Garmin-sponsored triathlete Ben Collins shares his training and racing experiences with the Garmin Edge 705 and Forerunner 405.

Training on the island of Oahu has been a nice change of pace from a Seattle winter and the monotony of routes and routines of home. The struggle is that whenever I’m training away from home it takes some time to adjust; time to adjust to new roads for riding and running, new pool times for swimming etc. For short trips it’s easy to make due. If the pool times are not ideal, or if it’s hard to find a good running route on soft surfaces and away from traffic, I can manage for a few days. But this trip is not short. I will be in Hawaii for a total of six weeks, which means finding a nice pool and nice running and riding routes is quintessential.

To find a pool and lap swim times, I use the Swimmers Guide, a great resource to find pool times for all over the world. When I was in Hamburg, I was able to find lap swim times and fees before I went to the pool, and there were comments left by previous patrons which gave me an idea of German pool etiquette. Unfortunately, riding and running can be tough to figure out, so I’ve come up with my own method of finding my way in a new place...

Obviously the best way to find a place to run or ride is to ask a local. Sometimes, however, it can be hard to find somebody with any knowledge of what conditions make a ride or run enjoyable. Whenever I find myself at a home stay, or a hotel in a new place, I start my route search with Google Maps and my address. Switching to aerial view is helpful because you can look for trails or large parks for running, and roads with light traffic and scenery for riding. After a quick look at the map I’ll head out, usually for a bike ride first, but always with my Garmin Edge 705 or Forerunner 405. I ride in the direction I found on the map and try to explore. You can’t expect this first ride to be a great workout, but it should be fun looking for trail heads, or exploring back roads and neighborhoods. The goal is to get a lay of the land, and record it on the Garmin.

Once I’m back from the exploration I will upload the data to Garmin Connect and use the map feature to see where I actually went, compared to where I thought I was heading. From there I can usually get a better idea of the topography and the terrain, which helps me plan my next excursion.

This is exactly what I did when I arrived in Hawaii Kai a few weeks ago. My first couple of runs, I went around the town in a 5-mile loop and added miles by circling the high school track. Then I took a look at the Google map and realized that if I made a left instead of a right about 2km from where I’m staying, I could get off the busy streets and into a bit of farmland. With the help of Garmin’s GPS data I found a much nicer route that I’ve been doing ever since.