Garmin’s known for its global positioning system devices, so it makes sense that the company would include a GPS in its heart rate monitors.

The Forerunner 405 fits in this category. Priced around $350, the Forerunner is loaded with training features for the serious athlete. Regarding basics, it’ll monitor your time, distance, pace, calories and heart rate. Each session (or run or walk or swim) is stored in memory for later review. You can also download that data wirelessly to your computer when it’s in range and turned on, to maintain a workout log.

The silver bezel around the face of the monitor is actually a touchscreen. You use that bezel to make a selection, toggle menu options and change pages. To switch modes, you keep your finger on one of four labeled areas. You put two fingers on the bezel to turn on a backlight. Once you have the display in front of you that you want to maintain, the device allows you to lock it in by pressing enter and quit at the same time.

Because the monitor includes a GPS, you’ll have to wait a few minutes for the GPS satellite signals to be acquired. (The antenna is located between the watch face and the wrist strap. But once that GPS mode is turned on, you can keep track of your route, follow a pre-planned route that others are following, and save the route for later sharing.

This is the first monitor I’ve seen that includes a battery in the chest strap too, which Garmin refers to as the “heart rate monitor”). Also, the wrist device includes a rechargeable battery, another first for me.

If that black color doesn’t appeal to you, the Forerunner also comes in green.

Last, here’s a cool feature: You can race against a “Virtual Partner.” You set the specifics about how fast and far your partner is running and then try to keep up with or beat your competitor. Of course, at the end of the race, you’re the only one who can buy the beer; but then again, with a virtual partner, you’ll also be the only drinking it too.