Not easy at all, nigh on impossible if it's pouring rain or you've just given it your all and are a sweaty knackered mess! That's when touchscreen buttons are useless and you need buttons.
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Watch for runners
- Thread starter unclejamaal
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Not easy at all, nigh on impossible if it's pouring rain or you've just given it your all and are a sweaty knackered mess! That's when touchscreen buttons are useless and you need buttons.
The new armbands give pretty good accuracy but they're still optical! For the best accuracy I would go chest strap as they read the electrical impulses from your heart.
Some say the chest straps are a little more uncomfortable to wear but they don't bother me at all so I go with them.
I've been a Garmin user since the big, boxy Forerunner 101. The number one thing that keeps me with Garmin over an Apple or Android watch is battery life. Charging my Venu 2 every 5 to 7 days is where I want to be. I'd love to try an AW Ultra, but I want the better battery life Garmin delivers.
Oh... of course. Armbands would have to be optical. Chest strap it is. Got any favorite chest straps to recommend? Not needing anything fancy.
I'm doing a block of marathon training using the Apple Watch Series 6 as my only training watch. Works great for my needs. I often use a HR chest strap from Garmin that I originally bought for my bike computer (a Garmin Edge 530) as it gives more accurate and instant results than any optical HR meter can, but on easier rides and runs I just use the watch's sensor without any issues. I moved away from a Garmin watch in order to have Apple Music and my podcasts always with me as I prefer to not bring a phone with me unless I'm far away from home. I have the GPS only version and just download what I want to bring (podcasts update automatically of course).
Garmin devices/serivces have more training features built in, but with the Apple Watch it is easy to install any thing you like to replace those capabilities. My three current favorites are WorkOutDoors for general activities (and for downloading trail maps to the watch), Athlytic for tracking recovery and sleep, and Runna for my structured marathon training. Then of course there are other good apps like Apple's Workouts and Strava.
I just got the battery replaced on my 4 year old Series 6 and it can easily handle 3-4 hours of running without me worrying about the battery. If I have my phone with me the battery will last much longer as the iPhone is used for the GPS tracking.
Garmin devices/serivces have more training features built in, but with the Apple Watch it is easy to install any thing you like to replace those capabilities. My three current favorites are WorkOutDoors for general activities (and for downloading trail maps to the watch), Athlytic for tracking recovery and sleep, and Runna for my structured marathon training. Then of course there are other good apps like Apple's Workouts and Strava.
I just got the battery replaced on my 4 year old Series 6 and it can easily handle 3-4 hours of running without me worrying about the battery. If I have my phone with me the battery will last much longer as the iPhone is used for the GPS tracking.
I use the Polar H10 (the Gold Standard of chest straps) but prior to that I had a wahoo Tickr which also did the job.
I guess we just will disagree. Certainly I have no difficulty swiping right to the pause/end/segment display, and I have used the AW in every possible weather condition since v1 AW. Like I said, I tolerate +/- one or two seconds, no problem. If I want more precise accuracy (e.g. 100m times, which personally I never need), I would use the stopwatch function, which on the AWUltra is either a display touch choice or a button; I still would use the display touch.
I would suggest that any runner buying an AW should buy the AW Ultra, any version. As to battery, I have never had an issue. IMO only an ultra runner exceeding ~18 hours run time might want a device with better battery life, but that is just a guess based on the fact that I have never personally had the AW Ultra [first version] run down the battery in less than ~ a 24-hour period, and also I have never trained at ultra distances. YMMV obviously, and newer versions of the AW Ultra have more modern batteries.
Qualifier: I liked the other AWs but absolutely love the AW Ultra. It suits me perfectly as a watch.
I have an AW ultra and a Garmin Fenix
Both are fantastic but they do different things.
AW is by far the best fitness watch.
Garmin is by far the best training watch.
I use AW to monitor my running, weight workouts, walking, HIIT sessions. It provides excellent quality feedback about my condition and performance. It offers me praise and celebration for the times I get up and actually do some thing. I am currently using it to monitor my training for the Paris Marathon.
My Garmin is amazing if I train for a half marathon, it builds a program for me, monitors my progress and adjusts it accordingly based on my performance. It doesn’t have a marathon programme!
But it is brutal. The times when I have finished a fourteen mile run only to see the one word feedback is UNPRODUCTIVE are particularly dark. It means that I should have done something else, fartlecks or whatever, I don’t care, I’ve just done two hours.
Battery life - inconsequential
If you use AW you will have got in the habit of charging every night. It’ll more than last.
Best thing. I run every Thursday, listening to my music and podcasts, to the pub, where I use Apple Pay to buy beer. All with my iPhone at home.
Both are fantastic but they do different things.
AW is by far the best fitness watch.
Garmin is by far the best training watch.
I use AW to monitor my running, weight workouts, walking, HIIT sessions. It provides excellent quality feedback about my condition and performance. It offers me praise and celebration for the times I get up and actually do some thing. I am currently using it to monitor my training for the Paris Marathon.
My Garmin is amazing if I train for a half marathon, it builds a program for me, monitors my progress and adjusts it accordingly based on my performance. It doesn’t have a marathon programme!
But it is brutal. The times when I have finished a fourteen mile run only to see the one word feedback is UNPRODUCTIVE are particularly dark. It means that I should have done something else, fartlecks or whatever, I don’t care, I’ve just done two hours.
Battery life - inconsequential
If you use AW you will have got in the habit of charging every night. It’ll more than last.
Best thing. I run every Thursday, listening to my music and podcasts, to the pub, where I use Apple Pay to buy beer. All with my iPhone at home.
Just say "Hey Siri - Pause My Workout" - problem solved!
Battery is fine with 6 ish hours most of the time. If you want uploaded GPX routes to be able to follow, buy the WorkOutDoors app for $4.99, and it’ll give you a Garmin-like interface, and followable GPX routes, as well as insanely vast data customisation options.
I am not a big fan of armband trackers. I used them few years back at orange theory and life time. AW or my polar was much better than those. Chest straps are just too uncomfortable for me. In the end there are always trade offs.