July Events

Here are a few things going on in July:

7/7   Dirty Dozen 5k, 10k, 6 hour and 12 hour events at Point Pinole
7/7   Tri for Fun Triathlon and Duathlon in Rancho Seco
7/7   DU-TOES 3.6 mile run, Duathlon and Triathlon in Orinda
7/8   Tri for Real Triathlon in Rancho Seco
7/8   Run to the Lake 5k and 10k races in Castro Valley
7/14 Color Run 5k in San Francisco
7/14 Run in Good Company 5k in Pleasanton
7/15 Crazy Eights 8k Trail Race at Lake Commanche
7/15 Napa to Sonoma Half Marathon and 5k
7/22 SF Sunday Streets bike event
7/22 Wharf to Wharf race in Santa Cruz
7/22 Sacramento International Triathlon
7/22 Jail Break 5k and 10k at the Alameda County Sheriff Training Center in Dublin
7/28 Bad Bass 5k, 10k, Half Marathon at Lake Chabot
7/28 Run in the Park 5k, 10k at Briones Regional Park
7/29 City Solve Urban Adventure Race in San Francisco
7/29 San Francisco Marathon and Half Marathons


REI Free Clinics (all at 7pm)
  Camping Basics
    7/18 San Franciso
  Camp Cooking Basics
    7/10 Saratoga
    7/12 Brentwood
    7/12 Dublin
    7/17 Fremont
    7/18 San Francisco
    7/19 Berkeley
    7/19 Mountain View
    7/25 Concord
  Half Dome in a Day
    7/10 Fremont
    7/11 Berkeley
    7/26 Dublin
  Hiking the Camino de Santiago in Spain
    7/24  Saratoga
    7/26  Berkeley
  Introduction to Sports Food
    7/10  Stockton
  Introduction to Hiking
    7/17  Brentwood

REI Used Gear Sales (all at 10am)
  7/7   Brentwood
  7/7   Concord
  7/7   Mountain View
  7/7   San Francisco
  7/21 Berkeley

Gear - Garmin Forerunner 405

I had been thinking about getting a new GPS to run with for some time. I had used the Garmin Forerunner 101 for hiking and running for a while, then switched to the Garmin Forerunner 205 and was glad that it was smaller but still wanted something even smaller for my wrist. I made a quick decision to get the Garmin Forerunner 405 after finding it for a good price online. As soon as it arrived in the mail I put it on and noticed how good it felt on my wrist in comparison to the previous GPS units I had used. It didn't arrive with a users manual so I ended up having to use the internet and my intuition to figure out how to use it. After charging it fully I took it on a short run around the neighborhood. I had read reviews about the bezel on the GPS being really sensitive when it gets wet like with sweat or rain. Mine got sweaty and I didn't have any problems with the bezel. I've since taken it on several runs in varying weather including light rain and have never had a problem with the bezel being too sensitive. Actually I've had more of a difficult time with the bezel not being sensitive enough when I'm running.  The unit has been so comfortable that I've taken it on several hikes and some bike rides. There are a few perks with the 405 that I didn't have with the previous GPS units like having the screen light up by double tapping the bezel. I like that it shows the time as well and can be used as a watch if I choose. The plain black color is nice and I have been pleased with its smaller size. It can be set to beep at a designated interval, I've set my interval to be one mile so it beeps every mile and briefly shows me the overall pace for that mile. Unfortunately it doesn't show me my current pace which I had been used to with the other units nor does it show my overall pace for the entire run up to that point. It does have a display that shows battery percentage but I've found it to be inaccurate as the percentage gets lower. For example, I've had it display 30% or more and have the unit die on me just a few minutes into my run. It did take me a few tries before I figured out how to turn off the satellites after my run to save the battery and I can see that being a problem for others. It did come with a heart monitor but I don't use it so I don't have anything good or bad to say about that. After several training runs and races with the Garmin Forerunner 205, I am convinced that it was a good purchase.

205 vs. 405

Garmin 405