Hey all, hope everyone is having a lovely weekend. A few of you have asked how I have been (and I don’t want to harp on about it)- I am feeling uncomfortable, but not in awful pain or anything. I have tried going for little walks (as am still off work but want to see how I get on with being a bit more active) but for some reason that makes it much worse, so I am not walking too far. Still a week and a half to my hospital appointment, and although my brain is going mad I know that I can cope with how I feel right now.
First and most exciting news- I bought myself a Garmin . What with the Kindle I am now nearly in the 21st Century according to Andy (still only have a texting phone, no internet for me!). Anyway, I got a postcard from Sweatshop saying that the Garmin 110 would be half price for this week, so I decided to get one. I did read reviews on Amazon and it seemed pretty good. I have run a few times with Andy’s Garmin- no idea of the number but it was a basic and pretty big one (plus he has it set to km so I spend the entire time working out the miles). At the moment I have got it out of the packet, charged it, and read some instructions. Oh, and located the satellites. I am thinking I will try it on a walk at some point, and so the plan is once I can start running again I will know how to use it. I have had my Nike+ for nearly 2 years now, and although I really like it, I do need to callibrate it a lot because it works on foot striking, not GPS. Plus I know that I really do love running, and it is not just a fad, so I know I will get some good use out of it. This one has no HRM, but I did not think I would use it, and the HRM ones were much more expensive.
I also got a couple of running magazines to read- again not sure if I am just taunting myself because I can’t do any of it yet. Ah well, I will be well prepared. (Sweatshop postcard in the background too).
And guess what- there are bloggers popping up in magazines all the time! Freya was in Women’s Running mag, Rose is in Runners World, and.
Phil is in Running Fitness! How exciting!
OK, so if you have a Garmin (or other brand of GPS watch) which one do you have and what features do you really find great? Does anyone have the same one (and any pointers would be fab- like how do you turn it off???).
How into the 21st Century technology are you? Internet/ smart-phones etc? I have had my current phone for over 2 years and it does me fine,although when I was in hospital I was thinking that an internet phone would be good as it would have given me something to do. But then I am not sure if I would feel the need to check things at lunch time/ all the time, and feel a bit more stressed, whereas now I can only check emails at home and other times I know it will wait. Makes sense?
I’m clearly right back in the 20th century since I have neither a Garmin nor a Kindle! 😉 I have an internet phone simply because that was the upgrade I was sent last time around. You’re right, it can be handy but I really don’t like the thought of being permanantly logged into facebook or having a constantly updating news feed via wifi (or whatever). I think it’s the paranoid in me but no, I like to have the internet off most of the time! A lot of the stuff we have these days is so not necessary…what did people do before??? Imagine! 😉
Hope you continue to feel okay! x
yeah! congrats on your garmin! your posts always seem to be at the top of my google reader, and i’m very excited about this one because until just now, i didn’t look at these satellite watches as anything but a calorie tracker / mile tracker which obviously i can’t do because i’d become addicted and re-enter my years of obsessive compulsive running most likely. BUT it does seem to be a nice product for location services, as i think the “garmin” brand implies, and i’ve only now just realised this after having read your post. i walk through the enchanted forest with my dog often, and we often get lost, adding hours to our hike (whoops, but not such a bad thing). 🙂 but i think that my iPhone can also serve as a satellite, so i’ll be saying nay to the watch.
i’m a mac girl ALL the way. everything is mac. at first because mac is pretty. now because it performs (and pretty helps, too). in fact, i’m currently reading the biography of steve jobs (his management and business sense was VERY pretty). xxx
I have the 305 forerunner, which I absolutely love. I don’t use any of the nifty features, like virtual partner etc. I just use it to record distance, speed and such. I look at my pulse sometimes, especially if I’ve been sick to see if the infection’s gone, but mostly I just get annoyed by the HRM and I think I might stop using it soon. I’ve only had problems with the 305 once or twice in the 3+ years I’ve had it, and they were easily solved by resetting it. Unfortunately, there are newer models now and Garmin has stopped supporting this one, so if there’s something wrong with it I’ll have to get a new one.
Hope you feel better soon so that you can take your new Garmin out for a spin!
I have to admit I’m well and truly a techno junkie, I love my iphone and can’t wait to get an ipad! I love my garmin, it is a pretty old fashioned looking bulky one, but it has made tracking my runs easier than when I used to wear my iphone (I used to worry about the phone getting wet so having the garmin means I’m happier to run in worse weather). Hope your hospital appointment comes round quick for you x
So sorry you’re still not feeling yourself and hope the next 10 days go quickly…
I’ve got a pretty basic phone too and no Kindle; I like actually turning pages! Sounds like a bargain on the Garmin too; hope it’s not too long before you can use it 🙂
I have the pink and grey Forerunner 110 and love it. It’s very basic, but that’s what I need as I just want to know how far I’ve gone, how fast and how many calories I’ve burned. I have the HRM version, but I’ve only used that feature a couple of times, so from my point of view I would say that you’re not missing out.
I’m not a tech-head, but I do have a smartphone, Kindle and Garmin.
I got the forerunner 305 for Christmas and I absolutely love it. I love that I can know my distance more accurately as I was using mapmyrun before that and putting all the routes in manually. I also love that I can know my pace, as it means I can do speed/interval workouts outside now instead of on the treadmill. I haven’t used any of its snazzier features as I’m still getting used to it, but I will have to have a look at the manual.
All sounds positive 🙂 I used to use mapometer.com to map my routes, and to help callibrate the Nike+, but it was never as accurate as a GPS (which I know are not 100% but are better). Might take it out on a walk to practise using it.
I’ve had teh Forerunner 305 for a couple of years now and I feel completely lost when I run without it! Knowing your pace will make a massive difference to your running!
My sister has the 110 and she loves it! I think that you’re not supposed to turn it off? When you’re not using it for running it just turns into a normal watch.
I’m sorry to hear you’re experiencing discomfort at the moment. I really hope that they can get it all sorted out for you soon hunny! x
Your Garmin sounds fab! A great way to track your running progress. I’m super jealous!
ooh running fitness? that’s one I haven’t heard of (will have to hide it at work as I’ve restricted Mike’s landrover mag buying!!!)
As you know I have the 110 (without HRM – I’d rather not know!) and I love it. It’s basic enough not to annoy me but still tells me what I need to know and I love looking at all my reports on the garmin pictures and making pretty pictures with my routes!!!!!
It’s rubbish that you still can’t even walk very far and yet have to wait for your appointment. I hope you can find some distractions (lots of lesson prep for when you do go back????) Although I guess that doesn’t constitute relaxation!
Rosexxx
Thanks Rose- yes the magazine is good but I hardly ever see it- I got this one in WHSmiths, but never see it in Sainsbury’s or Waitrose (where I normally get tempted by magazines). Martin Yelling does articles for it (he sometimes talks about that on MT)- it is sort of more by runners for runners I think. Yeah I like the shapes you make with your routes- I will need to think of some funny shapes to do 🙂
I am going to get a lot of work emailed to me so I can get on and do some planning as the poor teachers have been left to it a bit, plus I feel out of touch with what is going on.