Friday, May 7, 2010

This weekend is brought to you by the letter "S" and the number 305.

On my agenda:  Sleep, sauna, stretching, snuggles.  Probably sgrocery shopping, stelevision, and slaundry.  And perhaps even shopping shopping, which is where you all come in.

The next exciting adventure I am contemplating would involve tempo runs and speedwork.  I currently have a Nike+iPod.  I think I can swing that for tempo runs (just run faster and check my pace a lot), but I'm not sure how to effectively do speedwork without something like a Garmin.  Something that will give me real time feedback as to whether I'm meeting the pace I'm supposed to be meeting, that kind of thing.

So, my questions to you are: 
  • Should I get something like a Garmin? 
  • Will it do what I want it to do -- i.e., I can put in I want to do 400 meters at a 4:00 minute pace and it will yell at me to speed up or slow down, all the while registering how far I've gone overall through several rounds of this?
  • Should I get a Garmin specifically?
  • What make/model, accessories, yadda yadda yadda should I get?
  • Do these things work indoors? 
  • Do I need to spend another chunk of money to get a foodpod that will allow it to work indoors?
  • Any one have big breasts and wear a heart rate monitor?
  • How do those two (three?) all get along?
  • Suggestions on where to buy from?
  • Anyone traded up recently who wants to sell their old Garmin or Garmin-like device?
You can see why I need you.

My penguin impression has gotten better (or worse, depending on your perspective) so I'm off to the chiropractor to get all pretzeled up.  Then I'm off to home for two days of hopefully very little being asked of me.  And lots and lots of rest with a dog who smiles in her sleep. 

Cheers,
the CilleyGirl

3 comments:

  1. Should I get something like a Garmin? - I adore mine. I cannot live without it.

    Will it do what I want it to do? - Yes - you can put in your speed workout (like warmup for 1 mile, run 1/2 mile (800 m), rest interval of 2 minutes, repeat 4 times, cooldown for 1 mile. It will yell @ you to go faster or slower. It's great for speed workouts.

    Should I get a Garmin specifically? I don't know anything about any other brands - everyone I know that has anything like this has a Garmin.

    What make/model, accessories, yadda yadda yadda should I get? - I think that's a personal thing - everyone has different models.

    Do these things work indoors? - no they do not (no satellites inside). They also don't work well in places w/ a lot of tree cover (trail running). (Well - they work as a timer indoors, but will not record distance.)

    Do I need to spend another chunk of money to get a foodpod that will allow it to work indoors? - I wouldn't. When I run inside (which is rarely), I run on a treadmill & it tells me how fast & how far I'm going.

    Any one have big breasts and wear a heart rate monitor? - the generic HR monitor sucks. I only wore it about 1/2 dozen times & then put it in a drawer. Can you say CHAFING?

    Suggestions on where to buy from? - I got mine from Amazon on sale.

    Anyone traded up recently who wants to sell their old Garmin or Garmin-like device? - I've been thinking about getting a newer model, but haven't committed to the idea yet. I have the Garmin 301, which is a clunkier looking model, but still works just fine.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Love, love, love the Garmin. I can't imagine running without it. I am pretty sure if the choice came down to running without the Garmin or running without shoes I would ditch the shoes. I am a data dork so I love having numbers to quantify my running.

    I have the 305 which is kind of big but it easy to see when you are running. Everyone I know who has one has the 305 and we are all ridiculously attached to them.

    Mine came from Costco about two years ago but I don't know if they still sell that model.

    I am a tiny boobed person and cannot comment on the HR strap. :-(

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks Amy & Ann-Marie for the input! I've decided to go for it, just ordered the Garmin 305 and it will be here Friday. Amy, it never occurred to me that I could do treadmill workouts (g) -- that's always a fallback I can do.

    ReplyDelete