My Garmin -My Buddy

Investing in a runner’s timepiece can be very worthwhile. Even though they are one of the more expensive pieces of runner’s kit, you will probably realise that you cannot do without one after you have been running for a while. You can purchase some of the cheaper options such as the Nike wristband and foot pod as long as you wear trainers with a foot pod option such as all the new Nike’s or some of the new Adidas trainers.

These show how far you have run in what time and how many calories you have burned, also all your run information can be uploaded onto a personal internet site so you can keep track of your times and measure improvements.You will have to calibrate your Nike wristband to your pace so it can record all the information accurately. There are plenty of other devices that record running data such as cheap pedometers, which you can calibrate but which aren’t as accurate as the Nike or other equipment.

The first device I bought to measure my mileage and times was a cheap pedometer from ebay. It had a built in panic alarm and just needed calibrating to a walking pace to measure miles and times. It was quite bulky but at the time I had just started running and was very security conscious. I wore a runners utility belt with space for my phone and keys and I was able to clip it onto that. It was a bit temperamental so I never really knew for sure if it was still running so I had to keep looking down at it to check and the digital readout was very small!

When I began to get bored of just running by myself I joined a local running club. The first time I went I wore my runner’s belt and pedometer. When we all met up at the end we compared mileage and mine was way out! It told me I had run over 0.6km less than I really had. I was a bit disappointed so I bought a Nike wristband. This meant that I could run with the group without the added bulk of my belt. This also was less accurate than the watches my group wore but I don’t think I had calibrated it correctly. Still, I am quite lazy and not very technical and hadn’t got round to asking Eden to do it for me.

The watches that the group wore were Garmins and worked through satellite connection, there was no calibration needed and they were very accurate, as I had seen myself first hand. They were quite bulky but needed no foot pod and were all singing, all dancing! I decided to ask Eden for one for Christmas. Eden came through for me and mine came with a heart monitor. The watch is a bit technical to operate but the lads in the running group and Eden set it up for me and would regularly update it to do more things! It is absolutely brilliant and a fab running buddy. I like it because it not only tracks your mileage but works in km and miles, (whatever your preference is – I prefer miles). It also not only records the time you have taken to run a distance but also informs you of your average pace as well as your actual pace per mile. So if you ran a three-mile race and your laps were all different as they probably will be, it will average them out and you know what you have to beat next time.

As with the Nike wristband, Garmin have a personal internet site for uploading all the information from your watch. But with a difference! The watch comes with a USB stick that you connect to a USB port on your computer and leave it there permanently. When you come in from a run all you have to do is approach your computer and the information is automatically wirelessly transferred. You then have the choice as to whether you want the information to be brought up then and there. I always take this choice and I sit down in my leather chair and see how well I have done that night.

The Garmin watch records calories burned, average pace and elevation of the run. It needs charging pretty regularly but really does not have any negative points at all. It costs around £260.00 but I think it is worth it.
There are loads of other features that I don’t even know about but others will teach you and even fiddle around with your watch for you, especially lads, as they love to impress you with their technical abilities also genuinely love the product. For instance before one of my runs with the group one of the lads changed my watch to ‘auto-stop’ so that when I stopped for longer than a few seconds at traffic lights my watch would stop too. Sometimes you are stuck at traffic lights for a few minutes and this meant my pace would not be affected by the break in running.
When your information is uploaded onto the Garmin internet site you can chose whether you would like other people to view your runs. As I don’t run very far and I sometimes include personal information with my times etc I choose privacy and lock my information. Once I get faster and my runs are in more interesting places, such as in the summer I will not bother with privacy. This means that other Garmin users will be able to view my runs and upload them onto their Garmin device to try out. In this way the Garmin acts like a sat-nav directing you on your way once outside! It doesn’t speak to you but uses arrows to direct your way around the other runner’s run.

When I got my own Garmin I felt like a proper runner! It just does everything you would want as a runner. I am not advising that once you decide to begin to run you really need one of these because you don’t. Other cheaper devices will prove very useful at first until you decide that you want to carry on running and you are more serious about how you run and improving upon your times.
I would advise you to join a running club once you are serious about your running; buy some decent trainers and running clothes; run outside through the winter with the club for security and indoors on your own on a treadmill or run through brightly lit streets. Once you have run through the winter you know that you are a runner and maybe you should start putting the word about that you are in the market for a brand new Garmin watch!

It is very difficult to run through the winter especially with all the snow that we’ve had, so be careful. I always do half and half (half on the treadmill and the other half through the streets). But I don’t run on snow as if you fall you could be out of running for months. This leaves the dilemma of how to record how you run on the treadmill. Of course, you can work out how long it has taken you to run a certain distance, but what is your pace and how have you run your laps? Again, it comes down to money! Maybe for your birthday you could get a Garmin foot pod. This will accurately record all you need to know from your treadmill run. These are around £70. I don’t have one yet but that is because I have a foot injury and I cannot run at the moment!
Enjoy your running in a simple way without gadgets for a while, you really don’t need them until you become curious about how fast you are running and you feel you are fitter and stronger. If you think you need loads of equipment to run it may put you off. I ran in any old clothes and trainers to start with and only bought a pedometer because it came with an alarm and Eden insisted I should run with one even on light evenings. I used this for some time. I then progressed to getting some proper running trainers, then a while later I bought loads of new and pre-owned moisture wicking running clothes cheaply on ebay. Then came my Nike wristband and after some time came the Garmin. It is about evolving and using anything that does the job until you realise that you need something else.