Thoughts after first run (pt 1 & 2)

[pilotnh]

I've been reading this thread and especially your posts. I'm a novice runner but like accurate numbers. I was using Endomondo too except the last 5K I ran, it went nutty and had me at a mile after only a couple of hundred yards and it went downhill from there. I've had issues with the start button not working with Endo as well as Runtastic. How is iSmoothRun working out for you? I'll bet like me you can't wait for Watch OS 2.

 

[dov1978]

Are you on iOS 8.4? My Endomondo and Runkeeper have been going crazy too and Showing me running over 600 KM Per Hour when I'm sat perfectly still. I deleted Endomondo and Runkeeper has been better since and Nike+ app seems to be unaffected. If you Google 'ios 8.4 gps' you'll see tons of people saying this update screwed up GPS accuracy and assume this is what happened to mine and possibly yours

 

[davsug]

So this is interesting and frustrating. I stopped using iSmoothRun a couple of weeks ago after it froze during several runs (an app problem not a GPS or watch problem), so I switched back to Endo, which has been perfectly accurate until this morning, when I ran a 4 mile run and it had my pace under 5 minutes/mile because the GPS was off by .25/mile from the start. I'm in the middle of marathon training so really hoping this isn't going to be a constant issue until the Sept update.

 

[impaler]

It seems to me if you're training for a race as long as a marathon, you'd want a dedicated GPS watch. There are many good ones that are reliable and dedicated for serious runners. I don't think a gen 1 product like  Watch is intended for more than casual runners.

 

[pilotnh]

I strongly disagree. When you pay $400 for a watch that claims to do fitness tracking, you should expect it to be accurate even in gen 1. The software may need a little refinement, but it should work.

 

[davsug]

It seems to me if you're training for a race as long as a marathon, you'd want a dedicated GPS watch. There are many good ones that are reliable and dedicated for serious runners. I don't think a gen 1 product like  Watch is intended for more than casual runners.

not true. While apple's stock exercise app for the watch is clearly for casual runners, the iPhone apps that support the watch, like endomondo, Runkeeper and others, are definitely for more serious runners and runners in training.

 

[impaler]

It does work, in my experience. I generally disagree with you and will continue to. I think a general purpose device is not well suited for serious runners, any more than a single type of car or truck is suited for all people. For serious haulers, they wouldn't want a general purpose sedan.

 

[davsug]

It does work, in my experience. I generally disagree with you and will continue to. I think a general purpose device is not well suited for serious runners, any more than a single type of car or truck is suited for all people. For serious haulers, they wouldn't want a general purpose sedan.

That is true in general, but in this case it's the apps on the iPhone that are geared for serious runners. The # of fields and amount of data I have with Endomondo is as much if not more than I get with a Garmin, and the Watch app has been flawless for me until this morning. Hoping that was a 1-time issue.

 

[jclisenby]

Re: Thoughts after running with the Watch, part 2

Thanks for the review!

 

[Suggs68]

After another week or of running 5-8 miles a day with a 12 last Sunday, the Endo watch app has been flawless, and I tested it against my old Garmin on my other wrist. Mileage was exact and average pace was exact. Only slight variation was current pace but that's because it takes the screen a second to refresh. And the analysis and log in Endo is very feature-rich.

 

[akanne]

I'm on the fence whether to wear my Apple Watch for the run segment of an Ironman. If everything goes as planned I'll run a 4-4.5 hour marathon, I guess the 42mm version should last that long without problems? The watch would spend most of that day in the transition bag and I guess I could put it into Airplane Mode to save battery since the phone won't be with me for the entire race.

I have a Garmin watch that'll be my primary device for the race so the AW will mostly be for comparison out of curiosity.

 

[Suggs68]

You should be more than fine, but it will also depend on what running app you'll be using. The stock app is very inaccurate and also uses more battery, but I find apps like Endomondo and runkeeper very accurate with minimal battery impact. I went on a 2 hour run over the weekend and only use about 20% of the battery.

 

[akanne]

You should be more than fine, but it will also depend on what running app you'll be using. The stock app is very inaccurate and also uses more battery, but I find apps like Endomondo and runkeeper very accurate with minimal battery impact. I went on a 2 hour run over the weekend and only use about 20% of the battery.

Isn't the reason for the stock app using more energy that it actually uses the HR sensor while third party apps don't have access to that yet? I have no other choice than using the stock app since I won't bring my phone at all during the race.

I've done a couple of runs without the phone and the stock app holds upp pretty well with regards to distance accuracy. HR seems to be impressively accurate for an optical sensor, generally tracking my traditional chest strap within a few BPM. It doesn't really matter that much for this event since the Garmin will provide primary pace and HR data.

 

[Trig8]

Isn't the reason for the stock app using more energy that it actually uses the HR sensor while third party apps don't have access to that yet?

Yes, I belive so, and you can turn the sensor off in the app settings on the phone.

 

[as999999999]

It does work, in my experience. I generally disagree with you and will continue to. I think a general purpose device is not well suited for serious runners, any more than a single type of car or truck is suited for all people. For serious haulers, they wouldn't want a general purpose sedan.

I think the point is it was marketed by apple as for serious runners. Did you watch the key note? The had a large sections to Kristy turlington training for the london Marathon and they have updates on the site They still update the progress on the site. I do like my Apple watch.. Its the most expensive smartwatch .yet your comparing it to an all purpose sedan , I do find my watch useful when running and seem to be tracking well with that app i use but needs some tweaking for sure.

 

[anon(9343851)]

I went on an 8.56-mile run Sunday and Workout said I ran 8.17 miles lol… That's pretty laughable.

I understand using the accelerometer for calibrating walks because when you're walking around you might stop and make small movements left and right that the GPS alone couldn't detect. However when you're running you're just following a path most of the time so this kind of inaccuracy just isn't worth whatever they think they gain from making use of the accelerometer.

I can't wait for watchOS 2 so I can use the heart rate sensor in Runkeeper.

 

[birdman325]

Did a nice 10K this morning using the stock running app (not MapMyRun, because while I can control MapMyRun on the Watch face, I can only see time, unless I am missing something, haven't found a way to see Pace or distance on the Watch screen using MapMyRun) but one thing I noticed it that if you sweat a lot and sweat either gets on the Watch face screen, or if your hands are sweaty (you can tell this happened to me this morning) sometimes the Watch screen will not register your finger swipe. Needs to be dry.

 

[pilotnh]

Just curious. You ran a 10K. Did the app come up accurate at 6.2 miles? I'm guessing it said something less than that as the native app always does.

 

[Vortec 5.3]

My experience with the workout app since 06/14. Either it is very close or WAY OFF. There is no rhyme to reason with it.

 

[tcuprof]

My $.02 worth ...

Every morning I run the exact same path through my neighborhood and I know the distance. My experience has been that the variance in what the watch+phone (I run with my iPhone) reports is about the same, maybe even less, than the variance I was getting from my Forerunner 220.

My daily run is about 3 miles, so that probably puts me in the category "casual runner." Still, I am very satisfied with the watch-iPhone combo and would recommend it for all except perhaps the truly serious runner. For me, the main thing I miss is the depth of run stats I got from Garmin Connect. I'm hoping Apple upgrades the Activity app to provide that in the future.