Lone Tree loop - noon
40s, wet/muddy, overcast
mind/body - good
easy effort
I put the calf sleeves back on today but not because of an injury, rather to prevent one. I feel fast with calf sleeves on, anyone else feel that way? Only 7:07s today but primarily due to the mud caking up on my feet making 10 lb weights. 8 runs in the last 7 days gives me 90 for that time span (previous 7 days was 95). So I'm hovering around 100 and remarkably still feel fresh everyday. Hopefully with my big run on Saturday I can get to triple digits... if not it's no big deal. The bigger deal is time on my feet with lots of vertical.
On another note, I'm looking for a new watch. One that will be the most accurate for distance and elevation gain. Friends go ahead and get geeky on me to offer up some suggestions or opinions. I know Christian will have some input since he plays with this stuff all day (or at least used to). Price is no object cause I'm a multi-millionaire and my wife loves for me to spend money on this kind of stuff... HA and HA!
Updated the link on the Pearl Izumi logo to go to the new Facebook page. Check it out. It lists all the athletes on the run and new tri team with a little bio.
10 comments:
I have been pretty happy with the Garmin 405. The post-processed elevation (with some smoothing in sporttracks) seems to be relatively good and I don't think you will get any better on the distance. The main drawbacks are battery life and the fact that you can't get elevation gain in real time.
That said, GPS (especially consumer) is inherently bad for vertical position. I think the best bet for elevation is an altimeter based on pressure. But, if you don't recalibrate daily the absolute can be pretty far off although relative should be fine.
I don't know if anyone is combining GPS with an altimeter for a running watch - maybe Suunto?
Like Nick pointed out, barometric altimeters are accurate. i have to recalibrate mine (easy) regularly (Suunto x6). No distance on mine though.
I'm pretty certain I'll be joining you for a bit on Saturday. I may make it by your second lap hopefully.
tim
Alright, since you called me out and really like to geek out on this stuff I'll chime in.
nmp, from above, pretty much summed up the Garmin 405. The only thing I would add is that the top of the watch doesn't bend where the strap starts, so it feels kind of clunky on small wrists. I can't speak to the reliability of the 405, but there's another MRC member that's burned through two 305's and they weren't really used all that much.
Any GPS watch is going to go through batteries pretty quickly. A GPS antenna just requires a lot of power. I don't know of a GPS watch on the market that would last for over 10 hours while it's recording, so if you want to use it in a 100 miler I would go for the Polar RS800CX with the G3 GPS Sensor.
The sensor is separate and runs on two AA batteries. The altimeter is based on barometric pressure so it's more accurate than GPS. Then there's the option of recording your heart rate as well. Plus it hooks up to your PC. Polar stands behind their product with good warranties and they've always been reliable for me in the past. You should be able to find the watch and sensor for around $400.
Next pick would be the Suunto X10. The only chink in it's armor is the short battery life. Recording GPS at 1 min intervals you should get 10 hours +/-. Altimeter is barometric, PC compatible, but no heart rate. It is also more expensive than the Polar.
There you have it, geek out :)
That's what I'm talking about! I'm sure others will chime in but as it stands I've got a tough decision to make.
The only reason I called you out Christian is because you've helped me out so much before. And besides when you were pacing me at HR I saw how excited you got when talking about this stuff. Have fun at Granduer on Saturday, don't overdo it!
Forget the geeky watch stuff, Just run!
BFish
Scott,
To echo the others, I've run with my Garmin 205 (no heart rate) for about 2 years now with no issue. Like Nick I've found that the processed elevation is fairly accurate and distance, especially on flat ground is pretty pin point. My Dad has had problems with his 305 model and the folks at Garmin do require about $80 if you want to replace it.
Other friends of mine have raved about the Polar models which seem to have really tight measures on elevation gain. The Polar software is much better on PC than the Garmin program in my opinion, and like Christian said, I know for a fact that they've replaced whole units with no questions asked and no charge. The only drawback is that I think some (all?) the models use a separate sensor so you'd have to have the watch and the sensor on you as opposed to just the watch.
If I had to buy again, I'd probably go with the same thing I've got b/c I'm a poor mexican and $140 bones is about as much as my wife will not divorce me for...
I'm not geeky, but LOVE SUUNTO T6 - watch never goes out of batteries. You can put some lithium ion batteries in the GPS pod to make it go longer, and you get over 20 hours on the GPS pod. It does elevation, distance, HR, etc. They also have pretty good customer service - takes a while to get the watch back (I think they are still UK based). My T3 crapped out and they sent me a new, upgraded T3c.
Hi Scott. Greg showed me your blog last time I saw him. No comment as to watches, but noticed you ran right by our house in Dec in Kaysville as noted on MapMyRun. I've been looking in on your races and marvelling at your exploits! Wow. Inspiring me to train a bit more. Wes.
Hey Paulette!! I'm a Suunto guy also. I need to check out your T6. Love my Advisor (HR, elevation)but it would be nice to check out distance now and then. Have fun in the Canyon this weekend. See you Wed. Bring the T6. Higgins
Hey all,
Thanks for the info. I'll let you know what I settle on.
Bfish - I'll see you on the trails. Or will I? jk....
Wes - thanks for the note. I've been running ever since those summer days back in 87 at Westminster with Dorich. Those were the days huh? Talk soon
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