Garmin Running Watches

The Garmin running watch series are a savior to the casual to professional runner. The Garmin Forerunner 205, 305, and 405 will tell you your pace, exact distance, time, best pace, average pace, heart rate (305 and 405), elevation, direction traveled, and even sunrise and sunset. You can use it for cycling as well with features like cadence and rpms (with added equipment). The best part about Garmins is that they come with a computer program that will track your progress with graphs and maps. Out of town on a business trip or on vacation? Then you can log on to the Garmin website that will track your stats and progress when you allow it to. This way keeping a running log is easier than ever, and more high tech. One issue that some people have with these watches is that they are slightly bulky. They do take up a bit of wristroom. For most people, this issue goes away after a few runs when you become used to having it. In my own opinion its worth it for all the information. I love being able to look down at my watch and at anytime be able to tell what pace I'm running at, how far I've run, or anything else. One other issue that is made unclear is that the watches are designed for multi-sport meaning running, biking, and swiming. The issue is that the watches are not water proof, just water resistant. Garmin only recomends that the watches never go deeper than 3 feet in water. This is kinda of an iffy statement for a $200 + watch. I personaly just wouldn't wear it in water to get avoid the issue. As far as running though, I have never had any problems with the Garmin Watches.

I rate this watch as a MUST HAVE for the running guru or anyone who wants to know everything about their own training.

The starting prices of these watches are $215 (205), $300 (305), and $350(405). This is about the price you will have to pay if you want to buy them in a store. I found a few places on Amazon that sold brand new ones for almost half of the price and this is how I bought my own. I would suggest Amazon.com if you want to save a bit of money.

Product Review: Newton Running Shoes

Don't be fooled by the flashy colors, Newton Running Shoes are serious about performance.

Never hear of them? Don't worry, they're relatively new to the market. Its a company that started out in Boulder, Co (a large running community) that got the name from Sir Isaac Newton and his Laws of Motion. The company was launched in 2002 and just recently started selling their shoes in stores across the nation and sales have just skyrocketed since then.

The entire shoe is designed to transition you from a heel striker into a forefoot runner (check it out here). This means that it makes you land on you forefoot and
keeps you off your heels. It does this because of the red lugs(the long raised bars under the forefoot), which compress into cavities under a membrane materiel and act as the cushioning system. Because the cushioning system is all under the forefoot, the rest of the shoe can be made with less foam, and thus making the shoe very lightweight. One of the best things about this shoe is that they last for about 600 miles, opposed to regular shoes which last for around 400. What is interesting about these shoes is that the lugs are meant to wear down quickly to form to your own unique running style. This will take about a 40 mile break in period but after this is feels like your running in a shoe specifically designed for you.

Some negative things about these shoes. If you use them too much immediately then your calf muscles will be sore and fatigued for quite awhile. The proper way to work yourself into a newton is to wear them once a week, then the next week twice a week, and so on till you are running in them full time. There have also been complaints about metatarsal stress fractures and other injuries, but most of this is caused by using the newtons improperly; heel striking, taking to long of a stride, ex... One other thing is the cost. These are not cheap shoes. The trainers cost $175 and the racers cost $155. Yet as I said before, they can get up to 600 miles, so if you pay per mile then you are paying about the same cost for a regular high millage shoe.

I myself have used the newtons and loved them. I got the full 600 miles out of them and still wear them today as a casual shoe. I would definitely recommend these shoes to someone who is wanting to make the transition to forefoot running.