Timex Bodylink System

[pjxc415]

filippigirl ~ in my opinion there is nothing wrong using all these technogadgets to help gauge your heart rate, pace, mileage, etc. i know elite distance runners can simply go out, put in the mileage, return, look at their watch, and know exactly how far they've run. i can do it and so can all of my teammates. for everyone who can't do this, it's good to know where you're at, especially if you're not an everyday runner and may not be running enough to simply maintain fitness. i recommend these methods to gauge distance, pace, and heartrate. clearly it wont make you faster, but it will absolutely help you judge where you're at and if you need to make adjustments in your training. if you've got the extra cash and this is the type of investment you wanna make, go for it ... if not then use the aforementioned methods

~from a current division 1 distance runner

 

[CandKyMarine]

So you're assuming that if you're naturally gifted athlete you don't have to train? That's smart. I bet Jordan never shot free throws, Manning never throws footballs and Gaitlan never sprinted other than in competition either. I don't show up to races and magically run fast. To keep myself in somewhat decent marathon shape I consistantly put in 80-150 mile weeks. Do I have a coach with me now? No. For that reason I'm even less inclined to use some expensive euquipment that may end up hurting me in the long run.
As for knowing your max heart rate. Evey method I've ever seen in a magazine or read in a training book puts me between 190-197. However, I know that my max hr is 177. My lactic threshold is 152. Now does that even nearly resmeble the 75% rule? One of my good friends has a max of 207 and his lt is 155. Again... 75%? So be careful... the preceived effort method almost without fail has put both of us in our lt range.
Your hr is not only affected by being tired, hot, etc. If you run in morning v evening it can be dramatically different. The heat from the pavement can have change it's reading as can power lines. Also, your body tries to supress it's tendency to raise it's hr for at least 20 min. Therefore using a moniter for less than an hour- hour and a half gives an innacurate reading.
You should also be able to be a good enough judge of your own pace to determine rough distance (esp if you've been running for a while). If you really have to be accurate down to the 1/10 of a mile, just do a little research.

 

[Crowbar]

somebody asked about whether or not they liked the Timex Bodylink system. I still say yes, it's useful to have a pedometer and HRM. Good luck changing my mind.

And that's all I have to say about that.

 

[pjxc415]

damn 150 mile weeks ... even the top guys on my team have never ran that (not marathoners though, we stop at 10k). what are your prs? and what job do you have that allows you to do that much running? i'm impressed ... oh yeah and do you know your vo2max? i got mine done last spring and i was a 74. i believe the high on my team was either a 78 or 82.

 

[dpt0101]

I call bull**** on the 150 mile weeks, I ran xc/track in high school and a year of DIII xc and never put in more than half that.

 

[pjxc415]

i'm going to have to agree with that. the top marathoners in the world max out around 140 a week i believe and she says shes doing it just to stay in "somewhat decent marathon shape". she also claims to have been on the national crew team on other threads. filippigirl please fill us in here cause i'm having some definite doubts

 

[makoslim]

Holly Crap! what with the hostility towards people who choose to spend thier money on a watch than can assist in thier training. They arent spending your money, they are spending thier own, if they want the ease of using technology to figure out thier stats for a run, so be it, if you dont use this technology, just say I dont use it, dont belittle them for using it. Yes the 220-age is a terrible method if you are trying to get an accurate max heart rate, but the HR monitors are good for monitoring to make sure you dont go to high, because if your heart rate does sky rocket, you will se that. Lets not be so nit picky in here, youll turn this into the military.com forums. If she says she runs 150 miles per week, whos to say that she dosn't we don't know her.

 

[CandKyMarine]

I'm just trying to save the kid some money. He asked for opinions. I'm as entitled to mine as those who agree with him are to his. It seems like a trend on this board for people who disagree with the core members to be labeled as hostile or accused of trying to insight fights. People are always going to disagree. Get over yourselves.
As for my milage. Yes, I run between 80-150 miles/week. Do I run 150 every week? No. Did I just wake up one morning and say "hmmm... I think I'll run 150 miles this week?" No. It took training and building up. Its part of learning your body and learning what your own limits are. It's why its also important to not follow another person's workout advice as doctrine. Over the past 14 yrs of compitition I've learned that everyone's physiology is very different and changes over time. At 18 I couldn't have handled 150/week. But as both my body and my training mentality has matured over the years I've learned that I can do more than I used to be able to. The point of my post (if you look back to it) wasn't to gloat about my milage, but to prove a point: natural ability doesn't mean you don't need to work your ass off. Maybe I'm "lucky" in having natural athletic ability, but it doesn't make training any easier.

 

[HueyCobra8151]

Wow, 21.5 miles a day for 7 days a week!

I am impressed. If I do 15-25 a week I feel like a stud. (Of course I don't run 7 days a week either )

 

[pjxc415]

good for you filippigirl, i'm impressed. still wondering what your marathon time is though. you run for the all marine or all navy team?

 

[squeeze]

Wow, 21.5 miles a day for 7 days a week!

I'm gonna have to go ahead and raise the flag on that one.

 

[Clux4]

After a while of not riding my bicycle, I start out again with an average of 150-200 miles per week. It is not really alot on a bicycle, but I can't imagine a human being running that in a week.
I guess the question I should ask you is this, do you have a job or are you a pro-marathoner? I have heard of 70-80 miles a week for runners, but 150 sounds like you going to be killing yourself. When do you rest and recover?

 

[HueyCobra8151]

Squeeze: I figured I would give her the benefit of the doubt. I suppose if I told you that I ran a 13 minute PFT you would raise the BS Guidon as well

 

[SFgirl]

Not to barge in on the threadjack or any thing here... but I wanted to tout the mertis of the Garmin system-like product again. It was great for someone like me, who never ran more than 2 miles on the treadmill and got cardio from dance/kick boxing/etc. I went from a couple months ago (mid September) running a 27 minute three mile, to a sub 23 for my package PFT today. I am pretty sure that it would have been a lot more difficult had I not been able to track my progress and have that little beep every now and then to get my a$$ moving faster. I am not sure how much, or even if, I will use it once I get to the point where I can run a sub-21 three mile, but until then I am not giving it the boot by any means.

Just my $.02

 

[Crowbar]

I think everybody's had a chance to speak their mind on this one. If you want something added/removed or disagree with me locking this one, PM me. Otherwise, let's put it out of its misery.....