I don't think I understand what you mean by setting reps according to speed, etc., but the Timex Bodylink Performance Monitor allows you to do intervals based on time or distance in the 'hands free' mode. It also saves your average HR during these intervals as well. The Bodylink Data Recorder is by far the best part of the Timex system, which is saying a lot. I don't think Nike offers anything like this.

For clarification - I think the Triax will allow you to say run 2 miles at 70% hr then will time a recovery interval or tell you when your hr has dropped to a particular level. Not something you can do with the timex unless you do it the old fashioned way. It doesn't have the bodylink - I think the watch stores the data and you download it via a device attached to the computer.

I don't own either. But I've looked extensively at each.

I do own the fitsense speedometer. I understand that Nike licenses the fitesense technology for the speed snesor. Or fitesense and nike both license the same technology from a third company. Either way you get my meaning.

The speed sensor is a bit finicky. It is within 5% all the time. A recalibration gets it back to within less than 1%.

You've got the timex unit nailed except for the fact that it drops signals pretty regularly. Also, anything overhead blocks the reception.

If I didn't have the fitsense, I'd get the nike unit. The interval programming functions are very nice.

I had a Fitsense for a couple of years and recently got the Timex GPS thingy. The Fitsense is now in the landfill.

The Timex thing is so accurate and cool to run with that I stupidly put it on even for little 4-mile jog stroller runs. Simply put, it's accurate, very easy to use and a valuable training tool. You can set the Timex to take splits for you on your runs, based on time or distance. I leave mine set at half-mile. It's always interesting to go back after a run and see how I did or didn't hold pace.

The Fitsense (which is what the Nike is, in a different wrapper) just never really lived up to the promise.

And, for what it's worth -- all that stuff about interval and recovery times, etc. etc....running is not that complicated. If you're doing hard repeats, rest until you feel ready to go hard again. If you're doing more steady, continual repeats, rest for less time so your HR stays up. No watch or HR monitor is needed.

Lydiard very famously (and accurately) has said that, when it somes to "quality work", nobody can ever know the "right" distance or time for the intervals. Just do them. Not too hard, but hard enough so that you're breathing hard. Quit when you've done enough to feel pretty tired.

one thing to think about is that the nike isn't thrown off by elevation gain while the Timex only tracks distance as if you are constantly running on flats. This is a minor detail unless you run where it is pretty hilly. You also get that funky tan with the timex although the new units are going to have a smaller reciever and longer battery life. I think the Timex is cool but the Nike just seems so much easier to use with the foot sensor vs the arm band/waist clip.

We went through this a while back on another thread.

Pythagorus would note that, if you run up and back down a one-mile long hill (measured on the road surface) of 4% grade (a pretty robust hill for running) then the Timex would say you only ran 1.9985 miles instead of 2.0000. So, the solution when going on hilly runs is to take an extra hop and skip at the bottom of every hill.

If those extra 8.5 feet every two miles are gonna screw up your run workouts, then you might consider the Nike. But then again, the Nike isn't that accurate anyway (and really goes haywire if you change your stride pattern -- as when running in the hills), so you'd end up being even more long or short.

You can't win in this crazy world!

Oh -- one other observation. Every now and then, we get to witness the death of a once-interesting technology right before our very eyes.

Fitsense/Nike Triax are dead technologies. One clue is the 30% Off promotion Fitsense is running. Timex's GPS system is the category killer, and as many people will soon be buying the Fitsense/Nike units as are buying LORAN navigation systems.

Remember DOS? The IBM Selectric? Horse-drawn buggies?

Think Fitsense.

Does anyone know when the new units with smaller receivers are going to be for sale ?

I looked at them when they first came out - but was put off by the size of the receiver and no HRM function

But now they have HRM and with a smaller receiver I would get one

they have a new chest strap too, well newer than the original at least. It's much more streamlined like a Polar or Nike. I think we got some of the new transmitters last week. I'll check when I go to work tomorrow and post if they are available. The Timex availibility literature is kind of confusing with them showing the new stuff available now but some pictures show the new transmitter some show the old...

I happened to notice this thread and wanted to take this opportunity to explain a bit more about the technology inside the Nike Speed and Distance products. I am the Product Manager from Dynastream Innovations Inc., the developers of the technology upon which the Nike products are based.

First, the Nike technology and the Fitsense technology are not the same thing. Because we did not develop the Fitsense technology we cannot comment on how it works, however can tell you about the technology housed in the Nike product line. Our technology is based on patented inertial, wireless technology. It uses accelerometers, and actually tracks and reconstructs the user’s each and every stride identifying the length of each step, and accurately determining the speed and distance. The Nike product measures a runner’s speed and distance at a rate of 1600 times per second and the accuracy is 97% (typical out of box) which increases to 99% if the product is calibrated to the user’s individual stride.

Although we initially looked at GPS technology in developing a running tool, we decided to build a new inertial technology using accelerometers. We determined GPS required a line-of-sight access to positioning satellites, which is not always available where we run. It also is still a larger technology and tends to use a lot of power.

If you’d like any further information about the technology, feel free to visit our website at http://www.dynastream.com

I bought the new model of Timex Bodylink Heart Rate Monitor & Speed + Distance System and paid $194.00. This included shipping and handling. I couldn't find a better deal out there. Arrived at my door 3 days after ordering. I ordered it from www.targetzone.net aka www.heartratemonitorsusa.com.

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Team Endurance Nation