Have you taken advantage of the great Cyber Monday deals yet? If not, you’d better get busy because the clock is ticking. And while you’re surfing for the best deals, stop by our site and we’ll help you sharpen your Cyber Monday keyboard skills. If you’re really good at our Give-a-Garmin game, you’ll also have a chance to win 10 new Garmin GPS devices.

Signs of my addiction: Packing for a long weekend getaway to Phoenix, the first items to go in the suitcase are my running shoes, shorts, running shirts, socks and water bottles (for cycling and running). Not to mention three Forerunners and a nüvi. Now I’m set for a relaxing vacation. My husband has finally come to terms with my addiction and knows that when it’s just the two of us on vacation, we’re going somewhere warm and recreation-friendly. And by recreation, I don’t mean go-carts or golf carts (no offense to Caddy Carl), though we were surrounded by plenty of lush courses during our stay in Scottsdale. I prefer recreation that requires “me” power — biking, hiking, running. My husband picked the perfect place for us to stay in Scottsdale. We were less than a mile from a multi-use trail, which was ideal for some morning runs and even a short bike ride.

There are lots of reasons to love Garmin Connect, and one of my favs is that I can easily upload my activities to the site when I’m traveling. Better yet, I can use the Explore function to search for runs, rides or even hiking routes that other Garmin Connect users have uploaded. Not only does this give you an idea of where to find these great routes, but you can view all sorts of data for that activity. It’s what Garmin Connect does best—recording elevation, distance, timing and more, so you get a real-world picture of the route before you set out to explore it. Our last day in Phoenix, we made a quick stop at Papago Park outside Tempe. Didn’t have much time for our hike, but we did take in some beautiful sights with the sun setting over the mountain ridge. Alas, the setting sun signaled the end of our vacation and time to get back to reality. Would’ve loved to have stayed a few more days, especially when I saw signs at a nearby marina for Ironman Arizona, which is this weekend. I could’ve cheered on my friend Mike and some other triathletes from this area. Another time perhaps. I’ll be back to the sunny southwest again. And I’ve given my husband fair warning of my vacation wish for our 20th anniversary: hiking the Grand Canyon. He said he was thinking beach time, maybe Waikiki. We have a few years to see who wins out. I’ll keep you posted.  

The day we announced the Oregon 550t, Garmin’s waterproof touchscreen handheld with a built-in 3.2 megapixel camera, we knew it would get a lot of people’s attention. The hikers and hunters appreciate its preloaded U.S. topo maps, meaning they no longer have to load, erase and repeat when changing areas of exploration. Climbers and campers embrace the built-in barometric altimeter and 3-axis tilt-compensated electronic compass, which shows your heading even when you’re standing still, without holding it level. And geocachers love going paperless, with the ability to display detailed information for up to 5000 caches, such as location, terrain, difficulty, hints and description. But we hoped that everyone else would find ways to use Oregon in their favorite hobbies and everyday activities. And they have. 

In their November issue, BIKE magazine (above) says Oregon 550t is perfect for “stoking every rider’s inner nerd” as one of 2010′s 10 Most Promising New Products: “Taking GPS technology to the trail – a movement led by companies like Garmin – has revolutionized the way we find and share new trails. … With 850 megabytes of storage, the Oregon makes taking and geo-synching trail photos easier than ever.” And if you prefer snow to dirt, the folks over at SKI magazine put the 550t in their October issue as part of their fall line of Gear and Gadgets. “The key to this high-end handheld is its big color touchscreen. It’s easy to read in direct sunlight and allows for quick toggling between functions, which include compass, altitude, trip calculator and preloaded topo maps.” 

In the video below, see why hunters are flocking toward the 550t, and be sure to check out the award-winning Land of Oregon minisite to learn more about the rest of the Oregon family of handhelds. 

I’m not much for bragging, but this post may be an exception, because … I’m going to Boston! Last Saturday, I ran my second marathon in 3:38:33, beating my time goal of 3:40 and comfortably meeting my qualifying time for the Boston Marathon. Weeks ago, Fred, one of my training partners, said he’d be my personal pacer and get me my Boston qualifying time. I’d run with Fred and Wilma through rainstorms, 4 a.m. “beat the heat” runs, long runs and some local 5ks. With Forerunner keeping me on pace and Fred lending just enough commentary to keep me engaged but not distracted, I ran a comfortably hard, but not excruciating race. See our run in Garmin Connect.

I’d be lying if I said the miles flowed easily. This was not an easy course. In fact, anyone who thinks this area is flat needs to run 26.2 miles through Kansas City. Fortunately, I did some speed work training by Coach Eladio, the course designer, and he made sure his Runner’s Edge group was prepped for the hills. So when I crossed the finish line Saturday, I was not only thrilled to meet my BQ time, but I felt we’d run a smart race that enabled me to shave 9 minutes on a tougher course. And though Fred and I maintained a fairly steady pace, I’m certain our fastest splits came after seeing fellow bloggers Carl and Jake at different points along the course. And the best part is, I didn’t even know they’d be there. Seeing an unexpected, yet familiar face and voice from the sidelines does wonders for a marathoner’s time.

The next thrill came a few days later when I actually went online and registered for Boston 2010. I’ve never been so excited to part with a $130 registration fee. It’s all so official. I’m not really “in” until my qualifying time is verified, and then I’ll be notified by email and first-class mail. When’s the last time I received anything so exciting by first-class mail? Now I just have to figure out how to get to April 19 without getting sidelined by injury or psyched out by training through some long, dark winter days. Cheers to many miles to come.

And congrats to all my friends who ran this race in support of Girls on the Run! We have witnessed the motivation of running for a cause that will help young girls in our community learn grow stronger, healthier and more self-confident through running. Go girls go!

We’re excited to break the news here first, as Garmin today announces its sponsorship of American distance-running record-holders Deena Kastor and Ryan Hall as they prepare for marathons in Chicago and New York City, respectively. To honor these elite athletes’ pursuit of victory in these major world marathons, special limited-edition versions of Garmin’s new FR60 fitness watch will be available exclusively at the race expos and select retailers in those cities.

“Deena and Ryan have been training with Garmin devices for some time, and we are thrilled to see our relationship grow as they rely on Garmin technology to take on the world’s best,” said Stan Brajer, director of Garmin Fitness Sales and Marketing. “As our fitness division grows with products such as the innovative FR60, we have worked with top-tier runners, gold-medal coaches and Tour de France cyclists, and Deena and Ryan exemplify that excellence as true global ambassadors of the sport and our brand.”

As fans and fellow runners in Chicago and New York cheer Kastor and Hall, they’ll also get their first look at Garmin’s sleek and stylish FR60, a fashionable wireless hub for fitness data, in new limited-edition colors – black and gray with a blue bezel for men, and pink and gray with a silver bezel for women. These new models come packaged with Garmin’s premium soft-strap heart rate monitor and tiny SDM4 foot pod for tracking speed and distance indoors and out. The limited-edition colors will be available in Chicago at Garmin’s interactive retail store at 663 N. Michigan Avenue as well as Fleet Feet Sports, Naperville Running Co. and the marathon expo at McCormick Place Convention Center. During marathon weekend in New York, the new FR60 models can be found at Paragon Sports, NY Running Co., JackRabbit Sports and the race expo at Jacob Javits Convention Center. These FR60 bundles will then take a victory lap beyond Chicago and New York, coming to specialty fitness retailers for a limited time.

On Oct. 11 in Chicago, Kastor will be racing in her first marathon since injury forced her to withdraw early in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Marathon. The bronze medalist in the 2004 Athens Olympic Marathon and winner of the 2005 Chicago Marathon (2:21:25), Kastor currently owns the American women’s marathon record (2:19:36), an improvement on her previous record-setting mark at the 2003 London Marathon (2:21:16).

“Garmin makes an incredible product,” Kastor said, in giving a glimpse of how she uses her Forerunner in training. “I get a head start on Ryan for hard training runs and he tries to catch me. I usually look at my Garmin to see what pace I’m running or how much ground I have to cover in order to hold him off. I tease him right before I start by saying ‘Catch me if you can.’ Then, it is only my Garmin giving me information to fend him off. It is my secret weapon.”

After placing third in Boston in April (2:09:30), Hall is a favorite in his New York City Marathon debut on Nov. 1. In 2007, Hall won the men’s Olympic Trials Marathon in New York, paving the way for his 10th-place finish in Beijing. He’s currently second all time on the American list with a personal best of 2:06:17 from the 2008 London Marathon.

“Garmin’s an essential part of my training,” said Hall, who holds the American half-marathon record of 59:43. “I spend a lot of time on the road, and I’ve done tempo runs in Africa where I’m on a long hill in the middle of nowhere, along the villages, and I look down and know my mile splits, I know my pace, I have all that stuff right there for me.”

The new waterproof, soft-strap heart rate monitor packaged with the limited-edition FR60 models is streamlined and more comfortable than ever. The entire strap is fabric and the sensors are like thin swatches of vinyl on the underside. The module that sends the data to FR60 and other compatible Garmin fitness devices snaps to the outside of the strap, satisfying the requests of runners who get chaffed at the mere thought of an extra anything against their skin.

The central element of the user-friendly FR60 system is an advanced fitness watch which interfaces wirelessly with other ANT+™ compatible fitness devices such as a heart rate monitor, a foot pod that monitors speed and distance or third-party fitness equipment at the gym or at home. While the FR60 processes much of the same data as its GPS-enabled predecessors, those functions are packaged in a very compact device the size of a typical fitness watch. FR60 comes with a wireless USB ANT™ Stick that plugs into the user’s PC or Mac and automatically downloads workout data stored on the watch to a personal computer. No cables are necessary as the FR60 quickly synchronizes with the computer once it is in close proximity. By using Garmin Connect, users can automatically log their workouts, track their totals, share workouts with coaches, friends and family and participate in an online fitness community with similar interests.

The men’s version of the FR60 weighs just 44 grams, the women’s model weighs 41 grams, and each has a user-replaceable battery with a one-year life. To learn more about FR60’s user-friendly features, watch the quick and informative FR60 tutorial videos at Garmin.com’s Learning Center. Embeddable versions for online reviews can be found at the GarminBlog channel on YouTube.