I am somewhat hesitant to write this, as I'm sure no one out there needs reminding that I once stated publicly that I'd never run trails, run an ultra, or learn how to bike. So these days I am really trying not to say 'never'.
I do not have a Strava account, the only time I've been on the site is when people have posted links of runs/rides and I need to look at it to know where to show up.
Firstly, I already post my GPS data in 4 places: RunningAhead, Garmin Connect, Daily Mile, and SparkPeople. That is probably already overload, but each one has its purpose and I can't see myself cutting out one of those. I've gotten my routine down that I can post in all 4 places in under 5 minutes.
More importantly, from what I understand, Strava is all about numbers, about competing to be the fastest, and that is the antithesis of what my workouts are all about these days. Running, for me, is all about fun and adventure, NOT speed and competition.
I'm glad that you ARE having the fun and adventure, Patty! It's really nice to see.
ReplyDeleteI always thought Strava people were a different breed. I don't know how I got this impression. It seemed for the folks that would podium in a race.
ReplyDeleteBut, it is actually a nice app and I am liking it. My routes automatically get imported for Garmin, so I don't have to do anything. Same thing for Nike+.
I mostly use Garmin, MapMyRun and Dailymile.
I used MMR for a long time because I have all my data in there since 2008 and they have had a gear tracker there for a long time and I really like their calendar breakdown view.
I used DailyMile because one of my friends was using it and MMR wouldn't let me export my data. So, I gave it a try. I found I met a great community of runners and triathletes. It has been a good experience for me. I also track my gear here too.
I use Garmin because it is automatic and works well with my equipment. I also track my gear here too! argh. I am OCD. With the new Modern Interface, Garmin Connect is really good. If it had this all along, I probably never would have tried MMR and DM. Oh well.
I am just in the experimental phase with Strava now. I don't know how long I will use it.
oh... One thing that Strava does that is interesting... it lets you create segments and it allows you to easily and automatically see how you did on that segment vs yourself and the other members that ran or biked that segment. I think this is how it got the reputation for the competitive people.
ReplyDeleteI am sure it is no fun if you see 60 people ran a particular segment and you were the slowest or bottom 10% or whatever.
see, that is the point. I'd feel bad about being at the bottom of the heap, but also not motivated to get faster, because that's not my thing.
DeleteI use Garmin Connect for the splits and maps, DM for the community, RunningAhead because it has my stats from pretty much when I first started running, and Spark because it gives me a calorie range to eat in based on my workouts.
The only thing I would theoretically get from Strava are segments...see above.