AmphibOps Triathlon

I bought the Timex Global Trainer in early March 2013 and have used it on two long runs.

Bottom Line Up Front: I waited 2-3 years to get one of these, the price dropping to $150 from original $300. I’m glad I waited. I think it’s worth $150, but it certainly has some negative aspects.  I’m finding that even the free version of Training Peaks combined with the device is probably worth the price of $150; I’m going to use the software throughout the summer and see how it goes.

When the Global Trainer first came out, I lusted for it but couldn’t justify spending $300 on this. I was just starting to get serious about triathlons and training, and I really like the idea of downloading workouts into a tracking program.  When I saw it for $150 on amazon.com, I jumped.

I’ll say that it is worth $150 if you are looking for this exact thing. If you aren’t sure it’s exactly what you’re looking for, you probably want to wait until this mousetrap gets reinvented.

It does what it says it does.

It gives you a GPS track, although it takes several minutes to get a satellite. This might seem like not such a long time, but it you don’t acquire satellites before you start running (ie your device is in the house sitting next to your shoes until you get outside), you’ll miss the first mile of your workout while the device acquires some satellites.  And then during the first mile of your run, you’ll also fiddle with the device to tell it that you indeed want to start the stopwatch even without satellites. PITA.

The programmable multiple screens is what makes this worth $150. The programming is fairly basic, checking the boxes and such on the downloadable software. It’s easy, but all the choices make it a bit confusing. And who has time to really think about all this? I set it up for just the basics and called it good.

The readability while running or biking is ok. The allure of multiple screens prohibits one big heart rate number that is easy to see. The pace number is really useful, but it jumps around a lot even if you are running a steady pace, and after the 4-5 minutes to acquire a satellite, it will take another 15 minutes for the pace number to settle down. On the bike, the numbers are smaller than I’d like, but I love the multiple data points all at once. I haven’t swam with this yet, but all reviews say it isn’t worth the effort of trying to capture data while you’re swimming. I’ll find out later this summer.

The charger and USB connection is really strange. It works just fine and it’s not really cumbersome to deal with. It’s just strange. The non-standard clip that attaches to the back of the watch makes me wonder how long it will be until I’m on ebay looking for replacements.  And the combination of the clip and the cord makes it fairly bulky and harder than expected to pack for 2-3 night business trips; hard to pack means it doesn’t get packed…so that’s an expensive piece of gear to not use every time possible.

Web reviews I read when thinking about buying this said the device is HUGE. You can’t really appreciate what that means until you put it on your wrist. I’m 6 ft 1 inch and 185 pounds (average), and this thing is really HUGE. Find a way to put it on your wrist before you buy it.

The battery length is ok. You have to be aware of how much time you have left with the battery because it will be dead tomorrow if you leave it on. You can have the watch functions on without having the GPS and other exercise-data-collecting functions on, and that will extend batter life. But I don’t want to be always thinking about battery life!  This aspect of the device gets frustrating fairly quickly. And you have to shut it OFF every night, or you’ll have a dead battery in the morning…serious PITA(!).

I paired my Garmin heart rate monitor and bike cadence/speed sensor with the Global Trainer very easily. I haven’t been in a crowd with it yet, so I can’t speak to any issues with that. I was quite happy that the pairing went as easily and quickly as it did.

I was really excited about the ability to download workout data with this device. Setting up the Training Peaks account is simple and straightforward. I chose the free account option because I’m not looking for any of the features in the paid accounts.  Still, three months and about ten workouts after using this device, I haven’t downloaded any workouts. This is mostly because of the time issue: I don’t have time to go to my computer, hook-up the clip-thingy to USB and go to the site and all that. It probably only takes 5-10 minutes total, but by the time I get around to it, I should have been in bed 30 minutes prior. And I can’t do it at work because the website is blocked at work. PITA, so I don’t do it.

Now throw in the other options that are coming available to compete with this device, and there are some bigger issues. Bluetooth technology is starting to connect  cadence/speed sensors and heart rate monitors to our phones and some really cool apps. This means your data goes directly to the internet and you don’t have to screw around with uploading it. That is a game-changer! If you don’t mind having your phone with you when you run or bike, then you should seriously consider waiting til Bluetooth devices meet your needs. I personally think a phone is too big to be on my bike, and I certainly don’t carry it while running (I don’t listen to music while biking or running). For me, the connections to the phone aren’t useful, so it wasn’t an issue. But what I really want is a no-hassle way to get my data into internet databases.

But I think it’s worth $150 if it’s exactly what you want, including the free version of the TrainingPeaks.