Love Polar HRM with footpod..envy Garmin Forerunner...help.

June 15, 2009 12:05 PM

Without going ahead and junking my existing Polar system for a Garmin 305 or 405, is there any relatively small GPS unit I could clip onto my mp3 player armband to add the functionality I'd like (uploading routes to a Sportracks, motionbased, trainingpeaks like service...with the added benefit that I'd have something to take on a hike or go geocaching?

I already have a great heart rate monitor (HRM) with foot pod, the Polar RS400. I'd love to add some sort of GPS tracking capabilities to my more free-form runs (random runs when travelling or even in my own area). I don't want to dump my Polar system because #1) it works great #2) the foot pod is superaccurate outdoors and on the treadmill, and #3) it was expensive.

Any Polar lovers who have Garmin-GPSing envy like I do? Any homebrew solution I'm not thinking of?

posted by teg4rvn to sports, hobbies, & recreation (4 comments total)

Maybe not exactly what you're looking for, but Nokia GPS phones come with Sports Tracker, a beta service that tracks your routes and altitudes. It's very, very good.
posted by hnnrs at 3:46 PM on June 15

How about tracksstick?

Disclaimer: I haven't tried it, not sure about compatibility with those services, but it does appear to support uploads to Google Maps.
posted by pines at 4:35 PM on June 15

Depending upon where you're running, you may want to avoid GPS all together. It may not be sufficiently accurate. I've tried using an iPhone's GPS downtown and it tends to bounce around a lot. Randomly jumping 100m in any given direction.

Ditto Garmin 305. My best example of oddness was a 1km change in elevation after traveling one block East on a perfectly flat road which happens to be between two 70 storey skyscrapers.

GPS and skyscrapers don't mix.

Assuming you're not in a downtown core, then there is an iPhone app for map my fitness.

And although you've discounted it. I love and recommend Garmin forerunner 305. It is amazingly accurate once you're out of any downtown core, but I'm envying the 605/705 cause I'm a cyclist and would like the turn by turn directions. Try craigslist or bike stores, the 305s should come down in price now that the 605s etc are here.
posted by ecco at 4:53 PM on June 15

Think I might be getting a Columbus V-900 data logger to accomplish this task (now I just have to figure out the "workflow" of starting and stopping a run, and putting the data together with the HRM data for upload to sites such as motionbased or trainingpeaks.

Added bonus is I can geotag my photos and sync up to my Blackberry maps for hiking, etc...
posted by teg4rvn at 1:04 PM on June 16