filippigirl ~ in my opinion there is nothing wrong using all these technogadgets to help gauge your heart rate, pace, mileage, etc. i know elite distance runners can simply go out, put in the mileage, return, look at their watch, and know exactly how far they've run. i can do it and so can all of my teammates. for everyone who can't do this, it's good to know where you're at, especially if you're not an everyday runner and may not be running enough to simply maintain fitness. i recommend these methods to gauge distance, pace, and heartrate. clearly it wont make you faster, but it will absolutely help you judge where you're at and if you need to make adjustments in your training. if you've got the extra cash and this is the type of investment you wanna make, go for it ... if not then use the aforementioned methods
~from a current division 1 distance runner
~from a current division 1 distance runner