![]() You can manage heart rate zones using presets or user configured ratios. It can be set to start recording when you move, and stop when you stop – I found this really useful as it meant time waiting for traffic lights to change was not recorded as ‘run time’ meaning speeds per km were more accurately delivered. It’ll show various combinations of information on its three-line display during training, including current pace, speed, heart rate and distance travelled. The watch has all kinds of fancy features built into it. There’s a belt clip and lanyard if you’d rather use these, or if you run with a bumbag, it’ll go there. The recorder is small enough to fit into the pocket of my running lycras – it’s triangular in shape, with each edge about 5cm long. The Data Recorder has just one button and one light, which flashes intermittently if it is receiving from both devices. The final step is pressing a button on the Data Recorder to get it to obtain a signal from the GPS antenna and heart rate monitor. Next, pressing a button on the watch initiated reception from both the GPS antenna and the heart rate monitor. With a fix achieved, strapping the antenna to my arm with its Velcro band took a couple of seconds. You can activate it when you start running, but you won’t actually record any data till a fix is achieved, so my solution was to sit the antenna out in the open while lacing my shoes and doing a little stretching. I found that the GPS antenna needed about a minute to get a fix. The two things that take any real time are getting a GPS fix and setting up the data recorder. ![]() You strap on the heart rate monitor as part of the process of putting on training gear. In fact, though, putting the kit together quickly became part of my routine. If your de-motivators include the bother of getting changed for running – or whatever kinds of exercise you do – the Forerunner 301 from Garmin, which Riyad recently reviewed, might be more appealing because of its all-in-one design. The first point to note about all this kit is obvious really – with four separate bits to sort out before you start a run, getting out of the front door requires a little extra effort. I didn’t try this, but at just £7 it’s hardly going to break the bank, considering the overall cost of the rest of the kit. You can also buy a bike mount, which might be a good idea if you are keen on using cycling as part of your training regime. Adding in the Data Recorder is an extra £50. I found the whole bundle on sale in various combinations at UK online retailer At that store, the full kit minus the Data Recorder is named the Timex BodyLink 5E671 and it costs £184.95. There’s a watch which acts as the information hub while you are training, a GPS antenna that you strap to your arm, a heart rate monitor that you wear around your chest and a data recorder that can sit in a pocket. ![]() There are four elements if you want the whole caboodle as reviewed here. It’s up to you how much of the Bodylink System you buy. I’ve pretty much always done some sort of running, and have even got fit enough to run a couple of marathons, so when Timex offered me the chance to look at its Bodylink System I decided the offer of a digital training partner was too good to refuse. I’ve always fancied some sort of digital fitness monitor, harbouring vague ideas that strapping electronic kit to myself and recording this and that about my physical jerks would help encourage me to get fitter and stay that way longer.
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