Series 2, OS4 and a 7 hour triathlon

[profets]

Hi All,

This weekend I have a half-iron distance triathlon coming up. I’ve done many triathlons with my Apple Watch over the past few years, but never one of this length/duration (2km swim, 90km bike, 21km run). The longest I’ve done was an Olympic distance (1.5km swim, 48km bike, 10km run) and with the Series 2 running without an iPhone close by (HR and GPS both firing full time) it took about 75% of it’s battery life in 3.5 hours. Worked quite well though, especially the open water swim in the Adriatic Sea (quite impressed how accurately it mapped it).

Anyway, my concern is battery life. This event could take anywhere from 6.5 to 7 hours for me. No chance the watch on it’s own with GPS and HR running the whole time will last to the end. I’m thinking about using the power saving mode that’s in the Workout settings in the Watch app on iPhone - but not sure if this turns of HR monitoring entirely? I’d like to get some HR info during the event. Other thought is to pair the watch to an older iPhone and strap that phone to the bike. The bike being the largest portion of the race, I figure it’ll save the watch from having the GPS running for 3-3.5 hours and some significant battery life.

Lastly, what I’m really curious about is OS4. I’m quite tempted to install the GM now (I’m still on 3). Any thoughts on battery life in general? Curious and would hate to have worse battery life on a X.0 release right before an event. But really would love to use OS4 for the multi sport mode within Workout app.

Appreciate any feedback or thoughts on minimizing battery drain and OS4 performance!

Thanks

 

[uknation87]

Hi All,

This weekend I have a half-iron distance triathlon coming up. I’ve done many triathlons with my Apple Watch over the past few years, but never one of this length/duration (2km swim, 90km bike, 21km run). The longest I’ve done was an Olympic distance (1.5km swim, 48km bike, 10km run) and with the Series 2 running without an iPhone close by (HR and GPS both firing full time) it took about 75% of it’s battery life in 3.5 hours. Worked quite well though, especially the open water swim in the Adriatic Sea (quite impressed how accurately it mapped it).

Anyway, my concern is battery life. This event could take anywhere from 6.5 to 7 hours for me. No chance the watch on it’s own with GPS and HR running the whole time will last to the end. I’m thinking about using the power saving mode that’s in the Workout settings in the Watch app on iPhone - but not sure if this turns of HR monitoring entirely? I’d like to get some HR info during the event. Other thought is to pair the watch to an older iPhone and strap that phone to the bike. The bike being the largest portion of the race, I figure it’ll save the watch from having the GPS running for 3-3.5 hours and some significant battery life.

Lastly, what I’m really curious about is OS4. I’m quite tempted to install the GM now (I’m still on 3). Any thoughts on battery life in general? Curious and would hate to have worse battery life on a X.0 release right before an event. But really would love to use OS4 for the multi sport mode within Workout app.

Appreciate any feedback or thoughts on minimizing battery drain and OS4 performance!

Thanks

So, this might be a stupid question but do you own the Gen 0, S1, or S2 watch? I ask only because you're talking about the swim portion and I have seen/read several people with the Gen 0 / S1 AW who have treated it like a "water proof" watch without any damage or issues.

Dang... never mind. I just noticed your post says S2 AW.

 

[profets]

So, this might be a stupid question but do you own the Gen 0, S1, or S2 watch? I ask only because you're talking about the swim portion and I have seen/read several people with the Gen 0 / S1 AW who have treated it like a "water proof" watch without any damage or issues.

Dang... never mind. I just noticed your post says S2 AW.

Lol no worries. However, 2015 and 2016 (prior to the S2 launch) I did have an original AW and used that for swimming (obviously there was no swimming app or workout, just recorded as ‘other’ workout). It handled water quite well. Not sure if it was the best idea given that I didn’t have Apple Care on that watch.

 

[uknation87]

Lol no worries. However, 2015 and 2016 (prior to the S2 launch) I did have an original AW and used that for swimming (obviously there was no swimming app or workout, just recorded as ‘other’ workout). It handled water quite well. Not sure if it was the best idea given that I didn’t have Apple Care on that watch.

I appreciate the reply. Good luck with the upcoming triathlon.

 

[profets]

I appreciate the reply. Good luck with the upcoming triathlon.

Thanks!

 

[Buddhake]

WatchOS 4 (the more recent betas) has been about the same for battery life as WatchOS 3 was. You will also need to have iOS 11 to put on WatchOS 4, I believe.

Good luck in your tri! Olympic is my next goal for tris!

 

[ndredsox]

If you do strap an old phone to your kit, make sure to hide it well. Having done a full IronMan and a few 70.3's, they frown on personal communication devices...DQ. I've always used my Garmin watches for tri's, but let us know how it goes. Best of luck in your race!

 

[mk313]

Pairing with a phone will make a large difference in battery usage for the bike section. I think it makes a lot of sense to do that. Another possibility would be to use a chest strap heart rate monitor during the run/bike to take that off the phones battery.

 

[edhchoe]

how valuable is heart rate monitoring during bicycling?
If you really need to, you could slip the charger under the watch during the bike ride and have external battery recharge the watch during your bicycling since your hands will be on the handle bar most of the time.