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Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Locating Satellites...

This morning when I checked the weather before our morning walk, I was suprised to see the temp was 44. Yes, 44! Degrees. Farenheit. In Florida! I nearly spit my coffee out.

So, I did what was sensible: drank another cup of coffee, and bundled Norah and myself up, and she, Scooter and I went for a rather brisk walk.

Thankfully, the day warmed up, but the high was only in the 60s, so it turned out to be another near-perfect day: Sunny clear skies, nearly non-existent humidity, and a comfortable, moderate temp. Perfect conditions for a late afternoon run.

Jerry got home at 4, and I jumped into my running clothes and hit the pavement for a 4 miler. But however ready I was for the run, the Garmin was a bit lethargic. I don't know what its problem was: I can understand when it has trouble locating a signal on a cloudy or rainy day, but perfectly clear, sunny skies? WTF?! I had to stand around outside for nearly 5 minutes in order for it to locate the satellites, and then once it located a signal, it immediately lost it a quarter mile into the run. Luckily, I know a lot of my routes like the back of my hand, so I knew exactly what 4 miles consisted of, and with the timer still running, I had some sense of my pace: I finished the run in 40:48, which is about a 10:10 min/mile pace. Not so shabby.

It felt great too. Which is really the only data I need in order to measure a run's success.

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

I hate it when my Garmin does that. I can never figure out why, I think they're just moody.

This will make you feel better. It's in the 20s in the morning in Georgia. I think Georgia is the fake south.

Lauri said...

It was 19 today in NY with 30+ mile wind gusts!
Which Garmin do you use and how do you like it? I'm thinking of buying one, and am taking a general survey around.

Anonymous said...

It's frustrating when my Garmin can't find its satellites. I have satellite radio as well, and sometimes it does the same thing. Arrrrggh!
Here's a high five for your run today!

Relentless Forward Commotion said...

Maybe your Florida Garmin hates the cold weather !! I know I protest running below 50 degrees!

MCM Mama said...

Glad you had a good run, even if garmin wasn't up for the run!

How was the battery level on your garmin? Sometimes mine has trouble when it's getting near the point where it's going to warn me of a low battery.

RunToTheFinish said...

seriously what happened to the temp this morning?! I went to the treadmill...so spoiled

lifestudent said...

stupid technology. its always messing with us :(

Wes said...

agreed! That's the only measure of success you need. My Garmin can be flaky too...

Heather said...

What great running weather! I'm jealous. I never understand why my garmin sometimes flakes out - it always seems to happen when I'd least expect it.

Shellyrm ~ just a country runner said...

We were in the 20s with a wind chill of 11 degrees. I can not wait for Spring.

When my Garmin was alive (it died in TN while on Vacation..too much sweat) I had the same trouble. Nothing is wore than running and finishing only to see Garmin died miles and miles ago.

I like your attitude about running without Garmin 'working'. Keep it up! You did have a great run!

MNFirefly said...

That sucks! Nice job on the distance.

Paul Yeo said...

oh, just happended to drop by your blog via google....i was from Singapore... Happy new year!

TonyP said...

Here we go again with your beautiful 44 degrees... :))

It was -2 with the wind chill here in NY yesterday !!! Trade ya.

Anonymous said...

That same Garmonian wackiness hits me every now and then too. Just hate it. We're ready to go and waiting...hello!

diana said...

On Sunday it was sunny and high 30's with little wind, which was the best running conditions I've had in a while. It was a perfect run.

Glad it was a great run despite the garmin not getting a signal.

RunningLaur said...

Glad there's some wonderful weather for you - I can absolutely sympathize with the shock of 44 degrees.

TNTcoach Ken said...

Before I forget, I hate U! I would have loved 44 degrees, instead of the 19 with wind...... You are getting your running groove on...

Jess said...

Sorry to hear Garmin was acting up, but great job on the run!

Katie A. said...

Not sure what model you have, but I find that after I download a run, the next time I turn it on it gets a signal like that! So I have taken to downloading every.single.run. I have a 305- but I need to get away from being so dependent on it. I love how I feel when I come back home from a run after leaving my Garmey at home :)

N.D. said...

44, haha, it is real feel like 15 here, 8 yesterday. :)

Amber said...

I've had the same experience as katie a. My Garmin (305) finds a signal super fast after I've downloaded the data, but will take for.ev.er if I haven't. I've taken to DLing the data every time to avoid this.

Unknown said...

Hi, I'm in S Florida too and signed up to do the Disney half next week. Found you through a google search and just wanted to say hello.

Running Jen said...

My Garmin always seems to take forever to find a satellite - drives me nuts. I love this cooler weather, so good for running!