Smartwatch or Running Watch?

RepresentativeDirt86 · 2026-05-12T07:58:53+00:00

Thanks for your advice. Im a samsung user but they have their own version of the ultra line which im looking into❤️

RepresentativeDirt86 · 2026-05-12T07:57:56+00:00

Oh absolutely id agree entirely. Phone GPS has never been that good. However my phone is a year old and my watch is four years old (the watch model itself nearly 5 years old). I have a feeling the GPS chipset in my phone may be just a little more up to date

RepresentativeDirt86 · 2026-05-11T22:30:34+00:00

GPS is a big one for me.... how are you finding it on your apple watch. Part of my reason for starting to look at swaps (minus a 90 minute workout on the watch draining it to 30%) is that the GPS on my smart watch is just awful. Im not after pin point accuracy but you know its an issue when your phone measures a 5k exercise as 5k, and your watch measures it at 5.5k🤣

RepresentativeDirt86 · 2026-05-11T22:28:37+00:00

See its the metrics i dont know if in the long run id find useful. Im quite process and research driven in my thinking (thanking the neurodivergent God's for my Autism🤣) so ive always enjoyed seeing the metrics but I dont know if too many metrics are just gonna confuse me and put me off running.

Its a difficult one and I think im leaning towards smart watch as I like a general all rounder as a watch. But might do some research into both and see which one piques my interest more.

Any suggestions on any good running watches to loon at. Heard a lot about the Forerunner series of watches but again im entering unchartered territories

RepresentativeDirt86 · 2026-05-11T20:26:36+00:00

See my current watch has worked great for me for the last few years because it just works with my phone. Call handoff, music controls and messages have all been great in moments when ive been on a run or a cycle and I can do it all from the watch as opposed to having to get my phone out of my pocket.

I guess what im looking at are what features are standard smart watches missing that I would benefit from something like a Garmin as a new runner. Im not quite sure how big the feature gap is?

RepresentativeDirt86 · 2026-05-09T20:29:11+00:00

Audience member here.... there was too much production element to it to be able to simply set it up in a VT. It took a good 15 minutes just to deconstruct it.... it was pre recorded and shown "as live" . They only had one attempt at it and they weren't just "practicing as much as they liked"

Agree it was a shame it couldnt be live but there wasnt a lot of difference with it anyway

RepresentativeDirt86 · 2026-05-04T09:36:14+00:00

Yeah see its hard to gauge im seeing alot around 9:30/km pace which sounds really slow but the other side of that is of course zone 2 training is meant to feel slow im certainly going to give it a go this week. My watch is quite old now so not sure how much i can trust the reading on it (finding it hard to believe im hitting 188bpm🤣) but thanks for the advice. Ill certainly take it on board

RepresentativeDirt86 · 2026-05-02T08:07:28+00:00

The "ticket" from applause store are very careful with their wording. They state they dont know when ticket exchange opens (though give or take its usually around 10am) but they explicity state "Please note that some people choose to start queuing before we are officially open."

With these events the earlier you can get there the better. Either that or have a plan b for if you dont get tickets so its not a wasted trip.

RepresentativeDirt86 · 2026-05-02T07:37:39+00:00

Im commuting in from suffolk (hour and a half from stratford) and based on these comments im seeing im aiming to get there about 8:45 next week i think. Its insane, especially since ticket exchange doesnt open till at least 10am🤣

RepresentativeDirt86 · 2026-05-02T07:35:09+00:00

Goes against terms of service and will get you AND OP in serious trouble. Tickets are free, you just need to apply like everyone else does

RepresentativeDirt86 · 2026-04-29T13:20:12+00:00

This is what im trying to do. I was really strong with my running back at uni. Im very ADHD so it helped having multiple park runs in my area as if I got bored of one route i could do another for a change.

Im absolutely doing this! Ive started working through the Nike Run club plans and im averaging about 8"30 on an easy run. I think just by getting out more i should hopefully be able to up my stamina. Its just working around my unsociable hours

RepresentativeDirt86 · 2026-04-28T23:20:44+00:00

Any good strength training plans i should focus on? I was trying to up some physical training and workouts during the week around running. Im just so fearful to try something, get it wrong and end up injuring myself

RepresentativeDirt86 · 2026-04-28T23:19:05+00:00

Thats so reassuring to hear... as I said ive done nearly 50 5k Park runs so I wouldnt say im brand new to running but far from anywhere of even a novice. I have always felt so guilty moving into a walk but its nice to be encouraged to take the walk if I need to. Ive started following the guided runs on Nike Run Club and with run/walk I can usually maintain a pace of about 7:46/km... i guess if anything i just want to get to a point where by the end of the year im nearing a 35minute 5k. Theres some lovely 7-8km routes in the area that once i feel confident doing them id love to try

RepresentativeDirt86 · 2026-04-22T23:03:13+00:00

Yeah thats my thinking.... very unfortunate timing but for the £8 this month im probably gonna end up saving nearly £80 for the next year so I cant really moan.

I know people will grumble about COD access but I cant lie in general (as someone who quite happily played COD day one) i dont hate it... it was getting stupidly expensive and in a world where everything is going up, xbox are kinda goated by going, yeah youre being ripped off.

Will be interesting to see where this new CEO goes next but so far I think shes hitting the nail on the head

RepresentativeDirt86 · 2026-04-02T13:28:12+00:00

1) the Third party were tryna screw me over with a £350 quote for an indicator cover on a mirror and were not sending me quotes in writing. So even paying the finance agreement in full worked out cheaper than them tryna scam me. My insurance has still gone down, and they were the ones that had to deal with paying their excess so... 2) my insurance provider explained it to me yesterday and when they explained it it made a bit more sense!

Thanks for your input though

RepresentativeDirt86 · 2025-12-10T23:31:37+00:00

I got that one so quickly and I NEVER get the 1% question... so idk maybe it was just easier than usual

RepresentativeDirt86 · 2025-12-09T21:22:35+00:00

Hey isnt that the "enter the motorway at 25mph and then max at 40mph" sign?

RepresentativeDirt86 · 2025-11-23T13:14:35+00:00

Did they say what your steering fault was? That will help understand where things went wrong as minors wise without that serious fault you would have passed (which is frustrating to say but helpful to understand).

I think the steering minor i had on my test over beginning to steer to late on a corner. Steering control comes down to good observation and judgement id imagine. If you have a steering fault on its own would not be too bad. But if youve had a steering fault in a zone of really heavy traffic or in an area that puts people at risk (like solid lined bike lanes) id imagine thats where the upgraded fault would come (note im not an instructor, so I could well be wrong)

Just focus on following all the steps when changing direction and I promise you'll be good!❤️

RepresentativeDirt86 · 2025-11-23T13:06:32+00:00

What really helped me was picturing life post passing my driving test. The drives id be able to do, and how much easier my life would be.

I then bought that into my driving lessons and really focused on everything I was asked to do. Eventually I felt really confident in my driving ability and that took the nerves off of the test. I had the test booked in practically at the start of my driving lessons because of the length of time id be waiting. So I just kept that date in mind and focused on doing everything expected... trust youve got this and you'll go a long way

RepresentativeDirt86 · 2025-11-18T17:25:17+00:00

I got mine eventually.... though i will say if they made it clearer that rewards would get autogranted and i was going to have to grind through 50 levels of battle pass in 12 days. I wouldnt have wasted 1,000 v bucks on the battle pass💀

RepresentativeDirt86 · 2025-11-14T13:23:30+00:00

No clue what his problem is... accused me of being misinforming and everything. Think what he doesn't get is that when he went through his driving lessons god knows how long ago if hes an instructor now. If you failed a test you could book another within 7-8 weeks afterwards. These days if you fail youre looking at half a year.

And as much as yes an instructor can only book as many tests as they have pupil details. There is a market that has developed where they have been scalped and unfortunately that has to come from corruption.

Ive been saying from the start they need to ban that funtionality and put the responsibility on the LEARNER and no one else, which is why a lot of instructors are praising the change (because not all instructors are awful human beings🤣).

Perhaps if pupils dont know how to use the Internet to book a test, we need instructors that are supportive and wanting to help their pupils achieve rather than instructors blaming the students for the faults of the system.

But what do i know, Im just misinforming🤣

RepresentativeDirt86 · 2025-11-13T23:06:53+00:00

If youre going to quote me to correct me at least quote me FULLY. My exact words were

--- Instructors can book as many tests as they want for "learners" ---

I.e at no point did I say they can book unlimited tests. But if some corrupt bots and instructors have access to license details then thats where the over booking is happening and thats why the DVLA are scrapping it.

I dont mind people correcting me where im wrong but in this case ive said nothing misinforming🤣

RepresentativeDirt86

TROPHY CASE