Friday, December 28, 2007

To Garmin or Not to Garmin? That is the question.

The Captain gave me sweet moola to get myself a Garmin for Christmas . So I was looking at them online and realized how much money they cost. I was excited about getting one, but now realize that it might not be the best for me.

Here are my personal pros & cons. (God, I love lists)
Pros
  1. It will assist me in my mileage counting obsession
  2. IF I ever go a different route (yeah right) I will know how far to go.
  3. I can track my times and progress
  4. It's cool and people will think I'm a real runner (ha ha)

Cons

  1. The price
  2. I never go different routes (I would have to drive, because of where I live)
  3. I already know how far it is to run 5, 10, 15 or even 20 miles
  4. I could buy 2 pairs of jeans with that money
  5. I could buy 1 pair of jeans and new shoes
  6. I can time myself with the watch I already have
  7. It's really bulky and I get easily irritated when I'm running.
I'm going shopping this afternoon and it looks like new jeans are winning over the little G.
Any thoughts, advice, opinions????

Song of the Day: Talk to me, Dance with me by Hot, Hot Heat

18 comments:

Amy said...

Jeans and shoes win hands down, every time. Sorry, Captain!

While it would be *nice* to have the Garmin, you kind of already talked yourself out of it, haven't you! lol

Nancy said...

Oh, I'm SO Garmin. I really love it. I love the splits, love knowing how far I've gone, love the gadget. Plus, I buy jeans whenever I need them so I'd say both! :D

Nancy said...

by the way, there was a sizeable rebate offer on-line, make sure you check that out. it might have been on amazon.

J~Mom said...

I heart my Garmin. It is my very favorite running gadget. It has improved my running so much in terms of pacing. It does so much more then just distance and time. So I vote Garmin. :>)

Danielle said...

I love my Garmin too! I agree that it has helped me TREMENDOUSLY with pacing. So, my vote is for the Garmin!

marie said...

I have a love/hate relationship with mine. The satellite reception is balls on mine because I live in a large urban centre but I CANNOT run without the bloody thing because I too am obsessed with the numbers.

I say but it.

RunToTheFinish said...

i am in the exact same boat!! It's very hard to decide

MissAllycat said...

I would definitely choose the Garmin!! I love tracking my stats and splits...

Stuart said...

Three words...Garmin Garmin Garmin!

Oh and get the 305 not the 205, the HRM feature is a real bonus and it is reported that the GPS functionality is also better. Remember it's not just the "on watch" data it's also the software on you PC as well as MotionBased and SportTracks and Runner+ ok the list goes on right...

Jeans, smeans!

teacherwoman said...

If I had it my way.. I would be two pairs of shoes. ... since I just bought 2 pairs of jeans from the Express a couple weeks ago. :)

Unknown said...

I have to vote for the Garmin as well. Costco.com had an awesome deal on it (which is where my dear hubby picked mine up for Christmas) you can check there and I heard a rummor (unverified at this point) that there is another mail in rebate on the thing somewhere out there too.

I need jeans something fierce (only pairs I have are either WAY TOO BIG, have a gaping hole in the knee or the belt loops have been ripped out due to me jacking them up off my ass all the time) but even with my desperation for jeans, I'd still take the Garmin hands down.

I like knowing exactly how far I've gone and knowing what additional distance taking that unremarkable left turn I've passed by a dozen times will add to my route. I love being able to monitor my pace, I love being able to just play with it...and I've only gone out once (will go out again here shortly).

But that's me. Jeans I can justify buying because in many respects they are a necessity. The Garmin...if you don't get it now, if you later decide you REALLY want it, will you fork out the cash?

Just my 2-Cents.

Maddy said...

I do the majority of my running on the treadmill, so I thought I didn't need a Garmin. But I have Garmin envy when I'm out on the road.

Maybe you could get an iPod Nano and the Nike+ system and still get a pair of shoes...

Marcy said...

I just bought the same one. I say Garmin PLUS jeans and shoes ;-) Come on, every one needs to splurge every now and again LOL

You know what I honestly think though, I would rather have my 101 back :-X That puppy only cost $50 and I liked it better :-/

Stuart said...

You can use the Garmin on a treadmill with a footpod and on a bike with a cadence monitor, check out the posts on my blog about them, look for Garmin in the label cloud

katieo said...

Great. Now I want a Garmin...

Mrs Furious said...

"It's cool and people will think I'm a real runner "

lol... reason enough!

Stuart said...

Headsup; the V1 footpod is on sale on Amazon for $30 inc S&H!

My Life said...

Hello again POM! I'm late on this post, but I agree with most of the above... I *love* my Garmin. Even if I'm just running the same route - I feel I challenge myself more when I have the Garmin with me. (& I agree with Nancy - you can always justify a new pair of shoes or jeans... not so much a Garmin!) Can't wait for you to start running with it!

Taryn