My Garmin

New York Road Runners gives everyone who volunteers at the NYC Marathon a 25% discount in their online store. There weren't that many things that looked good to me - there were a lot of shirts and other gear that had the NYC Marathon logo on it, and since I haven't (yet) run the marathon, I felt a little funny ordering something with that on it. I looked in all of the areas in the store and finally landed on an item I thought would be perfect: a Garmin Forerunner 405. I mean, when else can you get that item for 25% off?! Luckily, I have some wonderful parents who kindly purchased it for me for Christmas. I'm still learning all the cool things you can do with it, but so far I've been really happy with it!

You can see a summary of your run,

your splits,

and a map of your run.

I mean, how cool is that??

I'm not a wearer of watches in my everyday life, and even though this watch is bigger than any watch I would usually watch, it actually doesn't bother me at all. I'm still getting to know what all it can do, but so far so good! I'd highly recommend it to any outdoor runner. I still use the Nike+ when I go on the treadmill (though I recently lost the part that plugs into the iPod...hmm, I should look for that...), but I might get the foot pod for the Forerunner and replace the Nike+ with that.

They've been great motivators for me during my running journey over the past year. For me, it's extremely satisfying and motivating to see how far I've gone, how my speed has improved over time, and I just love racking up those miles on my shoes! 

Do you use a Garmin or a Nike+? What keeps you motivated in your running and fitness endeavors?