Arun Gupta, Miles to go ...
Arun Gupta is a technology enthusiast, a passionate runner, and a community guy who works for Sun Microsystems.
Monday July 03, 2006
Heart Rate Monitors and Marathon Training
With only 16 more weeks remaining for my marathon training, I'm planning to buy a heart rate monitor (HRM) to assist me. Read here to see why heart monitoring is beneficial along with an explanation of different features of a HRM. Here is a comparison of features for the options that I'm considering:
| Feature | Timex
5C411 Ironman Triathlon |
Polar S120 | Polar F6 | Polar F11 | Nike Triax C6 | Description |
| Heart Rate Display | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Zones | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | Preset desired heart rate exercise zone. |
| Out-of-zone Alarm | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Alarm notification when you are not in zone. |
| Time in Target Zone | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Amount of time spent within selected heart rate target zone. |
| Average Heart Rate | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Average heart rate over a period of time. |
| High Heart Rate | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Maximum heart rate achieved during a session. |
| Recovery Heart Rate Timer | Yes | Yes | No | No | ? | Measure your heart rate after a timed recovery. |
| Calories Burned | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Total calories burnt per session. |
| Lap Timer | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | |
| Laps | 30 | 60 | - | - | 100 | Number of laps that can be recorded. |
| Clock | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Stop watch | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | |
| Countdown Timer | Yes | Yes | No | No | ? | |
| Date | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | |
| Water Resistance | 50m | 50m | 30m | 30m | 50m | |
| Heart Rate Memory Recall | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Coded Signal | Yes? | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Minimizes interference with other HRM. |
| PC Compatible | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | |
| User Replaceable Battery | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | |
| Opinions | 1 | 1, 2, 3 | 1, 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| Price | amazon.com ($69.99, original $90.00) | amazon.com ($79.95, original $99.95) | amazon.com ($99.95, original $109.99) | amazon.com ($149.95, original $159.95) |
A detailed set of comments from the users of HRM is available here. Here is an extensive review of Polar AXN series. REI allows to generate a comparative chart of different HRM here. Overall, I've heard mostly positive comments about Polar. Timex and Nike seems to have a few problems as can be found from the opinions row in the table above. The opinions row in the table above helped me decide on Polar F11. I finally bought it yesterday from Sports Authority (fka Sports Mart). Got a $25 discount for any purchase over $100 and then there is an additional mail- in rebate of $10 so it will turn out to be $125.64, that's pretty much the cheapest I could find anywhere on the web or in retail stores.
I used it for a 9 mile run this morning and found it useful. The out-of-zone alarms are just great and a continuous feedback about the heart rate really kept me within my target zone. I plan to use it more-and-more during my training sessions and report on it's usage in subsequent entries, so far it's a pleasant experience but I've hardly used it!
A random set of helpful reviews is given below:
- http://www.consumersearch.com/www/health_and_fitness/heart-rate-monitors/reviews.html
- http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,5033,s6-52-74-0-8400,00.html
- http://www.prevention.com/article/0,5778,s1-2-68-123-4185-1,00.html?
- http://outside.away.com/outside/gear/gearguy/200404/20040412.html
- http://www.epinions.com/well-Supplies-Home_Diagnostics-Heart_Rate-All
Technorati: Running Marathon Fitness Training Heart Rate Monitor Polar Timex Nike
Posted by Arun Gupta in Running |
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