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GPS Mobile Phones & other gadgets
PC_67
Posts: 196
in General Chat
I can't afford a fancy GPS HRM / Stopwatch so instead I bought a nice £75 Times Ironman jobby which does everything I ask it to do.
Unfortunately I haven't asked it to tell me what my current running speed is because i know it won't tell me.
Outside of buying a GPS watch or running alongside my bike and looking at my bike computer, are there any gadgets I can buy than can tell me what my running speed is?
iIm happy to buy a pedometer and accept the errors it might make, but I don't want to have to be looking at my pedometer & watch and make mental calculations.
Now, I'm due a free mobile phone upgrade. I'm happy to run with my phone in my hand so are there any phones that I can use? Does Nokia's Sport Tracker application do this? My only phone requirements are (a) phone calls and (b) accessing emails, though from a pop3 server, not enterprise.
After MK Tri in 2 weeks I switch to marathon training mode and want to develop a feel for what speed I'm running, and also to follow a programme I'll be following.
Any suggestions on gadgets that can tell me my run speed at little enough cost appreciated.
Unfortunately I haven't asked it to tell me what my current running speed is because i know it won't tell me.
Outside of buying a GPS watch or running alongside my bike and looking at my bike computer, are there any gadgets I can buy than can tell me what my running speed is?
iIm happy to buy a pedometer and accept the errors it might make, but I don't want to have to be looking at my pedometer & watch and make mental calculations.
Now, I'm due a free mobile phone upgrade. I'm happy to run with my phone in my hand so are there any phones that I can use? Does Nokia's Sport Tracker application do this? My only phone requirements are (a) phone calls and (b) accessing emails, though from a pop3 server, not enterprise.
After MK Tri in 2 weeks I switch to marathon training mode and want to develop a feel for what speed I'm running, and also to follow a programme I'll be following.
Any suggestions on gadgets that can tell me my run speed at little enough cost appreciated.
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but... i've been using it with my n95 for the last 8 months or so and come to conclusion that i couldn't be arsed with it. main reason is signal quality from the satellites - if you have an unlimited data plan then you can set it a-gps and it works quickly and more reliably, but i don't and half the time it doesn't collect enough satellites under the normal gps setting.
too many times i started a ride and when i got home to find it started 2 or 3 miles in. i think i got it to work once on a run out of maybe a dozen or more attempts. not good enough for me.
because of this i've never got into the full features of it (downloading routes, uploading routes etc). on a bike i'm happy enough to bung it in a rear pocket or saddlebag but carrying an n95 gets a bit irritating on a run!
my last little criticism of what is potentially a good system, free and really interesting as a way to use your mobi, is that it properly eats battery life. if you are going to use it a lot make sure you have access to a charger where you are going.
it is free and very clever, but if you don't have an unlimited dataplan then you might find it unreliable (although model type probably makes some difference to this).
Not sure if I'd want to carry an iPhone around with me when training, though.
There are quite a few other devices that are position enabled, but I'm not (yet) aware of any that have a specific sports application other than the Nokias and the iPhones.
Satellite position reliability should be identical to any stand-alone GPS device. Mobiles have the advantage that they can connect to an Assistance server (A-GPS) which can tell your phone where it probably is which means it should get going much quicker then normal - called TTFF or Time-to-First-Fix.
The assistance server is usually a free address, so you shouldn't get a huge data bill as a result but if you are on PAYG then you might be in trouble. Yes, it will kill your battery.
Anybody still awake?
thanks for theb above.
So, is there any other type of affordabler gadget that can tell me waht my run pace is when out on a long run. My local park is exactly 1500m but I'll be fcuked if I'm going to run around it 15 times just so I can measure my lap splits.
Interval & tempo runs I can do either on the track or just by RPE / HRM but my longer runs are a bit hit & miss. My goal marathn pace is 8 mins per mile while my training pace is likely tio be slower a lot of the time, say 8:30 / 8:40. I guess I could go to the track and just learn what each feels like, but hey, if there's a gadget out there to be bought, I'm a gadget kind of guy. Even a cheap pedometer that I can read 1 mile, 2 miles etc and take a separate look at my watch.
I don't think Timex does a foot pod thing that transmits to my watch.
Do you wear an ipod when training? If so, you could try the nike+thingy, once calibrated it will talk to you through your ipod telling you time distance etc (i think - i'm going on what other people tell me).
Or just shell out on a garmin 50 or something else with a footpod (or gps)
i have a vague (and possibly incorrect) memory that in the n95 8gb they moved the reciever to a different part of the unit that didn't require the slide to be open.
I was using the sportstracker, but since i switched the phone to HTC Wm edition, i couldn't use it any more since is only for nokia, so I found this, is very similar and is multiplatform, works on every phone with Gps.
For running I tend to use mapmyrun and just time my run myself then get an average speed for the whole effort. Once you do a route regularly you can set target points over the course and aim for estimated time splits at those points.
Who needs all these gadgets - no substitute for a calculator
When I don't go away from the city on the weekends, I usually go running in some park or stadium like this:
[img:35soosvl]http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/3558/picture26l.png[/img:35soosvl]
And great option that I found in this application is that I can split the run manually in separate parts, so i can even know what is my lap time.
As it happens I bought a Timex Bodylink GPS watch just this week. I took it out today and I didn't get a signal! I suspect a battery problem and will give it another go tomorrow.
armband http://www.gadgetcase.co.uk/acatalog/info_741.html
It's been superceeded by the 405 so there should be plenty of them knocking about.
I love mine, gives you plenty of info and I've never had a signal problem. I bought mine mainly as I was doing a lot of off road running in Epping forest and had no idea how far I'd run. Also very useful for heart rate info etc.
I've tested it to my bike computer and mileages vary by about 0.3 miles over a hunder miles, so for a run it's perfect and also gives you analysis of what speed you were doing where etc.
It's probably got too much info but I love it.
The map it prints up is very basic but I believe the Garmin 405 uses multimap or googlemaps to show you your route but that'll probably cost you another £100 on top!