http://www.garmin.com/products/forerunner305/
looks so much better than the old version … some cool features
Yes. We (along with many bike shops) will be selling them. The software package is said to be significantly upgraded over previous versions too, along with a seamless melding with the new Garmin acquisition, Motionbased.com.
This looks like a very interesting training tool.
Now if they can come up with a version with low cost power unit on top of this…
Says it’s only water resistant to 1m or so. It’s a pretty cool tool, but swimming with it would put it over the top. Can you imagine being able to get accurate distances on open water swims? That would be HUGE.
except that “distance” in the water might not mean that much.
you see, water has a pesky little trait: it loves to move. many, if not most, natural bodies of water and silt ponds (resevoirs) have currents often, sometimes, or occasionally.
so it’s like using a gps on a treadmill at the gym: your legs say you ran 6, but gps says you ran zero. not entirely useful.
hmmm, that’s an interesting point. I’ve never thought of it like that. But then how do race directors get distances for swims? I assume they must use GPS.
-C
Thanks for your explanation, we wouldn’t get it if it wasn’t you. Now explain us, how is that different from swimming in a race?
oi. !
you assume wrong. some do use gps, but others use a ‘different’ method. but have you ever seen some race directors put out the turn-around buoy race morning? if you haven’t, here is a ‘recording’ of the RD talking to the driver of his motorboat as he throws out swim buoys into the water (i swear i am not making this up):
RD: "all right, start slowing here. that looks like about a half mile to shore, right?
Driver: “i dunno…”
RD: “all right, go another 100 yards.”
Driver: “Ok…”
RD: “all right, just throw out the turn-around buoy here, that’s looks like about a half mile each way.”
i call this ‘seat of the pants gps’. and, of course, that’s why the fastest swimmers in that race ended up having 26 min. splits, when normally they were sub 20 min.
welcome to triathlon…
not different at all.
except i don’t race with a gps and check the distance.
i just swim, and swim fast like my life depends on it.
I use my forerunner 301 for running and allow for arm movement. Remember its not tracking the distance on the ground, it’s tracking the distance of movement. when you do a long run think about how much arm movement there is with each stride. Same with swimming, raising your arm over your head would add distance that you weren’t really swimming (or distance you weren’t really coverng) I can confiirm this when i went kayak fishing in the ocean in baja. Huge swells, gps said i paddled about 11 miles that day but i bet have of that was the up and down motion of the swells.
I did not know those things were that precise to pick up arm motion. I am amazed.
i agree, swimming and water is tricky gps-wise for many reasons.
but running is another thing. i would not think a gps would add distance while running on the flats. because even if the gps antenna was on your arm, while running, the gps would not see the motion as back and forth. it would see your arm as moving through space, although at times much faster, and at times much slower.
it’s just like a bike wheel. even though the top of the wheel moves forward, and the bottom of the wheel seems to move backward, no part of the wheel actually moves back in space ever.
make sense?