Power Apps – point solutions

Power apps - calculating metrics

๐๐จ๐ฐ๐ž๐ซ ๐€๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฌ โ€“ ๐ฉ๐จ๐ข๐ง๐ญ ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ

Power is still relatively new for runners. And while there are some apps that cover most of the important metrics, you may find that you need additional apps to plug the gaps.

Here are a few apps that can fill those gaps.

๐”๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐€๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ž ๐ฐ๐ซ๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ-๐›๐š๐ฌ๐ž๐ ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฐ๐ž๐ซ

Apple Health doesnโ€™t provide any of the important metrics.

Which means youโ€™ll need to transfer your workout data from Apple Health into an app that can provide these, like WKO or Intervals.icu.

There are a few apps that will do this. Iโ€™ve successfully used HealthFit; other options are RunGap or Health Sync.

๐‘๐ฎ๐ง๐ง๐ข๐ง๐  ๐„๐Ÿ๐Ÿ๐ž๐œ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ž๐ง๐ž๐ฌ๐ฌ (๐‘๐„)

The only app to provide this (natively) is WKO.

If youโ€™re a Stryd user, or if youโ€™re using Intervals.icu, youโ€™ll need to calculate RE manually or use SuperPower Calculator for Sheets (SPCs).

Steve Palladinoโ€™s video โ€˜Running Effectiveness and the SuperPower Calculatorโ€™ demonstrates how to use SPCs to calculate RE for a workout or a workout section.

๐Ž๐ญ๐ก๐ž๐ซ ๐š๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฌ

โ€˜Getting Startedโ€™ covers other apps that can calculate power metrics, while the bookโ€™s online content provides a more complete comparison of Power Apps.

๐‘บ๐’‰๐’๐’–๐’๐’…๐’’๐’• ๐’š๐’๐’– ๐’ƒ๐’† ๐‘น๐’–๐’๐’๐’Š๐’๐’ˆ ๐’˜๐’Š๐’•๐’‰ ๐‘ท๐’๐’˜๐’†๐’“?

โ“ Questions?
๐Ÿ“– Getting Started

๐“๐จ๐ฉ๐ข๐œ: ๐๐จ๐ฐ๐ž๐ซ ๐€๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฌ
โฉ Choosing Power Apps
โฉ Power Apps โ€“ Stryd PC/mobile
โฉ Power Apps โ€“ WKO
โฉ Power Apps โ€“ Intervals.icu
โฉ Power Apps โ€“ Point Solutions

Power Apps – Intervals.icu

Power apps - calculating metrics

๐๐จ๐ฐ๐ž๐ซ ๐€๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฌ โ€“ ๐ˆ๐ง๐ญ๐ž๐ซ๐ฏ๐š๐ฅ๐ฌ.๐ข๐œ๐ฎ

Intervals.icu analyses your rides, runs, swims and other activities (with and without power). It provides basic and advanced analytics and planning in an easy-to-use web interface with support for desktops, phones, and tablets. Intervals.icu is free to use, with additional features should you choose to subscribe.

It can calculate and display all the most important metrics โ€ฆ and then some.

๐ˆ๐ง๐ญ๐ž๐ซ๐ฏ๐š๐ฅ๐ฌ.๐ข๐œ๐ฎ ๐Œ๐ž๐ญ๐ซ๐ข๐œ๐ฌ

โœ… Threshold Power. Intervals.icu can calculate threshold power (using your choice from several models) based on the last 90 days of completed workouts or using a custom date range.

โœ… Training Load Score. Intervals.icu uses the term โ€˜Training Stress Scoreโ€™ (TSS) and can calculate a power-based TSS for each completed workout.

โœ… Training Load Balance. Intervals.icu uses the term โ€˜Formโ€™ to show the balance between โ€˜Fitnessโ€™ and โ€˜Fatigueโ€™.

โœ… Ramp Rate. Intervals.icu shows your week-on-week Ramp Rate (RR), overlaid on the same chart as fitness, fatigue and form.

โœ… Running Effectiveness. Intervals.icu doesnโ€™t calculate Running Effectiveness, although you can manually calculate this using the detailed workout review pages, or by adding a custom calculation.

๐–๐ก๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ž ๐ˆ๐ง๐ญ๐ž๐ซ๐ฏ๐š๐ฅ๐ฌ.๐ข๐œ๐ฎ?

If youโ€™re not using the Stryd ecosystem or TrainingPeaks/WKO, Intervals.icu is a great way to track your power metrics.

โ€˜Getting Startedโ€™ covers other apps that can calculate power metrics, while the bookโ€™s online content provides a more complete comparison of Intervals.icu vs. other Power Apps.

๐‘บ๐’‰๐’๐’–๐’๐’…๐’’๐’• ๐’š๐’๐’– ๐’ƒ๐’† ๐‘น๐’–๐’๐’๐’Š๐’๐’ˆ ๐’˜๐’Š๐’•๐’‰ ๐‘ท๐’๐’˜๐’†๐’“?

โ“ Questions?
๐Ÿ“– Getting Started

๐“๐จ๐ฉ๐ข๐œ: ๐๐จ๐ฐ๐ž๐ซ ๐€๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฌ
โฉ Choosing Power Apps
โฉ Power Apps โ€“ Stryd PC/mobile
โฉ Power Apps โ€“ WKO
โฉ Power Apps โ€“ Intervals.icu
โฉ Power Apps โ€“ Point Solutions

Power Apps – WKO

Power apps - calculating metrics

๐๐จ๐ฐ๐ž๐ซ ๐€๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฌ โ€“ ๐–๐Š๐Ž

The WKO app is an analysis and charting tool that runs under MS Windows or on a Mac and provides a wide range of charts and graphs of your power data.

It can calculate and display all the most important metrics โ€ฆ and then some.

๐–๐Š๐Ž ๐Œ๐ž๐ญ๐ซ๐ข๐œ๐ฌ

โœ… Threshold Power. WKO uses the term โ€˜Functional Threshold Powerโ€™ (FTP) and offers an automatically calculated FTP, as well as the option to manually record your FTP history (and use it in charts).

โœ… Training Load Score. WKO uses the term โ€˜Training Stress Scoreโ€™ (TSS).

โœ… Training Load Balance. WKO uses the term โ€˜Training Stress Balanceโ€™ (TSB).

โœ… Ramp Rate. WKO can chart your week-on-week Ramp Rate (RR).

โœ… Running Effectiveness. WKO can show your Running Effectiveness (RE) for an entire workout or just for part of a workout (e.g. an interval).

๐–๐ก๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ž ๐–๐Š๐Ž?

WKO comes with hundreds of pre-configured charts. You can also build your own charts and calculated metrics using a powerful charting language. WKO integrates seamlessly with TrainingPeaks, syncing planned and completed workout data and a range of health metrics.

โ€˜Getting Startedโ€™ covers other apps that can calculate power metrics, while the bookโ€™s online content provides a more complete comparison of WKO vs. other Power Apps.

๐‘บ๐’‰๐’๐’–๐’๐’…๐’’๐’• ๐’š๐’๐’– ๐’ƒ๐’† ๐‘น๐’–๐’๐’๐’Š๐’๐’ˆ ๐’˜๐’Š๐’•๐’‰ ๐‘ท๐’๐’˜๐’†๐’“?

โ“ Questions?
๐Ÿ“– Getting Started

๐“๐จ๐ฉ๐ข๐œ: ๐๐จ๐ฐ๐ž๐ซ ๐€๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฌ
โฉ Choosing Power Apps
โฉ Power Apps โ€“ Stryd PC/mobile
โฉ Power Apps โ€“ WKO
โฉ Power Apps โ€“ Intervals.icu
โฉ Power Apps โ€“ Point Solutions

Power Apps – Stryd PowerCenter / Mobile

Power apps - calculating metrics

๐๐จ๐ฐ๐ž๐ซ ๐€๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฌ โ€“ ๐’๐ญ๐ซ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐จ๐ฐ๐ž๐ซ๐‚๐ž๐ง๐ญ๐ž๐ซ / ๐Œ๐จ๐›๐ข๐ฅ๐ž

The Stryd PowerCenter / Mobile apps are available to anyone using a Stryd footpod (most features are free, some need a subscription).

They calculate and display some (but not all) of the most important metrics.

๐’๐ญ๐ซ๐ฒ๐ ๐Œ๐ž๐ญ๐ซ๐ข๐œ๐ฌ

In the following, the term โ€˜Strydโ€™ includes Stryd PowerCenter and Stryd Mobile

โœ… Threshold Power. Stryd uses the term โ€˜Critical Powerโ€™ (CP) and offers an automatically calculated CP (Auto-CP) as well as a manually-set CP (using various protocols).

โœ… Training Load Score. Stryd uses the term โ€˜Running Stress Scoreโ€™ (RSS) and offers a unique calculation which includes a term representing the additional biomechanical stress put on your body from running (vs. cycling).

โœ… Training Load Balance. Stryd uses the term โ€˜Running Stress Balanceโ€™ (RSB) and offers guidance for how to interpret your RSB.

โŒ Ramp Rate. Stryd does not show your Ramp Rate (RR). Youโ€™ll need to calculate RR manually using Strydโ€™s 42d Avg (in Stryd Mobile) or use another system to track this.

โŒ Running Effectiveness. Stryd does not show your Running Effectiveness (RE). Youโ€™ll need to calculate RE manually using another system, or use one of Stryd’s alternate metrics – for example Form Power, Leg Spring Stiffness, Impact Loading Rate.

๐–๐ก๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ž ๐’๐ญ๐ซ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐จ๐ฐ๐ž๐ซ๐‚๐ž๐ง๐ญ๐ซ๐ž / ๐Œ๐จ๐›๐ข๐ฅ๐ž?

The Stryd ecosystem is probably the most power-friendly app at the moment, designed with power in mind, and aimed at runners who are getting started with power.

โ€˜Getting Startedโ€™ covers systems that can calculate the missing metrics, while the bookโ€™s online content provides a more complete comparison of Stryd vs. other Power Apps.

๐‘บ๐’‰๐’๐’–๐’๐’…๐’’๐’• ๐’š๐’๐’– ๐’ƒ๐’† ๐‘น๐’–๐’๐’๐’Š๐’๐’ˆ ๐’˜๐’Š๐’•๐’‰ ๐‘ท๐’๐’˜๐’†๐’“?

โ“ Questions?
๐Ÿ“– Getting Started

๐“๐จ๐ฉ๐ข๐œ: ๐๐จ๐ฐ๐ž๐ซ ๐€๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฌ
โฉ Choosing Power Apps
โฉ Power Apps โ€“ Stryd PC/mobile
โฉ Power Apps โ€“ WKO
โฉ Power Apps โ€“ Intervals.icu
โฉ Power Apps โ€“ Point Solutions

Choosing Power Apps

Power apps - calculating metrics

๐‚๐ก๐จ๐จ๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฐ๐ž๐ซ ๐š๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฌ

Power is a complete system using effort as its fundamental metric.

Power uses your second-by-second effort from completed workouts to calculate metrics that build a detailed picture of your running capabilities.

Imagine you run 3 times per week for around an hour each time. Thatโ€™s 60 pieces of data per minute, 3600 per hour and for 3 runs, over 10,000 pieces of data. Thatโ€™s a lot of data!

Which is why power relies on power-aware applications (โ€˜appsโ€™) to calculate your metrics.

๐‚๐š๐ง ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ž ๐š๐ง๐ฒ ๐š๐ฉ๐ฉ?

The choice is yours, but some apps are more power-aware than others, with the best apps able to calculate the most important metrics.

๐–๐ก๐ข๐œ๐ก ๐ฆ๐ž๐ญ๐ซ๐ข๐œ๐ฌ ๐š๐ซ๐ž ๐ฆ๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ข๐ฆ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐š๐ง๐ญ?

โœ… Threshold Power. Represents your current running fitness.

โœ… Training Load Score. A score (per workout) that combines โ€˜how hard?โ€™ and โ€˜how long?โ€™ โ€“ represents the workoutโ€™s metabolic stress, its impact on your body.

โœ… Training Load Balance. Indicates whether your training is โ€˜productiveโ€™ โ€“ enough stress to encourage adaptations, but not so much that there is a greater risk of injury or over-training.

โœ… Ramp Rate. Replaces โ€˜the 10% ruleโ€™ with a metric based on your training load scores โ€“ to monitor whether youโ€™re adding training load too quickly.

โœ… Running Effectiveness. Measures how effectively you convert power into speed โ€“ used to estimate finish times, to assess changes to your running form and to evaluate your fatigue resistance.

There are other criteria that will influence your choice of apps, but being able to calculate these metrics is key.

๐‘บ๐’‰๐’๐’–๐’๐’…๐’’๐’• ๐’š๐’๐’– ๐’ƒ๐’† ๐‘น๐’–๐’๐’๐’Š๐’๐’ˆ ๐’˜๐’Š๐’•๐’‰ ๐‘ท๐’๐’˜๐’†๐’“?

โ“ Questions?
๐Ÿ“– Getting Started

๐“๐จ๐ฉ๐ข๐œ: ๐๐จ๐ฐ๐ž๐ซ ๐€๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฌ
โฉ Choosing Power Apps
โฉ Power Apps โ€“ Stryd PC/mobile
โฉ Power Apps โ€“ WKO
โฉ Power Apps โ€“ Intervals.icu
โฉ Power Apps โ€“ Point Solutions

Which other watches offer wrist-based power?

Runners looking at their running watch

๐–๐ก๐ข๐œ๐ก ๐จ๐ญ๐ก๐ž๐ซ ๐ฐ๐š๐ญ๐œ๐ก๐ž๐ฌ ๐จ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ๐ž๐ซ ๐ฐ๐ซ๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ-๐›๐š๐ฌ๐ž๐ ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฐ๐ž๐ซ ๐ญ๐จ ๐‘๐ฎ๐ง ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐๐จ๐ฐ๐ž๐ซ?

All sports watch brands (and the Apple Watch) offer wrist-based power, but it works better with some brands than others (using the Which Watch? criteria).

Unfortunately, I havenโ€™t been able to try all brands to understand what works and what doesnโ€™t.

Iโ€™ve tried COROS and Polar โ€“ hereโ€™s what Iโ€™ve found.

๐‚๐Ž๐‘๐Ž๐’ ๐ฐ๐š๐ญ๐œ๐ก๐ž๐ฌ

All COROS watches support wrist-based running power with no additional on-watch apps, but:
โŒ you must plan workouts in the companion app, in TrainingPeaks, in Final Surge or in Intervals.icu.
โŒ the companion app does not provide power-based metrics โ€“ see below.

๐๐จ๐ฅ๐š๐ซ ๐ฐ๐š๐ญ๐œ๐ก๐ž๐ฌ

Polar watches will display power while running and record power to workout files, but:
โŒ You must plan workouts in the Polar Flow app, or in TrainingPeaks. If you use structured workouts, TrainingPeaks may be the better choice (although you’d need to subscribe to the premium option).
โŒ The system does not support structured workouts (although you can build workouts with phases).
โŒ the Polar Flow app does not provide power-based metrics โ€“ see below.

๐๐จ๐ฐ๐ž๐ซ-๐›๐š๐ฌ๐ž๐ ๐ฆ๐ž๐ญ๐ซ๐ข๐œ๐ฌ

None of the manufacturers provide power-based metrics that would enable you to calculate your threshold, monitor your training, and plan your events and races.

Your app choices are TrainingPeaks/WKO or Intervals.icu.

๐ˆ๐Ÿ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ฐ๐ซ๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ-๐›๐š๐ฌ๐ž๐ ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฐ๐ž๐ซ

โœ… Ideally: use a Connect IQ 5.0.0 Garmin watch, a COROS watch, or an Apple Watch with the Watchletic app.
โœ… Try to avoid: using a Polar watch
โœ… I havenโ€™t tried: using a Wahoo or Suunto watch, or other brands like Amazfit or Google Pixel.

๐‘บ๐’‰๐’๐’–๐’๐’…๐’’๐’• ๐’š๐’๐’– ๐’ƒ๐’† ๐‘น๐’–๐’๐’๐’Š๐’๐’ˆ ๐’˜๐’Š๐’•๐’‰ ๐‘ท๐’๐’˜๐’†๐’“?

โ“ Questions?
๐Ÿ“– Getting Started

๐“๐จ๐ฉ๐ข๐œ: ๐–๐š๐ญ๐œ๐ก๐ž๐ฌ
โฉ Which Watch?
โฉ Can you use an Apple Watch to Run with Power?
โฉ Can you use an Garmin to Run with Power?
โฉ Which other watches work with a Stryd?
โฉ Which other watches offer wrist-based power?

Which other watches work with a Stryd?

Runners looking at their running watch

๐–๐ก๐ข๐œ๐ก ๐จ๐ญ๐ก๐ž๐ซ ๐ฐ๐š๐ญ๐œ๐ก๐ž๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ค ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐š ๐’๐ญ๐ซ๐ฒ๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐‘๐ฎ๐ง ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐๐จ๐ฐ๐ž๐ซ?

Stryd works with all sports watches, but it works better with some than others (using the Which Watch? criteria).

๐‚๐Ž๐‘๐Ž๐’ ๐ฐ๐š๐ญ๐œ๐ก๐ž๐ฌ

โœ… COROS watches (except the Pace 1 and kiprun series) meet all the criteria using native watch functionality.

๐–๐š๐ก๐จ๐จ ๐ฐ๐š๐ญ๐œ๐ก๐ž๐ฌ

The Elemnt Rival meets all the criteria using native watch functionality, except:
โŒ You must plan workouts in third-party apps like TrainingPeaks or Intervals.icu. You cannot download workouts planned in the Stryd ecosystem to the watch.

๐’๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐จ ๐ฐ๐š๐ญ๐œ๐ก๐ž๐ฌ

Suunto watches will display power while running and record power to workout files for upload to the Stryd ecosystem, but:
โŒ You must plan workouts in the Suunto app or in third-party apps like TrainingPeaks or Intervals.icu. You cannot download workouts planned in the Stryd ecosystem to the watch.
โŒ Additional Stryd metrics require a manual offline sync (for each completed workout) to transfer them to the Stryd Ecosystem.

๐๐จ๐ฅ๐š๐ซ ๐ฐ๐š๐ญ๐œ๐ก๐ž๐ฌ

Polar watches will display power while running and record power to workout files for upload to the Stryd ecosystem, but:
โŒ You must plan workouts in the Polar Flow app or in TrainingPeaks. If you use structured workouts, TrainingPeaks may be the better choice (although you’d need to subscribe to the premium option).
โŒ The system does not support structured workouts (although you can build workouts with phases).
โŒ Additional Stryd metrics require a manual offline sync (for each completed workout) to transfer them to the Stryd Ecosystem.

๐Ž๐ญ๐ก๐ž๐ซ ๐›๐ซ๐š๐ง๐๐ฌ

Stryd continues to work with watch providers and lists all watches that can be used to Run with Power using a Stryd footpod on their website.

๐ˆ๐Ÿ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐š ๐’๐ญ๐ซ๐ฒ๐ ๐Ÿ๐จ๐จ๐ญ๐ฉ๐จ๐

โœ… Ideally: use an Apple Watch, a Connect IQ 5.0.0 Garmin watch, or a COROS watch
โœ… If you must: use a Wahoo watch
โœ… Try to avoid: using a Suunto or Polar watch

๐‘บ๐’‰๐’๐’–๐’๐’…๐’’๐’• ๐’š๐’๐’– ๐’ƒ๐’† ๐‘น๐’–๐’๐’๐’Š๐’๐’ˆ ๐’˜๐’Š๐’•๐’‰ ๐‘ท๐’๐’˜๐’†๐’“?

โ“ Questions?
๐Ÿ“– Getting Started

๐“๐จ๐ฉ๐ข๐œ: ๐–๐š๐ญ๐œ๐ก๐ž๐ฌ
โฉ Which Watch?
โฉ Can you use an Apple Watch to Run with Power?
โฉ Can you use an Garmin to Run with Power?
โฉ Which other watches work with a Stryd?
โฉ Which other watches offer wrist-based power?

Can you use a Garmin to Run with Power?

Runners looking at their running watch

๐‚๐š๐ง ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ž ๐š ๐†๐š๐ซ๐ฆ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐จ ๐‘๐ฎ๐ง ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐๐จ๐ฐ๐ž๐ซ?

Yes, with some caveats based on your power meter and the Which Watch? criteria.

๐†๐š๐ซ๐ฆ๐ข๐ง ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐š ๐’๐ญ๐ซ๐ฒ๐ ๐Ÿ๐จ๐จ๐ญ๐ฉ๐จ๐

The Stryd Zones datafield is your best choice โ€“ itโ€™s fully compatible with Garmin watches running Connect IQ 5.0.0 or later. Stryd Zones:
โŒš Downloads workouts planned in the Stryd Ecosystem (via Garmin Connect)
โŒš Can show various power numbers while running
โŒš Records power (second-by-second) into your workout file
โŒš Uploads completed runs into the Stryd Ecosystem (via Garmin Connect)
โšก Supports Structured Workouts
โšก Provides 3s, 10s, and 30s Power Smoothing
โšก Provides current and last Lap Averages.

If you have an older watch (running Connect IQ 3.0.0 through 4.x.x), youโ€™ll need to use the Stryd Workout app (for Garmin) to run Structured Workouts.

๐†๐š๐ซ๐ฆ๐ข๐ง ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐–๐ซ๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ-๐›๐š๐ฌ๐ž๐ ๐๐จ๐ฐ๐ž๐ซ

The watches listed at Garmin; Running Power Device Requirements in the section ‘Watch Models That Support Native Running Power’ support Wrist-based power, using Garmin’s ‘Run’ app.

Unfortunately, the watches listed in the section ‘Watch Models That Support Running Power With a Connect IQ App‘ (my italics) did not provide repeatable and concurrently valid results when I studied their output. For that reason, I cannot recommend Garmin’s ‘Power’ datafields.

Garmin’s native running power implementation (on newer watches) meets the criteria but note that:
โŒ Garmin only offers 10s smoothing. This makes it less useful when running short-duration intervals. Fortunately, it’s possible to use a 3rd-party datafield (like pbRun) to achieve a shorter smoothing interval.
โŒ While you can use Garmin Connect to plan your workouts, it does not provide power-based metrics that would enable you to calculate your threshold, monitor your training, and plan your events and races. Youโ€™ll need to connect a 3rd-party reviewing app to Garmin Connect to obtain metrics.

Instead, Iโ€™d recommend the pbRun datafield, which:
โŒš Relies on Garmin Connect to download planned workouts, making them available to any app connected to Garmin Connect
โŒš Can show real-time and lap power numbers while running
โŒš Records power (second-by-second) into your workout file
โŒš Relies on Garmin Connect to upload completed workouts, making them available to any app connected to Garmin Connect
โšก Supports Structured Workouts
โšก Provides 3s, 5s, 10s and 30s Power Smoothing
โšก Provides current and last Lap Averages

๐‘บ๐’‰๐’๐’–๐’๐’…๐’’๐’• ๐’š๐’๐’– ๐’ƒ๐’† ๐‘น๐’–๐’๐’๐’Š๐’๐’ˆ ๐’˜๐’Š๐’•๐’‰ ๐‘ท๐’๐’˜๐’†๐’“?

โ“ Questions?
๐Ÿ“– Getting Started

๐“๐จ๐ฉ๐ข๐œ: ๐–๐š๐ญ๐œ๐ก๐ž๐ฌ
โฉ Which Watch?
โฉ Can you use an Apple Watch to Run with Power?
โฉ Can you use an Garmin to Run with Power?
โฉ Which other watches work with a Stryd?
โฉ Which other watches offer wrist-based power?

Can you use an Apple Watch to Run with Power?

Runners looking at their running watch

๐‚๐š๐ง ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ž ๐š๐ง ๐€๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ž ๐–๐š๐ญ๐œ๐ก ๐ญ๐จ ๐‘๐ฎ๐ง ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐๐จ๐ฐ๐ž๐ซ?

Yes, with some caveats based on your power meter and the Which Watch? criteria.

๐€๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ž ๐–๐š๐ญ๐œ๐ก ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐š ๐’๐ญ๐ซ๐ฒ๐ ๐Ÿ๐จ๐จ๐ญ๐ฉ๐จ๐

Strydโ€™s Workout app is the obvious choice โ€“ itโ€™s fully compatible with the Apple Watch Ultra, SE or series 3 or later. The Stryd Workout app:
โŒš Downloads workouts planned in the Stryd Ecosystem
โŒš Can show various power numbers while running
โŒš Records power (second-by-second) into your workout file
โŒš Uploads completed runs into the Stryd Ecosystem (and from there into other review apps)
โšก Supports Structured Workouts
โšก Provides 3s, 10s, and 30s Power Smoothing
โšก Provides current and last Lap Averages.

There is another choice – Watchletic (see below) can be used in place of the Stryd Workout app, for example if you want to use another planning or review app than the Stryd PowerCenter.

๐€๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ž ๐–๐š๐ญ๐œ๐ก ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐–๐ซ๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ-๐›๐š๐ฌ๐ž๐ ๐๐จ๐ฐ๐ž๐ซ

The Apple Workout app isnโ€™t the best choice for Running with Power, as it doesnโ€™t:
โŒ record second-by-second data into your workout file
โŒ display lap power
โŒ offer power smoothing
โŒ upload completed workouts into a power-based reviewing app

Instead, Iโ€™d recommend the Watchletic app, which:
โŒš Downloads workouts planned in the IOS Watchletic app or in a number of other planning apps (TrainingPeaks, Final Surge, Stryd, Intervals.icu etc.)
โŒš Can show real-time and lap power numbers while running
โŒš Records power (second-by-second) into your workout file
โŒš Uploads completed runs into Apple Health or into a number of other reviewing apps (TrainingPeaks, Final Surge, Stryd, Intervals.icu etc.)
โšก Supports Structured Workouts
โšก Provides 3s and 10s Power Smoothing
โšก Provides current Lap Average – it doesn’t (yet) provide last lap average.

Note that the downloads from and uploads to the apps listed above are a premium feature, available with a paid monthly subscription.

๐‘บ๐’‰๐’๐’–๐’๐’…๐’’๐’• ๐’š๐’๐’– ๐’ƒ๐’† ๐‘น๐’–๐’๐’๐’Š๐’๐’ˆ ๐’˜๐’Š๐’•๐’‰ ๐‘ท๐’๐’˜๐’†๐’“?

โ“ Questions?
๐Ÿ“– Getting Started

๐“๐จ๐ฉ๐ข๐œ: ๐–๐š๐ญ๐œ๐ก๐ž๐ฌ
โฉ Which Watch?
โฉ Can you use an Apple Watch to Run with Power?
โฉ Can you use an Garmin to Run with Power?
โฉ Which other watches work with a Stryd?
โฉ Which other watches offer wrist-based power?

Which Watch?

Runners looking at their running watch

๐–๐ก๐ข๐œ๐ก ๐–๐š๐ญ๐œ๐ก?

To Run with Power, youโ€™ll need equipment.

At a minimum, you’ll need a power meter and a running watch. Or you could combine the two using a watch with wrist-based power.

But which watch should you choose?

Are there any that make Running with Power easier? Not easier to run, just easier to use power when running?

๐–๐š๐ญ๐œ๐ก ๐œ๐ซ๐ข๐ญ๐ž๐ซ๐ข๐š

The ๐‘š๐‘–๐‘›๐‘–๐‘š๐‘ข๐‘š criteria are:
โŒš Download. Able to download planned runs to your watch with minimal manual effort
โŒš Display Power. Able to show power while running
โŒš Record Power. Able to record power (second-by-second) into your workout file
โŒš Upload. Able to upload completed runs from your watch with minimal manual effort

These ๐‘Ž๐‘‘๐‘‘๐‘–๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘Ž๐‘™ criteria (if met) will improve your experience when Running with Power:
โšก Structured Workouts. You can execute workouts with multiple steps and power targets/alerts on your watch โ€“ rather than having to remember steps/targets or write them on your hand.
โšก Power Smoothing. The power numbers can be smoothed by averaging real-time power values over 3, 5 or 10 seconds โ€“ replacing ‘spiky’ power numbers and reducing above/below target alerts.
โšก Lap Averages. You can display the average power for the current lap on-screen โ€“ to monitor whether you’re meeting workout power targets.

๐–๐š๐ญ๐œ๐ก + ๐๐จ๐ฐ๐ž๐ซ ๐ฆ๐ž๐ญ๐ž๐ซ

The posts linked below assess Apple and Garmin watches using the above criteria, then switch that around to assess other watches from the perspective of the Stryd footpod and Wrist-based power.

๐‘บ๐’‰๐’๐’–๐’๐’…๐’’๐’• ๐’š๐’๐’– ๐’ƒ๐’† ๐‘น๐’–๐’๐’๐’Š๐’๐’ˆ ๐’˜๐’Š๐’•๐’‰ ๐‘ท๐’๐’˜๐’†๐’“?

โ“ Questions?
๐Ÿ“– Getting Started

๐“๐จ๐ฉ๐ข๐œ: ๐–๐š๐ญ๐œ๐ก๐ž๐ฌ
โฉ Which Watch?
โฉ Can you use an Apple Watch to Run with Power?
โฉ Can you use an Garmin to Run with Power?
โฉ Which other watches work with a Stryd?
โฉ Which other watches offer wrist-based power?