Garmin Forerunner 310XT - My Opinion

My new training buddy:

It's so pretty. 

The 310XT is not the newest technology but new to me. I have resisted the Garmin for many years. I think I resist because I don't really want to know my pace on a training run. Not a smart way to train.

When I decided to get serious and know my pace so that I can push it and get faster, I bought it.

It arrived last weekend and after a week of using it, here is my opinion on this Garmin Forerunner 310XT GPS Fitness Monitor:

The Look – It is pretty. It matches my running shoes; unintentional, of course.

The Feel – It’s a little bulky but I’m getting used to it. It doesn't feel awesome in the water swimming laps in the pool and I haven’t figure out how to make it record correctly in the water anyway. A few days ago when I swam 1500 it recorded 2.3 miles. It may be user error.

Technical Support – I had some difficulty getting the Garmin to transfer data after the first use. I had to wait until Monday to call technical support and while I waited to speak to a technician for about 10 minutes, the technician did help me quickly. 

The Garmin is not out-of-the-box easy to figure out. The User login/account creation to Garmin Connect is not intuitive.

I am getting more comfortable with the process of paring the device, but was hoping it would transfer data automatically, I have to click Yes to enable pairing each time I transfer data. Kind of a pain. Again, maybe user error.

I am coming to love my Garmin, despite its difficulty. I like looking down at the display and seeing my pace at 8 minute miles; even if it is just for a few minutes. I don’t have the heart rate monitor or the cycling add-on, which probably would make me love this device more.

Here is one the most detailed reviews of the device.  

I'm still trying to figure out all the features. I will use it while racing the Triple T in a few weeks. I'll let you know how it goes.