Monday, July 20, 2009

Come to Papa


Unless you've been hiding under a rock, I'm sure you know the significance of today? You know, July 20?

Yeah, moon landing, whatever. One small step for MAN (sexist pig), yadda yadda. Nope. wrong.

July 20 is the day Garmin releases the new 310xt upon the world.

My old Garmin needed a lobotomy as it became very unreliable and would not boot up in the morning. Finally, this week, it gave up the ghost, just as this lil' baby came out. It's got all the GPS and heartrate and cycling functions of the prior Garmin devices, but you can also swim with it.

AND its got enough battery life that it will last through an entire Ironman--even if you do your Ironman races Trigreyhound style (i.e., finishing well past dark).

It matters not whether you are an elite, professional level endurance athlete, or whether you are a middle-aged, desk-bound office worker who has plateaued at "slow and mediocre" and couldn't get onto the podium with a gun and a Marine Force Recon platoon behind him.

Not that this would be descriptive of anyone you know.

Nope. Whoever you are, you too can have more computing power on your wrist than was available to the Apollo XI command module. For simply trading in some American dollars (or swiping your magic plastic wish master) you too can have new shiny things to invigorate your triathlon training and give your coach raw data over which to cogitate.

So, just about the time Coach Kris was about to pull his few remaining hairs out by the roots for lack of data from his remedial athlete, I'm about to receive my new shiny thing.

Over the past month, I've tried two local stores without luck: one took my name and never called and one had no idea Garmin was coming out with a new toy. I tried my usual, online source for tri-gear, but today I got an e-mail saying the device was still back ordered. So, one google search later, I found a Google Ad saying "Garmin 310xt in Stock" and ordered the sweet little confection for overnight delivery. A couple hours later, I got an e-mail saying it had been shipped and giving me a tracking number.

Yeah, baby. Is that a stimulus package, or are you just happy to see me?

Come to papa, darlin'

Oh, yeeeaaaaaahhhhhh, baby. Right there. Mmmmmmmm, that feels gooooooood . . .


**blink** **blink**

I'm sorry. I forgot you were here. What were we talking about?

I mean, I NEED this, right? What's the point of riding over the Continental Divide and doing epic climbs in Colorado if I don't have Garmin data to record the whole experience?

Yeah, scenery. Nature. Whatever.

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE NUMBERS.

Because in the blogosphere, there are two rules:

1) no pictures means it didn't happen; and

2) no data means you didn't work out.

10 comments:

Kim said...

the boyfriend has the new garmin!!! he loves it! (but i still dont see much of a difference between that and the one i have...i am an electronical idiot after all!)

have fun with the new toy!!!

SWTrigal said...

I almost reached over blogsphere and STOLE this from you!!! Can't wait to hear how you like it..I want one sooooo bad and now I even have it bookmarked (the place that has it and even FREE shipping)..Drool..

KCWoodhead said...

I NEED one too. TOTR had one at the HRTC meeting last week and were doing a raffle and I about went apeshit when I thought they were going to raffle it off. Then I found out they just had it there as an example of various heart rate monitors.

Unfortunately there are other things I NEED too. Apparently hitting a nail that goes through both sides of a tubular and pokes a hole in your rim isn't 100% ideal.

greyhound said...

I went in to ToTR twice asking about the Garmin because I would have preferred to buy it locally, but the girl at the counter just looked at me like I was an alien. I thought they didn't have it, so they lost a $350.00 sale.

Richard said...

I lost my 305 a while back; its been fun training sans watch for a while, but I've had my eye on the 310 for sure. The fact that the 405 doesn't work if you're sweaty was a big turn-off for me.

momo said...

must.have.one. should i wait to get your review????? nah, i don't think so - off to stimulate the economy!!!

CoachLiz said...

My Polar is dead (unless I send it in for a new battery), my SRM will be on my other bike, I have no bike computer for the bike that is going to Colorado...

I NEED THIS!!!

Can I just borrow your data as we pedal over the Continental Divide???

Anonymous said...

Is Jealousy a mortal sin (being a Jew and all, I don't really know these things) - cause if so, I think I'm going directly to hell.

Mike said...

Still waiting for them to ship to New Zealand ... they should be here for Christmas ... not sure which Christmas though. I am on the waiting list for one so as soon as the boat arrives I'll be getting mine. Please tell us all about yours when you get it and (hopefully) how awesome it is and what we are missing. Are you getting the HR option ... and cadense sensor ... and foot pad? ...

LittleRachet said...

Do you have it yet??? Did this place follow through and ship it right away?? I'm really on the fence here. My 405 is giving me fits when I sweat. Love, love, LOVE the Garmin over Polar. Hmmm...what to do....what to do....