Got A Stryd

Does anyone actually use the power from Stryd?

And if so, how is it supposed to work?

I see a number, and it increases when I increase pace, but I don't know what that number represents, or what number i should be aiming for.

wouldn't training with heart rate and pace do the same thing?

How do I know what power zones to set?

I know how to set heart rate zones, but don't know how that should equate to power zones.

I guess Stryd wants you to buy their book :)
https://store.stryd.com/products/run-with-power-by-jim-vance

But seriously. Currently there is very little knowledge on how to use running power data to effectively improve performance. Different power meters give very different results and nobody seems to agree what running power actually is.

Does anyone actually use the power from Stryd?

And if so, how is it supposed to work?

I see a number, and it increases when I increase pace, but I don't know what that number represents, or what number i should be aiming for.

wouldn't training with heart rate and pace do the same thing?

How do I know what power zones to set?

I know how to set heart rate zones, but don't know how that should equate to power zones.

I would say do as I do with the power from the bike when I use the PowerCal HRM Chest strap. First, I don't understand all I know about Power, but I do know that if you look at your FTP (Functional Threshold Power", that is sort of a "base", like VO2Max. If/when it increases, then you're doing better, at least for that run. I'm a data freak also, and while I can generate numbers out the "ying-yang", I don't know what they mean, only for me, if I'm competing against myself, higher numbers means better performance, except with heart rate. Same power, lower heart rate is good, lower power, higher heart rate is bad. :-) If you're actually "training" for a race or something, I'm sure there's people in here that can give much more detailed explinations, but for me, a 70 year old fat man trying to spend a little longer on this rock, I compare only against myself, watching my heart rate for virtually the same activities.
Not a lot of knowledge here, but at least a little bit of a guide.

There is quite a bit of good, free information on Stryd’s Website.

Does anyone actually use the power from Stryd?

And if so, how is it supposed to work?

I see a number, and it increases when I increase pace, but I don't know what that number represents, or what number i should be aiming for.

wouldn't training with heart rate and pace do the same thing?

How do I know what power zones to set?

I know how to set heart rate zones, but don't know how that should equate to power zones.

Power is NOT = Heart Rate

Power measurement measures the power you are using. It might not be exact that 250w is 250w - but it is the energy you are using at that moment (dependent on your settings of course - you can average it out) - so as a relative factor it is fine.

Heart rate is an indication on how hard your body is trying to bring fresh nutrients, oxygen and cooling etc around your body.

So if you go for a run at pace 6:00 / km - your heart rate will maybe start at ? 120? - but it won't stay at 120.. If you continue at that pace your heart rate will slowly climb and climb. So after 5 km it might show 140 - and after 1 hour 160. But your Watts will have been (almost) the same throughout if you are running on a flat surface.

Imagine you run up a hill. It has a 5% incline for 1 km. If you continue to run at 6:00/km your heart rate will increase fast. But if you look at your power it increased once you started running uphill and stays the same if other factors are equal. So heart rate is actually a "lagging" indicator - so it takes a while for the body to increase the heart rate when you exert yourself.

So now here is where power comes in handy. Power is an almost instant indicator. When you run for distance - you find the Wattage where you do NOT hit the wall early. So now if you focus on the wattage - of lets say 250 watt - then you run and run at 6:00/km - and when you reach the hill - you lower your pace so you keep the same power expenditure of 250 watt (roughly) and when you reach the top and go down - you speed up to 5:30/km as now that would be 250 watt.

So watt's are about finding out where on the power curve you can finish a race - and the power for a 5k, 10k, 1/2- or whole marathon will be different. But your overall time should improve if you use the watt and not heart-rate as your indicator.

And if you do the Styd test's - they will give you some suggested zones for your training. And then it is up to you to find the best race zone in watt that you can complete.

So power can help you find the right pace - that makes you able to complete the race/run in the best time possible without hitting the wall.

That's an excellent, and very clear explanation kaz911. Thank you very much.