Best damn running accessory - ever - Garmin Forerunner 305

OK, Garmin has finally made a GPS small enuff to look like a big watch and still kept it pretty accurate - the Forerunner 305 (pic to the right, duh). A guy at work showed me what it could do and I ordered it instantly.

So they took the GPS and added a bunch of runner/fitness related stuff to it. So now you have a little device that you just strap to your wrist and it gives you pretty much any data you could ever want. If you want heart rate, you gotta wear the chest strap (bummer).

Add the fact that the data from this GPS can be exported to GoogleMaps and GoogleEarth and you have a very handy device that'll show you:
- distance, pace, heart rate, ascent/descent, time, calories, etc, etc....
- how long and how far you were in any customizable heart rate and pace zones (like how long was my heart rate btwn 80%-90%)
- map your path on both a GoogleMap and render it in 3D in GoogleEarth
- Give you a virtual partner to run against. You set their pace and keep up with them
- One downside - no more lying about how far you ran!
- Got mine from Amazon thru one of their resellers here, or here (eTronics).

Here's some screen shots from my first two runs:

- the first run is a 7ish mile loop I did with my 4 year old in a jogging stoller. This thing allows you to tell it you were carrying extra weight so you can get credit for pushing your kids around
- The 2nd run is a semi-hilly 10K from my house thru Riley park.
- Click the images for full size

Here is the standard data you get from the included software when you put the watch back in it's docking station/recharger. I gotta go back and tell it I was pushing my kid, stroller, blanket, her iPod and a coupla juice boxes....


Here is the run rendered on GoogleEarth. Nice....


Here is the next run's data. No kids, a little faster....


And here it is on GoogleEarth. For those of you that care, this is our training run for the Pendelton Mud Run. Get ready and put down your excuse book...



If you want to export to GoogleEarth, you'll need this. You should donate a few bucks to the guy who wrote it. Or you could just upgrade to GoogleEarth Plus for $20 a year.

Other thoughts on the Garmin Forerunner 305:
- These runs are fairly wide open with only a short bit of overhead trees during which the GPS doesn't seem to drop out. Its my first GPS so I dunno if this is typical.
- The heart rate monitor is the standard 'around the chest' type. Tip: wet the contacts just before you start running.
- You can and should customize the three screens you get to scroll thru during your run. You can put the information that's important to you in each screen. Like having time, HR, HR Zone, and elevation one one screen
- The watch did lock up during recharging. You have to hold the Mode and Reset buttons to re-boot it. Woulda been really annoying if I hadn't found out how to fix it since it was just dead. Wouldn't turn on or communicate with the PC or anything
- If you don't care about heart rate, try the Forerunner 205 which I think is the same thing w/o the HR monitor.
- Fire the watch up a few mins before your run and set it outside to let it find the satellites.