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Is my Garmin whack or am I crazy?

jburbattjburbatt
in General Training Discussions

So I went to analyze some of my run files from the past few weeks to determine if I need to retest because as I'm running my intervals (the 3 x 1mi, etc.) I'm noticing that I'm starting to hit my paces easier.  But then, I pull up the workouts in WKO (3.0) and it's telling me that I didn't run 1 mile in 7:30, but I actually only ran .83 miles so my pace is actually around a 8:23-30.  WTF?  I know I'm not hitting the lap counter before it hits 1 mile, and by rough estimate of the lakefront I'm pretty sure I'm running full miles.  Additionally, RPE is matching what feels like faster than an 8 min/mi.  I am almost 100% sure that I'm not running 8:23 intervals.  It seems to be this way for all my paces (like rest laps are listed in WKO as slower than the information I was getting real time). 

 

Has anyone else encoutered issues with WKO interpreting this data?  I'm running a Garmin Forerunner 305, and all the firmware is updated.  I know I can go out and test this but the weather in Chicago has been extremely shitty for the last few days so I haven't been able to, and it's driving me crazy wondering what's going on.

Comments

  • Scott AlexanderScott Alexander
    I just upgraded to WKO3.0, but is there a GPS correction option like 2.2 had?
  • Nemo BrauchNemo Brauch
    Jennifer, To answer your question: Yes, Both :-)

    There is a GPS/Elevation correction in WKO 3.0 as well. But I'm not sure that will fix Jennifer's problem. I'd need to dig through the forum (or head over to the Garmin Support Forum) to verify this, but I believe this is sort of a known issue. I've had the same experience. Garmin says X during my run, WKO says Y after the download. It's been a while since I've really paid much attention though since I've been injured so I'm mostly just running on feel these days.

    When you go back and review the data in the Garmin through History- does it actually say something different than what WKO says?
  • Nemo BrauchNemo Brauch
    Jennifer, To answer your question: Yes, Both :-)

    There is a GPS/Elevation correction in WKO 3.0 as well. But I'm not sure that will fix Jennifer's problem. I'd need to dig through the forum (or head over to the Garmin Support Forum) to verify this, but I believe this is sort of a known issue. I've had the same experience. Garmin says X during my run, WKO says Y after the download. It's been a while since I've really paid much attention though since I've been injured so I'm mostly just running on feel these days.

    When you go back and review the data in the Garmin through History- does it actually say something different than what WKO says?
  • TerryOTerryO
    What does Garmin Training Center say? Are the distances and paces correct there?
  • MattAaronsonMattAaronson
    For an error of that magnitude, I'd run a known distance on the Path and see what the watch and WHO come up with. I generally ignore WKO for the run because if you pause it does all kinds of wacky things with the pace calculation in terms of what time it is counting as "moving time". But distance should not be off...that is strange...
  • manconamancona
    That is strange.

    You have probably already done all of the following but the majority of my garmin issues are resolved by:
    - Hard Reset
    - Upgrade to the latest garmin firmware and also latest WKO/Device Agent
    - Ensure 1 second recording is on
    - Ensure you have acquired a signal before starting to run

    and I don't run in the city ;-)
  • jburbattjburbatt
    Haha, darn city running! But I feel very odd when I'm not running along the lake. I will try out all options mentioned even the ones I've tried already and see where that gets me. I'll report back on whether or not I'm crazy image Thanks all!
  • Michael ByertsMichael Byerts
    I have had the same issues with a 305 on trainingpeaks -- it keeps telling me that my 1 mile autolaps are .78-1.09 miles in length. What's weird is that the total distance for the entire workout is usually correct. I have reached the point at which I just ignore what trainingpeaks thinks the distance is and just use the lap time as my pace.
  • jburbattjburbatt
    Ok, let’s get weird.
    1. Checked out the history on the Garmin, all the runs, specifically the interval runs, show up correctly, i.e. I’m running 1 mile at anywhere between 7:38-7:58.
    2. Did a test run today on a section of the lakefront path I know is 1 mile. Both Garmin and WKO match up this time on both distance and pace.
    3. Went back and matched up history on the Garmin with WKO and found that when my Garmin recorded a 1 mile interval at a 7:52 that WKO says I only ran .852 miles and my duration is 7:10 but then in parentheses behind that it says 7:51. Not all my laps have parentheses though. Some do, and some don’t. What’s up with that?
    4. On my run today none of my laps had parentheses.
    Here’s my theory. Checking out my graphs there are a few gaps. These seem to correspond with the laps that have parentheses. So for some reason my Garmin is doing nothing but recording time during these sections. The parentheses time is the entire lap time, and the number before it is the time the Garmin is recording. Why I’m finding this strange is that I have a foot pod that is calibrated, so the Garmin is supposed to pick that up that once it loses GPS, but instead it’s not reading anything (I can tell cause it isn’t recording my cadence during that time either, but my cadence reads fine otherwise (I haven’t noticed any problem with it or it going out, but then I didn’t know the GPS was going out either)). Also, why is the Garmin capable of determining that I actually ran a mile but that information is not being translated to WKO? (WKO doesn’t do GPS data right? Isn’t that why the whole new Joule with GPS is being matched up with mapmyride? ) And if the distance data is wrong on the run information, is the distance data wrong on the bike information?

    I think this has solved my first query. Nice to know I’m not crazy, and that my running is improving ? Thanks for all the suggestions, hopefully this will prevent someone else from feeling nuts! If anyone has any answers or theories on the questions I’ve posed above I’d love to hear them.
  • MattAaronsonMattAaronson
    I've never understood the laps with perentheses in WKO other than to know they correspond (in my case) to laps where I stopped the wach at some point (for traffic, a water break, etc). In other words, WKO interprets the stopped time (the difference between recoding time and "elapsed time") as "time" for the purposes of various calculations. As for why the distance reads differently, I'm not sure...strange.

    Regarding the footpod, I do not believe the footpod overrides the GPS when the GPS is unavailable. In my case (I have a 405) you need to choose manually between footpod or GPS for distance. In any case on the lakefront path you should rarely - if ever - have a problem with the GPS signal.

    Sorry, I know I haven't exactly been helpful here...
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