Garmin Forerunner 405 Review
Well, I’ve been using my new Garmin Forerunner 405 since mid-May. I’ve been meaning to write a review sooner, but life has happened.
Earlier this year I started to run more than 2-3 miles eat a time and wanted an easier way to calculate my distance and pace. Mid-January I got a Nike+, basically because I wanted something but didn’t want to spend too much since I still wasn’t sure how committed to running I was. The Nike+ is cheap. I used it with my kids’ Nano. But I had issues with the Nike+: figuring out how to carry the Nano was always tricky; adjusting volume, or skipping a song, or checking current pace was difficult without messing with my workout; and it wasn’t very accurate even with re-calibration.
As I got closer to the half marathon, I new how committed I was to running, and how much I enjoyed it. REI’s Anniversary Sale was perfect timing. The new Garmin Forerunners had come out by then, and REI had a couldn’t pass up sale on the Garmin Forerunner 405 with heart rate monitor. So mid-May, I finally had my own new fancy GPS watch.
And I love it. I have a math background, with a statistical emphasis, and I’m crazy about data and numbers. Running has been a ton of fun, but now it’s even more fun. There’s so much I like about my Garmin. The size/weight has not been an issue as I feared. It’s not petite. But I’m able to tighten it enough that it doesn’t bounce around. I do have quite a tan line forming, but I don’t care a bit. The other problem I’ve read about the watch is the bezel. But it’s been working for me. I’m mostly used to navigating through the menus by now. And I haven’t had problems with accidently stopping or pausing a workout. It has three separate views of data fields (in addition to the heart rate view) and are totally customizable. I’ve found that having one with lap pace/lap time/lap distance, one with avg pace/total time/total distance and one with current speed/total time/total distance works great for me. The current pace while running seems to fluctuate way too much and just makes me anxious. The lap pace is the view I use the most while running. I have it set up to lap at each mile. So it’s been easy to see if I’m on pace for each mile as I’m running.
I’ve tried to use the interval feature but find that I don’t have the same flexibility when it comes to views. But I can start a new lap by the press of a button. So recently when I did a track workout (400 m with jog intervals in between) I could press the lap button at the beginning and end of each 400 m lap and be able to see all of my splits for each 400 m and each rest interval. Very nice.
The Garmin also has a biking mode which I’ve been using. I think the only difference between the two is that it’ll calculate your calories differently. While biking, I’ll use the current speed view since I don’t have a bike computer. I’m so new to biking that this works for me. But I can imagine adding the cadence accessory some day, once that’s something I think I need to keep track of.
I’ve only used the heart rate monitor once. It took a little getting used to having the strap around my chest. But after a mile or two, I didn’t notice it. I mostly pay attention to my breathing. I know how it sounds when my heart rate is getting to the top. I’m not sure how much I’m going to use the monitor. I think it would be nice to periodically use it for a 10min/mile test and see how my fitness is increasing as I train more.
I know there’s a lot more I can do with the Garmin that I haven’t tried, geocaching and uploading planned routes to the watch are a couple I can think of off the top of my head. I also haven’t taken the time to figure out how to upload workouts to any of the training logs I use. I’ve been using Garmin Connect to view the maps of my workouts. It’s so much fun to see the maps, especially if I’ve been out of town (a lot lately) or taking a crazy route. It’s easy to read all of my data from the workout, splits/heart rate/pace.
So I’m super happy that I got the Garmin. I love the instant feedback as I run. And it’s great to just head out the door and run, and not have to map it out ahead of time.
Finished Project-Capstone Sweater
Project Specs:
Pattern: Designed by me for the WEBS Expert Knitter Program.
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino, color 203
Needles: US 3
Size: 36″
My Ravelry Link
It feels so good to have the sweater finished. Even though I had 5 months to work on it, I carefully created a schedule back in January of when I needed to finish each component, I finished it on the due date, only a few hours to spare. What can I say, I’m really good at procrastinating.
There are things I would do differently if I did it over again, but overall, I’m really happy with the sweater. It feels like it’s me.
