I think it's just you and me kid, everyone else seems to hate it!

The general rule I've learned here is to do the opposite of what most people on here say :)

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Just running would be shit, but I love the workouts and training plans.

I've been zwift running and riding for about 4 weeks now. I find the riding to be great. The running is a little more nuanced. I have found that usually for just a normal 30' easy run, I'll usually flip my TV screen to watch something else while letting zwift run in the background. Watching myself just run alone is really pretty boreing. However, last night there were quite a bit more people running on Zwift. I was just running along minding my own business and wound up in an unofficial race with a guy and I found that to be exciting. I will be doing my first running race this afternoon and I am expecting that to be exciting as well. Overall, it has added something to my otherwise boreing treadmill running experience.

Agreed - Zwift running is amazing! Especially when compared to treadmill running life pre-Zwift. My favorite is the beachside running, where oddly I really feel like I'm running beachside. Kind of crazy.

I'm hoping one day the technology facilitates some Duathlon races!! How cool would a Zwift Duathlon Race be!!!!

Zwift running is really helping me get through 45 and 50 mile weeks.

I really wanted Zwift running to be great! I have tried using it a few times with my Apple Watch and frustratingly watched my guy either stand while people run by, or he runs for 10-15 seconds then stops, walks, and then starts running again for 10-15 seconds. This goes on for the entire run.

Yesterday I did a 45 minute run on the treadmill and Zwift logged 21 minutes. I won't even go into the paces it was reading. Not saying it's Zwift's fault, but I am hesitant to go out and spend $30-$100 on a footpod to find out it produces the same results. I was one of the 1000 free footpod giveaway people - so I will wait for that to arrive to give Zwift run another chance. If I get the same results I'll go back to old fashioned treadmill running.

I’ve used mine 3 times so far. First run went great, second run I lost connection every 30 seconds, third run I used my new iPad and it went flawlessly.

It certainly makes running on a treadmill more engaging but it’s not the game changer like Zwift cycling. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll make sure I use it every treadmill run from here on out.

Which plan are you following?

Not doing a plan. Just trying out different workouts.

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The Zwift footpod will work so much better than Apple Watch

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I am really enjoying Zwift running so far. I Just started the 13.1 program and so far so good. When I did my first couple of runs a few months ago my footpod worked flawlessly. A couple of weeks ago it would stop working every 10 seconds or so. I downloaded the Milestone app onto my iPhone and upgraded the firmware, and once again it's working great.

I heard Zwift changed the firmware on the the Zwift pods to work better than the original Milestone pods. I could be wrong on this?

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i did my first zwift run day before yesterday. what i have 3 different ways to talk to zwift now: a footpod, a (used to be) wahoo gymconnect, and the treadmill's own built-in bluetooth.

so far, it seems to me by far the best way is just to rely on the built-in bluetooth. i wonder how many people are using their footpods for zwift on treadmills that have bluetooth. right now, i'm connected to the gymconnect. but i don't see, yet, any difference between the gymconnect and built-in bluetooth, that is, i don't see any difference in the funtionality.

what i'd love is for the transmission to be 2-way, that is, rather than simply having the footpod/gymconnect/bluetooth send a signal to zwift, i'd like zwift to send a signal back, telling the treadmill to incline according to the course. but i don't believe zwift has "turned on" that functionality yet. i believe the gymconnect was built with that in mind. but we're not there yet i don't think.

i'm "field testing" all this now, pursuant to writing my first zwift run article. what i'm also doing - or will be doing - is strategizing when our group run events will take place and what they will look like. so, why don't you guys think about:

1. what run event do you want? what do you want it to look like? be like? length? format? course?
2. when? what time of day, day of week?
3. do you want to just DO it? or LEAD it?

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

I ran on Zwift for the first time yesterday... 60 min easy run. I ran the app on an iphone X..... worked perfectly fine with my stryd. No HR cause I don't own a bluetooth hrm. It was cool for about 5 minutes but I think thats because I was running it on my phone and its such a small screen..... so not exactly the easiest to see while on the treadmill. There also weren't many people running either. I didn't look at the workouts but maybe there is more appeal there. Perhaps I just need to run it on an ipad to get a bigger screen for more engagement. I could use a new distraction on my treadmill runs.

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blog

Are people running on treadmills that they own? Or are they running at the gym on a treadmill running zwift on an ipad/phone?

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http://www.savagesentiments.blogspot.com/
http://www.tricoachmartin.com/
https://www.facebook.com/teameverymanjack

I run at the YMCA with my iPhone but I think I’m going to bring my iPad.

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i can answer that for you. treadmill ownership and purchase intentions:

I own one, won't buy another soon: 37%
I own one but I will buy another soon: 4%
I don't own one but I plan to buy one soon: 8%
I have access to one, don't need to buy my own: 25%
I rarely run on a treadmill: 26%

of those who run on a treadmill:

own: 55%
use: 45%

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

I'm using a Huawei MediaPad M5 8.5" tablet I got from Newegg for $279. It runs great.
https://www.newegg.com/...item=N82E16834324028

I had been using a Galaxy S9 but couldn't seen anything with that

I use Zwift Run since last year, about 550km logged so far.

Altough I never tried a race, I like it so far, much better than looking at the wall in front of my treadmill.

I use a Garmin foot pod (connected via Ant+, I use a desktop PC to run Zwift at home, with a monitor in front of the treadmill, see pic).

When I'm away from home, in the hotel gyms I use Zwift Run with my iPhone. My foot pod is connected to the phone via a 4iiii HRM.

These setups have been working fine so far, and the pace is sufficiently accurate for me.

of those who run on a treadmill:

own: 55%
use: 45%

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As I joke with Bryan (who I coach), anytime you drive to go run on zwift at the Y treadmills, just leave your man card at check in....I'll take growing some hair on your chest in the cold, for $100 Alex.

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Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II

I don’t find it very interesting for easy runs. I’ll usually resort back to watching Netflix or something. If zwift could actually control the treadmill it would be way more engaging.

As it is I could see it as useful for run workouts, but those are usually interesting enough to not need distraction.

Come watch how it works and you’ll change your mind

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I've really grown to like Zwift running. For me it's easy to push myself versus just running on the treadmill. For a while, I was running every Wednesday morning with a guy in Boston. It'd start out easy but by the last few miles we were both pretty much sprinting towards the banner.

I'm up to over 1500 miles on Zwift and use the stryd footpod which works like a charm. The stryd is pretty accurate. It can actually tell you if the treadmill is lying about it's speed. lol. I use two, one and work and one at home, and the one at home is way off compared to the one at work.

My favorite course is the 5k loop on Watopia and I'll usually do that 2 times if I'm doing a shorter workout. I enjoy the loop mentality because there's usually more runners on the 5k loop than any other course. Oh and I use a surface pro 3 to use at the gym or home. It seems to be the right size to not be weird at the gym and still be able to see your avatar running around.

only if i can heckle!

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Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II

I have a Garmin HRM-TRI heart rate monitor that does everything the footpod does, I wonder if I could use that as a footpod. I wouldn't mind trying this Zwift treadmill thing.

I bought my wife a Zwift footpod earlier today.

You would need an ANT+/Bluetooth bridge to use it. Just buy the Zwift run pod because it will be cheaper than a bridge.

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So how does this actually work? The footpod communicates with Zwift on your phone/tablet? Or the treadmill? Does it control the treadmill like smart trainers for the biking version?

The Bluetooth footpod talks to Zwift for cadence and pace. It does not control a treadmill at all. There will never be a footpod controlled treadmill due to safety reasons. Your phone or tablet will pick up the signal and Zwift will make your character run.

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Yup it is awesome. Did my first Zwift running race tonight

Yeah, that makes sense. Part of me thinks it would be really awesome if it would adjust the incline as I run up a hill in the game, but it would probably end badly.

Color me intrigued. I like the idea that it can be used with any treadmill. They did this well.

All you need to do is calibrate before your run because each treadmill may be slightly different. It doesn’t take long. You set your base speed and it calibrates at that speed, a higher speed, and a lower speed. Each calibration cycle is 40 seconds. Buy the Zwift foot pod and give it a try.

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What are the races like? Various distances? How many people were in the race you did?

It is and more courses. One problem I’m having now though is I start running and my avatar stops then gets moving then stops again and this continues. I have new batteries in the foot pod (milestone/zwift) and have calibrated. The milestone material says the red light indicates the shoe is past its use by km’s. I’ve tried on a newer shoe and same thing.

Anyone else have this?

I'll answer because I did my first race yesterday as well. It was a 8k (5 mile) race. There were 85 people total I believe. When you join a race you pick what group you should be competing in. They are defined with an average pace. The groups gather and start segregated but all groups merge together on to the same course. It was pretty realistic to me in the sense that there were a few really fast guys, then some medium fast guys, then a bunch of not quite as fast people. One thing I found to be a lot easier than racing an actual real race I being able to see everyone else's current pace. I found that the be very valuable in terms of pacing for passing. I enjoyed it and I will certainly do it again.

So far I have seen 5k races and 8k ones. In the 8k I did yesterday there were about 80 total starters. But actually 134 had registered.

There will be more including longer distances

I run with a Stryd footpod and have no issues with it. I have been running on Zwift for quite a while now and I especially like the group runs and workouts. Group runs really make you run harder than you would otherwise and in general you can do certain things on a treadmill that can’t easily be duplicated outside. I have done workouts as long as 13.4k and never had to stop for traffic or other obstacles. Plus it really encourages me to go harder than I would alone on the treadmill or outside.

Main reason for me to run on a treadmill however is having small kids and a wife with a big job which means she is gone often.

So if I understand this correctly, if I have the Zwift run pod and I have my iPad with Zwift, then I can do Zwift runs wherever I am...like when my upcoming heavy travel schedule puts me on lots of early-morning hotel treadmills? I prefer to run outside, but it’s often not possible on travel due to the time of day or location. Far easier to just hit the treadmills. But I do hate staring at myself in a mirror or at a blank wall for an hour!

Yep! Get a Wahoo Tickr for heart rate and you are good to go! You can run anywhere there is a treadmill

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On the zwift running theme, I am keen to try it but would need to buy a second hand treadmill and footpod. Would I then need to get a second footpod if my wife was to run on zwift or can we use the same one?

You can use the same one.

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Great! Already have a Tikr for use on my Elite Direto.

Sweeet pain cave!

Do you need a foot pod or is the tickr sufficient?

The TickrX will work but you have to trick it into being a “footpod”. For $30, just buy the Zwift footpod and be happy :)

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Just bought a Zwift footpod for me and my wife. I'm excited to try it. We hate running on the treadmill, so hopefully this will make it more interesting, especially if there are structured workouts.

I used to hate running on the treadmill. I would run in the rain or cold. After 2 runs on Zwift, I’m hooked and look forward to many more miles. I think you’ll love it!

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Agreed. I like it better than I thought I would. Pleasantly surprised.

So I have got hold of a footpod mainly for my wife to run on a treadmill (she isnt comfortable with running on her own in the dark after work when I am looking after our little boy) and after one run the pod is now flashing red which, as far as the internet tells me, means there is a battery issue. It was also a total pig to connect initially and had frequent drop outs (14 in 5k) which were not avg corrected and simply look liks gaps or stops in the run. Also the run was approx 2kmh slower than the calibrated treadmill was suggesting.

I really want this to work for her but am struggling to figure out the gremlins right now, any guidance would be appreciated. Thanks.

The battery zwift sent with mine died quickly as well but I think that may be due to me keeping my shoes close to the washing machine. The zwift pod picks up any vibration and drains the battery is what I’m thinking.

Anyone experiencing awful battery life with their RunPod? I got mine less than 3 weeks ago and have gone on 3 runs (<9 miles total). Went to go running today and it wouldn't pair, no blue light indicator either.

The only explanation I can think of is that the battery is dead, and I'll be very disappointed if that's the case.

Mine is still going just fine after 4 runs.

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I am having two issues...

Anyone having luck finding a chest strap that pairs well with iphone? I was using the polar H10 but it seems to never wake up sometimes or connect to the bluetooth but zwift can't find it. I couldn't use it my last two runs.

When HR chest strap doesnt work I resort to the apple watch for HR, which works ok but tends to stall out on runs for a few mins then randomly start again. anyone have a solution to that?

Isn't that killing your data plan? Or does the YMCA have free wifi that is actually decent?

I have unlimited data and the YMCA has wifi. The wifi was too slow on my last Zwift run so I just used my phones data plan.

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I tried it out once on my treadmill at home, everything worked fine but my phone screen is too small to watch. I feel like an ipad size screen would be the minimum to make zwift running enjoyable.

If anyone wants to buy a zwift pod, send me a PM :)

Is the assumption for races that everyone is on a 0% decline the whole time?

Zwift running has been great! I started on it when it was released. I live in a fairly hilly area so it has been ideal for consistency with speed based intervals. Also no rain and snow. I still have the ANT+ dongle with the old Garmin footpod- after calibrating it works really well.

Answers to group run questions from Slowman:
1. what run event do you want? what do you want it to look like? be like? length? format? course?
It would be great to have some longer 15km+ events. Great builds for half marathons. It would also be nice if it was a regular occurrence. I haven't tried group workouts or races in a while. There wasn't enough runners in the beginning to make it competitive. It sounds like that's improved Course- Its nicer to be off the main roads on the running paths- I don't like being run over by Cyclists constantly.

2. when? what time of day, day of week?
Ideal is mornings 6:30 or 7:00am Pacific Standard Time ‎(UTC-8) - Day of the week- Any day but Recovery Monday

3. do you want to just DO it? or LEAD it?
I'd rather do it.