Green Acres
Monday, December 26, 2005 at 8:31PM 
Emily and I take you with us on a run at our East Texas farm as we talk about lots of issues. (Click here to listen. You blog readers get to hear it one day before it hits iTunes) Topics include our Go Cav! campaign, heart rate monitors, cycling socks, and lots more. Also, we have more audio from Cav and a voice mail from Oregon.
We were traveling and visiting family for four days straight, which really makes me wish that I was podcasting as a full-time job. It is such a great gig because you can literally do it anywhere, and with triathlon, the more places you do it, the better it is. Our son really had a great time because he got to hear me play acoustic guitar for the first time and he scored a new trike. The guitar is actually mine, which I'm borrowing back from my father-in-law. Maybe I'll play a tune on a show someday. The trike is a classic ride, but a bit too tall for him right now. I've included a pic of me riding it and sucking down a true truck-stop energy drink.
So what's up in the world of triathlon, homies? I'm not sure, cuz I'm being a real sack and not doing anything much. Following Cav's progress is about the extent of my efforts. Like Andrea said, you need to take a break on occasion. This podcast is from my first run since the Ironbaby, and it hurt. Time to start making resolutions... Mine is to lose 10 lbs so I have a better power to weight ratio on the bike. What's yours?
Here's the links to the different heart rate monitors I talked about: Cat Eye, Timex, Nike, and Polar.
Reader Comments (7)
Brett -
Regarding your comments on heartrate monitors:
I own the Polar S150. It's almost exactly the same model as the one you described, the S120, except it also functions as a bike computer. The wrist unit straps onto a handlebar mount (which I have on my mountain bike). It will record "laps", which I find helpful on my mountain biking for distance, average speed, average HR and peak HR for each lap (It does this when not used as a bike computer, as well, but w/o the distance and average speed).
The chest strap works perfectly fine fully-submersed in water; I've used it in over half a dozen triathlons and in the pool for training. On my off-road (Xterra, Fat Tire) triathlons, I usually don't take the wrist unit off to put on my bike for distance or speed recording; that info is not as important as just getting the job done (racing), plus, it's kind of difficult to check your handlebar for speed/distance readouts when you've got to concentrate on the trail! However, I do use it during the races for swim/transition/bike/transition/run splits and like I said before, average HR and peak HR during each split.
You may be looking for different types of functions from a heartrate monitor, but I have to say that the Polar S150 (or the S120) is a great product.
Cheers!
stephen- how much is the polar s150? I just bought the Nike and I love it except for the tilted display. I know I'll get used to it, but it sure seems stupid and is very irritating until then.
Brett -
I think I paid about of $120, but that was over a year ago and with some local store super-discounts in effect.
Looks like Froogle says it's between $120 and $150 now: (http://froogle.google.com/froogle?client=safari&rls=en-us&q=%22Polar+S150%22&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wf&lnk=pruser&price1=100&price2=200&btnP=Go)
However, I've found that performancebike.com, bikenashbar.com and supergo.com all have great discounted deals from time to time. Me? I got mine on a super-discounted sale from my local Supergo bike shop on deep discount during a clearance, if I recall correctly.
Functionality-wise, I couldn't be happier. However, this is my first HR monitor and I don't have others to compare it to. One nice feature (albeit a small one), is that a lot of gym cycle and treadmill equipment are already "Polar-ready" and will pick up your chest-strap reading while you exercise. Nice, when you happen to hit a gym machine instead of the bike one night.
Hope this helps... let me know if you want some pics of the readouts!
Cheers!
I second Stephen's good words about Polar products, especially his comment about a lot of gym equipment (treadmills and the like) being Polar ready. I hit the treadmill with my HRM and Polar on my wrist and noticed my heart rate being displayed on the treadmill. I checked my wrist and it was exactly the same...weird, I thought. I looked all over the treadmill's display for a Polar symbol or little heart or something but couldn't find anything. It was very nice to not have to check my wrist. Of course I don't even have to wear the watch unless I want the data to be recorded - which I do.
I have the more expensive S725i with the cadence sensor and full bike computer. Overall I'm happy with the product, although at times it flakes out on me, which seriously pisses me off. I'll lose cadence data for minutes at a time.
My wife bought me the Foreunner 301 for Christmas, so not sure how I'm gonna handle both devices...if the Garmin had a cadence sensor it seems it would be ideal. But, I've read some questionable epinions stating the HRM functions of the Garmin are unreliable, so we'll see.
Enjoyed the rest of the podcast Brett. Next time you should get a mic for Emily so we can hear her better :)
It was also good to hear the specific fundraising goals for Cav. I would be much more willing to donate if I knew how much he has compared with how much he needs. Maybe you could do one of those silly fundraising thermometers or some graph...even just basic stats would be helpful.
Brett -
Update on the current prices of the Polar S150... performancebike.com has it for $79.99 right now.
That's a smokin' deal!
Late.
That sounds like a much better watch than the C8. Sucks that I already have bought and been using the C8. I do like it, though. Most of all, I like that it's a decent enough watch to wear all the time and I just slip on the HR strap to watch my HR. This info just proves what great deals you can get on the internet.
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