Special Delivery!

I came home yesterday to find this waiting for me:

Inside I found something I'd been anxiously awaiting:

my new baby!

That's right, I'm now the proud owner of the Garmin Forerunner 310xt!! I'd been eying this bad boy for a while, lusting after it's multisport mode (perfect for triathlon!) and 20 hour battery life (perfect for ultras). The 310xt is currently Garmin's top of the line sportswatch so it comes with a pretty steep pricetag, but I was fortunate enough to be able to employee purchase mine at a significant discount since my work is a retailer. Major score. So last week, after months of hesitation, I faxed in my order and then...waited. I expected a confirmation email, but after a couple days I hadn't received anything. I was really hoping to get the 310xt by AR 50, so I was getting a little anxious. I decided to send an email to check on things and the next day received a reply that not only had they received my order but it was already on it's way! And when I got home that evening a lovely little box was waiting to be opened : )

 a nice, big screen!

I have yet to use my 310xt (I'm still working on a name for my new baby - open to suggestions!), but I spent this morning setting it up and customizing everything. This post was a huge help in getting me acquainted to my new addition. If you have any Garmin devices (or are considering buying one), I can't recommend this blog enough. It's written by an accomplished triathlete and has the most thorough, but still easy to understand, overviews and in-depth reviews of gear for runners, cyclists, and triathletes. One thing I can say about the 310xt so far is that it's far more user friendly than I expected it to be with so many features.

And if you were wondering, yes I already had a Garmin. Back in December 2009 my dad bought me the Forerunner 405 (check out my review), christened Juliette, which I've been using ever since and absolutely love. It took my running to a whole new level and made me feel like a serious runner : ) But while it was great for the running I'd been doing at the time, the battery life wasn't enough for ultras and doesn't offer a multisport mode (have to manually switch modes). With AR 50 coming up and several triathlons, I felt I was ready for a bit of an upgrade. I plan on continuing to use Juliette, mostly for my shorter runs, with my 310xt used mainly for long runs and races, cycling, and triathlons. I'm pretty excited to add this little beauty to my gear. I'll be putting together a review as I start using it so look for that in the future!

Do you have a Garmin? If so, which one?