One pod to rule them all - with a bend towards ultra/trail runners

if you were hard core..

True, using it for 50mi+ would be tough for most on the longer distance ultras. The "wow" factor of wireless charging is nice, but I would have preferred a micro-usb port on the Stryd and some form of quick charging compatibility. That being said, I'm more interested in using the Stryd and having the most accurate distance/pace info for training runs where 15 hours would be fine for me. Ymmv of course.

I am not even sure if would work, and not for me, since I never have a support crew. But if you did. and your stryd was running low. you could give to support crew. the could attempt to charge it, and you get it at the next aid station. Of course I have no clue how long it takes to charge. and I would guess with some watches, having a sensor, then the senor being gone, then back again, might not work so well. again no sure. so its purely a theoretical view.

True, using it for 50mi+ would be tough for most on the longer distance ultras. The "wow" factor of wireless charging is nice, but I would have preferred a micro-usb port on the Stryd and some form of quick charging compatibility. That being said, I'm more interested in using the Stryd and having the most accurate distance/pace info for training runs where 15 hours would be fine for me. Ymmv of course.

It's harder to waterproof the footpod with a USB port and that I believe is the reason they went with wireless charging.

I just wonder...

Is any footpod (Stryd or not) way better than the system I use now, in terms of running pace?

I use DozenRun data field which show the running pace averaged for 12 sec (in my case but can be set up anything from 3-30 sec). As such I get a smoothed pace that can help me decide to run faster or slower.

If the GPS is bad, than I may get a bad distance, so nothing to be done here, but I wonder, how safe is to let any footpod to calculate the distance for you on trail runs?

The claims

The claims are the foot pod are quite spot on

Casual runner who likes toys and data so I picked up a Stryd. Disclaimer I'm super casual, don't even pretend to be otherwise. I run to be healthier, not be a ribbon breaker. As a result take the below with a huge grain of salt.

Set the F5X to use the paired footpod for both pace and distance always. Based on something I ran across online I only paired it as a footpod and not as a PWR which was an option. I installed Stryd's power data field and set up a datascreen with it.

First run out of the box just pair and go last night it measured 4.0 miles with mixed pacing include sprints, walking and a total stop for a drink at a fountain (and because it was hot and humid) just to really mess with the unit's head. Measuring the same distance on google earth gave me 4.01 miles. The reported instant pacing 'felt' right for the entire run.

Going up hills the power rating was easy to see it change up and on the down slope down.

It gives a butt ton of data but my question is really, "What do I do with all this?" right now.

I used my last 10K race result which was an option in Stryd as a test result. The pacing and power zones they broke that down seemed accurate for me. Yesterday the pod average 313 watts which puts me right at the cusp of a z3/z4 which felt right based on how they do their zones versus the HR zones I've been training with versus my RPE.

Is it worth the $180 I paid for it? For a casual person like me? Not sure if it is. If you absolutely positively must have as accurate an instant pace where your pace and stride varies (mine is horrible at that) over the course of the run as you can this seems like a great solution. But if you have a consistent stride then a $30 calibrated foot pod will get you that.

From the first stride the pace seemed spot on. It would have minor fluctuations of seconds in the pace from moment to moment unlike the minutes that my watches will give me. But lap pace or smoothing pace data fields the watches have always matched up pretty close to reality, good enough for me for sure. The MiniFinish race predictor field has always given me really good race finish times.

Where the stryd will be of benefit is one of their claims about how HR variability can impact training. Yesterday was a 90 degree run, the first of this year, most have been in the 60's. My HR was several BPM higher at any given pace versus the rest of this years data. Enough that I was running in a higher zone than my run called for. If I was training by HR I'd of slowed down to keep within the zone. Doing a run by Power I was able to keep the watt output in STryd's recommend zone even though the HR was higher. Is pushing harder in hostile environment a valid training method though? I don't know, I'm not a pro.

But again for a casual runner is an accurate instant pace and all these extra data points 'really' needed? That's a personal judgement call based on disposable income. I'll probably keep it, against just because I like numbers, precision and data points. But I'm not sure it's the answer for everyone.

Excellent reply

Casual runner who likes toys and data so I picked up a Stryd. Disclaimer I'm super casual, don't even pretend to be otherwise. I run to be healthier, not be a ribbon breaker. As a result take the below with a huge grain of salt.

Set the F5X to use the paired footpod for both pace and distance always. Based on something I ran across online I only paired it as a footpod and not as a PWR which was an option. I installed Stryd's power data field and set up a datascreen with it.

First run out of the box just pair and go last night it measured 4.0 miles with mixed pacing include sprints, walking and a total stop for a drink at a fountain (and because it was hot and humid) just to really mess with the unit's head. Measuring the same distance on google earth gave me 4.01 miles. The reported instant pacing 'felt' right for the entire run.

Going up hills the power rating was easy to see it change up and on the down slope down.

It gives a butt ton of data but my question is really, "What do I do with all this?" right now.

I used my last 10K race result which was an option in Stryd as a test result. The pacing and power zones they broke that down seemed accurate for me. Yesterday the pod average 313 watts which puts me right at the cusp of a z3/z4 which felt right based on how they do their zones versus the HR zones I've been training with versus my RPE.

Is it worth the $180 I paid for it? For a casual person like me? Not sure if it is. If you absolutely positively must have as accurate an instant pace where your pace and stride varies (mine is horrible at that) over the course of the run as you can this seems like a great solution. But if you have a consistent stride then a $30 calibrated foot pod will get you that.

From the first stride the pace seemed spot on. It would have minor fluctuations of seconds in the pace from moment to moment unlike the minutes that my watches will give me. But lap pace or smoothing pace data fields the watches have always matched up pretty close to reality, good enough for me for sure. The MiniFinish race predictor field has always given me really good race finish times.

Where the stryd will be of benefit is one of their claims about how HR variability can impact training. Yesterday was a 90 degree run, the first of this year, most have been in the 60's. My HR was several BPM higher at any given pace versus the rest of this years data. Enough that I was running in a higher zone than my run called for. If I was training by HR I'd of slowed down to keep within the zone. Doing a run by Power I was able to keep the watt output in STryd's recommend zone even though the HR was higher. Is pushing harder in hostile environment a valid training method though? I don't know, I'm not a pro.

But again for a casual runner is an accurate instant pace and all these extra data points 'really' needed? That's a personal judgement call based on disposable income. I'll probably keep it, against just because I like numbers, precision and data points. But I'm not sure it's the answer for everyone.

a most excellent reply. Thanks! I like toys, and I might be further into the "what do i do with this data" camp than even you are. pace is not something im interested really. I am intrigued by training with power. But I need to be honest with myself. what do I really care about my power. I'm not a ribbon chaser. in fact I'm just as likely to stop during a trail run to admire a scenic vista, or a cool looking downed tree. Power could potentially (as I understand) help me to dial in more precisely into my RPE. meaning some days you feel great some days you know. You usually have a general idea about when a segment is costing more (energy) then you would expect. having power viewable could back up that feeling. and combined be a signal to back off. Or you might feel great. look down and realize you are way high on the power, even though you feel great, you should back down, because you have 12+ hours more to run that day.

The other factor I like is the distance accuracy. Lets be honest. recent Garmin, have not faired well out in the woods and forests. Having wrong distance can blow at times. Having an accurate distance, while not required, would sure be nice.

Distance and pace continue to prove accurate for me with 5 runs in. Distance is 99.9%+ accurate to the point that I really need to run a known measured distance to dis-prove that statement because I can't do it with the GPS data. That's without any calibration.

Pace 'feels' spot on from a RPE perspective.

Battery life is meh so far. If I get 15 hours on the initial charge I'll be surprised going off what the app is reporting after my runs so far. That's disappointing given the 20 hour life quoted by Stryd. "Up to 20 hours" let me correct myself.

It's possible this is 'first charge' syndrome like you get with phones where until it's been through a cycle or two it doesn't report it accurately. We'll see.

But so far for distance and pace I'm pretty happy. The other data I'm still working on learning how to figure out what it means and where I need to improve and more importantly how I improve it if it needs improving.