Lesser of 2 evils (GPS watch or GPS on phone)

kristinegift
kristinegift Posts: 2,406 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I have a conundrum. I've been going out running with my iPhone the last year or so, but decided to break out my old Garmin Forerunner 405 watch this week. My Garmin has always been a little "slow", but I got the feeling my phone was a bit "fast" when I completed a 5 mile run about a tenth of a mile (or more) earlier than I had mapped out this weekend. After running along some very familiar mile-landmarked routes with the two devices going simultaneously... I'm right about both. So which do I run with?

The Garmin watch is about .02-.04 miles (per mile) slow. But the phone is about .02-.04 miles (per mile) fast. The pace will differ by as much as 20 seconds PER MILE between the two devices for the same distance! I don't want to think I'm Lightning McQueen if I'm not, and I don't want to undertrain... however I also don't want to head out for a 5 miler and end up running 5.2 miles instead and think I've turned into a turtle overnight!

So... which would you pick? Which is the lesser of two evils in your mind? Both devices are comfortable to carry/wear, so that's not a factor. The only big thing is the distance & its effect on my pacing/training as I'm training to run a half marathon this fall, so the discrepancy could end up making a big difference!

Thanks!

Replies

  • aswearingen22
    aswearingen22 Posts: 271 Member
    The Garmin is the most accurate device you can have. The gps in your cell was not designed to work as you're using it, but works "ok" if that's all you have. I'm not sure what you're comparing the "actual" to be with Garmin, but the Garmin should likely be the measuring stick and if you're using mapmyrun or something, it will be slightly less accurate than your Garmin since it's taking into account your actual path, where you cross streets, where you drift left/right, etc.
  • Eric_DeCastro
    Eric_DeCastro Posts: 767 Member
    I too run with my phone's GPS and find it a little fast. I'm going to shell out for a garmin forerunner 210 so I would vote for the garmin being the better choice.
  • Mellyajc
    Mellyajc Posts: 142 Member
    I think consistency is more important than accuracy. Personally I'd go with the slower one rather than getting overly excited..and if you stick to the same device you shouldn't feel like a turtle.

    I have a 305 and love it. Battery isn't lasting more than a half hour anymore after 6 years, but trying to switch to my iPod clocked me at 5 minute miles and 5 miles on a loop my Garmin says is 3 (and seems about accurate from what I can tell. It's always matched pretty closely to race times.)

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