I mentioned in a past post that I’ve been playing with the Adidas miCoach Pacer. I put it to the test on Sunday at the Rock N Roll 1/2 Marathon. One of the things I really like about the device (LISTEN UP Nike+) the ability to edit your scheduled workouts is great. For example Instead of doing a training run this past Sunday I ran the RnR, so I was able to create a custom coaching workout, specifying which zone I wanted to run in and for how long.
I connected all the hardware (a definite con to miCoach) and ran. The coaching program seemed to work, telling me to slow down to stay in my selected range, but it was off on the distance by almost a 1/4 mile. When I went to upload my run, the device seemed to not remember that I selected my custom workout, and chalked up the race as a Free Run or open ended workout to you Nike+ users. WHAT THE HELL!
In the big picture I guess it really didn’t matter, but I find little glitches like that very annoying. The lack of a screen is also an inconvenience I’m finding, There is no quick way to glance at you workout data. You are able to edit the information it will tell you, but you have to do it after you log in online. And it’s a real pain to manage the device and an MP3 player especially on long runs when you need info (or a more energizing song)
miCoach is also missing the social aspect. With my Nike+ I can connect with and challenge other users, which is extremely helpful since my marathon training partner lives 3,000 miles away. Being able to connect and compare notes with fellow runners is something I find really motivating.
I’m going to continue to work with Adidas miCoach pacer as planned for the next couple of weeks and have a full review after that. But after the RnR the only thing I can say is… disappointed.
Phil Castello 