I love my Garmin!! This Garmin has been the best present my boyfriend has ever bought me.  I have the Forerunner 50 – which is the oldest of all the Garmins. Sooo old that most people have never heard of it. This watch has been with me for all of my training runs and races for the last 5 years. It tracks my pace, distance, cadence, heart rate, and calories burned. But what I find most amazing about using a Garmin watch is that you get to also use the  Garmin Connect Calender.
With this feature, I am able to analyze all of my current runs, but I also get to look back on all of the runs I have ever recorded. This has been extremely helpful. The last time I ran the Marine Corps Marathon was in 2010. During this training, when I have felt unsure about my progress, I am able to go back to 2010 with the click of a button and compare my runs.
“It had gotten to hot even for the desert rat, Rick Miller, so Dusty joined me and ran me up the next 10 miles. “You da man, Yeah brotha’, that’s how you do it, Jurker, hell yeah!” the Dust Ball hollered.”
The above quote is from the book Eat and Run, by Scott Jurek. Scott Jurek wouldn’t be the runner he is today, with out his best friend Dusty. The relationship between Dusty and Scott is by far my favorite part of the book. Dusty was there by Scott’s side, through almost all of his ultra runs. And although I wish I had a Dusty, the reality is… I don’t, so my Garmin has become my running buddy.
So far during this marathon training season, I have been running solo. Â Sometimes when you are running by yourself it is hard to judge if you are running your best, especially considering that last year and up to this point, I have had a running buddy. However, in 2010 I ran every training run by myself, and ended up having a very successful marathon.
I did it then, I can do it now.
Questions for You…
- Do you run with a Garmin? If not what do you use to record your runs?
- Do you have a running buddy? or do you prefer to run solo?
- Have you trained for a race by yourself?
© 2013 sweatdaily
haha I love it! I still use my old Garmin and the new pink one. I call them brother and sister 🙂
I love that!! such funny names.
Truly want a Garmin…but that would mean I’d have to get off the treadmill…
Yes! I think you should take the plunge. Fall is right around the corner, and it is the perfect time to start running outside.
1) I’m addicted to my Garmin 310xt! I use it to record my runs and bike routes right now, and hopefully my swims in the future.
2) Running buddies push me to improve pace which can be a good and bad thing depending on the day. I do love my solo runs!
3) I have trained for all my races solo, but that doesn’t mean much right now because I only have a few under my belt! 🙂
1)Oh I am jealous! I heard the 310xt is amazing!! I checked it out when I was at the Garmin store in Chicago. The only reason I didn’t buy it is because I am not planning on doing a tri any time soon.
2) I agree about running buddies. They help you determine so many things, such as, did I have a bad run, or was it the conditions more challenging?
3) That is awesome you have trained for all of your races solo. I have come to the conclusion that I prefer running with a friend.
I love my Garmin but found I was looking at it too much. This year I have tried not to look at it so much and I have to say I think it’s working. I’ve even forgotten to put it on every now and then. Today it let me down (even though I charged it after my Saturday run it was dead today). I didn’t miss it but I do know how long I ran for and I have a good idea of the distance from previous runs so should be able to record it fairly accurately.
I agree. Sometimes as a runner, I get too obsessed with looking at my pace or distance, instead of just enjoying my run.
I LOVE my Garmin! I use the Garmin 610 for running and also have the Garmin Swim. It’s cool because both import into my Garmin Connect calendar. I have been doing most of my runs for my current training plan solo just because the workouts are so specific and I also have to squeeze them in when I can so scheduling runs with friends can get tough!
Eat and Run is an awesome book by the way….I met Scott Jurek a couple years ago at the Chicago marathon expo…so cool 🙂
It is awesome that both of your watches import into the Garmin Connect Calender. This calender is so helpful – I love it!! Also I find it really encouraging hearing that other runners are doing their marathon training solo too. P.S. So jealous you got to meet Scott Jurek!! I hope I can meet him one of these days.
I have a farming forerunner 305 that I’m obsessed with! I hope it lives forever!!!!
They usually last a really long time. I’ve heard the 305 is awesome!
I don’t run outside without my Garmin!! I love him so much I named him Gary when I first bought him. I used to have a running buddy, but these days all my runs are solo and I am finding myself improving more now that I run alone! I LOVE Eat and Run…GREAT BOOK!
Yes! I am obsessed with the book! I’ve already finished it months ago but I keep going back to it. I will be quoting him often and trying all the recipes. It is good that you have improved since running solo – that gives me hope. Maybe running solo isn’t a bad thing after all. P.S. I love the name you gave your garmin!!