a training aid for every run. I can see the use of looking at FTP tests etc in the same conditions on a regular basis to measure progress… But you can use hr and pace for that anyway.
I’m far from sold on training by power, despite what the various books say. (just reading the Jim Vance one for example). If you can’t measure it accurately, and account for conditions like wind & surface, then it’s not much use!
That said… Runscribe is so much more than power. It stands alone as the most advanced tool to measure running form. I’m fighting a physio diagnosed right side imbalance that’s likely the root-cause of my nightmare 2017 of injuries. Runscribe is proving very very useful in tackling that.
So on a treadmill, I assume the pace is still very accurate even if the power isn’t, when setting an incline? Runscribe will hopefully still give accurate info on probation and foot strike. Bummer about soft / non solid conditions re power, but not surprising given there is no direct measurement. Speed will be interesting on uneven technical trails where you have a fair amount of side to side foot movement.
Interesting as I have had similar woes this past year. Certainly the HRM-Tri often shows me something like 45-55% “balanced” until my problematic left Achilles starts to ease out after 10 mins or so and I can put seemingly put more even weight through both sides.
Power theory is great and on a bike you don’t have these issues so can usefully use it in pretty much all scenarios. Running power has a way to go but with now three “players” it must be good news for us consumers.
Yes on a treadmill I find the Stryd is typically no more than 0.3 kph “out” from the treadmill without calibration at any speed and the inclination does not change that. Indeed it is often within 0.1 kph. “Traditional” foot pods only tend to be “accurate” around the pace you calibrate them at.
Ekutter – I need to test more on the treadmill. As for trails, I’m not too bothered by pace – gps is fine. I’m looking for accuracy on the track, and treadmill. Those are the scenarios where gps is poor (or not available), but accurate pace is essential.
Which perhaps illustrates one of my original points that these “fancy” foot pods are being looked at by consumers just as much for more accurate current pace (the one thing they are trying to move us away from!) than perhaps the “fancy” metrics themselves…
Random thoughts in no particular order:
A) Wind and terrain is a huge issue for units, and one I think too many people are giving these technologies free-ride passes on. Go run a one-way marathon into a head wind, and then tell me it doesn’t matter. Been there, done that.
B) Pacing – I just don’t see any tangible/substantial difference between Stryd and Milestone in terms of pacing. One cost $199, the other $24-$29. Both transmit Bluetooth Smart pace according to specs. While I have some concerns with Milestone business practices, from a tech standpoint, I’m good with it.
C) Why one is more popular than the other: Figuring a standard Amazon electronic affiliate of 4% for Milestone pod, a blogger would earn 96 cents a commission. Figuring a standard direct affiliate rate of 15-20%, for Stryd, one would earn $49.75. Even a low-ball 10% direct rate would be 10%. I don’t know Stryd’s rates (I don’t do direct to manuf/company affiliates). But, I wonder why nobody wants to talk about Milestone.
D) Zwift pod: I use Milestone here on the rare occasions I need to stay indoors. Works fine and dandy, pretty close to my treadmill last I tried, after calibrated.
E) There are great reasons to buy higher end devices like Stryd and RunScribe, but I have a really hard time grasping that one should do so purely as a footpod for pace.
That’s all!
Will have to try my MilestonePod again. I agree it “works” but equally my impression after a few runs was that the pace was far more “jumpy” than my Stryd is and so had a larger error margin. Also on a “geeky” front I can use a Stryd on a treadmill both to iOS over BLE for say Zwift on an iPad and also to Garmin devices over ANT+ so I can keep my training load etc up to date on my 935. The MilestonePod would be a “one hit” over BLE. But yeah whether that alone is worth the huge difference in price is questionable. Ultimately I bought a Stryd to try power but am finding more use out of it as a decent foot pod on the treadmill.
Hi all,
Disclaimer: I am with Stryd.
We designed Stryd to solve problems in the overwhelming majority of running conditions for the overwhelming majority of people. Solving problems in 100% of all possible conditions would disallow many technologies from ever reaching market, including cars, phones, GPS watches, etc. We certainly understand the concerns on wind and sand, but our data says that these factors rarely come into play.
Running blogs, especially Ray’s, do a tremendous duty for the running community by reporting news and analyzing the running scene. Less than 1% of Stryd’s revenue comes from affiliate-based partnerships, but we believe these partnerships give back to the community ten-fold.
We respect Ray’s testing on pacing but we refer to 3rd party reviews on Stryd’s industry-leading pace & distance measurements (requiring no calibration).
Best,
Angus & the Stryd Team
Correct me if I’m wrong, but “training load” metrics (from Garmin) come from heart rate calculations via Firstbeat…
Meaning, you don’t need accurate pace to know your training load on a treadmill. The semi-accurate readings from wrist-based pace and HR should be sufficient to stay “up to date”, and you could still record the run in Zwift on the Ipad with MilestonePod.
Yes you could do that. Guess all about compromises and budgets in these situations.
I will never support Stryd again. They totally screwed over their kick starter backers then insulted them by offering almost no discount for an upgrade
I never once got the power readings to work. Not once. The app was buggy and kept resetting my device.
Then when I voiced my concerns they suggested that I didn’t know what I was doing then said I could visit their offices in Boulder to have my advice checked or send it in (at my expense) to get it checked
Horrible customer service plus their readings are suspect.
Hi Mr. T,
Disclaimer: I am with Stryd.
Thanks for your message.
We delivered a fully functional product on Kickstarter. Additionally, we offered a 50% discount on the second generation device to all of our Kickstarter backers.
Please email us at support@stryd.com. It sounds like there was a miscommunication that we need to make right. We take great pride in our customer service.
Best,
Angus & the Stryd Team
@angus
Firstly, thanks for contributing – it’s much appreciated and welcome. And thanks for the honesty regarding limitations.
I’ve read your comment twice… The first time, I actually laughed to myself. The second time, I felt a little bit of my inner running geek die a little. Can you honestly think that a device marketed as the next major thing to enable improved data driven training can be taken seriously by serious runners if it has such flaws?
I am planning a progressive 6 miles today on my road back from injury. I’ll do it by pace/rpe/hr. Is love to be able to use power zones… But a quick look at the weather forecast tells me that there’ll be a 16mph wind. If a power meter is unable to take this into account (not to mention I’m doing it on trails of varying terrain….) then there is no way I can base this run on power zones.
I genuinely like the idea of training by power, but the concept at the moment is flawed by the (declared) inability to take into account the conditions.
On the treadmill.. Great.
Outside, in anything but controlled conditions on a still day… Nope.
As an aside, slightly linked to the affiliate thing… I am yet to read of any top athletes using a running power meter that aren’t likely bring paid/sponsored. People I respect like Joel Filliol, dismiss power as a useful tool at this point.
Hi gingerneil,
Disclaimer: I am with Stryd.
We currently sponsor two local Colorado athletes: Joe Gray and Steve Mantell. These two athletes always speak from their heart. If you are referencing any other athlete, then they only talk about Stryd because it brings them value.
Stryd is actively used by Olympic teams, elite triathletes, road runners, mountain runners, trail runners, and track runners across major championship events. (Rio Olympics, Abbott Marathon Majors, Triathlon World Championships, ITU World Championships, Trail Championships)
Stryd is also actively used by elite coaches and exercise physiologists. Please find the list at link to stryd.com We do not sponsor any of them. They come to us and stay with us because Stryd is a crucial part of their practice.
The Stryd Community stretches the world from peaks to plains to valleys. Want to see where Stryd can be used? Read their stories at link to blog.stryd.com
Best,
Angus & the Stryd Team
Agree with gingerneil that it is good that Angus comes here to comment on these things. Also I have actually found Stryd to have a good customer service and indeed have two of them – one bought direct one and one bought from a friend who was not getting on with it. That said I do feel there is a certain side stepping of the wind issue. Is there an analysis somewhere that perhaps suggests that running into a 10 mph wind (hardly uncommon) makes no significant energy difference to having it behind you? Funny but when I encounter such conditions I seem to find it harder into the wind and that’s when it is “obvious”. What you want from a tool like this to adjust slightly when it is not obvious. 20 or 30 watts here or there is the difference between going too hard and just right. Also the athletes mentioned are clearly very good but hardly ones likely to medal on the track in the next Olympics.
Love the insight.
Can an old fart chime in on Stryd/Milestone? Have used both. For me, TMI.
Closing in on 88,000miles of road running over the last nearly 42 years, I marvel how I ever ran all those miles without a lot of this stuff. Don’t get me wrong, I love the advances in HR and GPS but remain kind of fascinated that race finish times in my area are a lot slower than they were 20+ years ago.
Running is pretty simple, actually. Most of us, as we learned to walk actually ran, short choppy steps, before we mastered walking.
Hey, if you like the data, go for it. Some of you might be surprised if you just went out and ran. No gear, no music and trained by learning your body and becoming more intuitive you may see your times improve, if that is your goal, and save a lot of money.
Nick.
.
Mmm, just got an idea.. why don’t you two write a ‘Rainmaker’s Runner’s Guide to Paris’? With lots and lots of running tips and tracks close to hotel areas, of course with gpx-files for download, PLUS places to ‘spend’ those hard earned calorie-points? Not the standard stuff, but those other places you mention? You could even make a worldwide guide, considering how much you’ve travelled. Specifically aimed at people doing city trips who also want to fit a run in, because that’s what runners do. Or even add a website where local running groups (or blogreaders) who welcome visitors post when and where they run. I’d buy it!