Tech bound to the North London Half Marathon with STRYD and BSX Insight

Sunday 20th March is Half Marathon tech day for me.

My cunning plan is to test STRYD’s running power meter over the undulations of the course to regulate my speed and use BSX to see what happens to the oxygen in my poor muscles.

I’ve not quite figured out which extra bits I will carry and where I will stick them. if you see someone running with a rucksack, it will be me 🙂

STRYD gives a view of running power. The theory is that you would maintain a constant power which would necessitate slowing down when going uphill and going faster than target-average pace when going downhill. In reality I’m going to try to limit my max power to a not-quite-so-arbitrary 300w. And see what happens.

The BSX device, in part, can estimate lactate threshold (LTHR) levels. Running a HM probably won’t take me beyond LTHR except at the end. So I ‘m not sure what will happen there. Perhaps it will show me that I am properly warmed up 15 minutes into the race (it can do that sort of thing) so I will then sigh quietly to myself for not warming up properly beforehand.

Anyway. A learning experience on both fronts with the Hackney Half looming soon after for some more serious running.

PS this will probably end up being a 3-watch race. I doubt that ANY of them will be able to do what I want. Actually maybe a watch and two smartphones or maybe 2 watches and a smartphone. Life was so much easier with no tech 10 years ago when I was faster. 🙂