Stryd Footpod Review -
12 months of Training & Racing

Having used my Stryd for almost a year now, I feel ready to do a Stryd footpod review. 

You may be wondering if the Stryd footpod can help you be a faster or better runner so hopefully my experience will help you understand or to decide on whether to invest in one.

About me, the reviewer

When I first heard about the Stryd Footpod, I didn't take much notice as I thought it was for elite athletes or runners of a certain 'young' age and performance level. However, the more I read about it, the more intrigued I became and the more I felt that it could be a really useful running tool, even for me.

I am not a fast, young, elite runner but rather I am a 58-year-old female who took up running around 5 years ago.

I run mainly for pleasure but also do competitions from 5km to marathon. Around me are mostly trails, so I was interested to see how the Stryd footpod would cope with lots of ups and downs and bumpy terrain.

Until I got my Stryd I had been doing MAF training (training by heart rate), so I felt this was going to be an interesting comparison. 

The Basics - Stryd footpod review

The Stryd footpod is a small black tear shaped pod that you wear on your shoe. If you are a competitive cyclist, you may well have heard of power meters but for runners it is a totally new concept.

The pod weighs about 7 grams and attaches to the laces of your shoes via a mini bracket. You receive 2 brackets (black and orange) just in case you lose one. 

As you run, it measures the work and effort that you are exerting in order to move. It does this using accelerometers which are built into the Stryd pod. These accelerometers measure your body movement (forwards, sideways and upwards) and from this information, it can calculate your power output in watts. 

The more power you can exert and the more efficiently you use that power, the faster you will be. 

Setup & Charging - Stryd footpod review

I use Stryd along with my Garmin Fenix 5S. It will work with any android phone or iPhone and most running watches. They have a list on their website of compatible watches.

Setting up and pairing the Stryd with my Garmin was thankfully pretty straightforward. I just followed the emails and I was good to go pretty much straight away.

Charging is also simple. You just attach it to your computer via the USB cable and when the light goes out, it is done. I haven't timed how long it takes to charge but it seems quite quick (a couple of hours) and the battery life is about 20 hours. That is great as I find I can easily go 2 weeks without charging.  You can check how much battery is left by placing your phone next to your Stryd and then checking the phone app. I'm not sure how accurate it is but it is a good guide.

The Stryd links to my running watch and so all the information that it collects can be seen either on my Garmin Connect and in the online Stryd Power Center.

There are a variety of different apps which you can download on your GPS watch that work with Stryd. Stryd recommend Stryd Zones. 

Apps are not my strong point so I was pleasantly surprised to find that even I could understand it! I like to keep my screens pretty simple so I just have power zones on one screen and then pace, distance, time and power on another. I do have heart rate (HR) on a third as I still like to see my HR post run.

Using the Stryd Footpod for the First Time 

When you first get your Stryd, you will wonder how such a small, unassuming piece of equipment can do so much. Well it does, but all out of sight. It doesn't even have an on/off switch!

The footpod is triggered by motion, so as soon as you move, it starts recording internally with or without a GPS watch. This is kind of handy, as if you forget your watch or your watch runs out of battery mid-run, there is a way to get the recorded info from Stryd and into your account.

I was advised not to worry about the data for a few weeks but just to run as usual. The more you run, the more information that you will give it and so the more it can begin to create a profile that is personalized to you.

In the initial months, you’ll find that there is a lot to take in, especially if like me your running vocab only consists of pace, distance, time and heart rate.  However, fear not as the Stryd manual is easy to read and their Facebook group is excellent.

I still worry that I ask pretty basic questions and I'm still trying to come to terms with some of the terminology, but I am getting there bit by bit.  I have learnt to understand form power, leg spring stiffness, efficiency index and more!.

Collecting Stats - Stryd footpod review

Like most runners, I love to look at my stats post run. Did I run faster or slower, was my heart rate too high and how big was that hill that I just killed myself on?

Before I got Stryd, pace, distance, time and heart rate were generally all that I concentrated on. However now with Stryd, I can see how efficiently I ran and how I can improve.  This is where Stryd has a big advantage over just your regular running watch.

I've always wondered how I can improve but to be honest, without a coach I didn't know where to start. My weak points I just tended to ignore and hoped that they would go away. Of course, that never happened and I either got injured or I just didn't seem to improve.

I see Stryd as my mini personal mini coach :-).

As I've got older, I've realized that my body is unfortunately less efficient, needs more stretching and I am slowing down. So, if I can be guided on where I could improve my running, then I am all ears.

After I had logged a month or so of runs, Stryd started to make suggestions such as that I needed to do more speed work and do some hill sprints. I guess that is not surprising since I do a lot of slow running since I am always paranoid about injuries.

Stryd also showed that I waste a lot of energy (perhaps related to poor form) and my leg spring stiffness is way below average.

Everything I do is shown up in graphs or charts (see graphic below) so I can see how I am progressing.

Training Zones - Stryd footpod review

For Stryd to predict accurately you do need to feed it a certain amount of information. This is in the form of runs/races at different speeds and distances and a critical power (CP) test.  

Once Stryd has enough reliable information, it will give you your critical power number which is the power in watts that you could hold for anywhere between 40 - 70 minutes.

Once you have your critical power then Stryd can work out training zones for you, just as in heart rate training or pace training.

There are 5 zones ranging from easy to repetition. Interestingly I find that my power zones are in fact not that different to when I was using HR zones. This was kind of reassuring to me having been a HR training fan.

One of the biggest hurdles I had to overcome is to get used to the fact that Stryd will not predict paces for me. It will only predict power. This means when I go out for a run, my aim is to maintain the planned power (in watts), irrespective of the pace.

Every 4 - 6 weeks, you need to repeat the CP test so that Stryd can update your training zones and you can see if you have improved. What you want to see is either a lower critical power for the same pace or a higher critical power and a faster pace.

Race Predictor Tool - Stryd footpod review

My aim this year was to break 4 hours in the marathon so the race predictor tool was pretty exciting to see.

You key in a recent race time and distance and then from that result (plus taking into account your training history), Stryd can predict a power that you could sustain for the distance of the race (5km, 10km, half marathon, marathon). It doesn't predict a race pace.

At first I was unsettled by this as I like to know what my pace is, but then I kind of reasoned to myself that the race power I was targeting meant that I was running at my true capability.

I feel I have not quite yet mastered racing by power but only because the races I do are hilly trails and are not the traditional distances. I have struggled to stick to a power number and having to look at my watch a lot, has meant I am not running as smoothly as I want.

As for the 4 hour marathon, well it didn't quite work out as planned. I ran the Amsterdam marathon which is as flat as a pancake and mostly road. I blew it though because I added on a few watts to what was suggested and so consequently I got cramp and ended up limping to the finish line. Totally my fault and totally gutting.  Here's my race report.

Mini improvements - Stryd footpod review 

#1. Much as I like the race predictor, I feel it could be improved. The predictor doesn't have an option that deviates from the standard distances of 5 km, 10 km, half marathon and marathon. 

#2. The battery level indicator on the phone app does not seem accurate. Thankfully Stryd has roughly 20 hours of battery life, so I charge mine every 2 weeks and have not yet had an issue.

#3. The Stryd footpod is black. Some people might like that, but a brighter color would mean that I can spot it easier. When you’re running and looking down at your shoe to make sure it is still there, it can be difficult to see.

How Stryd has Helped Me 

• Stryd’s distance accuracy is top notch. Unlike my Garmin watch which uses GPS, Stryd uses accelerometers. These are not affected by buildings, trees, weather and so on. Many times, my Garmin watch has not been able to pick up my location and distance if I am say in a forest or shaded trail. Stryd is spot on all the time.
  
  
• I have learnt a huge amount on how I can be a better runner. For a long time, I felt stuck in a rut of not knowing how to get faster and how to become more efficient. Now I can see areas that need working on and how to do it.
  
  
• Sticking to power zones and keeping an eye on my running stress score has kept me injury free as I am not over training. My training times have also improved  with some PB's too.
  
  
• I no longer fear hills. Before using power, I used to charge up hills trying to keep my pace up and then I would die at the top along with most others. With Stryd, I just run the hill at the recommend power and then when I get to the top I can carry on running as I am  not exhausted. I love it when other runners look at me with a look of "how did you do that?" on their faces!
  
  
• I have always struggled in races as I either start too fast or am overambitious in what I am capable of. Racing by power shows me what I am capable of guides me during the race no matter how hilly.  

I am currently saving for the Stryd Wind Version and will do a review when the time comes.

 (Stryd footpod review : written November 2019)

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