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Analysis of Apple Watch running data

applewatchrunner.substack.com

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Re: Analysis of Apple Watch running data

#81

Post by Maursault »

thebigspacefuck wrote: post #77
Maursault wrote: post #67

I question the validity of the application. Apple seems to be promoting physical health while simultaneously leveraging mental illness to increase revenue. I grant that this is an actual business space, accessorizing and promoting fitness, but these computerized accessories fundamentally distract from the individual's primary goal of getting in shape, leading to reliance on computerized devices that are unnecessary t…

It’s not necessary, but being able to measure improvement is highly motivating. Part of the fun of the sport for some of us is being able to experiment with variables like nutrition, heart rate zones, pacing , etc and measuring the impact on performance. I’ve had a Garmin watch since 2009 and I have always enjoyed being able to know I hit a new pace or distance. It also makes it easy to run on a new trail for X miles…

Whatever it takes to get you moving, but it is a little self-deceptive to ignore or replace natural incentives for fitness with artificial incentives of mere shadows on a cave wall. Perhaps the real world is a little boring, but it has the distinct advantage of being authentic.

Re: Analysis of Apple Watch running data

#82

Post by bastawhiz »

m1gu3l wrote: post #75
kodisha wrote: post #58

Semi related iWatch Rant - if you think running data is bad, try tracking your sleep. It just doesn't work. - Sleep for 3h - wake up for 1, sleep for 5 more: records 3h only. - (being a parent of a small baby) do not sleep at all during the night, sleep 4+3 hours during the day: 0 hours recorded - sleep trough the night but wake up every 90-100 minutes (baby again): 0 hours recorded Damn, this is a $500+ device, and…

Sleep tracking always seemed like nonsense to me. You either know you are getting restful sleep or know you are not, and if you are not time is probably better spent taking a proactive approach to establishing healthier lifestyle habits that will lead to more restful sleep. How much is it worth really, to wake up and know exactly how much time you were tossing around not getting rest? I’d imagine you would feel it, s…

I had an Oura ring for a while and found it to be quite accurate. Using it, I found myself adjusting my routine to prioritize sleep.

> You either know you are getting restful sleep or know you are not...I’d imagine you would feel it, statistics or not.

How I feel doesn't always correlate with good sleep. It's just one variable. Knowing whether my sleep is good lets me know that I should be looking at other problems.

Or, in some cases, I am in bed for eight hours, but the quality of my sleep by the numbers is bad. It's not that I'm not getting enough sleep, it's that something is affecting my sleep. Spicy food too late in the evening? Too much caffeine? Not enough hydration throughout the day? It's hard to be mindful of the things that make my sleep worse unless I actually know when my sleep wasn't great.

Re: Analysis of Apple Watch running data

#83

Post by macintux »

Maursault wrote: post #81
thebigspacefuck wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s not necessary, but being able to measure improvement is highly motivating. Part of the fun of the sport for some of us is being able to experiment with variables like nutrition, heart rate zones, pacing , etc and measuring the impact on performance. I’ve had a Garmin watch since 2009 and I have always enjoyed being able to know I hit a new pace or distance. It also makes it easy to run on a new trail for X miles…

Whatever it takes to get you moving, but it is a little self-deceptive to ignore or replace natural incentives for fitness with artificial incentives of mere shadows on a cave wall. Perhaps the real world is a little boring, but it has the distinct advantage of being authentic.

I make absolutely zero apologies for the fact that the rings on my Watch helped me lose 40 pounds last year. Sure, I’m gaming myself, but good grief.

Re: Analysis of Apple Watch running data

#84

Post by sroussey »

mtts wrote: post #54
rajman187 wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's right, GPS error can be on the order of 10s of meters, worse in urban environments. Google (and presumably Apple) use WPS to enhance location data, meaning a triangulation (simplification here) or location based on known WiFi router and bluetooth beacon positions. They also have a team dedicated to more complex geometric calculations of how the GPS signal may be reflected given the known positions of buildings…

This used to be true, but in 2000 (!)the US government enabled the full range of GPS features for civilian use, vastly improving the accuracy of GPS receivers. GPS.gov says single band receivers should be able to get less than 2m accuracy. Dual band units, like the latest Garmin Forerunner watches, can do much, much better.

Wi-Fi is stilled used for cold start — gives you a radius before GPS lock. As far as I know at least

Re: Analysis of Apple Watch running data

#85

Post by Oras »

kodisha wrote: post #58

Semi related iWatch Rant - if you think running data is bad, try tracking your sleep. It just doesn't work. - Sleep for 3h - wake up for 1, sleep for 5 more: records 3h only. - (being a parent of a small baby) do not sleep at all during the night, sleep 4+3 hours during the day: 0 hours recorded - sleep trough the night but wake up every 90-100 minutes (baby again): 0 hours recorded Damn, this is a $500+ device, and…

I used Garmin Fenix 5 for sleep tracking and it has similar issues. In fact, if I sleep during the day, it doesn’t recognise it as a sleep! I checked the garmin support forums and some other users reported the same thing but garmin didn’t care to fix.

Re: Analysis of Apple Watch running data

#86

Post by ntonozzi »

kelp wrote: post #52
minton wrote: post #48

> For me an average pace of 3:52 is great, while 4:12 is very bad. Um, that’s very fast. At my pace (8:45 or 5:26 in km), I barely notice the discrepancies on my Apple Watch 7.

I think the op is talking in kilometers and you’re talking miles.

A 40 minute 10k is very fast, especially for a training run that is done many times a week.

Re: Analysis of Apple Watch running data

#87

Post by feross »

kodisha wrote: post #58

Semi related iWatch Rant - if you think running data is bad, try tracking your sleep. It just doesn't work. - Sleep for 3h - wake up for 1, sleep for 5 more: records 3h only. - (being a parent of a small baby) do not sleep at all during the night, sleep 4+3 hours during the day: 0 hours recorded - sleep trough the night but wake up every 90-100 minutes (baby again): 0 hours recorded Damn, this is a $500+ device, and…

Ditch the built-in sleep tracking and use Autosleep.

Re: Analysis of Apple Watch running data

#88

Post by samastur »

According to my Apple Watch I must be the slowest swimmer in the world. I've just spent 3 weeks on the Adriatic coast, swimming an hour twice a day and I lost count of times my watch reported swimming distance of less than 100m (with an absolute low of 4m).

Luckily for me I use it mainly to see how long I've been swimming and don't care about other data because it is obviously useless.

Re: Analysis of Apple Watch running data

#89

Post by derefr »

m1gu3l wrote: post #75
kodisha wrote: post #58

Semi related iWatch Rant - if you think running data is bad, try tracking your sleep. It just doesn't work. - Sleep for 3h - wake up for 1, sleep for 5 more: records 3h only. - (being a parent of a small baby) do not sleep at all during the night, sleep 4+3 hours during the day: 0 hours recorded - sleep trough the night but wake up every 90-100 minutes (baby again): 0 hours recorded Damn, this is a $500+ device, and…

Sleep tracking always seemed like nonsense to me. You either know you are getting restful sleep or know you are not, and if you are not time is probably better spent taking a proactive approach to establishing healthier lifestyle habits that will lead to more restful sleep. How much is it worth really, to wake up and know exactly how much time you were tossing around not getting rest? I’d imagine you would feel it, s…

> You either know you are getting restful sleep or know you are not

Not true. A lot of people with chronic sleep problems (e.g. sleep apnea) feel tired during the day but have no idea why, and don't wake up during the night or have any other direct symptoms that would lead them to have a strong hypothesis for "bad sleep" being the root cause.

Re: Analysis of Apple Watch running data

#90

Post by tr33house »

12ian34 wrote: post #62

I'm delighted with my Fitbit Charge 5. Costs a fraction of the Apple Watch, don't need to buy into the Apple Ecosystem to make it useful. Tracks my sleep and fitness shockingly well. The official app is surprisingly good, and there's an API that works pretty well and has endpoints for most if not all the data. That said, I'm a casual exerciser, not a proper hardcore sportsperson. For those I'd say avoid a lifestyle d…

Just got this too and I love it so far
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