Just Charge It

When I was training for my 2nd marathon my running buddy had a Garmin Forerunner.  I loved having the freedom to just take off running without a plan.  Training for my 1st marathon I would go out the night before and map out my run, measuring the distance with my car.  I know it's hard to believe such a lack of technology once existed!  I asked for a Garmin for Christmas and my parents got me a Garmin Forerunner 305.  It was big and clunky, but I loved it.  It was my most prized possession right behind little Harper Lee.

I used my beloved Garmin during every run for 4 years.  Then one day I set it outside to pick up satellites and when I went out to take off running it still hadn't picked up satellites.  I tried day after day for weeks, but no luck.  It just wasn't picking up satellites anymore.  I tried every trick in the book, every trick I could find online, I even called their help line and it still wouldn't work.  I was slightly heart broken.

Ty showed me the newer version of the Garmin, not only was it smaller, but it also came in pink!  We used Christmas money to buy me a new Garmin, this time the Forerunner 10.  I loved that it was smaller.  There were only 2 down sides.  A smaller watch meant a smaller screen which meant only 2 things could be displayed on the screen at a time.  So instead of having distance, overall time, and pace displayed I only had distance and pace on my screen.  The other was battery life which pales in comparison to the Forerunner 305.

The size difference in my Forerunner 305 compared to my Forerunner 10.

When I first learned how to drive I was always struggling to keep my car gased up.  I never noticed I needed gas until the empty light popped up.  Unfortunately I ran out of gas multiples times due to this.  My phone consistently runs out of power because I don't remember to charge it until the reminder pops up letting me know I'm at 20% battery life.  The same thing happens with my Garmin.  It doesn't get charged until I'm running along and low battery pops up on the screen.  My old Garmin was a beast.  One time the low battery reminder popped up within the first couple miles of an 11 mile run.  I made it the entire distance and it didn't die.  New Garmin, not so much.

Today I set off to run an 8 mile tempo run with a mile warm up and a mile cool down.  When I turned my Garmin on after reaching the trails to run I saw there wasn't much battery life left so I turned it off and ran my warm up without it.  I figured my Garmin could make it 4 miles without running out of battery and then I'd use the Nike Plus Running app on my phone for the rest of the run.  Good ole Garmin made it 5 miles before automatically saving the run and turning off.  I pulled my phone out to use it and guess what, it was dead!  I thought, man, some bad luck today or bad charging on my part.

My goal for the 8 mile tempo run was 8:00 pace.  I finished the first 5 miles at 7:57 pace.  I felt like I picked up the pace for the last 3 miles, but I had no way of knowing.  I'm sure I hit at least an 8:00 minute pace which makes me feel good about my progress toward a half-marathon at 8:00 pace! 

My goal from now on is to be more consistent with charging my Garmin.  The plan is to charge my Garmin before each long run.  I ran out of battery life during a 12 mile run a few weeks back as well.  Hopefully I'll start doing better.  I eventually got better about getting gas in my car and haven't run out of gas since high school so I know there's hope!

Ty also ran an 8 mile run this weekend which is the longest he's ever run!  I am so proud of him.  When he first said he wanted to run a half-marathon I was excited but unsure he would put the training in to get there.  It's amazing how far he's come as a runner in just over 2 years.  When he first started he walked a lot and his fastest mile was 12:00.  Now he's down to 8:30ish pace during 5ks and finished his 8 mile run at 10:40 pace.  I could dedicate an entire post to how proud I am of him and his running accomplishments, but I'll save that for later.  Possibly once he finishes his first half marathon!

Ty and me before his very first 5k, a St. Patty's day run in 2011.

Ty, me, and Carter before one of Ty's last 5ks, the Firecracker 5k on July 4th.