Even though mapping my route informs me of the exact distance of the run, I am starting to pay more attention to my pace and would like more precision in this area - just another little interest point that will push me to work harder to beat my own goals.
- Foot pods - my only experience is with a free ticker I got at some athletic event. I wore it for my 7-mile run and it showed that I ran 4 miles. The ticker was discarded and is never to be mentioned again. In reality I don't have any experience with the foot pods; all I know is that they are less accurate than GPS.
- GPS watches - runnersworld.com has a nice article (http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-240-321--12350-2-1-2,00.html) comparing the main contenders: Suunto, Polar, Timex, and Garmin. Polar does not record location information, which makes it a lot less "entertaining" for me (as I like to sit and analyze my run on a map for hours). Price point for all of these is roughly the same, and without much more research I concluded that what's the point of looking anywhere other than Garmin.
- Garmin Forerunners
- Forerunner 205 - baseline GPS trainer watch
- Forerunner 305 - 205 + heart rate monitor & optional food pod and cadence sensor
- Forerunner 405CX - 405 + HR-based calorie calculation
- Forerunner 110 - stripped down version of 205 targeted toward basic GPSing and serious HRMing - small watch profile and HR-based calorie calculation
After thinking this through, I thought - a $120 FR205 (from Amazon) would be a great birthday present ((hint-hint)), but not something that I am ready to splurge on at this point in my life.
Therefore, I've resorted to the DIY method for now.
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