Garmin... why oh why must your charge be empty?!

I put mine on the dock connected to the computer every night.  Grab it every morning, bring it with me for the days workouts and then connect it back again every night since I upload my data nightly.  Might be one of the benefits of the 305 not having the auto sync with the computer like the 405 and 310.

My problem is less with the Garmin's charge than with the insufferably long time it can take to link up to satellites (I've a 405).

There I am, ready to run, and the wretched thing is STILL working on connections! That little progress bar is my enemy: every time it goes all the way to the right, my hopes go up that I can finally get going...only for the bar to slip leftwards again. Grrrr!

Once it DOES connect, though, all is well and (eventually) forgiven. But those minutes at the outset can feel like hours when it's cold and windy outside (like it is today) and I'm not yet moving fast enough to stay warm.

I turn my garmin on when I start getting ready to go run and the signal is good to go by the time I'm out the door.  Just a suggestion.

Yeah I turn on my garmin and set it on the window sill by the door while I'm changing into my gear, then when I get done with my workout, I put it on the cradle, upload to bt, and disconnect it after its fully charged.


Edited by ionlylooklazy 2010-04-17 3:27 PM

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I just leave mine charging all the time. It hasn't seemed to affect the battery power, but since I only use it for running I imagine I'd have to really do a number on the battery for it to be an issue. The longest I've ever used it for is a 4:10 marathon.

But on the rare occasion when I've wanted to go running and the Garmin hasn't been charged...I went running anyway. I kind of can't imagine waiting for it to charge. I just put on a regular watch and do a route I knew the length of (I've got probably a dozen of these routes), or even left the watch at home and estimated my time. Seems like an un-charged Garmin is a great excuse to go naked and just run for the fun of it. I try to do that a few times a month anyway.

Good thought. I'll give that a try tomorrow before I head out for my ride-- having to do the "Hurry-T-F-U-I'm-Freezing-Out-Here" dance on the sidewalk this morning wasn't exactly pleasant...

Speak of the devil, I am waiting for mine to charge right now. I should just plug it in when I get done running. It seems my new 310 doesn't have the battery life my old one had. It could be my imagination, but I don't ever remember my first one draining so quickly. I had to exchange my first one because it was taking on water.

Ugh...here I wait and I am ready to run.

Run naked.
Its better.
Trust me.


I rarely use my Garmin anymore. I prefer to just run by feel, then  figure out the distance when I get home.

I cant remember where I read this but the person confirmed it worked for them..   This is reguarding the slow sattelite accquistion.  I havent tried it my self but probably should cause my garmn 305 takes forever to find satelites. 

Hold the down arrow while turning the power on.  Supposedly this resets the Sat data and configs it to your area,,.... Like I said havent tried yet...

It will take about 20 mins....

Edited by orphious 2010-04-17 5:57 PM

I do quite a bit but as my runs get longer I wanted to get a good gauge on if I was slowing down at all at the end of my long runs. Like for today for example 1:45 run and I managed to keep it just over 5mph... for the whole run (Yes I am slow... I know)

I don't keep mine on the charger because my computer is a laptop. However my husband hooked up some kinda USB charger I can use... Think it's conneted to the wii or something like that? Anyway I just have to remember it's there now.



Edited by IdealMuse 2010-04-17 6:04 PM

Is there really a way to turn it off? (Insert DUH here - I feel stupid for asking). I usually just head out without it if I forgot to charge it.

Yes...hold the power button down that you use to turn it on.

I have a 405...it's just ON, or dead. I swear there is no power button...I must be really dumb!

I like my Garmin...I don't like gadgets, generally (no HRM, no iPod), but I like having a speedometer and an odometer for my runs.  So...

We're a two Forerunner 205 household, so we've got one cradle hooked up to our PC and the other plugged into an outlet.  Sometimes I don't care about the data from the run and I'll just throw it on the charger after a workout.  Other times, I'm interested in amount of climbing I did (esp. on the bike), so I'll upload to the PC then leave it on the cradle to charge.

Have to throw my wife under the bus here, though:  She's bad about leaving her Garmin turned on (and also about not ever cleaning old workouts out of the memory).  She's had a few instances of no charge when wanting it for a workout.

Funny thing is I know my distances perfectly. I shouldn't even have to run with it. But it is like my blanky. I feel like I have to have it. I should really get over it.

Just a tip - it will obtain the satellite much faster if you take it off and sit is on a still surface.  Even if you are not running yet, your arm is moving while waiting for it to get a satellite.

When I start to get ready I take it outside and turn it on.  By the time I am ready so is my Garmin.   If I am out of town I will do what someone else said, place it in the window.  Only takes a minute or so to grab a satellite.

enjoy,
Duane