Runners United: the one where we talk about running, life, the universe and everything inbetween

[Pawsnclaws]

New thread everyone!

Rest for me today - just six days to go and I've woken with a sore throat .....

Can you sell me on a Garmin? I seem to be alone not to have one - what do you find it most useful for? Has it helped 'performance'?!

Yesterday, did a BEAUTIFUL 10 mile run down the hill where I live, up the other side of the valley, along the ridge and back across the valley in glorious sunshine. Not the fastest 10 miles I have ever done, but good practice I reckon for Cornwall on Sunday. Am going mad booking myself in for things next year... target is for runs to get a bit quicker (and just a bit less hurty) over the winter. Would a Garmin help? (if I can persuade Santa to be generous...)

Ooo, cross-posted. A use I hadn't considered....

snigger at Fanny :)

Thanks Quenelle You've done the route and you know it is quite harmless really (apart from the undulating bits...I am not used to those..very flat round here!)...it was just the heat that made it tough but that didn't stop the first lady smashing the course record (she did it in 34 mins!!!). The by-pass bit was relatively quiet traffic wise but a bit hair-raising! Never run that close to fast cars before but I see that they don't really have a choice with the route.
Glad I did it though...would do again if cooler...and the technical t-shirt is very good (apart from being a MANS small size!)

Fanny enjoy your 8.5 miles :)

runningallday - I thought your qu re performance was directed at fanny

Oh dear. Think I shall slope off and google....

Serious Garmin response :) Yes...it has helped me alot as I have no idea whatsoever how fast I am going and was always liable in going too fast and killing myself and then wondering why! I can check my pace and make sure it is relative to the type of run I am doing. I have used it in the past properly by getting it to beep at me when doing intervals...tells you to speed up or slow down..but I haven't done that for a while (maybe I should!). Yes...you can get obsessed by them and I swear it has made my wrist permanently ache (I have the chunky 305) but I wouldn't be without it!

Thanks Futurity - like the idea of pacing - tend to run at the same steady plod-rate whatever I'm doing.

I have an iPhone with a heart rate monitor adaptor (wahoo fitness + garmin chest band) and an app (iSmoothRun and RunKeeper) that can tell me all my stats during intervals, whether I'm sticking to my chosen pace or whether my heart rate is skyrocketing and I need to ease off. Have a special belt for the iPhone so I'm not carrying anything - somewhere to put my door key as well.

Might have gone for garmin watch if I hadn't already had iPhone and a addiction to gadgets and apps.

It was as I thought.... I run faster than I shag.

Just did 8 miles at easy steady pace 8.30m/m - 1hr 8mins. Good run although wind very strong on way back and runners tummy/turtle popping it's head again so had to slow down last mile as otherwise there would have been a skid situation on the main road by ours... I've had a weekend of eating crap so it shows on me when I do longer runs. Back to healthy eating today so that flushes me out. Too much information, I know but who else can I tell?

Runingallday how i laughed when I read your post as I knew it had crossed with mine. Re Garmin, my friend who runs with me a lot on my LSR and we do exactly the same pace puts her runkeeper on. Her runkeeper had our pace on our 13 miler at weekend at 9.20m/m whereas Garmin was 8.50m/m, huge difference if you are training IMO. I have the 110 Forerunner and was £100 from Amazon and I would CRY if I didn't have it now as it is fan-fucking-tastic. It isn't a bells and whistles one but it gives me everything I need. Better than any man.

I love my Garmin, I have the cheaper version (very light though - like a normal watch). I have runkeeper on my iphone but tend not to use it as I find the woman on it a bit bossy .

I sometimes head out without it though, I don't like to get too obsessed with how far or fast I'm going. Same with music, I generally have it on (it drowns out the huffing and puffing) but do without if it's a particularly nice evening and I'm running somewhere nice.

fanny!!!!! As if I don't get enough of that sort of toilet talk from my 12YO and my newly toilet trained 2YO ("LOOK Mummy, it looks like a snail"), not to mention sniggering DH.

I get a few mins between post-dinner clear up and bedtime routine and I find you're talking about turtleheads! Go to you room oh how I wish I would be sent to my room for 41 mins all by myself

Running I don't have a Garmin. You can be my friend if you like [shoves up on chair to make room]

Cross post with fanny. I'm also prone to Code Brown moments. I try and avoid wheat and gluten generally, but with the race on Sunday it will be strictly off the menu. I don't want to be the woman running with unintended go-faster stripes on her shorts .

It's a mid life crisis Bonkers. I have 3.6 years left until I am 40 so using the time to be as juvenile as I can possibly be. I will then wear my facial bra to stop said sagging of jowls seen as us runners are destined to be wrinkly old boots!

Sorry bonkers I've lowered the tone even further.

I took a picture of ds3's first potty poo on Sunday for DH. He was delighted. What more can I say, we're clearly that sort of family .....

blimey! all i said was that i was going to do a run without my Garmin - and now everyone is talking about them...

I did almost 15k - out along Dublin Bay and then round the Poolbeg peninsula (there's a nice nature reserve), where there were various seabirds poking about in the sand. Then through the docks (and water treatment plant), over the east river, along the Liffey and up through the north city and home. It was weird to have no bleeping and no sense of time, pace or distance (I've no watch either, and didn't want to keep stopping to check phone) - it was nice, if a bit disorientating. Weather more or less perfect, dry, bright, cool, but windy.

all good; need to buy a watch though

Fanny do you think if I buy a Garmin, I'll be able to do 8.30min/m and call it easy? Please?!

rhet was thinking of you before when you said about getting faster. My steady pace has been far easier since I have done hill training. I haven't easily maintained 8.30m/m for 8 miles for long time. LOADS easier. LSR includes tonnes of them and I aim to run them similar speed as I do rest of run. Then next time I run I fly.

yep, hills are good; dublin is not a very hilly city, but my regular runs do include some hills which I should try and run a bit more often. Would give right arm to run 8.30m/m for one mile, let alone 8!

I didn't tell you before Futurity for obvious reasons but a runner was killed by a lorry on that stretch a couple of years ago. It wasn't during a race, he was a world class blind athlete who was out training. I'm ashamed to say I don't remember his name. Very sad it was, the driver hit him with his mirror, wasn't even aware he was there.

On a less serious note, am now considering using my Garmin to time things during labour. What do you all think?

(Sorry for double post - stupid BB.)

Ha! No double post!

so this is turning into the multiple alternative uses for a garmin thread...great suggestions so far!

That's very sad ...I do remember the story now that you mention it...didn't realise it was there. Wing mirrors are dangerous for both runners and cyclists

Lol at using Garmin for labour! The gps will come in very useful for all those walks up and down the labour ward