From time to time I see that someone comes across this post asking, "Can you swim with the Garmin Forerunner 305?" The answer is, no. The manual says do not swim with it on.
At the beginning of this decade, and I'm quite pedantic, so to me this decade began January 1, 2011, I bought a Garmin Forerunner 305. Here it is:
What is it? It's a GPS training device that you wear on your wrist. It keeps track of your run, including your pace, speed, distance, heart rate, etc. So far, I'm quite pleased with it.
In the past I had no way to tell how fast I'd run a route save noting how many degrees the sun had moved across the sky from the time I started until the time I stopped. That didn't work on cloudy days.
My 305 has solved that problem, and so much more.
It's evident by now that I don't really know how to write a review, or indeed, write. Let me start by just saying what I like about my highly evolved stopwatch:
When you open the box you have to download the software to your computer, and then hook up the device to your computer via the usb cable. It needs to charge for a little while. After your workouts you hook it up and your stats are downloaded to the program where you can view them. You can set up some of the workouts and courses right on the device, but it is way easier to do it on the PC and then download them to your device.
The logs its creates are just OK. They are not as versatile nor customizable as I'd like, but they are usable. Here's a view:
At the beginning of this decade, and I'm quite pedantic, so to me this decade began January 1, 2011, I bought a Garmin Forerunner 305. Here it is:
What is it? It's a GPS training device that you wear on your wrist. It keeps track of your run, including your pace, speed, distance, heart rate, etc. So far, I'm quite pleased with it.
In the past I had no way to tell how fast I'd run a route save noting how many degrees the sun had moved across the sky from the time I started until the time I stopped. That didn't work on cloudy days.
My 305 has solved that problem, and so much more.
It's evident by now that I don't really know how to write a review, or indeed, write. Let me start by just saying what I like about my highly evolved stopwatch:
- It monitors your heart rate. You wear a strap around your chest which communicates with your device through some sort of witchcraft. Knowing your heart rate is important if you plan to train by it, of course. Besides, it's just neat to know.
- It keeps track of your speed, pace, heart rate (I said that), distance, and elevation while you're running. The display is customizable, so you can pick and choose what you'd like to see while running. It also minds your calories burned, but it doesn't tell me how many calories I sink into my facial orifice.
- Once you run a route, you can download it and save it to the device as a course. You can then re-run that course against yourself. More about that later.
- You can custom program any kind of workout you like. For instance, run a 8:30 pace for 2 miles, then run at a 7:30 pace for 3 miles. Or, train in a certain heart rate zone, or mix and match with heart rates, speeds, paces, etc. It's pretty nifty. I have not gotten real creative with this feature yet. All I've done is set up certain distances, like 5 miles. Then I go run, and it keeps track of the distance and tells me when I've completed the distance. Once I find a route I like at the distance I want, I set up a course.
- You can race against yourself using the Virtual Trainer. Once you've run a course, the next time you run it you can compare your progress with the last time you ran it. Awesome. On an earlier post I wished someone would invent such a thing. It was already done! Thank you Mr. Garmin. Of all the features, this is the one that makes me run faster each time.
When you open the box you have to download the software to your computer, and then hook up the device to your computer via the usb cable. It needs to charge for a little while. After your workouts you hook it up and your stats are downloaded to the program where you can view them. You can set up some of the workouts and courses right on the device, but it is way easier to do it on the PC and then download them to your device.
The logs its creates are just OK. They are not as versatile nor customizable as I'd like, but they are usable. Here's a view:
As much as I like this fancy watch, it did let me down once. I was running a 5K course and was nearing the end. I kicked it in hoping to get a good time, but right then the 305 lost the course. I continued to where the finish line should've been, but it said I was off course. That was inconvenient, but it hasn't happened any other time I've run a saved course.
So what else can I say? It can keep track of your laps, you can strap it on and go without worrying about complicated set up, or you set up a very complicated workout. There is a cycling setting, and another setting for "other" sports. There is also a piece sold separately that you attach to your bike which then monitors your cadence and strokes per minute.
Of course none of these features will do you any good unless you go outside and use them.
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