Perseverance is the key

Despite in my last blog saying I was thinking of sending my ladies Timex Ironman Watch back I decided to have one last go at trying to set the timer (I gave up on setting date and special occasions on it as it is not what I bought it for) and eventually sussed it out. I can use it to time my runs but will have to rely on memory or preplanning of my route to work out how far I have run. Will purchase a Garmin in the next few months but am concerned that at the price they are will I get enough use out of it when all I want to know is how far I have run and, how many calories I have burned.Ultimately I am asking is a Garmin the right watch to provide so little information.

[Genome911 Graduate]

Not sure, sorry. I use a Polar.

[WepreRunner Graduate]

I can definitely recommend the Garmin. I went for a cheap one, with the view that, if I didn't use it much, it wasn't too much of a waste and, if I did, I could upgrade without the guilt of already having splashed out. I'm now looking to upgrade, as I LOVE mine. It measures estimated calories, distance, has a 'virtual running buddy' that you can race against, you can set a desired pace and it lets you know if you fall below it and so much more. I haven't used half the features on it,

Do you have a smartphone at all? In my early running days last year, I used the Nike plus app to measure distance - it's not overly accurate, but did an okay job. There are plenty of different apps available on various phones, which take advantage of the phone's GPS.

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No I only have a blackberry curve but am will change when I can upgrade. Can Ii use NIke plus app on blackberry curve and does it cost anything?

Not sure that Garmins are that cheap even the £99 ones! which are still expensive.

[thinnerandfitter Graduate]

I used to log where I had run on MapMyRun by inputting the route on the map manually. That way I could see the distance (once I got home) and I knew the time from the podcast. You could do something similar. You could also plot out a route (for example 5K) and then see how long it takes to run. GPS is definitely a good thing to have, either in a watch or a phone, because that's how you get distance while you're running, but I wouldn't call it essential as the MapMyRun facility is definitely usable.