Looks like the new fw 4.7 now added support to use footpod when outdoor with GPS. That's a great new addition. Garmin, please keep the new additional features coming. Maybe bring back Virtual partner, add a new data page :-)
Is a foot pod more accurate when it comes to cadence, stride, steps ... etc? Just curious ... wondering why I would actually want to use one.
Max
Most people find that instant pace from a calibrated footpod is more stable than GPS, especially useful, if say you are running where GPS signal is not good - building/tree cover etc.
Assuming the same implementation as the 920XT, (when option selected) instant pace comes from the footpod, but overall distance comes from the GPS.
As mentioned above, it can be useful in poor GPS signal settings. I do a 20 mile race in the fall along an old canal tow path where the GPS signal is very spotty and while my overall distance comes out very close (there's hardly any turns) instant pace will jump from 5:00 min/mi to 10:45 min/mi and back within 10 seconds all while holding a steady 8:30 pace.
If it works similar to how it's worked previously on my 610 and 920xt (after they fixed it), not only do you get a more sane instant-pace, but I also found the watch's auto-pause was much more responsive.
BTW, is auto-calibrate finally fixed/working? Hasn't been on mine for a while.
If it works similar to how it's worked previously on my 610 and 920xt (after they fixed it), not only do you get a more sane instant-pace, but I also found the watch's auto-pause was much more responsive.
BTW, is auto-calibrate finally fixed/working? Hasn't been on mine for a while.
I used the footpod with my 610 and I was happy to get away from it so I didn't have to move it from one pair of shoes to another. (I know I can get multiple sensors) The 235 has the built in accelerometer... Why can't pace be derived from that instead when GPS is poor? Also, I started training using workouts and setup pace goals for the workout steps... Hard to hit a specific pace as GPS has me all over the place (maybe 1 second sample will help?). I need to setup a range instead as the watch is always beeping and buzzing me.
It does use the internal accelerometer for pace when GPS is absent. Generally though a foot pod will work better in this regard but personally I find it a faff to use a foot pod and usually find a combination of current and lap pace from GPS to be more than adequate for my needs. Nice to have this speed source option though.
I used the footpod with my 610 and I was happy to get away from it so I didn't have to move it from one pair of shoes to another. (I know I can get multiple sensors) The 235 has the built in accelerometer... Why can't pace be derived from that instead when GPS is poor? Also, I started training using workouts and setup pace goals for the workout steps... Hard to hit a specific pace as GPS has me all over the place (maybe 1 second sample will help?). I need to setup a range instead as the watch is always beeping and buzzing me.
I always use a 15 second range for interval workouts for just that reason. Most of the time when I review my splits afterward there's rarely more than 5 seconds difference between the slowest and fastest splits but depending on how long the intervals were that can mean a 10-15 second/mile difference in pace.
I always use a 15 second range for interval workouts for just that reason. Most of the time when I review my splits afterward there's rarely more than 5 seconds difference between the slowest and fastest splits but depending on how long the intervals were that can mean a 10-15 second/mile difference in pace.
Yeah, I'm going to have to change mine. Do you just split the time before/after your target? I was gonna do 5 seconds before and 5 seconds after but if you have better experience with 15 seconds I'm not opposed to 7 on either side...
Most of the time I do 10 sec/mi faster to 5 sec/mi slower than goal pace. When I do things like long runs with marathon pace segments where I want a more conservative pace I'll reverse that relationship.
Most of the time I do 10 sec/mi faster to 5 sec/mi slower than goal pace. When I do things like long runs with marathon pace segments where I want a more conservative pace I'll reverse that relationship.
Makes sense. Do you use 1 sec sample? What about GPS+GLONASS?
I just started using these workouts with the Hanson Marathon Method (beginner plan 3:45 goal) and I'm finding the workouts a little annoying. I want to hit the targets but this thing is all over the place. I didn't try to use the footpod as speed source yet but it detected it just fine.
I had a 4 mile easy run today with pace range 9:39-10:21 and two of us ran the same exact workout (created on garmin connect and synced to watch) with the same watch model (235)... I'm on firmware 4.70 and he was still on 4.60. Neither of our watches had the same pace at any given time and took a bit to adjust to pace changes. We ended up with 9:36 avg because the first mile it kept saying slow when we felt we were faster... Would go from 10:35 to 8:45 and all over the place. Clear skies with no tall buildings without tree cover. Had to stop at a couple traffic lights and that made it even more difficult to hit the targets... took the better part of .1-.2 miles for the watch to catch up with our paces.
We both used GPS+GLONASS and smart recording... will experiment with 1 sec sample.
