Hard Training - Dawn (Hilly)

Jen, each time the heart beats it pumps blood through the viens ie pulse and heart beat are the same.

huummmmm, the heart pumps blood through arteries not veins. Veins return the blood that has been used by the body. One can expect a slight variation in pulses located in different places of the body but yes all in all the pulse is the same as the heart beat.

hilly, can I ask you a couple or so questions please on the Timex watch.

1) I believe I read somewhere that you have updated your Timex system. Did you keep either the watch or the GPS arm pod, or start from scratch. If updated, how much did it cost and what did you have to add and what did you ahve to discard?

2) It would appear that my watch probably needs a new battery. Not sure how to go about getting one. The data is no longer passed from the GPS unit to the watch. Batteries are new in arm pod, (twice to make sure). The red/green light is still showing but no info on watch. Watch still works as a watch and I can still do time splits, but that is all. Therefore can only presume it is watch batteries that have gone. Have you any experience of this at all?

3) Final question, which I shall probably tie myself in knots trying to explain. Here goes!!! Sometimes when taking split times, the Chrono shows the time elapsed after each split as a continuous time. eg. split after 5 mins, another split after 5 mins and the time elapsed will then show 10 mins and so on. However, ocasionally I will take a 5 min split followed by another 5 min split and the time shown is 5 mins each time. Thus when using the watch in a race one gets a separate split time for each mile/km. Then afterwards one looks in recall for the ful time of run/race. But, here comes the crunch line if you have followed me so far!!! I seem to have no control over this. I do not do anything conscious (although I obviously do without knowing what I do)to change it from one method of split timing to another. I have looked in the manual and can find nothing about this facility. It seems to make up it's own mind which facility it is going to be in from one day to another!!!! I am not big on manual reading! Or explaining myself either it would appear!!!!!!!!!

Hilly and Ceal - i wanted to ask that exact question - 1)i wasn't sure if the timex bodylink would be able to use my GPS receiver.
3) sounds like mine (timex ironman triathlon SDM)- you change with the split/reset set button. but BEFORE you've pressed start/stop. Click on to chrono, reset if necessary, then click split/reset set button. you should see it toggle between lap and split. Hope that's it.

Thanks everyone for sharing what you know about HR! I'm aware of all that has been said and agree that the rate at which the HR recovers after a session is most important. However, I also still say the lower your hr the fitter you are, as it drops with fitness.

I've worn my HR monitor only in 2 races last year a marathon and a 20 miles race. In fact I used it to pace myself to a 20 mile pb, but that was just by seeing in training what my hr was for the pace I wanted to run.

Max HR must mean something surely!

ceal and mellifera-I bought the Timex Bodylink Heart Rate Monitor from Bourne Sports for £103. I phoned through the order and it arrived in 2 days! It consists of the watch and chest strap and it's great you can have three displays in the window. Last night I had HR/average pace/distance visable. It works perfectly with my GPS sensor and I have the old shape model! It just means I've got a spare watch, but I don't mind that.

Ceal, I've not had to replace a battery in my watch yet, but for it to remain waterproof it's supposed to be sent away to Timex. However, saying that unless you're going to be using it for swimming then personally I'd take it to a jewellers and get them to replace it. I did this with an old heart rate monitor and they just said it would no longer be waterproof, again not a problem as i didn't use in water.


I think mellifera has answered the other question.

mellifera, thanks for your input, I think I must be a bit thick! I ahve tried what you have said, and it doesn't sem to make any difference if I have it on split or lap, at the moment all it does is accumulate the laps/splits in one reading.

Thanks hilly, I will be updating mine. Like you say a spare watch is not a problem! Did you do a lot of reasearch on where to buy one from. Bourne Sports were obviously competitive were they? I like the 'have it in 2 days'!

On the HR business, I think that it is genetics that sets the MHR and the RHR. Obviously the RHR can he lowered even further by fitness. But one can find some unfit peeps with a low RHR due to genetics.

A High MHR must mean that you can train at higer level HRates, but I don't think that it means that one is necessarily training any harder than another person with a lower MHR who is training at a lower MHR.

An interesting subject!

Can I just say I have the GPS bodylink system and was having problems with HRM and then my watch flashed at me an no back light any way following advice to replace battery it is only 5 months old (battery is suppose to last 2 years)and no jewerller would touch it they would send it away and be without it for 6 weeks!!! It is how my coach can tell how I am progressing etc so no way could be without it.Lucky for me our electrician in work and general whizz kid did it for me and we had battery in for one of our gizzmo's and it all works again...big sigh of relief but it is the same with battery in HRM so going to get him to change it for me tomorrow.Just had to reset all my settings:-)

hilly sorry another question. Have you bothered with the data recorder? Also I read a report on the Timex HRM which said "lacks deep funcionality in the heart monitor". Any idea what that means. Or it's implications?

Welsh Poppy, that was a good test, I have no back light either, I have just tested it! That confirms battery is fading. I have a husband who thinks that he will be open the back with a small screw driver. He is pretty nifty with gagets.So all we will need is the battery. I am sure/hope that we will be able to come by one somehow.

Perhaps that is why I cannot get the lap/split to work properly!

On the x-trainer machines in the gym my heart rate used to go up a lot higher than it does now and when I say 'now' I mean that I think my fitness levels have improved lots in the last few months.

Isn't being fit about making your body efficient? And I certainly associate low resting pulse/HR with high fitness because your body functions perfectly fine with less pumping. I think this relates to blood pressure too? As my blood pressure has come down too.

Max HR is perhaps the most that you can do before your body starts panicing....?

But lookey lookey here…

Oops... sorry
http://www.sportsdoctor.com/articles/heart_rate.html

ceal, I've got the data recorder, in fact the whole bodylink set, as well as a forerunner and a polar s810i. Just need something with a footpod to make up the collection :). The timex HR reporting is pretty meagre on the watch as it only records average HR. With the data recorder you can work out max and min. Personally, I prefer the polar for anything to do with heart rate.

Hilly - Snicks here. Read the first page of your thread. But as usual so many pages... As you might remember, I was almost the same as you in 2003, with a 42:46, 10k at Eastleigh, a 3:29:11 marathon at connemara and a 1:35 Half marathon at Watford. Now, I'd be lucky to do 48, 3:45, and 1:40... I did the Ultra in March, whilst ill and have since been busy buying and refurbishing a guesthouse (there's a running theme to it, but I'm not here to advertise)... and hardly run at all. It's a bit depressing, but want to make my comeback! Other, than the obvious, ie train, any other tips... and most importantly of all, did you acheive your goal?

Thanks Foo Bar that has given me something to think about.

Ceal

You can order the batteries from CPC one of our supplies they are on the net and Maplins.

I looked in our town no one stocked them.

Took whizz kid 30 minutes to replace it;-)

Good luck hope you are able to find a stockist.

I have data recorder but not working again 4th replacement have tried various things but still not working.It was great and I loved all the data it gave me.

Sorry Ceal, and Welsh Poppy, I seem to have interrupted. Well, went back and found the words: I am now so pleased as not only do I have my Championship place, I was first F40-44 winning £50 and I was 2nd F40-44 in the British Masters Marathon chmapionships and am the proud owner of a silver medal!:o) Well done Hilly!

Too much HR stuff for me here.

And yes, I'm jealous - but you've inspired me to get going again!