For all you runners...do you have a watch you recommend?

[mom26]

One that helps you to keep pace that is easy to use?

Do you simply use it as a stopwatch so that it is counting up or how do you benefit most from it during your workouts and races?

I'd love brand names and model #'s...thanks so much!!

Thanks!

Kathi...who just ran my first ever 5k this morning :D I was a bit disappointed b/c I had to walk (briskly) a couple of times due to impending digestive issues:glare: I'm SLOW finished in 33:34 but at least I made it across the finish line...it was much more challenging mentally than I'd anticipated and there were 2 huge hills--I train on level ground so I was surprised how these hills wiped me out!

[Angela in GA]

Oh, I don't think you're slow. I haven't run an official 5K yet, but I'm slower than you. I would be thrilled if I could finish in your pace. lol. As for a watch, I'm planning to get a Garmin 305. It's a bit spendy, so dh and I will share one for a bit to make sure we really like it. I did borrow a friends for a couple of months, and did love it. ;-)

[Jennifer in MI]

I have a Garmin watch. I love it! It tells me how fast I'm running at any given moment. It gives me my total time. It tells me how long I've run in miles. I've set it to beep when I slow down below a certain time. I also set it to tell me how fast each mile is.

 

The one downside to it is it takes a while to turn on and find the satellites. So, I turn it on and then get dressed and do my morning routine. Usually it's found the satellites by the time I'm ready to run.

 

Another thought - my dh just bought me the Nike/iPod running thing (I'm sure that's the technical term). I haven't used it yet, but if you already have an iPod, that would be another option for you for a watch. It's supposed to tell you your pace and time during your run too.

 

That said, your time is AWESOME!!!! Hills are KILLER!!! Especially if you don't train on them. I ran a race a month ago and was surprised by the hills. It made the entire race SO much harder - mentally and physically. Your time was just over an 11 minute mile! This was your first race! It'll get easier. And, those digestive issues go away too. (Well, until you increase your mileage! I ran 10 miles today (10 miles!! I can hardly believe it!!) and I've been fighting digestive issues the rest of the day!)

[mom26]

I have a Garmin watch. I love it! It tells me how fast I'm running at any given moment. It gives me my total time. It tells me how long I've run in miles. I've set it to beep when I slow down below a certain time. I also set it to tell me how fast each mile is.

 

The one downside to it is it takes a while to turn on and find the satellites. So, I turn it on and then get dressed and do my morning routine. Usually it's found the satellites by the time I'm ready to run.

 

Another thought - my dh just bought me the Nike/iPod running thing (I'm sure that's the technical term). I haven't used it yet, but if you already have an iPod, that would be another option for you for a watch. It's supposed to tell you your pace and time during your run too.

 

That said, your time is AWESOME!!!! Hills are KILLER!!! Especially if you don't train on them. I ran a race a month ago and was surprised by the hills. It made the entire race SO much harder - mentally and physically. Your time was just over an 11 minute mile! This was your first race! It'll get easier. And, those digestive issues go away too. (Well, until you increase your mileage! I ran 10 miles today (10 miles!! I can hardly believe it!!) and I've been fighting digestive issues the rest of the day!)

 

Jennifer,

Thanks so much for the watch recommendation...I'll google it later and shop around. 10 miles....wowee!!! I can't even fathom going that far...I was so surprised at how much I wanted to just quit and lie down on the side of the road!! I was so apprehensive about doing it....I was not committed until about 40 min prior to the race...I found the registration spot, drove out of the parking lot and then had second thoughts convincing myself that I'd sorely regret not giving it a shot. This was actually just 'practice' for a 5k I'll be running with my hubby and brother in upstate NY on Thanksgiving morning....we are raising money for an organization we support for African relief so I wanted to be sure I could truly do it as people have pledged funds on our behalf.

 

Do you eat before your races? I don't eat or drink before my training runs but I was floored at how many people I saw with coffee cups in hand and danishes that were offered. It's a good thing I did NOT eat or drink anything as I seriously thought I might need to knock on a stranger's door to use their bathroom...God was gracious but like I said I did need to stop running for a few hundred feet 2 or 3 times:lol:

I'm hoping this next race will be easier mentally as I will be with family....also my brother says it is an 'electric' atmosphere b/c their are so many runners and it is a huge community event.

Thanks for your encouragement!

Blessings,

kathi

[mom26]

Oh, I don't think you're slow. I haven't run an official 5K yet, but I'm slower than you. I would be thrilled if I could finish in your pace. lol. As for a watch, I'm planning to get a Garmin 305. It's a bit spendy, so dh and I will share one for a bit to make sure we really like it. I did borrow a friends for a couple of months, and did love it. ;-)

 

Thanks for your encouragement and the recommendation!! Blessings to you as you continue to run!!

Kathi

[6packofun]

I can't afford a Garmin. I'm getting this one: http://www.tech4o.com/p-20-womens-accelerator-rw2.aspx I mainly want it for the speed and distance feature. :)

[mom26]

I can't afford a Garmin. I'm getting this one: http://www.tech4o.com/p-20-womens-accelerator-rw2.aspx I mainly want it for the speed and distance feature. :)

 

Thanks! I just checked the prices for the Garmin so I see what you mean...thanks for the link...

Kathi

[mom26]

I have a Garmin watch. I love it! It tells me how fast I'm running at any given moment. It gives me my total time. It tells me how long I've run in miles. I've set it to beep when I slow down below a certain time. I also set it to tell me how fast each mile is.

 

The one downside to it is it takes a while to turn on and find the satellites. So, I turn it on and then get dressed and do my morning routine. Usually it's found the satellites by the time I'm ready to run.

 

Another thought - my dh just bought me the Nike/iPod running thing (I'm sure that's the technical term). I haven't used it yet, but if you already have an iPod, that would be another option for you for a watch. It's supposed to tell you your pace and time during your run too.

 

That said, your time is AWESOME!!!! Hills are KILLER!!! Especially if you don't train on them. I ran a race a month ago and was surprised by the hills. It made the entire race SO much harder - mentally and physically. Your time was just over an 11 minute mile! This was your first race! It'll get easier. And, those digestive issues go away too. (Well, until you increase your mileage! I ran 10 miles today (10 miles!! I can hardly believe it!!) and I've been fighting digestive issues the rest of the day!)

 

Jennifer: Which model did you get? Do you use the hr monitor? So this watch can use a gps and tell you your exact mileage? Just trying to wrap my brain around the details :)[/b]

[Laurel]

I have a Garmin 305 and love, love, love it. It uses GPS and tells you your exact mileage, and gives you your pace, and your average pace, and severl other things too. I don't use the heart rate monitor, though I did buy the 305 rather than the 205 so I had that option. You can set it to beep at you if your pace is too slow, or at every mile, or at time intervals (for example, if you will run/walk a race, it will tell you when to switch). And you can connect it to your computer and it will give you a much more detailed report, and show your path, and the conditions.

[mom26]

I have a Garmin 305 and love, love, love it. It uses GPS and tells you your exact mileage, and gives you your pace, and your average pace, and severl other things too. I don't use the heart rate monitor, though I did buy the 305 rather than the 205 so I had that option. You can set it to beep at you if your pace is too slow, or at every mile, or at time intervals (for example, if you will run/walk a race, it will tell you when to switch). And you can connect it to your computer and it will give you a much more detailed report, and show your path, and the conditions.

 

Thanks so much!!

[Jennifer in MI]

Jennifer: Which model did you get? Do you use the hr monitor? So this watch can use a gps and tell you your exact mileage? Just trying to wrap my brain around the details :)[/b]

 

I got the 205 model. I didn't really need the heart rate monitor (when I was looking, that option was over $100 more!).

 

Yes, this watch uses the gps and tells exact mileage. I can look down and see at a glance, my pace, how far I've gone, and my total time. There're more - like calories burned, etc too. I come home and plug it into my computer and get a neat graph. I can see exactly where I'm slowing down, elevation, etc. There's a map too. So, I can see if I've slowed down if I click on that spot, where I slowed down on the map.

 

I like it. I haven't tried the iPod with the gps in it yet. So, I can't compare. But dh got that system for me for under $200 (including the iPod!).

 

I like it because I don't have to keep track of how far I've run. The watch does it for me.

 

Good luck with your decision!!

[lynn]

One that helps you to keep pace that is easy to use?

Do you simply use it as a stopwatch so that it is counting up or how do you benefit most from it during your workouts and races?

I'd love brand names and model #'s...thanks so much!!

Thanks!

Kathi...who just ran my first ever 5k this morning :D I was a bit disappointed b/c I had to walk (briskly) a couple of times due to impending digestive issues:glare: I'm SLOW finished in 33:34 but at least I made it across the finish line...it was much more challenging mentally than I'd anticipated and there were 2 huge hills--I train on level ground so I was surprised how these hills wiped me out!

 

I use a simple watch that has a stop watch feature. I think it was $5 at WM. I do want to get this one for Christmas http://www.amazon.com/Garmin-Forerunner-405CX-Sport-Monitor/dp/B0025UHKNS/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1258247710&sr=8-4

[Scarlett]

Another thought - my dh just bought me the Nike/iPod running thing (I'm sure that's the technical term). I haven't used it yet, but if you already have an iPod, that would be another option for you for a watch. It's supposed to tell you your pace and time during your run too.

 

 

 

I have one of these and I do like it. You can upload the data to a web site that shows you graphs of your runs and keeps them all for you. You can set goals and other things like that.

[Scarlett]

I use a simple watch that has a stop watch feature. I think it was $5 at WM. I do want to get this one for Christmas http://www.amazon.com/Garmin-Forerunner-405CX-Sport-Monitor/dp/B0025UHKNS/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1258247710&sr=8-4

 

Wow. That is pricey! I want one tooo!

[Scarlett]

I got the 205 model. I didn't really need the heart rate monitor (when I was looking, that option was over $100 more!).

 

Yes, this watch uses the gps and tells exact mileage. I can look down and see at a glance, my pace, how far I've gone, and my total time. There're more - like calories burned, etc too. I come home and plug it into my computer and get a neat graph. I can see exactly where I'm slowing down, elevation, etc. There's a map too. So, I can see if I've slowed down if I click on that spot, where I slowed down on the map.

 

I like it. I haven't tried the iPod with the gps in it yet. So, I can't compare. But dh got that system for me for under $200 (including the iPod!).

 

I like it because I don't have to keep track of how far I've run. The watch does it for me.

 

Good luck with your decision!!

 

Wait! Your IPod thingy has gps? Mine doesn't have that. ....hmmmm....plus I washed my IPod and although it still works I can't turn it off and the battery runs down.. So I need a new one.

[mom26]

I can't afford a Garmin. I'm getting this one: http://www.tech4o.com/p-20-womens-accelerator-rw2.aspx I mainly want it for the speed and distance feature. :)

 

After a bit of research and knowing what a techno spaz i am, i think I will be getting this watch. It seems simpler and I doubt I'd use all the features of the Garmin--plus the price is a whole lot sweeter :)....I'd really just like to know my time and distance and be able to adjust my pace accordingly....

 

Anyone have any personal experience with this watch? Think I'm making a mistake buying??

Thanks!

kathi

[EarleneW]

I use the Nike/Ipod thing. I love it.

[Karen FL]

I'm waiting on this from Amazon:http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00020J1GW/ref=ox_ya_oh_product

[mom26]

I'm waiting on this from Amazon:http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00020J1GW/ref=ox_ya_oh_product

 

Looks cool...are you training for a triathlon?

Kathi

[Karen FL]

No way. lol. I'm training for a 5K. I wish I had seen this thread when it was posted. The Garmin just looked very pricey.

 

I would have purchased the Nike+ipod Sports Kit. I don't really like wearing watches.

 

I will let you all know how it goes with this Timex watch.

[monalisa]

Its pretty simple, but it works great for me.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Timex-Womens-Ironman-50-Lap-T5K007/dp/B000SZMO7O/ref=pd_sbs_watch_6

 

I got this at Target about 2.5 years ago for about $40. I bought it to train for & run a half marathon at Disney, so I will cry when it dies. It isn't flashy, but it has enough stuff for me - chrono, timer, 2 interval timers (which I used because I do run/walk) and I think 3 alarms.

[PinkTulip]

I second the basic Timex Ironman. I have had mine since I started running 5 years ago, with one battery replacement, and I love it. I do have a Garmin 305 that I love, and use often. But it was a gift and if I didn't have it, I would be just as content with my Timex. The things I love about the Garmin are knowing my mileage, how fast I'm going, and how many calories I have burned, but these are just gravy. The Timex is great for interval training: run/walk and countdown alarms, i.e., run out for 30 minutes, then turn around and run back for 30 min. For about 1/10th the price, the Timex Ironman is a great watch for runners.