Garmin Forerunner Suggestions?

Did I mention that I got into the Wasatch 100? This is the second year in a row I was picked in the lottery, but I didn't run last year because I would have to pay for a ticket home from Kenya in order to do so. This year, I'm luckily already planning to be in the US around that time. I may have to adjust my flight slightly, which, knowing Delta, will probably cost me $1,000, but oh well.

So I started running. Two-a-days! Let's not get ahead of myself. I'm on day two.

I'm in the market for a Garmin Forerunner, as I'd like to be able to know distances and my pace while running. I think that will help me be a little more serious about training. A couple people have suggested using cellphone apps like imapymyrun or cardiotrainer. I don't particularly like carrying my phone on runs, but if I were in an anti-new-gadget-for-environmental-reasons mood, that might be the best solution. I could map my 3-4 most common runs a couple times. Each of them is under an hour, so cellphone battery life wouldn't be a problem. Then I'd just wear my watch like normal and pay attention to PR's on each route. That would reduce the information I had on any new exploration I did. So I'm still leaning towards a Forerunner. The basic 101 model has what I'm really interested (pace/distance), but I might like the ability to race previous versions of yourself on routes, and I think the bigger models like the 305 or 310 have better reception and longer battery life. Even the simple models have 8 hours of battery life, so I'm kidding myself if I think I'll go over that on anything but an organized 50-mile race, and in that case the race would be providing occasional distance measures anyway. I'd love to hear thoughts on accuracy, cost, features, or battery life if you have them.

I'm going here with a mixed bunch of IPA, CDC, and Kisumu folks this weekend. Should be fun. Link opens pdf.

Comments

  1. Dave Chan3:29 PM

    I have enjoyed my Garmin 405 with the exception of rain/excessive moisture when the touch bezel becomes really difficult to use.

    ReplyDelete

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