I have now made a bunch of runs using the Garmin GPS, and I must say that I love this thing.  I've been logging my miles for over two years now (see link to my Running Log at left) and I've been very anal about getting my mileage down accurately.  This has meant that my runs have always been done along routes where I already know the disatnce, or along routes I can easily remember and then use a website like MapMyRun.com to calculate the mileage.  MapMyRun works just fine, but only if you can remember the entire route and then trace the whole thing again online after it's over.  If too many twists and turns are thrown in, it gets difficult to remember.

 

But now with the GPS, I feel as though I have a whole new sense of freedom.  I can roam wherever I want.  In the last two weeks, I have explored corners of my town that I hadn't explored in the previous 7 years that I have lived here.  And what I am finding is that this town is named "Summit" for a reason.  It is very hilly, and we are just about at the top of the hill.  That means that any run of significant distance that starts and ends at my home will start with a downhill slope and end with an uphill slope.  That's not typically what you want in a 15 mile run, for example.  But, you do what you have to do.

 

In other developments...  I have not posted much this year about the University of Florida basketball team.  The string of weeks at #1 ended last weekend with a loss at Vanderbilt.  That loss was understandable because, heck, everybody has to lose sooner or later.  But this weekend at LSU was much worse.  LSU had been underacheiving all season, and they went into this game without Glen Davis, their best player.  And still, they made it look easy against the Gators.  UF never really came close, and certainly didn't look like a team that returned 5 starters from a National Championship winner.  I suppose anybody will look bad when they go 2 for 17 from 3-point range, and one must be glad that a game like that happened in February and not in March. 

 

I still think the Gators have as good a squad as anyone, and with the skill and experience on the roster I really like the chances of a repeat.  But I guess this game did make me a little less confident in that belief...

I received my wonderful Garmin Forerunner 305 last week, and soon thereafter took it out for the first time.  I only scratched the surface of what it can do, but it sure seems pretty neat.  Once I got home and attached it to the computer with a standard USB connection, I instantly knew the exact distance that I ran, plus zillions of other bits of data, including heart rate data, an elevation chart, etc.  There's so much more I can do with it, but it'll take me a while to delve into all that. 

 

Not only do I know the exact distance that I ran, but I could see the exact route on a Google Map. Click on the map at the left to view a full-size image of it. I am amazed at just how exact the map is. While it's a wee bit scary to think that the Garmin company will know my whereabouts within a foot or so, I am thrilled that I will now know the exact distances of all my runs, and maybe I can avoid the type of fiasco that happened at the Las Vegas Marathon.  Lordy, at least I hope so...

 

Anyway, yesterday we had our first storm of any signficance this winter.  Accumulation totals weren't much, but we got quite a bit of ice and wind to go with the few inches of snow.  All in all, I didn't find the driving to be all that difficult (it's not too hard when you go slow), but the radio said there will zillions of accidents on the roads.  I guess that doesn't surprise me, since I saw tons of cars flying along the snow-covered highways as if it was a normal day.  And I bet those people wondered why they got into accidents...

 

February is certainly not my favorite month.  I've never been a fan of the cold, and the snowy, slushy slop makes it quite a pain in the neck to run in.  Plus, there aren't any really good sporting events to watch until March Madness.  But... just a few more weeks...

Hello again, folks.  It sure is cold out there these days, isn't it?  Well, today is Super Bowl Sunday.  Big parties everywhere.  But not here.  Nope, Maggie and I are staying in tonight, watching the game alone.  And that's fine with us. 

 

So what's my prediction for the game?  Well, usually I pick the team with the better defense, even if it's the underdog.  Thus it would seem as though I should go with the Bears tonight.  But then again, I'm not sure the Bears' defense is the better one at this point.  The Colts' D has been playing pretty well, and the Bears' isn't as good as it was early in the year.  Thus, I think I gotta pick the Colts to win.  I'm not in love with the pick, but it's what I'll go with.

 

In other news, I have finally bought myself a GPS to take with me on my outdoor runs.  I bought in online, so I don't have it yet.  But I am really looking forward to getting it and giving it a whirl.  I bought a Garmin Forerunner 305.  It's looks pretty awesome, so I'm excited about it. 

 

For those who haven't noticed, I have added a new page to Bobmann.net.  I've added a few of my favorite 80s videos, thru the magic of YouTube.  There aren't very many there yet, but I will keep adding them at the rate of "whenever I feel like it".  So check back often to see if your favorite 80s video gets added.  You can access the page by clicking the link on the Navagation bar to the left of this page. 

 

Until next time...