I’ve never been so excited to try out a new toy in my entire life. I took my Garmin Forerunner 205 out of the box and read the entire manual on Tuesday night and on Wednesday night I was ready to go put it to the test.
The first thing I noticed was how freakin’ huge it was. Look how big it is on my manly wrist? (picture right) I would put it around my ankle but then I’d just look like someone under house arrest or Lindsay Lohan when she had that ankle monitor, and if I looked like Lohan I’d have to spend even more time in front of the mirror, naked.
So I strapped it on and started my run. I decided beforehand that I wasn’t going to keep looking at because a) that’s how faceplants are born and b) I didn’t want to be distracted from my run. After a few minutes though, my curiosity got the best of me and I looked at it to see how it was doing. Nothing. I was disappointed to find it staring blankly back at me. The timer was running but there was no distance displayed, no pace, nothing. I kept running until I had gone a mile, hoping that it would start to pick something up. No luck. It was not registering that I had gone any distance at all.
At that point I was so disappointed and mad that I just got off the treadmill and put it back in the box!
I’ll give it one more chance tomorrow when I run outside and if it still doesn’t work I’ll be shipping it back with a strongly worded letter!
At first I thought that was one of your kids' arms. (I still kind of hope it is.) My word! How do keep your balance with that super computer on your wrist?
ReplyDeleteHey Vanilla, I have been checking your blog for about a week now. Great blog. anyho, do you have the foot pod for when your on the treadmill? It will not pick up distance inside unless u have that pod thingy.
ReplyDeletePS that thing is huge!
Yes, it's actually my 4 year old's wrist.
ReplyDeleteIt is bulky. But you'll get used to it. BTW, your 4 year old's wrist is about the size of mine, so my 205 really does look like that on me.
ReplyDeleteI'm stratching my blonde head, I can't figure it out.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you should set the units to metric?
Thanks Vanilla, I feel like a dumb __ insert what u wish there. I thought I was all my smart sharing the foot pod info, and thinking my God that thing is supah huge.. LOL!
ReplyDeleteWhew! I guess then it would have been OK had I made that crack about your lack of manly arm hair on your manly arm. Of course, now I just insulted your son ...
ReplyDeleteHoly crap. That's huge. (What every man want's to hear)
ReplyDeletetoo funny. but, if you put the treadmill in the back of your pick up and have your wife drive while you run, you get some really fast splits. And some strange stares.
ReplyDeleteenjoy your garmin.
Yo Mr. Half fast !!! I am not sure if I am reading this right. Your Garmin wristwatch is not going to work if you are using the treadmill. You have to use the watch for outdoor run only. The satellite out there will be tracking your movement and will do all the wonderful calculation. After you run, you need to download it to your computer. You should get Garmin Training Center software to install in your computer. If you want a really sophisicated result, upload it to www.bonesinmotion.com It's awesome. You will be hooked to it.
ReplyDeleteIf you use Garmin on treadmill, the satellite will think you are not moving at all.
One more thing, you can download it to Google Earth and you will be amazed, too.
Yep, garmin is for outdoor use only. For treadmill, you can use a foot pod or the panel in front of the treadmill.
ReplyDeleteOh and thanks for the props on my top ten list. Will have more for you in the future...just as soon as i'm done with the NYCM race report section of the program.
I almost spit my green tea onto my keyboard-very funny. Almost as funny as your commenters who didn't get the joke.
ReplyDeleteWhen they get the form factor down a bit more, I am so buying one for myself.
bahahahah! Mine looks about that big on my wrist too (being all dainty like, ya know).
ReplyDeleteI guess it's hard for a satellite to guage distance when you're running on the spot indoors when it can't get a signal, eh?
Didn't it ask you if you were indoors and keep searching for a signal? Mine can take forever to locate one. Apparently the li'l bugger does NOT like large urban areas with big shiny buildings. Even says something about it in the manual.
Thank you all for your wonderful advice on the Garmin. My treadmill is in the basement so I think it was having trouble getting a signal.
ReplyDeleteI will move the treadmill into my front yard tonight so that the Garmin can see the satellite clearly.
Bbbbbwwwwwahahahahaha!!!! Better advice for you.. bring the treadmill out in the front yard and make sure you UNPLUG the treadmill. It will do the wonder!
ReplyDeleteSarcasm is just lost on some people.
ReplyDeleteHow long did you have to hold your kid down to get him to take that picture? I can picture Candis just outside the pic frame holding him down, while batting off the other one with a stick.
try standing by a window while you run on your treadmil - it will help with the signal
ReplyDeleteNo no no no. You've all got it wrong. Before all else, you must BEFRIEND your Garmin. The first step is to give it a name. My Garmin's name is Mr Flibble. What's yours?
ReplyDeleteI carry mine ( borrowed for life) strapped to my hand as it's way to big for my wrist.
ReplyDeleteI know the 305 has a special set-up for treadmill tracking. Did u read the manual???
My Nickname for the Garmin is the Grill
I love my Garmin. You can get all geek on it and program multiple screens for different information. I love that stuff.
ReplyDeleteWay too funny! Actually, your Forerunner was mad because you ignored it during the first part of your run. It was sulking. Talk nice to it before you run outside tomorrow and it will probably cooperate.
ReplyDeletea ha ha ha ha ha. I'm dying.
ReplyDeleteActually, I think you got totally screwed. Mine works on the treadmill just fine. Of course, I had to put it in the back yard and face it 28 degrees left of due south to make sure I'm getting the satelite. It worked after we cut down a tree that was in the way.
witty, very witty...but seriously I want to know what you think of this thing? I mean I'd rather waster your money than mine to test it out.
ReplyDeleteROFLMAO! Seriously can't decide what is funnier - the post or the comments!
ReplyDeleteHA! Too funny!
ReplyDeleteIf I had a body like that to look at I would never leave the house either. Even with the house arrest ankle bracelet she makes it look fashionable. Next time just put the GPS on your dashboard on the way to the restraunt.
ReplyDeleteHey Vanilla - I'm a longtime lurker courtesy of my cousin Amy over at Lawsons Do Dallas. She tagged me and now I’m tagging you. I understand that it may be weird to be tagged by a total stranger. But that’s the beauty of the web. Plus, judging by your running logs, I could never ever tag you in real life. So this might qualify as a PR for me!
ReplyDeleteThis post totally cracked me up! And I loved Pat's suggestion, too! :-)
ReplyDelete