GPS III Technology and Running Watches? (Read 213 times)

I am right now trying an awesome system for ultra runs longer than the 4 hours that the batteries of my Timex last:

A Casio Wave Ceptor WVA 470, solar powered and radio synched plus a compass and a map

I don't give a c***p about the route anyway as when I run I just go where I fancy, and in a really long race a mile more or less is not important, the important thing is getting from the start to the finish alive, and that's it.

I know a lot of people, better runners than me, who still run with a simple watch (well, with a good watch, actually) and I can't think of any better performance than what a normal GPS or a watch with foot pods can deliver. I am absolutely not interested in measuring my runs with milimeter accuracy.

This degree of accuracy can actually be counterproductive as it is happening right now already and here I talk from own experience:

People train for the distance marked by their training watches which measures our displacement while we are not aware that in a race what's measured is not how much we run but how long the course is.

So that you may have trained for running a distance of 10km while in a race you may run at least 1km more per 10K; because of the position on the road (the course length is measured by the innermost part) and because of having to maneuver around slower people or obstacles.  In a 10K this can mean that you start your end too early. In a marathon the extra distance can mean a real torture or just failiing short of the finish.

I have learned that people in the past (a few years ago, actually) ran on time and not on pure distance and the only way to run an accurate distance was on the track,  and that's how we should continue doing it and I thus welcome any inaccuracy my GPS may have.

 While I agree that the FR 210 seems to be worse than previous models in getting all the sats acquired (NO! little FR 210 sitting on the top of my pickup while I tie my shoes -- you are not indoors for cripes sake! ) ...on the other hand, I look at thing in wonder and sheer amazement each time it happens -- just consider what it has to do:  receive faint signals from freakin' outer space; select the 5 or so strongest; triangulate the time differences; account for signal shift and Doppler effect; deal with signals multi-pathing off nearby walls, cars or whatever; deal with us impatiently moving the thing while hopping up and down....it's unbelievable.

Yes, yes...this reminds me of the hilarious Louis CK bit on airplane internet, which I would try to find & post here if I could get to YouTube on my work computer.

 

BTW, @ DaveP, not that I'm trying to sell you anything, but you might like to know that the new 220 and 620 watches have a technology where they download several days of satellite data from Garmin Connect each time they are connected to upload your runs.  With this satellite information then pre-loaded to the watches it is possible USUALLY the case that once you turn them on under any kind of reasonable situation (i.e., outdoors) they will get a fix in just a few seconds.  I have put this to the ultimate test all winter.  My usual protocol on previous products has been to set a watch on my kitchen windowsill to get a fix while I stay in the nice warm house, and then venture out when it is solid and ready to go.  I've been running all winter with a 220 on one wrist and a 620 on the other wrist, and even on the sub-zero days I have intentionally not turned on the watches until I have stepped out the door (taking the risk I might stand out there in the street and freeze for 3 minutes!).  They have not let me down once.  I open the garage door, fire up the watches, and by the time I have closed the garage door and walked half a dozen steps down the driveway, "beep"!  Ready to go.  On a very personal, runner level, I just love this feature.

My 210 is only about a year old, so (hopefully) not in the market any time soon, but good to know...yes I would love that. (BTW my technique is hanging it on the handle of the storm door.)

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