A Garmin on Every Wrist/Bike — An Election Day Contest

By Mike – November 2, 2010Posted in: Garmin, Gear Review, Motivation, Training Tips

The time has come. It is time for me to give away some product. Since Election Day is today (and I hope all of you got out to vote), I am going to make a promise to you that everyone who reads my blog will have a Garmin on their wrist during my term if I am elected.

Not really, but I think you already knew that.

Now let me warn you — this isn’t any normal contest. This product is not provided by the manufacturer nor any company who wants to advertise their name. The only person I am beholden to is me for this contest, so that also means that I make the rules. I picked the prizes because they are useful and something that every runner or cyclist could use. So let’s first talk about what we will be giving away and then I will tell you how you can enter.

The Prizes

For this contest, the winner will receive their choice of a new Garmin Forerunner 405 or Edge 500. Let me be clear — the winner gets their choice of one of the units and not both. If you have both units, then you do not get a choice of something of equal value. Be a friend and give one to someone else if you are already so well equipped that you are sporting both. Either way, you will get the unit and a HRM strap to help you track your training. The good news is the units will be brand new and I won’t send you my old smelly used ones. I thought about that but the appeal for those units would be limited.

I think you guys all know by now I use the Garmin Forerunner 405 to track my runs. There are limits to the way it functions, but for the most part I feel if you are looking for a GPS unit to track your runs, the 405 is one of the best pieces of technology available. The information that it can provide you can help you fine tune your training, regardless if you are training for a 5K or an Ironman. I couple the 405 with the TKO+ software from Training Peaks. Go ahead and print out this picture, cut out the Forerunner and tape it on your wrist to see how it will look when you win…

You only get one, but you can choose the color you want it in — black or green.

For your cyclists out there, I am including as one of the choices the Garmin Edge 500. I used the Edge 750 for a long time and continue to use it on rides I haven’t done before and need directions. But my everyday bike CPU is the 500. I love how compact it is. The screen size was a concern to me because I have five fields I like to monitor while riding — speed, ride time, current watts, heart rate, and distance. The screen is plenty big and I can see each metric clearly. The battery life is fantastic and I can usually use it for 15 hours of ride time without worrying about a recharge. I have a PowerTap and it was easy to pair with the Edge 500 initially. As part of the prize you will get the 500 and a HRM strap as well. If you want a PowerTap hub, you are on your own. Print out this picture, cut out the unit, and paste it to the stem of your bike. Visualization is a great way to help you achieve your goals you know!

Contest Rules and How to Enter

This contest is easy to enter and uses common sense as its rules. Each person can have multiple entries, but can only have the number of entries specified in each category. Here are your options:

  1. Become a Follower of 26.2ismycooldown.com — This has to be the easiest way to enter. If you are already a follower, then you are already entered. If you become a follower, then you have an entry. Number of entries: 1
  2. Post this contest to your blog and link to the homepage – Just mention the contest and provide a link in the post to 26.2ismycooldown.com. The great thing about WordPress is it tracks your links automatically and I can track your entry without you sending me an email. You can get up to five entries in this category if you link to this contest on five separate days on your blog. Remember, the links have to be put up on your posts on separate days. Number of entries: 5
  3. Post a link to the contest in Facebook – I know this is a little cheesy, but it is another way to earn an entry, so why not? I can’t track the links from Facebook, so please email me once you make your post. Number of entries: 1
  4. Make a comment on my posts from now until the end of day on Sunday — I want you to comment on this post, but comment on my other posts as well. You can make as many comments as you like, but you can only get one entry per day. You can earn up to five entries in this category if you leave five separate posts on five separate days. The posts do have to be left by midnight MST on Sunday to count.  Those comments that refer to how smart and good-looking I am will get no additional consideration, just a big smile from me.  Number of entries: 5

If you have any questions or want clarification on any of the rules, please either leave a comment or email me — either way I promise to get to your question as soon as I can. On Monday, November 8th I will take all the qualifying entries and put them into an Excel spreadsheet. I will then use a random number generator to determine the winner. I will then publish the results on Tuesday November 9th and will email the winner. If the winner does not contact me with their shipping information within 48 hours, I will then select another winner using the same process. Everyone clear?

Conclusion

I want you to win. That’s right, I want YOU to win. Please make sure you maximize the number of entries and give yourself the best chance to win. If there is any question about the results or the contest rules, I will defer to my friend who is an ADA in Texas…they carry guns you know.

About the Author

I have been participating in running and triathlons for 10 years and love the feeling that training provides. You may not agree with me, but you know you just can't look away...