Run Forrest Run!
Sure, running is great for the exercise and feel good endorphins…but how about the gadgets?! Thankfully with this sport, the overall cost of participating is much less expensive than being a ski bunny at Vail. However, there are definitely a few things worth splurging for - i.e. the Garmin Forerunner 405 watch ($349.99 with HR monitor).
The Forerunner 405 (there is a newer model that I haven’t tried yet) is a GPS enabled sport watch that tracks your training, wirelessly syncs data to your computer and lets you run with a virtual partner. This watch is a serious gadget…actually ‘gadget’ doesn’t begin to justify it…this watch is a serious piece of EQUIPMENT that monitors your time, distance, pace, calories as well as heart rate (when worn with the HR monitor). If you’re competitive, and most likely you are if you’re a runner, you can race against a virtual partner, your previous logged training runs or even another Garmin Forerunner user (I know, this last one is for the major geeks).
Compared to old school running watches, the Forerunner is sleek and much more manageable in size. My one complaint, and something I have heard from just about every user, is that when it gets really wet the watch starts to erradicly change screens and settings (be careful you heavy sweaters).
It’s definitely a lot of extra gear to tote around (HR strap, watch, power cord for charging), but it has made me a much more ‘conscious’ runner (read as ‘efficient’) Sometimes it’s great to just go out for a run and not think about splits and distance, but after a really hard run it’s helpful to look back at my performance stats plus what kinds of hills I tackled or where I slowed down. Expensive…yes. Worth it…hell yeah.
*also has bike mode if you are a triathlete or cycalist
