Forerunner Training | OCPaddler.com

get it on amazon...you can get it brand new for less than retail through one of the other stores on amazon usually...

#1 Mon, 12/04/2006 - 4:31pm

thanks , forgot about amazon / ebay etc.

#2 Mon, 12/04/2006 - 4:35pm

I've used the Forerunner 201 for a couple of years now. WAs cheaper. Gives downloadable workout data (distance, time, speed, etc)..although I've never downloaded, has retraceable route mapping. I like it. Only thing it doesn't do is have a heartrate monitor....need 301 for that! GOt mine on ebay...

#3 Tue, 12/05/2006 - 4:06am

Is the Forerunner a better tool for paddling than the Edge? Do either have the navigation capabilities to guide you to a location that is over the horizon?

http://geoman.xrayaudio.com/

#4 Tue, 12/05/2006 - 4:27am

If you mean ability to plug in coordinates to a location, I don't think so. It will simply map your route, then you can "retrace your steps" back to your starting location (although I've never used this feature either). That Edge looks nice. Is there anyway to rig it to measure stroke rate since it will measure cadence on a bike? I've liked the forerunner because of it's small size. I have it mounted right up above my feet. Hey, speaking of GPS, if anyones interested, I have a Magellan Meridian Color GPS w/Mapsend direct route for Canada and U.S. I'm looking to sell. Was going to list on ebay. Let me know

#5 Tue, 12/05/2006 - 5:17am

During the catalina relay last year we put a forerunner 201 on our oc-1 and by pressing a button we could see the straightest path too dana point...so i'm guessing that you can program either coordinates or a compass heading into it...

#6 Tue, 12/05/2006 - 2:14pm

nb1376,
What exactly do you mean by straightest path, or how is that displayed on the Forerunner? Is it a line on a map graphic with a compass heading? Is the "straightest path" data updated in order to keep you from deviating from a straightline course while underway?

#7 Fri, 12/08/2006 - 7:11am

I have the Edge 305 for my bike and I love it. I don't think that there would be any way to rig it to see your paddling cadence on both sides. There is a little reciever that attaches to the bike frame and then one of the spokes, so it might be possible to attach the reciever to your canoe on one side and then the sensor to your paddle(but you might get faulty data with the recovery on your stroke being recorded also). You can set the edge to mark any location that you are at and then it can give you straight line to that location. I also use it with the motion based website and then I can download all the information and see maps of my rides and it also gives you really nice graphs with heart rate and things like that. Also the edge has a nice mounting bracket that I am sure could easily be modified to use on a canoe. One note about Garmin is that there training center software does not work on a Mac, you have to use MotionBased.com to download your data.

#8 Fri, 12/08/2006 - 7:49am

201 rocks. Have you ever been on your one-man and wondered if changing your technique makes a difference? The 201 can give you immediate feedback. Its a wonderful tool. Good for running, biking, paddling, and the such.

Plus its backed by Garmin. It says its waterproof but mine has died 2 times cause water got in. Garmin replaced it both times. For free. Nice!

#9 Fri, 12/08/2006 - 9:46am

i believe that it shows a straight line between the start coordinate and end coordinate, and it shows you as an arrow and where you are in relation to that line...thats what i remember...I don't actually have one b/c i just spent my money on my boat...ask at a local store that carries them...

#10 Fri, 12/08/2006 - 10:27pm

i had a garmin 301 awhile ago.. it broke because of water, and they replaced it really easily. Then i lost it a couple of months later. Finally i bought the 201 about a year later, and within a couple of months it got water in it-- so i wrote to garmin and they never responded. so i wrote them again and they said that the forerunner 201 is not waterproof and therefore not covered by warranty for water damage, and that it'll cost me $59 dollars to get it repaired. What is that all about?

i'm a little bit pissed right now.

#11 Fri, 12/08/2006 - 11:16pm

My 201's been splashed by fresh and salt water. Working fine. According to the manual. "The Forerunner 201 is waterproof to IEC Standard 60529 IPX7. It can withstand immersion in 1 meter of water for 30 minutes" Garmin customer support in the U.S. 800-800-1020. Sounds like it's warrantied for a year from date of purchase.

#12 Sat, 12/09/2006 - 2:47am

Hi all,

I'm GeoMan. I saw visitors to our site from this forum so I thought I would introduce myself. We're a small company intent in making your buying experience a good one.

We've updated our URL. The one above works just fine but we're promoting the new one - http://www.geomangear.com.

Thanks alot for the mention and your consideration too.

Best regards,

GeoMan

#13 Sun, 12/10/2006 - 3:03am

Found this article on surfski.info which is really helpful if you want to know more on the 305 , here is the link
http://www.surfski.info/content/view/134/64/

#14 Sun, 12/10/2006 - 12:01pm

I put garmin through two replacements of a 205...as the above referenced link alludes to, the 201 and 205 weak link was the usb port interface...it would get wet and not transfer data. the 305 eliminated the usb part by making the usb port part of the recharger..baseplate..305 is a little too large and resembles dick tracy's wrist radio....but it straps on my front iako just fine or on my thigh just above the knee with a jury-rigged velcro strap...big letters and numbers...easy to read...a better product..

#15 Mon, 12/11/2006 - 3:51pm

the 201 now has the same thing now--- it has a little clip that attaches on, so there are no open holes on it.. my first 301 did not have that, so i think it's something that they just updated on all of their products... which would lead one to think that their products are waterproof (in addition to the statement in the manual) despite this from their tech support "The forerunner was not designed with the intent for use near water. I can bring in the unit for repair but I cannot cover it under the warranty."
(I recommend everyone stop reading right now.... i dont really say anything of importance below... and i guess i didn't say anything of importance up above either, cause i'd already said it in an earlier post-- but oh well-- i'm bored)

From that experience alone--- i will never buy another Garmin product... might be an over reaction, but you cannot say that something is waterproof and then not cover it under warranty. It's not like i swam with the thing (which i should've been able to do for up to half an hour).. it got splashed on my canoe.. i dont think i even hulied with it.
alright-- enough ranting about Garmin.
Actually... while i'm procastinating i might as well talk about some other irrelevant customer service issues.....
we bought a panasonic camera to make the videos-- and very early on the thing started to have problems.. this was before Keizo broke it in the first minute of the solo in 2005.. so i emailed Panasonic 9 times!... and never got a response.. and i must've called them like 5 times and waited on hold for probably an hour total... without ever getting in touch with an actual person.. turns out the thing just needed a head cleaner (and i only needed to read the FAQ on the website... but that's beside the point :))--- and i swore i'd never get a panasonic again because of their nonexistant customer service-- but we ended up getting another one anway (which has turned out to be an awesome camera... and luckily we haven't had to use customer service.. though the thing did get doused in salt water about a month ago-- so it's on the verge of breaking i think).
One more thing... i've broken five ipods (getting them wet and dropping them) and Apple has replaced every single one of them extremely quickly and always under warranty. Apple is amazing and i don't think i'll ever buy a music player or computer ever again that is not an Apple... because of that.

WOW-- that was very off topic (my longest dumbest posts are always during finals week... so i apologize).... so i'll shuttup. and i'll apologize ahead of time if i offended anyone by talking about nothing.
(i just want a new GPS....)

#16 Mon, 12/11/2006 - 4:24pm

I think someone needs to be more careful with their electronics... :) Sorry luke, I know that will annoy you, but like you said, it's finals week and I need someone to pick on.

#17 Mon, 12/11/2006 - 5:14pm

ummmm.... i dont think 5 broken ipods and 2 broken GPS' compares to crashing a hard-drive with a years work of penguin (look at what could have been at http://kzo.net/tux/animation) AND breaking a video camera in the first minute of a race :)
p.s. I broke the connector on the helmet camera, but they're going to fix it.....

alright--- now back to the forerunner

#18 Mon, 12/11/2006 - 6:52pm

Luke, I have a garmin 201 you can have, it works and hasn't leaked, even when used on a stock paddlebord that spends most of it's time underwater pearling on waves.

let me know. that way you can keep your promise of never buying another garmin product.

#19 Mon, 12/11/2006 - 7:13pm

I want it.

#20 Mon, 12/11/2006 - 7:23pm

i was kind of hoping that the garmin people would see me spreading bad words about their product and would say that they'd fix mines---- but i dont think that's going to happen...

too late Goto-- he already offered it to me
nah-- but are you serious? i'd for sure take it-- that's kind of perfect, cause i can know my speed again without breaking the boycott----
Goto if you want it you can have it, but otherwise-- shoot, i'd be stoked on it

#21 Mon, 12/11/2006 - 7:42pm

wait wait.. cancel that--- Goto the GPS is all yours----

i just found out that the boycott worked and Garmin caved----
"IEC Standard 60529 IPX7 is an industry standard. IPX7 rating does not reflect the unit as being waterproof but rather water resistant. But if you have registered the unit or have proof that you have purchased the unit within 1 year I will cover the unit under warranty this time only."
woohoo-----

#22 Mon, 12/11/2006 - 7:44pm

Damn Keizo, look at the power of your site...you got companies giving in to Luke now because of his "finals week" post. Luke Evslin for Mayor....

#23 Mon, 12/11/2006 - 10:45pm

SWEET! I'm coming for my GPS, jc9_0... Pick me up at the airport. My flight gets in at 1am on Feb. 9th. I LOVE free stuff. OCPaddlerdotcizzo is off the hizzo, my nizzo.

#24 Tue, 12/12/2006 - 8:40am

I bought a Garmin Forerunner 305 about 3 months ago (couldn't wait until Christmas). I have to say, I love it. It can take a minute or so to sync up with the sattelites, but that's minor. I just turn the unit on while getting ready for a workout and when I'm ready to go, so is the unit. The smaller design makes it comfortable to wear on my wrist for running. The technology is amazing, especially when combined with Motionbased.com. The satellite view is remarkable when reviewing your workout... I can't believe the level of detail for $272 (I bought mine at www.heartratemonitorsusa.com and it came 2nd day air at no extra cost). The unit connects to my PC via a USB connection. It has a little charger port/docking station for the wrist unit. If my computer is on, when I put the wrist unit in the charging stand (and the stand is connected to my computer), the Training Center software opens automatically and uploads my recent workout data automatically. Can't get much easier than that.

The Trianing Center software is great. You can easily customize any workout you can imagine. Then, just drag and drop workouts on the Calendar, click the upload button and you can upload a month's worth of workouts to your wrist unit if you want to at one time, with one click. The wrist unit lets you select workouts by day, by "favorites", by activity (i.e. running, biking, paddling) or you can sort through all the workouts loaded and choose the one you want. Super easy.

If you workout in the dark at all, you can set the backlight so it won't turn off unless you turn it off, or you can set it to stay on for X number of seconds before it turns off again. This was really cool for me as I always seem to be training in the dark and could never see my HR monitor. It also has three data screens, which you can customize so you can see whatever data you want, the way you want to see it. Then, you can program the unit to scroll through the three data screens at whatever interval you want, or you can set it to manual so it stays on one screen until you want to change screens. It gives you great access to all the training data you could want.

The only thing I have found that requires improvement is the calorie counter. It's about 1/3 higher than any of the Polar units I have ever had and about 1/3 higher than the machines at the gym. So, if you really want to count calories, the Garmin algorithm leaves something to be desired.

If I were to recommend one additional thing to Garmin, it would be the capability to load Blue Chart on the wrist unit. Unfortunately, the unit is not designed for heavy duty navigation and would require a bigger screen for Blue Chart and more processing power (and probably another $300 in cost).

In summary, the Forerunner 305 is, in my humble opinion, worth the bucks I shelled out for it. When a standard HR monitor capable of handling interval workouts costs $175 or so, the extra $100 buys you some killer features. It's not for people who don't want/need all the bells and whistles, but for geeks like me that really like to see workout details with an easy-to-use interface, it's great!

#25 Tue, 12/12/2006 - 10:09am

I recalibrated my Garmin FR201 calorie-counter by weighing my food consumption just before working out, then comparing it to my actual weight gain after working out. For example: I ate one dozen (also known as 12, or twelve, or one serving of) Krispy Kremes 5 minutes prior to paddling practice. They weighed in at 1lb.14oz. not counting the box. After ninety minutes of paddling, I weighed myself. I was 15oz. heavier than before I ate the Krispy Kremes. Therefore, the ONLY logical explanation is that I burned EXACTLY one-half the amount of calories that are in one dozen Krispy Kremes (approx. 8,594 calories) You can find calorie amounts at: http://www.nutritiondata.com/foods-030000000000000000000.html After tracking this info for about 6 months it has become second nature to me. I can now do all the weighing, calorie-counting, and computations in my head. I have no more use for the calorie-counting function on the Garmin. I find that my new talent not only keeps my body looking good (damn good!) but my now almost super-powered cranium attracts many, if not all, college graduate-type chicks who all have big-money job prospects for the future. So as you can see, this has been a worthwhile venture for me, all around.

PS - for anyone who wants to try and say that a calorie doesn't actually weigh anything, well, why don't you come say that to my face! Yeah, that's what I thought...

Piece out.

#26 Tue, 12/12/2006 - 11:44am

Hey Don, this is my Maui - Molokai data from April this year when Thor and i came over for the race. As you can see i bonked at 3 hrs 20. Had a fantastic time though. Paddled with Nappy most of the race.
See Attachment Pic.

Cheers Rambo

#27 Tue, 12/12/2006 - 11:59am

All this feedback is great , i have been convinced to get one when finances allow and with all the links of the sellers of the product posted it is going to be cheaper than i expected. Thanks

#28 Tue, 12/12/2006 - 4:52pm

goto, thank you so much for clarifying the calorie to weight issue for me.

i will be at the airport at 1 am feburary 9th with one free garmin 201 for you. unfortunately, you will have to supply your own Krispy Kremes for your training regimen while you are here.

#29 Tue, 12/12/2006 - 5:44pm