Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Heart Rate and GPS Watches = Cell Division

Today's blog started off as one thing but has become two things.

Kinda like cell division I guess.

My original plan for this blog was to talk about heart rate. See I've been tracking my heart rate on and off when I run for almost a year. I track it enough that I have a sense of what the numbers mean and I know when I'm pushing too hard or not hard enough.

It occurred to me that I've never once worn my heart rate monitor while cycling. So, on Sunday, I put it on. I changed my Garmin Forerunner 305 display to show heart rate when in cycling mode and I watched what happened.

Our bike ride was just under 30k and fairly flat. There was a pretty tough headwind at times as well as some short but steepish hills. I watched my heart rate like a hawk and tried to see how high I could push it.

When I run, I have learned that my heart rate goes up to 160 bpm pretty quickly and then it hovers between 160-170 unless I'm doing hills. Anything over 170 really doesn't feel good and I run into breathing issues and ear plugging annoyances. So I keep it under 170 as much as possible.

The cell division part of this blog occurred when I went to upload my workout so I could see what my heart rate did. For the first time ever, my Garmin failed to upload a workout. I restarted the laptop. I restarted the Garmin. I disconnected and reconnected everything. I downloaded the latest driver. I read online forums looking for solutions.

No luck.

So I'm now writing a blog about my cycling heart rate (as I remember it from looking at my watch) and a blog about GPS watches.

Back to my heart rate on the bike. What I found was that, when cycling at a steady state (28-30 km/hour), my heart rate stayed right around 135 bpm. When I was pushing harder into a head wind, it climbed but never to more than 150 bpm. On the toughest hill, it spiked to 153 but dropped right back down again.

Even when I was pushing as hard as I could, it didn't climb anywhere near where it climbs when I'm running.  

Running and cycling are obviously very different sports but it was interesting to see how a hard bout of cycling doesn't compare to a typical bout of running - at least heart rate-wise.

So my cycling friends, is that perfectly normal or does it mean that I am not pushing as hard as I think I'm pushing on the bike? Should my cycling and running heart rates be similar? Is 80% of max different with different activities?

On to GPS watches. I have had my refurbished Garmin Forerunner 305 for almost two years now. I know it is nearing the end of its life so I need to start figuring out what I want to buy next. I've used Forerunners for years and have had several 305s which I've loved. I like the big screen and the heart rate monitor. I like that it beeps at every kilometre and tells me how long it took me to run it. I like that it lights up so I can see the display in the early morning hours.


Of course, since I purchased my current one, I became a swimmer. This watch is not meant for swimming. I also cycle more and this watch doesn't measure cadence which I desperately want to measure.

Here is what I want. I want a watch that I will primarily use for running. It needs to be easy to read and needs to show me several things at once (pace, distance run, and time run). A heart rate monitor is also important.

I would also like this watch to be usable in the pool and in open water swims to measure distance and speed.

Finally, I want it to have a cycling mode and, I don't know if this is possible, measure cadence among other things. If this is not possible, I am willing to entertain the possibility of buying a separate GPS device that stays on my bike and shows me my cadence.

Ideally, I want a 'triathlon' watch that switches easily between sports somehow rather than needing me to hold down buttons for a few seconds or scroll through a menu because, really, who has time for that during a triathlon?

Any swimmers, runners, cyclists or triathletes out there have any great GPS devices that they recommend?  Tell me what you've tried and what you've discovered. I need to do my own research too but we all know that it's always better to learn from people who have gone before.

3 comments:

  1. You can buy the Garmin speed and cadence sensor that is compatible with all Garmin devices.
    I used to use my 305 before I got my 500. You can have cadence on the screen.

    That's all I can say because I don't know what's available these days!

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  2. I loved my 305, but Josh kind of claimed it when he started running and I wasn't doing too much because of leg problems. It has since run it's course, so I would like a new GPS with HR monitor. Tried the 410, but HATED the bezel, so back to Costco it went. Don't quote me, but I believe the new 310XT, which replaces the discontinued 305, may be swimmer-friendly. The cheapest place to get it is Costco online.

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  3. Hi Celine, seeing your 305 brings back some memories as I had that same watch for a couple years until mine died, too....

    Based on what your looking for in a watch, I would second Janice's recommendation (the 310xt). Also check out the Magellan Switch or Switch Up. All three of these watches are waterproof, have large, high-resolution screens, come with multi-sport (this lets you switch quickly between activities, i.e. swim to bike), and work with a quick-release mount (usually sold separately) that lets you easily mount the watch onto your handlebars. All 3 watches are in the same general price range, too.

    Sorry for the information overload! I've been putting together a GPS watch website and have done a lot of research on this lately. You can check out triathlete watches here, if interested (http://athletesgps.com/triathletes/)

    Regarding HR, I'm a casual cyclist and more into running, but I've found the same thing: HR is always way, way lower when biking. I think it's because running is just more aerobically intense.

    Good luck!

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