Polar S1 Foot Pod

[e.e.cummings]

Does anyone have any experience with this? I have a Polar FT60 HRM, which I really like, but I would like to track my running. Or any other suggestions? I bought my husband a Garmin 305 for Christmas and he loves it, but you cannot swim with it on, which is a drawback for me.

[Blueberry]

Does anyone have any experience with this? I have a Polar FT60 HRM, which I really like, but I would like to track my running. Or any other suggestions? I bought my husband a Garmin 305 for Christmas and he loves it, but you cannot swim with it on, which is a drawback for me.

Look at the Garmin 310XT. You can swim with it on - but it doesn't track distance well in the water.

[Becky]

I use another brand's accelerometer-style foot pod, which is what the polar is as well, I believe. It works well enough for my needs. I had to calibrate it before using it, and actually have 2 separate calibrations for 2 different pairs of shoes ("normal" ones and my VFFs). It tracks the motion of your foot and calculates the distance traveled. Since my stride is a little shorter in VFFs, I needed another cal to prevent it from over-calculating distance and speed. Also, my stride length changes with speed (Chi Running style) so I need to calibrate at my typical speed to get the most accurate data. Sounds complicated, but it's really not- I just flip the calibration depending on what shoes I'm wearing.

I'm getting ready to re-calibrate. My stride has evolved some, and I've noticed it over-calculating. There's no way that I'm running a 9:00 mile unless I'm being chased by dogs or running downhill!

[e.e.cummings]

Do you find it annoying to have something attached to your shoe?

[Becky]

Do you find it annoying to have something attached to your shoe?

I don't even know that it's there, even with my VFFs. I bought a little shoe pocket from Nathan that velcros to my shoes- makes it easier to swap it around.

[OakLeaf]

I have Garmin, but the only time I noticed the footpod on my old shoes was when the aglet of my shoelace slapped it on every stride. I just had to remember to tuck my shoelace in to itself to stop that. Otherwise the noise was very annoying. The weight is only a couple of grams and I never noticed that.

The shoes I have now have a pocket for the footpod underneath the insole.


ETA: Everyone's stride length changes with speed, Chi Running just focuses on getting it even longer and trying to maintain cadence. The foot pods measure impact and acceleration, not stride length as calibrating a pedometer would. I've not noticed the accuracy changing with speed. There was an enormous recalculation when I moved the footpod from the laces to the pocket on the same shoe.