10K + GPS Watch Confusion/Frustration

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RachelReady2Run
RachelReady2Run Posts: 40 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Ok, I'll admit, my first mistake was - I didn't run with the watch BEFORE the race... well, once a few months ago. I borrowed it from a friend.

The problem is, I ran the 10k and the watch shows 5.89 miles at the end. My time was 1:03. Which is a new PR for me, if its accurate. I'm so confused! I ran the race last year, same course and everything. I'm sure I would have noticed being off the course for a whole 3 tenths of a mile! I'm certain I wasn't. I was never running alone at any point.

The other frustration: I ran the whole time between a 10:00 - 11:00 minute mile pace. There were a few times below a 10:00 mile and a I wasn't really looking at the pace the last K. That should have put my finish time between 1:05 and 1:08...

So what would cause the watch to be off? I'm so frustrated because I want to claim the time, but with all of that working against me, I'm really hesitant to start exclaiming my new time! (Which takes like 11 minutes off of my time from the same race last year!!!)

I also asked a man at the end of the race what his watch said, and he said it was spot on! It is a Garmin FR60 watch with footpod. I saw several others with GPS watches, and I'm sure if the race course was off by that much, there would have been a riot!

The only time I doubted the watch was right after my first mile. I pressed the lap button. At this point the mile was displayed and I couldn't tell if the watch was still going or if it had paused. I really doubt that the time lapsed was 3 minutes, and I'm not even sure that it was paused, I pressed the lap button after each mile.

Help me solve my mystery!

Replies

  • RachelReady2Run
    RachelReady2Run Posts: 40 Member
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    I'm reading the owner's manual now. First mistake encountered: The arrow on the foot pod "must be pointed toward the toe of your shoe"

    Ahh, Fail #1!

    Victory!! New PR!
  • muggle311
    muggle311 Posts: 14
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    I have a Garmin Forerunner without the footpad and love it --however now and then it has been off so I go by the chip time.
    I love it though and I rarely if ever leave home without it when I am out for a run or walk. Congrats on your PR.
    I have been told that races are marked out and will not always go by what your GPS says so it is a good judge mine is really really pretty accurate.
  • RMinVA
    RMinVA Posts: 1,085 Member
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    It sounds like you had a bit of a glitch with the watch that may have impacted your overall time or the overall distance. But you won't know for sure until official race results are posted. That is the time you "own." If they are the same great, if not, it still sounds like a PR, so celebrate that!!

    I time myself most all of my races and the results are usually right on. But I just let the clock run and don't mess with running laps/splits etc. I have an app on my iPhone does that for me.
  • thevirtualrunner
    thevirtualrunner Posts: 13 Member
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    I'm reading the owner's manual now. First mistake encountered: The arrow on the foot pod "must be pointed toward the toe of your shoe"

    Ahh, Fail #1!

    Victory!! New PR!

    If you're using a device with a foot pod it's not going to be that accurate anyway. Some of them allow you to calibrate them to your gait but they're still just for general distance. The time/clock on any device though is just a clock, it's not wrong.

    I have a GPS watch (garmin forerunner 405) and I used it for a half marathon in March. It wasn't exact on the distance either but my time was pretty much spot on to what the chip result was.
  • RachelReady2Run
    RachelReady2Run Posts: 40 Member
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    I just answered on of my own questions... there was no pausing of the watch, as my watch time and the "gun" time were pretty close to the same. Now I'm just going to wait on my chip time... WOO! I was so disoriented by the 5.89 that I wasn't thinking clearly... Now I can be happy :)
  • ilsie99
    ilsie99 Posts: 259
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    The FR60 is not a GPS watch. It's footpod only, so unless it was calibrated to your stride length, it would be off.
  • RachelReady2Run
    RachelReady2Run Posts: 40 Member
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    :happy:
  • RachelReady2Run
    RachelReady2Run Posts: 40 Member
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    The FR60 is not a GPS watch. It's footpod only, so unless it was calibrated to your stride length, it would be off.

    I started to realize that after I came home and also, the friend I borrowed it from is a bit taller than me, so could have affected its accuracy also... maybe?? I dont know. All I know is I am positive I ran the whole course and my time was so much better than I had expected!!

    I am just psyched though because when I thought I had like a half a mile to finish, I saw a sign that said 9K and I remembered how close I was to the finish line at that point and... really having the pace/distance off helped my race accidentally!

    Thanks for the input!!
  • therealangd
    therealangd Posts: 1,861 Member
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    Congratulations on the PR!!!
  • ilsie99
    ilsie99 Posts: 259
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    Yup, the way footpods work is actually very simple. When you calibrate it, it knows that you've taken 200 steps (or whatever) in a mile, so all it really is is a sort of intelligent pedometer. My point being, unless you and your friend take the exact same number of steps to complete a mile, it will definitely be off.

    Congrats on your PR!

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