What’s in Part 3?

This is Part 3 of the book Running with Power – Getting Started.

Because running power is still quite new, it can be complicated to set things up.

To ensure a smooth start, Part 3 guides you through a quick setup that minimises manual effort and prevents future problems.

It’s online (rather than in the book) because these settings are likely to change, and because you’ll probably only use the information while you’re setting things up.

Part 3:

assumes that you’ve made your choice of power meter, watch and associated apps. If you haven’t yet chosen, see Choosing Apps (from Part 1 of the book).
summarises settings that apply to every watch and power meter combination, and covers how those settings (plus settings unique to each combination) can be made.
covers the setup of popular apps, including setting up the app to app connections and using the apps for individual workouts or to review multi-workout metrics.

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.

The following table covers these settings, recommends how to handle each and summarises why they are important (Parts 1 & 2 of the book provide further information on each, if needed).

Setting	Recommendation	Why is this important?
Height & Weight	If you’re using Watts (rather than Watts/kg), enter your height & weight, then don’t change them. If you must change your weight, make the change at the start of a training block, rather than during it. If you use smart scales, make sure they’re not connected to your reviewing app	Running power meters need your height and weight because power measures effort and it takes more effort to move a heavier body, or to overcome a headwind with a bigger body. When power meters calculate your power (using your height & weight) the result is in Watts/kg, which is converted to Watts for your display and to store in your workout file – your weight is used to convert to Watts. If you change your weight, you’re changing the conversion from workout to workout, making it much more difficult to compare workout results.
Auto-lap	Disable auto-lap when running intervals using a structured workout. Enable auto-lap for easy runs or long runs if you want to break the run into sections. You may be able to enable or disable auto-lap using profiles on your watch.	Some watches have an auto-lap feature that allows you to move to the next lap after a set time or distance. This can be useful for easy runs or long runs as it enables you to break the run into sections and check whether each section is within the expected target range. But auto-lap can get in the way when running intervals, especially when the interval duration is longer than the auto-lap duration. Your watch may switch to a new lap partway through the interval, leaving you guessing whether the entire interval was within target.
Auto-pause	Disable auto-pause. Don’t manually pause your watch during a workout.	Some watches have an auto-pause feature that can pause your watch if you drop below a certain speed – for example, if you stop at an intersection waiting to cross the road. But pausing your workout means that, for the duration of the pause, your watch is no longer recording your second-by-second power in your workout file. When Running with Power, this may lead to inaccurate power averages compared to your target ranges, and can lead to inaccuracies in your power metrics.
Auto-calibrate	Disable Auto-Calibration if you want to track changes in your Running Effectiveness changes. If your watch is not reporting distance accurately, run a calibration test, set your calibration, then don’t change it. If you must change your calibration, make the change at the start of a training block, rather than during it.	Some watches have an auto-calibration feature that adjusts the way your watch measures pace and distance, based on GPS locations recorded during your run. This is a convenience function, meant to improve the accuracy with which your watch reports distance and the pace at which you’re running. But adjusting the calibration on your watch (whether manually or automatically) will affect your Running Effectiveness metric – how effectively you convert power into speed. This will make it much more difficult track RE improvements over time, to monitor the impact of working on your form, and critically, you may not have reliable RE numbers with which to set event targets.
Recording Frequency	Choose ‘every second recording’ so that power averages (used for your metrics) are calculated correctly.	Some watches let you adjust how often workout data is written to your workout file. This is often called ‘smart recording’, rather than ‘every second recording’. Unfortunately, smart recording may mean that your reviewing apps will calculate power averages incorrectly, leading to inaccuracies in your power metrics.
Power Averaging	Real-time power is ‘spiky’ – you may prefer ‘smoothed’ power. For ‘current’ power, use smoothed power matched to the lap duration. For ‘keep-to-target’ power, use lap power or step power. You can also use last lap/last step power to review your most recent work interval while recovering.	You can set up your watch to display your second-by-second power in ‘real-time’, but this may be a little disconcerting, as power is stochastic with numbers appearing to change almost randomly. As well as real-time power, many running watches display power averages – smoothed, workout, lap, and step. Each type can be useful in different situations, and Part 2 of the book covers these in detail. Which averages should you use? My recommendations are as shown, but ultimately it’s up to you – try each type, see what works.
Power Units	This is very much a matter of personal preference. I use percentage of threshold (using a Garmin watch) because: it helps me check my ‘feel’ vs. the intensity I’m running at. I can use the type of workout I’m running to ‘know’ the target range I should be running at.	Power is usually displayed in Watts. Some watches/apps can show power using other units – Watts/kg or percentage of Threshold Power. Watts/kg can be useful if your planning and reviewing apps also use Watts/kg. Percentage of threshold can be useful if you want to develop your feel for running at specific intensities. Which units should you use? My recommendations are as shown, but ultimately it’s up to you – try each type, see what works.
Displaying Pace & HR	I prefer ‘less is more’, as described in the next column. Most runners seem to arrive at less is more by working through the sequence shown. But if you’re working through the activities in Getting Started, you’ll need to include pace and/or HR on the same display as power – the detailed pages cover how to do this.	Should you display pace and HR along with your power numbers? It’s really up to you, but most runners seem to work through the following sequence: Power is unfamiliar, so you show it alongside whichever metric you’re familiar using. Power is different, and it can get confusing seeing your power change independently of pace or HR. You decide either to stop using power, or to make power your primary metric. You run with power, but also monitor other metrics e.g. cadence or ground contact time to work on your form. You decide that ‘less is more’, adjusting your watch to show two metrics (lap power and smoothed power), adding previous lap power when running intervals.
Moving to the next lap	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 – the detailed pages cover how to do this.	At some point, you will find yourself wanting to move to the next lap during a structured workout, either because something’s affected your workout and you want to move onto the next ‘work’ or ‘recover’ step, or because you’re running a workout that has a ‘continue until lap press’ step included. For example, I run my max effort tests using a continue until lap press step just prior to the max effort step, so that I can use a running start.

Settings & Configs

Choose a power meter / watch combination or an app for setup instructions.

Note that while I have used many of the items listed below, I have not used a Wahoo or Suunto watch or Stryd with a mobile phone and have relied on information provided online and from other runners. If you spot an error, or something that should be adjusted, please let me know.

Stryd Footpod

Wrist-based power

Apps

Need help choosing?

Choosing equipment is in the book, but Choosing Apps is online!

Or you can ask for help in the from1runner2another Facebook group.

I’m curious – what’s in the book?

Running with Power – Getting Started has three parts:

Equipment & Apps. Part 1 outlines combinations of equipment and apps that will work together, along with the advantages and disadvantages of each, so that you can make the best choice for you. It outlines settings you should use (for every watch/power meter combination), and provides example equipment/app combinations illustrating how to connect things to minimise manual steps. The content of this page (and the detailed app pages) are included in Part 1 of the book.
Running with Power. Part 2 covers the fundamental concepts of Running with Power, using a practical approach with opportunities to experience different aspects of power … by running with power. A learning-by-doing approach is an effective way to learn, and part 2 contains several activities you can use to experience the concepts, along with questions to help you reflect on the experience.
Setups & Configs. Available online, part 3 covers settings for watch and power meter combinations, including settings that apply to every combination and settings specific to the combination, and covers the setup of popular apps, including setting up the app to app connections and using the apps for individual workouts or to review multi-workout metrics.

I have some feedback, or a question

If you have feedback or a question, please let me know in the from1runner2another Facebook group.

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Updated:

2026-07-20