Running

Turns out the Strava Android app is total balls for running. Bought a Garmin Vivoactive 3 today, went on what I thought was a much longer run. Tracking shows a much smoother route but only up to 2.5 miles from 2.4 (4k from 3.9). All the hinting around for a GPS signal was way over egging the distance.

Feels almost like starting from scratch. At least now I have a more accurate baseline.

Yep, I've experienced exactly the same thing. I had previously wondered what had happened to my good running speed. I was sick in January, and then after that seemed to have slowed down considerably. I put it down to recovery after illness, but after further reflection / investigation realised ALL my mobile phone recorded times were off because of the GPS adding about 10% extra on to the distance.

Would also recommend 212s, I've got a pair that have seen me through 18 months and approaching 700 miles. Worth checking the fit though, there's a precision and a normal width fit and they are very very different.

Inov8's range confuses the fuck out of me. Regarding the weight they refer to in the model name, am I right to assume that most of the difference in weight is made up in the sole and therefore the model with the higher number will be more durable?...

the website is treasonably good, describing drop and weight, in my experience they aren't the most durable shoes, but I tend to have the lightweight ones, and run in Cornish salty mud which probably doesn't do them many favours

Really don't know why they discontinued the Xtalon 190. They're my fave shoes for XC when the terrain looks too harsh for spikes. I've used the 212 as well, more bulky than the 190 but still relatively light I suppose, and probably more durable.

Please excuse the trumpet blowing, but I've gone for the screenshot before I get knocked off! :)

Nah, the uppers of the heavier models are a lot more reinforced as well. I can’t actually say how much contributed to the weight but the difference suggests it isn’t trivial.

A lot of people have been complaining that inov8s aren’t half as durable as they used to be.

I run in Walshes myself, and have an old pair on inov8s for longer miles (the Walshes are deffo more of a race fit/feel). I’d run in them all the time but I think it ends up being a bit too strenuous on my feet.

/csb

I've always found the Strava app and my watch pretty similar.

Good work @philpub boasting definitely allowed.

There was a model of inov8 that fitted me like a glove and then they stopped making them. Good story. I still wear inov8 despite finding them a bit wide, should probably get some walshes based on comments here.

Just spent today with a guide trying to conquer some lake district scrambling. Unfortunately the weather was so poor we couldn't do much. What we did was good and confidence building though. 3 days to recover for road relays...

Couple of friends who're trying running are wondering if strava premium is worth it? I've been saying no, unless using hr. Any counter arguments?

I’m a premium user, I really like the graphs you get, in particular split times overlayed on top of the gradient, buy just a month to try and then pay for the year if useful.

Re Strava app accuracy, I actually found it the best out of a shit bunch (Nike run, Runtastic, MapMyRun etc) iirc it checked for gps signal four times a second which was better than some of the others. I do think the Apple Watch I use can be buggy though, still get the odd crazy split time or sleeve induced auto pause.
In other news I’ve saved my pennies and will visit Run and Become on Friday for my first fit and couple of pairs of kicks, wahoo.

Couple of friends who're trying running are wondering if strava premium is worth it? I've been saying no, unless using hr. Any counter arguments?

I tend to get offered a free premium trial every other month, so I sign up and them immediately cancel the renewal. Thinking about it, I don't really see/use any of the features...

Save the money and put it to some nice trainers or a watch.

Stravistix add-on for Chrome has most of the same stats as Strava premium, but free

Nope! Just use the chrome extension @duncs mentions below or my new favourite Smashrun.

I have old school Walsh PB extreme fell shoes.

Admittedly they were a bit slippery on the wet chalk of Box Hill this afternoon, but they feel like slippers on my feet

I’ve also decided I want a watch to track my running rather than using a phone. I’d previously been looking at one which could play music, which would still be nice but not essential. The Tom Tom spark 3 seems to tick a lot of boxes - anyone used one?

DON'T GET A TOM TOM!

Straps are not fit for purpose, I'm on the 3rd one as they keep splitting at the joins with the clasp. Also someone said a while back they they'd heard Tom Tom were getting out of the GPS watch game. Can't remember who but if you search back through the thread you should be able to find the post.
The battery in my Runner 2 has deteriorated pretty quickly after about 2 years. It's gone from a single charge lasting over a week to needing charging every few days.

Stick with Garmin or Suunto.

Really don't know why they discontinued the Xtalon 190.

I have to think if it's worth wearing them or not each run - Race the Train has 1st & last mile tarmac but they're perfect for the rest of it.

Ditto the 295's although they are more durable they won't last forever.

Great top ranking, well done!

Can confirm, I have an Adventurer (From a sponsor thingy, beggars can't be choosers.) and although it's been better since last update, but I'm still considering selling it and getting a Garmin from Amazon's warehouse deals. Haven't had issues with the strap, although teammates of mine are now all on AliExpress straps, as they last longer and cost about 20% of a TomTom strap.

I've had all my straps replaced by TT customer services free of charge, it seems to be an issue they're aware of. Just a bit annoying to have to keep replacing it.

I'd read that TomTom are also looking to discontinue their wearables, so not sure whether the Spark may get more buggy in the future as they stop rolling out software updates.

Not sure if the music thing is a dealbreaker for you, but I really like the Garmin Forerunner 35. As it happens, I managed to break one of the buttons on my last one and had to buy a new one ahead of a marathon. The old one was still covered by warranty so Garmin have just posted me out a brand new one which I will be looking to sell for £100. Let me know if you're interested

That was me. There's a skeleton team left working on wearables at TomTom now, the vast majority of the software team either left or were made redundant.

And the straps are shit.

never heard a good thing about tom toms.

personal preference is Garmin, the 645 is getting good reviews although I'm not convinced all the features are fully refined yet (music and pay) so for my money I'd buy a forerunner 35, and upgrade in a year or so when the next version of the Fenix is out, it looks generally to tick most running boxes, although the lack of the speedy pickup of satellites missing is a bit of a shame..

Some models are “precision fit” and some are “standard fit”, the latter being wider - might’ve been the case?
That said, their sizing is all over the place generally.

I've got a TomTom multisport that is pretty crap. i use it for kiddy bikes and swimming. would not recommend for serious running

Just the standard forerunner 35? If I don’t use it for music then I just want it to track runs and HR etc