Garmin 305 Addiction (Read 2021 times)

I am wondering how a guy with over 30 yrs of running and over 65,000 miles logged has gotten so attached to his Garmin 305--known to one RA poster as "Garmie". When I started logging miles back in 1976 I had an old timex--not even a stop watch. Stop watches back then were rather large and bulky. I was so excited to get a Casio running watch back in '78: It had a stop watch right in the watch!! Over the years I got into Polar HR monitors when they hit the market. Got a Fit Sense with foot pod. Had a Garmin 101--the brick. Last May bought a 305. Best by far so far--though I noted Garmin has a 405 due out this Spring. My 305 died yesterday--over 1,500 miles. I went into a kinda shock. How would I know all the stuff that my 305 captures when I run without it? I have a marathon in several weeks. My plan was to order another one--over night shipment and send the "old" one back to Garmin for repair. Sick huh? Well, I fiddled with the buttons and it came back to life. It kinda scares me that I have grown so reliant on it. I guess I love the immediate feedback of current pace--that after 100's of miles and numerous races I am amazed it is so accurate. I always could judge pace--pretty weel--but found--unless I was on a track I normally would either be too slow for goal pace or too fast. Oh, thanks for letting me share. Nick

You're preaching to the choir, my friend I also started with a Timex .... not a digital but one with a "sweep second hand" ! I sent my 305 back to have its beep restored. It should be back this week. Luckily I convinced my wife that we absolutely couldn't pass up the Costco price + Powerbar rebate before the holidays. Yesterday she asked, "so, how's my watch?"

I finally broke down and bought a 205, and set out for my inaugural voyage on Friday night. I hit an ice patch and went down, after a quick assessment of my personal well-being my thoughts turned immediately to the Garmin. I was quite relieved to find it unscathed, these things do grow on you pretty quickly. I normally run one of a number of well-worn courses, but for my Sunday long run I just got onto my town's main drag and headed for Cambridge/Boston. It was SO nice to just be able to run on a whim, the new turf was refreshing and the people-watching was world-class. Now I'm just left wondering why I waited so long.

Nick, I never would have suspected you of being a Garmin addict. On the plus side, I think I run more consistently, both in frequency and pace with the Garmin. On the downside, I've actually turned around and not run because the batteries were dead I'm pretty happy with my 305 and will not buy the 405 unless this one dies on me. Even then, I might buy a used 305 before I shell out the extra money for a device with (arguably) lesser capability.

I am also a runaholic. And, keeping track of the miles over the last 31+ years and # of races pretty much puts me in a OCD. I do go to meetings and now rarely run over 20 miles at a time. Most important is--I still have fun--running is my play--though sometimes I can get a little too serious. When I post for Newbies to slow down--enjoy the journey I am preaching to myself also. Nick

I'm pretty happy with my 305 and will not buy the 405 unless this one dies on me. Even then, I might buy a used 305 before I shell out the extra money for a device with (arguably) lesser capability.

Ditto. and I have also decided that if "Big Red" were to die on me that I'd buy a second one while the original is in the shop.

I'm addicted to using my 305. Before mine was given to me as a gift, I ran holding my cell phone, using it's stopwatch feature. The Garmin is awesome because I often just head out the door and alter my routes according to traffic and now I can do that with confidence on knowing how far I've run.

'Nother 205 addict. I use it on runs that I've done a hundred times before, just like the info. I must admit to feeling a certain feeling of freedom when running a route WITHOUT the 205! But I still use the 205 9 out of 10 runs. I still have my old Timex Ironman 100 lapper though I haven't used it in over a year.

I still have my old Timex Ironman 100 lapper though I haven't used it in over a year.

Sadly, it was the loss of my Ironman 100 lapper that led to the Garmin purchase. For all of $40 that watch served me well for a long time. One thing I miss is the interval alarms on the Ironman, they sound like a smoke detector in comparison to the Garmin's feeble beeps. Hope they fixed that on the shiny new 405.