The End of An Era (well, kind of...)

I feel a little bit ridiculous being this sad.

I mean, it’s just a watch; a really big, fancy watch, but a watch nonetheless.

The thing is it was a gift to me.

It was my award for losing 75 pounds.

I have been quoted with saying “This watch changed my life.”

My big, clunky, Garmin Forerunner 305.

It didn’t always work. I didn’t always remember to turn it on.  I often forgot to download my runs.

But me and my watch, we had a relationship.

I didn’t always love my watch.

In fact, sometimes it would say a pace and I would be pissed off.  Why would my watch say I was running that slow?

Other times it would give me confidence.  Like, “WHAT? I’m going fast!”

They’re sending me a new one, and it will do the same thing. It will help me keep pace.  It will remind me to go faster or to slow down. It will tell me how much further I have to go or how much further I GET to go depending on the day.

But it won’t be my first watch.

Anyone who goes out for a run is a runner, but there are certain milestones that people will tell you signified when they FELT like a real runner.

Sometimes it’s crossing that first finish line.

Sometimes it’s the first time you realize there are photographers on the course and you make yourself presentable to them.

Sometimes it’s pinning that first bib or hitting that specific pace.

For me, it was the first time I got a finish line photo back from a race and I wasn’t celebrating my victory, but pausing my Garmin.

Because that’s what real runners do.