My new Garmin came with a heart rate monitor. I've only used it once so far. Do people find them helpful? Do you wear them for every run or just for certain types of training? Are they helpful for races? Or just certain types of races like longer distances? I'm just curious because I'm still not sure this is something I would use, but maybe it would be really helpful depending on the circomstance.
I train by HR rather than pace so for me, it is useful. It tells me when I am over and underdoing it.
Damaris
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Super B****
I think they can be helpful, but I just use it because I like having a lot of extraneous data to parse after the fact.
(Example of why I wouldn't rely on it: it told me my average HR in a 15K was 193, with a max of 215. I could have easily passed the talk test during this race, so... yeah.)
chasing the impossible
because i never shut up ... i blog
The heart rate overlay on the Garmin website was awesome. For those who are into numbers and graphs, or those who think staring at post run metrics is cool (), it's great.
I mostly run by perceived effort attempting to achieve pace X, I didn't really need the HRM for that. But as I stated in another thread, if I can get HR info without wearing anything external I would be all about it.
I think they can be helpful, but I just use it because I like having a lot of extraneous data to parse after the fact. (Example of why I wouldn't rely on it: it told me my average HR in a 15K was 193, with a max of 215. I could have easily passed the talk test during this race, so... yeah.)
I find that it happens a lot with the HR strap. The optical HRs tend to have less variance.
OK - thanks!
delicate flower
Pretty much that. Although, it is interesting to look back and compare my HR between different races and comparable runs. Also, glancing at my HR during hard effort runs helps keep me from letting up on the effort. But I've also been without the HRM and it really makes no difference. Choosing between having it and not having it, I'll take it.
Re: the HR reading spikes, dare I say I have not experienced that once since they sent me a replacement 'HRM-Run' strap (the new $100 strap for the 620). The three straps I had prior to this (one for my 410, one for my 610, and the first one I had for my 620) all spiked for the first 5-10 minutes of every.single.activity, and holy hell was that frustrating. Glad to see they may have finally fixed that.
<3
Try it, it's fun stuff especially if you are into speed work. Or just for shits and giggles such as the time a little yapper broke free from his owner and decided to chase me. I dropped a 100 meter sprint on that fool that left him chasing his tail.
Then of course I had to see what it looked like on the screen when I got home.
Also, it is cool that I have discovered a sustained HR of around 185 gets me into the "I have to puke" zone.
That would be cool to know but unfortunately I only tried mine in a race once. It was then actually that I decided to hell with the thing because it suddenly decided to move all over the place, something it had never done in training. Either that or I never noticed it.
Pretty much that. Although, it is interesting to look back and compare my HR between different races and comparable runs. Also, glancing at my HR during hard effort runs helps keep me from letting up on the effort. But I've also been without the HRM and it really makes no difference. Choosing between having it and not having it, I'll take it. Re: the HR reading spikes, dare I say I have not experienced that once since they sent me a replacement 'HRM-Run' strap (the new $100 strap for the 620). The three straps I had prior to this (one for my 410, one for my 610, and the first one I had for my 620) all spiked for the first 5-10 minutes of every.single.activity, and holy hell was that frustrating. Glad to see they may have finally fixed that.
I USE THE HRM-RUN STRAP.
I'm usually telling people to put them away and just run, but I did go through a HRM phase myself. Some runners get a lot more out of the information than I ever did. To me it was just mental clutter I didn't need, but I am kind of a simpleton.
Yeah but how old is it? Bottom = my sack of shit old one. Top = new and improved.
Oh, I didn't know there was a newer one... mine is from when I got my 620 in December 2013. Does this one still chafe??
I had weird HR readings with the classic strap, too. So I'm not so sure I want to shell out for a third...
Oh, I didn't know there was a newer one... mine is from when I got my 620 in December 2013. Does this one still chafe?? I had weird HR readings with the classic strap, too. So I'm not so sure I want to shell out for a third...
I have never had any chaffing issues. I did not buy the new strap...my old one stopped responding, even after new batteries and a reset. I called Garmin and they sent me a new one even though mine was out of warranty. If you call them and complain about yours, they may hook you up.