quick question for

[Pika]

those in the know
Can you wear the heart rate strap ( the part that goes around your chest) in the water?
I need to have my heart rate monitor for the bike and it would be way simplier to put the chest strap on before the swim and not have to fiddle with it in T1- not willing to "test" it though since I am close to the 1/2 IM and don't want to have to replace it so soon before the race.

If you can't wear it in the water- anyone one have any tips for getting it on quickly/efficiently?
Thanks a bunch
tam

[kelownagirl]

those in the know
Can you wear the heart rate strap ( the part that goes around your chest) in the water?
I need to have my heart rate monitor for the bike and it would be way simplier to put the chest strap on before the swim and not have to fiddle with it in T1- not willing to "test" it though since I am close to the 1/2 IM and don't want to have to replace it so soon before the race.

If you can't wear it in the water- anyone one have any tips for getting it on quickly/efficiently?
Thanks a bunch
tam

I don't know but I would be worried about water getting into the battery compartment. I lost the cover for my battery and although I have it taped up pretty carefully, once in awhile a little sweat gets in there and the thing stops working...

[Veronica]

Polars can be worn in the water.

V.

[Wahine]

Check your manual for sure, but there's absolutely no problem with the polar straps in the water. I've worn my garmin strap in the swim and have not had any issues. I put the watch on my tri bars and hit the timer on the way out of T1, once i'm on my bike, hitting my stride and in a safe place, I put it on my wrist. You have to be pretty confident to do this because it would really suck to drop it. The safest thing to do is to put it on in T1.

When's your race again? I forgot. It's the Oliver HIM right?

How exciting!!!

[activediva]

Wondering why you want to wear it? They are for training, unless you have a heart condition. Want to share more?

[Blueberry]

Some people use them as part of their race strategy to ensure that they are performing at the appropriate level given their goals and conditioning.

CA

[Wahine]

Especially for races longer than an Olympic distance. These races are long enough that it becomes a big problem later in the race if you spend too much time at or above your lactate threshold.

[Pika]

Thanks all-
Wahine and CA are right- I want to wear it so I can stay within my lactate balance point so I have "something" left for the run.
It is the garmin so I think I'll put it on and hope for the best- likely for me I will put the watch part on in T1- I'm corordinated but not that co-ordinated!
Yesterday on my ride my profile designe water bottle fell out while I was on my aerobars- I moved out a little it to avoid a drainage and got on the the rumble strips going down a hill..it was so slow motion...bouce bounce bounce..arrrgh...thank goodness it cleared my front wheel and I could stop quickly- manged to pick up all the pieces though then I had no water~!

Guess the elastics are there for a reason!!
tam

[Tri Girl]

But... have you lost the yellow spongy thing a million times yet? I finally broke down and bought the bracket for the aero bottle. It was the best money I've spent. No more rubber bands holding it in and flinging off at inappropriate times. And no more yellow spongy thing either- I bought a loofah at the dollar tree.

And you'll probably be fine with your strap in the water. My Nike does just fine when wet. Gotta keep an eye on that HR and keep it down to avoid pushing too hard. After 3 years of tri racing, I still don't have a good gauge of where I'm at if I don't have it on. Some days I feel like I'm going at it too hard and my HR is 130, some days I feel like I've got more to give and my HR is 180. I'd be lost without that HR info. Go figure.

[tygab]

I am over the idea of babying my Garmin 305... and plan to try freshwater swims with it... I'll probably put a small piece of duct tape over the battery on the strap and the contacts on the watch, and see what happens.

I would not advise this for salt water and it's overkill for the pool (I have used my old polar when so inclined) so once the temps warm I'll give it a go.

[Pika]

Me too- we are going to do a trial run this weekend- go check out the swim- ie water temp( also need to make sure I can still fit into my wetsuit )and then check out the cycling route.- I don't need my HR rate for the swim per se- I just didn't want to fiddle with the chest strap in T1.

[tygab]

Me too- we are going to do a trial run this weekend- go check out the swim- ie water temp( also need to make sure I can still fit into my wetsuit )and then check out the cycling route.- I don't need my HR rate for the swim per se- I just didn't want to fiddle with the chest strap in T1.

Hiya P,
yeah, I did wear the strap for my swim last year and put the watch on during t1. let me know how this goes for you! I still want to wear it just for training, and I haven't figured out if I wear it w/a wetsuit how I'd get the darn sleeve off but that's another day's problem... first I have to convince myself it won't melt in the water.

[HillSlugger]

I just remembered that I wore my Garmin HRM strap during my last triathlon, but it was inside my wetsuit. It worked fine during the bike and run and I haven't had any problems with it.