New Hardware!

5.07

Sometimes you need an upgrade (or at least your wellness toys need an upgrade.)  I have had some form of a pedometer or Fitbit for probably 8 or so years. My most recent was a Fitbit Blaze, and while it still works, it was getting a bit tired. Two issues with the Blaze is that it isn't waterproof, and doesn't have on-board GPS (you need to have your phone along to sync your workout in real time.)

In search of something next, I shopped a bunch on line and just wasn't satisfied with what I was learning about new Fitbit trackers. So when a business acquaintance and I were talking all-things-running, and I saw his Garmin Forerunner, I thought, hmmm, I need to give that a closer look.

What I learned is that while not quite as popular, the Garmin trackers tend to be more robust and offer better data collection for your workouts. As a trained engineer, I like to make things objective. Numbers don't scare me, and drawing trends from data seems like a good thing to do.

So I got myself a new Forerunner 235. I've really enjoyed it, and while I'm still learning and digging out more content from the data collected, it's been great so far.

My Garmin has on-board GPS, tracking my runs accurately without having my phone along. And it's water proof. Both beneficial to my half-marathons and Spartan races. It is great to see the data gather in the background, and know that the more I workout, and the more details I capture, the better I can draw conclusions about how I'm doing.

As they say in business, what is measured can be managed. Look into some objective measurements in your wellness journey, and event think about stepping it up a notch. Your future self will be glad for how you managed your efforts.

By the Way

One of the great things about the Garmin trackers / watches is that there are all kinds of cool widgets and watch faces you can customize to. You also have options for how your workout data is collected, and what you see on the screen during your workout. I'm still having fun personalizing my new tool.