New Gadget!

My Garmin Forerunner 305  arrived in the post this morning. Have to say it looks decidedly second-hand, but then you get what you pay for. Bit miffed that the charger has a US plug on it, but then found out it also charges up when connected to the USB socket on the PC, so that’s no problem. Have download my Stonebarrow Loop course on to it from logyourrun.com via the Garmin Training Centre software, so will try and give it a go tomorrow. Could be a double first as if it stays dry between now and then, I’ll go for the first run in my new Nike Triax’s.

Hot run, but quick

Did the medium St Gabriels loop this morning, and this time remembered to take my stop watch/heart rate monitor! Warm morning, so got pretty hot. Might have started off a bit too quick as the second half was hard work up the hills. Did it in 47m 7s, about 5 minutes quicker than the last time I timed this run! But that was in bad weather and when I was really unfit. So this time is more realistic, and I’m really pleased with it.

Also had a result on the Garmin front. Won an Ebay auction this morning for a two year-old jobbie at £81. If it turns out to work ok, then it’s a bargain. New and nearly new ones on Ebay go for £120+, and the price on Amazon is £144. Should arrive some time next week, so will have to figure out how to use it before doing the Golden Cap loop next Saturday.

Where did the time go?

Did my short Stonebarrow loop this morning. Got round in 33m 29s which is about the same as last week, but half a minute down on my best.  So where have I lost that half minute? I put in a few short sprints, worked hard on the hills, generally felt good.  So where did it go? No idea. It was a bit slippery after two days of mist and light drizzle, so maybe some of it got lost on the muddy bits or being careful on the downhill slopes. Not sure.

However, I have a cunning plan. I’m gonna get me one of those new-fangled Garmin GPS wrist thingies. That’ll tell me. Been chasing various Forerunner 305′s on Ebay recently, not got one yet so might have to up my budget a bit. There’s a few more coming up in the next few days, so I’ll keep trying! Then I should be able to work out from one run to the next where I’m gaining or losing time.

On the racing front, looks like my next race will be the Ilminster 10k on November 1st. It’s all on tarmac, so I need to get out in my new Nike Triax 12′s to break them in. (Bargain from simplyrun.co.uk!)