Garmin want vs. Garmin need (Read 864 times)

I say get it. You may not use it much now, but eventually you'll probably do more than 3 miles or that 3 miles will start to get boring and you'll want to find a new route. I got a Garmin at about the same stage as you and I have loved it. To be able to throw in an extra loop on a route when I'm feeleing good has been awesome. I don't have to later get in my car and drive it to know the distance. Plus, Garmins are just way cool.

I say get it. You may not use it much now, but eventually you'll probably do more than 3 miles or that 3 miles will start to get boring and you'll want to find a new route. I got a Garmin at about the same stage as you and I have loved it. To be able to throw in an extra loop on a route when I'm feeleing good has been awesome. I don't have to later get in my car and drive it to know the distance. Plus, Garmins are just way cool.

Agreed. I guess it depends on your plans for your running career. If you're sure you're never going to run more than 7-8 miles per week, and you run regular routes, and you never plan (or hope ... or dream ...) about running races and marathons and beyond ... well, skip the Garmin. Save your money. Buy shoes. But if you see your running going farther that that - I'd get one now. First, they give you a freedom; you can walk out your front door and just run, wherever you like. But second, and more important for me, its a pretty useful coaching tool; I think of mine as my little coach on my wrist. I've seen marked improvements because of it. It motivates me, helps me find and maintain specific paces - makes sure I'm going hard enough when I want to, slow enough when I need to. Best of all ... it makes running that much more fun. Which might, in turn, help you make running a lifelong passion. There isn't much downside to getting one. The things last for years apparently. If you want to go cheap get the 205 - the only thing missing is the heart rate monitor. If you're running significant mileage and want to start using an HRM later, it'll be an excuse to upgrade to the 405 someday.

I'm not sure why this question comes up so much. First off, nobody NEEDS a Garmin. Unless I find a person who's heart will explode if the run one mile faster than 8 minute pace, I will stand firm on this. I am doing just fine without one and have no plans on getting one. Have I struggled with pacing sometimes, you bet. Mainly with finding my tempo pace, but your body learns pretty fast. That being said if you have the means to buy one and think it will make running more fun for you, get one. JK, zoom, and numerous others will be more than willing to help you with the benefits and how to use it effectively. We all have stuff we don't need.

lol... me too. I had a serious bout of garmin lust last week and this REI sale pushed me over the edge. I took the plunge. need vs want. I don't need one but it will make running and logging my runs much more carefree. I will get much enjoyment out of it. I also am very interested in adding a HR monitor to my training. I really want to make sure I run my easy run easy this summer... as I will be adding in tempo runs. I really want to make sure I run my tempo runs fast enough yet not too fast. I hope the garmin will help me learn that quicker! I see it as a tool and one which I hope will provided the useful data I hope it will... Which I hope to get... 1.) accurate data as to how far I ran and how long it took. 2.) I would like to get a better idea of what kind of elevation gain an loss I went through durrning my run to compare to other runs... (this would be a bonus.. ) 3.) I would like to see HR vs speed throughout my run. 4.) I would like to use the garmin to monitor my HR durring runs to keep my slow runs slow 5.) I would love the freedom when in strange places to just run and then not have to spend hours with google maps to determine how far I ran. 6.) Be able to find my way home (back to my hotel) in a strange place if I get lost on a run. ----------------------- all that being said.... I think Jake hit the nail on the head...

I hoped you lovely people would ease my conscience. I have an hour and a half to wait til the local REI opens. Then I have a feeling I will be there buying my new toy training tool! I also have a feeling that my self imposed week off of running following my race last week is going to be ending today instead of Monday as planned. I will have to try out the new Garmin! On a serious note, thanks for the input. I have fallen in love with running, which is a happy side effect because I started running as one of the tools towards getting healthy (I've lost 37 lbs since August). I have a definite plan to continue increasing my mileage, slow but steady. Also planning some traveling in the N.E. this summer. It will be nice to be able to go out the door and run without pre-planning a route in unfamiliar territory.

Debbie, you're making the right decision! Your story sounds a lot like mine. I lost a lot of weight and was running only a little farther than you at a time. But since I got the Garmin at Christmas, I've improved immensely and can run 10 miles. I guess it depends on your definition of "need." Do I "need" to run 10 miles? No. But it has made me much happier, trimmer, and stronger. Another benefit that hasn't been mentioned is seeing those miles, tenths of miles, and even hundredths of miles clicking by. When you're totally exhausted, seeing those numbers continue to roll really helps you keep going! You will love it when you're traveling, too. When I showed DH my routes on satellite views of San Antonio and Austin, he pointed out that I will have records of places I have traveled to! I'm planning on using it in London and South Africa in November. What fun! And there's no way I could map those runs ahead of time to know how far I would be running. Another benefit for me is that I tend to run too fast on training runs. I should be going 11+ mpm on long runs. Of course, the displayed pace isn't exact, but if I look down and see "10:00," I know I need to slow down some. It IS a training tool and you will never regret your decision to buy it. PS. I don't use the heartrate monitor at all, and I'm still glad I have it.

I bought a 305 a week or so ago and love it. The only issue I have is that it didn't come fully charged I had to actually wait 2 hrs before I could run (was supposed to charge for 3). I ended up running alot later then I like to. Oh well. Get it you won't be disappointed. I need to get the foot pod next for the occasional time i run on the treadmill. We got a foot of snow yesterday so I was forced to do that and it killed me not to use the Garmin for my distance. Mike