Running Watch Reviews » Elite Athletes

Timex Ironman Race Trainer Heart Rate Monitor Watch Grey Lilac Mid Size

Running Watch Reviews — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:45:53 +0000

Timex Ironman Race Trainer Heart Rate Monitor Watch, Grey/Lilac, Mid Size

The Timex Race Trainer Heart Rate Monitor Watch allows you to keep up with all the advancements in the world of training.

Nowadays, workouts are not just about lifting the heaviest weights, running the fastest speeds, or going the greatest distances. Now, training is about being able to adjust according to how data shows your body’s reaction to the situation. With the Timex Ironman Race trainer heart rate monitor watch, all these training data are made available to you.

The Timex Ironman features a 10-workout memory, 50-lap chrono with average heart rate per lap, five interval timers with individual heart rate target zones, and it’s very own Race Trainer system. These all combine to give runners the figures that they would need to adjust their training workload.

With the Timex Ironman Race Trainer Heart Rate Monitor, training just got a whole lot smarter!

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User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Timex Ironman Men’s Race Trainer HRM
I love it. I got it sooner then they said I would. Great service and an outstanding product. I use it 5 days a week. It is accurate and dependable. Highly recommend this Timex HRM and the supplier.

4 Stars Excellent HRM
Purchased one of these guys (w/o the USB data transfer device) about a month ago and am really loving it. It’s very easy to use, accurate, and really helps you make sure you’re working in the zones that you intend. I use it for doing HIIT intervals and it’s great…and fun as well to see how your body adapts and becomes more fit over time. This watch has all the basic features and the fact that you don’t have to send the chest belt back to the factory to change the battery (like you do with the Polar watches) is a plus. The only two things that I would like a bit different that warrant 4 stars, instead of 5, are that the buttons are not always as smooth as I’d like and tend to grab a bit. Also, I wish the watch just had a straight stopwatch in addition to the chronograph. Overall, a good HRM though.

3 Stars Triathlon name is misnomer – but good monitor otherwise
The watch has “Triathlon” below the Ironman label, and the manual states it is a triathlon training tool. However, this monitor will not work while swimming. It is an excellent tool for cycling and running, and the review mode is very helpful in recording workout information. I called Timex when the heart rate monitor failed to function in the pool after re-reading the manual to see if the problem could be pilot error. Instead, Timex warranty personnel told me the watch did not work while swimming and was not intended to and there was nothing they could do about the problem. (Not very courteous in providing that information as well.) He also added none of the monitors will work in water. This is incorrect as Polar monitors work quite well while swimming. At the advertised price on Amazon, this is a very good value, and if you don’t need it for swimming, it is very good. I bought the monitor specifically for cycling and swimming, and I still considered keeping it because the other features of the watch are excellent.

5 Stars better than polar
It looks better than a Polar, is lighter and more user-friendly system, it is very easy to program. Excellent condition. I had a Polar and had trouble because he broke in 2 occasions, also lost its original color.

4 Stars Easy to use heart beat rate monitor
It’s very easy to use. If you just want to see and monitor your heart bit rate, without any alarm, limit etc, this things is very simple to use.

Going further takes some reading of the manual; setting of zone 1-5, or manual limit, alarm, weigh etc.

Wearing this does improve your work out in terms of;

- you can pace your work out more methodically

- you have measurable target for your work out

- barring some hiccups (mentioned below), you can review your work out

- the above normally can be done on tread mill machine only. you get benefit of “measures” tread mill while doing your work out on the read

- overall this gives better motivation on each of your work out.

Draw back;

- I learnt that once in a while during the exercise, communication between sensor and the watch got disconnected. The low limit alarm buzzed off bpm <90 in the midst of my heavy workout (or else I must have been dead . This in spite of sensor properly moisturized and sweat. After a while the bpm count will come back to where it should.

- hence when this happens the “review” mode will not reflect the actual work out.

- label prints on the watch is too small. you have to read manual to guess what’s printed there.

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Garmin Forerunner 205/305/405 – Top Running Watch 2009

Running Watch Reviews — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:40:06 +0000

The Garmin Forerunner series of GPS running watches is one of the top choices when it comes to training equipment for the ultimate edge.

The combination of style, durability, and functionality places the Garmin Forerunner at the top of the list as a preferred running watch among elite athletes around the world!

Selecting a Garmin Forerunner product depends on the athlete’s budget, kind of training, and how advanced one wants their training to get.

That said, let’s take a look at our top 3 Garmin Forerunner Watches.

Garmin Forerunner 205 GPS Receiver & Sportswatch

Garmin Forerunner 205

For beginners or entry level training, Garmin offers a Forerunner model that is perfect for them, the Garmin FR 205.

On its own, the slightly more affordable Garmin FR205 is a GPS powered fitness watch plus workout tool that tracks your total training time, and calories burned.

The FR 205 also lets you create multi sport workouts. Multi Sport Workouts allows you to seamlessly transition between sports without having to reset the unit. This is a perfect setting for training for triathlons or any other event that combines many disciplines.

If you are feeling a bit more advanced, and want more training data to analyze, the Garmin FR 205 can use its ANT+ seamless wireless feature to connect with other accessories.

It can connect with devices like the wireless foot pod for you to be able to track more data such as distance, speed and pace.

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Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS Receiver With Heart Rate Monitor

Garmin Forerunner 305

Garmin also offers more feature rich products if you consider yourself a bit more of an advanced runner.

In the Garmin Forerunner® 305, runners would get more details and more advanced features than the entry level Garmin models.

The Forerunner 305 is also capable of the basic features that the Garmin FR 205 has – PLUS, it packs more functionality such as a digital coded heart rate monitor and heart rate zones.! It even has built in multiple sport profiles for running, biking and other sports.

What separates the Garmin Forerunner 305 from entry level models is that it already has a built in heart rate monitor that previous models needed additional accessories for.

This makes accessing the data much simpler and more intuitive for users.

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Garmin Forerunner 405 GPS Receiver With Heart-Rate Monitor (ADVANCED)

Garmin Forerunner 405

For even more advanced training, Garmin rolls out the Garmin Forerunner 405.

One of the more advanced GPS enabled training watches; it packs the monitoring of your training time, distance, pace, calories and heart rate but also adds more functionality and style to the device.

The first thing that you would notice in the Forerunner 405 is its more compact design. This makes it more lightweight and more comfortable to wear when you are training.

The next improvement is that it seamlessly connects to the Satellites for tracking your data. GPS uplink is much quicker than the entry level or mid range models. The Garmin 405 connects to satellites in 4-5 seconds as compared with the minute or 2 in other models.

Lastly, the Garmin 405 supports Wireless data upload. When you connect the USB “ant stick “to your computer, the Garmin would automatically send your workout data from the watch to your PC.

This makes it much easier to maintain and keep track of your training records.

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Again, before purchasing a GPS running watch, it would be important for you to know what kind of training you want to have. Are you aiming for a simple stroll in the park, a morning leisure run or perhaps an intense training regiment fit for triathletes?

No matter what training path you choose however, it seems that there is a specific Garmin Forerunner series running watch that is fit for you.

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