Also... trying to convince my self I don't have a stress fracture of the right fibula. Of course, any time there is pain in one of my legs, my mind goes straight to the worst. A few days off now. I might try a slower trail run on Saturday.

Things I love to hear in a conference call.. Part 1

"You say you can do better testing than others, but we don't care about that. We want the product to conform to the standards of today. Just show that your current tests and our product meet the standards."

Same phone call...

"You can stop sending us business developers, we don't care about that. We need to work with your regulatory and quality people."

Garmin Forerunner 10 - Watch Band Issue

I have had the Garmin Forerunner 10 for about nine months now. For three of those months, it sat unused due to my IT band injury and the lack of running while rehabbing it. So, after six months of normal use, the watch band came apart. Up to that point, I had been very happy with the watch. I looked at the construction of it, and it is composed of a rubber watch band over-molded on a plastic anchor. Now, this is basically what I expected to find. What I didn't expect to find was that the anchors have no lands or barb-like geometry that would properly hold the overmold in place. The plastic is smooth, and they were basically relying upon the adhesion force between two flat surfaces to hold the band together. There were no physical barriers to separation: picture the barb on a fishhook holding the hook in the fish's mouth. As a materials engineer with a manufacturing background, I find this to just be a poor design. From a quick scan of the web, it appears that plenty of other users have had this issue.

In all fairness, Garmin offered to waive the normal $20 (plus shipping) replacement cost of the band. Awfully nice of them. I asked the woman on the phone if she knew if they had changed the design. She stated that she didn't think they had changed it, and basically acknowledged that they have had issues with this. I imagine I might have to make the same phone call in another few months.

The part of this watch's design that really bugged me was the band lugs. As you might be able to see in the photo, the lugs are designed so as to preclude the use of an aftermarket band. They are too narrow in the middle to allow an aftermarket band to be placed around/under the pins that hold the band in place. I work in medical devices, and in that field it is a matter of safety and liability that you might design something with proprietary fittings. After all, if a medical device fails, it could cost someone their life, which in turn can cost a manufacturer its reputation and business. In the case of a sports watch, there is no real reason to preclude aftermarket bands, particularly when your band is ultimately designed to fail under normal use conditions.

If it weren't for those two design flaws, I probably wouldn't even post this. The watch performs well as a GPS watch. I find it to be within +/- 5% of my runs, tighter than that on most. I love the auto-pause feature. It's just the band... Sometimes, the simplest part of the product is the easiest one to botch.

/Rant

EDIT: I should add that the customer service rep was extraordinarily helpful in the phone call. I have yet to receive notice that my order has shipped, but barring a disaster on that front, the Garmin folks seem to handle CS quite well.

EDIT II: I also realize that there is any easy way to fix this issue by wrapping a wire through the original rubber band and securing it with some twists. Adding a heat shrink wrap over the top of the wrapped wire would help any snags on clothing or skin.

South Foster Volunteer Fire Company 5k and 10k

I have to say, that this was a fun run. It's one the small, which I enjoyed. However, for the sake of the Fire Department, I hope it grows in the coming years. They have a lot going for them. First, the course was beautiful. Some rolling hills on paved and gravel roads through the autumn woods. It's a really nice setting. Second, the people that run it are really friendly. Third, it's cheap ($22). Fourth, the long sleeve t-shirt was pretty cool (would wear in public). Fifth, with your entry fee you get a chili lunch... and they have veggie chili for those of us that are off meat. I strongly suggest that people try to run either the 5k or 10k next year.

I was very happy with my results in the race. The first mile was mostly a straight line, either flat or down hill: 5:45. Whenever you have a combo 5k/10k race, you can never be quite sure if you're chasing 5k or 10k runners. Thankfully, the split in the field came at 0.5 miles. The second mile began with the Swamp Meadow Covered Bridge (honestly, I hardly remember it), but I do remember that a gentle hill followed the bridge. Second mile: 6:39 due to the hill. The next three miles were some rollers through the back roads along pretty woods. Those miles were all about 6:15 give or take. In the middle of the sixth mile, I got a side stitch (forgot to take on extra potassium before the run), which prevented me from breathing right. I actually got a little dizzy and overheated. Took off my shirt, which I never do, and gutted out the last half mile. Overall time was 38:53, which was a PR for me. I have never been below 40 in the 10k. Now, I'll set my sights on 38:30 at some point.

About to start stretching the mileage

I think I now have the confidence in my IT band that I can start stretching my mileage a bit. I have been hovering at 30 - 33 miles per week for a month and a half, now. I definitely won't go beyond the 10% per week (or per long run).

I'm starting to feel good about the upcoming season. This weekend will be my first 10k in over a year, The South Foster Volunteer Fire Company 10k. It sounds like a fun race. That part of RI will hopefully still have some fall colors, and we get to run over the only covered bridge on public roads in the state, The Swamp Meadow Bridge. Of course, the bridge was built in 1994, as a replica of an early 19th-century bridge. It was built by volunteers from locally-sourced logs.

After the run, I plan on taking my mom and dad, who will hopefully be there as spectators, to Jerimoth Hill, the highest point in RI. At 812 feet, it's not exactly all that impressive, but as a native RI-er, I have never been there. No school field trips, or anything like that. So, I am taking this opportunity to do it now.