Apple Watch in the Detroit Marathon

[scriptkitten]

The only accurate way to measure treadmill runs is a footpad and since Nike+ doesn't support them anymore that means either use a Garmin for treadmills or just enter in the runs manually on the Nike+ app with the data displayed on the treadmill screen.

Nike + on my iPhone is 99.9% accurate on my treadmill. I can run Workout and Nike at the same time... Nike is dead on the mileage and Workout is 33+% off!!

Listen... I have busy kids, clients and a busy family life. Some days the only time I can run is at 9pm, so I have no other choice but the dreadmill. I don't live in an area with lighted streets or trails. In the winter, it's often too icy. I watch a lot of iPad Netflix on the treadmill which makes it less awful

If it's good enough for Shalane Flannigan it's good enough for me

 

[jbachandouris]

Nike + on my iPhone is 99.9% accurate on my treadmill. I can run Workout and Nike at the same time... Nike is dead on the mileage and Workout is 33+% off!!

Listen... I have busy kids, clients and a busy family life. Some days the only time I can run is at 9pm, so I have no other choice but the dreadmill. I don't live in an area with lighted streets or trails. In the winter, it's often too icy. I watch a lot of iPad Netflix on the treadmill which makes it less awful

If it's good enough for Shalane Flannigan it's good enough for me

That's great to hear as I usually run treadmill. The last Apple Watch I had didn't play well with the Nike+ app so I use my Nike+ GPS watch with foot pod. I live in upstate NY, so I face the same challenges when running outdoors.

 

[BlueMoon63]

Been there. Done that. Workout is WORTHLESS for tracking anything even a recreational runner like me needs. Ever look at the data on your iPhone after a run? You get splits. No cadence. No GPS. No elevation changes. Nothing but splits. And can you set the split intervals? No. Can you set intervals? No. Want to get your split data out for further analysis? You can only do it via a screenshot. And if you, like me, tend to run more than 6 or 8 miles at a time, you need several screenshots to see anything.

I thought I mentioned (or forgot to mention?) in my original post that I used workout with the screen locked for the Detroit marathon but it didn't matter the screen was locked because I got NOTHING when the watch ran out of battery shortly after I crossed the finish line in a little over 4 hours. And this for a device that normally lasts 16+ hours on a charge. WORTHLESS. BTW, I did get 27 miles worth of "steps" on my iPhone. Steps? Who the heck needs steps? Am I supposed to run the marathon again to take the necessary data? That's why runners wear Garmins and leave the Apple Watches for early adopters to wear for tracking their walks and to remind them to get off their butts every hour.

I'll still wear AW for "piddling around" runs like my half marathon this coming weekend, and then only as secondary to my Garmin. Until Apple Watch gets some serious running related upgrades I'll never do a competitive race again without my trusty Garmin.

Apple Watch is nowhere near ready to be a serious runners only device. It just can't do it or do it accurately enough. It's fine for me, but it makes me believe that the next version will definitely have gps. Just my opinion.

I will never be serious enough anymore to want or need a dedicated running/cycling device other the the Apple Watch but will completely agree with others that want one. It makes sense.

Maybe all the Apple Watch needs is some third party bands that have better sensors/more sensors and gps but for now it isn't a serious contender at all. Yet I love it. So nice to run with nothing but the watch and Bluetooth headphones and I look forward to what could be later.

 

[Aniseedvan]

I can't comment on using it for extended periods - I rely on a garmin for long walks - but I have the same issues Bluetooth wise with my iPhone 6. I have a UE boom in my car I listen to podcasts and audio books on (Car BT won't accept music playing), and I get stuttering from time to time almost every time I use it. The phone and speaker are about 6 inches apart.

 

[iPhysicist]

Apple Watch is nowhere near ready to be a serious runners only device. It just can't do it or do it accurately enough. It's fine for me, but it makes me believe that the next version will definitely have gps. Just my opinion.

I will never be serious enough anymore to want or need a dedicated running/cycling device other the the Apple Watch but will completely agree with others that want one. It makes sense.

Maybe all the Apple Watch needs is some third party bands that have better sensors/more sensors and gps but for now it isn't a serious contender at all. Yet I love it. So nice to run with nothing but the watch and Bluetooth headphones and I look forward to what could be later.

@BlueMoon63 I quoted you not to ask you directly but your post is one of those that makes me think about "seriousness", it is no offense in any way.

Whenever I read Apple Watch is not ready for serious running and biking I feel like "what are you guys doing" to say its not ready for SERIOUS running, biking... sports. I don't do marathons by the way, neither I do road bike competitions. Longest run I do on a regular basis is 20km and my longest bike ride is around 160km. I am a hobbyist but what do you do?

So IF I am a serious runner my watch needs to tell me elevation and has to have GPS. WHY is that so important for you?

If I am a serious runner I do training by schedule. I know how long I have to run and what my route will be beforehand. I know how long to warm up and what pace to hold and when to speed up. I know what intervals I have to do, I know my goal (or sought for) heart rate and so on.

So in my laymen eyes all I need is a training plan (best with an experienced trainer), a heart rate sensor, a stopwatch and a distance-meter and (no iPod!)?

Long read short question, please elaborate 'serious'.

 

[BarracksSi]

Long read short question, please elaborate 'serious'.

It means to run without smiling.

 

[Night Spring]

It means to run without smiling.

 

[iPhysicist]

It means to run without smiling.

Its that simple? Damn it I never will be a serious runner. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[AFEPPL]

Yet again, i fail to see the purpose of the watch. it just cant do anything well.

 

[alFR]

Yet again, i fail to see the purpose of the watch. it just cant do anything well.

Don't buy one then! No product is right for everyone.

 

[AFEPPL]

too late, but i did manage to return it...!

 

[r0k]

Yet again, i fail to see the purpose of the watch. it just cant do anything well.

I disagree. It's not a specialized running watch but I love getting texts on the Apple Watch. Even while running, I can see and respond (with a few basic canned responses, one of which I've set to "I'm running right now"), and if I'm not too out of breath, I can dictate a custom response to Siri who (which?) is pretty good at understanding what I say. I can screen caller ID by glancing at my watch and ward off telemarketers when I'm in meetings or just plain busy.

Then there's the weather display with rain probabilities arranged around a clock face by hour. Very useful for planning a run. Even though the watch is mostly useless as a running watch, if I take a "spur of the moment" run, I can start a higher quality running app on my phone and use my watch to start and stop the run.

Then there's heartrate. While it doesn't work particularly well (for me) during a run, when I check it after a run or sitting at my desk, I can compare progression over days, weeks and months. Mine has been gradually declining as I run more and more.

AW is definitely a "first generation" Apple product and suffers from many of the issues associated with first gen products but I'm happy I bought mine. I just know its limitations and work around them.

It means to run without smiling.

VERY good post. As a recreational runner, I try to prioritize smiling over pace.

I smiled for the first 23 miles of the Detroit marathon. Then I frowned for 3.2 miles . I smiled for the first 12 miles of the Clarkston Back Roads half marathon this past weekend. Then I got to this... HILL and frowned. It wasn't a huge hill. But running a hill is a lot like real estate... location, location, location.

Here are some examples...

First, Clarkston Back Roads Half:

Heartbreak hill in Boston is at the 20 mile mark. How rude. At least you get a nice coast down at the end, if you're still breathing...

Then there's our practice course which we affectionately call the "seven sisters" which is more hilly but mercifully shorter, only we sometimes run the hilly loop twice for a total of 16 miles...
SEVEN SISTERS, 9 or 16 MILE COURSE:

Another great half marathon course we have around here is the "Brooksie Way" which has a hill called "Dutton" that is longer and steeper than heartbreak hill in Boston...
BROOKSIE WAY:

So when I get back from a run with my pace fluctuating all over the place, I need a LOT more than simple splits to diagnose what is going on with my running technique. At the very least I need cadence, elevation. iSmoothrun offers these on iPhone, but the developer's priority is on Pebble of all things so stability and usability on Apple Watch in iSmoothrun leaves much to be desired versus more robust apps like Runmeter.

If you're still reading this post and you're in the mood for something REALLY sick, here ya go...

 

[iPhysicist]

All those spikes make me laugh. You had really bad reception. Really bad. Your running technique must be a very important factor for you to analyze. But how will a map help you to select your stride length and foot positioning. If it goes uphill I just change to forefoot or middle foot or somewhere in between if it's just a little hilly. I go at a higher cadence and shorter stride to reserve power. I change my breathing to 'double' if the uphill part is steep. I live in in a valley so I can do a lot uphill running if I want. And I like it. Not for marathons of course and 200m elevation is quite a bit I admit.

 

[Night Spring]

If you're still reading this post and you're in the mood for something REALLY sick, here ya go...

LOL. That looks steep. Have you heard of the Hakone Ekiden? I wonder what the uphill portions of that race would look like on a spike graph...

 

[r0k]

LOL. That looks steep. Have you heard of the Hakone Ekiden? I wonder what the uphill portions of that race would look like on a spike graph...

The 217km Hakone Ekiden out (one day) and back (the next day) relay is only open to university students in Japan with a handful of international students allowed to participate in any but the finishing legs of the relay. There is a roughly equivalent bike route and here is the elevation from mapmyride...

Yikes!!

I found a better plot of my half marathon which is tiny compared to these mountainous marathons but it makes it clear how inopportune and how steep that last hill is...

 

[r0k]

I could start a new thread but there's not much new to report except that I ran with my AW in another marathon, the Disney World Marathon. Only this time I didn't even bother turning it on. I glanced at my Garmin for things like pace and elapsed time and since my Garmin was completely focused on running and didn't even show time of day, I glanced at my AW for time of day. If I'd started a running app, even with the latest OS and apps, I'm sure it would have been an unwelcome distraction during my race. Now that I've run the thing and witnessed people dropping out to stand in line for photos with Mickey or to ride Expedition Everest, next year I know not to even look at the clock and just have fun! That's the kind of running where AW might be useful. Just for fun, no official time required.

 

[Mac-Rumours]

Whenever I read Apple Watch is not ready for serious running and biking

I don't think the Apple Watch is ready for any sport at the moment. The fact that any moisture on clothing (sweat / rain) can activate the on-screen buttons means your activity can be paused or stopped. Frustrating on a 5K run. I'd imagine if it happened during a marathon I'd want to 'blend' the Apple Watch:

 

[nicho]

I don't think the Apple Watch is ready for any sport at the moment. The fact that any moisture on clothing (sweat / rain) can activate the on-screen buttons means your activity can be paused or stopped. Frustrating on a 5K run. I'd imagine if it happened during a marathon I'd want to 'blend' the Apple Watch:

That depends where you are in the world. For me now, 10 months of the year it's simply too hot for sleeves of any kind.

Similarly, who wears sleeves in an indoor gym?

I think you're overreacting slightly.

 

[Mac-Rumours]

That depends where you are in the world. For me now, 10 months of the year it's simply too hot for sleeves of any kind.

Similarly, who wears sleeves in an indoor gym?

I think you're overreacting slightly.

You're right, I forget some parts of the world have sun! Maybe there should be an asterisk on Apple's Watch page that says:

*Apple Watch Sport for indoor sports or warm climates only. Sports must not exceed 4 hours. Athletes must not have tattoos. Your house is at risk if you do not keep up repayments on a loan or mortgage secured on it (that you took out to pay for an Apple Watch)…