Apps WorkOutDoors: New workout features

[cfc]

Love the app and I've been using it for about a year... But I've been having an issue recently. I'll try to describe it as best I can.

Series 6 AW with all software up-to-date.
Paired sensors via workoutdoors: Stryd and polar H-10
I'm running without my phone, so I'm using the AW GPS.

Lately I have been getting "dead spots" in some of my run data. After the run, in the "workout" tab of workoutdoors, there are sometimes sections that seem to contain no data. When I swipe my finger along the bottom, the arrow jumps right over the "dead spot." When I upload my data to runalyze (.fit) and strava, the dead spot is clear... a flatline on the graphs. No power, pace, or hr data for that section.

It doesn't happen on all runs. Seems random, but I might be missing something.

Here are a few links of what it looks like...
Near the beginning...

10,00 km General Aerobic in 1:01:51 (6:11/km) - 10KM WITH WU/CD

10,00 km General Aerobic in 1:01:51 (6:11/km) - 10KM WITH WU/CD

runalyze.com

7,50 km General Aerobic in 46:55 (6:15/km) - Meh...

7,50 km General Aerobic in 46:55 (6:15/km) - Meh...

runalyze.com

Near the end...

8,04 km Tempo/Threshold in 44:55 (5:35/km) - Cruise 3 x 9 mins

8,04 km Tempo/Threshold in 44:55 (5:35/km) - Cruise 3 x 9 mins

runalyze.com

And if it helps... I synced the same runs directly from the Stryd pod and all of the pace and power data is there.
Any ideas?

Please send the wkt file for such a workout to info@workoutdoors.net and I will take a look. To do this tap the Export button 3 times quickly.

 

[estesbubba]

Well after 6 weeks of no black areas, it came back this morning. I'm on the latest beta.

 

[cfc]

Well after 6 weeks of no black areas, it came back this morning. I'm on the latest beta.

View attachment 2035581

Oh well. To be honest if it's that rare and not a showstopper then I probably won't investigate further. I suspect it is something to do with the watchOS Scene Kit system, which the app uses to draw the map. If so then there may not be much I can do.

 

[Miggui]

Well after 6 weeks of no black areas, it came back this morning. I'm on the latest beta.

View attachment 2035581

Hi, the same for me on aw4. And latest watchOS. During few minutes in my run this morning and after maps were goods.

 

[muellered]

@cfc is there a way to “pause” a workout for long duration and resume later like with Garmin; like in the case of a multi-day hike, to pause it on the first evening and then resume the next morning?

 

[jon08]

I have noticed that the WOD Thunderforest maps update in just a few days after making OSM changes. Mapbox can take 1-2 weeks.

Sounds good! But did you have to clear the map cache in order for OSM changes to appear in WOD?

 

[cfc]

@cfc is there a way to “pause” a workout for long duration and resume later like with Garmin; like in the case of a multi-day hike, to pause it on the first evening and then resume the next morning?

Unfortunately not. When an app is running a workout it gets protection from being killed off by watchOS when that needs resources for another app. However when the workout is paused then it doesn't have this protection. This is generally fine for short pauses, but for overnight ones it would probably risk the app being killed off.

Of course if this happens then you don't lose any data because the app saves its state regularly. However it would mean starting a new workout. So you could leave it paused and in the worst case you would have to start a new workout in the morning, which you would anyway.

However the longer a workout is running then the more data the app uses. This is fine for single day workouts but may become a problem over many days because watchOS has a habit of killing off apps that use too much data, and its idea of "too much" is very low when compared to iOS apps.

In the future I may allow you to end a workout and then have a "resume last workout" option instead of starting a new one. This is on my to-do list but very rarely requested and therefore very low down the list. And I would have to be wary of allowing workouts to get too long and risk being killed off.

 

[cfc]

Sounds good! But did you have to clear the map cache in order for OSM changes to appear in WOD?

Yes, that would be necessary.

 

[dj1891]

Stupid question. As a runner I have no interest in the map, how can I get it out of the way and show only the info I need such as distance, pace, average pace, timer, time of day

 

[cfc]

Stupid question. As a runner I have no interest in the map, how can I get it out of the way and show only the info I need such as distance, pace, average pace, timer, time of day

Go to the Screens tab in the iPhone app and configure the screens to show whatever information you want. There are 4 layouts, each with 4 font sizes, and two of the layouts do not include maps.

 

[Akrapovic]

For those using WoD for Hiking - the Watch battery lasts significantly longer with the phone in AirPlane mode. Presumably this has nothing to do with WoD and is simply the watch and phone talking too much. But I had a back to back comparison over 2 x 7 hour hikes, on 2 consecutive days. The second day in Airplane mode finished with 40%, compared to about 10% the day before.

WoD hiking is a fantastic app btw. Given the amount of maps I download I'd be interested in making a donation payment @cfc . This is my most used app outside of WhatsApp, Music and Overcast and I feel like I want to contribute a bit more (I'm an indie dev, struggling to maintain traction with my app)

 

[cfc]

For those using WoD for Hiking - the Watch battery lasts significantly longer with the phone in AirPlane mode. Presumably this has nothing to do with WoD and is simply the watch and phone talking too much. But I had a back to back comparison over 2 x 7 hour hikes, on 2 consecutive days. The second day in Airplane mode finished with 40%, compared to about 10% the day before.

WoD hiking is a fantastic app btw. Given the amount of maps I download I'd be interested in making a donation payment @cfc . This is my most used app outside of WhatsApp, Music and Overcast and I feel like I want to contribute a bit more (I'm an indie dev, struggling to maintain traction with my app)

That is interesting about the iPhone being in AirPlane mode reducing the battery consumption of the watch. As you say the only thing that may make a difference is communication between the devices. My suspicion is that another app may have been sending a large amount of data to the watch on the first day (e.g. podcasts, audiobook etc). This is the usual culprit when WOD can't send data from the iPhone to the watch and may also be the cause here.

Many thanks for the offer of a donation but I don't have a mechanism set up for it. I prefer people to spread the word about the app instead, which is what you have done several times on these forums, and which is greatly appreciated. If Apple ever provide a tip jar mechanism that doesn't make it look like the app has an in-app purchase then I will probably implement it, but as far as I know that isn't possible yet.

Good luck with your app!

 

[xxBlack]

Any news on a always on display feature? Especially while riding bike it would be a huge improvement

 

[cfc]

Any news on a always on display feature? Especially while riding bike it would be a huge improvement

It requires a significant part of the app to be rewritten in Apple's latest coding language (SwiftUI) so it will take a while. I have started working on it as a background task but at the moment I am focussed on the watchOS 9 changes for when that is released next month.

If Apple do not spring any surprises next month then I will have a chance to focus on the Always on Display changes. However all the rumours are pointing to a new watch with a different size screen at the very least, and maybe more things that I will need to change the app for (one or two extra configurable physical buttons would be nice).

The Always on Display is high on my to-do list but unfortunately Apple tend to drive what I focus on at this time of year, so I probably won't make much headway for the next couple of months (unless Apple suddenly decide not to force developers to use their latest toys in order to use the AOD).

 

[Maryn]

In the future I may allow you to end a workout and then have a "resume last workout" option instead of starting a new one. This is on my to-do list but very rarely requested and therefore very low down the list. And I would have to be wary of allowing workouts to get too long and risk being killed off.

+1

 

[NME42]

First time since I while I was using a treadmill for running and wanted to an interval schedule.
Was surprised that I had no workouts on my watch and was wondering why this is the case.

Is there any reason why outdoor and indoor running do not share interval schedules? Find it a little bit cumbersome to program schedules again which I already have ready for outdoor running.

 

[cfc]

First time since I while I was using a treadmill for running and wanted to an interval schedule.
Was surprised that I had no workouts on my watch and was wondering why this is the case.

Is there any reason why outdoor and indoor running do not share interval schedules? Find it a little bit cumbersome to program schedules again which I already have ready for outdoor running.

It's just not something that has been requested much (maybe just once or twice). I plan to improve the schedules at some time with the ability to import them from FIT files, so I will bear it in mind then.

 

[southpaw2five]

Hello, will there be an option to make running power (or power in general ie biking also) a target metric when running power comes to watch OS

 

[southpaw2five]

Hello, will there be an option to make running power (or power in general ie biking also) a target metric when running power comes to watch OS

Oh my I didn’t even look. It appears it’s already a thing. Sorry about that!

 

[jon08]

Yes, that would be necessary.

How do I do that? Is it by tapping “Remove all map tiles…”? Should I do it both in iPhone and Watch?

 

[cfc]

How do I do that? Is it by tapping “Remove all map tiles…”? Should I do it both in iPhone and Watch?

Either should work.

 

[cfc]

Oh my I didn’t even look. It appears it’s already a thing. Sorry about that!

No worries - power targets were added as part of the Stryd functionality.

The watchOS 9 version will also have power and pace zones, so there will also be "power zone" and "pace zone" targets, just as there currently is a "heart zone" target.

 

[j0hnmerrick]

Unfortunately this is controlled by watchOS. The app simply asks watchOS to speak a phrase. You can change the accent in the Voice settings though, which may help.

The application is fantastic, thank you.
I just wish I understood your answer about the available voices.
How do applications like waze which offers a lot of languages. they have redeveloped a software brick? It uses a paid lib?
Since 1 week I switched back to the apple workpout application (to have the power data) and it's true that having a voice in your language is great.

 

[cfc]

The application is fantastic, thank you.
I just wish I understood your answer about the available voices.
How do applications like waze which offers a lot of languages. they have redeveloped a software brick? It uses a paid lib?
Since 1 week I switched back to the apple workpout application (to have the power data) and it's true that having a voice in your language is great.

There is a difference between a language and an accent. WOD is only in English but offers voices with different accents. This is because numbers are spoken in a different language if you use a different accent. For example when WOD asks Siri to speak "Heart 150" in French then it will say the English word "Heart" in a French accent but then read out the number in French.

If the app does ever get successful then I will pay someone to help translate it. However there are hundreds of metrics with descriptions, so it would take a long time. It would mean repeatedly trying phrases until they fit on each of the 6 sizes of watch screens (maybe soon to be 7 or 8 sizes). This would require access to the code and a lot of interaction with me, so I would want them to sit beside me.

I imagine Waze and other big apps have a whole team of translators but I am just one guy who only speaks English. Also they may use a different mechanism to speak. Some apps with a limited number of phrases (so not WOD or Waze) may use recordings of real people rather than Siri, and so would sound better.

 

[jon08]

Nice to see peak altitudes in the latest update, thanks!