My New Garmin... Kinda

Disclaimer: Garmin did not in any way endorse this blog post. My mom bought the Garmin for me for Christmas. These are my own thoughts on my own Garmin.

For Christmas, I got a Garmin watch. That was was literally the only thing I really wanted for Christmas. I was tired of using the Nike+ app on my phone and having it drain the battery. When I finished my half marathon in November, I started with 99% battery and finished with 15%. I just couldn't take it any more.

So Mom bought me a Garmin for Christmas. It was purple (my favorite) and I really wanted to go for a run right then and there to test it. But I had to pull a 9 hour shift at work instead (I chose to do that for some stupid reason). So a few days later, I finally got to test out my new toy.

I loved it, and it worked perfectly. For that one run. After that day, it never worked right again. I fought with it turning off in the middle of runs, not turning on when it had a full charge, and doing all kinds of weird things it wasn't supposed to do. I was done. I didn't know why people even liked these watches if they had so many problems.

After a month of hating my watch, I emailed Garmin asking them how to fix it. They troubleshot it, but to no avail. Then I got the best email they could have sent. They told me that none of those things were supposed to happen with my watch, especially since it was brandy new (well, duh). But, they were going to do something they don't normally do: replace the watch for free.

Well, yesterday, I got my new Garmin. And immediately I noticed a difference. This one doesn't take 15 minutes to find the GPS simply to get the time. It turns on when it's charged. It didn't act up.
So I took it on a run with me in running class today. It worked beautifully.

Some of the great features of the watch (that I've discovered so far):

• It's lightweight. I don't even notice that I have it on.
• You can customize the screens. When I'm running I like to see time/distance. There are also options for time/calories, pace/distance, pace/calories, etc.
• It comes in tons of fun colors.
• Garmin's customer service is great

The only thing that I don't like is that you can't see what time it is while you're running. You can only see the time that has elapsed.

I am so impressed with Garmin and their willingness to replace my faulty product. Matt from Customer Service, I doubt that you will ever read this, but if you do, thank you for all of your help getting my watch replaced. Next time I ever need a GPS product, Garmin will be my go-to.

Race Recap: Arctic 5K

Yesterday I ran the Arctic 5K presented by Liberty University Student Activities. I did this race last year as my first 5K as a runner, but I wouldn't recommend any of Liberty's Spring races as a first. You go straight up a mountain for almost a mile, and it's slightly miserable.

On Friday, the day before the race, I got an email that said this:  In case nobody warned you, let me be the first to say that this may be the TOUGHEST 5k you will ever do. This is not for the faint of heart, so put your game face on and get ready to finish a race you’re sure to be proud of.

This is what I tell people when they ask about the race. I always tell them DO NOT do it as your first trail race. I did and I almost wanted to give up running after my first race.

So yesterday I woke up, bundled up, and was determined to beat my time from last year of 48 minutes. The course started out all nice and easy and then there was hill one. I walked. I didn't' want to walk but I did. Last year I was so tired after the uphill parts that I had to walk down hill. This year I made it my goal to run all the downhill parts, and run them I did.

Elevation Profile for the Course

However, the hills were just too long and too many and when it came time to finish, I was one minute slower than last year. But, I was okay with that. I had met my goal of running all the down hills and flat parts, and didn't feel like I was going to die at the end. I also wasn't almost last like last year, and finished before 50 other people. I felt so proud of myself, that I didn't even care about my extra minute. This year was for a change in mentality. There's always next year for a change in speed.

Finisher's photo, temperature, and participant shirt

Snow Day

This semester, I'm taking a running class. Today we ran almost 4 miles in this mess:

It was a painful run. Snow hurts. I mean, it's basically ice pellets hitting you in the face in double-digit speed winds. 

But, it ranked in my top 5 favorite runs of all time. There's just something about running in inclement weather that makes you feel awesome and unstoppable. 

Here's to hoping it will all be gone by my next race on Saturday!