When I started running I didn’t own a stop watch. I started timing myself with my phone. I’d look at the time on my phone before I started and when I stopped. This was problematic. Many times I’d forget what the starting time had been because I was counting laps as I ran, to keep track of my distance. Sometimes I run with my kids, and I am still watching them, so I can easily lose track counting. Many times I had to “guestimate” the distance. When I ran a new route, I “guesstimated” that distance too.
So a few months into running, I bought a simple stop watch at Target. It kept track of the time, so I could concentrate on counting laps. Technology can overwhelm me, so I tend to think the simpler the easier. I knew there were more advanced options out there- I just didn’t know where to begin.
In November, my mom told me she’d love to get me something for Christmas that would help me with running. But she didn’t know what I needed or wanted. I immediately told her a running watch. She said she’d keep that in mind, and I was thrilled on Christmas Eve, when I opened her gift to me and it was a running watch. She told me if it was not what I needed or wanted, she’d return it, credit me the money, and I could pick out what I wanted. I thought the Timex sports watch she had picked out would be perfect.
The next day I went for a run and discovered the watch didn’t have a way to measure distance. I didn’t want to tell my mom though- I didn’t want to hurt her feelings. When she asked me how I liked it, I told her the features I liked about it. When I was finished she asked me if it could measure the distance. I told her no, and she told me she remembered that was one of first things I told her I had wanted in a watch. She said, “Heather, give me the watch back. I am going to return it, so you can get the watch that will help you run the best you can!” I was happy she was so understanding. I had no idea it would be the last Christmas gift my mom would ever give me.
At the end of January, I was in touch with Jake from Garmin. I had heard good things about Garmin and asked him what product he would recommend. I was thinking the Forerunner 305, but after hearing what I wanted, he suggested the Forerunner 405. While I was making my final decision, the call came that my mom was very ill. My sister I left for Minnesota a day later. I forgot about Garmin, and watches for several weeks. My mom passed away one week after we arrived in Minnesota.
After her death I returned home. I had promised her I’d run in a St. Patrick’s Day race- my first 7K- a few weeks later. I didn’t want a new watch. I was mad I had given her back the one she had gotten for me. It wasn’t the ideal watch, but she had picked it out because she thought I would like it, and now it was gone, just like she was.
I can’t explain why every time I ran after that, my Target watch would lose the time. It had never happened before. It kept track of the regular time, but every time I ran, it would lose my running time. During the 7K race, I looked at my watch towards the end, and saw the time was at 33 minutes. After I crossed the finish line, the watch said 3 minutes. It had lost the time again. I decided then I was being silly. My mom had wanted to help me run, and having a reliable watch that kept track of all of these things- time, pace, distance, and routes, just to name a few- would do this.
I ordered the Garmin Forerunner 405 (in green) a few days later. I have had it for just under a month, and I am so happy with it!
The first thing I liked about it was it is easy. The directions are clear, and the watch works the way it is supposed to. I was a bit intimidated at first by all the features it has, but once I went through them, it is really manageable. I also loved the directions are all boiled down in about 40 pages, but there is a quick start sheet too. I hate having a thick manual to read- just to find out how to set the time- it is too time consuming and overwhelming. I had the basic features down in fifteen minutes.
The 405 can be customized and changed for biking as well, but running is the default setting, so it was very easy. The 405 is navigated by touching the rim around the face of the watch. There are two push buttons for start/stop and lap/reset.
There are three training screens total that will give you data while you are running. Each screen can give you up to three pieces of information. You can customize this to only receive one piece of data, or up to nine. With just a touch of the rim, you can change between screens while running. I am using all three screens. My first screen shows the overall time, my pace, and the distance ran. The second screen shows how many laps I’ve done (you can customize laps by time or distance), the time for the lap, and the increase in elevation. The third screen shows average pace time, the grade percentage, and the lap cadence (how many steps you are taking.) There are other data features, like calories burned, you can choose to display.
You can review all your workouts, and it keeps track of your mile splits, so you can see what your time was for each mile ran. It probably goes without saying, but you can change the distance too. If you want to time half miles, or five miles- it can all be customized.
If this sounds like too much information to keep track of while you are running, it is. But you can download all your workout information from the 405 to your computer- all wireless! The software is free to download and it will then display all the data for you. You can export it to Excel, or make custom reports. Since the 405 is GPS-enabled, you can view a Google map on where you ran. The reports are very impressive. They tell you anything you want to know about your workouts.
Some of the other features are GPS, goals and courses you can set, and the Garmin 405 has an optional heart monitor as an accessory. One of the most fun and amusing features is virtual training partner you can train against. It is like you have running partner (a little one) on your wrist! I’m trying to think of a name for mine. 🙂
Another feature I really like is the interval setting. You can tell the 405 exactly what kind of workout or intervals you want to do. You enter how long you want to run, or the distance. Then you enter your resting time or distance, and when you are ready to start, you simply hit the lap button. An alarm notifies you five seconds when your speed interval is ending and the resting interval is about to begin. Then it does the same thing when the resting interval is ending and the speed one is beginning again.
It was a little different navigating through all the screens by touch, and I’m still getting used to it. The other day the alarm that went off every time I ran a mile, stopped. I think I turned it off somehow. I have also noticed when I run at the gym, the GPS can’t find the satellites, so there is no distance data recorded. The manual does say the GPS usually only works outdoors.
I love being able to just glance down and see what pace I am running. I am training to run a seven minute mile in my next race, and I know instantly if I am on pace. Only once, have I actually known what my finish time was in a race before the official results were posted, so I’m looking forward to not only having the time, but the pace, and the mile splits.
The 405 really allows you to just run. If you can hit a button, or touch a screen every now and then to start or stop the recording, it does everything you could possibly want a sports watch to do- and more. It has permitted me to focus on running and breathing, and it is helping me become a better runner. I’m not trying to mentally keep track of distance or time. I’m not wondering if I’m really running faster, or just thinking I am. After the run, I have statistical reports showing my strengths and weaknesses. All those things I had to think of before are now being kept track of by the Garmin, so I can concentrate on running, and my goals.
When my mom passed away, I decided to wear the bracelet she always wore. I’ve ran with it on, but I’m afraid it could fall off when I am running, and I would lose it. It had not been off my wrist since the moment I put it on. It reminds me of my mom, and lets me keep something she had, with and close to me.
Last week, I took my mom’s bracelet off for the first time when I went running. As I put the Garmin 405 on, I thought it is really is the perfect sports watch my mom helped me get. Her final gift to me will assist in improving and achieving my running goals. My mom will never see me run, but I can’t help but feel every time I put the Garmin on, or look at it when I’m running, a piece of her is with me.
(If you are still on the fence about a Garmin, there is a $50 mail-in-rebate offered for the purchase of a 405 or a 405CX between now and May 31st.)