Speed and Distance Watches

Run Run Away » nike running » Speed and Distance Watches

Categories: nike running

Question:

I’ve used a Fitsense for about a year now and I am getting reasonably accurate & consistent speed/mileage readings (less than 2% variance measured against known distances). However, it took me months to figure out that I need to place the foot pod at EXACTLY the same spot on the SAME shoes in order to get the same reading(s) for a particular route. I don’t know why the manufacturer doesn’t make this clear (or maybe I missed it?) on the instruction booklet. Bert Houston

Response:

Any thoughts on how the Nike SDM would do on recording distances accurately over choppy singletrack which causes a great variation in stride length and style? For example, when going down difficult sections (especially on snow) I often do a type of gallop instead of a regular stride. In this type of running, one foot does not pass the other foot much if at all. Using this downhill style you don’t fall, even on ice. Also I’m assuming the GPSs don’t work very well with a great deal of tree cover found on many trails. Any trail runners have experience with the SDM (or other unit) or have found a good way to get distances on trails, or even off-trail?

A unit like the SDM will probably not give you very good results on uneven trail surfaces. Your best bet would be to get some sort of GPS unit that allows you to upload the tracks. You can then use computer software to "retouch" the tracklog. This will work fine for logging milage, as long as you just have sporadic dropouts (as opposed to not being able to get a lock at all). Keep in mind that people do use GPS units for hiking all the time, so they shouldn’t be completely useless on trails. Neither type of unit is good enough to use as a "speedometer" IMO. Cheers, — Donovan Rebbechi http://pegasus.rutgers.edu/~elflord/

Response:

Out of all the people on the group I would never expect our resident type-A detail freak to post this! Hmmm…I thought that was Doug.

Innocent! INNOCENT! -DF

Response:

Does anyone have advice or reviews on speed and distance devices? I think that I would prefer one with GPS rather than the pedometer versions from Nike or Polar. I would assume they are more accurate. The issue is the size of the GPS receiver. Thoughts?

Response:

I have a Garmin Forerunner 201. It is big, but hardly bulky. I have found it very useful.

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Exactly. Both are accurate enough for recording training milage Neither is accurate enough to meet the same standards as a certified course. I’m not sure why one would want better than 1% error anyway. Out of all the people on the group I would never expect our resident type-A detail freak to post this! (joking aside, it wouldn’t bother me, either – but I am sure many people would want/expect perfection for whatever reason). Because they’re obsessive-compulsive. Seems to be a common trait among runners. This could be more generally a trait of certain types of athletes. I’ve noticed that several of the people on the weightlifting newsgroups have this obsessive-compulsive thing too. Maybe this sort of attention to detail is associated with consistency, which is assocaited with long term success (success in this context just means sticking to it)

Weightlifting is very easy to measure one’s workload. RepxSetsxWeight – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Roger is unique in his lack of obsessive-compulsiveness. But I wonder if he was like this when he was in his prime, or if he was just like every other obsessive-compulsive runner. Cheers, — Donovan Rebbechi http://pegasus.rutgers.edu/~elflord/

Response:

Out of all the people on the group I would never expect our resident type-A detail freak to post this! Hmmm…I thought that was Doug.

When it comes to the ladies, perhaps! hehe cheers, — David (in Hamilton, ON) www.allfalldown.org www.absolutelyaccurate.com

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Exactly. Both are accurate enough for recording training milage Neither is accurate enough to meet the same standards as a certified course. I’m not sure why one would want better than 1% error anyway. Out of all the people on the group I would never expect our resident type-A detail freak to post this! (joking aside, it wouldn’t bother me, either – but I am sure many people would want/expect perfection for whatever reason). Because they’re obsessive-compulsive. Seems to be a common trait among runners.

Agreed – perhaps moreso with very competitive runners, though. It’s probable that the competitive urge is linked to type-A personality, judging from what I’ve experienced. Obviously there are exceptions, but it seems clear that it takes a certain mindset to work as hard as some do to achieve their goals. cheers, — David (in Hamilton, ON) www.allfalldown.org www.absolutelyaccurate.com

Response:

but who cares? – Linda

Indeed.

Response:

Exactly. Both are accurate enough for recording training milage Neither is accurate enough to meet the same standards as a certified course. I’m not sure why one would want better than 1% error anyway. Out of all the people on the group I would never expect our resident type-A detail freak to post this! (joking aside, it wouldn’t bother me, either – but I am sure many people would want/expect perfection for whatever reason).

Because they’re obsessive-compulsive. Seems to be a common trait among runners. This could be more generally a trait of certain types of athletes. I’ve noticed that several of the people on the weightlifting newsgroups have this obsessive-compulsive thing too. Maybe this sort of attention to detail is associated with consistency, which is assocaited with long term success (success in this context just means sticking to it) Roger is unique in his lack of obsessive-compulsiveness. But I wonder if he was like this when he was in his prime, or if he was just like every other obsessive-compulsive runner. Cheers, — Donovan Rebbechi http://pegasus.rutgers.edu/~elflord/

Response:

Roger is unique in his lack of obsessive-compulsiveness. But I wonder if he was like this when he was in his prime, or if he was just like every other obsessive-compulsive runner.

You have to ask? I was just like you. And what’s worse, you’ll end up just like me.

Response:

Out of all the people on the group I would never expect our resident type-A detail freak to post this!

Hmmm…I thought that was Doug. Phil M. — If you can empty your own boat Crossing the river of the world, No one will oppose you, No one will seek to harm you. -Chuang Tzu

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – This has been answered a lot but I have to add my $.02 because I LOVE my Nike SDM – my hubby has the Timex Garmin and by the time he adds that GPS unit and his radio – he might as well but running with weights in each hand. He started out with the SDM and then went to the GPS. I love the SDM and it is really accurate – assuming that the tracks I"ve measured it on are accurate. I mean, we might be talking a small variance of .05 +/- but who cares? Exactly. Both are accurate enough for recording training milage Neither is accurate enough to meet the same standards as a certified course. I’m not sure why one would want better than 1% error anyway.

Out of all the people on the group I would never expect our resident type-A detail freak to post this! (joking aside, it wouldn’t bother me, either – but I am sure many people would want/expect perfection for whatever reason). cheers, — David (in Hamilton, ON) www.allfalldown.org www.absolutelyaccurate.com

Response:

This has been answered a lot but I have to add my $.02 because I LOVE my Nike SDM – my hubby has the Timex Garmin and by the time he adds that GPS unit and his radio – he might as well but running with weights in each hand. He started out with the SDM and then went to the GPS. I love the SDM and it is really accurate – assuming that the tracks I"ve measured it on are accurate. I mean, we might be talking a small variance of .05 +/- but who cares?

Exactly. Both are accurate enough for recording training milage Neither is accurate enough to meet the same standards as a certified course. I’m not sure why one would want better than 1% error anyway. Might come in handy for measuring courses for intervals I suppose — but unless you do these on a track, factors like incline and terrain can easily have more effect on your times than the 1% measuring error. Cheers, — Donovan Rebbechi http://pegasus.rutgers.edu/~elflord/

Response:

Both are quite accurate. I wouldn’t say that GPS is any more accurate. I have a "proper" GPS unit, and I think my fitsense is more accurate than it. I suggest using google. THere has already been a lot of discussion in this forum. Cheers, — Donovan Rebbechi http://pegasus.rutgers.edu/~elflord/

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Does anyone have advice or reviews on speed and distance devices? I think that I would prefer one with GPS rather than the pedometer versions from Nike or Polar. I would assume they are more accurate. The issue is the size of the GPS receiver. Thoughts?

Response:

I love the SDM and it is really accurate – assuming that the tracks I"ve measured it on are accurate. I mean, we might be talking a small variance of .05 +/- but who cares?

Not to play devil’s advocate, but I’m sure lots of people do. cheers, — David (in Hamilton, ON) www.allfalldown.org www.absolutelyaccurate.com

Response:

I’ve used the Garmin Forerunner 201. It is a good alternative to the Timex GPS, for instance, where you have to strap a pod the size of a hockey puck to your arm. The Forerunner is a little bigger (wider) than a watch. I’ve also used the Nike Elite. Both of them are pretty accurate. The thing to note is that the Garmin can be affected by trees and, in general, not having a clear view of the sky. I would have thought GPS would be more accurate, but a couple of times I ran the same course and the Garmin came up with different mileage (not by a lot, but still…). The Garmin also has the Virtual Partner feature which is very cool. The Nike needs to be calibrated, but right out of the box it is really accurate. You won’t even know the pod is on your foot and you get the benefit of having a HRM too (although Nike sells one with only S+D, I think it is the V10). Ultimately, I think I will be getting the Nike. The Polar s625x is out or will be out very soon as well, which is like the Nike but with altimeter too.

Run Run Away