Why I'll Never Dump My Garmin

During the summer of 2008, I was training for my first half-marathon and starting to get really in to running.  Today, there are a handful of very good training apps for smartphones - in 2008, there was nothing available for my BlackBerry.  In order to guess my pace, I divided the number of miles I ran by the total time it took to complete my run.  While I was running I had no idea what my pace was, so trying to pace myself during a race or training run was hopeless.   I used the google maps pedometer to plan training routes - I took a piece of paper with me with permutations of my route on it so I would have options if I wanted to cover extra distance or needed to cut my run short.  Similarly to how I had no idea what my pace was, I had no sense of the distance I'd covered.  Those would come with experience.
My father gave me a Garmin Forerunner 305 as a birthday gift that year.  It was the perfect gift.  I was able to see my pace as I ran and adjust my speed and effort accordingly.  Runs began to feel better and I began to get faster.  Knowing how it felt to go a certain speed was extremely useful.  Knowing the distance I'd covered gave me a new level of freedom - as I knew the distance of certain "extra loops" or out-and-backs, I could add on to my run ad-hoc.  I no longer needed to carry around a sweaty piece of paper.

Photo courtesy of Garmin

I've had my Garmin for four years now and not only does it still work, Garmin still sells it.  Given all of the changes in technology over the past four years, that's really impressive.  What's not-so-impressive is that I still only use the bare-bones capabilities on it.  Embarrassing but true: I have yet to do anything on my phone other than time my run and lap splits.  One day I'll use the heart-rate monitor and upload results to my computer...  Until then, I'm perfectly happy using it for my (simple) purposes.

I know there are fancy touch-screen GPS watches now, but I much prefer having buttons to press while I'm running and sweaty.  I now have an iPhone app that serves a similar purpose, but I like to have my Garmin on long runs; my Garmin is more accurate, and the app runs down my iPhone battery.  My Garmin also has quite a bit of sentimental value - it's been with me since the beginning - I can't imagine replacing it.  I'll keep using it until it dies.  Given the abuse I've inflicted on it over the years, that may never happen.