eMagility » Peg’s Posts

Peg’s Posts: Forerunner 610 — a touch faster

Garmin — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 18:30:00 +0000

Ever had so much to say about something you just didn’t know where to start? That’s kinda how I feel about my new running partner — Forerunner 610. We’ve been a pair for a few months now, logging mostly training miles and a few races in between. Most recent race — a local 10k, which I ran yesterday with my daughter (a Forerunner 110 devotee). Her first 10k, her first "1st in age group", and likely not her last. For the next few posts, I’m going to cover some my favorite features on the 610. At the top of my list: this watch is just a touch faster. Fast to acquire satellites, fast to configure the training pages, fast to set up an interval workout, fast to save my run history so I can view lap splits. The touchscreen responds to tap, touch and swipe actions, so it’s easy and quick to navigate. I also love that it’s a resistive touchscreen — not capacitive. In other words, it requires a deliberate motion to change screens or select a menu option, so you don’t have to worry about changing things up with an accidental tap. I’ve also found that using my fingernail to swipe and scroll works even better than using my fingertip.

So, does the touchscreen Forerunner 610 make you faster on race day? Let’s just say it’s made my training more fun and kept my motivation up when I was tempted to skip a workout. And that’s where having the right training partner makes all the difference on race day. If you’ve been waiting to get your hands on the 610, visit your specialty fitness retailer for a chance to buy a new Forerunner, trade in your old one and get $50 back. Trade-in units will be donated to the Girls on the Run SoleMates charity running program. See trade-in program details here.

Forerunner trade-in offer

Garmin — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 12:11:00 +0000

We know how hard it can be to say goodbye to a faithful running partner — the one who logged the miles with you through rain, snow, sun, heat and hills, never missing a step. So we’re giving you a good reason to part ways with your old Forerunner and know that it will go to a good cause. We’re kicking off a Forerunner trade-in program with specialty fitness retailers beginning July 1. Here’s how it works:
1.    Buy a new qualifying Forerunner (210, 310XT, 410 or 610) at a speciality running store.
2.    Send in your previously used Forerunner watch.
3.    Get $50USD back via mail-in offer.
4.    We’ll freshen up your old Forerunner, update the software and donate it to the Girls on the Run SoleMates charity running program.

Now’s definitely the time to upgrade to a new training partner, like the touchscreen Forerunner 610, and know that your other one can become a pacing partner for someone who’s running for a reason. As a national sponsor of Girls on the Run SoleMates, we can't think of a better way to support an organization that empowers our youth and furthers healthy living. Trade-in program runs from July 1 through August 31, 2011. Limit 5 trade ins per customer. See coupon for additional terms and conditions.

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!

Peg’s Posts: Group therapy

Garmin — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 12:00:00 +0000

Garmin hosted a group ride last night for the women training for the upcoming WIN for KC Women’s Triathlon. Garmin is the official training partner for this popular local event that welcomes experienced and beginner triathletes. And popular may be an understatement. This year’s race sold out in 10 days and will welcome a field of 1,000 athletes. As part of our sponsorship, Garmin provides opportunities for the participants to take our devices for a test ride and later see their data at Garmin Connect. At last night’s ride, our guests got to try out the multi-talented Forerunner 310XT — our waterproof multisport watch that accurately tracks time, distance, pace, elevation and heart rate (optional) for running and cycling. It also estimates open water swim distance and average speed. Not to mention the feature favored by many — wireless uploads. Jen, an experienced local triathlete who has joined our group rides in the past, said she loves walking in the door after a workout, hearing the beep from her computer and knowing her data’s already been sent to Garmin Connect so she can review it and share it on her own time.

If there’s a triathlon in your future, consider doing some group therapy of your own. If you don’t belong to a triathlon club, connect with other athletes doing the same event and organize group rides or brick workouts. And should one of your training partners skip a workout, share your data from Garmin Connect so they know what they missed!

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.

Pro triathlete Luke Bell visits Garmin headquarters

Garmin — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 22:16:03 +0000

Fresh off his big win at Ironman 70.3 Hawaii and yesterday’s podium finish at the Kansas version, pro triathlete Luke Bell paid us a visit. Learning that the worldwide leader in sat nav and category leader in GPS fitness devices is headquartered in Kansas was one of a few discoveries Luke made on this trip. Here's this Aussie athlete’s summation of the Ironman 70.3 Kansas course, held in Lawrence: “The bike course had lots of rollers. I thought Kansas was flat.” Precisely what many an out-of-town athlete has found when racing in these parts. But he obviously had the skills to master the hills as Luke’s bike split was the best among the pros at 02:10:30 — 11 seconds faster than the first place finisher, Paul Matthews, also of Australia. [photo is from St. Croix 1/2 Ironman, where Luke pulled another stellar performance, placing 2nd]

We pulled together a small group of engineers, product designers and associates from our media and blog teams to meet with Luke and his wife Lucy during their brief visit. We found out what he likes best about our products while our engineers gained valuable insight for future product developments. Luke has been using the Forerunner 310XT for training and racing and summed up his evaluation of our multisport trainer: “Everything you need to know about your activity, the 310XT does it. Triathletes in general are very analytical. They love a figure, they love a number, they love the data.” No wonder triathletes like Luke have become fast friends with the 310XT. In addition to its compatibility with ANT+ power meters and our speed/cadence sensor, the 310XT has the ability to show up to four data fields on multiple training screens. Luke likes the ability to customize screens and the auto multisport feature that lets him switch sports with one button push. When you’re racing at the top of an elite field, shaving seconds can make all the difference.

“In yesterday’s race, 10-12 triathletes exited the water at the same time,” Luke said. But coming out of transition, it was down to three of us. Transition time is important and cutting that down by even five seconds can make a difference.”

Luke said the two metrics he relies on most for his training are power and pace. Power data is particularly important for his analysis after an event. “I’m looking at my watts per kilo and how even the graph was,” Luke said. “We’re looking for that straight-line graph. It’s about finding that threshold and holding it.” He then explained how during a race, you may have to cross that threshold temporarily to stay with the pack. “For the first hour of my bike in Hawaii, my power was averaging 400 watts, so I know I’m not going to hold this for the entire race, but you know the other guys won’t either. So you stick with it and adjust later in the race.”

He also shared some insight into nutrition needs during a longer race and how he uses the 310XT to monitor those needs. Luke’s advice was of particular interest to one of our lead software designers who just competed at Ironman 70.3 Kansas yesterday and fought tummy turmoil on the run. “It’s about drip feeding,” said Luke. “If you dump 300 calories into your stomach at once, you’ll be in trouble. I take fluid every 10 minutes and food every 15 minutes. Triathletes on a longer course can run their nutrition breaks off the alerts on the watch or just watching the timer.”

Here, Luke learns about Garmin's sophisticated prototyping process from one of our lead product designers Jon, also featured in this video on the Forerunner 610's award-winning design. Thanks to Luke and his top support official, Lucy, for taking time out of their travel schedule to visit with us. Gaining valuable feedback from pro athletes like Luke helps our engineers continue improving our fitness devices for our customers around the world.

Peg’s Posts: Celebrating fun, fitness and families with Girls on the Run

Garmin — Tue, 24 May 2011 21:36:29 +0000

On Saturday, our local Girls on the Run council hosted its season-ending 5k for about 700 runners, including more than 300 eager Girls on the Run participants. The girls’ pre-race jitters vanished when they arrived to see a Radio Disney party crew pumping out tunes, prizes and games. They lined up in 2s and 3s to visit the “glam station” for face-painting, eye decals and funky hair-dos, delivered by some high school track and drill team girls. Right next to the glam girls, parents milled around the Garmin Jeep where Greg and Justin showed off some of the latest devices to lead their family fun this summer — handhelds for geocaching and hiking, nüvis for the road, Edges for bike excursions.

Race photos from SeeKCRun.com

Beyond the pre-race festivities, some of the race’s key volunteers were Garmin associates who gave up their morning to help ensure a quality, safe race for the girls. Jake and Ryan led the parking patrol, properly equipped with bullhorn and safety vests. Jake said the bullhorn became more of a “don’t make me use it” prop … until I sent him a text, seconds before the race start, that we needed that horn at the starting line, pronto. Jake showed up in a dead sprint, delivered the bullhorn to the honorary race starter, and the runners were soon off on their 3.1 mile jaunt.

Along the way, several Garmin associates served as course monitors, with Garmin engineer Kurt coordinating this effort. There were even some Garmin families and individual runners participating in the race, including Karen, who streaked to the finish as the first female overall. As the mom of two young girls, she just might have some future Girls on the Run in that family. See Karen’s run in Garmin Connect below.

If you’re a frequent road racer, be sure to thank those volunteers and sponsors every chance you get, and step up to volunteer for a race in your own community. It will make you appreciate your next finish line that much more.

High-Flying with Forerunner 210: Garmin Sponsored Athlete Deena Kastor at the Rose Bowl

Garmin — Mon, 09 May 2011 21:17:53 +0000

As the official GPS of the Rock 'n' Roll 1/2 Marathon Series we were exicted to hear about the addition of another race location. Garmin Sponsored Athlete Deena Kastor travelled from her home to the site of the new race to help with the announcement and had this to share about her journey:

This week I chartered a flight to Pasadena, California to announce the newest Rock ‘n' Roll ½ Marathon. I couldn’t bare to leave Piper and Andrew (daughter and husband) for more than a day, so I traveled there and back in one day. To drive there would have taken 5 hours. I got up early to run then headed to the airport to meet my pilot. We walked out of the terminal and passed private jets and luxury planes to land on our little tin-colored Cessna 180 Skywagon. You could almost see her cr ow’s feet, acquired from a long history of smiling through the beautiful Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains. She also looked as though she had taken a beating or two. After a spin of the propeller, we hopped in and took off. I truly loved having my Garmin Forerunner 210 as I watched the altitude maintain a steady 6,500 feet altitude with a few fluctuations when turbulence hit. We traveled a speedy one and a half hours down the Owen’s Valley to Pasadena. The press conference was outside the City Hall and was a scorching 94 degrees. This was quite a shock from home in Mammoth. It was a fun afternoon with my friends from Competitor Group as we announced the latest Rock ‘n Roll Pasadena Half Marathon. It was extra special to see one of my heroes, Rod Dixon also on the steps of City Hall. It is truly a gorgeous 13.1 mile route that covers some of the Rose Parade route.

After the press conference, we headed to the Rose Bowl for a 3 mile run around the complex. It was a typically perfect Southern California day and the loop was packed with runners, cyclists and a lone man on horseback. This seemed the west-coast equivalent to New York’s Central Park. As happens every time I travel, I love checking my GARMIN 210 against marked courses. The Rose Bowl loop is indeed 3 miles and although my watch doesn’t reveal temperature, it was the warmest I’ve been in a long time. After visiting with other runners for a while, I headed back to the airport and enjoyed the dusk-to-dark flight back home. With only a small sliver of the moon, I knew the jagged peaks of the Eastern Sierra were to the left of the plane. I couldn’t help but wish there were more moon to let me know we were well clear of those high peaks. We arrived safely and I was able to put Piper to bed that night. I enjoyed the hectic day, but I was more grateful Andrew survived his day with our newly born baby. He looked tired when I got home, but that is a trait of both athletes and parents.

Until next time,

Deena

Forerunner 610: On shelves and on camera

Garmin — Fri, 06 May 2011 22:25:44 +0000

Since selling out at Boston and London marathon expos, the Forerunner 610 has been a hot topic in running clubs and on starting lines around the world. We're thrilled to announce that it's now shipping and filling your favorite running stores' shelves and preorder lists. Garmin Chicago was reporting a lot of activity as everyone wants to get their hands on the 610 and their fingers on its intuitive touchscreen. To help you get an idea of how Forerunner 610 looks and works, we sent Jake to the studio to film a few tutorials. Meanwhile, Garmin athletes Josh Cox, Jenny Fletcher, Matt Lieto and Ben Collins were piling on the miles with our latest and greatest, and even Garmin blogger Peg got in some quality time on some local trails with the cameras rolling.

Here are just a couple of the Forerunner 610 tutorial videos - you can find more here - which should help you get to know your new watch or answer questions you may have while pondering a purchase. And if you haven't already, you should check out our Garmin learning center for more tutorials about products in each of our markets. Have a great weekend, and happy running!!

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.