THE SMART WATCH: THE SMART TRACKING TOOL FOR RUNNERS.

In my basic framework post, I have discussed the concept of accountability. 

The concept of accountability helps me to stay on track and achieve my goals.  It brings immense discipline and focus. 

Here, in this post, I will share the tool that I use for accountability. I will also tell you how I discovered them.  These tools have led me to bring the best out of me. 

The very first tool that I want to tell you about is my Smart Watch.  I wear a watch on my wrist that does much more than tell me the time and day.  It tells me a lot about my running.

Yess! These days, the enthusiastic runners can rejoice in the fact that there is a whole lot of choices that they can have to find the best watch for themselves out of a maze. 

The first time I came to know about the Smart Watch, I jumped with joy.  But, I got confused about the best match for me.  So, I took the time to research and find out what worked best for me – good in quality and fair in pricing. 

And therefore, after intense research, I bought my first Smart Watch for running.  It was bought in January 2019. 

So, let us to get to the point.  I have this Garmin Forerunner 35.  That’s the name of the model.  If you just google it, you will find the places to shop in your country. 

THE CHALLENGES IN TRACKING MY RUNS.

 You can also find a whole lot of features.  So much so that it may become quite overwhelming for a first-time buyer of a Smart Watch for running.  So, here is a list of things that I kept in my mind while choosing the one for me.

1.  I love to track my runs.  I run with annual running goals.  And they are further divided into daily and monthly goals.  Initially, I used to keep a manual note of all my runs.  I was using a mobile app to track my runs.
2. But, I encountered problems.  Like, I would lose data when the GPS went off.  Mobile networks use the internet to use GPS systems.  So, if you moved to an area without a network, your GPS would disappear.  The app would behave crankily and it will reset to zero.
3. I also encountered trouble whenever I got a call on my mobile.  It would reset.
4. I could not play music properly on my mobile while running. Most mobile apps do not support the music on their platform.

I realized that tracking data is big trouble with these mobile apps.  So, I was looking for an alternative.  And that’s when I came to know about Smart Watches. I remember that I found the watches from one of the enthusiastic bloggers! Just like you just did!!

THE CHECKLIST FOR A TRACKING DEVICE

As I had been running for some time, I had quite a lot of good experience in identifying issues in tracking runs. So it was quite clear what I wanted to see in my Smart Watch.

So, I wanted to buy a Smart Watch that could track my runs and give me reliable data.  That’s it.  I was just looking for running data tracking.  Nothing much.

When I started to dig deep into various smart watches, I found that:

1. They can support a whole lot of sports.  For example, my Garmin Forerunner 35 supports mainly 3 sports: Running, Swimming, and Cycling.  So, this could be a good match for a person who is looking at preparing for an Ironman. 
2. A good watch should come with good battery life.  It should be able to support your running for a minimum of 6 to 8 hours without charging.  I am sure you won’t be interested in carrying power bank on the run.
3. It should be from a well-known brand.  A well-known brand ensures that they have good after-sales service and customer support centres online and offline – both.  So far with my watch, I have used their website to sort out my issues.  It’s great.
4. It should be easy to wear.  It should have a good strap. 
5. It is waterproof.  All the Smart Watches come with a waterproof feature.  So, you need not worry about this aspect. 
6. As you loaded more features, the price went up.  Like, there are watches available with music as well.  You can also receive messages on your watch and even reply.  And things like that.  But, I was never interested in these.  So, I wanted to keep just the basics.
7. The price should be reasonable.  Just because it is a good watch that does not make me buy.  The price should be reasonable. 

And I am glad to inform you that my Garmin Forerunner 35 is an amazing piece of art in all the above.  I have not faced any problem with it so far.  There were some minor aberrations here and there but they were sorted out. 

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