Full Metal Lunchbox

 

It has been pointed out to me that runner blogs tend to focus too much on running.  Meanwhile, Bush is starting to sound like he wants to invade Iran, Condoleeza Rice took Wednesday night off to watch American Idol, the air conditioning is broken in my office, and "Steak & Lemonade" takeout joints are popping up all over the south side of Chicago.  I should write more about these things (except about the steak & lemonade, which Justyna will cover in her blog).

So this will be my final mention of the Garmin Forerunner 205, in this blog or any other.

Still feeling unsatisfied from the stupid racecourse planning of the JP Morgan Corporate Challenge yesterday, I was determined this evening to take my Forerunner on a real shakedown run--one that doesn't involve tunnels.  So I took 3 mile jog down Essex Avenue to 87th Street and then over to the freight tracks.



This was my first real opportunity to see what the Forerunner 205 can do, and I was impressed all around.  The readout showed a GPS accuracy of 17 feet but I feel I often got better than that.

Here's how I performed:



The "autopause" feature that stops the recording if I drop below a pre-set speed came in handy at traffic lights and when I ducked into the CVS Pharmacy for a Propel Fitness Water.  The stats showed me averaging out at a 9:33 pace, which didn't seem believable because I felt sluggish after a huge lunch of chinese food.  But I doublechecked the stats against the clock and the map against Gmaps Pedometer and everything checked out.

Tomorrow morning I'm going to take things a step further with six one mile intervals along the lakefront.  But I'm not going to write about my new Forerunner anymore, unless it surprises me with new features I haven't seen yet (such as built-in air conditioning or a readout of Condoleeza Rice's whereabouts).

Here's what I've learned:

1. The Forerunner 205 is worth the $212 I paid for it.
2. I'm comfortable at a 9:30 pace even after chinese food.
3. Only runners like to read online 1st person stories related to running.
4. Condoleeza Rice likes American Idol (something else we don't have in common)
5. I have a hard time making lists.  By the time I get to #5 I forget what I was even talking about.  I'm just rambling.  I seem to do that.

It's 1:00AM.  Justyna and Erika are each asleep elsewhere in the apartment.  My downstairs neighbor is still awake playing with his baby, but sounds like he is about to go to bed.  I should go to bed, too.

Big day tomorrow, big weekend in general.  After my run in the morning Dana is coming to town, followed shortly thereafter by Shea and Kathleen.  Sunday is Bike the Drive.  Monday is the The Pub Crawl To Cure A Hangover at Hopleaf.

Tuesday morning 4AM it's back to the JP Morgan steam room.