eMagility » Garmin Connect

Tour de France: Teamwork and strong sprints keep Thor in yellow

Garmin — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 18:51:56 +0000

Team Garmin-Cervelo faced questions before the Tour about the squad's wide range of goals, which included getting a stage victory, winning the team time trial, wearing the yellow jersey and placing high in the general classification. Less than a week in, and the argyle armada has achieved three of the four goals in resounding fashion. After reigning world champion finished third in Thursday's Stage 6 sprint finish, he stepped atop the podium to accept the overall leader's yellow jersey for the fifth consecutive day. Add in the triumph in the team time trial, Tyler Farrar's historic holiday win the following day and the squad's current spot atop the team standings, and it's an understatement to say that we're off to a good start.

Tyler's perseverance sparked touching responses in the media, including VeloNews, ESPN and the New York Times. In addition to the congratulations we're receiving through Twitter, Facebook and our blog, we've enjoyed reading stories celebrating the behind-the-scenes work the team does in the sport. Back at Garmin headquarters, the early success caught the eye of The Kansas City Star, who published a great feature on our sponsorship of the team and the benefits of being involved with such a positive force in a globally popular sport.

We've also heard from many of you who have been inspired to log a few extra miles while you're watching the Tour. If you need any more motivation, just check out Thor's Edge 500 data as posted to Garmin Connect after Stage 5. Keep riding, keep cheering and remember to follow @Garmin and @Ride_Argyle and visit SlipstreamSports.com for in-depth race reports.

We found our billionth miler!

Garmin — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 21:52:37 +0000

Last Thursday, while audiences around the globe where watching the Garmin Connect mileage counter roll over to the billionth mile, Randy M. was logging his morning miles just outside Sacramento. Little did he know his 6-mile run, recorded with his Forerunner 405, would be our billionth mile upload. We connected with Randy, who started running in January 2010. Here’s Randy’s story:

My goal was to train for a half or full marathon, so I hit the gym and jumped on the treadmill. After running for a couple of weeks, I quickly realized that the treadmill was extremely boring and I needed to get outside. All was going great until I signed up for a 5k race, which was also going to allow me to test out the accuracy of the speed and distance system I was using at the time.

I was logging all sorts of miles and my pace was awesome. After the 5k, it was obvious that my monitoring system just wasn’t working for me. It looked like I was running farther and faster than I really was. After several days of researching the various devices available, I finally decided on the Garmin Forerunner 405 due to the great reviews and slim design.

After receiving the Forerunner 405, I was extremely disappointed. No, not with the Garmin, but with myself. Thanks to my previous system, I was running much slower than I originally thought. I ran several more races and in every race, Forerunner was spot on. I love the 405 and the ability to track all my runs in Garmin Connect. The mapping features are awesome. It keeps me motivated, and I don’t run without it. There have been a couple of times I have driven to where I was going to run, only to realize I forgot my 405. I have either gone back home to get it, or canceled the run. That’s how important it is to me to track each and every run . . . accurately!

The greatest thing about the Forerunner 405 and Garmin Connect is when I go off on vacation, I force myself to run regardless. My goal is to run everywhere I vacation, and I have been able to log runs in Mexico, Hawaii (see his run on Waikiki beach, recorded just weeks ago) and portions of the U.S. It’s fun to go back and see all the places I have run in Garmin Connect. Since using the 405, I have logged more than 1,400 miles and burned more than 161,000 calories. I have run four half marathons and plan on running five more in 2012!

Here’s Randy’s run that took Garmin Connect over the billion mile mark and earned him an upgrade to our new touchscreen Forerunner 610. Congrats to Randy and all of you for helping Garmin Connect reach this milestone. Keep ‘em coming.

You did it!! Garmin Connect tops 1 billion miles!

Garmin — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 15:14:53 +0000

Watching the Garmin Connect mileage counter these past several hours has been like watching the gas pump when fuel prices hit record highs. The numbers just keep climbing faster and faster, almost as if people were knocking out Thursday morning marathons or uploading an entire Tour de France at once. And as a result, moments ago - after years of amazing activities from countless Garmin customers around the world - Garmin Connect's total mileage surpassed 1 billion miles!

This monumental milestone was an achievement for all of you - an entire community choosing a healthy, active lifestyle, even when your schedules may have seemed too tight for a ride, your mornings too sleepy for a run, your weekends too hectic for a hike. You found the time for your activities, and you chose to store, share and analyze those activities on Garmin Connect. For that, we can't thank you enough. We'll be announcing the person who uploaded the billionth mile, and he or she will win a Forerunner, Edge or outdoor handheld of their choice. And we want to hear from you about your favorite activities over the years. Your workouts, races and adventures have inspired others to tackle similar challenges - sometimes literally following in your footsteps. So just as you should every day, take a moment today to feel good about those healthy choices you made and treat yourself to a favorite post-workout indulgence. After a billion miles, you've definitely earned it.

Peg’s Posts: Ride the Rockies recap

Garmin — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 21:11:46 +0000

While Garmin Connect stats climb to the 1 billion mile mark, my friend Cheryl has been logging her fair share of late. Last week, Cheryl and her Edge 500 completed the epic Ride the Rockies tour from Crested Butte to Georgetown. Every evening, Cheryl sent me a link to her ride in Garmin Connect so I could pour over her stats, size up the elevation profile and be flat-out amazed that Cheryl was doing this thing. By following her blog and Connect data, I kinda felt like I was there too…minus the hamstring cramping and other bodily impacts that come with such a feat. I even felt like I got to know her riding partners on this adventure, Lisa and Jens. From Cheryl’s final blog post: I had a blast riding with Jens and Lisa. We are forever bonded in friendship by spending these days together. I dubbed Lisa the Freakin’ Mountain Goat because she is an awesome climber. Jens names me the Freakin’ Speed Demon because I like to go downhill fast. I name Jens The Great Dane because, well, he is a 6’5″ Danish dude.

Here are Cheryl’s final stats for her ride, data compliments of her Edge 500:
•    360 miles
•    23,000′ vertical
•    26.5 hours on the bike
•    7,000 calories burned
•    0 mechanicals (whew)
•    1 great time

And a link to her ride stats each day in Garmin Connect:
Ride the Rockies, day 1.
Ride the Rockies, day 2.
Ride the Rockies, day 3.
Ride the Rockies, day 4.
Ride the Rockies, day 5.

While miles and mountains keep us from riding and running together lately, Cheryl and I stay connected as best we can on our fitness feats through sharing our Garmin Connect data. Next up on Cheryl’s race calendar: the WIN for KC Women’s Triathlon, where I’ll get to cheer her on in person. Good luck with your training, my friend!

Stories Behind The Numbers

Garmin — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 14:30:58 +0000

Last week we told you that Garmin Connect was quickly approaching the one billion miles logged mark and we would be featuring some of the activities around the world that contributed to this feat. We are ever so close to hitting that milestone and finding out who records that magic mile and wins a brand new GPS device. If you would like your unique story featured please submit to, garminblogs@garmin.com.

From Durban, South Africa Gavin Louw writes about his paddling activity:

I have been surfski paddling for about two years now and have found Garmin Connect to be a great way of recording and keeping track of how my paddling is progressing. I must admit I probably don’t use all the features on my Garmin Forerunner to their full potential, but the info I do log and use, has helped tremendously with training and general motivation.

I am very fortunate to live in Durban and not too from the beach, so with a few mates we manage to get three or four training sessions done a week. We take part in the Discovery Sunglasshut Winter Surfski Series and are by no means professional athletes, but as I have mentioned it is great to be able to monitor and as a result plan our training sessions. Our overall fitness is kept at a level where we can really enjoy our races.

Thanks again for providing a great aid.

Cheers,

Gavin

From Venice, Italy Romain Gignier had this to say about his Forerunner adventure:

This event (Vogalonga) in Venice takes place once a year in May or June and it is a bit like a marathon on the water. There are about 5000 people from all over the world for a 30 km track through Venice, Burano an d Murano in rowing boats, kayaks, gondoles, actually any type of boat which is not powered by engines or sails are allowed. I was using a simple inflatable two seat kayak and we rowed for 6 hours ;)

It was quite fun to do and I was using the Forerun ner 305 for logging the trip and to share with friends to encourage them to come next year. I usually use the watch for special events, biking, kitesurfing, freeride skiing and snowboarding,... always finding new ways to use the watch.

Thank you, Thank you,

Romain

Milestone Miles: Garmin Connect Nearing One Billion Miles!

Garmin — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 16:40:52 +0000

With your help over the last four years, Garmin Connect is quickly approaching a HUGE milestone. One billion miles logged! That's a whole lotta running, cycling, hiking, kayaking, cross country skiing and other activities that you and fellow fitness enthusiasts around the world have logged. At Connect, users can quickly and easily log their workouts, track their totals, set goals, share workouts with friends and family and participate in an online fitness community of more than 70 million activities around the world. Garmin Connect displays metrics such as time, distance, pace, elevation and heart rate. This information is shown through charts, illustrations, reports and maps.

Within the nearly one billion miles uploaded are paddling adventures, personal bests at local running events, cycling tours through the alps, hiking in remote backcountry and so much more. We would love for you to send us an email with your unique activities and we'll feature them within the next couple weeks. email us at garminblogs@garmin.com.

We also want to let you know that we will be giving away one of our GPS devices to the person who logs the billionth mile! So if you've been logging those miles at Connect already, keep it up. If you own a Garmin and aren't yet connected, get started today. It's free! And it's just one more way to make every outdoor adventure more fun.

Forerunner + Swim, Bike, Run = A family affair.

Garmin — Wed, 25 May 2011 22:12:59 +0000

To earn the title of Olympian is a goal of so many athletes, yet only a few from each sport are able to own that label. In the ever growing sport of the Triathlon the competition is fierce and demanding with athletes logging hours upon hours away from their families. This multi-sport event consists of three disciplines performed in sequential order; swim, bike, and run.

Husband and wife duo Greg and Laura Bennett, both professional triathletes and yes, both Olympians are able to balance grueling training sessions and a successful marriage without skipping a beat. They are currently busy preparing for what they hope to be a successful 2011 'World Series' season. Greg had an awesome finish in the 2004 games in Athens, 4th place and Laura competed in Beijing in 2008 and also finished just off the podium with an impressive 4th place as well.

Not unlike Greg and Laura, so many of us are looking for one device to cover all of our training needs. Enter the Forerunner 310XT multi-sport GPS watch. It has swim, bike and run modes and the ability to upload the workout data to view metrics through charts and maps within our free online community Garmin Connect.

I'll let Greg and Laura take it from here:

"We use our Garmin's every run and every ride, and having a GPS in Europe, where most of our 'World Series' events take place, is priceless. The Garmin 310XT is a fantastic training tool. It is a liberator, it give us the freedom to run our "speed work" on the trails, instead of a boring track, while giving us the ability to still keep an eye on our pace and stay on injury free surfaces. Not to mention, we can use the same device while in the water swimming!"

Greg and Laura

Peg’s Posts: wishing I were there

Garmin — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 21:16:24 +0000

It’s been nearly a year since my good friend and occasional riding/running partner Cheryl headed for the hills — Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Love getting emails from her because there’s always an adventure attached: On our trail run today, we spotted a moose. He was huge! See the photo. Rode 43 miles with 3,700+ ft of climbing. Here’s my ride in Garmin Connect. I have to admit, I fight twinges of jealousy when I hear of Cheryl’s grand exploits and I’ve often thought of doing a destination race together. So imagine my excitement after reading of her next big adventure. Her email started like this: I have some “good” news. I got picked from the lottery to participate in Ride the Rockies in June. This is a 412-mile, 6-day bike ride that starts in Crested Butte and winds its way through Steamboat and ends in Georgetown. The elevation gain is a whopping 22,000 feet. Then a few more details about the event, her initial trepidation, followed by resolve, and then the part that made my heart skip a few beats: “Would you be able to do the ride?” My brain went for the adventure and experiential perks and skipped right over the logistics of how a flatlander would train for such an event. Then I showed the email to my left-brained, engineering husband. He scanned, shook his head and mouthed the words “you would die.” My fantasy adventure came to a screeching halt. I quickly recovered and decided I could be Cheryl’s long-distance support/cheering squad of sorts.

First step was helping her select an Edge bike computer. She went with the Edge 500 and added a soft strap heart rate monitor and speed/cadence sensor. Here’s an excerpt from her first Ride the Rockies blog: The UPS man shows up with a package for me. It is my new Garmin Edge 500. I open it up and look at all the parts. I call the bike shop and make an appointment to have them install it. I don’t trust myself to figure it out [the cadence sensor installation]. They tell me it will be 3-4 days, there are 30 bikes ahead of me. I tell them I am training for Ride the Rockies and need to spin; they cut me a break and will turn it around in two. One of the things I love about Cheryl — she knows what she wants and she finds a direct path to getting it done.

In a recent post titled “sanity and the trainer”, she shared some insight on the “ride to nowhere” mentality of an indoor trainer. Then she was saved by a break in temps that got her outdoors for a 40-miler last week. Her Edge 500 records outside temp, so you can even check out the temperature graph in Garmin Connect. Cheryl’s latest email had photos and Connect data for her ride through Colorado National Monument Park. Absolutely stunning. At least I can now control my “wish I were there” pangs with the reality that the mountains would eat me alive. Not Cheryl — she has her eye on the goal and she's getting it done. We’ll keep you updated on Cheryl’s Ride the Rockies training.

Inside Garmin Connect: Johan Van Summeren’s data from Paris-Roubaix win

Garmin — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 14:40:16 +0000

We're still flying high over Johan Van Summeren's amazing victory Sunday at Paris-Roubaix, and now we get an even closer look at how he did it. Thanks to all of the analytics monitored, displayed and stored on his Edge 500, we're able to relive his winning Roubaix ride (without the eye-burning dust and bone-jarring bumps) through maps, charts and comparative analytics on Garmin Connect. With an average moving speed of 25 mph over 160 miles and a moving time of more than six hours, it's no wonder that Johan burned nearly 10,000 calories over the course of the ride!

For more race recaps and photos, check out SlipstreamSports.com and tune in on Twitter for updates from @Garmin and @Ride_Argyle.

Peg’s Posts: explore more

Garmin — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 19:20:15 +0000

There’s nothing like a change of scenery to liven up your running routine. Especially if weather, time crunches and other factors have been limiting your options for awhile. Yesterday after work, while many were heading to their favorite establishments to watch hoops or celebrate St. Pat’s, Jake and I went for a “happy hour, happy feet” run. We picked a scenic lake loop not too far from Garmin HQ, but distant enough that we wouldn’t be able to hit it for a typical “runch” (lunch run). Besides offering a mood-boosting change of scenery, this site had some some dirt roads that truly did make our pavement-pounded feet happy. Our little loop also had a couple of gradual hills that we wouldn’t encounter on routine runs near work. If you’re stuck in a running rut, use the Explore feature in Garmin Connect to discover some new routes in your area. Or search for some routes farther away and plan for a “destination run” when you have a little more time. For more on the Explore feature and how to narrow the search parameters, check out this overview.