Monday, January 7, 2008

Garmin 305 Forerunner

One of the coolest products I use in my training is the Garmin 305 Forerunner. Honestly, used with the new WKO+ software, you can be more in touch with your fitness and race-preparedness than ever before! And I'm saying this as a runner of over 16 years, who has competed at the NCAA Championships, and some of the biggest races in the world.

This item will really help you to understand better what your economy is, by showing you the relationship between your pace and your heartrate, much like a cyclist uses power and heartrate. If you pay attention to my coaching blog, I will be discussing the importance of this feature, and how it works to keep your training precise and maximize your training time.

The features included in this GPS system include:
  • Current and average pace
  • Lap recording with lap pace, auto lap recording by distance, (every mile or km), or a lap point on a course
  • Distance, with alerts for every mile or km
  • Heartrate zone settings, with alerts to keep you in the zones you want to be in
  • Elevation, with total ascent and descent per lap and throughout the workout
  • For cyclists, it records speed, and will even give cadence with some additional hardware
Is the Garmin 305 a perfect tool? No, of course not. But it is the best tool out there for running, and even it's imperfections can be accounted for, and even while it isn't 100% accurate, it is very consistent!

If you're considering getting one, you can order it here for under $200! (One of the best prices I've seen!):
Garmin 305 Forerunner

In the coming weeks I will discuss the 305, and how to maximize this tool for your training.

Vance

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey Jim,
I totally agree! For my last 5k, I changed my 305 to auto lap every 1/4 mile so I could easily relate each lap to 400's on the track. It worked great to keep me from pushing too hard and kept me near my goal pace!

Anonymous said...

Perfect timing!

I had been holding off on buying this item for some time in anticipation of a new version being released at CES. With the lack of compelling new features in the new Garmin 405, I ordered a 305 and it arrives today! I can't wait to put it to the test. And I picked it up from the same spot you suggested....what a great deal!