As a mother and an endurance athlete, my time to train needs to be extremely focused. I also need to ensure that my training sessions are as effective as possible. Years ago, I would guess what my body was capable of, and often, I would get it wrong—either pushing too hard or not hard enough. This would leave me feeling depleted or, worse, dealing with an overuse injury that sidelined me for weeks. Fast forward to today, and I am training in a way that continues to push my fitness forward while keeping my body healthy. While I have changed up a few things, I credit most of it to two things: my coach and my smart training watch. In fact, when people sign up for coaching sessions with me or my husband, we require them to get a watch.
My #1 watch recommendation? Hands down, the Garmin Enduro 3 watch paired with a heart rate monitor.
After years of wearing Garmin watches, the new Enduro 3 has proven to be the best one yet in my experience, especially if your focus is on endurance and training effectively.
Why a Watch in the First Place?
A smartwatch that can read your heart rate during training helps you and your coach ensure you’re training in the right zones. Many athletes train using heart rate data because it helps improve heart elasticity, increases heart rate variability, and raises VO2 max. Monitoring your heart rate overnight is another invaluable tool, as it can indicate whether you’re recovering well or even if you’re getting sick. While this requires wearing the watch at night, it’s an excellent way to ensure you’re not overtraining (or undertraining). Additionally, it provides crucial data for coaches, allowing them to assess your performance and tailor your training plan effectively.
What Watch Should I Get?
After years of wearing different styles of Garmin watches and even dabbling with an Apple Watch, I have found that the Garmin Enduro 3 is the ultimate choice for endurance athletes. While it does specialize in endurance enthusiasts , it is also amazing for non endurance athletes and recreationalist as well. Many weekend warriors and recreational everyday movers like to be able to know their HRV, their recovery status, their sleep and more. You don’t have to be a professional athlete to reap the benefits of this amazing tool, but if you want to know more information about your workouts/ and how you are recovering and sleeping, this is one of the most accurate watches out there.
Enhanced Training Efficiency
The Garmin Enduro 3 offers an unparalleled battery life, lasting weeks on a single charge and more specifically up to 320 hours (with access to 3 hours of solar charging). This longevity allows me to focus entirely on my training as well as my longer missions and races without constantly worrying about recharging. The advanced performance metrics, including VO2 max, stamina insights, and training load, provide critical feedback that helps me optimize my workouts for peak performance.
For those that don’t have a coach, the watch also offers customizable workout plans that adapt based on my progress and fatigue levels. When I am in race prep mode, I honestly don’t pay attention to these, as I am doing the training’s my coach has put together for me but I find them to be pretty close to what he has planned. Hence, for non professional athletes, I believe these workout suggestions and prompts would be such a great tool to have!
Improved Recovery and Wellness
Recovery is just as important as training, and the Enduro 3 excels in this area. The sleep tracking feature has helped me prioritize my rest by providing insights into sleep quality and patterns. The watch also monitors my stress levels and heart rate variability (HRV), allowing me to make informed decisions about when to push hard and when to take a step back.
The daily readiness score has been a game-changer, giving me a clear indication of whether my body is ready for intense training or needs more recovery time. The only time I don’t listen to the readiness score is after a BIG expedition race. For some reason the watch has not yet been able to compute/take in a week long race of very little sleep. After my first night real sleep after racing non stop for 5 days it often tells me that I am “detraining” and gives me a prompt of a threshold work out. Luckily I know NOT to do this, but it is funny that I essentially “broke” it. However, during the week long adventure race, the battery lasts and is able to give me my full track of my race which I love. To keep the battery going this long I do turn off the heart rate and turn the battery to MAX mode. It also is one of the only watches to have Adventure Race mode, which is super amazing for me, as when I am racing I cannot use gps. In AR mode for the Enduro, you can still read the altimeter, have alarms and see when you started, you just can’t use the map mode.
Navigation and Adventure Features
However, when I am not adventure racing the map features are amazing. Whether I’m running in the mountains or exploring new trails, the GPS accuracy of the Enduro 3 ensures that I stay on course in very convenient and user friendly way. The built-in offline maps and route planning features give me confidence when training in unfamiliar areas. This past fall, I did a solo 100 mile mountain bike ride from my house to my cabin. The route that my coach/husband planned took me through lots of confusing trails and forest service roads. Thanks to the Enduro 3, I was able to upload his route and follow the prompts on my watch for every turn. And of course the solar charging capability further enhances the watch’s usefulness during long adventures.. because a dead watch does not do much good on long missions!
Motivation and Accountability
One of the biggest challenges athletes (and non athletes!) face is staying motivated. The Enduro 3 offers robust progress tracking, goal setting, and challenge features that keep me accountable. My coach and I can analyze my performance trends over weeks and months, which helps me stay motivated and push through tough training periods and non training/ recovery periods. For me, recovery time is harder than when I am in race training mode, so having this data helps me remember that rest is GOOD.
Also, the ability to sync my data with platforms like Strava and Garmin Connect allows me to connect with other athletes, share my progress, and draw inspiration from my community.
Daily Usability and Comfort
Despite being packed with features, the Enduro 3 is lightweight (7 grams lighter than the Enduro 2!) and while it looks big on my little watch, it is comfortable and does not get in the way of anything I need to do.
The extra features of the light has come in handy more times than I can count and while I don’t use the music controls, contactless payments, I have heard of many people loving and using these features daily.
After months of testing, its durable design has withstood many extreme weather conditions including torrential rain, snow, and intense heat.
Specs
For those that love specs, here is a great graph showing a detailed and improved battery life in comparison the older Enduro 2 model.
And for MORE Specs :
Physical Specifications:
- Dimensions: 51 x 51 x 15.7 mm
- Weight: 63 g
- Case Material: Fibre-reinforced polymer
- Bezel Material: Titanium
- Display: 1.4-inch transflective touchscreen with a resolution of 280 x 280 pixels
- Water Rating: 10 ATM (suitable for swimming up to 100 meters)
Connectivity:
- Wireless Technologies: Bluetooth, ANT+, Wi-Fi
- Supported Satellite Systems: GPS, Beidou, Glonass, Galileo, QZSS
Additional Features:
- LED Flashlight: Brighter than previous models
- Strap: Comes with a comfortable, quick-fit nylon strap
Health and Wellness Monitoring:
- Comprehensive Health Metrics: The watch monitors sleep patterns, blood oxygen levels, stress, body battery, and recovery status, providing valuable insights into overall well-being. GearLab
Navigation and Mapping:
- Advanced Navigation Tools: Features detailed maps and enhanced map navigation, aiding in route planning and real-time navigation during activities.
Activity Tracking:
- Multi-Sport Functionality: Supports a wide range of sports modes, including running, cycling, swimming, and more, catering to diverse athletic pursuits.
ALL in ALL
The Garmin Enduro 3 has improved my training experience immensely . From enhancing my efficiency and recovery to providing motivation and adventure-ready features, this watch has been a game-changer. And while it is still on the spendy side at $900, it is actually cheaper and better than the Enduro 2! All in all, If you’re serious about endurance training and want to elevate your performance while staying injury-free, I highly recommend the Garmin Enduro 3 and a coach! However, if you are not yet able to commit to a coach, the Garmin 3 is a very powerful tool that can help you train smarter, recover better and help you achieve your fitness goals.