Strava Android vs Garmin 620 (XC Skiing) comparison

So I use Strava, and I also use Garmin.  I sometimes use my phone (Motorola Moto X on verizon) to record workouts in strava.  I've been wondering, how good is the phone at tracking position / speed during a workout, vs my expensive Garmin watch?  The phones have got alot better at position, especially the iPhone 5S which can monitor motion / movements while using even less battery.  Technology has improved alot in the last 5 years with phones.

Here's my semi detailed comparison of the Garmin 620 (admittedly a running watch), and the Strava android app for tracking a cross country ski workout (technique: classic) at Mt Bachelor Nordic center near Bend, OR.  The temperature was in the mid-upper 20s and I was using a combination of some start grip tape (under foot) with a mix of Swix blue extra, and toko red in the kick zone.  The phone was in my front jacket pocket, and the watch was on my wrist (under my sleeve).

	Garmin	Moto X
Moving time	2:32:25	2:30:05
Distance (KM)	31.56	31.7
Avg moving speed (KPH)	12.6	12.6
Max speed (KPH)	50.2	54.0
Elevation gain (meters)	613	664

The basic statistics appear to be very similar.  The distance is off by about only about 1/2 percent.  The average speed matches pretty much spot on.  The moving time is also very close.  My phone measured my top speed at 54.0, almost 4 kph more than my watch.  Based on the map in Figure 1, the precision of the position on the moto x was a little noisy during downhill sections, but quickly became very good after slowing down.

Fig 1: Strava Android app recording of downhill section on blue jay loop.

The paths really come together for the workout recorded on the phone, as they should, since I was always skiing on the same trail. Now compared to the Garmin GPS (fig 2) the data from the phone is looking pretty good. The Garmin watch seems to have a steady offset, rather than adjusting after changes in speed. By looking closely at the maps, I'm impressed how close the final numbers were for both devices.

Fig 1: The Garmin 620 on same downhill section, skied many times on same workout.

I will continue to use my watch (and my phone) to track workouts.  I pretty much use my Garmin watch exclusively for tracking running workouts, since it's really built for running, and has running specific features like cadence, ground contact time and vertical oscillation.  With the hardware on more phones implementing features to accommodate fitness tracking, it seems like Garmin may have their work cut out for them.  However, I still do not like to carry my phone while running, but with the announced Samsung Galaxy S5 having ANT+ capability, hopefully more phone manufacturers will follow suit, since phones do seem to have a pretty good handle on the position tracking.

Garmin 620 VO^2max

I was sort of an early adopter to the new Garmin 620 smart watch.  Well, it's smart in that it has a heart rate strap with an accelerometer in it, so it is able to measure your cadence, vertical oscillation (how high you 'bounce') and also ground contact time.  It also measures your average stride lenght for the run based on all the parameters.  So far I really like it. It's super easy to use, automatically uploads to Garmin connect and Strava (with copymysports). I honestly don't know if it's worth the price, but I don't regret buying it, yet anyway.

One of the cool things it does is measure (or estimate) your VO^2max.  Below you can see the trend since I got the watch in late November.  I hadn't been running a ton before then so you can clearly see a trend of increased fitness.

Essentially it measures your heart rate and pace, and uses a formula to calculate your estimated VO2max. You can see the formula in action on the two points I highlighted.  Point (1) I visited Mesa, Arizona and ran in Mesa (1,243ft ele) one day and the next day in high elevation Flagstaff, AZ (6,910ft ele).  It makes sense that I would have a higher pace / lower heart rate in Mesa than in Flag, especially considering my buddy and I summited Elden lookout (~9200ft) on the run in Flagstaff.  Also, on point (2), I was traveling to central California where it is around 375ft elevation. Now I'm back in Central Oregon so I'm sort of back to my current baseline of 57.

Hopefully I'll update this again later in the year, after a few more key workouts and races.

Hemochromatosis maintenance

Finally got around to making some plots for the ferritin numbers over time, along with frequency of therapeutic phlebotomies.

Figure 1: Original ferritin decline with partial phelbotomies plotted. Early phlebotomies not counted.

Figure 2: Hemochromatosis maintenance since original de-iron at end of 2006. Clear increase in ferritin since 2nd quarter 2012 indicates more therapeutic phlebotomies required.

Doctor indicates safe ferritin for HH patient is ferritin less than 50 or so.

Rejected blood

I'm a little outraged that the red cross won't let me donate blood into the regular blood bank.  Since I have Hemochromatosis, they will take out my blood, but they just throw it down the drain.  (well not literally).

This is not the FDA restricting the blood from HH positive people; they allow it.  This is 100% the red cross and their stupid politics.  here's a direct quote from the red cross website:

The American Red Cross, which controls about 45% of the nation's blood supply, does not currently accept donations from people with known hemochromatosis. Everyone agrees that the blood is safe and of high quality. There is no risk of passing on a genetic disease through blood transfusions. But the Red Cross has a long-standing policy that potential donors are not allowed to receive direct compensation for their donation (beyond the usual orange juice and cookie). Because people with hemochromatosis would otherwise have to pay for their therapeutic phlebotomies, they would in effect be getting something of value for being able to donate for free. Thus the Red Cross has ruled that such donations violate their policy.

BS! If I had an alternative way to give blood and have it go to a blood bank I totally would.  I estimate that I will be prescribed to give blood between 4 and 8 times a year for the rest of my life!! That's a lot of blood for people who might need it.

See if you have any alternatives to the Red Cross to give blood in your area, and also, encourage them to accept blood from hemochromatosis patients if they don't already.

Pillager Mud Run Special

Ran in the Pillager Mud Run last weekend and had a lot of fun.  The mud was just a little watered down, but it was still yucky and muddy.  The local public TV station did a nice little production on it, and I gave away my training secret:  American Ninja Warrior!!!

Fun times in MN for sure.

Red Cross doesn't want my O- blood

Just got a letter in the mail stating the Red Cross will no longer use my iron rich 'hemochromatosis' O negative blood in the regular blood bank anymore because of "technology upgrades". I'm pretty disappointed by this and really wish there was an alternate blood bank here in town that I could go to. They said they would still extract my blood at no charge but it will go to waste. I'm hoping to start a revolution to get this decision turned around. I have O negative blood and it's the same as anyone elses. My extra iron isn't in my blood, it's in my body and when I give blood my body uses my extra iron to create new RBCs. In other words, my blood is the same as everybody else.

Just had to vent.

Comeback 2.0

In Oregon there are three important stage races for the amateur bike racer: The Mt Hood Cycling classic, the Elkhorn Classic and the Cascade Classic, each of these races are three days long. The Oregon cyclist can live the dream and doing the stage race and spend a weekend bike racing on some very epic and scenic courses. Unlike Pro tour riders, there are no team cooks or breakfast buffets every morning, (unless you pay way extra). This summer, my comeback to road bike racing, I plan to do the three stage races in the 'cat 3' category. (Bike racing lingo: cat 5 is beginner, cat 1 is almost pro).

Last weekend, the first of the three stage races took place: the Mt hood cycling classic in Hood River. In my opinion, Hood River is the most beautiful town in Oregon, and alot of that has to do with the columbia gorge. The race consists of 4 stages over 3 days.

Stage 1

The first stage started in the Dalles, and covered territory between the Dalles and a small town called Mosier. The race was on some of the same roads that the columbia gorge marathon travels in October, a foot race that I've done twice, so I was somewhat familiar with the route. However, there was one section that I was not familiar with, and this section included what is known to the locals as '7 mile hill'. Before the race I was talking with my teammates Pete and Erik, and predicted that around 15 riders would be in the lead group, and if you were not in that group, it would really suck to be trying to chase back on. I don't like to make up excuses, but I had to take antibiotics for three days in the week prior to this race for a sinus infection, which was very taxing on my system. I'm not going into details but I didn't have 'full power' on 7 mile hill, and I don't think it helped to have the climb with a slight tail wind on one of the first 70+ degree days of the spring. It was a pressure cooker and it was hot, and my lungs were still coughing up the 'gunk'. To make a long story short, I was dropped by the lead group on the climb and had to chase to get back as much time as possible for the last 20 miles with 7 others in the same position. Interestingly, exactly 15 riders finished the stage on the lead, and Pete was one of them. I finished just over 4 minutes later.

Stage 2 (11 mile TT)

The second stage was an 11 mile time trial in Trout Lake, WA. Even amateur riders use the tricked out TT bikes, or fit their road bikes with clip on bars and disc wheels. I decided to bring less to the race, so I was on my road bike with regular bars and no disc. The result here was I lost 3 more minutes to the leader.

Criterium

I was scared of this race because of the hairpin corner after the downhill, but it was mostly safe until the last corner, where a dude crashed and the ambulance came, but he ended up not leaving in it. I ended up ahead of the crash, and was 11th.

3 Summits Road race

71 miles with huge climbs in the mountains north of Hood River on paved single lane forest roads. After losing time on Friday, I was mixed about how this could go. In chatting with guys from the team we agreed that this would not be an attack fest, and more of a war of attrition. The first two climbs were tough, but I was able to hang on. The downhills were fast, and I drove down the second big decent, because being behind other riders on the brakes during the first one was just too stressful. Hung on until the last steep uphill mile with the selection of 15 riders in the field, and moved up on GC from 40th to 16th, by far my best overall finish in an Oregon cat 3 stage race. Looking forward to Elkhorn on June 17-19, where the 1st and 2nd place riders from Mt Hood will be racing, so it will be tough!