New to Suunto/Race — Data synching questions

[D. Warner]

I’m a few days into using my new Suunto Race.

For context: I’m coming from Garmin/Connect environment with Training Peaks/WKO at the core of my training tracking and analysis. (Competitive cyclist who cross-trains with running, and some strength training).

The Race watch experience has been great - it is a well designed product with good UX, UI.

However, I’m struggling with the Suunto App and the integration with TrainingPeaks and others, such as Strava. No issues with exporting activities recorded on watch going into TP, Strava etc. The problem is that Suunto app (and the watch) doesn’t seem to import any data from those other sources. I’m talking about activities captured with other devices and platforms (e.g. cycling computers, Zwift, etc).

This makes the Race’s use of TrainingPeaks metrics (CTL, ATL, TSB) inaccurate since Suunto doesn’t show my total training picture as reflected in TrainingPeaks. It’s as if Suunto/Race is operating in its own parallel universe — unless I use it to record everything.

Am I missing some integration trick between services? I’ve followed all steps as instructed, but no success yet.

I find it curious that Suunto would license TP’s metrics without fully integrating with the TP system for athletes and coaches that use Training Peaks as their source of truth. Perhaps, I’m an edge-case that wants everything synched.

[isazi]

@D-Warner there is no import functionality into the Suunto App, there is an API that third-parties can implement (one example being Hammerhead with their Karoo bike computers) to send activities recorded somewhere else to the app backend. As you may imagine the backend is a cost for Suunto, and Suunto makes money only selling watches, so there isn’t really an incentive for Suunto to offer more than an API and directly import from Strava or TrainingPeaks.

However, there are third-party apps for Android and iOS that would allow to sync, even automatically, between services. I guess something like that could be useful for you.

[D. Warner]

Thanks @isazi,

So, if I follow correctly, it would be up to TrainingPeaks and Strava to work with Suunto’s API for their data to integrate with the Suunto App. Right?

I’ll investigate other third-party apps to work around this for now.

[isazi]

@D-Warner said in New to Suunto/Race — Data synching questions:

So, if I follow correctly, it would be up to TrainingPeaks and Strava to work with Suunto’s API for their data to integrate with the Suunto App. Right?

Strava and TrainingPeaks are the two special cases (because they are the two large platforms around) in which it is actually Suunto sending activities to them, and not them to Suunto. But in general, as I said, Suunto has an API to receive activities that can be implemented, and it is implemented by some third-party apps. So far we have not see Suunto implement the import of activities, manually or automatically.

[larrybbaker]

@D-Warner if on IOS RunGap app will send data back to Suunto App (it will never go to the watch). Training Peaks is one of the, many integrations.

[NM_gent]

@D-Warner Hello, I have the exact same experience with activities that were recorded with Zwift. As another old Garmin user, I was used those to be synced to the watch phone app and the watch automatically on the next sync. However, this is sadly not the case for Suunto.

From browsing online I found RunGap app (requires a 9euro subscription per year) which is extremely efficient and easy to use to download/upload activities from any sports app (TP, Strava, Komoot etc.) to another including sport devices and watches. By doing so your Suunto CTL metrics will be in line with your activity calendar. I think Suunto should fix this soon because it is kind of expected to have a 2-way sync with sports apps.

[Brad_Olwin]

@larrybbaker said in New to Suunto/Race — Data synching questions:

@D-Warner if on IOS RunGap app will send data back to Suunto App (it will never go to the watch). Training Peaks is one of the, many integrations.

This is not entirely correct! All workout metrics that are aggregated sync back to the watch. This includes TSS, CTL, TSB but not logs, time, distance, etc as those are watch-specific.
Resources is measured in real-time and is affected by workouts even if not recorded on the watch.

[FunkyLarma]

@Brad_Olwin as a Garmin user looking at the Suunto Race I have been doing some research into this.
So the training metrics are calculated on the Suunto App and then pushed to the watch. So any cycling activities recorded with a Wahoo/Garmin that is pushed into the Suunto platform would be reflected in these metrics on the watch; eventually. But logs such as weekly training duration on the watch would only be that, ones performed on the watch.

[UjcoCZ]

@FunkyLarma yes, it is the same here with my Karoo2

[FunkyLarma]

@UjcoCZ thank you for the confirmation.
Out of interest do you get any intensity levels recorded with your Karoo rides within the Suunto App?

I have downloaded the app and by using RunGap I have managed to get a lot of data in there; just to see how the platform works. So far I have the training load populated, it is not quite the same as my Training Peaks account but I can see that the TSS calculations use different methods; heart rate over power and the like. This appears to be pretty easy to fix for now but I do not have anything listed in the Intensity section.
Would this be down to have actually having a watch paired with zones set, and as such there is no way for the app to know the zones in which to rank them. If you have a watch paired that has zones do your Karoo rides contribute to the intensity zones.

Cheers!