Circular 55mm UV Vivitar and me
I am part of a large running group in the SF Bay Area and almost half of the folks in my group seem to own a GPS watch so I finally got one just in time for my most recent marathon. The Garmin Forerunner 305 is by far the most popular model amongst my teammates. I’ve only used the GPS functions so far and that has worked out very well and is very accurate also. For example, during the California International Marathon, the watch was accurate to within 0.1 miles over the entire 26.2 mile course!…and I did not experience any signal loss either. The real-time pace information and average pace readings were extremely helpful in helping me meet my time goal during the marathon. I considered getting the Forerunner 405, because it’s smaller and more stylish, but my teammates who have the 405 tell me that it’s a bit too sensitive to the touch and can’t be turned off. Style points aside, it turns out that the size of the 305 isn’t a problem because it’s so lightweight that you don’t even know you have it on. The upside is that it has a larger, customizable LCD display (you can display up to 4 data elements on one screen) and actual push buttons which are probably easier to use while running. I haven’t used the heartrate monitor yet, so I can’t comment on that, but the only drawback that I have found so far is with the battery life. It only holds a 10 hour charge, so you need to make sure to charge it before each run. Overall, I think this is an indispensable accessory for any serious runner.
Vivitar 55mm UV Circular