Run registering as walk

[AllyF]

Hi, i have recently started C25K. Occasionally my Charge 2 registers my run as a walk. The exercise panel shows my heart rate at peak BPM and everything else (steps etc) seems to track fine, but when I get home my Fitbit says I've just been for a walk. How does it distinguish between run and walk? Why doesn't it acknowledge all that effort? 🙂

[LZeeW · Accepted solution]

Hello @AllyF and welcome to the forums.  When you are tracking this exercise, are you:

• using the auto recognize feature (SmartTrack) or
• using the exercise function and it changes the exercise type after you are done?

Do you use an Android phone?  There are threads in the Android forum about runs being recognized as walks and vice versa.  If you are, you might want to browse the Android forum to see if this is an ongoing issue.  I am an iPhone user and iPhone users get their own bugs.  You should be able to change a walk to a run in the Fitbit app.  Tap on the exercise tile, then the exercise you want to change.  There is a Categorize Exercise choice.  You can change it there.

There are many C25K training apps available.  The one I used always had run/walk combinations.  Mine started out with a walk warm up, so my tracker usually called it a walk.  Sadly, the training aggravated an old knee injury, so I never finished the program.  If you are using SmartTrack, rest assured that you DO get the credit for your effort -- in your active minutes and calorie burn.

To get the most from your Charge 2, I recommend using the exercise function.  You will get a better start/stop time, one that corresponds to your training plan.  Whether you use Run or Walk is up to you, but keep the following in mind.  Your Cardio Fitness Score is reported as a range, unless you are doing GPS connected runs.  If you have your tracker set on Run, but are mostly walking, you might get a wacky Cardio Fitness Score.

A little wordy, but I hope this helps.

[AllyF]

Hi LZeeW, Thanks for the welcome and for taking the time to post such a full and helpful reply. 

Yes, I'm using an Android phone and the auto recognise feature. I'll follow your instructions and see if I can get it to change using the Categorise Exercise option. I'll also check out the Android Charge 2 forum.

It definitely makes sense that a five minute warm up walk is confusing the app. I'm using the NHS C25K app and I'm only on week three so it's perfectly plausible that the walk/run balance is the issue. Maybe when I get a bit further on and am doing more running it'll sort itself out!

Thanks again for your help.

[AllyF]

Clicked on wrong post for 'accepted solution'! Hope anyone else reading this will realise I meant LZeeW's explanation. Beginners error 😞

[LZeeW]

@AllyF   I corrected your Accepted Solution clicking misadventure.  I also wanted to add that when your track your progress using the Exercise feature with GPS, you will get a map with distance.  As you continue your training, you will be able to see how close you are to your ultimate goal -- that 5K. 

[AllyF]

Thanks for the correction! I'll add GPS too. It would be great to track where I've been every run. All the best and hope to chat with you again if I have another tech problem. I didn't expect such a quick solution - this is a great facility! Bfn.