General Discussion Triathlon Talk » How consistent is your running pace? Rss Feed  
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2010-07-28 6:31 AM

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Subject: How consistent is your running pace?
Just got back from a run on a pretty much pancake flat route.  Average pace was 9:50, but I noticed that my "instantaneous" pace from my Garmin fluctuates between 9:20 and 10:30.  Up, down, up, down in a kind of sinusoidal pattern with about a 0.2 mile period.

Is this a Garmin artifact, or me RPE pacing? (Speed up until I feel it, then back off some, repeat ad nauseum)

How consistent are you when you go out to run?


2010-07-28 6:49 AM
in reply to: #3009050

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Subject: RE: How consistent is your running pace?
7:02 to 12:30 per mile. Ignore the instant pace reading. It may have had a bad sat read for that sample and will make up for it on the next one. It may have not gotten any reading at all and is still showing the last reading.

It's not necessarily your running pace that's wavering, it's the mechanical device as well. Don't get too wrapped up in it. Better yet put a piece of tape over the readout and only look at the uploaded times. Even then just look at them over time (weeks/months) rather than comparing one single day to another.
2010-07-28 8:12 AM
in reply to: #3009050

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Subject: RE: How consistent is your running pace?
The instant pace on the Garmin does sometimes fluctuate.  Personally I have on one display my current pace, average pace of current lap (set to auto lap at one mile increments), and average pace of entire run.  I find between all three of these I have a very good idea of how my run is going.

If you really want to know how consistently you run set the autolap on the garmin to .25 miles and then go for a run.  Don't look at your watch at all during the run, and turn off the lap notification beeping and vibrating.  Look at the splits after your run and compare them to each other.  Try and do this on a flat course or perhaps a running track.  I'll bet your pace is fairly consistent or goes in a broad arc either form slower to faster, or slower to faster to slower.  But not by much.
2010-07-28 8:12 AM
in reply to: #3009050

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Subject: RE: How consistent is your running pace?
I did a couple runs last week wearing TWO identical Garmin 405's.  When watching their instantaneous pace, they were sometimes pretty close, but other times nearly 1:30 min/mi DIFFERENT between the two.  I was also surprised to find out how far off in distance they could be with each other.  My mile splits between the two were sometimes as close as 3 sec/mi, and sometimes as off as 12 sec/mi.  There were times that the two 405's were 150ft off in distance!

So, as stated above- ignore the instantaneous pace readout.  It's not very accurate.  (although I still look at it all the time)
2010-07-28 8:50 AM
in reply to: #3009050

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Subject: RE: How consistent is your running pace?
Ignore the instant pace. I change that to either "current lap pace" or "average pace".
2010-07-28 10:47 AM
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Subject: RE: How consistent is your running pace?

Don't 100% trust your Garmin.
It's accurate to within 3 feet when triangulating your position (and that's assuming you are at a spot that in the line of site of 3 satellites).  Over a distance of a couple of miles, the inaccuracy balances out, but looking at instant data is a farce.  Bike speed and run pace can lag.  I think they have some software updates but I believe there is some federal mandate that does not allow the GPS devised sold to the public to be too accurate.  Don't want some nut able to triangulate a position for an attack using a Garmin GPS unit from Best Buy...



2010-07-28 10:53 AM
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Subject: RE: How consistent is your running pace?
There's a technoweenie with way too much free time on the other site that just posted readings from his identical Garmins, worn on different wrists while running 10k's on the track so he could compare the distance measured depending on what arm it was on.

John
2010-07-28 1:04 PM
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Subject: RE: How consistent is your running pace?
I get the same thing on my G. Don't worry about the "real-time" pace.
2010-07-28 1:20 PM
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Subject: RE: How consistent is your running pace?
i get really excited when my 305 says i am doing a  3:40 min/mile instantaneous pace. . .

I also got really excited when i did a track workout and gained 750 ft elevation.  nothing like an uphill track!

The 305 is better then my guessing, and a lot more convenient than mapmyrun.com, but I usually compare it to my RPE to get a feel for accuracy. 

 
2010-07-28 1:24 PM
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Subject: RE: How consistent is your running pace?
morey000 - 2010-07-28 9:12 AM I did a couple runs last week wearing TWO identical Garmin 405's.  When watching their instantaneous pace, they were sometimes pretty close, but other times nearly 1:30 min/mi DIFFERENT between the two.  I was also surprised to find out how far off in distance they could be with each other.  My mile splits between the two were sometimes as close as 3 sec/mi, and sometimes as off as 12 sec/mi.  There were times that the two 405's were 150ft off in distance!



**cough**GEEK**cough**
2010-07-28 3:53 PM
in reply to: #3009050

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Subject: RE: How consistent is your running pace?
I agree with the other posters.

Ignore the instant pace.

I keep one screen with 'average pace' and one screen with 'average lap pace'.

As for accuracy, I run with my husband quite a bit.  He also wears a 310XT.  We have experimented with using 'instant pace' while running side by side-- it's all over the place.  That being said, we are usually within .01 of mile difference at the end of a run (and sometimes it's dead-on), so it pretty much averages itself out in the end. Close enough for me, anyway.


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