Garmin has been the leader in GPS watches but now they have taken it up a notch with the Garmin Fenix. Built in GPS with Altimeter, Barometer, and Compass. It will connect to Tempe, Hear Rate, Smartphone, and Bike Speed/Cadence sensors. It’s being marketed as an outdoor adventure watch that you can throw yourself into the wilderness and walk back out by marking waypoints. Yes for the triathletes there is the run pace, distance, hr, and bike feature but what is nice about this watch is it is waterproof up to 50 meters. The battery life is suppose to be great compared to previous Garmin watches with up to 50 hours of battery life in GPS mode or 6 weeks in watch mode. This watch has me really excited and looking forward to when it goes on sale in the fall. You have to admit it’s also a great looking watch.
Say hello to a sleeker GPS and heart rate monitor watch, the Polar RCX3. Its low profile makes for a better fit on wrists while keeping track of your heart rate, pace, distance and more. GPS should last up to 20 hours and after training, upload your data via DataLink USB transfer to Polar’s online site to analyze your workouts. Also compatible with optional cycling and running sensors.
There will be many times a triathlete will be out on the road cycling or running where there’s no signal or simply a loved one that wants to track your progress to see that you are ok. SPOT Connect is now bridging the gap between your cellphone when you go off the grid, need help, check-in, track progress, send messeges, even connect to twitter and facebook! Most athletes would rarely purchase this for themselves as we don’t ever think anything can go wrong. The love ones on the other hand would find comfort in being able to track you on those winding back roads that you are cycling on. Safety is always on high alert and this is a perfect gift for any athlete. The unit sells for $135.00 and simply download the app to your phone and it connects via bluetooth. There is though a subcription fee of $99.99 a year.
The first time I looked at the packaging and name that was on this product I automatically assummed it was tailored for women. Boy was I wrong! It wasn’t until I was out of gels, blocks, and powder, that I noticed I had this sample of Larabar from a previous event. 40 miles into my bike ride I decided to give this a taste and instantly fell in love with these bars. Larabar has a tasty blend of unsweetned fruit, nuts and spices that make this product yummy but also easy to swallow and digest. I highly suggest you trying these out as a part of your fueling.
You have a fancy $3000 bike and you are still doing the pinch test on your tires. Don’t get me wrong there’s nothing wrong with the pinch test but you need to invest in a pump that will give you the exact tire pressure reading. The Topeak JoeBlow Pro takes the guess work out of inflating your tires so that every time you take that rig out that it’s going to be consistent and possibly prevent a flat from over or under inflating.
So many triathletes these days are traveling to far out destinations in search of their next exotic tri event. Although one of the main concerns for many of us is how do we travel with our bike and have it arrive safely. The Thule 699 Round Trip Bike Case does the trick and far safer then putting your bike into a cardbord box. This case is a hard shell case with foam padding on the inside that can take the abuse of the airlines. It’ll be a roadie or a tri bike and enough room for you to throw in your tools, clothes,and accessories. The Round Trip is worth the investment for your bike for all you traveling triathletes.
Day in and day out hitting the open pavement can get a bit boring unless, you have some music to power you through. What bugs most of us when trying to run with music are the earphone/earbuds. They always fall out at the wrong time especially when you are in a groove. Yurbuds Ironman Inspire Pro claims it will never fall out and never hurt. It is a rather bold claim as no one ear is the same but it seems to work. They have a patented Ear-Lock technology that keeps these in on those intense workouts.
As summer is here and the heat is rising many of us battle with staying cool while out on the course. Zoot Sports has something that may help us stay a tad bit cooler while at the same time protecting our skin from the harmful rays of the sun. The Zoot IceFil Arm Coolers beats the heat by using a combination of Xylitol and thermal radiation nano technology to reduce skin temps up to 5.4F/3C. This may not sound much but it is huge when energy is consumed trying to battle the heat.
Every triathlete has gone through this frustration of peeling off a wetsuit that just feels like it’s stuck on you. Your arms are tired, hands are shaking, and you just wish this race had a wetsuit stripper. Next time give Trislide a spray. It not only allows you to slip out of your wetsuit quickly but also prevents those nasty wetsuit burns around the neck and chaffing in some areas that you never knew could chaff. It is safe to use on your neoprene wetsuit and can easily be washed away with some soap and warm water.
Giro has just released yesterday a new helmet to basically a new category in helmets. You can think of the Giro Air Attack a cross between a regular road helmet but with aero features or vice versa. Just like bike manufacturers that have come out with aero road bikes in recent years it appears Giro is creating a new trend in the helmet industry. Giro claims that in wind tunnel testing, the Air Attack was 12 percent faster than its Aeon, and 12 percent slower than its Selector TT helmet. It’s more ventilated then a TT helmet but less ventilated than a road helmet. Sounds like a middle of the line for those who can’t decide but a great move by Giro.
