A quick look at the LED's on the MIO Alpha chest strapless heart rate monitor

Here is a quick video showing how the MIO Alpha, chest strapless heart rate monitor,  LED's change color when  under, right on and over your target heart rate.

How the MIO Alpha compares......

Here is a quick comparison video of the MIO Alpha (No Cheststrap) tracking my heart rate along side with the MIO Energy Pro (Cheststrap) and MIO Quest (Cheststrap).  Like clockwork, right on the money.  Both the Energy Pro and Quest were getting heart rate info from a chest strap I was wearing.

My first look at the MIO Alpha

Here is my first look at the MIO Alpha.  I have been using it for just over two weeks.  I have the BLE  (bluetooth low energy) version and have yet to connect it to a smartphone to gather information into an app.  I have entered my heart rate zone I am wanting to workout in for now and its very accurate.  Keep in mind there is no chest strap involved gathering my heart rate.  I look forward to doing more updates on innovative heart rate monitor from MIO. 

Hot workouts in the heat.

Last week I pretty much moved my workouts indoors on the rollers.  With night time low temperatures not really dipping below 90 degrees, any kind of outdoor activity has been rough.  Set of the rollers and a small fan in front of them to keep some kind of airflow going around me.  I was able to beat the sun rising and start a morning ride Saturday at 5:30 am.  I only got in about 40 miles before running low on fluids.  I felt very strong on the bike and before heading out made a small comfort adjustment on my saddle height.  My training has me keeping my heart rate right near 80% of my maximum heart rate, using the Miowatch Quest, the readout and alarm on the watch keep me in check.
I started doing some rehab work on my IT band on my right leg, and look to attend a free clinic at a local bike shop to help me speed up the rehab and get my right hip feeling better after long rides and runs.  Just the exercises I have started doing are starting to help and I am looking forward to what will learn at the clinic.  

Support growing on Kickstarter.com for the Alpha

It's been amazing to see the amount of support and interest being shown over the past week for Liz Dickinson's Alpha, chest strapless heart rate monitor watch. As of this blog post, 652 supporters can't wait to get their hands on it, but really not "on it", as you will see why.  You see, Dickinson's company, MIO,  created the first heart rate watch to provide heart rate without a chest strap.  Heart rate readout was achieved by using fingers touching sensors on the face of the watch to get a reading. The Alpha is a watch that displays continuous heart rate without finger sensors and without a chest strap that is accurate even at performance running speeds. 

The watch features an LED light, lighting up blue, green or red, letting the user know if their heart rate while working out is too low, too high or right in their zone, all without wearing a chest strap I might add again.  
Dickinson is using Kickstarter.com to launch the product.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/alphaheartrate/alpha-the-holy-grail-of-heart-rate-look-ma-no-hand

Want to know more or back the project?  Follow the link above. The project is fully funded and has another 33 days on the Kickstarter.com site to gain more support.  

The Mio Quest, another look

Here is a video looking at the displays offered on the Mio Quest.   I use the watch for all my workouts, indoors and out, with a chest strap for showing me my heart rate.  The information captured by the watch is able to be downloaded with the Mio software and then uploaded to MapMyRun.com

Rolling rolling rolling, winter training is rolling

The weather here in Arizona has been great this winter so one might ask why am I doing so much training indoors?  I did a great ride of 20.12 miles on New Years Day to start of the year, but really got my winter training off to a start about two weeks ago riding rollers, an indoor way of training on your bike. Riding the rollers allows me to stay close to home (how much closer can I get) and focus working on my heart rate training (Aerobic Zone (Endurance Training) 70-80% HRM).  Riding the rollers is not easy and I have done a lot of research on them before getting them.  They have been compared to riding a bike on ice!  With the power being forced on the back wheel a belt drives the roller on the front so your front wheel rotates also. They help a rider overall perfect their form and balance. They also force to keep pedaling.  No coasting or you will fall.  The workouts I have done on them so far have been great.  Unlike riding outside, there is no stopping at "stop" signs or coasting to a stop.  They allow you to use your own bike, so the set up and feel of your position are exactly how my bike has been fit to me. They take a little getting used to, starting off holding onto a wall or object to get going.  Yes, I have fallen learning to ride and most likely will fall a few more times before I really get comfortable on them.  The first wreck I took with them was while riding along the couch while my wife and I watched TV.  Next thing you know I was flat on the ground with her laughing.  I am tall already on my bike and the rollers boost the rider about another five inches off the ground, making the distance to fall from a little farther.  I hope to soon post a video of myself on the rollers to show what it's all about.  There are plenty of videos on YouTube showing riders on them. 



Healthy Heart Zone -- 50-60% HRM
Fitness Zone (Fat Burning) 60-70% HRM
Aerobic Zone (Endurance Training) 70-80% HRM
Anaerobic Zone (Performance Training 80-90% HRM
Red Line (Max Effort) 90-100% HRM

Photos Photos Photos from the past month

 Finishing SOMA Half Iron holding my 4-year-old son.

 Feeling the effects of over hydration.  I learned a lot that day.

 SOMA swim exit after taking the wet suit off.

 2011 Ironman Arizona Tempe Mayor's Charity Challenge.

  2011 Ironman Arizona Tempe Mayor's Charity Challenge.

 2011 Ironman Arizona Tempe Mayor's Charity Challenge.

SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY

Yes, I am starting to get a little excited for Sunday's race.  Saturday I will drop off my bike during the packet pick up and figure out what race number they have issued me.  This week I have been sleeping pretty good and I am felling calm and relaxed during my workouts.  I have a few training sessions left before Sunday.  All me equipment is in perfect working order so I have nothing to worry about there.  Will start packing my nutrition bag tonight and start laying out the clothes I plan on wearing, I know its not until Sunday, but I have a habit of forgetting things when my brain is getting focused.

Miowatch Quest

I can tell you this, if you want to take your outdoor workouts to the next level, the Mio Quest is the way to do it.  I have been using the GPS enabled watch for the past three weeks. It takes a little getting used to, but after looking over the instructions you will on your way, and out the door in no time.  The Quest has Waypoints, which are locations you can save.  After saving the location you can then rename it for easy access for locations you wish to return to later.  The watch uses chest strap to gather your heart rate too.




I have been using to track my workouts, the Mio Quest.  The heart rate monitor with GPS is able to be downloaded and information can be then uploaded to MapMyRun. 
Stay tuned, diving deeper into using the Mio Quest in a new video coming soon. 

Great weekend training

 The above image is created using my Mio Quest GPS enabled watch, with heart rate monitor.

 Last Saturday, I was able to nail down another 50 miler in the heat.  I have been working on keeping my heart rate constant.  Some hills were added in this weeks longer ride, but nothing long.  No flats this week.

I guess this could be filed in the "Too Much Information", so for my longer weekend ride, I took my weight before and after Saturday.  I lost about 6 pounds which is before I removed my tri-suit and lost another 2 pounds.  I guess my clothes soaked up more sweat than I thought.  The high humidity must have made the material just hold the water and not let it evaporate.

My running is coming together and getting easier.

This past week I have been pouring over new songs to add to my iPod I run and swim.  Previous playlists I have on my player are getting dull and need to be updated.  I look to post a new group of "What is on my iPod" playlist as soon as I get it made and stay motivated.

Training from last weekend

This past weekend I was able to get my longest ride in this year at 51 miles. On Saturday, I rode the first 20 miles with a local tri group.  The last 30 was done with a friend after I had a flat and he stopped and waited while I changed the tube.  I am once again working on getting more comfortable in the aero position with some adjustments I have made.   
I felt very strong through out, with an average heart rate of 142 for the just under 3 hour ride.  A little cloud cover helped hold off the heat so my workout was done before 8am. 
On Monday, I took in a 20 mile recovery ride, which was very humid.  I stayed away from the hills and just concentrated on a spinning and keeping my heart rate up.  The just over an hour ride had my heart rate averaging 136. 
My nutrition for both rides this weekend was perfect, with recovery time better than I expected.  Using a PowerBar gel still every half hour needed or not, and consuming 40 ounces of water an hour.  

Mio Quest

**********2015 UPDATE to this POST************

This device is not longer in production

I can tell you this, if you want to take your outdoor workouts to the next level, the Mio Quest is the way to do it. I have been using the GPS enabled watch for the past three weeks. It takes a little getting used to, but after looking over the instructions you will on your way, and out the door in no time. The Quest has Waypoints, which are locations you can save. After saving the location you can then rename it for easy access for locations you wish to return to later. The watch uses chest strap to gather your heart rate too.

Awesome bike spin

Tonight I completed a 50 min bike spin in Zone 4 or higher. The Mio Energy Pro heart rate monitor I use lets you know the time I spent in the zone I programmed it and below and above that zone. I averaged a heart rate of 145 BPM with 45 min being in my target zone which my training has me doing. For about 5 minutes I let the heart rate get a little higher going out of my Zone 4.

When I talk about Zones, there are 5 of them which are

Healthy Heart Zone -- 50-60% HRM
Fitness Zone (Fat Burning) 60-70% HRM
Aerobic Zone (Endurance Training) 70-80% HRM
Anaerobic Zone (Performance Training 80-90% HRM
Red Line (Max Effort) 90-100% HRM

Aerobic Zone will improve cardio function and increase the size and strength of the heart 50% of the calories burned come from fat.
Anaerobic Zone will improve VO2max. You will be able to fight fatigue better. 15% calories burned are from fat.

Day one of new training program complete

Half hour spin on the bike, in Zone 3, a 1 mile run in Zone 4 and a 900 yard swim completed my first day of training. I didn't need swim, however I wanted to get back in the water and work on a few drills.
My program has me working out 6 days a week, but I might end up cutting that back to 5, but will see how the first week goes.

Mio Global added as a sponsor

I am excited to announce Mio Global, the maker of heart rate monitors, has agreed to sponsor me. I look forward to working with them and giving feedback on how I use their monitors in my training and racing. I will be posting videos to show the heart rate monitor in use and the Zones I use it for training.