How to get more precise pace measurements?

I'm now trying Garmin coach to train for 10km at certain pace. There are many of trainings where there is a target pace, which I have to run at. The range to which I have to fit is quite narrow and thus I constantly get alerts that I run either slow or fast. Often this is due to inaccurate measurement due to GPS error which makes it sometimes hard to know how much to adjust my speed.

My question is would a foot pod sensor help with this? Or is the foot pod calibrated to only one speed? Stryd is clearly the best ... But that is a bit too expensive. Any suggestions for how to get most accurate pace?

Thanks!

Marek

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0 C.sco over 5 years ago

Yes, Foot Pod will improve your real-time pace accuracy. It recognize changes in stride length, it does not use a fixed stride length.

When paired with your watch, it replaces the watch's GPS-calculated pace. From what I understand, it's pretty accurate, to within 1 or 2 percent. Works indoors, on treadmills, etc, because it is used totally independent from the GPS.

0 Pseudo-fed over 5 years ago

Definitely the foot pod. I'm doing a Garmin coaching plan. It calls for "Steady state runs" within a narrow 20 seconds per mile pace range. You mentioned not wanting to use Stryd, but I use a Stryd and it's perfect. Makes it very easy, and it changes displayed pace with as little as 3-4 steps. Have not tried the Garmin Foot Pod, which I used to use before Stryd. The Garmin seemed to be only accurate within a narrow range of pace, and only after calibration. Stryd is accurate within a wider range of paces.

0 Former Member over 5 years ago

Buy a Stryd and do a calibration run. Out of the box it's good, with a calibration factor dialed in (set it for pace and distance always, auto calibration off) for you specifically it's ridiculously accurate. It's not cheap but if you really want the most accurate pace and distance there is no substitute currently.

Mine will consistently register the end of a run within 2 or 3 yards of where I started on a 10k (5k out, 5k back) and I've had it measure a full at 26.22 and on a recent 100 mile race mine and my partners were spot on all the way out to 51.2 (they measured 51.3 total) miles at which point they ran out of power and we just used GPS for the back half. She ended up being almost 2 miles short on the back half from using GPS. Which is weird since GPS is usually long.

0 Marbuel over 5 years ago in reply to Former Member

When you pair Stryd, is GPS not used at all? Do you need their app? Or can you get pace in native fields?

0 Marbuel over 5 years ago in reply to C.sco

Is the overall speed/pace calculated from GPS? In other words, what data are coming from the pod and what is still based on GPS?

0 LukasZahorec over 5 years ago in reply to C.sco

Foot Pod (Garmin) is only accurate in the pace in which you calibrate it.

0 Marbuel over 5 years ago in reply to LukasZahorec

Is it somehow autocalibrating? That it would learn different speed/cadance?

0 Former Member over 5 years ago in reply to Marbuel

GPS is still embedded in the run data so yo uwill get a GPS track but it is not used for pace or distance provided you have set the footpod up to always be the source for pace/distance. By default the watch will only use it for indoor running.

You HAVE to add the Stryd power data field to your data screens (burning one of your 2 possible CIQ slots) and you HAVE to put your stryd ID number in the 'optional' settings in the datafield. Failure to do those results the stryd going to sleep if your pace goes slower than 12 min miles for 5 minutes straight and you'll lose data. But with the data field added and the ID of your stryd set in the datafield settings it will stay awake the entire run even through stops, walks or recovery paces .

The stryd accomodates a wide range of paces automatically. If you have greatly varied pace, for instance for my 100's I run walk at a 5/2 then you need to do a few miles on a calibrated distance using your normal pacing cycles.

Of course using the stryd just as a accurate pace/distance is half the value. You can use it to 'run with power' which is a number of elites at the marathon or less distance have switched to with some pretty good results in dropping their times. I'm not elite and the distances I run aren't conducive to a dynamic pacing so I just use it for pacing and distance.