Garmin 220 Product Review

            I won two fantasy football leagues this past season. One is an eight-team league I’ve been playing in for 15 years that costs nothing to play. The other league is far and away the one I care about most, and it costs $20 to play. The cost doesn’t matter—I spend 20 bucks on a lot of things that are worse than this. I won that league and scored $140 for winning the championship (thanks to Marshawn Lynch), the semifinal, plus my division.

            So I had some winnings burning a hole in my pocket. I used the skrilla to buy a new Garmin 220, taking advantage of some discounts available through work. It replaced my old G 405, which I used for almost five years, roughly 3500 miles, two marathons, and three halfs.

            I love this watch. It’s much easier to use and navigate. There is no bezel so there’s no wondering whether I’ll get to the screen I want. Everything is so accessible when I’m out there on the road. Currently I seem to like having the auto lap set to 0.62 miles because it lets me know what my 1K splits are, but I think I’ll soon go back to my old favorite of 0.5 mile splits.

            I’ve also got my heart rate data back, since my old monitor syncs with the watch. It took a few weeks for me to realize, however, that the watch won’t search for it unless it’s activated in settings.

            The time, pace, average pace, and distance are carryovers—things I still use midrun.

            A new feature is that the 220 keeps track of my cadence, or the number of footstrikes per minute. Previously I would’ve had to buy a foot pod to measure this data. Now it’s readily available. Right around 180 total strikes per minute is what’s recommended, and I’ve usually been around 178, which is a remnant of keeping track of it while bored on the treadmill. So it’s not a big thing for me, but it’s good to check occasionally.

            The old 405 had a wireless connection for uploading runs, and things weren’t always readily uploaded. Maybe it was more about the age of the computer. But I have a new computer to go with my new watch, and all I need is a USB port when my watch goes into its dock, and the run shows up pretty immediately. I don’t have to guess anymore.

            I’ve worn this watch for nearly two months and 122 miles (along with my new green RoadID that I don’t leave home without). I am a big fan of its simplicity and ease of use when running.

Monday Group

        I had to postpone Monday’s morning run to the evening, at which time I joined the 6 pm group run at Fleet Feet sports, where I also work. School has severely curtailed my ability to hang out with this crowd, but I made it this time. It’s always good to see friends. The Pearl Izumi shoe rep brought these dudes for us to take for a spin:

These are their new M3 stability shoes. They are super soft, and have lots and lots and lots of cushion. The medial side of the shoe is not colored differently (a trait of virtually any stability shoe), but the sole of the shoe does have a different color to set it apart. They are still true to their triathlon heritage in that the upper is still seamless, which plays a part in eliminating a source of rubbing and discomfort.

            I am a neutral striker so I didn’t really notice the added support, but I did notice the pillow-soft feel to them. While they are outstanding, I’m not accustomed to sinking into the shoe as I run. I felt like I had to work harder out of each stride. These would be outstanding shoes for a heavier person or someone with a heavier footstrike.

            Which brings us to the run itself. The route changed since my last group run, and it was five of the toughest miles I’ve run recently, featuring some of Athens’ most challenging hills. It helped knowing it was basically flat/slight downhill for the last mile. Postgame featured a chance to catch up with some friends, as well as a reward of yummy smoothie form the health food store across the street.

            So it makes four consecutive run days, which included 6x800 at about 3:35-3:40 per interval, and some weights on Sunday. I’m pretty sure I’m going to run the Marigold 10K in May, the same race I ran last year and set a PR. Those interval times will get me down to 7:20 per mile or better, so I’m confident I can get it done. Just have to keep after it and build a sturdy mileage base, which has been spotty at times here in the last few months.