I love my garmin(s)

I was a new runner in '06. I thought I could jump from a 10k to a full marathon w/ easy and thought headbands would make me faster and running specific watches smarter (running wise). The first two were clearly misconceptions in hindsight, but I don't think I'll ever run w/o a garmin.

I first stumbled upon the garmin 301 when training for my first marathon in 2006. Kind of reminded me of the old school Nintendo Power Glove and looks like the GPS systems the Rangers wear in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

It was cool, but it was the first of it's kind and a new model had already been rolled out by the time I had finished my first marathon. Pretty much a no brainer to upgrade as I had bought it from Costco and let's face it, w/o a M16 in my hand, it doesn't look as cool as they do on the Rangers. Thank you again Costco no hassle return policy.



With the 301 returned, I bought the new 305. Much smaller, but still a brick compared to regular wrist watches. I did however, love it and I'd still be running with this thing if I realized how to care for it. It stopped charging and figured the battery had gone bad after 2 years of use. It turns out the connectors were just dirty. I sold it to my coworker for 80 bucks and a beer. I think he still owes me the beer.
The 405 was purchased w/ my 80 bucks and the promise of beer savings. Much easier on the eyes, lighter, and you can wear it as a normal watch. I loved it. Then one day it decided to get really crappy on me. Also the display is limited to only 3 data fields per page. Now that I've started w/ HR specific workouts, I wanted a fourth. This would keep me from scrolling through mid run. I still have this one and keep it as a back up just in case something goes wrong or i forget the 310xt. Creating custom workouts on the fly is also not possible w/ the 405. You have to set up advanced custom workouts on Garmin Training Center then upload to your watch.
This one's Jg's. It's pink. It's cute. Chicks dig it. The end.
The 310xt is what I've been running w/ for the last 3 weeks or so. You can split the top field display below into two fields so that there's four total. I run w/ "time", "lap pace", "distance" and "BPM". These are all things I like to see at any given point during training or races. I do have other fields set up, but during my most recent 26.2 mile adventure, I didn't scroll to any of them. This was surprising.

The battery life on this is dope to. A true multi-sport watch, I can take it for a swim if and when I make that transition.

Basically, if Garmin's selling it, I'm buying.