Archive for January, 2010

The best gift for a sporty friend:

People looking for a gift to their sporty friends would do well to purchase a running watch from the Garmin Forerunner line. Receiving this kind of running watch, is nearly guaranteed to bring a smile to any kind of athletic or training buff.

Here are some of the reasons why a Garmin Forerunner is a great gift for sports lovers:

Its versatile features are suited for both basic and advanced training:

The Garmin Forerunner is filled with dozens of training features that both novices and experts can use for their running training. This is great if you know that your friend is a sports buff but is not sure whether they are already in an advanced level or are just starting out in their training.

This is because beginners would be able to appreciate the easy to use and intuitive menus that the Garmin Forerunner offers. It also can be easily customized to show only the very basic data that the beginners would need.

However, this does not mean that advanced runners would find this running watch inadequate. A few simple customization and you would then have a running watch that is easily able to track the more advanced data that the serious runners would crave for.

The running watch caters to a variety of training activities:

If you just know that your friend is sporty but is not sure what kind of training he or she does, then the Garmin Forerunner would still be a perfect gift. This is because the Forerunner running watch can be easily customized through the use of its settings and other accessories so that it would be able to easily cater to different sports.

As is, the running watch is great for fitness jogging, running training, or even brisk walking. Through the addition of accessories such as cadence sensors, you would be able to easily make the watch adapt to a different form of training such as cycling.

It can help motivate friends:

A great thing with giving a Garmin Forerunner to someone who trains would be that it would help them become more motivated to do their training. This is because they would now be able to set new goals, try to beat old records and generally try to improve upon their training methods so that they would get better times.

Once they see new data that they have not yet improved on, they would be more inclined to try and do their best in their training so that they would be able to improve on it.

As you can see from the reasons stated above, giving a Garmin Forerunner to your sporty friend is a great choice to improve or enhance their training.

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One of the things that runners would often cite as the reason for stopping or becoming less enamored with their training is that they can get tired of it quickly. After all, simply going forward, step by step can get quite tiresome. As such, one of their main priorities would be to find things or activities that would help them train by keeping their routine fresh.

Fortunately for them, one of the things that the Garmin Forerunner series of running watches can do is to help them in keeping their routine fresh. This is because the Forerunner is packed with a variety of features and capabilities that would enable you to enjoy your running training routine more.

These sets of features and capabilities would add new wrinkles to your training routines that you would always be looking forward for the next training session!

Computer connectivity to download and upload training data:

One of the things that can help keep your routine fresh would be to set new goals. Through the Garmin Forerunner’s capability to connect to the computer and download data, you would be able to see other people’s runs and find out if you are able to stack up to them.

If you find yourself lagging behind, then you would be able to use these people’s data as the new benchmark or goal that you have to reach.

Virtual Partners:

The latest editions of the Garmin Forerunner, such as the Garmin Forerunner 405 has a feature called the virtual partner. As the name implies, this is a feature wherein the watch would display someone who would seem to be running the same course as you.

By doing this, you would be able to see just how much you stack up against the partner. You can see if he is beating you in your target pace or distance or speed. As many runners know, there are very few things that can refresh that interest as the spirit of competition or being able to meet a challenge.

That’s why having the virtual partner with you  would help you regain your interest and zest for training, as you would want to train in a way that you would be able to match up with your virtual opponent.

Capability to work with a multitude of accessories:

One of the things that make running training quite tiring is the repetitiveness of the task. After all even if you change the location you are still basically doing the same movements. That’s why changing up your training a bit would help in keeping your interest.

The Garmin Forerunner can help you by being able to accept a variety of accessories. For example, you could try biking or cycling in one of your sessions thanks to the capability of the Forerunner to connect to a cadence sensor that can measure your progress while cycling.

With the variety of features that a Garmin Forerunner has, you can be sure that your training session would always be interesting!

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Many of the runners, both the serious ones and the weekender types, have probably heard of one of the running watches in the Garmin Forerunner line. However, not all of them are willing to purchase it because they are afraid that it would just be a waste of money. They do not think that spending that much for a running watch is worth it.

I think that the people who are not using the Garmin Forerunner are missing out on a lot of things that it can offer. To help alleviate the fears that the Forerunner is a bad outlay, here are some reasons why the Garmin Forerunner is a sound investment for the runners;

It is able to provide accurate data even after repeated uses:

This is important for serious runners. If you are running with a running watch that is not able to accurately provide consistent data as you use it, then your training data would be quite misleading.

If the running watch would suddenly become inaccurate, it may show you as having suddenly improved your pace or speed even if you are just going at the same rate. This would be a big issue for people who really want to monitor their improvement, as the split seconds and even short dances all factor in their progress.

It is durable:

When you purchase a Garmin Forerunner, you are getting a running watch that would last you for nearly all of your runs. You would not have to worry about it breaking down and needing replacement because it was not able to handle the intensity of your training.

If you would think of the number of running sessions that you can do with a Garmin Forerunner running watch, then the price that you have paid for it is surely worth it! It would be a better choice than just getting a cheaper watch and having to replace it time and time again because it keeps on breaking down.

It has the capability to upgrade both hardware and firmware:

Another reason why people are afraid to invest in a Garmin Forerunner running watch is that they are scared that it would become outdated or unable to match up with newer features that other watches would come out with in the future.

However, the good thing with a Garmin Forerunner is that you could easily upgrade both its hardware and software to be able to handle more features, as well as remove the bugs in the programming.

For hardware improvements, you could just purchase the various accessories that come out for the Garmin Forerunner that would enable it to expand its features. There are heart rate monitors, cadence sensors, and other gadgets that would help make it more suitable for other activities.

The software updates are handled by the very easy to use connection between your Garmin Forerunner and your computer.

Based on the reasons stated above, it would be easy to see why purchasing a Garmin Forerunner running watch is a great investment for runners and other sports enthusiasts!

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One of the most famous lines of GPS enabled running watches is the Garmin Forerunner. Many people would purchase them because of the plethora of unique features that it would be able to provide the enthusiasts all the way up to the competitive runners.

However, despite being such a loaded running watch, some people are scared of using it because they are not fully aware of the features that they could use for their running. They become confused about what the capabilities of the Garmin Forerunner watches are, and would rather opt for something that is more familiar or simple.

This is very unfortunate as the range of features that any Garmin Forerunner running watch packs is truly beneficial for any kind of runner. It is just a matter of understanding them and then applying them to your own training routine.

Here are the common features found in the Garmin Forerunners and a short description of what they are able to do for you.

Competition Features:

Virtual Partner - The Virtual Partner feature of the Garmin Forerunners is one of the most famous and more known features of the watch. The virtual partner lets you train against a digital competitor. It shows a virtual display so that you have an idea just how much ahead you are, or how much ground you need to cover to get even with the competition.

Courses - The Garmin Forerunner also lets you compete against your previous workouts through the courses feature in the running watch. It would be your guide if you are finally improving your runs based on how you performed in your earlier ones.

Workout Features -

Simple Workouts – If you are not an aggressive or serious runner, then perhaps the Simple workout feature is for you. It would allow you to input time, distance and calorie goals. This would allow you to know when you have reached them and when you can stop your work outs.

Advanced Workouts – There are also advanced workouts for those who want to fully control the parameters of their training session.

Alert Triggers:

The Garmin Forerunner series of running watches have various audio alert triggers to inform you about the goals that you reach while running. There are pace alerts when you start varying from your preset pace, a time or distance alert when you reach your goals.

While Running:

Auto Pause – When you are running your training routes, there are situations wherein you would need to stop, such as in traffic stops or when others ask for directions. This could wreck your data as it would skew the training that you are doing. Fortunately the auto pause feature would automatically stop the timer and resume the timer based on your speed. If it detects you are not moving, then it would stop.

Auto Lap – The Auto Lap function would automatically start a new lap once you have reached a desired route, or time.

As you can see from the features mentioned above, the Garmin Forerunner is really the only running watch that you need for all your training needs

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The Garmin Forerunner 405 running watch is primarily known to be the watch that runners would purchase when they begin to become serious about their training. This is because the Garmin Forerunner 405 is loaded with a plethora of features that would enable the one who is using it to accurately track the data that are necessary for improvement.

However, because of its emphasis on running, many people tend to be wary of the Garmin Forerunner 405 model. They think that this type of running watch may be a one trick pony and that they would not be able to use it other than for some serious running training. Because of this, they would just rather purchase other sports watches that may not be as loaded with features, but are believed to be more versatile.

Actually, when it comes to versatility, the Garmin Forerunner can match up with the best of them. Not only is it a great running watch but it is also quite adaptable for a variety of situations. Due to its versatility, here are some of the ways where you could expand the use of your Garmin forerunner 405:

Purchase Accessories:

The great thing with the Garmin Forerunner 405 running watch is that is capable of being paired with a variety of proprietary and 3rd party accessories. You would be able to easily attach them through the seamless connections that the Garmin Forerunner 405 packs.

Through the various accessories you would be able to do much more than just run with your Garmin Forerunner 405. For example, you would be able to get cadence sensors, so that you would be able to use it for doing some of your cycling training.

The many accessories that you could get for your Garmin Forerunner 405 would mean that you would be able to easily change up your training. This would enable you to combat boredom as well as try out different activities that are not directly related to  running.

Use it as a Regular Sports Watch:

One thing that sets the Garmin Forerunner 405 from other running watches is that it has a very sleek design. This design is in contrast with other running watches (and even some of the older Garmin Forerunner models) in the fact that it is slimmer and is noticeably less bulky than the others.

While by no means would anyone mistake the Garmin Forerunner 405 for a sleek dress watch, it would be able to stand on its own for other less formal purposes. You would be able to wear it for more casual events without having to deal with the funny looks that people would give you if you had brought a different model of running watch.

As you can see, the Garmin Forerunner 405 would still be able to do well in doing other activities. While it is primarily a running watch, you would still be able to use it for a variety of purposes that are not directly related to your running training.

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