My Side of the Mountain

This weekend I went skiing. It was fun.

Did you know that skiing costs about the same amount (and more in some cases) as running a marathon?! I missed last year's ski season and somehow the price of tickets went up by about 20%. Since it costs the same amount, and I am a nerd when it comes to stats etc, I decided to wear my Garmin the whole time and see what happened.

Do you remember science class when you had to make a hypothesis and then test it to see if you were right or not?

What I was testing was this:

(1) How far each downhill run was.
(2) How many runs we would be able to take.
(3) If my heart rate would raise if I was going downhill, or if I fell or went over a jump.
(4) How many total miles we would ski that day.
(5) What my top speed would be.

I really had no idea what the results would be. I know I can run about 9 MPH at the most and I can't do that for very long, so I would definitely ski faster than that, but I had no idea how fast. I know that it always seems like the time in line is really long and the run down is really short, so I would probably guess that it was about 20 minutes up and 1 minute down. I figured my heart rate would raise but I wasn't sure how much since I wouldn't be putting out too much effort.

Here is what I found:

(1) Average wait/ride up  =  6 - 10 minutes. Average trip down = 3 minutes / 1.25 miles.
(2) We got in 23 runs, maybe 24.
(3) Resting HR = 44, Max HR = 116, Ave HR = 60 (88 when I fell)
(4) We skiied between 25 and 28 miles in total.
(5) Top speed = 57 MPH, Average = 35 MPH

It was kind of fun to see the stats. I mean, it's amazing how fast 1.25 miles goes when you are speeding down hill at 57 MPH. We skied a marathon! Just for fun, I did some googling to find out what a really fast skier is: Fastest (speed skiing) = 156 MPH, Olympians (ave) = 75 - 95 MPH, Downhill racers (ave) = 40 - 60 MPH, Normal skiers (ave) = 10 - 20 MPH (source). Now I wonder if my Garmin was a little off.

Do you ever use your Garmin (or other tools) to track other things besides running? What did you find out?

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Garmin 110 Review

ByAdam J Simpson

The Garmin 110 is an ideal entry-level GPS watch for keeping track of one's training, exercise progress and goals. It is an outstanding watch for both training and racing. The Garmin Forerunner 110 has fewer features compared to the Forerunner 410 and 610 with a much smaller price tag as well. It is designed for running, so it's settings are simple which makes the product very user friendly.

Customers overall feedback indicate the Garmin Forerunner 110 is the best GPS watch for runners for the following reasons:

1. It fits snugly on your wrist even for individuals with a smallish wrist

2. Unlike the Forerunner 405, the 110 looks and feels like a regular watch, so you can wear it as an everyday watch.

3. The display screen is bigger on the 110 compared to other models like 405. So you can glance at the watch on the run and get all the information you need.

4. The GPS is accurate and it finds satellites quickly thanks to the HotFix satellite prediction technology.

5. Once the Garmin Forerunner finds satellites, it locks on to the satellites even under tree cover and tall buildings.

6. There is a longer battery life.

7. A fantastic aspect of this model is that it is compatible with heart rate monitors, so you can train in the targeted heart rate zone without stopping and count your pulse manually. It displays heart rate in beats each minute. You can also track the amount of calories burnt during your training session when combining the heart rate monitor with the Forerunner 110 model.

Despite the feature trimming, the Garmin Forerunner 110 provides all the information a runner needs such as distance, time, current heart rate, pace for the current mile and history of the entire training session when you finish your run.

Overall, the Garmin Forerunner 110 GPS Watch Reviews on Amazon.com rates this model favorably. The average score is 4 out of 5 starts. 94 customers out of 176 rated it 5 stars and 39 customers rated it 4 starts. As expected, there are not all pros, there are always cons as well. It does not matter how good a product is, it is not going to suit every one. However in this instance, complaints were from "serious runners" who wanted to track interval training and the Forerunner 410 and 610 would be the right models for interval training tracking.

To avoid disappointment and ensure you make the right buying decision go to GPS Watch Reviews Center to read more comprehensive , Garmin 210 Review and reviews on other Forerunner models.

Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert

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