Initial Setup
Once you’ve received your footpod, follow the setup instructions in the box.
The Polar setup instructions are also on the Stryd website.
Once you’ve finished setting up your footpod, you should have:
- created a login to Stryd PowerCenter
- installed the Stryd mobile app on your phone (and paired your footpod to the mobile app)
- connected the Polar app to the Stryd app
- paired your Stryd as a sensor to your Polar watch
- added power to your Polar data screen using Polar Flow
Settings that apply to every watch / power meter
Based on the experience of hundreds of runners who’ve used power, there are some watch / power meter settings that every runner wishes they’d understood or configured when getting started. These are detailed on the Settings & Configs page.
Because these instructions are quite detailed, the following sections are collapsed – please expand the sections you’d like to know more about.
Height & Weight: ‘set it and forget it’
As explained in Settings & Configs, it’s important to ‘set and forget’ your height and weight.
Instructions for setting your height and weight are on the Stryd website.
Height and Weight are entered in the Stryd mobile app (for iOS or Android).
Auto-lap: disable auto-lap when running intervals/structured workouts
As explained in Settings & Configs, it’s important to disable auto-lap when running intervals using a structured workout.
Auto-lap is sport profile-specific. When running with different sports profiles (e.g. road, trail, treadmill), each of them requires Auto-lap to be changed.
Enabling/disabling Auto-lap is described in the manual for each watch model on the Polar website.
Auto-pause: disable auto-pause; never manually pause
As explained in Settings & Configs, it’s important to disable auto-pause, and never manually pause when Running with Power.
Auto-pause is sport profile-specific. When running with different sports profiles (e.g. road, trail, treadmill), each of them requires Auto-pause to be changed.
Enabling/disabling Auto-pause is described in the manual for each watch model on the Polar website.
Auto-calibrate: disable auto-calibration
As explained in Settings & Configs, it’s important to disable auto-calibration if you want to track changes in your Running Effectiveness changes..
Calibration is sport profile-specific. When running with different sports profiles (e.g. road, trail, treadmill), each of them requires calibration to be changed.
The process is described in the Polar Setup page on the Stryd website.
Recording frequency: record data with ‘high accuracy’
As explained in Settings & Configs, it’s important to choose ‘every second recording’ so that power averages (used for your metrics) are calculated correctly.
Recording Frequency can be set to High, Medium or Low accuracy, as described in the manual for each watch model on the Polar website.
For accurate metrics, record data with High accuracy.
Power averaging: for ‘current power’ use real-time power; for ‘keep-to-target’ use lap average
As explained in Settings & Configs, real-time power is ‘spiky’ – you may prefer your power numbers to be averages:
- for ‘current’ power, you’re limited to real-time power (Polar watches do not offer smoothed power)
- for ‘keep-to-target’ power, use lap power.
Choice of power unit is sport profile-specific. When running with different sports profiles (e.g. road, trail, treadmill), you can set each profile to show different power averages.
Power units: I prefer ‘percentage of Threshold Power’, but try each type, see what you prefer
As explained in Settings & Configs, it may be possible to display your power targets and actuals as Watts, Watts/kg or percentage of Threshold Power (depending on the power units available on the watch you’re using).
Polar watches offer Watts and Watts/kg. They also offer percentage of Maximal Aerobic Power (MAP). MAP is not the same as Threshold Power, although it is possible to manually set your MAP equal to your Threshold Power, then display your power using percentage of MAP.
Choice of power unit is sport profile-specific. When running with different sports profiles (e.g. road, trail, treadmill), you can set each profile to show power using a different Unit.
Displaying Pace & HR: I prefer not to show pace or HR; some activities (in the book) suggest you show power, pace and HR on your watch
As explained in Settings & Configs, some of the activities in the book ask you to display power, pace and HR on your watch so that you can keep track of changes in those metrics as you begin to experience running with power.
To do this, choose a layout showing at least three metrics, and include real-time power, pace and heart rate as displayed metrics.
Moving to the next lap: use the middle right button
As explained in Settings & Configs, it’s worth familiarising yourself with the way to move to the next lap before you find that you want to do it but don’t know how.
To move to the next lap, press the middle right button (labelled OK).
Settings specific to Polar watches
Pace and distance from Stryd: rather than relying on GPS accuracy/signal reception
Stryd’s Pace and Distance calculations do not rely on GPS, which can be useful if you regularly run on routes with a poor GPS signal.
In addition, Stryd’s Pace and Distance numbers are often more accurate than calculating pace and distance using GPS.
When paired with Stryd, Polar watches use Stryd for pace and distance (while still recording your GPS path).
Adjusting what’s displayed on your watch
Polar watches allow users to customize which metrics are displayed during activities. Each activity type (run, walk) can have different settings.
How to adjust activity settings is described in the manual for each watch model on the Polar website.
Because Power is natively available on Polar watches, there’s no need to use an additional app – just choose the layout you want to use, and add the metrics you want to see.
Download => Execution => Upload
Planning: Training plans; building your own workouts
You can purchase training plans via TrainingPeaks. If you purchase plans via Stryd or Final Surge, you won’t be able to download them to your watch.
You can create workouts using TrainingPeaks (premium), or using Polar Flow.
Downloading:
Workouts created in Polar Flow will automatically download to your watch.
Workouts (or training plans) in TrainingPeaks can be downloaded to your watch as described in Using Polar Flow with TrainingPeaks on the Polar website.
Executing: Select start training and scroll to running, then press the main button
Executing a workout is described in First run with Polar and Stryd on the Stryd website.
Uploading: Only Power is uploaded automatically; all other Stryd metrics need to be uploaded using ‘offline sync’
Completed workouts will be uploaded to Stryd PowerCenter once you’ve connected the Suunto mobile app to the Stryd app.
Only power is recorded in the workout file and uploaded. Other non-Duo Stryd metrics are recorded in the footpod, and can be uploaded using an offline sync, as described on the Stryd website. Stryd PowerCenter will merge the additional metrics with uploaded workout data.
If you use Stryd Duo, you’ll need to use Footpath sync in the Stryd Mobile app to transfer balance data to Stryd PowerCenter.
If you have feedback or a question, please let me know in the from1runner2another Facebook group.
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