Wrist-based HR monitors. Love them? Hate them?

I had previously mentioned I had purchased a Garmin Forerunner 235 (just before they announced the launch of the new 245… but that's another story) and how I was trying to adapt to life with an optical HRM.

Fast forward 3 months and the truth is, I haven't. Some people swear by the Forerunner 235, calling it a workhorse, super reliable, etc. I found it to be the complete opposite. Leaving aside the poor battery life compared to the 8 to 10 days of the old 230, I still can't get to grips with how unreliable readings from the watch are. And that's a big problem for me.

I bought the watch with the idea of monitoring my performance based on HR and using this information to adjust my training routine. Mind you, I'm not a pro-athlete or even a competitive club runner but I do try to improve all the time, but data like the one below, where, at a pace of 8:35 min/km my HR was 164, I just can't believe. I may as well just buy a $5 watch.

So, I've gone back full circle to the chest strap I had dumped 2 years ago. I dumped it cause it cut my skin to ribbons so I wasn't too keen on going back to that (I have since, found the perfect solution and I'll talk about it next time). However, the difference in monitoring is like day and night. You can't deny it so, endure it.

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26.2 Ways to Run

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