The new release looks to be a winner for Garmin. The new design is sleek and looks more like a watch than any of the previous GPS monitors and is fitted with a different GPS chipset that apparently locks on to satellites much faster than we’re used to. Another nice feature is the ability to upload wirelessly to your computer utilizing a nifty USB device called an ANT stick.

I have to say the price is pretty good too. The Forerunner 405 complete with heart rate monitor is currently retailing on Amazon.com for $349.99 with the 405 without HRM feature weighing in at $299.99. (Prices correct on Amazon.com 6/17/08 and subject to change)

You can read the Runner’s World review here or visit Garmin.com for the official product description.

I won’t be upgrading any time soon. I’m more than happy with my 305 and have other priorities for my hard earned cash at the moment. To summarize, the 405 appears to be a great product but I can’t help wonder why more companies aren’t jumping on the fitness GPS bandwagon. Healthy competition would only be a good thing for the consumer, right?

Where is this crazy February weather coming from? High 60′s tonight and expected temperatures in the mid-70′s for the next couple of days! Not that I’m complaining of course…

Tonight’s run was definitely going to be an easy mid-distance run with no heroics and no foolish race against the clock like yesterday. Saturday’s race and Sunday’s brisk 5 miler actually took a lot out of my shins and they’ve felt quite tender all day long, so the decision was made to stay off the road as much as possible and find some soft grass to run on instead. Oh yes, my planned pace was somewhere between 7:30 and 8:00 minutes per mile.

More of a precaution than anything else, I taped both shins and set off into the sunshine. The warm air felt great, but to be honest the run was actually quite uneventful. I headed to the local soccer fields and, as you can see from the MotionBased map, ran up and down, corner to corner to make sure I stayed on the grass. The soft surface felt good and helped minimize the impact to my shins, but soon I was on my way home and back on the concrete.

I also managed to stick to a sensible pace. Each of the seven miles were between 7:31 and 7:46, so it was nice to log some easy miles without too much stress to the system. Not sure what the plan is tomorrow, but with temperatures in the mid-70′s I’ll be sure to run outside and save a treadmill workout for later in the week when the weather takes a turn for the worse.

Decided on a steady hour of running tonight to continue the base building phase of my current training program. Despite temperatures in the mid 30′s and a strong NW wind, I chose to run outside instead of the “easier” treadmill option. With two layers on top, hat, gloves and shorts (yes, still not cold enough for running pants), I ventured outside and spent the first two miles battling the cold, brisk wind.

I was determined to keep an even pace tonight and after a couple of 8 minute miles, settled into a comfortable 7:30/minute groove. As I’m not following a specific training plan at the moment, I had no set mileage in mind, so just kept at it, enjoying the run and eventually decided to cap the workout at about 8 miles.

My average pace was 7:43 per mile, not the quickest I’ve ever run, but a solid 8 more base miles in the bank.

Headed out late morning for a steady 4 or 5 miler with no major intentions except for logging a few more base miles. The weather was great – crisp, but breezy – and made for a nice run in pleasant conditions. My main focus was on tomorrow’s 12-14 miles tomorrow morning, so today was just about getting a few miles in to boost my weekly total.

Anyway, the first mile was great with a 10mph tailwind (always good to start a run with a tailwind!), and felt easier than the 7:26/mile pace suggested. I’d decided to wear my new Sennheiser headphones paired with my iPod Shuffle, and somewhere early in the second mile one of my favorite running songs came on: Going Underground by The Jam – a 1980 classic! It’s got one of those beats that you can’t help but run fast too, and it really got me moving – second mile in 6:46.

Sometimes all it takes is a quick mile to completely change a workout, and that’s what happened this morning. I challenged myself to run the remaining three miles progressively faster, so with that thought in my mind, I set off on mile 3.

The wind shifted slightly which meant I was now running into a strong crosswind. It was a struggle to maintain my pace but I just managed to clock a 6:45 mile – one second quicker than mile 2! Not one to give up easily, I shortened my stride length, quickened my cadence and brought my upper body into action. Mile 4 was a quicker 6:25 and my heart rate had climbed to 164 beats per minute.

Just one more fast mile and I could relax and “jog” home. Unluckily for me, the last mile was yet again against the wind. It took a huge effort to increase my pace and maintain good form, but before I knew it my Garmin was beeping to let me know another mile had been completed – this one in 6 minutes 15 seconds, the fastest of my run. Mission accomplished! Now I could relax and jog the remaining half mile to the house….

So all in all, another enjoyable workout with things seeming to develop nicely. My form is coming back, I’ve lost a couple of those Holiday pounds and I’m looking forward to every workout with renewed vigor! Long run day tomorrow and then another solid week before the first Cross Country race of 2008 – the Mud In Your Eye 5k!

Oh yes, I just completed the first workout in Week 4 of the Essential Abs program – I’m even motivated to increase my core strength Things must be going well…

If I confused you with my reference to The Jam and Going Underground, click on the iTunes button for a quick preview to one of my favorite running songs. Enjoy!

Well, if I’m honest, it wasn’t “that far away”, but it was probably double the mileage I anticipated covering tonight. The weather was fantastic again today – temperatures in the low 70′s, with no humidity and hardly any wind – perfect for a late afternoon run. It was also another chance to break in my new Brooks Glycerin 6′s and yet another experiment with a pair of earphones – this time a neon green pair by Sennheiser. I’ve spent months, if not years, searching for the perfect headphones/earbuds I can wear while I work out – today, I might have found them!

T-shirt and shorts were all that was needed for the run, and after strapping on my heart rate monitor and Garmin 305, I was on my way – motivated and looking forward to an easy 3 or 4 miles. The new shoes felt fantastic – such a comfortable ride, with great cushioning and a perfect fit. I had no intention of tracking my pace or heart rate tonight, I just wanted to run. The familiar first mile marker came and went and I continued along the road, nice and relaxed, listening to some good tunes and amazed that the ear buds were actually still in my ears.

After what I guessed to be about 20 minutes, I turned around, retraced my steps with the intention of going home. However, something made me take a left turn through a hospital parking lot and before I knew it I was jogging around lane 4 of the local high school track. Today was definitely not the day for a speed workout (I was just running remember), but I did pick up the pace on each circuit and worked my way inside to lane 1, one lap at a time. Once in the inner lane I couldn’t resist opening things up and sprinting the 400m oval – it felt great and made me look forward to future track workouts in the coming weeks.

By now I’d been out running for about 45 minutes, so I decided to make my way home in the darkness. Back at the house, I was somewhat surprised to see I’d covered 8 miles exactly, in just over an hour.

Tonight was a thoroughly enjoyable run – my legs and lungs felt great, the weather was perfect and the random tunes on my iPod Shuffle helped the time go by really fast. Also, for the first time in years, the earphones stayed in my ears, so I think I’ve found a new part time training tool.

You can view the stats for my run by clicking on the map above. I must admit I haven’t studied them at all tonight. It was just “one of those runs” where everything clicked and I really don’t need to know all the gory details.

By the way, one of the random songs that played on my Shuffle was an old 80′s track “I Ran” by The Flock Of Seagulls. How apt I’m sure you’ll agree. If you’ve never heard of it, click on the iTunes button to listen to a preview…

Happy Miles!

–Steve

Decided to head outside this afternoon for a short run to help shake out some of the stiffness from yesterday’s 20k race – my longest run since the middle of November. The weather was great – mid 60′s with a warm south west wind – perfect for a Sunday afternoon run in January. My only really goal for the workout was to keep it easy and control my heart rate – ideally keeping it under 90% of my max.

After a nice sedate start (7 minutes 53 seconds for the first mile), I slowly picked up the pace and recorded three almost identical miles of 7:21, 7:17 and 7:18. My breathing was nice and relaxed, and aside from moderately sore quads, no doubt caused by the hills at Fort Story yesterday, my legs felt pretty good too.

The last part of the run back to the house was just as easy. No need to pick up the pace and no need to finish with a kick. A nice stress free Sunday afternoon run which will hopefully help me recover from the tough race yesterday morning.

I completed the 4.75 miles in just over 35 minutes – an average pace of 7:25 per mile.

Average heart rate for the workout: 148 beats per minute with a max of 159.

Back at the house I spent 5-10 minutes stretching out my quads and hamstrings, followed by the first workout in Week 3 of the Essential Abs program. All in all a very productive Sunday!

As predicted last month on my other blog, Garmin have just announced an all new GPS unit – the Forerunner 405.

Compared to previous Forerunners, the 405 appears to be super sleek and lightweight with all the features you could possibly dream of:

(Feature list courtesy of the Garmin web site)

Long runs, tempo runs, speed drills. You expect a lot from your body…and from your training gear. Meet Forerunner 405. This GPS-enabled sport watch tracks your training, then wirelessly sends your data to your computer. The ultimate in training technology, its sleek design features a touch bezel that lets you quickly scroll and select features on the run.

Watch Results

Loaded with serious training features, Forerunner 405 continuously monitors your time, distance, pace, calories and heart rate (when paired with heart rate monitor). Each run is stored in memory so you can review and analyze the data to see how you’ve improved. You can even download recorded courses to compete against previous workouts or race a Virtual Partner®. Customize Forerunner’s data screens for instant feedback while you train.

Use with Ease

Sport watch and personal trainer — Forerunner 405 gives you the best of both worlds in a sleek, stylish package. This high performance watch is easy to use and comfortable to wear when not training. Simply tap the touch bezel to change screens without fumbling for a button. Forerunner 405 comes in two color options — black or green — to fit your style.

Run, Sync, Store and Share

Once you’ve logged the miles, innovative ANT+Sport™ wireless technology automatically transfers data to your computer when the Forerunner is in range. No cables, no hookups. The data’s just there, ready for you to analyze, categorize and share through our online community, Garmin Connect or our optional Garmin Training Center® software. You can wirelessly send workouts from your computer to Forerunner, too.

Share Wirelessly

With Forerunner 405 you can share your locations, advanced workouts and courses wirelessly with other Forerunner 405 users. Now you can send your favorite workout to your buddy to try, or compete against a friend’s recorded course. Sharing data is easy. Just select “transfer” to send your information to nearby units.

Track Heart Rate

Forerunner 405 is available with or without a heart rate monitor (see the versions tab) to help you make the most out of your training. Versions with a digital heart rate monitor continuously track heart beats per minute. Train in a certain heart rate zone to improve your fitness level or compare your pace and heart rate to past performance on the same run.

Cross-Train

Take your training inside with the versatile Forerunner 405. Pair it with an optional foot pod to track your speed, distance and running cadence indoors when a GPS signal is unavailable. This new design clips onto your laces for easy removal and automatically turns on when you start moving. You can also add a speed/cadence bike sensor to track the speed and distance of your cycling workouts.

Lock Onto Satellite Signals

Forerunner 405 sports a unique design that gives the GPS antenna a better view of the sky, so it can get a stronger signal during your run. And its high-sensitivity GPS receiver provides improved tracking under trees and near tall buildings.

The Forerunner 405 is available in green and black and retails for $318.74. Garmin will also sell a heart rate monitor version for $371.86 in the same two color options and availability is stated as the 1st Quarter of 2008.

Now I just have to convince myself I don’t need the 405. I love gadgets, especially running gadgets as cool as this!

Had an enjoyable run tonight despite the cold and windy conditions. After running a couple of errands after work, I was almost tempted to run on the treadmill, but decided to get outside and face mother nature head on instead. I layered up on top (short sleeve base layer, Brooks fleece and Brooks lightweight jacket), pulled on my new lightweight gloves and woolly hat and was ready to go. Armed with a reflective wristband and flashing armband, at least I felt safe as I headed out the door.

The first mile was the slowest and the toughest. The north west wind was stronger than I expected and the cold air made my eyes stream constantly. It was too dark to read my Garmin GPS, so I just continued to run by feel and try to keep my breathing controlled and rhythmic. My legs felt much better than they did last week, but I could definitely tell I ran a race yesterday. My sore quads took a while to loosen up.

The remainder of the run was a mix of battling the really strong and biting headwind or trying to control myself in the huge tailwind! As is usually the case, my body soon warmed up and the mid 30°F temperature actually felt quite pleasant.

For the record, my mile splits were 8:15, 7:36, 7:25, 7:33, 7:24 and 7:35 and my average heart rate 147 beats per minute – a steady, even-paced run despite the unfavorable conditions.

What a fun race and a great way to start a new year – just the motivation needed to get myself back on track for the upcoming running season. The cleverly named Hair of the Dog 5k was due to start at 10:00am, so that left plenty of time to wake up, have breakfast and relax for a while before driving to the race venue just 15 minutes away.

The 5k is only in it’s second year, but is already a very popular and successful race on the local running calendar. This year there were over 450 pre-registered, and judging by the queues, probably at least a couple of hundred more who decided to kick off the New Year with some fresh air and exercise.

After a short warm up (and actually it was warmer than I thought it was going to be), everyone made their way to the start line and prepared themselves for the off. I seeded myself a few rows back, enjoyed a quick chat with several friends before the gun sounded to start the race.

I’d covered the display of my Garmin Forerunner 305 so I wouldn’t be tempted to look and pace off the GPS speed reading. There was a $15 Road ID gift certificate at stake in my blog competition and I didn’t want to be accused of foul play, so I just decided to run by feel and give it my all.

The first mile felt fine. I gradually moved up through the field after starting off in around 30th place, and was able to run alongside local runner and fellow blogger Charlie who I predict will have a fantastic 2008. His 2007 was very successful and I’m sure Charlie will go from strength to strength and set several PR’s this year. I also predicted a month or so ago that it won’t be long before Charlie is beating me. You heard it here first ok?

Anyway, back to the race. I had no idea how fast or slow I ran the first mile, but I was breathing fairly hard and running as fast as I could. By now I’d moved up into the top 10 and was just trying to maintain a good rhythm and pace. Mile 2 came fairly quickly, my Garmin beeped to signal another mile had been completed and after a quick glance back I pushed the pace a little and thought about catching the runner up ahead.

I initially closed slightly on the person in front, but either he surged ahead and left me, or I slowed and lost ground on him. No matter, I was trying as hard as I could and decided to focus on my form and maintain as quick a cadence as possible.

With a little over half mile to go I sensed footsteps fairly close behind, and figured it was either Charlie on a mission or a couple of High School runners putting their younger legs to good use. Right up until the three mile mark I was aware of the mystery runner closing on me, but found a little something in reserve and sprinted in for the finish. Somehow I managed to hold off the fast finishing runner, but found out afterwards he’d beaten me by a fraction of a second based on chip time. Oh well, he made me work really hard right to the end – definitely a good thing. Oh yes, the mystery runner turned out to be 15 years old!

My finish time was 18:40 which I’m very happy with to be honest. I was expecting something closer to 19 minutes, so this is a good base to work from and a yard stick for future races. My mile splits were 5:50 (didn’t feel that fast), 6:08 (quite a windy mile) and 6:06 (encouraging that I was able to pick up the pace for the final mile). As an added bonus I was first in the 40-44 age group (8th overall) and picked up a cool Hair of the Dog silver medal.

The photo to the right shows the cool Hair of the Dog dog tag handed out to all race finishers – a nice touch to finish off a great race.

Next up is the Distance Series 20k on Saturday 5th. Last year I ran a big PR (1:17:27) after coming off a strong November/December. This year I won’t be putting as much emphasis on the time, speed or effort, and will use the “race” as a 12+ mile training run in the company of other runners. January is mainly about getting into regular routines and logging base building miles to strengthen my legs and lungs.

Looks like it’s going to be a fun and interesting couple of months…

PS Winning an age group award was especially gratifying as I actually designed the event logo for the inaugural race last year. Also, at the race this morning I heard several favorable comments about the t-shirt design proudly displaying my logo – always nice to get positive feedback, even if it wasn’t aimed directly at me. Click here to view a few others in my portfolio.

[Finish line photo courtesy of KaleRunning.com]

Bad luck to the other 7 entrants, especially Corey and Ernie who were just 3 and 5 seconds off respectively. Maybe next time eh?

I’ve already contacted Lisa with the good news, so the $15 Road ID certificate will soon be on it’s way.

I plan on posting a brief race report once I’ve uploaded my Garmin GPS data, but for now, thanks to all who entered my first competition and made me work hard right up to the finish line.

Here’s to a happy, healthy 2008 with many miles of fun and fitness!