Like a lot of runners, I started running using a variety of applications on my phone. Over time, I realised that it would be a lot easier and better to track my runs with a GPS watch. There were two main names back then, TomTom and Garmin. As a first time GPS watch buyer, the features I needed were pretty straightforward. Price was an important factor and finally the balance tilted in favour of the TomTom Spark 3 Cardio. Over time I used the TomTom to its potential for running. But over time as with any electronic appliance, the watch needed to be connected to the charger a lot more often than before. Also, it had certain issues like difficulties in connecting to GPS without quick GPS, a terrible current pace display, etc. After three years of togetherness, it was time to part ways and go for an upgrade. With a lot of research largely through blogs and YouTube reviews, I decided to go for the Garmin Forerunner 245 with the Garmin HRM Run.
I got the FR245 a few days after my first full marathon at the Tata Mumbai Marathon 2020. The HRM Run joined in a week later. Since the first interaction with the Garmin connect app and the first run, it was clear that this is a totally different ecosystem, with a lot more data, a lot of detailed visual representations and a lot more flexibility. This is absolutely amazing for people who love seeing numbers, or graphs. Plus most of the data points can be seen real time. Here are a few highlights which struck me on making the switch from TomTom to Garmin
The interface and controls: Most Garmin watches (at least from the Forerunner series) have a 5 button operation. A nice round dial with a start/stop, lap, down, up and light buttons (going clockwise from the top). It was extremely easy to get a hang of these controls. While on the Garmin I can start/stop a lap as I wish, the TomTom had a cumbersome manual lap mode which firstly required you to select a manual lap activity in training, and you had to touch the screen to start a new lap. To put it plainly, it required one to plan in advance and sweaty palms would make the lap change almost impossible
On the home screen, one can customise their watch-faces, download what one likes from the Garmin ConnectIQ store. On going up and down, one can use the various widgets on offer, again with options available to make it a great fitness tracker/companion. The optical heart rate monitor is always on and measures your heart rate, stress level and body battery. The FR245 also has a built in pulse oximeter which is far from reliable. My readings have always come as 95% even if a fingertip pulse oximeter showed 99%
Data screens: The data screens in any activity can be customised, with up to 4 metrics on standard faces and more possible on data screens which you can download from the Garmin Connect IQ store. This itself is a huge change from TomTom where one has a single control panel with up/down/sides buttons and fixed ways the data screens appear, with 3 metrics on a single screen. I will share more details on my favourite data screens, how Garmin helps me with different parameters, how I get a workout analysis, etc in future blogs.
The Ecosystem: One of the most holistic changes one would experience with a Garmin would be the entire Garmin ecosystem. The Garmin Connect app is nice and clean with all the data you are tracking and would want to see. One can create workouts, find workouts and get them on one's watch directly from the app, not having to go through the web based interface like in case of TomTom. One can download apps, widgets, etc from the Garmin Connect IQ store which can be used for fun, for tracking things like your hydration, menstrual cycle for women, etc. Garmin sports is full of challenges, articles etc which can help you get more insights on training and make it more fun!!
In the last one and half years of using my Garmin FR245, I have been delighted with the change to this family of watches. I will continue to post about how Garmin has helped me train and get faster and stronger over time
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