|

|

Running Mojo and My New Garmin Forerunner 10

I shared a few weeks ago that my running mojo was waning. On the advice of several friends, I decided to sign up for a 5K to help inspire me get back out on the roads more regularly. As I timed my runs, preparing for the 5K and hoping to improve on personal best, I soon realized that I had a big challenge ahead of me if I wanted to meet my goals.

My trainer suggested a Garmin — a watch with GPS that tells you your current pace in addition to tracking your miles and your time. She thought it might help me to pace myself so that I could improve my performance.

I’d heard about these fancy-dancy running watches, but I figured I wasn’t serious enough to warrant the investment. Still, after talking to her, I was intrigued so I went online and took a look.

I was a bit taken aback at the prices, but then I discovered the Garmin Forerunner 10 — Garmin’s newest offering and their cheapest watch yet. Or, as they call it, their “entry-level” watch. That sounds a lot classier than “cheapest,” I suppose!

At any rate, it retails for $129.95 — which is still an investment, but it’s much more palatable than the prices of the other Garmin watches on the market.

My excitement immediately deflated when I realized it wasn’t for sale yet at Amazon, and I had Amazon credit I wanted to use for it. So I waited. And waited. Soon my 5K was a week away and the watch was still on pre-order.

I was tempted to buy one of the pricier models so I would have one for my race, but I decided to be smart and wait. I ran the race without a GPS, and we all know how well THAT turned out.

Which is fine, but it was a bit of a wake-up call. I’m clearly at a plateau, and I need to change it up and challenge myself if I’m going to get faster.

A few days later, my friend @RobinElton alerted me that the Forerunner 10 was now for sale and she had ordered one. I wasted no time clicking over to Amazon to order my own. It came in the mail this week.

Saturday morning, I wore it for the first time. It had been about a week since I last ran, so I set out with no particular goal in mind; I just wanted to give the watch a test drive and see how it worked for me.

My first concern — that it would be complicated to operate — was quickly alleviated. I took a glance at the Quick Start manual before leaving the house, and I found it to be pretty intuitive to operate after that.

It was fun to see how fast I was going, and I was surprised at times. This is what it looked like at the end, when I went back to see the final stats on my run.

It saves up to 7 runs on the watch, but you can sync it with your computer, and it will save them all indefinitely.

It has up to 5 hours of battery life, which is plenty for me!

It does NOT have a heart rate monitor; it truly just tells you your time, your distance, your pace, and your calories burned. Which is all a novice runner really needs, after all — at least, it is all that this novice runner needs!

It comes in bubble gum pink, lime green and black with red trim so there’s something for everyone. It is definitely large, but it’s attractive and easy to read and operate. I am delighted.

I definitely felt that knowing my pace helped push me to run faster when my discipline was waning, and it kept me from starting off too fast and wearing me out too soon. It is much simpler to operate than my Jogger app and definitely better for pacing than my cheap Timex sports watch. I’m definitely a happy camper!

Now I guess I will have to sign up for another 5K and see if it helps me improve upon my last time! Who’s gonna join me!?

Join The Conversation

9 Responses

  1. I saw this when you put a picture on facebook the other day and actually mentioned it to my husband. It might go on my Christmas list. I think it can even motivate me. Nothing like a cool new gadget to get you moving. 🙂
    ~FringeGirl

  2. I finally broke down and bought the Garmin 210. I love it! I’m a numbers nerd, so tracking miles and pace information makes me happy. I think you’ll be surprised at how much you’ll like having instant feedback if you decide to start really training for a run.

  3. I’ve considered getting some kind of watch, but Runmeter works well enough for me, most of the time. (I accidentally turned it off during a run the other day though)

  4. Stop it! You are tormeting me! I want one. Just trying to decide if I am sucking it up and getting it now or trying to hold off & having Santa get it so it’s under the tree at Xmas. Not sure I can wait. My Mom called TWICE in the middle of my run today (5 miles!!) & it froze up Nike+… SO ANNOYING

    1. Oh yeah. When is that !? I have Nov 11 on my cal for a 5K. I am actually dealing with some plantar fasciitis so I can’t really push myself. but I would still run one just for the practice.

  5. Thanks for this info. I got the Garmin for christmas, from a great sale at City Sports.com, with 20% off and free shipping, came in right at 100.00. I got pink also!!! I have used it once, and loved it! But maybe I didn’t charge it completely before the first run. The second run I went to put it on and it wouldn’t find my location – needs to be charged again. I wasn’t expecting that. thanks for the great recommendation. I too am trying to increase my speed a bit this year.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Search
Close this search box.