Do you HAVE to have an even mileage?
Replies
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.01 is like what... 15 steps or something? So yeah, I'd go the extra distance to make it hit the next mile marker. 4.99 would drive me nuts!! Haha!
.01 miles is 16 meters, so yes, it's not far at all. So my point is it doesn't matter, and there's no reason to run the extra distance just to have your GPS give a round number. I'll only make the effort to run a bit farther if I'm off my plan by a half mile or more -- now you are talking real distance, that matters in your training.
It does bug me if I run a 5K and the distance turns out to be something like 3.05 instead of 3.1 (or more). Then you feel like your time doesn't "count." I set a 20-second PR in a 5K last fall but I don't count it because the distance came up short.0 -
It does bug me if I run a 5K and the distance turns out to be something like 3.05 instead of 3.1 (or more). Then you feel like your time doesn't "count." I set a 20-second PR in a 5K last fall but I don't count it because the distance came up short.
Short on your Garmin? Was the course certified?
Recreational GPS units are designed to give you a reading as often as possible, even if it isn't accurate. I got to help my wife with her Master's thesis field work and she was using a professional GPS unit. Her readings weren't considered accurate without a certain number of satellites contributing. Every once in a while, we had to take a break and wait for more satellites to come into view.
With a recreational device, it won't tell you when there aren't enough satellites for accuracy. It will just draw a straight line between the two points it was able to get. If you went around a corner while this was happening, it will cut the corner off and tell you that you didn't go as far as you actually did.
Obviously, being out in the woods is the worst situation, but buildings can cause a big problem too. I only trust mine when I'm running out in the open, but even then a lack of available satellites would diminish accuracy.0 -
I care. It would drive me bonkers to not round up. But I have problems with running 6 km or 8 km instead of an even 10 km as well.0
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It does bug me if I run a 5K and the distance turns out to be something like 3.05 instead of 3.1 (or more). Then you feel like your time doesn't "count." I set a 20-second PR in a 5K last fall but I don't count it because the distance came up short.
Short on your Garmin? Was the course certified?
Recreational GPS units are designed to give you a reading as often as possible, even if it isn't accurate. I got to help my wife with her Master's thesis field work and she was using a professional GPS unit. Her readings weren't considered accurate without a certain number of satellites contributing. Every once in a while, we had to take a break and wait for more satellites to come into view.
With a recreational device, it won't tell you when there aren't enough satellites for accuracy. It will just draw a straight line between the two points it was able to get. If you went around a corner while this was happening, it will cut the corner off and tell you that you didn't go as far as you actually did.
Obviously, being out in the woods is the worst situation, but buildings can cause a big problem too. I only trust mine when I'm running out in the open, but even then a lack of available satellites would diminish accuracy.
I liked this old post on the subject of people who wonder why their GPS has a different distance than what the race officials publish: http://measure.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/89510622/m/4963014440 -
It depends. If my run was supposed to be 6 miles I am ok with 6.12 but not 5.89. I will round down but not up.
^^^^ this.0 -
It does bug me if I run a 5K and the distance turns out to be something like 3.05 instead of 3.1 (or more). Then you feel like your time doesn't "count." I set a 20-second PR in a 5K last fall but I don't count it because the distance came up short.
Short on your Garmin? Was the course certified?
Recreational GPS units are designed to give you a reading as often as possible, even if it isn't accurate. I got to help my wife with her Master's thesis field work and she was using a professional GPS unit. Her readings weren't considered accurate without a certain number of satellites contributing. Every once in a while, we had to take a break and wait for more satellites to come into view.
With a recreational device, it won't tell you when there aren't enough satellites for accuracy. It will just draw a straight line between the two points it was able to get. If you went around a corner while this was happening, it will cut the corner off and tell you that you didn't go as far as you actually did.
Obviously, being out in the woods is the worst situation, but buildings can cause a big problem too. I only trust mine when I'm running out in the open, but even then a lack of available satellites would diminish accuracy.
I liked this old post on the subject of people who wonder why their GPS has a different distance than what the race officials publish: http://measure.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/89510622/m/496301444
Every USATF Certified course I have run has always measured over on my Garmin, which is exactly what I would suspect. I have run many non-certified courses and their measurements are anywhere from 2/10 under to 3/10 over. Based on this, I believe my Garmin to be very accurate, probably with less than 100m margin of error over 10 miles.0 -
Short on your Garmin? Was the course certified?It does bug me if I run a 5K and the distance turns out to be something like 3.05 instead of 3.1 (or more). Then you feel like your time doesn't "count." I set a 20-second PR in a 5K last fall but I don't count it because the distance came up short.
Yep, I have run courses that were short on my Garmin and certified. The problem is, the course isn't necessarily set up correctly. If the race organizer puts the start line in the wrong place then it doesn't matter how carefully the distance was measured.
It's more common on non-certified courses but it can happen anywhere.0 -
If I am on a treadmill or running the same frequent route I have measured before, my mileage is often even. That being said I don't care much and when running a random route or with a friend/group mileage does not matter.0
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That is me! I use Map My Run to plan my route and figure out which cul--de-sacs to run down or to skip to get my even mileage. Now that I have a GPS watch I will keep running past my house till I reach that even number.0
