One of the coolest things I got for Christmas this year was a Garmin 410 forerunner watch. I like it a lot and here’s why.
Regular watch size
I’ve always liked the idea of the Garmin. The concept is simple. You get a watch that can track where you run and how far and how fast. It had built-in GPS so you didn’t need to wear a device on your shoe to keep accurate measure of the distance you’ve gone. But I never liked the fact that the old Garmin was huge. I mean it took up your entire wrist. It wasn’t like a watch, it was like an iPad on the back of your hand. This certainly didn’t work for a joggler. So, I avoided the Garmin and instead went with the Polar watch. My Polar was great but it had limitations which I’ll get to in a moment. But this new Garmin 410 is much different. It is the size and weight of a regular watch. That is a huge plus!
Easy Garmin controls
As a joggler it’s difficult to push buttons while the bean bags are in the air. But this new Garmin 410 is different. It has this area on the outside of the running watch that let’s you control it simply by hitting the side of the watch. No hard to press buttons at all. I think it’s great. I don’t even have to stop joggling to control the watch.
New running system
Before I got this Garmin 410, the old way that I kept track of my workouts was this. I’d carry my iPhone and start up the Runkeeper app. Then I would start my Polar watch and then start running. If I had to stop at a red light or otherwise get stalled, I would click my watch to pause the time (the iPhone clock continued to run). Then I would restart the watch and continue on for the rest of the run. By the time I got to the end of my run, my “official” time was what was on my watch and my unofficial time was on the iPhone. The iPhone however, kept track of the route that I took. Anyway, then I’d have to go to my computer and enter all the data including the distance from the Runkeeper app and the time from my watch. It was all a bit complicated.
The Garmin 410 changes all that. It keeps accurate time and accurate distance. And it even has a way to download all the data from your watch directly to the computer. No manual data entry required! I’m pretty happy about the new watch.
Now, if I could only figure out how to use all the capabilities of this Garmin. It’s not exactly intuitive and the controls are a little wacky. I’ll figure it out but for now I’m still manually entering data. I’m happy with this watch though. If you’re looking for one, you might consider getting one of these Garmin 410.
Joggle on!
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I’ve been using the Nike+ app for a while on my iphone. It has GPS and it also will give you audio updates every X minutes on your average pace. However if you unplug the headphones it will not do this through the speaker. Having audio pace updates without headphones would be great for a joggler.
I told you all that to ask you this: Does it have audio pace updates?
I’ve never used the audio updates. Runkeeper does have audio pace updates but I guess I always run by feel so I’ve never used it. Maybe that’s one reason I’m not faster. lol
One of the downsides of Runkeeper is that the GPS system is off a little. The distance run does not always match my Garmin. I’m not really sure which one is more accurate but I’m guessing the Garmin.
Just got the Garmin Forerunner 10 today… Haven’t tried it yet, but I am excited about using it. I never liked the bulkiness and weight of them, but this one is pretty small and lightweight which is nice. Especially for joggling.
I’ve had that watch for a few years now and I never run without it. One tip that took me a while to learn is to push both of the buttons simultaneously to lock the bezel before you run. Otherwise, the slightest dampness makes it go to a wacky setting.
I got a Garmin HR monitor to go with it for Christmas this year, and would highly recommend it. You can add another dimension of data to your joggling.
Good tip Phil. I’ve had that bezel snafu already. I like the watch thus far. I haven’t tried the heart monitor but I have one. Maybe I’ll put it to use. Now, I just have to figure out how to download my data from the watch.
Also, how accurate is the GPS? Yesterday I did a 4.5 mile run and it only showed 3.55 miles. Usually it is right but this time is was off a bit.
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