Garmin Running

Garmin Forerunner Satellite Connection Strength

Mick Doolan — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 21:23:52 +0000

I was hesitant to buy a Garmin Forerunner after hearing many people saying that the satellite connection can be spotty at times particularly around thick trees, tall buildings, cloudy days, etc. I wondered about the accuracy of the pace and distance especially if the watch didn’t have a strong connection with the satellites. How could the watch give accurate readings if it is going in and out of satellite connection?

I wanted to try it out for myself after reading some favorable reviews of the new satellite receivers included in the 305 and 405. I can honestly say that all of these things are not a problem at all with the both of these watches. Some of the earlier models had some problems with these previously mentioned faults, but the newer receivers in the more recent models seem to have fixed all of these problems.

Once linked to the satellites, I don’t give it another thought anymore.

On one particular running route, the trail winds directly under one extremely long and continuous overpass. I have had the watch beep and let me know that it has lost the connection, but continues to reestablish this link. By the time that I emerge from the shadows of the overpass, the watch has already re-found me and adjusts for the time that it lost connection. It automatically calculates the distance between where signal was lost and then found and adds this to your total running distance to make sure that it doesn’t short you on mileage for that run.

With both the Garmin Forerunner 305 and 405, the signal is incredibly strong and records incredibly accurate data from every single run.

How accurate is the Garmin Forerunner?

Mick Doolan — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 20:56:40 +0000

When running with my Garmin Forerunner, I am often asked about the accuracy of GPS watches. I wondered this same question before buying my first Garmin, especially when comparing purchasing a GPS watch, footpod, Nike+ sensor, etc. There are so many products that are on the market to track your distance and speed.

I have found that the most accurate product for me has been a GPS watch. I tried everything that I could think of to test its accuracy when I bought my first Forerunner 305. It faired incredibly well through each of my little tests.

After the watch locates satellites, you can navigate to a screen that shows you exactly how many satellites have been found and will tell you a margin of accuracy. Usually, when I check this screen I have found that it says that it knows where I am within 20-30 ft. This is the difference of only a couple seconds over the course of a mile. I’ll take that as being pretty accurate.

When I showed my sister all the things that my Forerunner could do, she immediately ran out and bought one as well. We decided to go for a run both of us wearing the watches. If the Forerunner is accurate, when we finish our 15 mile run, they should both say the same exact distance. At the end of the run, we found that the watches had less of a tenth mile difference between hers and mine. This small discrepancy is insignificant over the course of 15 miles.

I tested the watch with both driving a course that I ran to check it with my car’s odometer, measured courses on Google Earth (and other mapping software), ran the same loop over and over to see if the mile markers are in the same locations, etc.

It didn’t come easily, but I now fully trust my Garmin Forerunner. I know on a 10 mile run that when the Garmin says 9.92, it means that I need to keep going because the Garmin doesn’t lie.

Run Track Workouts Anywhere

Mick Doolan — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 05:07:46 +0000

With a GPS running watch, any road, path, or trail can be the perfect place to run your next speed session. I live near a quiet sidestreet that is about a mile long and doesn’t have many houses. This is perfect for my intervals and repeats.
You will no longer need to rely on the track for these workouts as you can set the watch for specific distances and see how far you have gone. For example, I will often run a half mile interval followed by a timed recovery. The Garmin Forerunner can be set to beep as your interval begins and then again as you hit the half mile mark. I especially enjoy that the watch logs the time and distance so that I can look back on my workout results.
With the Garmin giving accurate distances, any type of speed work that was previously measured and timed on the track can now be done anywhere.

Maintain an Even Heart

Mick Doolan — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 05:01:44 +0000

As an alternative to the workout “Keep an Even Pace”, this workout is geared towards maintaining an even heart rate. I like to do this workout during recovery runs and try to keep my heart rate in a specific zone or within a percentage of my max heart rate.
This is not as easy as it seems and will force you to either go slower or faster to stay within that zone. I like to do this on recovery runs to force myself to slow down to my easy pace so that I can be ready for my hard workouts and avoid turning my easy days into a race.

Keep an Even Pace

Mick Doolan — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 04:56:21 +0000

As you head out on a long run, try to maintain a steady pace for as even splits as possible. The goal is to finish your run and see your pace line on the Garmin Training Center graph be perfectly flat. Make sure to give yourself a window of acceptability. For example, the first time that I did this particular workout, I tried to keep it within a 10 second window of my goal pace. After a couple times of doing this workout, you will find it easier to make that window smaller and smaller.
Obviously, it will help not to run in an area with lots of traffic or stop lights where you would have to continually slow down, stop, etc.
For added difficulty, tray to maintain these even splits while running up and over hills. This will have you pushing up to maintain the pace, but will force you to take it easier on the way down.
This type of workout will teach you how to maintain even splits throughout a race or workout and how it feels to hold that pace for an extended period of time. Specifically with longer races, it will force you to train to run the last miles at the same pace as when you started your run.

Maximize potential

Mick Doolan — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 05:53:05 +0000

You can easily maximize your potential as a runner with the addition of a Garmin running watch. This will allow you to track your pace, distance, heart rate etc. Knowing these things will allow you to reap the most possible benefits out of every workout allowing you to be the best runner that you can be.