Autumn running

Last week I hit 3000km for 2016 - Way longer than last year! :-)

Totals of 8th November 2016

This year I've been running a lot more than I did last year. Last year I managed to conquer 1888km, and with almost two months left I might even almost double that number. So far I've passed 3000km which I'm very pleased about. I set a target some months back to hit 2016 miles (approx. 3244 km) in 2016. I'll pass that target in a few weeks time. It will be tough to cover twice the distance of last year (3776) - it's 666km from today - a nice "round" number ;-) 

In previous years I've been running a lot less. I've been running for a long time on and off, but throughout the previous years I've kept at it to push further to test my abilities. One question arises from that: 

How do I know where the limit is? 

I honestly don't know - and I think most people don't know their limits when it comes to running - even at anything in life... And what does it take for me to say: "This is it - this far but no further!"? - Yet again, I cannot answer that...
For now, however, I definitely don't feel like I've hit the wall just yet, so I'll continue to explore my capabilities as a runner. 

Regarding the Suunto Spartan Ultra, I've been so fortunate that I can keep the watch. I'll continue to test it as new software updates are released. The last update was for supporting Android phones for the Movescount interface. I've now managed to upload my exercise data via the phone (a bit slow though), and can now receive notifications from various phone apps on the watch display using Bluetooth. This works fine, though I'd love to be able to deactivate the sound when a notification is received! I now use some gel for solving the HR issues. Works just fine, though it should not be necessary, but apparently it is for me!
UPDATE: I'm now back to not using any gel - only water to wet the HR electrodes before an exercise, and it now works fairly reliable! I'm not sure if I'm doing anything differently or a software update has done the trick!

I've got some updates I'd like to see in future updates for the Suunto Spartan Ultra:

• Display your daily steps/calories in Movescount
• Use different colours in Movescount: when more than two data-inputs are selected, all data curves are white, except the last one chosen, which makes it hard to distinguishes them!
• The possibility to set HR range-alarms, pace-alarms, etc.
• Sounds/vibrations on/off for notifications
• Include avg. paddle rate/stroke rate for kayaking in the Movescount overview.

It's it definitely getting colder out there, and this morning we had sub-zero degrees in Oxford. I still chose to run in shorts though, which was just fine :-) And with the colder weather, comes darkness as well. I bring my Petzl Tikka XP head-torch for these mornings along with my high-vis vest - Both to be able to see but also to bee seen!

I've included some photos from this autumn, which can be found at the very bottom of this post. Please view them in full-screen :-)

Safe running out there :-)

#YouVsTheYear #RunWithFight #IWILL #SuuntoSpartan

Best M.
 

Suunto Spartan Ultra for a month: Week 4

Yet another update has arrived for the Suunto Spartan Ultra!! :-)

I'm pleased that Suunto keeps generating updates for the watch, and I'd very much like to follow their progress of updating the functionalities of this highly specked watch in the future. However, this might be my last week having the watch available for testing, so I will probably not get to test a fully optimised version of the watch and all the new functionalities such as interval planning and customised displays. :-( 

However, I'm very pleased to have had the opportunity to try it out and test it throughout September and I am very honoured that Suunto chose to include me in this with the customised packing of the watch and description for why I was chose and all.


Thank you very much Suunto!! :-) 


Right - I've updated the watch to software version 1.2.0 and the response time in the watch menu is now quite good. I believe the delay between pushing the start-button and actually start of the timer when starting an exercise session has been eliminated. :-) 

An alarm has been added for the everyday clock usage. However, it would be great if it was easier to access, e.g. together with the stopwatch instead of being located in the settings menu. You can also change colour of the clock-face. Moreover, you now get asked how your exercise was after a session. Sadly the support for Android phones have been delayed a bit and was not a part of this update as first planned.

It is now possible to see battery levels during an exercise session by tapping the display. I would very much like the battery level to be displayed when charging it as well.

I've tested the 3 GPS modes again after the software update, and it seems to be performing similar to my findings of last time. In OK-mode, where the update rate is 60 seconds, I'd expect a crude course. I do get a very crude estimated route, but not until several minutes into the run shown by the RED arrows below. The first part in OK-mode is actually very similar the GOOD and BEST modes (displayed by the GREEN arrows). The watch should be able to hold for 65 hours in OK-mode, but I think it's too crude for many purposes. The battery should last for 26 hours in GOOD-mode and 16 hours in BEST-mode.

I've been having some issues related to the heart-rate monitor ranging from disconnection to odd flat values to unrealistically high values while running at slow pace throughout the whole period of time I've been using the watch. And the run above was no exception... :-( 

There are still a few things I'd like to have added to the next updates:

• Make the auto-start of a session after approx. 30 sec. optional. 
• I'd like to have customised interchangeable icons/data areas on the main watch-face like battery levels, steps, calories, time of alarm, time to next planned session, temperature, etc.
• Customising the number of steps and calorie levels for the daily activity tracking
• Show all data in the overview of a session in Movescount. For example is "cadence" (stroke rate) not displayed for kayaking.
• Auto-estimate activity levels to be used in Movescount, instead of me having to set my levels manually - the watch is after all monitoring my activity 24/7 anyway... Why not exploit this?!
• Make it possible to track different types of kayaks and canoes (e.g. K1, K2 and K4) to be able to track PBs in each discipline.
• Show battery levels on the watch when charging   

3rd place at Henley Hasler - K2 Kayaking

It's a bit sad that I'll most likely have to return the watch now that things have started to come together and the basic usage is in place. I'd very much like to follow the progress though the next many months of updates to experience the continuous improvement of this highly specked multi-sport watch!

The Suunto Team seems to be listening to user-feedback and adjust the functionalities of the watch accordingly to give the users the best experience. I can only speculate, but my guess is, that this is the reason why they have put a not-fully-updated watch on the market - to get user feedback for optimising it for what ever the users want and desire.

However - It's been fun testing it, and although I've experienced a few issues, I still believe this watch has a great potential when fully updated! :-)

The next scheduled updates are: (From Suunto.com)

• 28.9. (Released on time) Improvements to daily use (such as alarm clock) and training functions, peer-to-peer coaching on Suunto Movescount.com. The Android compatibility is unfortunately delayed. We expect to release this within the first 3 weeks of October.
• 12.10. Ability to adjust default sport mode settings
• 19.10. Progress Tool, Personal Bests and Community Training Insights on Suunto Movescount.com 
• 26.10. Sport mode customisation, training plans to your watch and more 
• 11/2016 Altitude and Barometric trends, POI Navigation & heart rate zones graph for training
• 12/2016 Rest & recovery 
• Q1/2017 Route altitude profile, interval training support, performance and recovery analysis on the watch

#SuuntoSpartan Ultra

See you out there :-)

Best M.

PS: Views are my own! The watch has been provided by Suunto for me to test for a month, after which it has to be returned.

First week with the Suunto Spartan Ultra

I've had the Suunto Spartan Ultra for about week, and I've used it for my training as much as possible. I'm feeling very lucky to have been chosen by Suunto to use this brand new multi sport GPS watch, all wrapped up in personalised packing for me specifically. :-)

First of all, let me point out that two software updates have been planned for September, hence what I write about may be different for the fully updated version of the watch.
(Based on software release 1.1.24)

So - what's been happening? 

Stroke rate when kayaking

Till now I've been using the watch for running, kayaking and a bit of circuit training/strength training, casual biking and walking. In general the watch seems quite robustly build - this version has Sapphire glass and grade 5 Titanium. The wrist strap is very soft and flexible and the watch feels great on my arm. It weighs a little less than my Garmin Forerunner 310XT - 72 grams - and is similar in size, though a bit thinner. Hence, the watch feels quite normal to wear for me. 

Overview of my activities

The colour touch-screen is great though you can experience a tiny delay in the response. Great resolution and good viewing angles. The watch menu seem fairly intuitive to use, though there are places where the "back-stroke" (to go back in the menu) on the touch screen has not been chosen to be implemented, hence one need to use the buttons or scroll your way back to the top. But this is no big deal - it's probably just me not understanding, how the menu should work. But consistency would have been nice...

Back-tracking is possible

I wanted to use it for my long run in the weekend, but had some glitches. Firstly the watch froze displaying "Starting..." after I had started the session. For some reason the timer does not start immediately when the button is pressed, but displays "Starting..." for a brief moment and then starts the timer and logging. I find that a bit annoying - I want it to start when I press the button, and not a few moments after... Anyways, I had to reinstall the software on the watch via my laptop to get it going again. These issues will hopefully be solved with the software updates.


Later on my long run same day, I noticed that the watch had lost the connection to the heart rate monitor. I had to stop the session and start a new one to reconnect. Here after no problems were found. I also hope this is solved with the updates.

The chest strap is great - nice and soft, and so far, I haven't had any issues with chafing. It is barely noticeable. Of course an optical HR monitor would be great, but I have not had the best experiences with this technology while testing the Epson Runsense SF-810, where the HR at times could not be detected in cold weather or were faulty due to movement - especially in interval-sessions and hill-repeats. I believe Suunto is planning on launching an optical version around Christmas 2016. 

Clock shown in the white field.

I was about to bitch about the lack of displaying a clock when using the watch in a session. But I found out that I only needed to tap the screen, and a temporary clock appears for a few seconds. 

In the web app, you need to specify your level of activity. This I would have preferred to be estimated automatically - after all, the watch is measuring my activities 24/7, so why is this not automatically estimated?

Heat map

The web app can show maps of your exercise coloured relatively to how tough your workout were. It can also show a heat map displaying where most people in your area (or in other places) exercise the most, coloured in dark orange for running, and hereby discover new places to workout.

It would be great if I could transfer the watch data to my laptop without having to connect it via the charging cable e.g. via Bluetooth, which is already in the watch for connecting to your smart phone. However, the Android version for this is not yet ready. 

I love that the watch can be used for many different sports, especially kayaking where it estimates my stroke rate, but it is hard to test it's full potential when there are two updates waiting to be released. I'm looking very much forward to play around with the watch after the updates have been installed.

So far I'd say it's a great piece of gear, solid build, great display, support for multi-sport activities, though expensive, and it has the potential to be awesome once the updates are released :-)

See you out there...

#Suunto #SuuntoSpartan #SpartanUltra

Best M.

PS: Views are my own! The watch has been provided by Suunto for me to test for a month, after which it has to be returned.

Suunto Spartan Ultra for a month

Got a great message a few weeks

ago, that I had been selected along with 13 others, to test the new Suunto Spartan Ultra All Black Titanium HR multi sport GPS watch - all because of my Race To The Stones video footage ;-) I like this!! 

#SuuntoSpartan
Thank you Suunto! :-)

I'll have the watch in my possession for a month (September 2016), and will do my best to test it as much as possible in both running, kayaking and when mountain biking - and what other crazy things I can come up with... There are some challenges related to the testing, which in the end may lead to that I can keep the watch if I win. Let's see if I'm prepared to do what it takes...

The first impressions of the device is that it's robust and seems to be able to handle some tough conditions (made from titanium and sapphire glass), though it is fairly light and the wrist band is soft and flexible. The chest strap for heart-rate monitoring is also very soft, and I'm keen to find out if any chafing will occur on my longer runs (like with the original strap for my Garmin Forerunner 310XT! Now using the strap from my old Garmin Forerunner 305)

The touch screen works great, and the menu seems easy and relatively intuitive to use. There are some things which I'm missing a bit. A simple alarm when worn as a normal watch - this will be part of a software update (hopefully soon). 

There are some other functionalities, which hopefully will also be included in a soon-to-arrive software update. I wanted to use the watch for an interval session, but there are no settings for this (yet) even tough there's a sports-mode for it, which only change the screen layout. Therefore I had to use my Epson Runsense SF-810, which actually does great on that point (but is also lacking the normal "alarm"-thing).

It has 80 different pre-programmed sports-modes, and I'm pleased that it can be used for kayaking as well where it estimates the stroke-rate among other things. And should I capsize, the watch is waterproof down to 100m. It also tracks daily activity in terms of steps and calories burned. It estimates your recovery time and I miss some customisation of screens and activities (like intervals), but that will be coming with a software update (hopefully soon!).

Anyway - I'm gonna take it for some long runs this weekend and some more kayaking. I'll include mountain biking at some point as well, but lets see when I can find the time for it. So far I like the device very much, but the promised update of the software will make it even better! :-)

See you out there!! :-) 

#Suunto #SuuntoSpartan #SpartanUltra #RTTS2016

Best M.

PS: Views are my own! The watch has been provided by Suunto for me to test for a month, after which it has to be returned.

UPDATE: A list of planned updates for September can be found here!