Help All you runners out there! Marathon, GPS, & Incredible Question

[funkpod]

Okay, question for ya.

I might train for a marathon soon. I've run a 2 half marathons (wait, that means I've already completed one, right? They were only 3 years apart...), and my last one was great.

I might just take the plunge.

I didn't have my INcredible when I did my half back in the spring, but now I got mine and i've been using SPorty Pal Pro w/ it, and it's great.

However, after using it today for a 6 mile run it went down to about 70%. I did stream a podcast during that time, however, according to my calculations, I would not last an entire marathon.

Have any of you guys run long distances and had any experience w/ the gps and battery consumption and if my Incredible will last all 26.2?

 

[gonzoguy24]

No way it will last that whole time...you may want to try an extended battery....but then it will be bulkier for you to have on yourself

EDIT: I use Bluetooth headphones for my runs with cardio trainer...it drains pretty quick...So maybe using wired headset will make it...it will be close though!

 

[stanfna]

load up your SD card with music...turn off WIFI and Bluetooth and you should be good to go.

but 3+ hours of streaming music and constant GPS...probably not.

i use my garmin forerunner and listen to music on my SD card over Bluetooth headphones with WIFI and GPS turned off. i am pretty sure it would make it the whole 26.2. you could even turn the phone off and save a lot more battery.

 

[mrootes]

No - gps alone will drain the battery in that time. I find that on race day I want to take in the sounds of the race - enjoy it!

 

[funkpod]

Hmm..... true, i might not use it on race day, i might have the headphones on simply to hear the miles and see how my pace is... but i guess that's what a pace leader is for.

and i won't really have run all 26.2 during my training, maybe getting to 20 miles or so.

but, i wanna be able to do it.
i ran my half in 1:52, i'd love to be able to run under 4 hours, maybe 3:59:59,ha ha.

i don't want to have to turn off the phone, i'd need it for emergencies, would i save on battery if i ran w/ the music player as opposed to Google Listen (already downloaded the podcasts?).

wifi and bluetooth were already turned off, i'll turn off syncing, too. but yeah... the extended battery might need to be used... hate that it has to come to that, though.

does anyone know if the iphone would be able to last the whole time doing the same thing?

 

[nfotiu]

Get the htc 1500 battery from ebay, and bump charge, I'm sure you'd be good to go. I played a 4.5 hour golf round with golf logix up the other day, and still had 40% battery left. Can't imagine sporty pal drains more than golf logix.

I had a gps watch for my marathon, and found it invaluable, I would have run the first couple miles way too fast without it.

 

[funkpod]

does golf logix use gps?

i have the 1500 htc already, i thinkt he battery life's pretty good w/ it.
the bump charge is killin' me, though. I go running before work, so not only would i have to get up at like, 5:30 to go running (if it's a longer distance), i'd have to wake up at least a half hour before that just so i could bump charge.
jeeze.

my phone is my alarm, so i don't know how else to schedule in the bump charge.

 

[nfotiu]

does golf logix use gps?

i have the 1500 htc already, i thinkt he battery life's pretty good w/ it.
the bump charge is killin' me, though. I go running before work, so not only would i have to get up at like, 5:30 to go running (if it's a longer distance), i'd have to wake up at least a half hour before that just so i could bump charge.
jeeze.

my phone is my alarm, so i don't know how else to schedule in the bump charge.

golf logix is a golf gps, that is constantly tracking yardages. I'd guess its gps usage is pretty similar to sporty pal. I leave my location settings as standalone gps only checked when I use golf logix or sporty pal. Not sure if it makes a difference with the battery, but may be something to experiment with.

I hear you about the bump charge, probably doesn't come into play untile you are getting close to 4 hours would be my guess.

 

[jayDInc]

I have the extended battery (2100maH). I run with MyTracks (w/ GPS) and Slacker streaming. Using a headset, not Bluetooth.

Unfortunately, I did not mark down how much of the battery got used but had it been significant, I most likely would have noticed. I'll try to remember to check it this weekend.

 

[funkpod]

Than. What do you use as far as a case? You just hold it in your hand? Bulky?

 

[necosino]

I use a 2150mAh battery, wired headphones (BT was using a lot), playing MP3s on card and using SportyPal (GPS) and my phone lasts about 7 hours (I have to batteries, so I just switch). I use this during kayak trips, mountain biking, and hiking and have never had issues

 

[jayDInc]

OK. Tested this morning on a 1 hour, 5 minute run. Slacker crapped out about the 45 minute mark but I don't think it makes a big difference (it only takes a few seconds to load a new song every 3 or 4 minutes).

Battery at start, 87%. Battery at end 76%. And just to clarify, it is the 2150 battery, ordered from VZW.

I used the armband I talk about here. Hope that helps!

 

[funkpod]

hey, thanks for running! so, the 2150 would definitely work... who makes that, btw? seidio or htc? i could do some math, to figure out the percentage and mah vs. my battery... but it'll be easier just to go running again and try to figure it out.

know of a good clip case? i like jogging w/ it in my hand or clipped to my shorts, or fuel belt. (yes, i wear a fuel belt. but i'm cooler than that )

 

[spence341]

Why not do a test. You don't need to actually be running. Start the program when you get up, let it run till it dies. You will know exactly how long it lasted.

 

[funkpod]

haha, good point. i'll let you guys know what i end up doing and what happens. 'course, if i end up not doing the marathon, it'll make my decision easy, as far as what i'm doing. i think i'm gonna go for it, though!

it's the philly marathon, it's like 10 weeks away! YIKES>

it'd be my first marathon... i'm a little nervous about the short time that i have as far as training goes...

 

[jayDInc]

It's the HTC battery.

Sorry, no experience with clip cases. Best of luck with the race!

 

[funkpod]

8 miles, 1:17, up time 1:33, awake time 1:25.

66%, according to battery left, 70% mark according to android's status bar.

no, i don't think i'll have enough juice...., i might. i wanna do a little over 3 times that, which 3x 34% is over 100%. plus, i might need to make a phone call or whatever.

i might be able to run w/ an extended battery.

oh, and i took a pic of the sunrise, it was amazing. maybe that drained 10% of my battery?

 

[necosino]

I got the "2600mAh" batteries (came with 2 + back + desktop battery charger) off eBay for like $25. They're actually 2150, and probably won't last more than a year, but comparing to the price of HTCs and Seido's batteries, there isn't a question for me. The Chinese generic batteries do the trick just as well

 

[funkpod]

OK. Tested this morning on a 1 hour, 5 minute run. Slacker crapped out about the 45 minute mark but I don't think it makes a big difference (it only takes a few seconds to load a new song every 3 or 4 minutes).

Battery at start, 87%. Battery at end 76%. And just to clarify, it is the 2150 battery, ordered from VZW.

I used the armband I talk about here. Hope that helps!

Hmm... so, according to your running, an hour is about 10-11%, which means 4 hours is like 40%, which means i'd still have 60% left. and that's 60% of a 2150, which means... like, 1290, almost 1300 left. which is the stock battery. i'd be happy w/ that, after using the gps nonstop for 4 hours! (hopefully less.)

Well, i've officially signed up for the marathon, now i'm just deciding between the htc 2150, and the seidio 3500. (and there's a 2600 battery out there somewhere, too, right?)

 

[nfotiu]

8 miles, 1:17, up time 1:33, awake time 1:25.

66%, according to battery left, 70% mark according to android's status bar.

no, i don't think i'll have enough juice...., i might. i wanna do a little over 3 times that, which 3x 34% is over 100%. plus, i might need to make a phone call or whatever.

i might be able to run w/ an extended battery.

oh, and i took a pic of the sunrise, it was amazing. maybe that drained 10% of my battery?

If you are not bump charging. You lose that first 10% right away. So, the better formula is probably 90 - (3*24%), which should leave you with about 18%.

Also, are you turning wi-fi off? That seems to be a huge battery drainer since froyo update.

 

[jayDInc]

Keep in mind that the battery "fuel gauge" is not completely accurate (or maybe I should say "not completely linear"). Bear that in mind. And, yes, taking pictures is an amazing battery killer.

Also, remember you'll have to be at the marathon early and you'll be bored. Perfect situation for some battery draining fun.

I got my battery from VZW back when they were 30% off, plus my 25% off corporate discount so it ended up around $30-35.

Maybe you could get one of those "emergency" chargers that use a normal AA battery? Like this?

 

[funkpod]

If you are not bump charging. You lose that first 10% right away. So, the better formula is probably 90 - (3*24%), which should leave you with about 18%.

Also, are you turning wi-fi off? That seems to be a huge battery drainer since froyo update.

HMm.... well, the best thing for me to do is to just let the battery run and see how long that takes for it to deplete. my goal time is like 4 hours. and i did bump charge, for like a half hour. the light didn't come on green, but i do remember some partial bump charging.

after that, i'll see what it's doing... but yeah, i would be listening to stuff premarathon, too, and i would love to take pics along the way while running, you see a lot of cool stuff if you manage to not pass out and keep your eyes open.

@jayDInc- any reason other than the discounts that you choose the 2150 and not the 3500? how thick is it, really? too big for normal use? i'd probably use the 2150 and the 1500. the seems like a super super amount of battery power...

 

[jayDInc]

@jayDInc- any reason other than the discounts that you choose the 2150 and not the 3500? how thick is it, really? too big for normal use? i'd probably use the 2150 and the 1500. the seems like a super super amount of battery power...

Honestly, I didn't really need the 2150 but for $30-ish bucks I figured I couldn't pass it up. It's like when I got the first really big memory card for my camera and it showed room for 999+ pictures. You start using it in new ways. (I never ran with it before, for example.) I didn't consider the 3500 but if the choice was between 2150@$60 and 3500@$54, I'd go with the 3500.

Personally, I find that with the bigger battery, it fits my hand better than before. It also lays flat on it's back without the camera lens touching. I don't use the stock battery at all. I ran it down to 40% and stuck it in a ziploc in my fridge.

 

[funkpod]

I use a 2150mAh battery, wired headphones (BT was using a lot), playing MP3s on card and using SportyPal (GPS) and my phone lasts about 7 hours (I have to batteries, so I just switch). I use this during kayak trips, mountain biking, and hiking and have never had issues

hey, so gps plus music continuously for 7 hours? great. are you sayin' you think that's the maximum uptime for continuous gps use?

i do like the 2150 cuz i can get 25% off at verizon, too, cuz i'm a teacher and i get a discount, too. i maybe wouldn't use a case, cuz i'd just stick it in my running pouch, but maybe it'd cuz up a cheap silicone case to fit the 2150.

is the 3500 a lot thicker?

 

[funkpod]

question to you guys w/ the 3500 or 2150.

do you charge in the car? if so, do you run gps simultaneously?
i have noticed a SLOW charge while in the car, apparently it's a htc/froyo problem that others are having. I've heard it doesnt' affect the 2150 battery, just curious if you guys have found anything about that...