Why did STRAVA become the runners choice?

David S wrote:

Maybe you weren't doing much cycling when Strava became big. Everybody I knew would try to do this. Sure, some pro would go out and set all the records on the big climbs, but there were smaller ones you could get, especially if you rode in a group. My friend and I did a 4 hour ride with one of the top women in the area and she picked the route so we could pace her to a QOM. Guys in our group would get them fairly often. A lot of my friends had some. I went on a ride where two pro riders (one was a US champion and the other was on a UCI WorldTeam) competed on the long descent (I could not keep up). It was fun.

I've had segments where my goal was to get/stay on the first page (top 25). I knew I wasn't going to touch the KOM or even top ten but something as simple as not needing to click 'next page' to see my result was motivation to go hard. Segments also help make decisions for where to do intervals easier (on the bike).

Runner hm wrote:

I only use (correction) strava for the community aspect - which is fantastic, but I think the app sucks. Plus, you cant's preset intervals like an app like Runkeeper.

You can program me intervals on Garmin. You can program any workout you want. Do some research schill.

Most serious triathletes use TrainingPeaks for actually building the training plan, tracking workouts, analyzing data, etc. There are other platforms, like Today's Plan and Final Surge, that are gaining popularity with the analytically focused tri crowd. For most triathletes, Strava serves as a social platform rather than as a way to track training load, parse data, etc.

I think the most convenient way of keeping track is an app for trainings and a spreadsheet for races.

My father has been a very active runner since 1992. There used to be a website on which he could track all of his races since 1992 (the current apps don't go back this far), however the website quit. He loved the website because it had al of his personal statistics since 1992. So, I created a spreadsheet for him with the similar results. He said to me that more runners probably would be interested. Therefore, I put the spreadsheet online for download. If you're interested, here you'll be able to find more information:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/770606545

I found this thread because my work got me a FitBit last Christmas and I just found it (I'd been searching for months for it).

I normally use a wristwatch and just mentally record my splits. I then go home and use MapMyRun to map the routes. I have a good memory so I know the course I usually ran.

I did try the MapMyRun app, but it won't allow you to create a map (you either have to have desktop version, or go into the browser, log in and use pinch zoom to create it; it's very annoying).

So I may give Strava a try. I am hoping it works with the FitBit.