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Virtual Run on 945 & 245 - wow!

Otto-Destruct
over 5 years ago

Well that's a nice bonus for the Forerunner crew: "Virtual Run" that links the watch to Zwift!

https://www8.garmin.com/support/download_details.jsp?id=14933

Likely only a matter of time before it comes to the Fenix 6.

Firmware adds widget glances to 945 and 245 too.

As a former 945 owner, I ain't even mad. You guys waited long enough for feature-parity. Enjoy the leap-frog. ;)

EDIT - Zwift is free for runners at this point, paid sub is for cyclists.

  • 0 over 5 years ago

    If I'm not mistaken, Garmin has separate development teams working in the "Outdoor Recreation" and "Sports and Fitness" domains.

    I'd love to be a fly on the wall of a Garmin cafeteria. Makes me wonder if the 245/945 programmers are having a little fun game of one-upmanship with the Fenix crew over this. (doesn't seem that Virtual Run is included in today's Fenix 6 software update)

    Again, no complaints it's just amusing. Slight smile

  • 0 over 5 years ago

    There seems to be a lot of thumbs up and cheering for this feature which makes me curious. As I said before I've never used Zwift but how do you use it; Do you bring your phone to gym and launch Zwift while standing on the treadmill or do everyone have a treadmill at home? If using the phone; do you really get a feeling of running somewhere else?

  • 0 over 5 years ago

    Hahahaha ***... if i know that before christmas i would not buy "MyRun" treadmill for almost 4000 euros Wink

  • 0 over 5 years ago in reply to TobiasLj

    Zwift is for the social competition (mostly) - and i do think scenery is 2nd. You can run/cycle with friends. 

    I sometimes use Zwift on my tablet - until now I have been using NPE CABLE (ANT+ to BLE translator) 

    But if watch can do it by itself - that will be perfect.

    And I have hopes that my treadmill will be able to read the HR via BLE from the watch - which will ease my HIIT exercises.

    But it is good to see Garmin is doing a bit for Indoor Cardio. That has been severely lacking for a long time.

  • 0 over 5 years ago in reply to kaz911
    kaz911 said:
    Zwift is for the social competition (mostly) - and i do think scenery is 2nd

    I started using Zwift for indoor cycling back in September/October. I use it on a 23inch computer monitor connected to my laptop. Data is sent from trainer and HR-Dual band via a ANT+ transmitter(received it with the trainer)

    For me, the main reason using it is some extra motivation - having something in front of your eyes while cycling. So it reduces the "booring time", it decreases the chances to get under-motivated to use the indoor cycling during winter and I like to watch from time to time the scenery. 

    I also use some of the training programs pre-defined in Zwift. 

    I do not have other friends zwift-ing, yet. So the social part is more or less reduced for me. 

    If i will continue paying the subscription or not(cycling is not free as running, for the moment)  - it's a decision I will have to take at the end of the winter season. 

  • 0 over 5 years ago in reply to EyessOnlyy
    EyessOnlyy said:
    For me, the main reason using it is some extra motivation - having something in front of your eyes while cycling. So it reduces the "booring time",

    Same for me. I tried some of the races but there are some many people entering the wrong races that I end up doing my own thing most of the time. Some free ridding and some training. Heck, most of the time I just pick a pre-made route that matches my mood for the day, put on some tunes, and let it rip

  • 0 over 5 years ago in reply to TobiasLj

    DCRainmaker did a useful writeup of a recent Zwift addition: a running track:

    https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2020/01/zwifts-running-track-is-open-heres-what-a-structured-track-workout-is-like.html

    TL;DR: he uses Zwift a lot for cycling but historically found it boring for running, until they added a track which he enjoys for structured workouts.

  • 0 over 5 years ago in reply to kaz911
    kaz911 said:
    Zwift is for the social competition (mostly) - and i do think scenery is 2nd. You can run/cycle with friends. 

    Another dummy question :-) If you do it as a social competition does everyone who joined the challenge need to run at the same time as the others?

    Are there treadmills that adjust for uphill/downhill automatically based on the course in Zwift?

  • 0 over 5 years ago in reply to TobiasLj

    You can join scheduled runs/races in Zwift and yes, in those events everyone runs at the same time and you can see how far ahead or behind you are to others in the group.  You all line up at the start line and you can only start running (with your avatar) once the start is released by Zwift.  You can also search for friends to see if they are on and can join them wherever they happen to be.  There is also a chat feature but darned if I know how anyone is able to type and run at the same time.  You can also see cyclists as they speed past you.  I had been using a CABLE device to broadcast my HR but it sometimes would cut out, and I use a Stryd pod for pace which I'll continue to use.  But this is a great feature and hasn't been seen in any other device so far.  I do hope it comes to the Fenix and I can't imagine it won't, but I'll use my 945 on the treadmill until it does.