My Favorite Gadget in the World

My favorite gadget is my Garmin Forerunner. This thing is awesome. It looks like an over sized wristwatch but it is actually a gps that tracks my pace, distance, time, and even my route when I go running or biking. My brother, Karl, gave it to me for my birthday at my sister’s suggestion (thanks guys!), and though I never in a million years would have bought it for myself (I am not a runner or a biker), I have absolutely loved it. I have been using it to track my training for the Wasatch Back Ragnar Relay coming up in June.

My history with running…

Though I considered myself a great sprinter in elementary school, my love for running evaporated in fifth grade when we had our first timed mile run. It was four laps around this giant field and I could not believe that a mile was really that far. I think it took me like 20 minutes to complete the mile and I never wanted to run again in my life. In high school I took a fitness for life class that required us to run 30 minutes without walking, and in college I signed up for a free 5K with some friends who were runners. They promised me they’d stick with me and go slow, but about a mile in I finally convinced them to go ahead, and I walked most of the rest of the way.

When I started training for the Ragnar in September, I was supposed to run for 15 minutes, but I found that I could only run for about 5 before I had to take a little breather. With the help of my garmin, I worked up to 15 minutes and then 20 minutes, and now I’m proud to announce that Saturday I ran for 50 minutes straight. Last week it was 45 minutes and the first time in my life that I ran over 4 miles at once. There’s still five months to go before the race, and I’m excited to see how much more I can improve. I love you, Garmin.