Thursday 10 May 2007

10 Days...

I found a Garmin Forerunner 305! I ran across town and purchased it and cancelled the one I ordered online yesterday. I am very excited about this cool little device. And that is the GOOD NEWS.

The Bad News is something I suspected. I ran with both my Garmin and my Nike+iPod. The Nike + said I ran 1.16 miles at a pace of 11:35 per mile. The Garmin, however, said I ran 1.01 miles at a pace of 13: something. Holy moly. I think I trust the Garmin more than the Nike +. This means I am even slower than I thought. I would suggest to myself that I get over the whole speed idea and just go for the idea of completing a half-marathon. This is going to require some (mental) work on my part.

I will try doing 3 or so miles over the weekend and see how that works out with the Garmin. One mile can be an outlier. We shall see!

Still I say - I can't wait to start training for the triathlon! Running is NOT my strong suit. But I thank God that at the age of 55, after smoking 2 packs per day for 25 years, I am able to even run at all!

6 comments:

ws said...

That's awesome about the Garmin.

re: your previous post, I wear compression running shorts when I race and they almost always have the hidden inner pocket (at least nike and new balance ones do). They also have the benefit of keeping your muscles a little warmer and preventing a lot of chafing. (what a delightful perk!)

Re: Garmin accuracy -- I've never used the Nike+iPod (since I don't have a nano), but my Garmin is usually off by about 1%. For my marathon it read 26.43 mi and for my 10 miler it read 10.11 mi. Keep in mind that races are measured using the shortest possible distance (i.e. cutting all tangents correctly). Also, if you want to check your distance, you can use www.mapmyrun.com and create a route to see how accurate a measurement your device provides.

Debbi said...

Okay, I admit it. I have Garmin envy. Heh. When my husband asked what I wanted for my birthday the very first thing I said was "a Garmin!" He also told me that he always carries a heart-rate monitor with him – two fingers do the trick – so maybe I don't need the 305.

10 days! Remember: Speed kills. Heh.

Marcy said...

YAY!!! I'm so glad you got one before the HM! I've heard the same things about the Nike+ (that they aren't that accurate, but I don't know first hand) I often wondered how accurate the Garmin is. Although not in terms of pace/ distance but in terms of cals burned. Dang, it seems like A LOT of cals are burned, more then I expected LOL

Unknown said...

I bet you will love your Garmin!!

Randy - Maniac #788 said...

Glad that you found a Garmin, you will love what it can do for you. Focus on finishing the HM, the speed can come later. Finish strong and confident and you will feel on top of the world. Good luck with it.

Michelle said...

Woo hoo about the Garmin!!

I have a 305 and LOVE LOVE LOVE it!!! I got it back in February and pretty much haven't run without it since. It has really given me the info I needed to become a faster runner. I am still getting to where I want to be, but I have improved so much already thanks to my buddy Garmin. :-)

Definitely focus on finishing the race and not the time, and everything will fall into place!!