Watches - what to get?

peanuthead

Hi there

I'm relatively new to running but enjoy it.

I'm currently training for the 5/10/halfs in the adidas series this year and I'm interested in getting a watch as the worst thing for me is trying to keep track of the mileage I'm covering (which isn't a lot actually!!)

I would like to get a watch that will tell me this but I'm not very well off at the moment. Can anyone recommend the cheapest way to solve my problems?

The places I run don't have km or m markers so that makes it hard. Phoenix Park is a bit of a journey to go running - much handier to do it round my area.

thanks

Krusty_Clown

Best thing to do is to hang on, see how much enjoyment you get out of running, and decide if it's something that you want to invest time (and money) in, in the long run (pardon the pun ). If you're pretty new to running and on a tight budget, I'd recommend getting a simple (and cheap) stop-watch. You can use sites like mapmyrun or google maps pedometer to measure a regular route. Get someone to drive you around the route (if you don't have a car) and identify landmarks at every mile. Then you can hit the lap button on your stop-watch to record your pace as you hit each mile.

Start a training log in the training forum, and use that to capture your weekly mileage. Then, if you feel like a pedometer based watch or a GPS-based mapping watch is the way you want to go, pick one up on eBay, amazon, or buy one second hand, but don't pay more than €150.

huskerdu

You can buy a simple stop watch for a few quid. Check ebay.

The cheapest way to measure distance, is as Krusty explained, or using a
simple pedometer, or a conbination of both.

A pedometer measures the number of steps you take, so the accuracy
depends on how accurate your stride is, as you program it in.

When I stated runnign first, I bought a pedometer for about a tenner.
I found a route close to my house which I measured in the car and
on gmap-pedometer.com

I ran it and measured my stride length from it. I would then run this
even few weeks and recalibrate the pedometer, as my stride lengthened
as I got fitter. It was still only accurate to about 10%, but as a cheap
solution for a starter, its pretty handy. Its a good motivator, as you
get fitter to save up for a GPS watch and promise yourself one, when
you get to a important milestone, like the half marathon.

donothoponpop

Another thumbs up for a cheap stopwatch, to start off with. I paced a half marathon yesterday with one (usually wear a Garmin), that had miles marked. Found myself enjoying the run a lot more, as i was only checking the times at each marker, rather than glancing constantly at the screen to check Garmin pace. Bike pedometer is another good way to measure fairly accurate courses.

peanuthead

do these cheap stop watches check miles?

donothoponpop

peanuthead wrote: »

do these cheap stop watches check miles?

No, they don't (I meant the course had miles marked). For that you'll need something with a GPS device, about x15 the cost.

Before I had the Garmin, I used the Nike+ system (also need an ipod). Found it pretty accurate for logging miles, +-5% or so.

5h4mr0(k

I'm in the same boat. Decided to buy an cheap one from this crowd http://www.focalprice.com/search_sports_watch_0_1_20_0.html I've have my distance markers on my route worked out using mapmyrun, so it'll do for starting. At this point I think I'm better of concentrating on doing the distances rather than worrying about how long it's taking me.

gaf1983

I swear by my Casio, cost €12.99 in Argos. I use Mapmyrun.com and sometimes a Mapmyrun App on my iPod to track mileage.

peanuthead

I got a pedometer in jb sports today for 12euro.

I tried it on with the default stride and it coincides with what the treadmill said when I was running, but not when I was walking, obv enough

S'pose that will do.

Do the more expensive ones adjust their calculations along with your speed?

InTheTrees

Well to get all the bells and whistles you'll have to go for a GPS, thats the very best and it'll give you all the stats that you'd get from the treadmill in addition to plotting your run in google earth.

But they're pricey...

iceage

Peanuthead if your looking for something for handy money you could try one of these. http://www.lidl.ie/ie/home.nsf/pages/c.o.20100712.p.Heart_Rate_Monitor

Its a HRM I think its a clever tool to see how your doing while you run, I use another brand but have a mate looking for a cheaper one and this one fits the bill for him, I might even grab one of these as a back up and if you want to measure your runs for distance use www.runningmap.com or www.mapmyrun.com. I do this in conjuction with my HRM. GPS watch is slighty out of my price range just yet unless Santa brings me one.:)

RayCun

peanuthead wrote: »

I got a pedometer in jb sports today for 12euro...Do the more expensive ones adjust their calculations along with your speed?

The pedometer-based watches don't adjust their calculations, so you should recalibrate them every month or so.
The GPS ones work by checking your position against satellites, so they don't care how many steps you're taking.

Krusty_Clown

Just a small word of caution, I did buy a LIDL HRM before (thankfully a different brand) but it fell short where you'd least expect it: time. It was losing about a minute every hour on the stopwatch, and I'd have to update the time on it every couple of days. It may have been a single faulty unit (I still use it on occasion for the HRM). So if they're selling the grey HRM (which grabs your heart rate from your wrist, rather than an actual Heart Rate monitor band) don't expect the time to be accurate.

But these are generally a great and inexpensive way of monitoring and kick-starting your training. My first HRM (Polar) cost me €105. I still have it, but it died a long time ago.

scargill

free gps software for your mobile (if supported):

www.sportypal.com

I use it all the time - very useful !