September 20, 2009 at 8:17 pm · Filed under Equipment, Gadgets
I can get over the treadmill boredom frontier by sticking a gruesome thriller on the iPod but the absence of a reliable data capture device (or sports watch) could call the end to a beautiful gym relationship membership.
I’ve worked my way through a number of fancy running watches over the years but my latest, the Forerunner 405 (reviewed May 2008) was just not designed to be a gym bunny buddy. Fortunately the Garmin Forerunner FR60 was released earlier in the year and appeared to be just what I required.
In summary, it’s a footpod/HR monitor which is ANT enabled meaning you can wirelessly upload data and connect to other ANT enabled equipment such as gym machines and the fancy new BC1000 Tanita weighing scales.
Unlike most of the others in the forerunner series, this watch does not have GPS, it is waterproof though.
I’ve had a few footpod watches before, including the Nike+, Polar 725 and Polar RS200SD and I’ve been impressed with all of them. In most cases they have proved to be accurate out of the box without the need for calibration and are ready for action from the moment you put the watch into training mode so there is no need to hang around stretching out your hamstrings while you wait for a the GPS unit to lock onto a satellite signal.
The footpod speed and distance monitors also have a huge advantage over GPS when it comes to monitoring pace. Pace readings on GPS units have a tendency to fluctuate all over the place while the footpod units prove to be more stable and therefore more reliable in any given instance.
What the footpods lack when compared to their bigger GPS brothers, is the ability to create lovely map trails of where you’ve been. GPS makes you feel like an adventurer, an explorer of uncharted tracks, but let’s face it, GPS isn’t for everyone.
If you run the same few routes over and over again the joy of the GPS map soon begins to wane and if like me, you spend a good proportion of your time on the treadmill, the GPS output would result in a terribly unsatisfying mess centred above your gym coordinates.
Garmin Forerunner FR60 in Action – Screenshots
Here’s a few shots of the Garmin FR60 as I move through the history screens for one workout. The final image shows the virtual partner screen which is one of the view options while training.
Garmin FR60 Compared to Nike+ and Polar
Nike+
The Nike+ wrist unit offers an accurate footpod with a minimal design. It’s ideal for social networking as it makes it so easy to upload stats via twitter, facebook and assorted other widgets. It’s the cheapest option as well but I can’t help finding it a bit disappointing, I just can’t stand the cartoon style display of the stats.
Polar
I really loved the RS200SD, the display was brilliant and the history data lent itself perfectly for being transferred to a training log. It has now been superseded by the Polar RS300X and I was momentarily tempted by it until I started pricing up the extras. The really annoying feature of Polar is that they require you to by all the necessary attachements separately. The ridiculous “flowlink” is required for uploading data to the web but costs £49.99 whereas Garmin include their usb ANT connectivity stick in the box along with the watch.
Garmin
Garmin has the edge over the competition, everything is supplied in the box and the connection is relatively straightforward.
Having uploaded the data it is easy to import the data files into sporttracks or other training logs.
Popularity: 1% [?]
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Tags: Forerunner, FR60, Garmin, GPS, Nike, polar, review, Sporttracks
February 1, 2009 at 9:15 pm · Filed under Equipment, Gadgets, Software
Some of you may have noticed that I haven’t run an awful lot of late, in fact if you want to be reasonably precise, I have run only once in the last month, which also happens to equate to once this year. How neat.
If we want to be 100% precise it could be argued that I’ve run a few more times than I’ve let on, for example, I may have attempted the occassional dash to the bus away from work and I sprinted to the train station last night after my blood doning session but all in all the consequences were ugly and should remain hidden from public conciousness.
I feel like I’m taking confession and will have to start with the hail Mary’s soon but in my defence, I do have some excuses.
For one thing, as the last two months of my fairly sparse blog writing will attest, I am far too happy for running. Running appeals to the miserable side of me, it’s the perfect alternative to a pack of Benson and Hedges and bottle of JD. Mind you it also appeals to the exceptionally jolly side of me as well, so maybe that’s not such a good excuse after all.
Secondly, and this one has to be foolproof, I’m working on a ridiculous placement that means I have to travel between 4 and 5 hours every day.
Not a chance that I feel like running after all that nonsense.
Still, there is light at the end of the tunnel. I have secured myself a proper job, midway between happiness and home and I forsee many exciting new routes ahead of me, incorporating the best of London’s seedy commons and the highly rated Wandle trail. Expect updates of the running variety in March.
In the mean time, what better way to spend one’s non-running time, than by analysing data from runs gone by?
RunSaturday is new website stacked full of new and intriguing ways to analyse data held across multiple sites and generated by multiple gadgets. I’ve been able to bring together runs from my Garmin Forerunner 405, Nike+, Nokia Sportstracker along with all my historical runs stored on SportsTracks. I can also bring in runs manually entered onto Fetcheveryone and analyse my stats from the Saturday morning 5k park runs.
All this makes RunSaturday the most comprehensive database of my running shame prowess, which is quite a lot of fun because the site provides loads of ways to share the data across social websites such as facebook and personal blogs.
Here’s a particularly ancient route showing the mammoth run/walk I did along the Capital Ring. If you click on the heart symbol you’ll see a colour coded route indicating the specific heart rate zones during the run. You can see similar images for speed but as I’m a one speed wonder you’ll have to upload your own interval workouts to see rainbows in this feature.
There seem to be loads of new features coming along, so I’d recommend checking it out for yourself. I’ll add more images from the site just as soon I manage another run but don’t hold your breath til March.
Popularity: 35% [?]
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Tags: analysis, BPTT, fetcheveryone, Forerunner, Garmin, Nike, review, runsaturday, Sporttracks
October 7, 2008 at 12:50 pm · Filed under Event, Running
I love this event, it is a complete pain to get to, it costs a fortune, it’s almost impossible to get out of South Shields before night fall, but it still remains the highlight of my year. Grubby street urchins high fiving you, toddlers squirting bottled puddle water at your feet, spectators cheering and offering out ice pops, pizza and vodka. The folk from South Tyneside really get into the spirit of this event and you can’t help but feel privilidged to be part of it. At times through the race the emotion gets the better of me and I have to fight to stop myself blubbing.
I couldn’t fathom a way of setting myself a target for the 13.1 mile distance on the forerunner 405 so instead I had to set the pace of the virtual trainer and just watch my progress against my shadow. Being a “tad” heavier and not having shown an immense amount of commitment to my training this year I thought the best I could hope for was to aim for a 3:05 hr finish and so set the training buddy to 14min/miles. With the watch stuck on this screen I couldn’t tell what pace I was running at and so effectively ran the race blind. At each mile mark though I seemed to be gaining minutes on my buddy – I was kicking virtual sand in his face.
At mile 7 as was hosed down by a teenager in full firemans garb, it coincided with the end of the first episode the Archers and its replacement by P!nk’s “I’m Not Dead”. The combined effect was so refreshing that I experienced the best 20 seconds running of my life. I overtook walkers and everything!
Unfortunately in a half marathon, there is no escaping mile 10, it arrives like a soggy duvet and throws itself around your legs. At this point I was 9 minutes ahead of my target but with the duvet around my ankles I was losing minutes every few hundred yards. I was cracking up but at this time last year I had to step of the sideline to perform first aid on my thighs, something must have improved despite my preparations.
At 11 miles I had slipped back to only 6 minutes above the 3:05 target but I was smelling the sea air and getting all emotional again. My folks had driven down to catch me cross the finish line and started to feel a pb in my bones. I upped the pace at the 12 mile marker and kept looking down at my watch to see if I could get that the distance between me and my shadow to increase. It started to happen and I felt strength in my legs.
That final mile was exciting for me. It was just like the final leg of the Bushy park run, giving it all for a chance at some glory. At 7 minutes ahead of target I was struggling with my maths again to see how much I had to do to beat last year. The finish was coming upon me so quickly I didn’t think I had enough distance left to make the time but I was willing myself on anyway.
I crossed the line in 2:57:00 about 50 seconds slower than last year. Not a pb but I was so chuffed that I’d come anywhere near it. Here’s my thank god it’s over shot, I don’t think I look quite as happy as last year but then OGB had gone AWOL. His training had been a bit lacklustre as well but at the start line he’d decided he was going to push it anyway. When he wasn’t sitting at the agreed meeting point with my pint in his hand I assumed he must have been carried off in a helicopter. I was probably wondering what I was going to tell his mum as the photo was taken.
We found him eventually in an emotional heap after spending about 45 mins battling in the baggage bus for our clobber. Shoes and bags and shirts had been strewn all over and it sounded a bit like a blood fest. Luckily I got to avoid all that – that’s the benefit of running with fast friends, thay get to collect the bags while all you have to do is struggle over the finish and stumble into the nearest fish and chip restaurant.
Delicious!
Popularity: 24% [?]
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Tags: bushy park, Forerunner, Forerunner 405, GNR, Great North Run, OGB
September 1, 2008 at 9:36 pm · Filed under Equipment, Event, Gadgets, Running
Saturday evening, after entertaining my family with a slightly charred roast lamb joint but a perfectly acceptable bottle of vino (or two), I get an email from Nike. Apparently, if I could resurrect the long dead Nike+ Sportband, and push my sorry arse out of the door, complete with Sunday morning hangover, to complete a 10k of my choosing, I would soon be the proud owner of a freebie Nike Humanrace t-shirt.
Hard to resist a freebie t-shirt, so I left my visitors to rustle up their own breakfast and arranged to meet them in Kew Gardens approx 1hrs 20mins later.
Lovely day for running, providing you don’t have a pointy head or too much body jewellery.
I have a particularly round head and enjoy running through electrical storms and downpours but I was surprised to see quite so many other water babies running along the river. I searched for signs of commitment to the global humanrace but saw none, it seems that some folk don’t need freebies to run.
3 months on the sub-bench allowed the Nike+ Sportband to dry out sufficiently for me to read the screen again, but I thought it prudent to spin the screen round to the underside of my wrist to provide a little water protection. Pity I didn’t do the same for the garmin forerunner 405!
A few weeks ago I had a comment on my forerunner 405 review, warning me of short-circuiting type responses when the garmin bezel gets wet. Apparently a few reviewers had commented on the bezel bleeping and flicking through screens randomly when exposed to water or sweat. I was quick to reject that the forerunner 405 had a problem but I should have kept my mouth shut.
Running through this downpour left my watch bleeping like crazy as I tried to stop the timer and move it off the training mode. In the end I had to wait for it to run out of battery life to switch off. Serious design flaw here.
I’ve had the forerunner 405 for a few months now and as it’s pretty much rained non-stop throughout the whole of summer, I find it hard to believe that I didn’t notice the problem earlier. I’m wondering if it could possibly be related to the recent firmware I downloaded – doesn’t really sound like a software issue but I’ve upgraded to the latest update just in case.
Popularity: 29% [?]
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Tags: Forerunner, Forerunner 405, Garmin, Nike, Nike+ Sportband, t-shirt
July 10, 2008 at 10:23 pm · Filed under Commuting, Running
The race packs seem to be dropping thick and fast through the letter box this week, after the painfully slow 5k at the weekend I came home and opened an envelope to discover I was entered in the Great Capital 10k in just 2 weeks time. Goodness knows when I signed up for that, I hadn’t bothered to note it in my diary anyway.
I’m thinking that’s its probably impossible to turn around the worst ever 5k race time within the space of 2 weeks given a backdrop of 5 months of lacklustre training, but I’ve got to do something to ensure I don’t collapse before the finish line. I’ve therefore embarked on a 2 week anti-Stella campaign to be combined with regularish running commutes.
JogBlog is not the only one completing an old new running commute, I’ve shifted jobs yet again and am right back where I started with the very first running commute of 18 months ago. Happily I’ve picked up a bit of local knowledge over the months and can now get from asylum to home with barely any need to run on the grotty streets, it also seems to save me 500 metres which is no good as it ruins my perfect 10 k route.
Running along the edge of assorted waterways provides plenty of opportunity for water related incidents and playing around with the forerunner 405 touch bezel does not reduce the likelihood. I stumbled over some barge docking related paraphenalia but managed to steady myself in a rather sturdy clump of stinging nettles. I’m still itching but I did discover a rather cool new screen on the forerunner.
It the HR graph option and shows your heart rate displayed on a backdrop of HR zones. Quite neat but probably only useful if you are doing intervals, for most of my run it appeared as a flat line between zones 4 and 5. The photo was taken after I stopped.
Distance: 9.58km
Time: 1:22:00
Popularity: 23% [?]
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Tags: commute, Forerunner, Forerunner 405, Garmin, Stella
June 12, 2008 at 10:53 pm · Filed under Equipment, Gadgets
As you all know, I think the Garmin Forerunner 305 is the best thing since sliced bread but I’m so fickle it’s taken barely a thought for me to stick it on ebay and swap it for the new version – the Forerunner 405.
I’d like to say the new and IMPROVED Forerunner 405 but is it?
Reading the spec list it’s hard to see where Garmin made any attempts to improve on what had gone before, they missed out by not making it fully waterproof and therefore tri suitable, for example. Instead they appear to have simply repackaged the existing 305 as a sports watch that can be worn all day with the bonus of a nifty touch sensitive bezel control.
Out of the box, I decided I liked the look and feel of the watch very much. Garmin put a lot of effort into design and the strap closure is ingenious, a big improvement on the 305 which kept coming loose, snagging on my clothing and risked falling off. A minor point maybe, but Garmin are big on the little details.
The watch charged fully in 3 hours by the use of a strange bulldog style clip that slips snugly into a couple of recesses on the back of the watch. Another neat design but I fear it is just going to prove an inconvenience. With the 305 you uploaded data to the PC by slotting it into a USB docking station and it would charge at the same time as uploading. I’d leave my device in for a few minutes longer and thereby ensure I always hard a fully charged unit. With the 405, uploading data is automatic and will occur while the watch is still on your wrist, which now means I’ll have to remember to charge the unit separately.
In standby mode (ie time display only) the watch will supposedly last 20 days, although I’m down to 89% charged after 1 day so I doubt it will last much longer than a week. When used in active mode the battery life is expected to be in the region of 8 hours. So that’s another charging gizmo to be added to my pile of wires under my bed.
I thought the software was a bit of a faff to install, it didn’t happen automatically and I had to hunt around to see what it was that needed to be loaded up. It comes with Training Centre but after installing it I immediately removed it again because I remembered how pants it is. Instead I’m using the ANT uploader linked to Garmin Connect which is quite a neat online training log.
Setting up the watch is a doddle and it takes you through the process quickly with a mini tutorial that teaches you the basics of the bezel control. Basically:
- press and hold on the relevant label to access either time/date, training, menu or GPS functions
- slide around the bezel to move through menu options
- tap to accept
- tap in two separate places to activate the backlight
All very easy really. I had no problems using the bezel on the run, not that you need to use it much, you can tap to nudge the screen to a different view and in virtual partner mode you can increase/decrease the pace of your partner by sliding the bezel. I’m particularly fond of that feature as it means I can ensure I win every race now.
I’ve heard a few people fearing that accidental touches of the bezel would mess up the data but they shouldn’t worry. The start, stop and lap functions are all controlled by the big side buttons. Pressing the bezel during a run just alters the view – not a big deal. I haven’t tried it with gloves but as long as they aren’t massive affairs it shouldn’t be a problem.
For my first run I decided to set up a simple interval session, run 90 secs, walk 60 secs. I know that’s lame but I’ve got a cold and needed the walk periods to retrieve my hankies and have a good blow! Easy enough to setup, you don’t even need the manual. Features and settings are much more intuitive on the 405 than with its predecessor.
The intervals were well “signposted”, I was given a 5 second warning of loud beeps followed by a clear “chirrup” that marked the start of the next interval. I didn’t miss one and I appreciated the warning. A good feature.
I personalised the display I wanted to see on the run, you can choose upto 9 features to be displayed on 3 screens. On my main screen I had pace, time and distance and I accepted the defaults for the other screens. It’s well worth playing around though as there appear to be some great features. This is available on the heart rate screen for example and shows progress within your heart rate zones.
I had set the screens to auto scroll but will turn this off for the next run, I think it is more convenient to control the screen I view by tapping the bezel, that way I don’t have to wait for it to get around to the bit I’m interested in.
Back home, I was just unlocking my door, when the watch beeped to say it was uploading data. By the time I’d staggered through the hall to the laptop, my stats were already displayed on the Garmin connect website.
As a simple everyday watch its functioning fine, but I would have preferred the power save mode to be the time and date screen, not just the time display. It’s a fiddle unlocking the bezel so I can access the date feature. Its also quite chunky so if you have a small wrist you are unlikely to find it very comfortable and it will probably overhang a little. I don’t have a small wrist though so I’m alright Jack.
I’m pretty pleased with it so far and think there are clear signs of improvement, I’ll be scrutinizing it further though and am particularly keen to see if there are any improvements with the speed in which it locks on to a GPS signal.
*UPDATE 22 July*
If you are in the market for a GPS running watch, this is the leader in my opinion but as for pros and cons of the 405 vs 305 here goes:
Pros:
- Faster GPS pick up, I’ve seen responses within seconds even when I’m moving but it is still not perfect. In heavily built up areas of London the reception is slow.
- Louder volume on the beep/alarm so you can actually use it for interval training.
- You can wear it as a watch all day – should last about 2 weeks before charging.
- There are a lot of new screens available and it is very easy to adjust – more intuitive than the 305.
- You can adjust the speed of the virtual training partner while you are on the run.
- Easy wireless upload.
- Smaller, lighter and more inconspicuous.
Cons:
- Sometimes the bezel seems to be a little unresponsive, so if I tap the edge to get to a different screen it may not respond, so I tap again and eventually it goes crazy and skips thru multiple screens.
- Because I don’t want the useless training centre on my computer I have to be quick if I want to upload the run to Sportstracks, as it doesn’t seem to save the file on my pc.
- When the watch gets wet – say from splashing at a water fountain – the bezel goes nuts and the forerunner generally doesn’t respond. Wipe it dry and its back to normal again. See comments 22-25 and here’s a link to one bloggers frustrating although amusing communication with garmin about the issue.
Not many cons really but maybe I’ll to them later.
Popularity: 100% [?]
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Tags: asics, Forerunner, Forerunner 305, Forerunner 405, Garmin, GPS, review
April 28, 2008 at 11:10 pm · Filed under Equipment, Gadgets
I’m supposed to be off work at the moment on study leave but it may as well be called gardening leave as I’m spending all my time on the allotment. Today I thought I’d make my non-studying day a little bit more productive by running to the plot and I’m glad I did as it brought me and the sportband just that little bit closer.
As usual I left the house with both wrists laden with super sporty gadgets but the garmin was playing me about big time. I was walking down the street exceedingly slowly but it was still taking an age sighting satellites. As I passed WHSmith I got bored and nipped in to see if they had anymore veg growing gazettes that I hadn’t yet read.
They hadn’t.
I went back out and the flippin garmin started back from scratch scanning the skies. A couple of minutes later, after numerous elderly folk had stood on the backs of my heels I decided it was time to start running – the gps would just have to run along behind me.
500m later the garmin beeped at me and asked if I was actually inside! I switched it off – power to the people! I was only running 2k so I couldn’t afford 10 mins at the start just to capture data, I could have walked it in that time.
No such nonsense from Nike+ Sportband. Just switch on, walk, press start – RUN.
My new discovery, the bit that makes me almost love the sportband, is all down to Buckeye. The training log over there on the righthand sidebar is driven by buckeyeoutdoor and if you have a blog you owe it to yourself to register and get yourself a widget – just look how cool it is! They’ve set up a Nike+ challenge and if you join that and then enter your Nike+ username in your profile, all your runs get automatically uploaded. In this day and age where I seem to be uploading my stats to about a million trillion different online logs, that sort of convenience is just impossible to resist.
Popularity: 31% [?]
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Tags: allotment, buckeyeoutdoors, Forerunner, Garmin, GPS, Nike, Nike+ Sportband
January 11, 2008 at 12:47 am · Filed under Equipment, Gadgets
What a question – of course I do!
Just check out the ring of light, how have I managed to live so long without it?
It’s not too clear how the new Garmin Forerunner 405 compares to our trusty friend the 305. Sure there are the beauty enhancements and some wizadry that enables wireless upload to the PC as you stagger in from the streets, but I want to know if the satellite reception is going to be improved. It is going to be hard to improve on the Forerunner 305 but speedy satellite lock on is the way to go.
I’m still having one though – just tell me when. I might even consider entering a good ole US event if it means I could get it earlier.
*UPDATE*
Here’s a link to an important FAQ on the new forerunner 405, I’m a little disappointed that Garmin didn’t take the opportunity to make some obvious improvements to the forerunner series. It’s waterproof rating is still only sufficient for coping with sweat and possibly splashing in a particularly shallow puddle. Why didn’t they fully waterproof this beast so that it could become the clear option for triathletes? As it is, swimmers are going to go elsewhere for their gadget fix or continue to shove the unit under their swimming caps.
I can’t pick out any functional improvements at all, it’s just in a different box – quite a pretty one though.
Popularity: 34% [?]
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Tags: Forerunner, Forerunner 305, Forerunner 405, gadget, Garmin, Swimming
December 26, 2007 at 5:08 pm · Filed under Equipment, Gadgets
I’ve had the Nokia N82 for a few days now so its time to update on my early impressions.
I was quite intrigued to see what the N82 actually had to offer, a quick check on the Nokia site seems to suggest that it is damn similar to the N95 apart from the obvious visual differences.
So its got the 5MP camera, same Carl Zeiss lens, GPS, basically everything the N95 has, in fact if you compare the two side by side on the nokia site you will struggle to find any difference at all between the specs.
Makes me wonder what is the point? It also makes me worry just a little bit, this newer phone might in someway be an improvement on my own phone, and that just won’t do, especially as I have to send it back.
So when I opened the box I was a bit relieved/disappointed. The N82 isn’t very exciting to look at. It’s even worse to caress as it feels like a plastic kids toy. I don’t know why Nokia keep insisting on putting together some really desirable packages and then wrapping them in crappy cases. Gadgets need to be sexy. The N95 isn’t really that great to look at either but the burgundy back plate sure beats the awful pearlescent number on the rear of the N82. Both phones are improved by the addition of the battery, the extra weight seems to make you feel a bit more confident in the kit.
If you believe the spec list (which obviously I don’t) the only difference is in the case and style of phone. You can see this from the photos but basically the N82 is longer, thinner and a bit lighter. The N95 is a slider though and it becomes a bit longer than the N82 when you open it. I can’t stand the buttons on the new phone, you have to twist your thumb on its side and use the nail to dab at the ridiculous bumps. Maybe my thumb is too big and I really need a special needs phone. The only exterior improvement is the lens cover, that has an incredibly satisfying motion, I just sit there clicking it open and shut. I may have OCD as well as a special needs thumb but its very therapeutic, just like popping bubble wrap.
As soon as you start playing with the lense cover you notice how much faster the camera is to respond. It engages immediately, none of the 10 second delay that you have to get used to with the N95. The responsiveness applies when taking a shot as well – instantantaneous. This results in a better photo, the two cameras may have the same lens but there is much less camera shake with the N82 and the Xenon flash is much better (more powerful or something), shots taken in dim light are very impressive.
The screen is a touch smaller but has the same resolution and is crisper, brighter and appears to have more colours if thats possible. The screen rotate function works pretty well as you move the phone round as well but I think you can download an app for the N95 to get it to do this too.
All the features seem just a little more refined on the N82 but I still wouldn’t swap it. The case is just too unappealing and I’m clearly a gadget whore requiring more than just a good personality. This is a phone for someone with more sense than me and so long as they don’t hold it before the battery goes in, I’m sure they will be impressed. It’s encouraged me to go through the palaver of upgrading the firmware on my N95, hopefully that will reduce the gap in performance just a little bit.
*Two Week Update*
After playing with the N82 for almost 2 weeks now I have to start thinking about sending it back. Trouble is, I really don’t want to.
I still hate the silly little buttons but I’ll live with them because everything else about the phone is so swish. I wonder if they’ll notice when I stuff the N95 back in the box and keep the N82 for myself?
There are two major improvements over the N95 and these are the radically enhanced GPS reception and a much improved camera facility. The GPS picks up almost instantly and even seems to hold the signal indoors, it beats my Garmin Forerunner 305 by minutes and the N95 trails in last place, occasionally failing to pick up a signal at all before I’ve decided to give up and start my run anyway. Now that I’ve got myself addicted to Sportstracker I don’t want to lose the functionality.
Then there is the camera, I’ve already commented on the responsiveness and snazzy lens cover but the quality of the picture is much improved too. I don’t think there is much difference in quality when the light conditions are good but when the flash is required you want to opt for the N82 and on the night scene setting I’ve witnessed amazing results.
I’m even beginning to think it’s an attractive phone, in its own special way.
Popularity: 32% [?]
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Tags: Forerunner, Garmin, GPS, n82, n95, nokia, review
April 18, 2007 at 10:29 pm · Filed under Equipment, Gadgets, Running
My super little heart broken garmin has been returned. In fact the nice people at garmin have given me a brand new forerunner 305 as the original clearly had a terminal cardiac issue. Good warranty service, yay for Garmin!
So I’m now having to sneak through Broadmoor security with two heart rate monitors, a strange foot pad thingy and a gps unit. Great fun trying to explain why I need such weird gadgetry every morning. I’m a little embarassed to be seen out on the trails with a running computer on each wrist but its the only way to get a fair comparison between the two.
Fantastic evening again, what a joy to be out running.
I had a slight variation on the route this evening. I was trying for a slow pace (which I achieved admirably as usual) with the intention of keeping the heart rate low. Given the heart bursting quality of the hills in this area though, I struggled with this feature of my training.
The little clover leaf shape in the route was Caesar’s Camp, an ironage hilltop fort in the middle of the forest. How cool is that? I was running along a foot wide track on the edge of the camp with a superb view over the woods. Just a complete joy!
Popularity: 28% [?]
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Tags: Broadmoor, Forerunner, Garmin, GPS, Swinley Forest
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