The Plunge

By admin

So I finally did it. I took the plunge on a Garmin Forerunner 405 (the one that resembles a watch and not at car battery on your wrist ;-) ).  I have been noodling on this idea for at least 6 months. My reasons for hemming and hawing are varied: price, actual vs. perceived benefit, following the lemmings/cool kids, would it fundamentally advance my running, etc.

I have no intention of doing any kind of review. Others have done so and if you are interesting you can click here for one of the more comprehensive reviews around on the 305, 405 and 310XT, etc.

I gave the 405 a whirl last night to test it at night. Even before hitting the streets I had the sense that a GPS device would be informative on a tempo. This is particularly true given all the pacing challenges I face. Therefore, after waiting for what felt like an eternity to locate a signal I got to it.  No major issues. Once I really figure out how to use it, I believe it will be a useful tool. It was only one run, but the Garmin seems to remove the “wondering” part of running as in “I wonder if I am on a smart pace, etc.” Last night I was able to concentrate on how I felt, and occasionally glance down to check on pace.  Also, I like the ability to go off course and still track mileage. When (if?) it warms up in Gotham, I intend to explore the city much more … running along the Hudson River as well as the various bridges. Lastly, while I didn’t use it last night, the heart monitor will likely prove useful too.

Will the device be additive to my running program? It better be! Even after a discount and rebate, it’s still no small expense. Nonetheless, I expect the 405 to make me a more informed, smarter runner.

BTW – lots of other devices out there (Nike Plus, Polar, iPhone GPS apps). I ultimately decided on Garmin b/c of the number of fellow runners I see with the device and my own research.

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  1. Harold M. February 19, 2010 at 9:36 pm | #1 Reply | Quote Elgin,

    Garmins take forever to locate signal unless you leave them sit…They get confused trying to fix your exact position at sync time. I leave mine sitting for about a minute and it picks up right away…

    Have fun with that one…I got me the ‘car batter’ looking one for about 100 bucks. ;)

    • a marathoner February 19, 2010 at 10:08 pm | #2 Reply | Quote Good advice. Will try it tomorrow.

  2. marathonmaiden February 19, 2010 at 10:08 pm | #3 Reply | Quote i wish i could justify spending the $$ on a some sort of device like that. le sigh. i’m sure it’ll be a great tool to use for you
    • a marathoner February 19, 2010 at 10:09 pm | #4 Reply | Quote Got it for under $250. About the best I could do … and I hunted!

  3. Nick February 19, 2010 at 10:45 pm | #5 Reply | Quote +1 to what Harold said. I turn on my 305 while I’m putting my shoes on. I usually only use mine for tempo runs or long runs. Though it is nice to be able to do intervals wherever you want to vs needing to go to a track.
    • a marathoner February 20, 2010 at 9:44 am | #6 Reply | Quote Thanks. I thought you could only pick up a signal outside. Tried it this morning indoors and it seems to have worked. Not sure if I will lose it again when I get into the elevator.

  4. Yasmin February 19, 2010 at 11:21 pm | #7 Reply | Quote Yay! I think you’ll be happy with it. I feel naked when I run without my car battery ;)
    • a marathoner February 20, 2010 at 9:45 am | #8 Reply | Quote I thought of you when I wrote that … your Garmin looks massive on your small wrist. :-)

  5. Larry February 20, 2010 at 12:01 pm | #9 Reply | Quote Somebody told me that it was better to set the pace readout interval to 1/4 mile to get the most accurate pacing information. He said it was not accurate for instantaneous pace information. I don’t have one so I don’t know.

    I keep going back and forth on whether to get a Garmin. No matter how many times I try to calibrate my Polar, it never seems to be right on, as far as distance.

    • a marathoner February 21, 2010 at 7:26 am | #10 Reply | Quote For the amount of money GPS devices cost, one would hope for accuracy. However, if it is directionally correct then it is still a good investment.

  6. gabeanderson February 20, 2010 at 1:12 pm | #11 Reply | Quote You made a smart decision! I’m a huge Garmin fan – I have the 305 / wrist-top computer and love it. It makes a big difference in becoming a better runner since you can monitor real-time pace (Larry- mine is pretty accurate), average pace, heart rate, distance, and more. It is fun to just head out and run without having to worry about your route… then it’s fun to analyze the data afterward. :)

    Sounds like you got a good price, too. I bought my 305 in summer 2008 for $225. Here’s my 305 review:

    http://gabeanderson.com/2008/07/10/garmin-forerunner-305/

    Re: picking up signal, you probably don’t have this option in the city, but I just put mine on my porch for a few minutes while putting on my shoes.

    The Garmin Connect site is great for uploading and analyzing run data and maps, and the Player feature is especially cool. I like including elevation charts in my race recaps – e.g., here’s my last one:

    http://blogmasterg.com/2010/02/13/polar-cap-4-mile-race-2010/

    And here’s the corresponding run data on the Garmin Connect site:

    http://connect.garmin.com/activity/24583461

    Enjoy it!

    • a marathoner February 20, 2010 at 6:17 pm | #12 Reply | Quote Gabe – very good stuff. I like the Garmin. The player feature is uber cool.

  7. nyflygirl February 20, 2010 at 9:06 pm | #13 Reply | Quote I’ve had a Garmin 305 for about 2 years and absolutely love it-it’s been great for my training (especially with the accompanying HRM) My favorite software to use with it is SportTracks (http://www.zonefivesoftware.com/SportTracks/)-much better than the software that comes with the Garmin. And I too find that the pace readout fluctuates too much so I never use it-I just sorta check the lap time at the quarter-mile points to get an idea of pacing. And if you use it in a race and the Garmin says the course is long-the Garmin is wrong ;-)
    • a marathoner February 21, 2010 at 7:25 am | #14 Reply | Quote Yep, love the watch. Thanks much for the software tip. I am very underwhelmed with Garmin Training Center. I expected to do a lot more with it, but maybe I have not figured it out yet. Garmin Connect is slightly better. SportsTracks looks cool.

      • Harold M February 21, 2010 at 3:50 pm | #15 Quote I am not a fan of the ‘training center’ to be honest, after months with the 305, I find the data on the Garmin Connect much more useful…

  8. Ian February 27, 2010 at 4:44 am | #16 Reply | Quote Catching up on my reading… glad it’s working out well. I’m going to stay on the Nike+ Sportband for the forseeable as I need to focus more on mileage than kit right now!
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Lagging Tempo Success, Albeit on Small Scale

Posted on February 19, 2010 at 6:59 pm

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