ChiliGuy

AdminOctober 28, 2007 at 8:24 AMI have a Garmin Forerunner 305 which has the heart rate monitor. They make the 205 which does not have heart rate. I admit the unit is a bit clunky looking but I honestly never notice it while running. I love mine, it has helped to substantially reduced my PR in the full and 1/2 marathon.

Cheapest place I have found it for sale is www.boatersland.com which is actually a boating supply store (Garmin also makes GPS for boaters). I would recommend the unit with heart rate. That will help to to truly maximize your training.

Good luck.

AdminNovember 27, 2011 at 4:43 PMGarmin Forerunner 305. Includes a heart monitor, unlike the 205 (which you will benefit from — many people kick themselves after getting the 205). Easily the affordable classic for several years now. Should be able to find it in the $150 ballpark, especially if you look places like Ebay and don’t mind refurbished models.

Do keep in mind these GPS units aren’t great on tracks, however. They have issues with the constant curves. They’re ideal for road and trail running.

AdminMay 20, 2011 at 12:14 AMHi.A friend of mine gave me the Garmin Forerunner 305 watch for Christmas. I LOVE it! It tracks how many miles I have gone, speed I am going, time it took me to complete that many miles, calories burned…etc. It can even take your heart rate if you want it to. You can upload your miles to the computer.

Buy the 305 watch. BTW I am training for a 1/2 marathon myself.

AdminFebruary 12, 2013 at 4:34 AMDon’t buy Garmin.
I’ve had 500 problems with my GPS watch since I have bought it and customer service has stopped working with me completely on it.I use my iPhone and a FREE ap to do all my GPS, paces, and distances. I don’t think I will ever waste another dollar on a watch. Their GPS qualities in those tiny things can’t compare to the quality in a smart phone, at least not yet. So I’m going to stick with the better GPS for more accurate pace and distance. I couldn’t care less about HR zones (almost any HR monitor is going to be wrong most of the time anyways. I can’t even get mine to work). This is why when you go to the doc (at least in the US) they take your BP and HR by hand, machines just are not accurate enough, even in this day and age.

-Connor.

AdminAugust 17, 2013 at 3:05 PMI’d generally stick with the Garmins. You should find something that is at least compatible with a heart rate monitor — you will want one, and if you want to improve your training, it’s virtually a must. I would also personally err on the side of getting something that will last you awhile, rather than going too low end. If you go too low, you’re just going to get frustrated, and in a couple months go buy something higher end anyway.

The Garmin 310XT has been out awhile (so the price has come down from being $400-500 where it was when it came out), and now runs right at the $200 mark while including a heart monitor. It’s essentially the waterproof version of the Forerunner 305, which was Garmin’s #1 model for a very very long time. (The 305 is now discontinued and thus even more expensive.) The only other model I’d really recommend is the 910, but that’s probably out of your price range, and it doesn’t really include anything significant beyond the 310XT.

Do be forewarned that all the GPS watches have some difficulty with real time pacing. It’s going to jump around a lot if you use the basic “pace” feature. Most people end up using lap pace, which let them measure their pace since hitting the lap button. Garmin keeps trying to improve the real time pacing measurement, but I think they still need to try and average it over a 10-20 second sample period. It’s virtually impossible to have accurate real time pace with GPS satellites, but lap pace works fine for most.

Garmin Connect is likely fine for you, but you also might want to look into SportTracks. They’re on version 3.1 now which isn’t free, but the old version 2 is likely perfect for you and is entirely free if you can find it. (Over time you might consider upgrading to the paid version 3 if you like it, like most do.)

Anyway, at the $200 price range, I’d readily be going after the Garmin 310XT *with* heart monitor. And it should keep you happy a good while, too — you won’t be missing features, nor find anything else that can get more data on one screen or be so customizable.