Running Reimagined: Smart Plans for Experienced Runners [f005]

"Small size, big energy" has always been the motto of the NK Women's Running Group, and it is also one of my impressions of their group. Whenever I see this phrase, I think of NK and of Zouzou.Until later, its appearance made me feel that this phrase might also apply to it.

My friends all know that I have always used the Suunto 9 as my sports recording tool, and this watch has accompanied me for more than a year through marathons, trail runs, relay races, and fitness sessions. Wherever I go, it goes with me.

The reason I chose it, besides its appearance,is mainly because of its long battery life, stable performance, and over 80 years of history.

I have always felt that Suunto's product updates are a bit slow.

The Suunto 9 was released in the fall of 2018, and more than half a year later, another model, the so-called "sports mini cannon" Suunto 5, was released.Of course, both the 9 and the 5 have their own clear positioning, with some overlap but also significant differences.

The Suunto 5 comes in a new white packaging, which looks simpler and cleaner than before. From the product rendering on the box, it looks very similar to my previous Suunto 9, especially the familiar dial.

The moment I saw the actual product, I was relieved; at least the appearance hadn't changed.(I guess I am indeed a sucker for looks, a little laugh at myself.)

In terms of appearance, it is a smaller version of the Suunto 9, but upon closer inspection, there are still differences.

First, the Suunto 5 still uses the same stainless steel bezel as the Suunto 9, but the four corners of the dial are evenly distributed with four exposed screws, giving it a slightly rugged look.

Secondly, the Suunto 9 uses a three-button design, while the Suunto 5 uses a five-button design with two on the left and three on the right.Then there's the size: the Suunto 9 has a 50mm diameter dial, while the Suunto 5 has a 46mm dial, making it significantly smaller.

Heart rate monitoring is, of course, standard.

However, the Suunto 5 has changed the magnetic charging connector of the 9 to a clamp-style, which improves stability. Especially now, as running distances get longer, sometimes the watch needs to be charged mid-run. The clamp-style charger should provide more stable performance during charging, but its durability remains to be tested over time.

The reduction in size brings the most immediate feeling of reduced weight. The Suunto 5, weighing only 66 grams, feels much lighter on the wrist. The 22mm skin-friendly silicone strap is quite comfortable.

Why is the Suunto 5 called a "sports mini cannon"?Besides its size, its performance is also noteworthy.

The Suunto 5 supports GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, and QZSS, the four major global satellite positioning systems, ensuring that there are enough satellites for real-time precise positioning.

It still features Suunto's proprietary AI smart battery management system, dividing the battery power modes into high and low. In high-precision GPS mode, it can theoretically be used for 20 hours, while in low-precision GPS mode, it can be used for 40 hours.

Additionally, with the support of the smart management system, when the watch predicts that the user's exercise time will exceed the planned time, it will automatically activate a power reminder and switch to low battery power mode to ensure that the watch's battery lasts until the end of the exercise.

In fact, the biggest difference between the Suunto 5 and previous products is its greater focus on the user's daily health and activity monitoring, such asmonitoring the user's sleep health 24 hours a day, automatically recording steps and calories burned, monitoring stress levels around the clock and analyzing stress values, and automatically recording body information and recovery ability.and so on.

Of course, as a sports watch, the Suunto 5 comes with more than 80 sports modes, includingrunning, trail running, cycling, swimming, and strength training,and it also features a new weekly exercise plan and adaptive training plan.

The maximum oxygen uptake, which is particularly important to running enthusiasts, is also built into the system because it is an important indicator of physical fitness and the most commonly used and effective method for evaluating aerobic capacity.

Improving this metric can effectively enhance a user's marathon performance, highlighting its importance to running enthusiasts.At the same time, the Suunto 5 is water-resistant up to 50 meters, making it perfectly suitable for swimming.

Like most sports watches, Suunto uploads the data from the watch to its app—SUUNTO ZHfor further analysis and monitoring.

Compared to before, the data upload speed of ZH has improved significantly, and it offers richer software features and sports data displays. We can also set up the Suunto 5 directly through our phones, making it simple and quick.

In cities with many tall buildings, the watch's positioning will inevitably be affected. Although the Suunto 5 supports the four major global satellite positioning systems, it takes about 10 seconds to search for a signal and position itself in residential areas, which is similar to other brands.

Actually, there's no need to be too concerned about positioning time. After all, we need to warm up before running, and we can use this time to position the watch.

During a regular 10-kilometer run, with an average pace of 4:31, we checked the watch's positioning accuracy through the running track. The accuracy was acceptable, with no teleportation phenomena, and the precision was generally within the 10-15 meter range, which is normal.However, the average heart rate was 176, which seemed a bit off. Normally, at a pace of around 4:30, my average heart rate should be between 150-160.

We can look at the relationship between heart rate and pace through a chart. There was a fluctuation of about 20 seconds in pace in the middle, but the heart rate remained stable. In the last 15 minutes, the pace decreased, but the heart rate spiked, which is somewhat illogical.

The reason for this might be the position or tightness of the watch when worn, leading to inaccurate optical detection.The second time, I adjusted the watch, wearing it higher up and avoiding the wrist bone, and made it tighter than before. This time, the data was completely accurate, with a pace of 5:06 and an average heart rate of around 124.

Since I fully charged the watch on the morning of December 30th and turned on 24-hour heart rate monitoring, stress monitoring, sleep monitoring, all-day activity monitoring, and smart notifications, I ran six times for a total of 90 kilometers, with a total exercise time of about 8 hours. By the morning of January 3rd, the watch still had about 25% battery left. The battery life performance was good, sufficient for daily exercise, considering the reduced battery capacity due to the smaller size of the watch.

As mentioned earlier,the Suunto 5 can be used for 20 hours in high-precision GPS mode.Of course, these are theoretical data. In actual use, it will be affected by factors such as the environment, settings, and usage frequency. For example, as mentioned above, besides exercise, many daily monitoring functions were also turned on.

In 2019, I made a lot of efforts to break the 3-hour mark. Although I kept setting personal bests, I was never able to break that threshold. Therefore, in my daily training, I pay close attention to changes in my maximum oxygen uptake..Suunto expresses maximum oxygen uptake in relative terms, which we refer to as ml/kg/min.

Generally speaking, the relative value of maximum oxygen uptake for ordinary people is 45 ml/kg/min, while athletes can reach 60-70, and some elite athletes can reach over 80.Previously, because my training intensity was not very high, my maximum oxygen uptake was around 51. Recently, after increasing the intensity of my training, this value has risen to 55.

Therefore, the value of maximum oxygen uptake will change with the intensity of training and is an important data point for indirectly understanding one's aerobic capacity.

Overall, the Suunto 5 lives up to its name as a "sports mini cannon." Its appearance continues the classic design, and its 66-gram weight is easy for both men and women to handle.

The sports data is also quite accurate, especially the battery life performance. Although it is not as long-lasting as the Suunto 9, it can easily handle full marathons and even 100-kilometer trail runs.

The built-in intelligent exercise plan arrangement allows for scientific training, keeping you away from injuries.Additionally, the built-in body monitoring tools balance sports and health, understanding you better than you do.

However, I personally feel that the Suunto 5 is more suited for light to moderate exercise and daily work and life environments, while it is slightly lacking in outdoor sports. Nevertheless, with a price of less than 3000, it is quite a bargain. If you want to get one, you can consider giving it to yourself or your loved one as a New Year's gift.

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