My Runtastic Experiment - The Beginning

Why Runtastic?
First off, I need to declare that this experiment is completely of my own volition.  I am not being rewarded financially or in-kind by Runtastic or Adidas.  Apart from receiving the one-year premium subscription for free, the only benefit I will receive from this is from my own sweat equity.

I was musing a few years ago about switching to a new device and was doing a lot of reading about the Adidas mi Coach.  At the time I was doing a bunch of reading and research about run cadence and wanted something with a foot pod.  I had tried the Nike+ system and was reasonably pleased with it.  I had a bunch of Garmin Forerunners - all of which I liked - and thought about picking up one of the Garmin SDMn (n = 1, 2, 3 or 4) models.  All were compatible with the Forerunners I had at the time.

I was surfing Kijiji and found a Garmin SDM4 for sale, as well as a miCoach wrist unit and footpod for nearly the same price.  I created a miCoach account, downloaded the app and poked around the app and website as extensively as I could without having the devices connected, and I was pretty impressed.  What drove me to buy the Garmin footpod was the fact that I didn't want to have to start over with w new system.  I had already done that years ago when I switched from Polar to Garmin, and partially so when I received a TomTom Runner as a gift.  Once I had the new (to me) footpod, I didn't give miCoach a second thought, that is until I received a message from them in February...

In February Adidas replaced its miCoach service with Runtastic - a €220 million acquisition they made in August, 2015.  Apparently, everyone with a miCoach account received a one-year premium subscription to the Runtastic system.  Now I'm a guy who gets a lot out of the free subscriptions to fitness services (Strava, RunKeeper, DailyRunner, etc.), as well as the services offered by the device manufacturers (Garmin Connect and TomTomMySports), and have not really considered signing up for any service as a "Premium Member."  That being said, now that I had this subscription come to me, I didn't want to let it go to waste.

The Experiment
My plan was (and is) to exclusively use as many of the apps/services in the Runtastic system until the subscription runs out.  As I said in a previous post, I am pretty much done with training for running by just running and also want to have better all-around fitness.  This means having a healthy balance of resistance training and cardio.  Since run streak was halted in January due to illness, I had not done any exercise and needed to get busy doing something... anything.  These two realities (premium level fitness offering and complete lack of fitness) were colliding.

The Plan
The first thing I did was download all of the apps and log in with my miCoach credentials (I can't believe that I remembered them.)  I also logged in on the Runtastic web site.  I will admit at this point that I did not have any real method to assess the Runtastic system; my plan was to start with the Runtastic Results app - the one app that seems to be the hub for everything else Runtastic - and then build out from there.  The web site also aggregates all of the data collected through the various apps and presents everything in a common view.  I ran through the premium benefits that are available to me and was presented with an opportunity to build a custom 12-week workout plan, starting with a fitness test. 

As I was completely out of shape, the fitness test was tortuous, but I made it through.  I was put through four exercises and I had the record how many reps I could do.  At the end, I was presented with my plan where I could choose how many days per week I wanted to work out and I could commit to a certain number of minutes of cardio, which is measured through the Runtastic app.  On days when I ride or run, I use the Runstastic PushUps app for a bit of pre- or post-activity strength training.   I plan to install PullUps, SitUps and Squats apps down the road.  In addition, I want to see if I can pair my phone with the Bluetooth heart rate strap that came with the TomTom runner.  If so, I should be able to add heart rate monitoring to all of the Runtastic apps that support it (most likely Runtastic and Runtastic Results).

I just recently noticed that "free" training plans are a premium benefit, something Runtastic has in common with other services.  (They are "free" because you pay for the subscription, hence not really free.)  I just signed up for a half marathon plan that ends on September 17, which happens to be race day for the Army Run.   When I selected the plan, it only presented me with three possible end dates.  I would prefer to select my own race day.  That ought to be fixed.

My Impressions So Far
The thing that impresses me the most is how well the system is integrated.  The apps call home well and work well with each other.  I don't find that I have to go to one app for a particular piece of information and another app for other information.  Results has everything in one timeline.  That being said, it is a bit of a closed system.  I can connect it with Google Fit and Apple Health, but there are no options for connecting to other activity tracking apps outside the system (e.g. Strava).  I can export activity data in .gpx and import it into Garmin Connect and Strava, but it is a manual process.

Another thing I like is that it works with my Pebble watch.  With the announcement last December that Pebble has been subsumed by Fitbit, I know that the writing is on the wall for Pebble and that support has already started to disappear.  Strava hitched their wagon to the Apple Watch and don't offer Pebble connectivity from iOS.  The Pebble connectivity with Runtastic is flawless.

I need to log in to the Runtastic app every time I open it.  I don't need to do this with Results or PushUps, and I have no idea why things are different with Runtastic.  It's not a defect per se, but it is annoying and I think this also ought to be fixed.

UPDATE (May 24, 2017): This has been fixed.  My first ticket with Runtastic support ended when the support agent wrote that the issue has been escalated to the Product Managers and marked the ticket as 'Solved', which was a bit odd since the issue was not 'Solved.'  After advertising this blog post on Twitter, Runtastic replied, asking me to register another ticket.  I did and the helpful agent informed me that the issue was indeed resolved and that I would need to completely uninstall the app from my phone and re-install.  That worked and I can now stay logged in.  Thanks, Runtastic!

I have found many other systems do not allow for mixing strength training with cardio in one place.  In the past, I would go to one app to do strength training and the results would be stored there, and then use other app (or apps) to ride or run or ski or snowshoe and store the results there.  Perhaps there are apps out there that will aggregate the data, but I haven't found a good one.  The upside of a closed well-integrated system is that this is possible and the data is well aggregated and unified in presentation; the downside is that one is forced to completely buy-in to the closed system or manage fitness data in a collection of disparate  (best-of-breed) systems.

Next Steps
The first step is to complete the 12-week program to see where that takes me.  I have committed to 90 minutes of cardio each week (3x30min sessions).  My hope is that I will be leaner and in decent running shape by the August.  I am also considering doing a half or full marathon in late Autumn, but I am remaining cautious on that.

Once I start seeing measurable results, I will post them.  In the mean time, I recommend giving Runtastic a try.

Running Streak - Day 99

After three days on the treadmill, it was great to get outside again.  I know it was only three days, but it felt longer and running outside is just so much better than moving your legs with everything else staying in place.  The one tough thing was that it was cold.  It wasn't the coldest weather that I've run in this year, but is certainly felt like it.  The sun was great, but the wind was biting and seemingly coming from all directions.

It was one of those "wear everything you brought with you" runs.  Because Ottawa weather is, well, Ottawa weather, I always bring extra stuff with me so that I have options.  When I checked the forecast in the morning, it called for -4C and light wind.  By the time lunch rolled around, it was -18C with the wind chill.  I just dumped everything in my bag on the floor and put it all on (full base layer top-to-bottom, tech shirt, Brooks Storm jacket, nylon pants, toque and gloves).  It was a good call on my part.

The schedule called for 30 minutes easy with my HR in zone 2.  I chose my new go-to 5.5km route that loops over the Pretoria Bridge, and for some reason I had a hard time keeping my HR down.  It was nothing crazy, just slightly into zone 3.  I will chalk it up to a string of late nights and the wind.  I'm not looking for excuses - I think they are probable reasons - and apart from niggling over the HR, the run was fantastic.  The paths were mainly clear; I finished another episode of Zombies, Run!; and, sensation-wise, I felt terrific.  Day 100 is tomorrow.


A note on heart rate monitors...
I used the Garmin Forerunner 610 for this run, and it captured my HR perfectly.  For the last three runs on the treadmill, I was using my TomTom Runner with the HR transmitter pod on the strap that came with it and a Polar premium strap, which is the best strap on the market and works with pods from Garmin and TomTom, and maybe others.  If you look at the treadmill runs over the weekend, the HR curve is a mess, with my HR apparently getting into the 200s.  I think I can safely conclude that HR recording on the TomTom is really poor.  I don't know whether it is the chest strap, transmitter or wrist unit, or some combination of the above.  Maybe it is better with the newer units that use optical technology and no strap.  The web is full of folks griping about problems with straps.  For the most part, I have been able to overcome my problems, but I'm at the point where I think I am going to cry uncle with the TomTom.

Running Streak - Day 40

Round numbers have a such a nice ring to them, and 40 sounds like a bona fide milestone.  To me, my biggest milestone so far was 4.  Once I strung 4 consecutive days of running together, I felt like I was actually going somewhere, especially having been on the couch of doom for so long.  Two weeks (14 days) really surprised me, too.  Now that I'm at 40 days, I'm looking ahead more than behind.  After tomorrow I will be 2/3 complete.

Today was the best day weather-wise of the whole week.  It was sunny, 14C and absolutely un-December-like.  Every runner I saw on the Ottawa River pathway was grinning from ear-to-ear.  We are all out there running looking like cats who swallowed the canary.  I know that anyone reading this blog is wondering why I am going on so much about the weather.  To give you an idea, it was a balmy -3C with a bit of snow on this date last year, and in 2013 it was a frigid -22C.   A "normal" temperature for mid-December in Ottawa is -10C and today I was out in a short sleeve tech shirt and shorts.  This is an absolute blessing, and I am so grateful to be able to take full advantage of it.

I started out a little hard today, perhaps frolicking in the warm temperature.  I got to the 1km point and said to myself, "What are you doing?"  I should cut the pace and enjoy my time in the sun a little more, rather than blast through the run to get it done.  I also was feeling the effects of the intervals on Wednesday and the up-tempo run yesterday.  I slowed down noticeably and as it turns out, I had the opposite experience of Tuesday evening.  I thought I had slowed my pace quite a bit, but it was faster than planned.  I can't explain it. 

The Tomtom produced spikes in the HR readings at the beginning of the run again.  I was thinking about it and am starting to wonder if it is "premium" chest straps that don't get along with me.  My rigid Garmin strap does not do that, but I have had the same thing with all three (Polar, Tomtom and Garmin) straps.  I'm going to explore this a little more.  It's too bad that I can't wear two straps at one to compare the readings.

Running Streak - Day 39

Another absolutely stunning day, weather-wise.  A lunch with some former colleagues was cancelled, but fortunately I had my running stuff with me at work and was able to get out shortly before 1:00PM, when it was 10C.  Being so warm, I was out in my long sleeve Army Run tech shirt and shorts, which was ideal.  I was contemplating going with short sleeves, but as it turned out, there was a pretty stiff westerly wind and I was glad to have something covering my arms.

Apart from knowing that I wanted to run The Bridges, I had no objectives for time or intensity.  My plan was to enjoy the weather and the undulating route.  I've been saying that pretty soon I will be confined to the flat pathway beside the Rideau Canal at lunch, but the forecast is now saying that it will not be that soon; there is only one day in the long range forecast where it below 0C.  I wonder is we are looking at a green Christmas.

I have been trying to sort out my Tomtom HRM and I'm not winning.  I shorted out the battery in the transmitter pod and the watch picked it up right away.  I'm still showing spikes in the readings at the beginning of my run (see graph below of today's run).  If you look back on all of my other runs with the Tomtom, you will see the same behaviour.  My Garmin Forerunners do not tend do this, at least not as consistently.

Heart Rate Spike

I have now followed all of my own advice, but nothing has solved it yet.  Since the readings are normal after the spike, there is an indication that normal operation is possible.  I have apparently eliminated the strap as a cause because the readings are the same with the Tomtom strap and the Polar strap (perhaps I should try the Garmin strap?); therefore, in my small mind, it must be the transmitter pod.  It's really frustrating because I rather like the unit.  I will start interrogating Mr. Google to see what he can offer.

Running Streak - Days 37 and 38

Day 38

Todays scheduled run consisted of intervals where it was 2:00 on/1:00 off with a 10:00 warm-up and cool-down - the same workout as last week.  This workout is very do-able over a lunch hour, and it felt awesome today.  I don't have much snap in my legs yet, but I can increase my pace on demand and hold it for 2:00.  I haven't looked ahead in the Garmin training plan to see if the work portion of the intervals will increase.  I suspect that it does.  Even if it doesn't, I know that I will benefit.  Like the folks at Endurance Nation preach, first you get fast, then you go long.

It was another day with amazing weather: 6C, slight wind and sunny.  Again , I was in shorts, long sleeve tech shirt and vest, but I probably could have dropped the vest after 10 minutes or so.  The only thing I should have brought was sunglasses.  I can't believe that this is December, and the forecast for the rest of the week has highs in double digits.

Still having problem with spikes in HR readings at the beginning of my run.  I experimented with something new.  I connected the transmitter pod to my Polar premium strap, but nothing changed.  It worked perfectly with my Garmin transmitter when I was getting silly readings with the Garmin premium strap and it was chafing me nearly in half when I ran with it.  Having seemingly eliminated the strap as the cause of the spikes, I am thinking of shorting out the pod by inverting the battery for 30 seconds and then re-pairing it with the watch.

Day 37

My day was full of meetings and I couldn't get out for a run a lunch.  When the lunch our is book-ended like it was today, I don't like the stress that rushing through the run causes.  I normally can confine my running sessions to an hour or less, but I something holds me up - I run into someone I know or I have to wait for a shower to become available - I'm late for the second meeting, guaranteed, and no one (especially me) likes that.

I had some forced waiting time in the evening and decided to get the run in then.  I dressed for the run in the building where I work so that I could run from then spot where I would need to wait later, and I just ran a loop with a nice hill a few times.  I didn't want to stray too far in case I needed to cut the run short.  I re-listened to Mission 2 of Zombies, Run!  When I did it the first time, I shortened the duration to only 18-20 minutes; today I did the entire mission at the recommended length of 31 minutes and picked up more supplies.  I will do this again with another couple of missions until the delay for downloading a new episode has expired.

The run itself was interesting.  According to my phone, it was cloudy, negligible wind and 2C.  The phone was correct on everything, except for the temperature, which felt definitely colder.  Luckily, I brought a thermal base layer shirt to add to the long sleeve tech shirt and vest I was wearing.  I had my MEC Dart nylon pants to cover my legs.  I thought I was clipping along at a good pace, but when I checked my watch or received alerts from Zombies, Run!, it turns out that I was running slower.  I gradually picked up the pace and negative split every kilometer.  My dumb move of the day was wearing my Tomtom HR transmitter on the Polar strap with my Garmin Forerunner 310XT on my wrist.  I wanted to see if I could find the source of the spikes in the HR readings, but the mismatch in devices meant no HR readings at all.  I will try the experiment tomorrow.

Running Streak - Day 22

I was on the treadmill this evening, and no, it was not 11:30PM.  For this run, I had a whole bunch of things going on.  I found my Garmin transmitter/Polar HR strap combo* over the weekend and I paired it with my 310XT to use tonight.  I clipped the Garmin footpod on my NB Minimus WT20GG2's.  I picked up a pair of Bluetooth earbuds and used them with my phone to complete Mission 3 in Zombie Run!  Finally, I used a 30 minute hilly preset workout on the treadmill that  I actually rather liked.  It really pushed me more than grinding out steady minutes.  I wasn't very distracted by all of the technology, except the earbuds because they kept nearly falling out.  Gotta find a solution for that.

The WT20GG2's are starting to feel good on my feet.  I think it is a case where I am adjusting to the shoes more than the shoes are adjusting to me.  My best guess at a reason is that there is hardly anything to them.  I think I should be OK to start using a flatter shoe from now on.  Yet another experiment...



* I learned this trick from DC Rainmaker and numerous accounts on the Garmin forums. The transmitter from the Garmin premium strap, which caused me (and many others) no end of discomfort, fits perfectly on the Polar strap, which is very comfortable.  Very highly recommended.

Solving Erratic Heart Rate Readings

I am a big fan of heart rate training.  Most of the time I use my heart rate monitor (HRM) to keep me out of trouble, especially on runs where I'm supposed to be running easy.  That being said, I have had a love-hate relationship with every one of my HRMs.  As we move into fall and winter, your (and my) frustration with your HRM may grow.  I hope this article will help you avoid that.  In my experience, the strap is almost always at fault.  Here we go...

A heart rate monitor that is reading, transmitting and recording properly looks like this:



HR recording as expected

A heart rate monitor that does not have any skin-to-strap contact looks like this (no readings from 0 to around 4:30):



Heart rate reading when there no contact at the start of an activity.

A heart rate monitor that is having a hard day looks like this:




Heart rate reading when contact is poor or intermittent at the start of an activity

As a non-super hero, I cannot make my heart rate hit 250 beats per minute (bpm).  In reality, since I wasn't scaling the side of a mountain when these readings were taken, my heart rate would have been on the same trajectory from 0:00 to 4:10, but my HRM was confused.  Lack of good contact really throws off the average HR for the activity.  In the grand scheme of things it's not a big deal, but when one has an HRM, one would want it to work correctly.  Here is what I do to solve or at least minimize erratic heart rate readings.

Before I dispense my sage wisdom, I should share some of the "wisdom" I have heard.  I have heard advice like "Don't wear technical fabrics.", or "Don't run near sources of electrical interference."  I'm sure that this is offered by well-meaning individuals, but come on, if I go out for a long run in a cotton shirt, I will have no skin left on my torso by the time I'm done.  IT's simply not an option.  As for sources of electrical interference, unless I'm deliberately running in a elevator shaft or through a field of power lines and transformers, I probably can't detect electrical interference on my own, e.g. through the fillings in my teeth.  There are probably other tidbits you have heard, but as the owner of many HRMs from different manufacturers over the years, here is what I know works:

1) Use electrode gel on the contacts.  This is especially important in cool/cold weather because proper reading of heart rate signals depends on good contact between the contacts on the strap and your skin.  Sweat is perfect for maintaining this contact, but when it takes a while to start sweating, you need a bit of help.  (See the second and third graphs above.)  This is where electrode gel comes in because it replaces sweat when sweat is a long time in coming.

It is available in medical supply stores and is relatively cheap.  A large tube will last a couple of Canadian winters for me.  Just apply a line across the length of each contact on the strap and brace yourself for the shock of cold gel hitting your skin.  Don't despair; it warms up fast.  This solves things in pretty much every situation.

2) Clean the contacts.  Nothing fancy.  Just use warm water and liquid dish soap.  Sneak it in when you are washing dishes and let it air dry.  If you have one of the premium straps, remember to remove the transmitter first.  You need to clean the part of the strap that contacts your skin to read your heart rate.  Washing the entire strap - the transmitter/contact part, and the elastic strap - has the added benefit of not driving family members and pets from the room when you pull it out of your gym bag.

3) Wet the elastic part of the strap.  This will keep it from slipping until you start sweating.  If the strap slips, contact between it and the skin can be broken.  Warning: no matter what time of year it is, this will feel cold on your back.  Brace yourself!  That being said, it is well worth the shock.  Having it slip and trying to fix it when you are wearing a bunch of layers is a royal pain. 

4) Change the battery.  If your unit is sealed, it should be replaced by a qualified technician; contact your device's manufacturer for help.  If the battery is replaceable, you can replace the battery yourself.  It is a cheap and easy way to help with troubleshooting.  I have owned units from Polar, Garmin and TomTom.  All have used the same lithium battery, the  ubiquitous CR2032, which is available in a three pack at the dollar store.  I could spend more on name-brand batteries, but I find they last well and I can buy a dozen or more of the cheap ones for the price of one name-brand.


I hope this helps you.  I know full well that none of this is new; there are numerous sites and forums where you can find the same advice.  I wrote this because I get asked about this a lot.  If you have found anything else that works for you, please share it in the comments below.