Founded in 1989, Garmin has made a name for itself with its personal GPS line that has been adopted by many of the largest auto manufacturers in the world. Garmin also produces a complete line of athletic sports watches that are GPS-enabled, with a host of online products and features to support them. One of its products is the Forerunner 205 model.
Features
The Garmin 200 Forerunner series, which includes the 205, is a popular brand of wrist devices intended primarily for distance runners as well as triathletes. Weighting only 77 grams, with a battery life of approximately ten hours, the Forerunner 205 has the capability to upload not only your position but other metrics in real time to the Garmin Fitness website as well as to your personal computer. The 205's biggest feature is Virtual Partner, which compares your time and distance as well as calorie burn to a partner that you preselect.
In the Field
While primarily an exercising device to record data such as distance traveled, the Garmin 205 Forerunner also makes an excellent GPS. With a limited amount of onboard memory, you will need to download local maps before setting off on your excursion. With these maps and the 24-color display, you will be able to see roads, elevations and popular destinations in the area. Before beginning, program your location into the Forerunner and then input the coordinates or name of the area you wish to travel to.
Online Community
The 205 Forerunner uses Garmin Connect to connect directly to the free Garmin Training Center. Here you will find all of your personal data from each workout as well as an interactive map showing all the locations that you have visited. In addition, there are detailed breakdowns of your calorie burn, average distances as well as your virtual partner. There is another free website that the Forerunner may access through the World Wide Web called Training Peaks (see Resources). This site will allow you to compare yourself to other athletes in similar age groups, fitness levels as well as those living in your area. There are also complete forums that act as a social networking site to link up with other athletes as well as to provide support to achieve your training goals.
Tags: calorie burn, Garmin Forerunner, other athletes, well your, your personal
