Hi Bidul,

Great! Your (base) running seems to be going on well. I am having calf pain on and off, so I am taking it very easy these days. 

I use a Garmin 305, which I have been using for almost 2 years now. The main problem with it is that it is bulky (quite a few stares when I go running with it) as I am a small-wristed person. Very rarely, it will not catch the satellite signal as quickly as I would  like, but restarting the device helps. Otherwise, it is very accurate and exceptional during rains. I have run in downpours, the kind of downpours we have here in the foothills with no issues whatsoever!

The Forerunner 405, which was supposed to replace the 305 has problems. I have read about the following problems with it (over various forums on the Internet) :

• Difficulty in using the Bezel if watch is wet/sweaty palms. Can be a nightmare
• Some users have reported mild shocks on the wrists from the contacts at the back of the watch when wet!
• Watch resetting by itself.

I would keep away from the 405. If you want to stick to Garmin, I would recommend 410 or 610 or 910XT (if you are into multisport/swimming).

There is an older model called FR60 that does not use GPS, but a footpod attached to your shoe. The upside is that it won't lose signal below over-bridges and the like. For example, my 305 lost the signal for quite a while under the over-bridge section in Kolkata. The downside is that you have to calibirate it with your shoes. The calibiration will differ with each shoe! If you change shoes on different days of the week (like me), then this is going to be cumbersome. There is no way for the FR60 to remember the calibiration settings for each shoes. However, the upside of the watch is that it is accurate (when calibirated), no losing GPS signal issues, looks like a normal watch (you can wear it to the office/mall/market), uses normal watch battery CR2032 - so has an extended life (remember the Garmin GPS watches have a limited battery life, when switched on, of 8 hours or so only).

If you want to stay with a Garmin GPS watch, don't mind a little bulk, 305 is definitely good. Maybe I will tempt you to buy mine for less!

Timex and other brands also have GPS watches, but a Garmin is a Garmin.

Bangalore is still tentative for me, but hopefully I will be able to go.

Hi Bidul,

I think the best way to go about it when there are no races in sight is to put in 2 to 4 months of what they call "base training." I think you should continue to run 5 km, 4 days a week, and maybe extend one weekend run to a "long run" of say 10 km. Run all these at an easy pace. The idea of base training is to run an easy pace, whereby your mitochondria would increase in the muscle. These are the powerhouses of the cells of our body, so they will help you be a good runner. After a couple of months of this "base training," then you can head towards one of these half-marathon programs and work on it. 

Nainital sounds good, but I need some time to think over it. Running in altitude is a challenge for us plain folks (I live at 400 feet). There is also the World 10k run in Bangalore. Would you be game for it? What about the North East? Are there some races in these parts like in Guwahati (Assam), Tripura, Nagaland, or Mizoram? 

I will look up more races in nearby regions so that we can maybe meet up once again!

Cheers!

John

Hi Bidul,

Even in Siliguri, the events are few and far in between. Earlier the events used to be run only by professional runners, but now thankfully a lot of amateurs (like me) are running races. I usually run 4 days a week, a variable distance, something like 6 km or so. Usually a few months before any major race day, I will follow a running program like the ones from Hal Higdon or FIRST program (which I tend to prefer). 

As for using this site, it is a very friendly site. Go to discussions here http://runnersforlife.com/forum

Then you can browse under the different headings and post your questions. There are some very helpful people. I too don't know too many people on this site. It is not so important to know people - sometimes I feel the less you know people the better!

What about you? How often do you run?

Cheers!

John