I finally was able to finish updating my training log for 2007. I had captured all the data in my Polar heart rate monitor but transfer it over to an Excel file. Here are some of the charts. Click on each chart to see an enlarged view.

Ten Thousand Miles on a Bike

The first chart shows total miles cycled during 2007 compared with previous years. This was the first year I ever exceed 10,000 miles on a bike. Of those miles this year, only 4,100 were on ACTC club rides.

Six Hundred Thousand Feed Climbing

I finished 2007 climbing over 600,000 vertical feet. That is more than 20 times the height of Mt. Everest! On club rides I only did 174,000 feet.

In Tandem

In 2007 we bought a new tandem and started doing a lot more riding together. This chart shows the number of miles per week we logged on our tandem.  We are off to a good start in 2008, having put in 200 miles on our tandem last week.

Almost One Thousand Miles Running

My running this year was not quite up to previous years, even though I ran the Boston Marathon early in the year. I guess I switched to more of a focus on cycling.

All Together

I have developed a formula to attempt to put all forms of exercise into one unit, which I show here as equivalent running miles. Although my running was down a bit from prior years, my cycling was up enough to more than compensate, making 2007 the year were I put in the most exercise in my life. It helps to be retired.

Categories: Training Log
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While visiting Mac World I stopped by the Garmin booth to see what new items they had. I found three very interesting new products.

Forerunner® 405 1st Quarter, 2008 Part Number: 010-00658-10 Suggested Retail Price: $ 318.74 USD

This unit is much smaller than previous Forerunner units and was finally down to the size you would expect for a runner’s watch. It had a most unique user interface. Instead of pushing buttons to move through the menu options, you just run your finger around the watch front, and tap it when you find what you want.

There is no mapping function but it does support heart rate, and has optional bike speed and cadence, and supports a footpod. It automatically transfers your data to a computer.

Edge® 605 1st Quarter, 2008 Part Number: 010-00555-00 Suggested Retail Price: $ 430.75 USD

This unit appears to be a much improved unit over the previous Edge 205, which it appears to be replacing. It now includes a true GPS mapping function in a package no larger that what I recall the 305 to be. Included is only the base map so that means buying mapping software to get other than major highways. It has support for a MicroSD card so you can add your own maps. This unit does not support a bike speed/cadence sensor heart rate and does not include a barometric altimeter, so you may want to opt for the Edge 705.

Edge® 705 1st Quarter, 2008 Part Number: 010-00555-20 Suggested Retail Price: $ 541.65 USD

This unit appears to be a much improved unit over the previous Edge 305, which it appears to be replacing. It now includes a true GPS mapping function. It adds support for heart rate and cadence and will also support Power with third party ANT+Sport-enabled power meters. You can also send your course wirelessly to another Edge 705. The battery life is suppose to be 15 hours, an improvement over the Edge 305, but still a bit on the short side. Even though the price of the 705 is more than $100 more than the Edge 605, I would recommend it because of the added features the serious cyclists would want and if you are not a serious cyclists why would you bother in the first place with one of these expensive units.

I asked about Mac computer support. All of the above units currently will only work with Windows, but Mac support will be coming later in 2008 (as Garmin has been saying).

Categories: Cycling Equipment
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