The official running thread™

[Crusader]

I have the garmin HRM pro plus and the garmin HRM Dual. When it come to measuring you HR both are good. The Pro plus tracks some extra stuff like stride length, vertical oscillation, ground contact time etc. Vertical oscillation and ground contact time seems to be more accurate with the HRm than with the watch.

Interesting. I see you can order the new version (whatever that means) of the HRM Pro Plus at Amazon.com for R2400. Locally the older version seems to go for R2800. Wonder if it would be worth getting on Amazon or waiting for a Takealot sale...

 

[The_MAC]

What a tough day out on the trails two weeks back. Highly recommended for any trail runners here. Pretty technical. I'm not at my peak, so the pace was not great, but finished in one piece.

 

[ShaunSA]

Fess up. Whose doing 2 oceans?

 

[Agent_Smith]

Fess up. Whose doing 2 oceans?

 

[ShaunSA]

Sterkte!

 

[Agent_Smith]

Sterkte!

 

[8letters]

Fess up. Whose doing 2 oceans?

Doing the half in preparation for London Marathon.

 

[8letters]

Interesting. I see you can order the new version (whatever that means) of the HRM Pro Plus at Amazon.com for R2400. Locally the older version seems to go for R2800. Wonder if it would be worth getting on Amazon or waiting for a Takealot sale...

Link to one on amazon?

 

[Crusader]

Link to one on amazon?

This one

After bit of research it seems it's only the battery compartment that had changes made to it. I think it might have something to do with an EU regulation that button batteries need tool access. The new one has a part number that ends with 05. Not sure how exactly it differs though.

 

[8letters]

Interesting. I see you can order the new version (whatever that means) of the HRM Pro Plus at Amazon.com for R2400. Locally the older version seems to go for R2800. Wonder if it would be worth getting on Amazon or waiting for a Takealot sale...

I like the Garmin pro plus. Only downside too it is that the HRM cannot detach from the strap. Another alternative that works well with garmin are polar HRM's.
I've been using my pro plus hrm for well over a year now and honestly have no complaints. I love the vertical oscillation metrics. It's something that I've been really focused on improving. Managed to get it down to about 9.1cm's during speed sessions and I can honestly say that my running economy has improved quite alot. Lastly, when I run on the treadmill I can sync the hrm to zwift for cadence and hrm.

 

[The_MAC]

Fess up. Whose doing 2 oceans?

It's on my list, but the total cost is rather exorbitant i.e. race entry, flights, car rental, accommodation etc.

 

[Crusader]

I like the Garmin pro plus. Only downside too it is that the HRM cannot detach from the strap. Another alternative that works well with garmin are polar HRM's.
I've been using my pro plus hrm for well over a year now and honestly have no complaints. I love the vertical oscillation metrics. It's something that I've been really focused on improving. Managed to get it down to about 9.1cm's during speed sessions and I can honestly say that my running economy has improved quite alot. Lastly, when I run on the treadmill I can sync the hrm to zwift for cadence and hrm.

The FR165 already provides most of those metrics except for the L&R breakdown. The Pro Plus might be more accurate though. I'm torn between the Pro Plus and the Polar H10. Guess it might be better to stay in the Garmin ecosystem, plus I can order the Garmin on Takealot if they have more discounts codes which can bring the price down to par with the H10. Then the extra metrics would be a nice bonus.

 

[Crusader]

For someone who never ran I sure ran a lot since getting my Garmin in April last year. Over 2000km in pretty much a year to the day. Got my Garmin on 3 April 2024.

 

[ShaunSA]

It's on my list, but the total cost is rather exorbitant i.e. race entry, flights, car rental, accommodation etc.

I'd like to do the half... one day lol

 

[The_MAC]

I'd like to do the half... one day lol

21k is a real sweet spot of a distance, long enough to feel it, short enough to push yourself and be able to do it again quite soon afterwards.

 

[Agent_Smith]

Good luck to the Ultra runners tomorrow. Remember your sunblock because it's going to cook once the sun is up.

 

[Crusader]

Got tired of waiting for a Takealot discount so went ahead and ordered the HRM Pro Plus. Should arrive Thursday.

Any tips or handy things I should know about using a chest strap?

 

[Mzezman]

Did my first 10k in over 4yrs… man that was tough but I enjoyed it

 

[Crusader]

HRM Pro Plus arrived today. It was supposed to be a rest day for me today, but decided to take it out for a quick spin. Played around with some varied paces, but nothing too strenuous.

HRM Pro Plus


FR165 on (older sprint session)


Initial thoughts is that the HR tracks much closer for the short higher effort intervals where the optical sensors lag quite a bit. I'll need to get used to how it feels wearing a chest strap. It feels very strange at the moment.

The real test will come when I do a sprint or anaerobic session. Garmin had an anaerobic session on the books for tomorrow, but after this run it's giving me two rest days in a row. Hopefully that will change by tomorrow morning.

One disappointment is that I can't see the L/R balance (Ground contact time balance) since the FR165 doesn't support it.

@8letters If I understand it correctly the HR strap is only used during activities right? How tight should it be worn? Bit concerned I'm not wearing it tight enough or too tightly.

 

[Jehosefat]

If I understand it correctly the HR strap is only used during activities right? How tight should it be worn? Bit concerned I'm not wearing it tight enough or too tightly.

Yeah, only during activities. Just tight enough so that it doesn't move around while you exercise is perfect. No need to squeeze the sh*t out of yourself.