Platypus' Beginners Guide to Running

Yeah, looks like it's going to take a while. No biggie. I did download the archive, have just downloaded the Desktop app so will see how that is. I see there's a few Strava Chrome Extensions. Going to have a good play around i think as i like Strava but do think it's lacking in a few places.

Tried speaking to Garmin about the rubbish battery in my Fenix 6X, they've suggested they'll replace the battery but it's gonna cost £160, i'd probably be better off selling my watch and using that £160 to buy a brand new watch. Obviously that then brings the temptation of the 7. Going to try and minimise as much stuff as i can to prolong battery life. Maybe a hard reset and then see if it's anything software based. It dropped 6% from going to bed at ~11pm to waking up this morning at 7am. That doesn't seem right to me, but i don't want to completely stiffle it by turning off stuff like Pulse OX etc.
The main annoyance of doing a hard reset is then having to set the watch back up again. It seems madness that when they released the ability to configure the newer watches through the app they didn't include it in the older software. Surely it can't have been that hard!

I did try and get my mate to give me the invoice from his Fenix 6X he got back in February but he didn't buy it, so there's a limit to how many people to involve in fraud :p
 
Last edited:
I used to record my runs directly to Strava using the Apple Watch Strava app but found that cadence and other running data wasn't recorded even though the watch measures it. At first I put it down to using an Apple watch but then I went digging through the Workout data on the watch and saw that stats were visible just not syncing to Strava. Reading online users have complained about Strava not syncing over cadence etc and the developers weren't bothered about fixing it. I'm not sure why but the devs aren't very proactive in making improvements to their apps which is a shame as the platform is decent :rolleyes:

Anyway, I tried WorkOutdoors which was great but I didn't want a differen't workout app... I just wanted an app to sync my data to Strava without losing any of the metrics. That's when I found a recommendation for HealthFit.

So, for anyone with an Apple watch who wants the new metrics introduced in WatchOS9 buy the "HealthFit" app (£4ish) and follow along.
  1. Don't use the Strava watch app.
  2. Turn off permissions that allow Strava to write data to your Health app. Only READ should be permitted i.e. you don't want Strava messing about with your activity data.
  3. Install HealthFit and enable all read and write permissions.
  4. Login to Strava within HealthFit and enable auto upload from HealthFit > Strava
  5. Record your run using the Apple Workout app on the watch

When you run, it will now sync directly from Apple > HealthFit > Strava with the benefit of all of the new Apple metrics (run power, cadence, vertical oscillation, ground contact time etc).

It also means you can grab the Apple activity badges for workouts, if that's your thing :p:D
 
Last edited:
Dammit, i've been having battery issues with my Fenix 6X where it's only lasting ~10hours in GPS mode whereas it should last much longer. Tried Garmin support who offered to replace the battery for £160. I declined on the basis i could probably sell mine and put that £160 towards it and get a brand new Fenix 6X with full warranty etc.

Then upgraditis kicked in. I figured "Why spend £430 on a Fenix 6X when i could spend £650 on a Fenix 7x Solar with even better battery". Got the order in yesterday, but then decided to do a factory reset on mine and ever since it's now showing pretty much double the battery life. Usually it would drop ~6% overnight, yet from 8pm last night to now it's only dropped 2%.

Tried to cancel the 7X but it's already being processed and i'd need to return it. Unsure whether my willpower will be able to resist it once it's actually here!


In actual running news, my foot still isn't right. Just as i was hitting the point of thinking i might make it through the year without injury :(
 
Last edited:
I'd just keep it :-)

You can still sell the other one, and everyone (Wife, Bank, You, Garmin and Your Customer) will be happy.
 
Stop it you! My current watch is doing super you. Less than 8% drop after 26 hours including a one hour run using optical Hr and a decent amount of messing with settings etc.

I need to stay sensible. Is the extra features really worth £300!
Touchscreen doesn’t bother me much. I don’t need running power in my watch as I get it in my HR strap so the benefits are mainly battery related and the fact you control the settings via the phone app.
 
Last edited:
Annoyingly I went for a long run on the weekend (half mar) and taped up the inside of both feet with zinc oxide tape as my shoes were giving me trouble over 15km.

All was well until the end of the run where I took off my shoes and found that the tape had been put on slightly too tight which had stopped my foot from stretching out. This put pressure on the outside edge of my feet and after the adrenaline stopped I found even walking was painful.

Removed the tape after a soak in the bath and whilst the inside of my feet were fine the upper side had developed some cuts/abrasions from the chaffing tape.

Seeing as they were nothing more than grazes I thought everything would be fine this week and cracked on, covering them with plasters for longer runs…. Until yesterday. Got 7km in to a 10km and the grazes were rubbing on the inside of my shoes to the point it felt like I was running on knives. Bloody grazes!

Abandoned the run thinking I’d walk the final stint to the car only to realise it also hurt like **** to walk. I rarely get blisters but these are grazes… I’d have laughed at you if you’d suggest I’d ever have to stop a run because of a little cut.

I’m so frustrated. Even walking around in the office with some trainers and some decent socks on and I can feel the grazes rubbing on my shoes :(

…worse still, I tend to run every-other day to maintain fitness and take the dog for walks on my off days and I could feel the pain on todays walk. I don’t really want to sacrifice my run tomorrow but I honestly can’t see me surviving a 5k without some level of pain and I can’t really stop as I’ve got a 10k race on 30th Oct arrgggh.
 
Last edited:
I've now turned my back on the Fenix line and switched to the Forerunner series, loving the fact it's so much lighter. Also bought some NB Hierro v7 for winter runs along the river and some new Gore leggings. Expensive end to the month for this cheap form of exercise :D
 
Black Noir said:
…worse still, I tend to run every-other day to maintain fitness and take the dog for walks on my off days and I could feel the pain on todays walk. I don’t really want to sacrifice my run tomorrow but I honestly can’t see me surviving a 5k without some level of pain and I can’t really stop as I’ve got a 10k race on 30th Oct arrgggh.
Click to expand...
You're not going to lose 10k fitness in a week, take a few days off.
 
Anyone any luck in the London Marathon ballot? 9th time in a row rejected today.

Kinda feel they should somehow factor in how many people have been rejected multiple times.
 
omnomnom said:
Anyone any luck in the London Marathon ballot? 9th time in a row rejected today.

Kinda feel they should somehow factor in how many people have been rejected multiple times.
Click to expand...
4th nope in a row for me. I'd love to know the statistics behind the ballot.

I'd do the charity thing but don't believe in the big charities where the money gets sunk into back-office nonsense & salaries. Good for age time? Sub 3 hours. I can barely crack sub-4 (and haven't since my first two marathons) but maybe I can pull out a miracle at Manchester in April.
 
Dup said:
4th nope in a row for me. I'd love to know the statistics behind the ballot.

I'd do the charity thing but don't believe in the big charities where the money gets sunk into back-office nonsense & salaries. Good for age time? Sub 3 hours. I can barely crack sub-4 (and haven't since my first two marathons) but maybe I can pull out a miracle at Manchester in April.
Click to expand...
Yeah, sub-3 is an outrageous ask for most people (which in fairness is the point).

I think there are 17k ballot places and were about 450k entrants, so it's absurd. In all honesty I feel a bit sheepish about getting in first time.
 
manic111 said:
Yeah, sub-3 is an outrageous ask for most people (which in fairness is the point).

I think there are 17k ballot places and were about 450k entrants, so it's absurd. In all honesty I feel a bit sheepish about getting in first time.
Click to expand...

Don't, it'll be an awesome event with amazing atmosphere. Congrats!

I can't say I'd do it justice anyway, I want to be fast and I just can't get myself away from other projects and gaming to learn how to train & run properly so maybe I can focus on that instead. Maybe a good for age time will come from it.

I might just enter all the majors and see if one lands - Tokyo 2024? (would be amazing :D)
 
Dup said:
Don't, it'll be an awesome event with amazing atmosphere. Congrats!

I can't say I'd do it justice anyway, I want to be fast and I just can't get myself away from other projects and gaming to learn how to train & run properly so maybe I can focus on that instead. Maybe a good for age time will come from it.

I might just enter all the majors and see if one lands - Tokyo 2024? (would be amazing :D)
Click to expand...
I've run a ton before, but never a marathon. I was meant to be doing Valencia in December but have pulled out as injury cut into my training. The hope was to get a couple under my belt and then aim to get into London! I guess it's just come earlier than planned! Excited though :D

Tokyo would be awesome. I really want to do Boston as well (my mum's home town).
 
Dup said:
Don't, it'll be an awesome event with amazing atmosphere. Congrats!

I can't say I'd do it justice anyway, I want to be fast and I just can't get myself away from other projects and gaming to learn how to train & run properly so maybe I can focus on that instead. Maybe a good for age time will come from it.

I might just enter all the majors and see if one lands - Tokyo 2024? (would be amazing :D)
Click to expand...
One thing about the atmosphere I found... getting in on a GFA meant I was focussed on going for it and so London was no more memorable than a few other city based events, and far less memorable than a lot of others I'd done. The only thing I really remember was the GFA start and being cheered on by family at the 6 mile mark. Don't recall anything else really that made it stand out. It is a quick course though.

That said, I think it would be very different occasion starting with the masses and probably a more enjoyable one.
 
Rejected 5th time in a row for me. What made it worse was seeing the TCS email then their site dying from all of the people checking their entry status :(

Bit of a rant but they ought to require you some sort of proof that you're a capable runner or at least have completed some sort of chip timed event over a reasonable distance to qualify. I'm not talking about GFA or qualifying events with specific times but rather "have you ran a half marathon or greater in the last 6 months? submit your result before proceeding". I know a few office workers who've entered because they've seen it on TV and think it's "a bit of fun" (which is commendable) but they end up getting a place in the ballot only to walk the event or pull out the night before. Charity entries and fun runners should definitely be a part of the day, but I feel they should be capped to x% to allow the more serious runners an opportunity to get involved.

As it stands, the only guaranteed ways to run it are via the ballot (some say less than 3% chance of getting an entry) paid entries with events companies that do entry + hotel deals or charity places that require £2000+ fundraising per entrant.

Personally speaking I find the GFA times are pretty outrageous unless you're aproaching elite level. Maybe that's the point but if you're already good enough to be considered elite then you should be part of an athletic club and be guaranteed spaces via that route - 6:45/mile or 4:15/km average (sub 3hrs) is a pace most people couldn't maintain over 5km, never mind a marathon :eek:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom