Tuesday, March 04, 2008

I Need Your Help!

Alright smarty-pants, I need your help.

Although we haven't signed up for the Ironman yet, the step of purchasing our bikes pretty much seals the deal. There's no way I am spending that much money on a bike without making it useful. Now for the next step.

I had applied this year to be part of Team Polar, but the team fell through and therefore I didn't get any really cool Polar gear. I currently train with a heart rate monitor from Timex. Don't tell Timex, but I think it's a piece of crap. I've had it for maybe two or three years and it has seen better days. The rubber on the outside is peeling off, combined with having to replace the battery several times, has made the watch unusable in the water.

Here's where I need your help. I'm in the market for a new heart rate monitor, but I'm looking for real gadgetry. In addition to heart rate monitoring, I also would be interested in GPS. I have a love/hate relationship with the GPS, but I'm starting to warm up to it. This heart rate monitor has to be useable for my swims. Also, because I'll be spending SOOO much time on my bike, I'm looking to have it integrate with a bike computer. Currently I own no bike computer either.

I should also mention I'm the owner of a Mac so it should probably be compatible with that too.

Any suggestions that would do all that stuff?

7 comments:

Unknown said...

here's what i've been thinking:

the garmin forerunner 305 multisport has hr, gps and a bike sensor. it also offers an optional foot pod for indoor or track training. their tracking software works on intel based macs or g3 or greater systems running os x 10.4 or later.

the whole thing is a little pricey, weighing in at just over $400, but it does EVERYTHING a triathlete needs. the advertised battery life is 10 hours, but my friend has successfully used it in multisport for 12 hours in the past.

Meredith said...

Can I use it in water?

And, what in the world gives you the impression that I'm going to finish that Ironman in 12 hours? :)

Joy | Love | Chaos said...

I'd agree that Garmin is the way to go. I have the 301 and am very happy with it. The GPS function will be a godsend to you if you're beginning training on your bike -- it will help you judge the routes you're picking, as well as put your HR into context.

If you don't go for the 305, then you'll want a cyclocomputer, too. They're not too expensive (get a CatEye...it's an excellent brand) and DEFINITELY get one with cadence. It's worth the $50 investment.

You don't need a heart rate monitor in the water (it's pretty irrelevant for swim training) and the Garmins can't go underwater for a prolonged period of time. If your concerned about how to have one one for a race situation, you wear the strap under your race gear (that's typically waterproof for that purpose) and then put your watch on in the first transition.

Hope that's helpful! Congrats on the bike purchase!

Meredith said...

Good feedback. If I'm not going to be using it in the water, even for a race, I might just stick with the watch I have. It keeps HR and calories and zones, etc., I just can't use it anymore in water. I'll look into a cyclocomputer.

Unknown said...

How in the world can these people be peddling last year's technology? :D

If you're going Garmin (and you should), go 405 --- everything the 305 does, but waaaaay prettier.

On the flipside, when the 405 comes out (April, I think - though there are rumors of June), the price of 305's may fall even more.

M

TRI TO BE FUNNY said...

Yep-Garmin 405! It actually looks like a watch rather than a Commodore 64 attached to your wrist! Just came across your blog today...I live in Austin, Texas now, but born and raised in Columbus! GO BUCKEYES!!!!

Unknown said...

@marcus,

the 405 only has an eight hour capacity and will not come out in a multisport version.