Galloway Training with and Apple Watch Series 1 (Which apple watch should I buy)

[IamTrike]

A while back I had a question about bone conduction headphones and got some great advice her of this forum so I thought I'd reach out again for watch help.

My wife's fitbit is dying and we are thinking about replacing it with an Apple Watch. I'm trying to figure out if the series 1 will suffice or if we should spend the extra money for a series 2. Her primary fitness focus for the watch will be using it as a pedometer. She doesn't currently run much and will likely not run much in the future other than training for this years 10k.

Will the Series 1 paired with her phone and the runkeeper app be enough for Galloway training or will it be a pain to use without it's own GPS?

Are there other things that make the series 2 a better choice?

 

[rteetz]

I have the first iteration of Apple Watch which is basically Series 1. Series 2 has the built in gps and it's water proof up to a certain depth. That is the biggest difference. So if you don't want to carry your phone while running for the gps am doing if you swim series 2 is the way to go.

 

[IamTrike]

I have the first iteration of Apple Watch which is basically Series 1. Series 2 has the built in gps and it's water proof up to a certain depth. That is the biggest difference. So if you don't want to carry your phone while running for the gps am doing if you swim series 2 is the way to go.

My wife will almost always have her phone with her, so I don't think it will be that big of a deal to use the phones GPS. I also don't think the fact that she can't swim in it will impact her.

 

[rteetz]

My wife will almost always have her phone with her, so I don't think it will be that big of a deal to use the phones GPS. I also don't think the fact that she can't swim in it will impact her.

Then you should be fine with Series 1.

 

[wilkeliza]

Series 1 has no GPS but if it is just for the "steps" counting and she is always with her phone she doesn't even need a watch. iPhone 6 and higher has steps counting built into the health app. Then she could just use the runkeeper app and get alerts through the headphone or buzzing of the phone. I have an apple watch and love my series 2 but series 1 would be fine as well if she is always with her phone.

 

[Ariel484]

My husband uses runKeeper (I think just on the phone though, doesn't mirror it or whatever to the watch) - he's happy with it. It allows him to program in run/walk intervals and tracks distance, which is basically all he wants it to do. I think he said it'll even fade out his music to tell him to run/walk. It was a little difficult to actually find how to program in the intervals the first time, but after that he never really had any issues.

Also, she can use the FitBit app on her phone and set up her phone as the primary tracking device...that way she doesn't lose all of her steps that are currently in her FitBit account (in case that's important).

 

[rteetz]

My husband uses runKeeper (I think just on the phone though, doesn't mirror it or whatever to the watch) - he's happy with it. It allows him to program in run/walk intervals and tracks distance, which is basically all he wants it to do. I think he said it'll even fade out his music to tell him to run/walk. It was a little difficult to actually find how to program in the intervals the first time, but after that he never really had any issues.

Also, she can use the FitBit app on her phone and set up her phone as the primary tracking device...that way she doesn't lose all of her steps that are currently in her FitBit account (in case that's important).

I use runkeeper through my Apple Watch. I like to look at my watch for time and distance through the app. I can get heart rate too but I have that turned off to save on battery life.

 

[IamTrike]

Thank ya'll for the advise. Unless there are some great deals on a series 2 for prime day I think we are going to go with a series 1.

 

[camaker]

Thank ya'll for the advise. Unless there are some great deals on a series 2 for prime day I think we are going to go with a series 1.

Best Buy has been pretty consistent with offering the Series 2 for $70 off lately. Even though I only use the Apple Watch for daily use and keep the Garmin for running, the onboard GPS, better battery life and waterproofing sold me on the Series 2.

 

[rachelp6]

I have the series 1 and have ran 2 marathons and Spartan races with it. It works great! Now the battery doesn't last for a full marathon. It died out on the last mile for me, which was frustrating. And I've worn mine in the ocean, in the pool, in the shower and while doing Spartan and Savage races. Haven't had any issue.

 

[sky13]

Series 2 is supposed to have a better battery life than Series 1 (it's the reason why I have a Series 2, as I sometimes cannot charge my watch for up to 36 hours so do need the better battery life).

Otherwise the other advantages as said above: GPS (doesn't matter for me, as I always have my phone anyway), waterproofing (nice to know I can just stick it under the tap to clean, but apparently the Series 0/1 were water resistant to a good degree anyway).

 

[JohnRPG]

In the FWIW category:
I've had an original series Apple Watch Sport since March of 2016. It's the device that got me to start running. I enjoy it very much as an accessory to my Apple Watch, especially for notifications and Apple Pay. As a running watch, however, I haven't really been satisfied. The biggest issue is that it's just not reliable enough for showing me pacing information. In the course of the time I raise the watch to check my pace, I can see the pace vary as much as +/- 5 minutes. This leaves me woefully uninformed about just how fast I'm going. I've also had intermittent issues with both RunKeeper or Strava where runs have been lost due to inconsistencies. For the record, I've used RunKeeper, Strava, and the native Apple app for tracking runs. They all have their benefits and challenges.

About two months ago, I broke down and bought a Forerunner 35. I still wear the Apple Watch as my daily watch. However, whenever I go running, I use the Forerunner. It's a vast improvement for accurate and consistent pace information.

 

[TinkerBellLiz]

I decided on the Apple Nike Watch (it's a series 2) back in February and couldn't be happier. I also do Galloway and carry my phone as well since the Galloway app isn't compatible with the watch. I pair my phone with bone conduction headset for my intervals and use the Nike app on the watch for run information. I've found it gives me everything I need (time, splits, pace, distance, route and weather).

The Watch announces time, distance, pace/average pace at intervals I select of distance or time. I'm currently using half mile intervals for hydration since it's so hot. I hear it easily with the bone conduction headset. This information as well as heart rate is easily seen on the Watch itself at any time.

I've found the Watch GPS to be accurate.

This is from Dark Side 5k back in April without my phone.