Data field: Flexirunner

I made a custom data field for myself, and then I found out I had to upload it to the store to be able to use settings in the Android GC app. So this thread is to support that, any questions/problems/comments, etc., let me know.

Flexirunner

https://apps.garmin.com/en-US/apps/ce1e0b46-7c83-4ddb-9d48-c93edadabe3d

Flexirunner is (yet another) all-in-one data field, for use in a single field layout. It is designed for running, with a native look and feel.
It shows time, distance, number of laps, heart rate, pace, and cadence. It also measures running economy (http://fellrnr.com/wiki/Running_Economy), and records this and energy expenditure (https://www.firstbeat.com/en/science-and-physiology/energy-expenditure/) into the FIT file, for later display on Garmin Connect.

Please see the page in the Connect IQ app store (above) for the list of features and screenshots (to avoid re-posting the same thing here).

I have tested this field with my FR235, but it should perform identically on the FR230, FR630, FR735XT. Since version 5, Flexirunner is now also compatible with FR920XT, Fenix 3 & HR & Chronos, vivoactive & HR!
Since development is primarily focused on me having an FR235, the layout is currently most optimized for the semi-round watches.

Donations
If you use & like this data field and you're feeling generous, donations are gratefully accepted (but not obliged) here (give what you feel!): https://www.paypal.me/imgrant

Source code
The source code for Flexiruner is freely available on Github: https://github.com/imgrant/FlexiRunner
You can also raise issues there.

Acknowledgements
The Flexirunner icon incorporates elements by Freepik (http://www.freepik.com) from www.flaticon.com, which are licensed by Creative Commons BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/).

IMGrant over 8 years ago

1) Would it be possible to set the target cadence range for the green band, I run at 160spm and it is always showing as slow in the color range.

I set the colours to match those shown on Garmin Connect as I thought this would be the best solution for most people. Unfortunately there is not enough memory to enable the zones to be customized. You could take the code and change to suit your own needs though.

2) It would also be helpful to be able to set the target pace as an absolute number, rather than just a measured value. I'm a beginner so am still trying to get the muscle memory feel of running at my desired pace. I'd like to set the target pace value, E.g. 8:00 and have the color bands trigger off that so I can see at a glance how I'm doing.

This is a great idea, I will take a look. In the meantime, there are other datafields that allow you to set a target time for a given distance, which is effectively the same thing. Not sure if there are any that show when you deviate from this with colour in the same way though, I suppose.

Sergey_Kessel over 8 years ago

Thanks for the good datafield!

1. Bug
It looks that after adding this datafield I cannot change name for the activity via Garmin Connect Mobile (Android).
I change the name in GC Online.
I change the name for activities without flexirunner in GC Mobile - with no issues.

2. Question
Is it possible to turn off recording additional connectIQ values to the fit file (running economy)?
I am not interested in that neither in recording (but still like the datafield layout), while bug above is really annoying (and I think adding more data in fit file still uses some juice

Thanks in advance,

PS: If you have the version of the same field with the same function but without running economy - will be appreciated (soemthing like "Flexirunner with no Economy")

webvan over 8 years ago

Good catch on figuring out why I could no longer edit my runs on GCM ! Now does it maybe happen each time additional data is saved in the FIT file as opposed to being only a Flexirunner problem ? Not that big of a deal for me to edit on my PC in any case.

Sergey_Kessel over 8 years ago

For me it is an issue - have a habit of naming the activity right after I get home (something like "20170119R Intervals 5x1.5x6 @THR" - to understand fast what was it (R stands for Runs obviously).
Now I need PC which is very annoying (I rarely turn it on, tablet/ phone is more then enough in most cases).

IMGrant over 8 years ago

Houston Birk

Thanks for your efforts in pinpointing this bug. I was also having this problem. I've also done a bit of testing and I'm not able to change the activity title in GCM when it was recorded with Flexirunner, as you observe, but I was able to change it when it was recorded with the Stryd Power data field or the Stryd IQ app. However, I cannot see that there is anything wrong with my data field, so I will report it to Garmin as a bug.

It's not possible to disable the additional FIT field writing in Flexirunner. You could build your own version with this feature disabled from the Flexirunner source code if you wanted though.

Former Member over 8 years ago

Thanks for returning to us.

Your Running Economy data field also causes the same bug to GCM on Android, avoiding activity renaming. I was also able to rename it online though, but glad you are aware of it.

Thanks for taking your time to develop this, as I will certainly pay more attention to my running economy metrics going forward.

Cheers.

Sergey_Kessel over 8 years ago

Thanks for your efforts in pinpointing this bug. I was also having this problem. I've also done a bit of testing and I'm not able to change the activity title in GCM when it was recorded with Flexirunner, as you observe, but I was able to change it when it was recorded with the Stryd Power data field or the Stryd IQ app. However, I cannot see that there is anything wrong with my data field, so I will report it to Garmin as a bug.

It's not possible to disable the additional FIT field writing in Flexirunner. You could build your own version with this feature disabled from the Flexirunner source code if you wanted though.

Thanks for feedback and thanks for the excellent field.
Will post in a local community - there are some developers maybe they'll be able to build (although I hoped the owner/ developer will do that since you invested time/ effort into building that nice layout and datafield).

Iron_Cinghi over 8 years ago

hi. why did you remove the recording of energy expenditure?
i can't use another data field (i already have moxy)
you should add option to record or not economy and expenditure

webvan over 8 years ago

I only really looked at the "Running Economy" but unless I missed something the format has changed? It used to be a two-digit value between 0-100 which I could relate to but now I get a three digit number in cal kg⁻¹ km⁻¹ ? Thanks !

IMGrant over 8 years ago

hi. why did you remove the recording of energy expenditure?
i can't use another data field (i already have moxy)
you should add option to record or not economy and expenditure

Because I no longer saw the value in recording it (it strongly correlates with heart rate), and with memory at a premium in the CIQ 1.x devices, I figured I could better use the capacity on something else.

I only really looked at the "Running Economy" but unless I missed something the format has changed? It used to be a two-digit value between 0-100 which I could relate to but now I get a three digit number in cal kg⁻¹ km⁻¹ ? Thanks !

Yes, I changed the formula. It no longer uses the Fellrnr formula based on heart beats per distance, but rather calories per weight per distance. I thought this might be more reliable, and it is simpler to compute (so less memory overhead). For the instantaneous value, it takes advantage of the energy expenditure metric provided by Garmin.