FIRST GPS WATCH
Garmin Forerunner 55
$ budget-friendly within watches & tech
The default answer to 'which running watch should I buy first.' GPS, pace, distance, wrist heart rate, suggested workouts, and a battery that lasts a couple of weeks. The screen is not fancy and it will not play music, and none of that matters for training.
Best for: your first watch that just works
See price & details on Amazon.ca →Current price, sizes, flavours and full specs live on the Amazon listing.
Worth knowing about watches & tech
- Buy last year's model. GPS did not get meaningfully better in twelve months, but the price got meaningfully lower.
- If your heart rate data looks insane, the fix is a chest strap, not a more expensive watch.
- Do not chase your VO2max estimate. It is an algorithm's guess, and it dips every time you run in the heat.
- Tighten the watch one notch above your wrist bone before hard workouts; loose optical sensors read cadence as heart rate.
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