Garmin Watches, vFit, & the vCommunity

Garmin Forerunner 235

Recently my Garmin Forerunner 235 watch died. It was 3.5 years old, had a cracked screen, but it had a good run - pun intended. I was looking for a replacement to track my runs and bike rides. I’ve enjoyed the Garmin and wanted to get another one. The options I wanted to add with this watch was Garmin Pay and a touch screen. As I’ve covered in a previous blog, I’m not in the Apple ecosystem, so I didn’t consider an Apple Watch.

On a vFit run earlier this year during the VMUG Leader Summit, Luke Huckaba and I were discussing watches. So I hit him up on the vExpert slack to continue the conversation.

vFit Run 2020 Leader Summit

Luke gave solid advice and I went with the Vivoactive 3. I tried to find it at my local Fleet Feet store, but they did not have it. I found it online for a good price on Amazon. 

I have been running since 2015 and it’s been a great exercise for my lifestyle. I owe the idea to my wife, who challenged me to find a healthy habit and Victor Bohnert who told me it was a great way to see a city when traveling. Back then, I weighed 260 lbs (118 kg) and didn’t do much for exercise. I had recently started the VMUG job and traveling was going to be a bigger part of my life. 

Miles per Year

I log about 800 miles (1300 km) a year and the watch helps keep me motivated to stay on track. The watch tracks my miles and my weight. I've lost about 60 lbs (27 kg) since 2015 and this helps me keep it off.

****October 25, 2020 update**** I realized these numbers were not adding up. My mistake was the above chart has bicycle rides as well (new to biking in 2020). Below is the chart with just runs.

Weigh-ins

Recently, my daughter and I picked up cycling. I have a Trek 850 I bought in the 90’s. A few YouTube videos later, I had the gears working again. Last year, my daughter outgrew her bike and now she’s on an adult bike. Good thing we got it when we did, because Covid has depleted the bicycle supply. 

This year, VMworld is virtual. I’ll miss the in-person VMworld partly because of the vFit runs. vFit is Eric Wright’s brainchild and a great way to meet people and not get off track during long conferences like VMworld or Dell Tech World. They typically meet up early each morning for a 5k run. These runs may have 5 people or 25 people. The organizer will have a nice run mapped out and guides to help along the way. Any pace is acceptable, it's all about getting some exercise, fresh air, and meeting more of the community.  

vFit Run in Vegas

Tech jobs often require time at the keyboard. I encourage all of you to find a hobby that gets you away from a screen. It doesn't have to be exercise, but running has worked for me.

The vCommunity is filled with people who enjoy IT and all sorts of other activities. We are here to support each other. It doesn't matter how fast you run, what your interest are, where you live, or how you do things. We all learn from each other. So don’t hesitate to reach out if you need anything. The vCommunity won’t disappoint.