I used to run prior to buying my Garmin 305, and I even ran a 10k with decent timing, after deciding last year to leave the couch behind. I had a myriad of foot related injuries and at one point my sports med pretty much told me that all lower extremities will require replacement. I hope he was joking. But the fact was I had no clue as to how I was pushing myself. Even the course around my house I knew as if the back of my hand, I didnt know whether I was doing better one day vs the previous, whether I am pushing myself too hard, how far I was running etc. I would drive my car around the course usually, If I ran different to calculate the mileage, but that became a hassle (found out later that there are other ways such as Mapmyrun which overlays google maps etc.)

My two bit advice to you would be dont buy a gps training device (which is what it is) unless you were training for something. And something bigger than a 5k or a 10k. If you just started running, then run for the fun of it and when you have got that in your blood, get a training device, when you are ready to step up to the next level. A gps device the first time you start running would overwhelm you with all the data (and Garmin 305 buries you with it, and I love it!). You need all the data when you are ready to make sense with it. Initially, you should smell the crisp air outside (or the smog), feel your heart pounding inside the ribcage, see the next hill as you race towards it and its more gratifying than a lot other things, like reaching for the next bag of chips.

A Garmin 305 with its heart monitor will give you tons of data. It will poll your position every 3 seconds, and you can use a tool like SportTracks to overlay that on google maps or Google Earth to see what you burned through. Garmin has its own training tool, like Garmin Connect, which previously sucked, but now is much better. Still I would like to direct you at Sport Tracks as its free and gives you a cumulative representation of your training than other tools. There is nothing better than seeing a month worth of data and see that you have ran 100 miles in the last one month, which days you ran, what your average pace were, your splits/laps. And oh..and graphs, more and more graphs. You can also track as to what parts of the course you were running fast vs slow, your heartbeat zones and the areas of the course where you were about to pop so that you can be better prepared etc. The Garmin 305 does a piss poor job at calculating the calories burned, as it computes it based on the distance covered, not on your heart beat which is a better route. But as long as you burn more than you take in, even if its a rough figure, you would lose weight gradually.

Sure, you dont need Garmin 305 (which is rather bulky, but once its on your hand you dont feel its there) or any other training devices unless you are prepared to take your training to the next level. I am running a half marathon in November and I am treating my training just as I would treat anything else thats important in my life. I have a goal of a set number of hours:minutes before I cross the line and I am not ready to leave that to speculation. I train because I want to be injury free and better prepared. And thats what I have my Garmin. YMMV.

It comes across Little Timmy, one tiny snack..and then we got Robo-Zombies.

Thank you for pointing it out so succinctly.

What I simply do not understand is a community who has embraced technology, who have a first hand view of how the world is evolving around us, how technology is driving that change, can be so blind towards the ills of protectionism. They are eager to embrace ideas from around the globe, irrespective of where it originated, except when an Organization has to make a choice between hiring locally or globally.

I liken this to how the Cobol or Legacy programmers felt when new technologies came calling.

I am glad that you have no real say in public policy in this country. And Sir, you are a jackass!

here who is complaining about lost jobs due to H1-B and corporate fatcats are actually volunteering at soup kitchens, volunteering their time at networking events for people out of work, helping the unemployed get their financial priorities in order as well as help them stay motivated in their search for new jobs?

Seriously, how many of you, CITIZENS of this country, instead of clamouring for the Govt, the Senators and the Congressmen to do the 'right thing', are willing to spend their time and efforts helping the truly disadvantaged better their lives?

Yes, that will teach them!!! Err.. wait, who are we punishing again? The employers who will merely outsource the whole division or to the families of those H1-Bs who just got laid off. Or do we care?

The concept of a global workforce is not one that goes away as the global economic tail winds shift. Regardless of whether politicians all of a sudden grow a conscience or not.

I am on an H1-B. I have been here for the last 9 years, and though I have seen poverty that is far more dire than that around me currently, I am not insulated against what goes on around the country. People who were paid 50k before are pizza delivery guys now, the shame that comes with the inability to afford the basic necessities for your kids, plays all across communities around the country.

But how do you ever plan to make all of them right, by getting rid of all the immigrant families here now?