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To buy a Garmin, to not buy a Garmin?!?
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Hi all
I have been using my Nike+ and have finally got fed up with how inaccurate it is (I often come home really chuffed about how far I've run to then map it out online and realise it's added an extra mile that I didn't actually do - humph!)
I was thinking about getting a Garmin, or similar, but was horrified to see how much some of the new models cost. I don't need anything too fancy - just one that accurately measures distance, speed and also with a pace alert so I know to start picking up my heels a bit faster when I start to flag. I have pretty small wrists too so just wondering if anyone can give advice about what model would be best for what I am looking for but also not too chunky.
Thanks in advance
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Comments
I've got a Garmin 305 and think it's great. You can pick them up for about £130 if you look hard and they will do everything you're after and much more.
I've found it to be generally accurate within about 100m over 10k but they are quite bulky on your wrist.
I find it great for long runs and pacing however my only word of caution is that I tend to run more within my limits with it. A number of the guys at my club don't like it for this reason as you tend not to push yourself as much by keeping to a pace you know you can achieve.
I'd suggest the 205 or 305 if you're looking for something cheaper and if style is more important have a look at the 405 although I know that many people have been slightly dissapointed with this on.
All the best,
A.
I bought a Garmin 101 for £40 of E-bay. It took around 8 or 9 attempts to get one for under £50 but it was worth it. It does exactly what I need it to do, distance and pace (with pace alert) with no fancy downloading to the PC or HRM.
The only downside which may concern yourself, is the size. It is slightly chunky; but if you really want something smaller then the new Garmin 405 would be the one to go for.
Timex do GPS watches which might be a better suited to you, the difference is you wear the actual GPS bit on your arm.
Mick
You can also try the timex ironman products as they do different sizes for differnet wrists and it is also useable as a normal sports watch.
scott
You wont be far out, and if you want to check - just use the online maps to measure for accuracy.
Cougie
I'm sure you are an experienced runner and can judge your pace quite well, but there are a lot of people, including me, out there who will run at the pace that feels comfortable only to run out of steam because they were running too fast. My wife bought be a garmin 305 last christmas and it made a big difference to my training, could not do without it now.
Some people think the 305 is a bit bulky but at least you can read the display when your running even if your eye sight is a bit iffy.
Oh by the way I love gadgets!
So I'm always going to be pro Garmins etc.
Used my 101 in the coventry half on sunday....my previous pb was 1:42 at silverstone...
and theres a "virtual partner" setting on the 101, so set that for 1:40 and it tells you when your in front of this "virtual" person.....i whipped his butt.....
1:37:24.....yeppie.....(chip timing figures)
ok ok there not nice to look at its the size of a small mobile strapped onto your wrist,,,but does the job, and its cheap, and as it takes standard AAA batteries no worries about charging things up....
As a self-confessed gadget geek I'm very much pro-garmin. I've got a 205 and I agree with all the above points about how useful it can be in training for pacing yourself properly and the like.
The best thing about it for me though is the time it saves from working out how far I've run or cycled on sites like mapmyrun as I did before i got it. If I change my intented route because a road was closed or I get lost then I don't need to spend ages when I get back trying to work out where i went just to get an accurate distance. I just upload the run to SportTracks and there it is, plotted on google maps with no fuss. Best £100 I've spent.
I know what i would do, buy a sports watch, i generraly run the same routes weekdays and weekend and keepa online training diary, quite simple if i have a quicker time on my watch i ran faster. and i am sure with the online resources today you could get very very accurate pace results.
sports watches simple effective and very cost effective.
I bought a Garmin 305 a couple of months ago for £130 new from amazon. I love it & found that it pushed me hard when training on my own. I sadly race against the virtual training partner!
I too have small wrists & although the strap has plenty of adjustment (who an earth uses the bigger strap that is supplied with it!!) I do find that on long runs I do have a sore wrist joint. You do have to do it up tight because of its weight; it bounces around if too loose. I am thinking of experimenting with a sweat band underneath.
yes, corrosion and water ingress are definitely issues with a lot of 205/305 models. had a 205 for 20 months and before each run i zealously taped over the contacts/speaker holes for about 18months. recently began to leave tape off and hey presto, its now an ex-garmin
great idea, crap design.
or stop and road junctions or need a pee....
may-be we should suggest these features on a newer model.....
someone mentioned the longer strap option on there garmin,,,,there meant to be for arm mounting rather than wrist mounting the toy...
I have a Garmin Forerunner 50 with HRM and foot-pod ... it's great. I started off just using mapmyrun and the kitchen clock but I couldn't be without the gadget now.
ye there pretty smart.
i started off using the kitchen calendar not the clock
even now my son has never said "wow daddy your back quickly"
and often says "why are you so slow, i can run faster than you?"
oh well thats a 5 year old for you
LOL about the calendar. It's really demoralising (well, a little bit) to come back and nobody be bothered about how well you've done, just that you can't be fit as you are out of breath/sweating - little do they know you have run 5 miles and ran as facst as possible over the 800m home; but I know, so that does for me.
My 5 year old keeps wanting to come with me and starts putting his trainers on sometimes (then cries when i say he can't), though we have been doing a little training in the local park, and after 100m he complains his legs are tired.
My two older kids (13 and 9 at the time) beat me over 2 miles back in the summer
... glad to say that after a few months of hard work they can no longer get close ... though it's only a matter of time until they'll be bigger, stronger and fitter and I'll be approaching old wreck status. Better make the most of it! 
ha ha pjaz....same story here, we once needed to pop up to the village shop for some carrots and my 5 year old said he would run with me rather than take his bike....100m later (like you said) he stopped running and walked the rest of the way......
he then told the boss/wife/mum etc that he stopped running to wait for me.......as i was so slow......
last weekend we went to the coventry half marathon (up north!!),,,,and he had great delight when we got home showing me some pictures on his camera and a video (santa bought him a cheap camera last year)
the video "oh i took a video daddy,,,," oh thats great am where am i?
"oh theses are all the people in front of you...."
my wife was wetting herself laughing,,,,and even i had to laugh.....
oh well a 1:37 pb wasn't good enough.....opps a bit off thread,,,,i was using my garmin 101 at the time...
dr dan...
we've got a chap at the running club who is err in the v50 class and he still beats most "youngsters" ...and hes got a marathon place next year....good for age.....
so you never know, the kids may never catch up with you...
and at 13 (your oldest one) you've only got 4 years before the.......driving lessons start.......then you'll have a beat up old saxo beeping you when you go running......and the chants out of the window.....ha ha....
Dr Dan - know the feeling, my 9 year old is (and has been for some time) faster than I could even imagine being; though its sprinting he's into rather than distance.
Oops, sorry to wander off topic again, I am thinking of buying a Garmin 305 (there, that's better).