As power meters become more affordable to the cycling masses, the devices continue to grow in popularity for training. Will power meters now transform running? According to newcomer Stryd, in order to run better and improve your efficiency, the best training tool is power.
Current types of training data come with some inherent problems–heart rate lags and pace gets all muddled up in terrain and personal factors. Instead, Stryd wants to transform how you run train by eliminating extraneous information and just tell you exactly what your body is doing.
Invented by two Princeton engineers and developed by Boulder company Athlete Architect, Stryd measures your power (W), unit weight power (W/kg), and energy output (Kcal)–Stryd claims to be the first run focused device to calculate watts.
To use Stryd, you simply clip the small run power meter to the waistline of your running shorts and head off. Via BLE or ANT+, the device links with your watch (compatible with the Garmin XT series, Suunto Ambit series, and Magellan Switch series) or phone. The run power meter operates on a CR2032 coin cell battery that will supposedly last up to one-year.
With the accompanying app and web services, you can see things such as where you are wasting energy in your runs, use power zones to personalize your workouts, and perfect your pacing. Get both real-time and post-workout visual and audio feedback on your running form, including cadence, impact, and other key elements of efficient running. Like other web service, you can log every workout, evaluate your performance, and track progress to your goals over time.
The Stryd pre-order campaign will launch on February 15 with the first 1,000 devices delivered to pilot customers around May 2015. Request an early invite on the Stryd website.