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Need some "gadgetry" advice.... (Read 1173 times)

Moondog


    New to running and doing a good job of sticking to the program, eating MUCH better, etc... Granted, it has only been a little over a week but I feel so friggin' good I won't be stopping anytime soon. As I start heading into other phases of my training, it is clear to me I really need to get a fitness watch to help me track time, distance, heart rate, etc... I do not need GPS. I would greatly appreciate everyone's advice/recommendation as to which watch I should consider. Money isn't much of an issue but I don't want to waste any of it either. Quality is definitely important though. Also, what's the best place to purchase one? Thanks in advance for your help!
      You may not need GPS - but if you want to keep track of distance and pace - you want GPS. I don't think you can beat the Garmin 305 for price/performance. One of Trent's recent threads mentioned that he got a new one very recently for $155.

      When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you’ve done?

        Get THIS watch. And measure all your routes on THIS site. That's all you need. If you get a heart rate monitor I'll never talk to you again. I realize this may push you to run out and get one immediately, in which case, oh well, another one lost to the dark side. But hey I will have tried so I can still sleep at night.

        Runners run

        va


          Or get this watch. If you want something that does distance and is cheaper than a GPS, get this.
            My Timex versus My Garmin Forerunner 305 Timex - I stick to a rigid paths so I can map them out later and figure out the distance I traveled. Garmin - I can go all over the place and it records where I go, my current pace, distance run, time, run time, lap time, blah blah blah oh yeah it has a heart rate monitor too which I have yet to use. (Great for my personality - I let my mind run all over theplace sometimes Wink) If you run on a daily basis the 305 is worth the 155 bucks. Here is the Timex model I recommend. I've owned two of these so I MUST like the watch. Timex Ironman 100-Lap Triathlon Flix System Watch It's called Flix because you flick your wrist to do the Indigo night light.

            Vim

            zoom-zoom


            rectumdamnnearkilledem

              I have that Timex 50 lap watch. It's a nice stopwatch, but I still want a garmin 205 for all the reasons modal mentioned (in addition to race courses that are poorly marked, wanting to be able to be consistent during a race, being able to analyze things like pace and elevation...effects of elevation on my pace, effects of distance on my pace, etc.). I don't care about heartrate, so the 305 would be wasted on me. k

              Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

              remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.    

                   ~ Sarah Kay

              derek


                I don't care about heartrate, so the 305 would be wasted on me. k
                I don't use the HR strap on my 305, but I got the 305 anyway as I *may* want to check my heart rate in the future, and with the 205, you can't do that, not even by buying some other accessory.

                Derek

                zoom-zoom


                rectumdamnnearkilledem

                  I don't use the HR strap on my 305, but I got the 305 anyway as I *may* want to check my heart rate in the future, and with the 205, you can't do that, not even by buying some other accessory.
                  Hmmm...enabler! Wink k

                  Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

                  remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.    

                       ~ Sarah Kay


                  Member Since 2008

                    I use a Garin 205. It is soo nice knowing just how farI have ran and my pace is as it is happening. It also saves on gas so I don't have to get in my car and drive the route to know what the distance is I ran. Your question all depends on how mch money you have to send. If money is not an option, go Garmin. If it is go Ironman.
                    jEfFgObLuE


                    I've got a fever...

                      I don't care about heartrate, so the 305 would be wasted on me.
                      Heart Rate isn't wasted on ALMOST anybody! Now I don't think you should be a slave to the HRM, but it's a great way to: a) Make sure you run easy enough on easy days b) Make sure you push hard enough on hard days c) recognize when you may be overtraining / not getting enough rest d) produce really cool graphs With all the discounts these days, there's probably little difference in price between the 205 and 305. So get the 305 "because hey, it's not crack!" /Another Enabler MTA ALMOST

                      On your deathbed, you won't wish that you'd spent more time at the office.  But you will wish that you'd spent more time running.  Because if you had, you wouldn't be on your deathbed.


                      Why is it sideways?

                        Get THIS watch. And measure all your routes on THIS site. That's all you need.
                        Hypocrite. That's my watch, by the way.
                          Heart Rate isn't wasted on anybody! Now I don't think you should be a slave to the HRM, but it's a great way to: a) Make sure you run easy enough on easy days b) Make sure you push hard enough on hard days c) recognize when you may be overtraining / not getting enough rest d) produce really cool graphs
                          Anybody? What if you already know how to do "a" through "c" without a HRM and you don't care about "d"?

                          Runners run

                          va


                            Hi Mikey, Didn't you get a Garmin? What happened?
                              Hypocrite. That's my watch, by the way.
                              I know. Do as as I say, not as I do. That's my watch by the way too. For 6 or 7 out of 8 or9 runs a week anyway. I use my 205 for big workouts on the road. It's really convenient to be able to do things like 5 x 1 mile with 3 minute recovery jogs anywhere, on any stretch of road. Other than that, the Garmin's just a cool toy for people who like gizmos. It doesn't do a lot of hte things people think it does and it surely isn't accurate enough for correcting poorly measured race courses or anything like that.

                              Runners run


                              Why is it sideways?

                                Anybody? What if you already know how to do "a" through "c" without a HRM and you don't care about "d"?
                                Well, as Jeff reminds us, "smart technology can always be defeated by dumb users." But maybe there's a place for the HRM in learning "a" through "c" -- for those that aren't in the know. Crank.
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