Using the Garmin 305 in the swim of a triathlon
Before the race, I did quite a bit of research to figure out how to use my Garmin Forerunner 305 in the swim. There was a bit of information on the newsgroups, on some blogs, and on the MotionBased forums. The watch is certified to be water resistant at a depth of 1 meter. However, the force of the water on the watch if you wore it on your wrist for the swim would exceed that of a depth of 1 meter. I read where some folks stuck it under their swim caps. I tested that method and thought that had to be the craziest set-up ever. Also, hoping I pushed the right buttons before the race was more of a risk than I wanted to take. Finally, I read quite a few people's experiences using the velcro strap extender and wearing the watch above the bicep. I was still a bit worried, because I also read nightmares of the watch ending up on the bottom of a lake. I ended up using the quick-release mount and the velcro extension, and my experience was terrific. Five days later there is still no evidence of adverse effects on the watch, no sign of moisture under the screen, and the wrist mount really secures the watch. So much so, I remember wrestling with it in T1 trying to pop it out so I could put the watch on the bike mount. A couple of times during the swim, I remember glancing over to make sure the watch was still there. No worries! Very satisfied with the performance. The map it produced is kind of screwy. I know I was off track a bit, but I think a lot of the wierd tangents have more to do with it being underwater intermittently and losing satellite reception.