Does the data you get with GPS uploads include cadence data these days? If so, how about dividing cadence by speed and so plotting pacing (expressed as strides per 100m or whatever), would be useful to review after races to work out pacing scales?
Alistair,
I assume that the cadence data from GPS watches comes from accelerometers in the watching measuring your arm swing. Pacing counting on orienteering comes from step count which in normal running is matched with your arm swing. In orienteering that assumption falls by the way side in anything but very runnable woods.
GPS watches use accelerometers or optional foot cadence sensor, which would be more useful for your intended purpose.
I think the GPS watch accelerometer data (I have a Suunto sparta) is picking out the vertical movement from strides rather than just arm swing... it seems very accurate when road running and it seems to about right looking at whole orienteering events (average cadence x time / distance) although I have not tried it over very short distances and rough terrain. I must do so some time, if it's accurate enough it would be possible to plot paces per 100m during a run.
If one is using a GPS watch to count paces why not just use it to measure distance travelled? They can do that can't they?
They're illegal during actual events.
Sorry - I didn't explain myself well; I thought I was posting in the attackpoint development/suggestion queue so I kept my message pretty short. Indeed, my idea is to use cadence data which some GPS watches are collecting after events or in training to help orienteers work out their pacing scales for use during future events.
It might be possible to plot a GPS trace with a heat map, showing the trace in a colour depending on strides per 100m. I've tried e.g. counting paces from one path to another through terrain and then later looking up exactly how far I went. It would be useful to see visually how paces per 100m varies with terrain, climb etc. in the same way as programs which show different speeds in different colours. As far as I know, at the moment there isn't "an app for that".
tRicky, you above all people should be able to recognize a tongue in cheek comment when you read it.
AlistairH's recent comment makes it all redundant but I had the impression he wanted to use a watch-based pace count for his in race distance measurement. Surely that would have to be as illegal/unethical as distance measurement by Garmin or Suunto and for the same reasons.
My posts are illegal during actual threads.