I second Jimmy, but with
I second Jimmy, but with extra caveats for the HR strap. I have found the calorie estimates even with the HR strap to be very, very suspect.
As an example, I bike as well and use the bike sensor (and hr monitor). Turns out the only thing Garmin uses to calculate calories on the bike is speed and distance. Not your HR. Not your weight. Not even hills. Seriously.
I'm not sure what Gamin uses when you're running, but I'm not sure the HR figures into it properly. As an example, I did similar runs two days in a row. One I had my footpod (for ~ distance and cadence, in shoes obviously) and HR monitor. On the other run no footpod. The run without the footpod had a wildly higher calorie estimate, higher by something like 15-20%. So clearly, HR alone is not getting me reliable info if it's that different from HR + distance/cadence.
Summary: I do look at calorie estimates, but only for relative/comparitive purposes. Kinda like taking your weight every morning on a scale, but a scale that you know is not accurate. Precise, but not accurate. We're looking for trends, not solid answers. Yes, Garmin may give you calories to with a precision of +/- one calorie, but the accuracy is probably +/- 20%, making the precision totally misleading.
One last word, granted a strongly opinionated one, about HR monitors. I personally feel the HR monitor is the most important bit of technological data to be monitoring (well, maybe cadence if you're shod to ensure you're not heel striking, but we're beyond that, yes?). I find my best training by training at effort over time. Distance is not important. This allows you to control your training well on a flat course or on a hilly course. Who cares how fast you go, or how many miles (for training). HR will ensure you are working hard on your hard days, and keep you honest and easy on your easy days. It will ensure you are doing fat burning runs on the easy days, and really able to do LT workouts (if you believe in such things) properly.
This is an approach long argued by Phil Maffetone (who, by the way, is also a barefoot running proponent). Google "heart rate mark allen" to read the Mark Allen take on Maffetone's HR training method, and then decide if you really want to be training without the HR monitor!
I second Jimmy, but with extra caveats for the HR strap. I have found the calorie estimates even with the HR strap to be very, very suspect.
As an example, I bike as well and use the bike sensor (and hr monitor). Turns out the only thing Garmin uses to calculate calories on the bike is speed and distance. Not your HR. Not your weight. Not even hills. Seriously.
I'm not sure what Gamin uses when you're running, but I'm not sure the HR figures into it properly. As an example, I did similar runs two days in a row. One I had my footpod (for ~ distance and cadence, in shoes obviously) and HR monitor. On the other run no footpod. The run without the footpod had a wildly higher calorie estimate, higher by something like 15-20%. So clearly, HR alone is not getting me reliable info if it's that different from HR + distance/cadence.
Summary: I do look at calorie estimates, but only for relative/comparitive purposes. Kinda like taking your weight every morning on a scale, but a scale that you know is not accurate. Precise, but not accurate. We're looking for trends, not solid answers. Yes, Garmin may give you calories to with a precision of +/- one calorie, but the accuracy is probably +/- 20%, making the precision totally misleading.
One last word, granted a strongly opinionated one, about HR monitors. I personally feel the HR monitor is the most important bit of technological data to be monitoring (well, maybe cadence if you're shod to ensure you're not heel striking, but we're beyond that, yes?). I find my best training by training at effort over time. Distance is not important. This allows you to control your training well on a flat course or on a hilly course. Who cares how fast you go, or how many miles (for training). HR will ensure you are working hard on your hard days, and keep you honest and easy on your easy days. It will ensure you are doing fat burning runs on the easy days, and really able to do LT workouts (if you believe in such things) properly.
This is an approach long argued by Phil Maffetone (who, by the way, is also a barefoot running proponent). Google "heart rate mark allen" to read the Mark Allen take on Maffetone's HR training method, and then decide if you really want to be training without the HR monitor!
