Indecision clouds my vision

"Just get yourself the Garmin thing - that's what you want anyways."

My wife can be so... convincing sometimes. Thing is, I haven't made a decision on how to spend some extra money I got during Christmas. I've told her that I want/need a new pair of running shoes but I haven't bought them so I believe that gives her the idea that I don't really want new shoes and would prefer "that Garmin thing."

And there is some truth to that. I like my shoes that I have now. I only use them for running and that's it. And they are working well right now. I don't feel the need to change them. But I've been told by other people that I should probably change shoes every six months or so if I'm going to be running, and I've had those shoes for a few months more than that.

But the Garmin thing is great. Ah, it seems like a toy. The shoes are clothes and the Garmin Forerunner is a toy, and who wants to unwrap boring old clothes? Not I!

Okay, well, maybe my wife is right. Maybe I do want "that Garmin thing" and I'm not really being honest with myself. It seems really cool. Now, I already have a heart rate monitor, which along with my shoes and iPod are indespensible parts of my running/workout equipment. I have a feeling that the Garmin could take a spot up there as well.

It comes highly recommended by a runner who is far more experienced at running than I am, has run longer distances than me and knows first-hand the positives this expensive hunk of machinery offers.

What are those features? Glad you asked. It measures speed, distance, pace and calories burned. And what do I use for those things right now? Well, for speed... uh... and distance I use the walkjogrun.net site when running outdoors. For pace I use the same thing as speed and my calories burned are calculated by my heart rate monitor, although honestly to me that's the thing I care about the least. I'm much more interested in how my heart rate rises and falls during workouts than I am knowing I burned X amount of calories per workout.

Those are great features. I could use a more direct way of calculating distances. Not that the walkjogrun.net site isn't good - it is great in fact, particularly if I'm mapping out a new route. But sometimes I like to know how far into a run I'm in, and I don't have any way of figuring that out now during my run. If I look at the mile markers on the walkjogrun, then I know but it can get confusing if you are running more than five miles or so - that's five markers at least that you are going to have to memorize. And I'll be logging some heavy miles coming here shortly so that's not a great option.

So, how much does the Garmin thing cost? Brand new, about $120. But my blog buddy recommended ebay, and I've looked into that as well as other places. I can knock off about 30-40 so far but may have to wait for the price to go down on ebay or elsewhere to get more of a deal.

I don't know why I'm so hesitant. Part of me thinks that I should just get the shoes and be done with it. I'll have a new pair of shoes and between that and the ones I have now I'll be fine for the rest of the year. But the other part wants a toy, sees the potential in the Garmin thing and is willing to invest a little in what could be a valuable training tool.

My wife didn't give me a firm deadline, but did warn me that there are other ways we could spend the money - bills! What a waste! So as I go throughout my day, I'll be thinking Garmin, shoes, Garmin, shoes, Garmin, shoes....