I have a Stryd foot pod that has better distance/pace accuracy than GPS when calibrated. However, when I run outside with the GPS on, it will override the calibration factor of the foot pod. This is a ridiculous feature if you think about it. Garmin support assured me that the distance / pace with the GPS turned on will come from the foot pod, not the GPS. I have the GPS on for the maps and Strava segments and flybys. I don't want to lose accuracy just because the watch trusts the GPS signal over the foot pod accuracy.
I just noticed something else unusual. My VO2 Max estimate had dropped from 63 to 57 which is odd considering my fitness has been improving. I assume the VO2 Max estimate works off of Max HR? I went in and checked my Max HR which was a value that I had manually entered as 193 bpm (measured from a very hard maximal track workout several months ago). My Max HR was now reading 179. So somehow my Max HR went from 193 to 179 and my calibration factor on my foot pod went from 98.7 (calibrated by 8 laps on a track) to 97.0. That's a significant distance/pace decrease of almost 2%.
What I don't understand is why those values changed but nothing else did. All of my personal information other than those stayed the same. All personal records are unchanged. I know that my Max HR was fine for many months because I was displaying HR in terms of %MaxHR on one of my screens which I would occasionally check (haven't for awhile though!) and I would have noticed something that dramatic. Also, I know that even with GPS turned on it was not changing the calibration factor on the foot pod at least for awhile because I would occasionally spot check it (just in case). The fact that GPS over rode the correct value is an assumption.
My typical route has very accurate GPS except for a one mile segment in which there are a ton of twists and turns. I can actually see the GPS cutting corners on the generated maps. When running with friends who are using GPS for distance (and I'm using the foot pod with the track calibrated factor), we will have nearly identical splits until that mile so I know the foot pod is giving me a better recording than them.
Has anyone else experienced this? Is it possible my Vivoactive 3 just momentarily lost it's mind (software bug?) and everything is fine as long as I spot check the settings?
Vivoactive 3 doesn't have an option to turn off autocalibration feature. I've buy Forerunner 935 in addition to VA3 to avoid setting calibration factor to 100 before each run
I see that Vivoactive 3 doesn't have an option to turn off autocalibration of the foot pod which is unfortunate. I calibrated my foot pod at the track and trust it's results over GPS. GPS has lots of inaccuracy issues on sharp turns, near tall buildings, heavily forested areas, canyons and in tunnels. But I love my maps! Here are a few more questions for someone who may know:
Let's say I do an outdoor run with both GPS and foot pod on. The calibration factor is set to 100.0. I then do a 10 mile run.
During the run, is the pace and distance displayed on the watch coming from the GPS or the foot pod?
Does the watch perform autocalibration constantly during the run?
If it waits until AFTER the run is over to do the autocalibration, does it use the foot pod's data for pace and distance in the run's results before updating the calibration factor to something like 98.0? In other words, would 98.0 only be in effect beginning at the start of the next run?? (If this is all true, then I could always get distance and pace from the foot pod plus my maps from the GPS! I would just have to change my calibration factor back from 98.0 to 100.0 before my next run.)
If it waits until the run is over, does it use the GPS data for pace and distance before updating the calibration factor?
Is there a watch or family of watches from Garmin that allows for GPS to be on for the maps but is using the foot pod for distance and pace without overriding the calibration factor? I may just sell this one and purchase a different Garmin watch for this feature. Having accurate distance and pace that I trust at all times in all conditions from the Stryd plus my GPS maps would be well worth it to me. Plus it's kinda annoying having to double tap the screen for the lap button instead of an actual button. I never seem to hit it right. The Forerunner 935 might be a bit out of my price range.
Is there a watch or family of watches from Garmin that allows for GPS to be on for the maps but is using the foot pod for distance and pace without overriding the calibration factor?
