My New Watch

My Garmin Forerunner 305 arrived Monday and it's everything I thought it would be and more! I spent most of the night Monday going through the owners manual trying to figure out all of the cool features. Man, I love this thing!! The price of my new toy was justified for me on Tuesday; I've always wanted to accurately map one of my favorite paths through the woods (Marie Hickey Trail). However, I've never been able to it for obvious reasons (it's "through the woods"). Well... I'll let the detailed map below do the talking. :)


Not only can I import these GPS coordinates into Google Earth and other mapping software (ie. MapMyRun.com and others), but I also get lots of other valuable information too. This thing records my heart rate, speed, pace, elevation, distance, detailed course map, calories burned, % grade, and more. The best part is, I only have to plug it into my computer and push a button!! The watch came with a Garmin Training Center application that lets me analyze every detail of my workouts (biking, running, walking, any activity really). I also found out tonight after installing this application that it's much easier to use the software to configure my watch than it is to use the actual watch. The watch UI works well, but it's painful using the little buttons on the side, especially since there are so many things that are configurable on this thing.


Not only can I analyze previous workouts, but I can also setup workouts and upload them to my watch too. Tonight, I configured a 5 mile run I'm doing tomorrow (speed work) that consists of the following intervals:
- 1.25 mile warm up
- 1 mile @ 8 minute 30 seconds
- 1/2 mile jog
- 1 mile @ 8 minutes 30 seconds
- 1.25 mile cool down

Basically, my Forerunner will beep at me each step of the way. No longer do I have to go to Licking Valley high school's track and count laps as I keep track of my splits; I just run!

Bottom line: If you are a runner (especially a trail runner), then you need this watch (hint: Rob)... Ok, at least that's what I had to tell Jennifer. :)